15 April 2019

Wait Weight

A friend on Facebook is incredulous about the upcoming 2020 Mustang Ecoboost Performance Package.

330 hp dragging around 4,225 lb.  12.8 lb. to hp.

What the actual fuck?

The Biscayne curbs at 3,951 lb. and the '96 Impala sourced LT1 gives 260 hp.  15.2 lb. to hp.

My ancient beater can give a brand new "performance" model a run for its money?

And since when did a such a small car start out-massing a land yacht?

A Mustang, any Mustang, shouldn't outweigh a B-Body.

This trend is not limited to Fords.  The current Camaro and Challenger are likewise heavy.

I am sitting here contemplating how sprightly The Biscayne would be if I dropped a LQ4 or LQ9 6.0L from a truck or van in her svelte chassis.  Even a 5.3L LMF would be competitive with its 310 horses changing the ratio to 12.7:1!

Edit to add:

The Precious is a mere 3,216 lb.  With 436 hp on tap (or more) that gives 7.4:1.

5 comments:

  1. I recently replaced all the brake disks and pads on my son's 2016 Taurus and found that the darned car almost did not fit on the lift length or width wise. On top, the lift struggled to get it up in the air. I don't know how heavy that car is now but is has to be 1000 lbs more than the 1999 sable we used to have. This makes little sense, but seems to be the way things are going, totally counter-intuitive to getting higher fuel economy. The power to weight ratio is a good measure but don't forget improved torque and transmission performance in the picture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. '99 Sable; 3,406 lb. 2016 Taurus; 3,964 lb.

      It's baffling that a car that's so much smaller than my B-Body weighs as much.

      Delete
  2. I can't figure out why new cars are such porkers. Especially given that the old cars had cast iron blocks, steel frames and a lot of them even stuff like cast iron brake calipers, master cylinders, etc. My 1980 Corvette with cast iron block and heads weighs less than a brand new Stingray. Insane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember them touting all of the weight saving stuff they were doing with the C7 when came out and was baffled that it ended up heavier than my C6. 3,216 for my 2008 C6; 3,298 for the 2014 C7.

      You'd have thought with such aggressive weight reduction it'd have come out lighter than my car.

      Delete
  3. Watching the Barrett Jackson rerun this week I thought of you as a Biscayne crossed the auction block.

    ReplyDelete

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