hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (02/03/86)
Eli didn't want to write it up himself, so here I am with the long-ignored
review of his shiny new car. Flames to eli@cvl.
After 126 arduous days of waiting, the Mustang finally arrived last Friday.
And here are our joint impressions after three days of blasting about.
1986 Mustang GT 3-door hatchback; silver exterior, red interior; A/C, premium
sound system, power windows, power door locks & convenience group, rear-window
defogger, tinted glass, sunroof (all options except two-tone paint, auto-trans,
and engine block heater); 5.0 L SFI V8 (sequential injection, tuned-intake,
true-dual low-restriction stainless steel tuned exhaust, EEC-IV control)
Price: ~12,600 (base sticker ~10,500., sugg. price ~13,600)
Mileage: Can't remember exactly but the EPA figures were about 18 and 25.
Under hard acceleration, the numbers drop like a rock to about 12 in mixed
driving. Expect 17 typical.
Caveats: somewhat plastic inside. seat bolsters have a tiny amount of play in
them. upshift light (hah!) doesn't work. there are two do-nothing tubes in
the firewall one of which serves only to slowly drip runoff water onto the
exhaust manifold, creating periodic hissing sounds.
Overall impressions: unbelievable what 285 ft-lbs of torque can do in a
sub-compact. Handling is a bit tail-happy; otherwise neutral.
Acceleration: after figuring out how to control the awesome wheelspin this
thing can produce, first normal run, two passengers + driver, regular unleaded,
shifting early (we're still in break in!) 0-60 in 6.7 sec. 6.0 looks very
achievable with no passengers, premium unleaded, a broken-in engine, and
if we shift late. Curious how it'll perform with 50-series tires.
Handling: Goodyear Eagles don't seem to be up to par with this car. Back end
is too easy to cut loose around turns. The lateral forces just build up
and give out all at once, making you wish it wouldn't ever rain so you could
hang Yokohamas on it and be done with. Thanks to quadra-shocks, the car
refuses to squat down under hard acceleration; you simply feel pinned to your
seat. (for you Wabbit owners who are more curious about this feeling, lie down
on the floor and try to reach your chandelier. And you Saab people who've been
feebly cutting off Eli's dying Oldsmobile, you'd better defend yourselves :-))
And now some quick notes about the rest of the car.
Steering: much tighter than any other power steering I've ever driven. Makes
my T-bird feel like a boat. Responds instantly.
Transmission: self-adjusting clutch pedal has a very strong spring on it. This
is more than offset by the fact that my bloodstream has a lot of adrenaline in
it. T-5 shifter has incredibly short throws; you never know what gear you're
in unless you try to shift one way and find that neutral is the other way. We
think this car builds upper-body strength in its drivers...you feel this urge
to leave your right hand on the stick. If you're sloppy, you can easily miss
third and end up in fifth. Not that the engine cares...it just pulls you
right along.
In fact, not realizing that it wasn't in first, Eli got the thing moving in
third and didn't find out until he tried to shift into fourth. Uh, make that
he tried to shift into second. No, wait, uh, you get the picture. Power.
Overall, the engine is unbelievable. Unbelievably loud, too. The passenger
compartment is filled with both the throaty sound of the exhaust, as well as
with the humming of the engine trying to escape its mountings. Pure joy to
a driver, it makes you wonder if a radio is useful at all. On the down side,
the engine sound is so penetrating, it makes you feel like you're crawling
along even when you've long since pinned the needle. I kid you not. 35 and 85
sound and feel about the same. And if the top speed is really over 135 as they
say, you just can't help but be curious what that feels like.
The little plastic pieces everywhere make it feel cheap inside, somehow, and
the whole thing is somewhat front-heavy and tail-happy. But passing people
climbing a steep incline in second gear AND STILL ACCELERATING HARD is the
kind of thing that will keep cubic inches alive. No, it's not the next-door
neighbor's Charger R/T which can uproot buildings, but it's a terribly nice
package for the price and it corners somewhat better, too.
dying to drive about again,
-dave
--
David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department
<disclaimer> University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET
"Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern, you've done it now, buddy..."
-Ernest P. Worrellmr@homxb.UUCP (mark) (02/04/86)
> Eli didn't want to write it up himself, so here I am with the long-ignored > review of his shiny new car. Flames to eli@cvl. > > After 126 arduous days of waiting, the Mustang finally arrived last Friday. > And here are our joint impressions after three days of blasting about. > > 1986 Mustang GT 3-door hatchback; silver exterior, red interior; A/C, premium > sound system, power windows, power door locks & convenience group, rear-window > defogger, tinted glass, sunroof (all options except two-tone paint, auto-trans Its a good idea NOT to get the T-roof as it reduces the structural rigidity of the car. > and engine block heater); 5.0 L SFI V8 (sequential injection, tuned-intake, > true-dual low-restriction stainless steel tuned exhaust, EEC-IV control) > > Price: ~12,600 (base sticker ~10,500., sugg. price ~13,600) > > Mileage: Can't remember exactly but the EPA figures were about 18 and 25. > Under hard acceleration, the numbers drop like a rock to about 12 in mixed > driving. Expect 17 typical. > > Caveats: somewhat plastic inside. seat bolsters have a tiny amount of play in > them. upshift light (hah!) doesn't work. there are two do-nothing tubes in > the firewall one of which serves only to slowly drip runoff water onto the > exhaust manifold, creating periodic hissing sounds. > > Overall impressions: unbelievable what 285 ft-lbs of torque can do in a > sub-compact. Handling is a bit tail-happy; otherwise neutral. I have an '85. Yes, the car is a bit tail happy and I warn you to be careful in the rain. Don't even try to drive in the snow, it slides all over. > Acceleration: after figuring out how to control the awesome wheelspin this > thing can produce, first normal run, two passengers + driver, regular unleaded, > shifting early (we're still in break in!) 0-60 in 6.7 sec. 6.0 looks very I have the old carbureted engine and can get about 6.2 average, once I got 6.0 but it must have been under good conditions. (I use Premium Unleaded) > achievable with no passengers, premium unleaded, a broken-in engine, and > if we shift late. Curious how it'll perform with 50-series tires. 50-series tires are probably a good idea. The Goodyear gatorbacks have been rated as the worst performance tire. When I got the car I was under the impression that the Gatorbacks were the best tires, boy was I wrong. The Gatorback VR-S tires are very good but extremely expensive and have a short lifespan (especially with the type of driving we do). > Handling: Goodyear Eagles don't seem to be up to par with this car. Back end > is too easy to cut loose around turns. The lateral forces just build up > and give out all at once, making you wish it wouldn't ever rain so you could > hang Yokohamas on it and be done with. Thanks to quadra-shocks, the car > refuses to squat down under hard acceleration; you simply feel pinned to your > seat. (for you Wabbit owners who are more curious about this feeling, lie down > on the floor and try to reach your chandelier. And you Saab people who've been > feebly cutting off Eli's dying Oldsmobile, you'd better defend yourselves :-)) > > And now some quick notes about the rest of the car. > > Steering: much tighter than any other power steering I've ever driven. Makes > my T-bird feel like a boat. Responds instantly. Yes the steering is great, but I whink the steering wheel is a bit too far out from the dash (only a bit). > Transmission: self-adjusting clutch pedal has a very strong spring on it. This It is not that strong, Did you ever press on the clutch of a Ferrari or Lambourghini :-) > is more than offset by the fact that my bloodstream has a lot of adrenaline in > it. T-5 shifter has incredibly short throws; you never know what gear you're > in unless you try to shift one way and find that neutral is the other way. We You will get used to it in time. I had a terrible problem after about a month, My shifter linkage came loose in my hands and it was extremely difficult to shift. (i.e. To find the gear) I brought it in and they said that the 4 or so bolts were not tightened enough at the factory. That was scary. > think this car builds upper-body strength in its drivers...you feel this urge > to leave your right hand on the stick. If you're sloppy, you can easily miss > third and end up in fifth. Not that the engine cares...it just pulls you > right along. > > In fact, not realizing that it wasn't in first, Eli got the thing moving in > third and didn't find out until he tried to shift into fourth. Uh, make that > he tried to shift into second. No, wait, uh, you get the picture. Power. > > Overall, the engine is unbelievable. Unbelievably loud, too. The passenger > compartment is filled with both the throaty sound of the exhaust, as well as > with the humming of the engine trying to escape its mountings. Pure joy to > a driver, it makes you wonder if a radio is useful at all. On the down side, Turn up the volume, and split it 65% rear, 35% front. > the engine sound is so penetrating, it makes you feel like you're crawling > along even when you've long since pinned the needle. I kid you not. 35 and 85 > sound and feel about the same. And if the top speed is really over 135 as they > say, you just can't help but be curious what that feels like. This is true. 35 sounds and Feels the same as 85. In fact 125 feels the same, The engine is only turning 3300 rpm. I got the 3.08 ratio at the rear. > > The little plastic pieces everywhere make it feel cheap inside, somehow, and > the whole thing is somewhat front-heavy and tail-happy. But passing people > climbing a steep incline in second gear AND STILL ACCELERATING HARD is the > kind of thing that will keep cubic inches alive. No, it's not the next-door > neighbor's Charger R/T which can uproot buildings, but it's a terribly nice > package for the price and it corners somewhat better, too. > > dying to drive about again, > -dave > -- > David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department > <disclaimer> University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 > hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET > "Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern, you've done it now, buddy..." > -Ernest P. Worrell Mark homxb!mr
tohaapanen@watrose.UUCP (Tom Haapanen) (02/05/86)
No flames, just a comparison... >1986 Mustang GT 3-door hatchback; silver exterior, red interior; A/C, premium >sound system, power windows, power door locks & convenience group, rear-window >defogger, tinted glass, sunroof (all options except two-tone paint, auto-trans, >and engine block heater); 5.0 L SFI V8 (sequential injection, tuned-intake, >true-dual low-restriction stainless steel tuned exhaust, EEC-IV control) > >Price: ~12,600 (base sticker ~10,500., sugg. price ~13,600) 1986 VW GTI 3-door hatchback; red exterior, grey interior; sunroof, power steering, cruise control; 1.8L KE-Jetronic Price: ~8,800 (base 8,900, list 9,500) [prices in US$] >Mileage: Expect 17 typical. Mileage: After two weeks, trip computer says 8.8 L/100 km ~= 26 mpg (US). And that's driving hard. >Caveats: upshift light (hah!) doesn't work. Works on the GTI. Using it, I managed to get 39 mpg (!) around town. At that point the pussyfooting is getting ridiculous though. >Overall impressions: unbelievable what 285 ft-lbs of torque can do in a >sub-compact. Handling is a bit tail-happy; otherwise neutral. Subcompact!?!? According to the EPA, the GTI is a *compact*. The Mustang weighs probably 50% more, although it's true that it probably has a lot less interior room. Two 6'1" adults sit comfortably in the back seat of the GTI. >Acceleration: 0-60 in 6.7 sec. Ah, well, ah, the GTI is only barely into the single digits... >..., premium unleaded, ... I didn't think that the Mustang's fuel injection could take advantage of higher octane ratings. Am I wrong? Or were you intending to advance your ignition timing? >Handling: Goodyear Eagles don't seem to be up to par with this car. Back end >is too easy to cut loose around turns. The lateral forces just build up >and give out all at once... The GTI is very contollable on the limits. The Pirelli P600's supplied with the car are very good, if not quite up to the standards of the Eagle VR 'S'. But the weight of the car may have something to do with it too... >..(for you Wabbit owners who are more curious about this feeling... With my superior traction and lighter car, I could probably tie a new Mustang at a stoplight grand prix. Check out the 0-40 mph acceleration times... The skidpad figures might make interesting reading too! >Steering: much tighter than any other power steering I've ever driven. Makes >my T-bird feel like a boat. Responds instantly. Try the GTI sometime. Feels just like driving a non-assisted rack-and-pinion steering. \tom haapanen watmath!watrose!haapanen I'm all lost in the Supermarket I can no longer shop happily I came in here for that special offer Guaranteed personality (c) The Clash, 1979