Any whispers of a refreshed Ecoboost 2.3?

[SchwermoRacing]

Asking here since it's more active than the actual 2.3 boards or the 2.3 section of SVTP.

Has anyone heard a whisper or rumor of the 2.3 getting refreshed soon? I'd like to get back into a Mustang and have been thinking of a red 2.3T with perf pkg and 6spd, but if it's going to be updated in 2018 I'll just hold off.

I'd LOVE to hear that an SVO(with near GT numbers) is on the way or new Mach1 (N/A 5.8 please?), but really I'm not holding hopes.

[DSG2003Mach1]

im not real active with the rumor mill chasing crowd but I havent seen anything come up about changes to the 2.3

[ab_mach1]

I've heard the current setup output has been inconsistent in HP/TQ numbers in stock form. That is what I've heard on the few youtube videos I've seen anyway, so that may be BS. Has anyone else heard that? I read the 2017 numbers as 310HP/320TQ. I thought the 2015's were 310HP/340TQ. Is that not true? I'm curious what numbers a refresh might be at.

[SchwermoRacing]

Originally Posted by eruza

I've heard the current setup output has been inconsistent in HP/TQ numbers in stock form. That is what I've heard on the few youtube videos I've seen anyway, so that may be BS. Has anyone else heard that? I read the 2017 numbers as 310HP/320TQ. I thought the 2015's were 310HP/340TQ. Is that not true? I'm curious what numbers a refresh might be at.

I have heard a similar thing and I think Fords official response was that the original test cars that magazines had did not have "finalized" tuning and that being turbos the outside temp and altitude impact it more.

Basically saying that "the finalized tune is less aggressive, and it's hotter out now than when you originally tested."

I don't think any place has flat out tested an early 2015 vs a 16 or 17, just compared numbers from past tests.

[4valve 4tw?]

There, by logic and reasoning, is only a tiny margin of improvement that can be had. The cap for that is 350/350, that of the Focus RS. That motor is specifically designed for it with an upgraded turbo, etc, and a bit higher powerband(peak hp up 900rpms, tq up 500rpms). That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room, and the RS is not just a retune, it uses specific parts, which likely will never carry over to the Mustang.

Further complicating that is Ford already offers a performance pack(intake/tune) for $700 plus instillation, and when installed by a dealer is factory warrantied. +25 peak hp and +75 peak lb-ft, with a boost over most the powerband. If that sounds good to you, probably $1000 installed since it's just an intake/tune, then that's your ticket.

Further further complicating things, is that supposedly a dealer looked at a future ordering program and saw no mention of being able to order a V6 Mustang for 2018. That's not confirmed, but it also wouldn't surprise me. So with that in mind, if you're not paying up for the GT, you'll have to buy an ecoboost. That combined with the performance pack Ford Racing offers, and Ford probably won't see a whole lot of reason to update them because if you want a Mustang you'll buy it, updates or not.

Personally, I still don't see a reason to buy any 6th gen. It may be a better "car" then the 11-14, but it's not a full blown better "performance car." Even compared to the new ecoboosts(pushing $35k by the way if you want one with leather), I'd rather save a ton of money and get an 11-14 V6. Performance pack too if you want it.

[SchwermoRacing]

Originally Posted by 4valve 4tw?

There, by logic and reasoning, is only a tiny margin of improvement that can be had. The cap for that is 350/350, that of the Focus RS. That motor is specifically designed for it with an upgraded turbo, etc, and a bit higher powerband(peak hp up 900rpms, tq up 500rpms). That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room, and the RS is not just a retune, it uses specific parts, which likely will never carry over to the Mustang.

Further complicating that is Ford already offers a performance pack(intake/tune) for $700 plus instillation, and when installed by a dealer is factory warrantied. +25 peak hp and +75 peak lb-ft, with a boost over most the powerband. If that sounds good to you, probably $1000 installed since it's just an intake/tune, then that's your ticket.

Further further complicating things, is that supposedly a dealer looked at a future ordering program and saw no mention of being able to order a V6 Mustang for 2018. That's not confirmed, but it also wouldn't surprise me. So with that in mind, if you're not paying up for the GT, you'll have to buy an ecoboost. That combined with the performance pack Ford Racing offers, and Ford probably won't see a whole lot of reason to update them because if you want a Mustang you'll buy it, updates or not.

Personally, I still don't see a reason to buy any 6th gen. It may be a better "car" then the 11-14, but it's not a full blown better "performance car." Even compared to the new ecoboosts(pushing $35k by the way if you want one with leather), I'd rather save a ton of money and get an 11-14 V6. Performance pack too if you want it.

First, logic and reasoning does not have anything to do with physics. A lot more than 350/350 can be had out of the 2.3 The fact they have a 400HP race version proves that and that people are already getting 380/390 from the RS with JUST a tune. They are also getting over 330/420 with the stock Mustang 2.3. The Ford tune is VERY conservative.

Second, I'd keep my Altima before buying a v6 Mustang. The Ecoboost is better out of the box in performance, MPG and modability. I can also get a 15-16 Ecoboost with Perf Pkg for under 30k, and a lightly used one for 25-26K.

Third, anyone can install the Ford tune/intake and not void warranty. Any fault with the car has to be caused on the mis-install of said parts. You can do it in your garage and still be fully covered as long as you install it properly.

[4valve 4tw?]

Originally Posted by SchwermoRacing

First, logic and reasoning does not have anything to do with physics. A lot more than 350/350 can be had out of the 2.3 The fact they have a 400HP race version proves that and that people are already getting 380/390 from the RS with JUST a tune. They are also getting over 330/420 with the stock Mustang 2.3. The Ford tune is VERY conservative.
Not sure what you're getting at? I understand that they aren't maxed out stock, Evo's and STI's with genuine performance motors made 500hp years ago with little effort. First gen Eclipse/Laser/Talon's could push 500hp... though the rest of the cars didn't stay together usually. There's just no reason they'd sell an Ecoboost Mustang over 350hp. It's not hp limited, its "lineup limited" below the Focus RS.
Second, I'd keep my Altima before buying a v6 Mustang. The Ecoboost is better out of the box in performance, MPG and modability. I can also get a 15-16 Ecoboost with Perf Pkg for under 30k, and a lightly used one for 25-26K.
The 6th gen V6 was intentionally handicapped to bolster Ecoboost sales. You can't even get a V6 premium anymore. However, as I said I was speaking about the 11-14 V6 performance pack. Yes, upping the boost ups the hp in the Ecoboost considerably, but go check apples to apples tests of the old V6/Ecoboost performance packs. Considering the host of upgrades the new car received, it is only fractionally better, if that in some categories. Real world MPG is also up for debate if we're being honest. It is simply not a $10k better car to me. Take some of that money and add a supercharge alone to the V6, and you're making some serious power(around $6k and 400+whp), and have a genuine rev happy motor, unlike the Ecoboost.
Third, anyone can install the Ford tune/intake and not void warranty. Any fault with the car has to be caused on the mis-install of said parts. You can do it in your garage and still be fully covered as long as you install it properly.
You can do that absolutely, and then fight about it afterwards if something goes wrong. Yes, Magnusson-Moss act and all that, but at the end of the day, many people have fought dealers on warranties and it's never cheap. If the dealer says you screwed up, hope you have a step-by-step video proving you didn't. I don't like paying the dealer for much of anything, but that little bit of insurance might actually be worth it in this case.

You're staunchly defending the Ecoboost, so you obviously want one and there's nothing wrong with that. Get it and I hope you love it. Just know what you're getting VS what's out there. Even being a nearly new car, it's not worth more then $20k to me personally. It's price new was artificially inflated by limiting the V6, the market is absolutely flooded with them, and the 6th gen is not a leaps and bounds a better performance car then the 5th gen. Better commuter car no doubt, but not an absolutely better performance car.

[TKat13]

I have the advantage of having both a GT Premium (California Special, wife's car) and an Ecoboost Premium (Daughter's car). Neither has the performance pack but the GT does have the higher grade audio system.

Performance: Hands down, GT. The torque from a stop is just incredible, but I do have exhaust, CAI and a tune. However the ecoboost is not far from the stock performance of the Mach, sorry guys. Drove a tuned Ecoboost and it really wakes up, the Mach will still walk it mainly because how heavy the new cars are. The GT gets loose between shifts, the ecoboost does not. But, if you are buying a new mustang for only performance reasons, stop reading now and just buy the GT.

Sheer comfort on the road, both are equal. As far as the price, I agree that the ecoboosts are flooded, but this is good for the consumer as my daughter's was more than 6k off the MSRP, my wife's had no where near the discounts.

Handling: I hate to say it but the Ecoboost does corner better, but normal driving you would never know. (both cars have the same size wheels and exactly the same tires).

MPG: if that's your thing.
GT Wife driving 17.6 MPG
Ecoboost Daughter driving (only 300 miles on car) ~17 MPG, all city no highway.
GT Me driving 22-24 MPG depending how many WOT pulls I do, if I am not at WOT I am easy on the car.
Ecoboost Me driving, never reached above 50MPG (city), 26MPG.

Showed my daughter how to drive with a light foot and now she is getting 23 MPG.

Goes to show, no matter what the car is, MPG is more dependent on the driver than the car. I have not taken the ecoboost on a trip yet, can't pry it from my daughter's hands long enough.

Will let you know once she saves some money and starts to add some performance to the ecoboost.

Now, if I was to buy a Mustang for me, it would be the GT. The money saved on the Ecoboost was the right call for my daughter's income level, but for me I would rather wait a couple years and save enough to buy the GT. FWIW there was a 16k actual paid difference between the cars, I got a great deal on both, no where else would match either price.

I am not sure if you can even get a V6 in a premium, at least I did not see a single one on the lot. Whatever you decide, the premium is worth the money, having cool seats in the Texas summers is pretty awesome, the heated seats are nice in the winter but those cooled seats...

As far as visual: that is just a personal preference and will never try to convince anyone what they should like, for me, wife and daughter, we all agreed that the new body style is so much better looking. I personally have never been a fan of the rear of the 2010-2014, rear bumper area just looks off to me and the 15-current the rear is the best thing on the car. Again, my own opinion.

BTW, had a 2012 VW Passat SEL, in comparison to the ecoboost, the VW is total trash. Nothing about it is better than the mustang, even the road noise.

[TKat13]

BTW, a 2.3 Ecoboost in a light car with a manual and a good amount of performance mods would be an absolute blast. Here comes the Focus; but the Focus that I would have is 45k; I'd get the Mustang GT at that cost.

Unless I was road racing and an AWD Focus with an ecoboost sounds pretty fun.