Wonder what happened to the Cobra's IRS?

It seems that there are more and more indications that the '07 Cobra will NOT have an IRS. According to the rumor mill.....this is not by Ford's/SVT's , choice. Ford had every intention of equipping Cobras with IRS, (maybe still does). The issue is engineering.

Ford is having trouble engineering an IRS that won't break in the Cobra.

Frankly, I'd be hard pressed to spend $40K on a car which can only go in a straight line.

BTW, did you know that the Mustang's front suspension is based off the Mazda3?
http://www.searchspaniel.com/index.php/Ford_D2C_platform

That just seems odd to me that the Ford engineers can't develope an IRS that will not break. Chevy can do it with the Corvette (ZO6) so why can't Ford? I guess the only reason would be that the cost would be so high that it places the car far outside the projected price point.

I guess at least it speaks well for the amount of power the thing will be putting out if it's snapping half shafts like string. :)

I've seen both normal C5s and C5 Z06s break half-shafts on the track with sticky tires, so they are not unbreakable. However, I think it is obvious that the Ford IRS has a much more common issue with breakage.

Regardless, being of the drag racing persuasion, I love the live axle. Bring it on! :)

I wonder how this would go over in the Mustang community. Drag racers will rejoice, but let's remember how our 4th Gens were put down as "antiques" in the 20th century with our setups.

In my book as long as it still can hold it's own on a road course live axle is fine by me. The ride comfort between the two is pretty neglible in my book.

I think you have found "old news".
Last reports are that the Cobra will have live axle standard and IRS optional.
Ford does/can make an IRS to handle 475hp - not really a problem, given the developmental work done on the Ford GT, the Shelby Cobra Coupe, and the GR1, all of which boast more than the estimated 500 FWHP Cobra.

The trick will be making it affordable and light weight while fitting into the D2C platform.

My bets are on both types being available. ;)

I think they'll be some sort of option like pony said.

I couldn't care either way as long as the Cobra takes turns pretty well. Ride quality and such were never a real concern for me.

From what I understand the IRS tests they did showed that it significantly reduced chasis regidity. It ended up almost equal with the last gen mustang.

I'm curious how a suspension component affects chassis rigidity :confused:

actually, thats what i read too.. in Motortrend? it didn't make any sense to me either, but then again I don't know too much about the subject.


perhaps how the IRS needs to be mounted up, would put more stress/different stress on points of the chassis, which would need to be beefed up to handle it, since you no longer have a solid rear axle somewhat balancing out the loads? LIke perhaps there's no good place to solidly mount the center diff in place without adding lots of extra bracing?

or simply they don't have a parts bin IRS that will take the abuse, that would cleanly fit in the back of the Mustang without major cutting and mods..

A Ford 8.8 IRS has a hell of a lot more strength than any transaxle GM has on any car.

perhaps how the IRS needs to be mounted up, would put more stress/different stress on points of the chassis, which would need to be beefed up to handle it, since you no longer have a solid rear axle somewhat balancing out the loads? LIke perhaps there's no good place to solidly mount the center diff in place without adding lots of extra bracing?

or simply they don't have a parts bin IRS that will take the abuse, that would cleanly fit in the back of the Mustang without major cutting and mods..


Maybe no IRS due to the fact the Lincoln LS might not go on D2C? ;)


(I quoted the wrong persons post first time round)

A Ford 8.8 IRS has a hell of a lot more strength than any transaxle GM has on any car.

The 03/04 cobra IRS was nothing special. They were not that strong and wheel hop was a major issue.

I've seen both normal C5s and C5 Z06s break half-shafts on the track with sticky tires, so they are not unbreakable. However, I think it is obvious that the Ford IRS has a much more common issue with breakage.

Regardless, being of the drag racing persuasion, I love the live axle. Bring it on! :)

Right you are Bob. The design intent for the rear suspension for Corvette isn't aimed for sticky tire, hi RPM launchs that is a strong part of sixty footing in drag racing.

I'm sure Ford is looking at money and customer expectation. Maybe they see wisdom in offering the drag racing customer that isn't all the attuned to handling advantages of IRS what is better suited and less a warranty liability. It's a profit incentive. I don't think the last Cobra's appeal had much to do with handling. I see it as a smart move on Ford's part.

Here's acouple of things I've been thinking about.

IF Camaro ends up with a Sigma suspension, can you imagine how far superior Camaro's chassis dynamics would be, compared to Mustang's strut/solid axle setup? There would simply be no comparison.

Strange though, since Ford product guru, Phil Martens, announced in an interview at the Detroit show, that substantial suspension upgrades are being planned for Mustang's mid-cycle enhancement, including IRS ....across the board.

I wonder if we're not the victim of some sort of Ford disinformation campaign. Ford knows that Zeta is in the middle of a sweeping review. They know that what Zeta will or will not evolve into....will be decided over the next 6 months. Maybe this is all a feint....trying to get GM to commit Zeta to a low end suspension....since some GM product planners will argue, Mustang has a third world suspension, so Camaro doesn't need to spend much money to get much better. All the while, Mustang has a world class chassis in the works. :think:

Here's acouple of things I've been thinking about.

IF Camaro ends up with a Sigma suspension, can you imagine how far superior Camaro's chassis dynamics would be, compared to Mustang's strut/solid axle setup? There would simply be no comparison.

Strange though, since Ford product guru, Phil Martens, announced in an interview at the Detroit show, that substantial suspension upgrades are being planned for Mustang's mid-cycle enhancement, including IRS ....across the board.

I wonder if we're not the victim of some sort of Ford disinformation campaign. Ford knows that Zeta is in the middle of a sweeping review. They know that what Zeta will or will not evolve into....will be decided over the next 6 months. Maybe this is all a feint....trying to get GM to commit Zeta to a low end suspension....since some GM product planners will argue, Mustang has a third world suspension, so Camaro doesn't need to spend much money to get much better. All the while, Mustang has a world class chassis in the works. :think:

You never know. Remember when Ford said the F-150 will have a tow rating of 9,500 or so lbs and Nissan matched them with their then new Titan? Turned out Ford did that to throw them off gaurd, and the F-150 was actually rated at around 9,900 or so lbs.

Personally, i can't picture Cobra with a "third world" suspension. Especially after SVT has been going on about how they want to model SVT after BMW's M, and how the new chassis will allow them to turn the Cobra into a world class car, and blah blah.