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mustang road handling.

skunk

skunk

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Sep 27, 2000
Messages
928
Location
massachusetts
I wanted to post this up seperate from my mods post. I'm still learning this car and I'm not afraid at all to say this car is scary!! I have been driving my contour for 7yrs and I know her like the back of my hand, I throw her into turns and know just what she will do, she wil tell me when it is to much and what to do to correct it. the contour doesn't really over react to throttle lift and if the back end gets light you can plant the gas and the front end pulls you forward, the list goes on and on.

throw it out with rear wheel drive, plus the mustang has more power and tourqe. I have been go at it slow but so far it the mustang can take the same roads I do in the contour and higher speeds it grips better and has better tourqe curves. I was shocked. the one thing though this car demands more of you has a driver!! I lifted of the throttle to hard getting nervous when the back end got light and it upset the car far more than the contour, I put throttle back in with some steering to get her happy again, buy holy crap, the back end wanted to go right around. I took the corner to late and put to much steering into it not so much a problem in the tour it would let you drift up and back out not the stang.

I'm still learning how to handle the power going into through and out of turns also. I'm mostly up at the old airport road or old ames parking lot. but pretty much sofar it like this know your braking, this also upsets this car more than the tour. you have to be on/part on the throttle through the whole turn don't lift, if the back end gets light or starts to come around use the throttle and steering to get it back...steering alone doesn't work(tried it) using the brakes you are going around(tried it) lifting out of the throttle upsets it which will make you over steer and when you hit the gas again and it grabs, well you know.

I searched on line and read a couple of articles on this. they pretty much use the throttle/sterring to straighten the car out. i tried it out in the old ames parking lot coming around the back of the building holding a tight radious.

I don't plan on making this a habit. I wanted to find the limit I want to drive this car in. I know the contour can take corners really fast and I pushed for along time to find out what the limits where, how the contour reacts to them and how the fix it. once I found them I backed it down a couple of notches so I play within note within those limits w.o really pushing the car so I can have fun and not really hurt the car and get it back qiuckly if something comes up.

I'm getting there with the mustang, the thing that still scares me is even toning it down with this car, I still think it will get away from quicker and never be has much fun through the turns has the contour, even though it takes them with more athourity and drama the contour feels more like putting on a really nice suit, it just feels damn good.

so I don't know. they are both different animals and this topic could go on and on.

I'll sum it like this:

the contour is like a well mannered child, you can let him loose and you know don't have to worry all the time.

my mustang is like a crazy step son running around town, you have to keep constant watch to keep him out of trouble :laugh: .

It wil take along time to feel the same comfort level I do in tour if I ever get there totally. the mustang though is really fun, i mean really fun. the hp is fun and there is so much that can be done to these cars it unreal. straight line power with my 3:73 gears is ear to ear grin fun. It will throw you in the seat when power shifting through the first 3 gears going down the road and I left a pretty good amount of rubber in front of my house :crazy: , hey gotta play. yep stangs are fun guys.
 
the standard tranny se or svt is more mannered than a mustang. when pushed hard the mustang is just tail happy and easy to spin out. not so with tours.
 
In my experience, automatic transaxle Contours are almost a different class of car than manuals. My automatic is a very fun car in stock form, but the manual transaxle provides a level of control necessary for spirited driving where the Contour excels; winding country roads, parkways, effortlessly weaving through traffic, etc.. I'm having the most when road circumstances demand lots of shifting between 2nd through 4th.

Contours can be pushed, just not in the same way a Mustang can be. They are really apples and oranges when it comes to the driving experience they excel at.

I'm not saying Contours aren't well mannered; they are easy to control because the entire car provides a lot of consistent and accurate feedback. You can use that feedback to push them even further than the large 'safe' spectrum naturally afforded by the car.

From what I've read of Mustangs, they -- generally speaking -- can be modified to handle very well in many situations, but are not considered strong handling cars over-all -- city driving over many different types of crappy roads with obstacles to avoid, for example. I also have an impression that you have to be more tactical and plan your maneuvers rather than rely on heavily on feedback because there is less margin for error. Please correct me if I'm wrong, this is a very abstract opinion.

I understand that I'm not an expert and that this is all my opinion. I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all, I'm really just expressing my point of view.
 
I'm not really sure where your coming from. I have autocrossed many times and undestand car control and feedback. I'm posting my learning curve and feel going from a hp fwd car to a higher hp rwd car, and yes I'm being tatical wrecking the car isn't an option even with feedback the car can still snap around, I need to understand the car better.

I relize they are two animals and apples and oranges, kinda said that, again giving a view of going from driving my tour for many years to the mustang and challange to presents. the mustang just will not let you drive it at that level and you do you better have some kinda skill up sleeve or you are going to wreck it.

once I get to know the car and finish the suspesnion i will be throwing it around just has hard has the tour.
 
Skunk, I'm with you on this, too. The 'Stang handles completely differently than anything I've driven. The turn radius at least feels to be 1/2 of the Tour's, including the CSVT, though I could be completely wrong.

These cars just want to tear asphalt as much as they can, and really do need to be reigned in. I guess it's in the name, right?
 
oh yes they do handle very differently, from the short time I have driven my mothers 06 and the V6 rentals that I have had. In florida I almost lost it getting onto a highway in the rain as the on ramp sloped away from the direction I was coming and I was alittle throttle happy, luckly I was able to save it but it was close. Also from riding in the Boss 9 it very easy to hang the rear end out, but then again thats how you drive a car like that, the steering wheel only hits at the direction of travel, you really steer with your right foot :laugh:

and thats probably the reason I will not go out and get a Mustang anytime soon, I would most likely kill myself in one, more so a 03/04 cobra
 
In my opinion, you can't really classify all mustangs into one handling category. on our foxes. you have to deal with snap oversteer due to the awful 4-link rear suspension design. Sometimes i wonder about ford, looking at this rear suspension that relies on deflection of the bushings to preven binding, come on. thats just as bad as the 2-bolt control arms on the contour. I only drove an 05 once, and I could already feel the vast improvement in the 3-link rear, now if only it could go on a diet and lose, say, 400 lbs. Then you have 99 up cobras, with the IRS. much better road feel, and control. I just finished my swap in the fox, but since I toasted my rings and need to pull the engine out again, I haven't gotten to drive it. I have autocrossed my brothers 04 cobra, so that means I have run my fox (solid axle), an 04 cobra, and the contour. My opinion, the contour and the cobra have the best feel, the solid axle fox is very disconnected. with all the power on tap, the 04 was less loose than I would have thought.
 
I have been away a few days. I agree the solid axle setup isn' the best. maybe the mms lower arms will help some. again my point the mustang isn't a straight line car only. I am getting better each day with this car, just got to learn what it wants. you can throttle steer it but if you have to put to much wheel into it that when it wants to oversteer, you have to catch it early and just right or goodbye. It oversteers more than understeers vs the tour getting the front to not to plow was always hard, the stang you can cause some oversteer to help your turn in, not an easy option with the tour, plus having the tourqe getting out of the corner is huge. autox the tour I would brake has late has possible to keep momentom into and out of the turn to keep from loosing time, not always easy and really hard on the brakes/tires. yet another reason for giving that sport up got sick of smelling the brakes, eating tires and just beating the piss outta her.

:shrug: oh well it was fun pointing these little things out. I'm looking more forward to how the mustang can improve my driving skill in a new area of driving that I never have been involved in before, getting used to only fwd is fun but limits you. jumping into the tour is even more fun now I feel I have better control and feel that I never had before.
 
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