[//M]

A red Mustang in Mumbai, probably a demo car or a dealer car, met with a minor crash yesterday with damages to the front LHS fender and front bumper. Not sure how it happened though, maybe during a test-drive.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

To each his own I guess.

This V8 is designed to run on 87 octane gas. What you have available in India is officially 91 octane but actually has much lower octane rating on account of contamination (all of you this, right?) & ingression of various foreign particles, poor handling at terminals, transportation practices that are less than stellar and a number of reasons that I do not wish to go into (have spent more than 20 years in oil companies, 10 of which were at an Indian major).

With a compression ratio of 11:1 this engine would have been susceptible to knocking though electronic nannies would intervene. If it came in at a default state of tune the ECU would have intervened & ran the engine at a perpetual state of detune the moment it sensed a poor quality of fuel. Ford did the right thing & detuned it accordingly from get go.

Strange.

As you've said, the Coyote V8 is designed to run on regular pump-gas (US jargon) i.e. 91/93 RON. If fuel of inferior octane is the diet chosen for the car, the ECU adjusts the timing in order to prevent engine knocking and consequently, power drops to 400 ish (as per several articles and forum discussions). So it comes as a surprise that Ford chose to de-tune the motor in the first place.

So, what if you chose to run it on 97 Octane?

[//M]

Originally Posted by //M

A red Mustang in Mumbai, probably a demo car or a dealer car, met with a minor crash yesterday with damages to the front LHS fender and front bumper. Not sure how it happened though, maybe during a test-drive.

Got these pics in a couple of whatsapp groups. Not sure who clicked this, due credits to the original photographer.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

One thing surprising is that Ford seems to have detuned the engine by 35bhp for India, to run on normal fuel. Considering the power output wasn't that high for a 5.0 engine, I would imagine it would have run fine on normal fuel without the detune.

What I read is that the RHD models required a modified exhaust manifold compared to the LHD models which is compromised due to lack of space and causes a drop in power.

Nothing to do with detuning - initially even I thought why is it detuned - but it actually isn't india specific - its RHD specific.

The Coyote engine can run on 87 octane gas in the US which is equivalent to good quality 91 octane locally. Voodoo needs higher octane brew.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

I was a big fan of this car till I drove one; having rented one in January 2011 (have not driven the current version); my enthusiasm evaporated within couple of hours.

There is a big difference between the version you drove and the current version. Not fair to club this version with the previous. This one is far better, but still not up to the levels of the Germans. But it has its own charm.

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

With a compression ratio of 11:1 this engine would have been susceptible to knocking though electronic nannies would intervene. If it came in at a default state of tune the ECU would have intervened & ran the engine at a perpetual state of detune the moment it sensed a poor quality of fuel. Ford did the right thing & detuned it accordingly from get go.

The engine in my Mercedes has a very similar compression ratio, and it runs regular fuel just fine though I choose to fill her up with 97. And so will most of the owners of the Mustang. Hell, none of the Germans are detuning their engines even though they are running forced induction, why should Ford with a relatively simple NA engine.

Also since you were in the oil industry, over here don't they measure in RON rather than Octane?

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

What I read is that the RHD models required a modified exhaust manifold compared to the LHD models which is compromised due to lack of space and causes a drop in power.

Nothing to do with detuning - initially even I thought why is it detuned - but it actually isn't india specific - its RHD specific.

The Coyote engine can run on 87 octane gas in the US which is equivalent to good quality 91 octane locally. Voodoo needs higher octane brew.

Aha, that makes sense. But the UK site lists the Mustang at 416ps. So looks like they did detune it a bit for India. Though nothing some mods can't fix.

[RavenAvi]

Bookings are now open across all Ford dealerships for a token amount of Rs 2 lakhs each.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

There is a big difference between the version you drove and the current version. Not fair to club this version with the previous. This one is far better, but still not up to the levels of the Germans. But it has its own charm.

I had rented Mustang first time in 2004 when I started working in US for about 3 months on company's tab . Even though the car got me lot of wow reactions being the iconic american muscle car it in US, but I found it to be extremely unrefined and tiring on long drives. It had a 3.5L V6, extremely noisy in the cabin, jerky transmission, poor interior quality and a decent handler but hardly as nimble as a regular german or jap sports car. Last year after 11 yrs I again ended up renting mustang mainly due to lack of choice and was pleasantly surprised. The car of course looks nicer, interiors are a notch up in all aspects, refinement levels are 3 levels up in terms of noise, smooth transmission, lot of electronics controls for different modes you want to operate in. And keeping the US price point very good value for money. Now the same thing at 65lacs ex showroom is a different ball game. It may be ok due to lack of enough options in India bit I dont think Mustang is still anywhere close to germans in terms of refinement or quality.

I would suggest watching this episode of Top Gear where Jeremy drives mustang through europe and gives his observations about the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMaCJluFyM

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by supertinu

I had rented Mustang first time in 2004 when I started working in US for about 3 months on company's tab . Even though the car got me lot of wow reactions being the iconic american muscle car it in US, but I found it to be extremely unrefined and tiring on long drives. It had a 3.5L V6, extremely noisy in the cabin, jerky transmission, poor interior quality and a decent handler but hardly as nimble as a regular german or jap sports car. Last year after 11 yrs I again ended up renting mustang mainly due to lack of choice and was pleasantly surprised. The car of course looks nicer, interiors are a notch up in all aspects, refinement levels are 3 levels up in terms of noise, smooth transmission, lot of electronics controls for different modes you want to operate in. And keeping the US price point very good value for money. Now the same thing at 65lacs ex showroom is a different ball game. It may be ok due to lack of enough options in India bit I dont think Mustang is still anywhere close to germans in terms of refinement or quality.

I agree. There have been improvements in all the newer generations. But my point was, speaking relatively the improvements between the previous generation and this current one have been much larger than the improvements between any of the previous generations. I've spent a bit of time with the Mustang GT of the previous version (which is in the video you posted) and also the current version and the improvement in interior quality and refinement is immense. Handling too is much better. But no doubt it cannot match the Germans.

I would suggest you see this video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaoW8cW_R0w

[coolboy007]

Now since Ford have launched the iconic Mustang and that too at a good price level, i was wondering that where would the maintenance/services be done for these cars?

As an owner of 2 Fords from past 3 years, the well being of customer lounge and the way they treat customers who have brought their cars for service is good enough only till the price point of Ecosport, a guy who spends 75 lakhs on a Mustang would not like to visit the super crowded service centre with average hospitality levels. Would be better if Ford can service these cars at home or can open 1 workshop in each city, the Mustang would not be able to even reach Delhi's Harpreet Ford workshop without getting its underbelly ripped apart, such is the entry path.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Strange.

As you've said, the Coyote V8 is designed to run on regular pump-gas (US jargon) i.e. 91/93 RON.

Small correction, regular pump gas is 87, 91 & 93 are premium which is what the V8 requires.

[theragingbull]

Is there a reason why the Mustang is tuned down to just 395bhp in India? It's 430hp here in the US.

[extreme_torque]

It is a muscle car and it is priced like one! A brand new 5 litre V8 is $62k here or 31 lakhs. I guess 100% duty is to be blamed.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

Is there a reason why the Mustang is tuned down to just 395bhp in India? It's 430hp here in the US.

It's because of exhaust manifold changes in rhd cars. Read my earlier post. Plus it's down 10hp or so cos of detuning.

[theragingbull]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

It's because of exhaust manifold changes in rhd cars. Read my earlier post. Plus it's down 10hp or so cos of detuning.

Got it thanks. So was it launched with the track pack standard or is that optional equipment? Will be interesting to see what options they have available in India.

[R2D2]

One of my favourite American muscle cars is finally here. I drove a rented 2L Mustang during my US visit. And I wasn't very impressed. Hope Chevy gets the Camaro.

At 65L a copy I'd also consider buying a German sports sedan/coupe.