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Aluminum Mustangs... Coming SOON?!?

4K views 43 replies 22 participants last post by  Jd431x1f 
#1 · (Edited)
I knew it would be coming to the Mustang eventually. I understand why the F-150 got it first, b/c its the most popular & profitable vehicle and its competition has gotten really aggressive with their MPG ratings.

http://news.yahoo.com/ford-starts-production-aluminum-f-050545382.html said:
Morgan Stanley estimates F-Series trucks account for 90 percent of Ford's global automotive profit.
If it goes by popularity (sales), then Escape, Fusion & Explorer will get the aluminum make over first. :(

But I figured Mustangs should be next b/c:
1. Its a sports car, lighter = faster, better handling/braking, etc. so for its buyers it makes a bigger difference. (more important of a selling point) AND
2. The new generation was gaining weight, so it needed it.
3. Competition is heating up in the sports car world. New vettes, other cars are using more aluminum, going lighter, more hp, etc.

So I saw this page & it was the first time I saw it specifically mentioned for the Mustang:
http://news.yahoo.com/ford-starts-production-aluminum-f-050545382.html said:
... Mustang will eventually make the switch from steel.
WHEN IS "Eventually" ?!! :banghead:

Ballpark math from what I was told at the Ford dealership about the F-150. The aluminum helps reduce body weight by about 750 lbs on a Supercrew cab. (or saves about 15% on 4,600 lbs)

Could you imagine shaving about 500+ lbs on a stock Mustang with out having to remove / sacrifice ANYTHING!!

Your car off the lot would be approx. 3,200 or less, with 435 hp. That would give you a stock 0-60 in about 4.0 seconds. I'm guessing stock 1/4 mile would be about 12 flat. I'm trying to be conservative/realistic with my numbers, so the actual #'s could be better. Either way, this could be HUGE and exciting times coming soon... or "eventually"!

I already know what my next 2 vehicles will probably be.
trade my 2012 FX2 for a 2016 F-150 FX2
then down the road... trade my 2014 GT Prem. Conv. for a 2018+ GT Prem. Conv.
 
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#4 ·
I hope it happens, the car needs a diet plan bad!! I'll be ready to buy a new car in 2016, so I'll be looking at 17' models, hopefully they start using aluminum body panels by then

sent from my HTC M8 using tapatalk
 
#6 · (Edited)
Imagine something like an RX7, those are mid 2xxx lbs, I've seen some LS swapped ones putting down major power. They are nasty. Or hell, my friend has a Datsun 510, those weigh 2100 soaking wet. He has done Carbon fiber work on it also, he is guessing it's in the 19xx now, that with a turbo SR20 motor it should be doing pretty well.


Bullitts are better than Bullets
 
#10 ·
Theres already ton of hood paint bubble due to it being aluminum from 05-15. Im one of the vitcim, everyone check your hood around the inner/outer edges.
 
#15 ·
For how nice it would be to see a production GT in the 11's I don't know if I see that happening. I really feel the reason why Ford/GM/Dodge are making these cars with 400+ HP is because of the weight. With the safety and electronics in cars now a days these cars weight near 4000 pounds so it takes a lot of power to make them quick.

I really think that if Ford were to get it back into the 3000-3200 lbs they would decrease HP and make the cars more fuel efficient. Ford has always had a model above the GT (cobra, GT500, etc) so those cars would have to outperform the GT's while still having some sort of street manner to them.
 
#22 · (Edited)
They're just going to stop increasing horsepower. The displacement will go down over time for fuel economy, (ie: the ecoboost will replace the V6 first, then we'll get a 3.7L ecoboost to replace the 5.0L V8 probably down the road) but as the cars get lighter they'll probably stay around 400+- horsepower mark.

Safety measures have increased to offset the extra power.... side impact bars, crumple zones, traction control, ABS, airbags, etc. Ford & Chevy still need to work on their traction control systems. Coming from a Porsche, the PSM (Porsche Stability Management) software is worlds better, even in 10 year older cars. The PSM in my 2006 Cayman S saved my ass on turns many times.

In 2008, if they told you the 2011 Mustang was going to get a 100hp bump you'd have laughed & said no way. Well, dropping a bunch of weight is like a huge bump in hp that you would never have expected to be "given". But it happens when they need to compete. Other manufacturers are all getting in to the lighter weight game. Look at the high end supercars, etc... those technologies will all make their way in to our cheap american muscle cars eventually.

Porsche 959 was the first to use TPMS. Took a decade or 2, but that made its way to highend cars first, via options, then became standard.

Porsche has been using A LOT of aluminum for years. Its gradually making its way in to Fords now.... more & more.

Carbon fiber has been used in supercars for a while. More & more parts are being used in American muscle cars. Z06's use quite a bit. GT500's use a CF driveshaft!

You worry that muscle cars will suck down the road, but I could see myself as an old man in 20 years in a car made of mostly carbon fiber... even the wheels (not tires). With super high torque electric engines that literally give you whiplash they accelerate so hard.
 
#29 ·
I've heard the insurance companies are going to raise premiums quite a bit for the new F150's due to the increase cost of crash repair. Just something to think about...
This is completely false! Insurance premiums have many different factors that determine what you pay. Average cost of repair is one of those factors, however, there would be no noticable jump in cost based on a single factor increasing. The largest contribution to your insurance premiums is your driving record.
 
#17 ·
I would rather Ford started using Carbon Fiber. As for all aluminum, they did that with the Delorean back in the early 80's. I worked at a car auction at the time, they were all painted Red, Black or Yellow. Only problem the slightest contact with anything and you were repainting the whole car.
 
#19 ·
The Delorean was a Stainless Steel body but yes, I remember that being an issue. They came from the factory unpainted and after a while the "finish" started looking bad, or they would get damaged, and some would then receive paint jobs.
It was no problem for the Delorean owners to pay for the paint jobs because, as legend has it, each car came with a pound of Cocaine hidden under the seats.
:p:
 
#23 ·
I don't see it happening for many years, the cost bump would be too much. The Mustang is an everyman's Gt, and price sensitive. Ford is going to learn with the F150, and then my guess is the Explorer will be next as it has high sales volume. It's all about the economy of scale. Plus the F150 still has a steel ladder frame, unibody aluminum cars currently on the market are pretty expensive, and the Mustang isn't in that pricing bracket. I saw 10 Shelby GT350's on my dealers lot, $100,000 each and they aren't moving fast, even with the fact Shelby has stopped production.
When the penalties for MPG exceed the cost for aluminum, then ford will make the switch. Just my guess.


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#24 ·
I don't see it happening for many years, the cost bump would be too much. The Mustang is an everyman's Gt, and price sensitive. Ford is going to learn with the F150, and then my guess is the Explorer will be next as it has high sales volume. It's all about the economy of scale. Plus the F150 still has a steel ladder frame, unibody aluminum cars currently on the market are pretty expensive, and the Mustang isn't in that pricing bracket. I saw 10 Shelby GT350's on my dealers lot, $100,000 each and they aren't moving fast, even with the fact Shelby has stopped production.
When the penalties for MPG exceed the cost for aluminum, then ford will make the switch. Just my guess.
Finally, someone mentioned cost which turns into price. I work with all sorts of metals and while aluminum (.098) has a density (lb/in³), just over a third that of steel (.283), it costs over three times as much along with the associated costs of heat treating to get it anywhere close to the strength of steel. All of the cars mentioned that use polymers or aluminum in large quantities are very expensive when compared to the Mustang. Who is willing to pay that? It all kind of defeats the "low-cost sports car" appeal.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Another cost increase will be insurance, Aluminum is way more expensive to fix. For the younger crowd the insurance may cost more than the payment. Don't think insurance company's won't blink when given a great excuse to jack our rates.

And don't think the steel industry will take this lying down either. The S550 chassis could see more higher strength steel as a stop gap measure. In any event, the Mustang still the lightest pony car out at this time.
 
#32 ·
Cost of vehicle which did go up with the F-150's. I think the base model only went up a few hundred, but a supercrew cab went up like $3k.

Anyway, that's only one portion of your insurance... the collision portion. (where you have to repair your vehicle with your own insurance money.)

The largest portion of MOST people's insurance is liability.... covering when you get in a wreck and people sue you for damage & bodily harm, etc.

All of them are affected by your driving record.
 
#34 · (Edited)
So the 2015 GT350 will have aluminum fenders.

And the Shelby GT350 / GT500's usually get things first, then it trickles down.

Like it took 3 years for the 2010 GT500 front bumpers to become standard on the 13/14's. The older GT500 spoiler became the backup camera spoiler, etc..

Makes me think we'll have more aluminum body parts by 2018 at the latest.
 
#39 ·
Hey ultarc, it will be a turkey skeleton by the time my family get through with it. Great verse!!! Thanks for the humor, I can always use a good laugh. rrrrr in SC
Lol, although I usually work the holidays, my parents give me turkey for weeks...why do they BUY a turkey when as a family we get three for free...sometimes I wonder...lol

Luke 11:9-10 “So I say to you ...*search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
 
#43 ·
You are probably right.

Most manufacturers don't like changing 100% of a car in a year, statistically just too many thing to go wrong. (too many recalls in one model year!)

So when they change the body & electronics, then they keep the engine (mostly the same). If they're completely changing the engines, they keep the body/electronics.
 
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