Why Civics have IRS and Mustangs don't

Yes, Detroit must be screwing up because clearly nobody is buying Mustangs

I would wager that a majority of Mustang owners don't care whether the rear is IRS or they actually prefer the solid axle. Honda doesn't have to design an IRS to take any power at all so for them it's a much easier exercise. IMO Ford did the right thing leaving the base Mustang and GT with a solid axle. If someone wants the IRS then pony up for the Cobra.

Ford knows the Mustang market very well and the fact they kept the live axle shows this. They know many Mustang owners like drag racing and the old 8.8 rear is strong and cheap to modify. It also keeps the cost of the base Mustang and GT in check which is as important as performance in keeping the car popular. I applaud Ford for what they have given us in the new model. Overall, I don't think they could have done a much better design while keeping the GT affordable.

don't know or care what kind of >rear suspension they have

WTF ??

What "majority" is Thai-Tang referring to ??

-ERIC

And this has what to do with an IRS in the rear of FWD car like a civic? Nothing. One has to go out of their way to make a non-independent rear suspension in FWD car these days. There is no reason not to have a FWD car with IRS other than to waste money and increase assembly costs. For a RWD car there are cost reasons.

And the majority of civic owners wouldn't know what rear suspension their car has either. It's called the US market, where ignorant buyers rule. This evident from the sales of fart-can mufflers alone.

It would be nice to have the IRS as a line item option however.

The majority that buys 6 clyinder mustang for sporty looks. The majority that doesn't care what rear suspension is in their civic, accord, taurus, explorer, blazer, or any other vehicle they may buy.

I don't read Car & Driver.

You did not post your message in the Honda Civic newsgroup. ¿Why?

Davïd Greenville, NC

You know.... that group of people who buy the most Mustangs. Most people don't have a clue how their car is built, they just take it for a test drive and pick a color they like. Even most of the people who frequent discussion groups like this don't care about IRS. I doubt that you'll find 10,000 people who care about IRS. That leaves the other 160,000 annual buyers to be the majority he was referring to.

Uh, sure we do...

- f/r dbl wishbone

- f/r stabilizers

- front torsion

- 4-wheel disk

- V-rated Michelin Pilots

Ok, ok. So I don't know what hardly any of this means (nor do I care, really), nor do I know what IRS (independent rear suspension?) is. Hell, I never even changed my own oil in this car since I bought it new almost 5 years ago.

But if my Civic has IRS as stated in the title of this thread, then I guess that's a good thing. It does handle quite well for an econobox, IMHO. ;-)

Only 'we' as people who are interested in cars.

Ask the average college girl driving a civic what rear suspension her car asks. That's the majority of the US market. Be it mustangs, civics, or even diablos.

In a few years it may become the standard rear end and the solid axle might be the option. It wouldn't surprise me if this happens.

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have posted on this thread.

There was absolutely no sarcasm in my post. I am part of that "majority" and I agree with you.

Frankly, I wish they'd take some of the CRAP out of most cars. Power this and that. Seems you can't just buy a plain old car anymore without having to buy a stripped down KIA POS. Apparently people want the thing to wipe your ass for you cause they keep on buying them. Just more crap to break. I do understand what your saying, an IRS would be an asset but as others have said it would be a nice option without having to buy a Cobra. I don't understand the Civic comparo, my wifes '97 Escort wagon has IRS but I doubt it would be much of a contest as to which car I'd rather have.

StuK TS#11

Well, it does make sense somewhat. V6 owners really don't care about this (exceptions there of course). If they did, they would have bought a V8. Therefor I think the V6 should be solid axle, and all v8's should have an optional IRS. Don't want it then don't order it. simple.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

I agree. They don't even know what the difference is.

Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

With you there, why have a power seat (weighs more) then not have a 2 position memory? It takes days to get the seat back to where I like it once it's been moved. With a manual seat it's easy to count the detents to put it where it belongs. I like the seats in the Cobra, but I don't need the power crap and still liked the seats in my '89 GT better. Although, I couldn't do without power windows. I need to get another one toutch down module from Tim for the passenger side. I should have yanked the one from my '00 GT before I traded it in.

If the chassis can accomodate both irs and live axle, why doesn't Ford offer the irs as an option and let the buyer decide what rear suspension to get, rather than shoving the live axle down our throats. I think it's more than just cost and dragster preference. It doesn't cost that much more to make an irs. They probably want to maintain cobra's exclusivity. If you can get an irs GT, that's one less reason to fork out the extra $$$$$$ to get a cobra. And with 300 HP and irs, i would think the GT's performance would be pretty close to the cobra, especially for 99% of driving conditions. Anyway, shame on Ford for giving us an irs expedition and not an irs GT.

Raffi

An IRS might not cost much more than the live axle, but the warranty cost is also a factor. The Cobra IRS in it's current form is like a fuse between the drivetrain and the road, POP, there goes another half shaft. I don't think the new unit, although better engineered, will be any stronger. I also don't think Ford wants the warranty problems of tens of thousands of GT owners breaking halfshafts. It's hard to break a solid rear, and with a little modification they will out handle the stock IRS. There's also the overhead issue; the V6 and GT can only be ordered in two basic configurations, standard and premium, and have few other options available. Ford did this to lower production costs.