why isnt the battery in the trunk?

[huggytree]

i know one handling issue the Gt500 has VS the ZL1 is balance....why didnt Ford put the battery in the trunk to help balance the car better....i think the ZL1 is a perfect 50/50 isnt it? while the Gt500 is 48/52ish

seems like a no brainer since there's that big space where the spare should go

my SRT Challenger's battery is in the trunk....i thought it was just a basic thing that all performance cars have...i was shocked to see it under the hood

more weight over the rear tires may have helped too

 

[Snorman]

Because it adds weight, complexity and cost.
S.

 

[Chris!]

Because it adds weight, complexity and cost.
S.

True.
Gotta remember at its soul- the gt500 is still a basic mustang.

There are multiple things we all wish they did differently- but that's what mods are for

 

[Snorman]

True.
Gotta remember at its soul- the gt500 is still a basic mustang.

There are multiple things we all wish they did differently- but that's what mods are for

That's not to say that I don't agree with huggytree completely. I'd like to see it somewhere in the trunk, preferably over the right rear tire.
But to properly enclose it, wire it to the starter basically the length of the car, etc., etc. isn't something that Ford did with the S197. It will be interesting to see if they push for a more 50/50 weight distribution with the new car.
S.

 

[Devious_Snake]

The zl1 is not a perfect 50/50, its like 52F/48R. The shelby is more like 56F/44R. I agree better balance would be ideal, some suspension upgrades, more tire and losing some weight up front is easily done if thats your intent.


I predict the newer car will be better balanced, one main reason is it will have IRS in the rear which adds weight over a solid rear axle. Plus the 5.0 engine is much lighter than the 5.8

 

[93 347 Cobra]

Great thread, I've been thinking the same thing. Why not move the 40ish pounds to the back? What's the best kit to accomplish this?

 

[huggytree]

my SRT Challenger battery is on the right side in the trunk..right where it should be....i believe this is a SRT thing....i think the RT and SXT Challengers have the battery up front.....

so Dodge did the battery right and the hood struts right .......Ford did everything else better

what could it have cost them....really??? $100-150 to move it to the back.....maybe it would be good for .05th off their 0-60

 

[Nickoli]

I would do this in a hart beat like I did on my 06 car. However, I do not want to have a kill switch on the back of my Shelby to make it pass NHRA tech when I go to the track.

 

[BAS]

I have a bass tube over my right rear. Balance is great

 

[Fox-4]

my SRT Challenger battery is on the right side in the trunk..right where it should be....i believe this is a SRT thing....i think the RT and SXT Challengers have the battery up front.....

so Dodge did the battery right and the hood struts right .......Ford did everything else better

what could it have cost them....really??? $100-150 to move it to the back.....maybe it would be good for .05th off their 0-60

I believe all the Charger/Challenger/300 models have their batteries in the trunk.
The parents where looking at them back in 05 and the dealer was making a big stink on how awesome that is. :rollseyes

It would have been nice if Ford put the battery in the back starting with the New Edge cars.

 

[BOD89LX]

my SRT Challenger battery is on the right side in the trunk..right where it should be....i believe this is a SRT thing....i think the RT and SXT Challengers have the battery up front.....

so Dodge did the battery right and the hood struts right .......Ford did everything else better

what could it have cost them....really??? $100-150 to move it to the back.....maybe it would be good for .05th off their 0-60

So take $100 x 100,000 mustangs and you get $10,000,000 to move it to the trunk for no reason in the eyes of the bean counters. Makes it easy to see why they didnt change it. Also the factory sub box mounts in the right rear of the car so they would also have had to move that too.

 

[huggytree]

if your going all out to make a performance car like the Shelby then moving the battery to the trunk is a no brainer and worth the $100 extra

 

[Snorman]

Yeah, but the Mustang isn't really designed as an "all out performance car", despite the performance of the GT500.
I would also suspect the cost delta would be well in excess of $100. Bear in mind, because of the folding rear seats, it would need to have a sealed compartment. Plus cable, relays, required crash testing, etc. and it would all add up quickly.
S.

 

[ON D BIT]

i know one handling issue the Gt500 has VS the ZL1 is balance....why didnt Ford put the battery in the trunk to help balance the car better....i think the ZL1 is a perfect 50/50 isnt it? while the Gt500 is 48/52ish

seems like a no brainer since there's that big space where the spare should go

my SRT Challenger's battery is in the trunk....i thought it was just a basic thing that all performance cars have...i was shocked to see it under the hood

more weight over the rear tires may have helped too

I am a little confused?

You are complaining that Ford should have balanced the GT500 for better performance. Then you complain that Ford should have given you the option to add weight to your car to delete performance.

What do you want? Better performance or less performance?:??:

 

[Blown_By_You]

My lincoln Ls has the battery in the trunk and it weighs a lot less than a gt500 lol

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[huggytree]

I am a little confused?

You are complaining that Ford should have balanced the GT500 for better performance. Then you complain that Ford should have given you the option to add weight to your car to delete performance.

What do you want? Better performance or less performance?:??:

the 3lbs of extra wires would be a good trade for 40lbs over the back wheels and the extra balance (front to back) it would create...

performance would be enhanced (very slightly), not deleted

im not really complaining.......im just finding it odd on such an extreme Ford Supercar

im sure the difference is something that wouldnt even be measurable.......typically Supercars have tons of 'special' things to make them just a tiny bit faster.....as 1 item they dont mean much, but add them all up and you gained a 1/2 a second 0-60...example (carbon fiber driveshaft)......look at all that money just to save a few lbs and eliminate some vibration at 202 mph (which none of us will ever do).....moving the battery to the trunk for the extra 40lbs of weight to help traction and balance the car seems like the kinda thing a Shelby would have.


im not complaining!!!!!




PS---where is the battery on a ZL1 what about a SS??

 

[PRP]

That's not to say that I don't agree with huggytree completely. I'd like to see it somewhere in the trunk, preferably over the right rear tire.
S.

The farther behind the rear axle you can put it, the better off you are. You get the "Lever/Fulcrum" effect with the rear axle as the fulcrum.

So for instance, you could remove a 40lb battery from the engine compartment (they used to be AHEAD of the front axle), place it 3 feet behind the rear axle up against the rear of the trunk (if 3' is possible) and the end result would be a 60lb lighter front axle weight (numbers are loosely stated) because the battery behind the axle is actually 'lifting up' the front end.

That's a OLLLLLLD drag racing trick.


Phill

 

[Cam]

my SRT Challenger battery is on the right side in the trunk..right where it should be....i believe this is a SRT thing....i think the RT and SXT Challengers have the battery up front.....

so Dodge did the battery right and the hood struts right .......Ford did everything else better

what could it have cost them....really??? $100-150 to move it to the back.....maybe it would be good for .05th off their 0-60

R/T is also in the trunk, I doubt the SXT has it up front.

 

[Snorman]

The farther behind the rear axle you can put it, the better off you are. You get the "Lever/Fulcrum" effect with the rear axle as the fulcrum.

So for instance, you could remove a 40lb battery from the engine compartment (they used to be AHEAD of the front axle), place it 3 feet behind the rear axle up against the rear of the trunk (if 3' is possible) and the end result would be a 60lb lighter front axle weight (numbers are loosely stated) because the battery behind the axle is actually 'lifting up' the front end.

That's a OLLLLLLD drag racing trick.


Phill

Maybe from a drag racing standpoint, but from a handling standpoint I would imagine a mass of weight set far behind the rear axle could not be a good thing.
S.

 

[Myfast70]

im just finding it odd on such an extreme Ford Supercar

im not complaining

I hate to say this but the GT500 is not an "Extreme Supercar" as you put it. It's just a glorified Mustang (even though I still own one).

Sure sounds like your complaining.

Maybe you need to start up 10 other threads while you're at it picking the car apart.