Live axel saves $300 on 2005 Stang

[Z28x]

From autoweek.com

Suspension is MacPherson struts in front and a live axle with coil springs in the rear. Surely there will be many of you decrying Ford’s use of a live rear axle in the 21st century. Consider, though, that Mustang engineers went this route because they claim they can tune the suspension to be better than some independent setups, as well as because an axle gives the Mustang better drag-strip-launch characteristics than does an independent setup. (You must love that last qualifier of pony-car character.) It also helps that a live axle is cheaper, keeping the car’s MSRP down. “We saved $300 a car, and that’s just materials,” Thai-Tang said. “That doesn’t include design, engineering and development, prototyping and tooling.

 

[vrpirata]

A $300 dollars in materials in the factory does not mean a $300 in the MSRP or a $300 option, the reflected price difference or cost of the option for the customer is usually several times the original cost of the parts.

 

[CatmanJJ]

A $300 dollars in materials in the factory does not mean a $300 in the MSRP or a $300 option, the reflected price difference or cost of the option for the customer is usually several times the original cost of the parts.

I agree

 

[ryanrule]

he says all that bout design and such, dont they have to do it anyway for the svt?

 

[66Satellite]

“We saved $300 a car, and that’s just materials,” Thai-Tang said. “That doesn’t include design, engineering and development, prototyping and tooling. [/I]

I'd say that translates to $1500-2000 sticker price. Probably fewer warranty issues for Ford, too--people are gonna beat on this car.

I thought we'd been through this already a few times.

 

[XtorT'r]

I'd get the IRS. Just cuz I don't drag too often. I like the Option.

 

[Z28x]

Probably fewer warranty issues for Ford, too--people are gonna beat on this car.

I think the Cobra (with IRS) will get beat on more than the base V6 (no IRS)

Development dollars would have been saved if they only developed one rear end type, so basically it just comes down to cost of parts. If added as an option it would probably cost more than if added from day one on all models.

I'd spring for the IRS, I don't really road race or drag race much, but I would like the smoother ride as long as the car is my daily driver.

 

[shatner saves]

The $300 material cost is the difference between the assemblies involved. With a ford and dealer margin of 50% (100% markup), that only comes out to $1200 on the sticker. That doesn't sound too bad to me.

IRS, if done right, can be very robust as well.

 

[351CJ]

I would spend $1,000 for a good IRS in the blink of an eye.

 

[SadbutTrue]

they did say they could get the live axle to handle better than "some irs setups"... until someone proves otherwise, I am of the opinion the new stang will have a nice enough ride for me and I bet it will surprise quite a few higher end sports cars with its abilities.

 

[ryanrule]

when they put irs in the svt, is in gonna be in cradle like the current car, or is it actually going to be connected right to the car. it better be the latter

 

[Ron Jeremy]

You guys are crazy to spend an extra $1,000-$1,200 for an IRS rear end. All the IRS does is add over $1,000 to the sticker price. People who cannot afford spending more money on stupid features like this will be unable to buy the car if the price is hiked another $1,000-$1,200. It's a good thing that Ford decided to not put IRS in the Mustang GT. I am glad. I am not going to pay an extra grand just because some people want IRS. If you want IRS go buy yourself a Cobra Mustang.

 

[Z28x]

$600 - $1000 would probably only be the price if it was an addon option. If it was built into all cars from day one it would probably only add $300-$500 to the MSRP. Don't forget they would have saved a lot by not developing a live axel.

Doing both was a good choice, 99% of V6 owners don't know/care the difference between a live axel and IRS. Plus now drag racers are happy. Too bad you can't get IRS on a cheaper Stang. Maybe that will be a future special model, 3v 4.6L with IRS for $26,000

 

[skywarp]

The IRS option if available wouldn't sway my decision on the car. If it was affordable I'd probably buy it. Not that I would need it that much, solid axle is fine too. Mainly for resale.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

The problem is that $1,000-$1,200 is not affordable. That's a lot of money for an option or for for even standard equipment on a car. Like I said before, if you want IRS buy a Cobra Mustang. Not a GT.

 

[KidTwist51]

I'm glad they cut costs, but an IRS costing Ford 300 dollars in parts is bull. Just cause it might cost the consumer standing at the parts counter at Joe Blow Ford 3 bills to buy the whole setup doesn't mean thats what Ford really pays to make thousands of the same thing. I would find it hard to believe Ford's parts cost on an IRS tops 150 bucks. maybe I'm wrong but think about it, thats kind of a misleading statement in my opinion.

-Chris

 

[Ron Jeremy]

It is a misleading statement.

 

[BelueLX]

yay for using old technology in a new car. go ford. they dont like pushrods much, but they sure do like live axles.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

Ford makes an excellent solid rear end. The Mustang is a drag muscle car. Keep it that way.

 

[shatner saves]

Ford makes an excellent solid rear end. The Mustang is a drag muscle car. Keep it that way.

If that's the case, why not put drum brakes on the car? why not sacrifice some torsional rigidity to take some weight out of the chassis? Why not do non-independent beam axle up front? A car that has a narrow scope of ability will appeal to a small group of hard core individuals and that's it. If that happens, boys and girls, our beloved mustang will go the way of the Camaro and we will be sitting in front of our tubes, posting about how great it *was*.

The "well, that's the way we've always done it" answer, is the reason the japanese and europeans have been steadily kicking the a$$es of the big 3 for the last 2 decades.

Having said that, I applaud the job ford has done on the new car. The new live axle design looks much cleaner and more efficeint than the old one. Coupled to the new, world class chassis, I think a lot of people will be really surprised at how well the whole package works. I also firmly believe that with a properly sorted IRS (emphasis on the "properly sorted"), the '05 will give a lot of the "superb handling" benchmarks out there real fits. Bring it in at a cost of around $26k, in a package that looks like a million bucks, and the europeans and Japanese might be sweating a bit.