Bink

Maybe it's a difference between the F250 and F150 as to me the Expedition handled exactly the same as my father in laws F150. Do you have a HD version? It could just be that the added weight of the 250 means it sits better on the suspension and doesn't bounce around as much (it's not exactly light now is it! )

Mr Weeze

Our expedition is certainly a bit bouncy.

Bink

I don't know how Weeze drives it on a daily basis, the thing is massive!!
It's so much bigger than my Acadia, it's unreal.

Pulaski

I think the HD version would make it an F350, and I don't recall mine being an HD. Mine is like a giant roller skate with very little roll in the corners. The only time I notice any significant movement in the springs is when I load it down with sand or gravel. Otherwise it surfs over minor roughness, and jumps over speed bumps, which depending on their profile can be quite unpleasant - the small ones are jarring, the super-wide rounded ones are much easier.

The only time I'd describe the ride as "comfortable" is on the interstate or similar major highways, unless your primary criteria for comfort is leg room (which I suspect is my mother's point as the largest car my father ever owned was a Vauxhall Astra!) because I doubt there is a vehicle this side of a stretched limo or conversion van with more leg room for five people.

It's roller skate-like qualities, combined with manual transmission and 2WD (which reduces its turning circle considerably) make it quite easy and fun to drive despite its considerable size (21½ft and over 6,000 lbs ).

RoadWarriorFromLP

Well, I would hope not. There hasn't been a Falcon in the US for almost fifty years.

It's not a question of horsepower, but of style and displacement.

A Bugatti Veyron has over 1,000 hp, but it's not a muscle car. A muscle car is a style of car, not a measure of output.

The first muscle car was the Pontiac GTO, which was essentially a Tempest with a large block V8 (389, or 6.4 liters) in place of the standard small block 326. Similar idea to the Mustang -- family car platform, with a coupe body -- but the motor was of the large block variety.

RoadWarriorFromLP

The most recent V6 Mustang is a leap above the previous ones. The new one is a credible performer.

But the speed governor is there for a reason, namely that the motor produces more torque than the transmission can handle. Removing the speed governor was stupid -- it was there for a good reason, but some gearhead thought that he knew better than the engineers who designed his car.

Mr Weeze

The problem I have is if I'm driving it on a weekend and I will drive over bumps at the speed I can in my car. Then we hear the push chair getting some air in the boot.

MostlyYank

Love GTOs.

Pulaski iirc you can get the F250 in standard and super duty trim. The super duty is actually a different truck altogether, larger in every dimension than the regular duty. It has been so for a number of years now.

But I can't imagine any f250 was built for ride

Pete

Pulaski

I just took a quick look. As of model year 1999 there was only "a F250" (same for F350 and up). All are marked "Super Duty". There had been F250's and F250HD's prior to that, but mine is a 2003, so it is a Super Duty, and there was no variants of the F250 in 2003, or subsequently.

MostlyYank

Ah so. Nice truck! I occasionally drive my employers, it's a beast. I could keep my little '91 S-10 in the back as a spare.

Pete

markonline1

I wouldn't class any of the V8's as sports cars either. The V6 model has the driveshaft problem, but all models have a rear axle rather than independent rear suspension and therefor handling and I'm guessing weight would, IMO, stop it being classed as a sports car.

S Folinsky

A lot of the terms to describe cars are somewhat amorphous. As a general rule a "sports car" will have two seats and two doors. The Corvette has always been considered a "Sports Car." That said, the two seat T-Birds [both 1955-57 and 2002-05] were not marketed as such. [BTW, I drove a 2001 Lincoln LS V-6 for three years. But for crappy fit and finish, I really liked it -- turned it in when the lease was up. The firm had leased it in the first place].

I see no mention of "roadster." The Miata would fit in that category. I used to have a 1967 Sunbeam Tiger. That had the Ford small-block V-8 and a live axle -- it was both a roadster and a sports car in my book. [It also had an English top -- one of the easier ones to "erect" but I could not figure whether one stayed drier in the rain with the top up or top down.]

I remember the original "Z" car. "Datsun" had manufactured a roadster for several years which was like a British roadster. They then came out in 1970 with the "GT" with a 2.5 liter OHC six from one of their sedans, an IRS and a sexy coupe body. And the MSRP was $3,500.00. IMHO, that one car did in the US market for British roadsters such as MG and Triumph.

Jonion

Maybe some 'gearhead' does what 'gearheads' do and tried to improve what he had.
Which, as he then found out, was very compromised product.

Fitting a speed governer because you have produced a product that is fundamentally flawed is not something any good engineer would say is a good idea.
Every manufacturer knows that there will be someone out there that pushes their product beyond what they intended. But to produce something that cannot cope with the stock engine's power characteristics in such a way is ridiculous.


Subaru once produced a vehicle in which the gearbox would fail due to the output of the engine, they redesigned the clutch to slip first, saving many expensive gearbox rebuilds,. Still not a perfect solution but far better than compromising the whole purpose of the car.

I don't know the Mustang scenario (so may research it if I get time) but I'm not sure how a speed governer can do anything anyway.
A speed governer (I'm assuming limits top speed?) cannot help in the case of producing too much torque for any other component in the drivetrain.
If that were the problem then it would happen in 1st gear under the most load. Not at a higher speed where load is much much less.

Nutmegger

Aah, memories of Fancy Smith and Jock Weir. Those were the days . . .

Jonion

Down
At least that way you weren't surprised when you got wet.

I see no reason to classify a car as a 'sportscar' based on what suspension it has fitted.
It is how it handles and behaves. Not what makes it do so.
Many cars over the years have performed extremely well with cart suspension and continue to do so even against modern set-ups.

As said, there are many terms used to group cars and not many give a cover-all as so many cars fit in different groups quite easily.