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Originally Posted by FastCarFanBoy
alot of praise and bashing going on about chassis when nobody has any actual data to back up those claims.
S550 chassis is garbage because its less what than alpha? and please include hard data in support.
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Simple. Drive them both. Or read the thoughts of those that do. I had the opportunity to drive the V6 Mustang vs both the Turbo and V6 Camaros around a track. It was hard to believe those cars were all within $5k of each other, because the Camaro handle and reacted like an expensive European car while the Mustang felt like an old Kia. It was wild how big of a difference there was. I seriously was not prepared for that. It heaved and dived during accel/decel; pushed like the front tires were 195s; steering didn't react to inputs; once in a bend, it lost grip suddenly - not gradually; and bumps, dips, or curbing anywhere in a turn upset the balance in a scary-fashion. Even the 2015 V6 that was there handled better, and that hadn't changed since 2010. I know this is the V6 model I'm bringing up...but come on.
It's not a matter of less/more. That's too simplistic of thinking...If that were the case, by now, 100+ years after the automobile was invented, every RWD car would be identical underneath.
No, it has everything to do with suspension geometry and design, coupled with component quality, stiffness and rigidity, and properly tuning all of these factors together for the purpose the car was meant for.
The current Mustang chassis may not be inherently "bad" in design, obviously the GT350 can handle alright...but Ford is clearly not working very hard to make the entire lineup the best it can be. Whereas the Camaro Team has purposefully integrated each of those aspects above in every trim level to varying degrees, Mustang team seems to be happy with saying "That'll do", except for the most expensive models. And even the GT350 is an extremely difficult car to align properly...though Ford (and the other manufacturers) sets their cars up real nice for the magazines, so they never know any better.
Finally, I'll say this: The Gen SIX Camaro is the pinnacle of handling and suspension engineering that GM has accomplished thus far.
It started in 2010 with the Zeta II Camaro SS. It was "ok", like everyone is accusing the Mustang of being, now. So...two years later, they used ZL1 development to redesign the stabilizer bar placement for better results - and this resulted in improvements across the entire lineup. One year after that, they upped the bar again using some very simple but effective changes to the suspension and created the 1LE package. And then they again improved with the Z/28, introducing DSSV dampers, and some hard-mounted chassis components. Each time they did that - they learned something new about making that car go around a track, and feel confident on regular roads.
Now, in Gen SIX, with the lighter, better-designed Alpha chassis...all of those lessons learned in Gen 5 are being put to use, and further improved upon. The V6 1LE turns lap times almost as quick as last gen's SS...the current SS is as quick as the old SS 1LE, the new SS 1LE tickles the Mustang GT350, and the Gen 5 ZL1...the new ZL1 outpaces the old Z/28, and the new ZL1 1LE breaks ground where no Camaro has ever been before.
The Mustang has no doubt improved...but at a much, much, much slower pace (no pun intended), and the result is what we see here. No excuses about intended targets, etc, mean anything. They owe a little better effort to their customers. The PP1 SHOULD be the way they set up the GT as standard, and hopefully this PP2 is good and can give the SS 1LE a challenge...but they're relying on DOT R tires to do it, not excellence in chassis development.
