Sports Mode in hybrid is just...wow....

[Dad]

Kind of off-topic for MTC, but...

I purchased a brand new 1990 Taurus SHO (white with black leather interior) and that car was a BEAST. When I picked it up, I had to accelerate up a fairly steep on-ramp to an elevated freeway section. I wasn't trying to max out the acceleration, but it was so smooth and so powerful that I was surprised to find myself at 90 mph well before getting to the merge lane, and had to back off a LOT to merge into traffic. Wow, what a feeling!

Being all white, with minimal badging, it was a real sleeper. To the cops it was just another "family sedan"... And I just loved it when some hot-shot BMW driver would pull up to me at a stop light and blip his throttle impatiently, then try to smoke me off the line. I tried real hard not to exceed the speed limit in those situations, but from zero to posted speed limit, I was rarely beaten by anything that didn't cost at least 5X the SHO's price.

After I'd had it a few months, I learned that a new section of freeway was about to open. I kept watch to see when all the barricades would be removed (other than the very first on-ramp "partial" barricade with the "closed" sign). The evening before the "grand opening" I paralleled the full length of the "to-be-opened" section along the service road to make sure it was all clear and that no cops were present. Then I went back to the staring point, drove around the barricade and opened up the SHO.

Sidebar: I had a friend whose brother worked in the Ford performance division. He had told us that Ford put a governor on the SHO at 143 mph for two reasons: 1) they didn't want to have to put even more expensive tires on it, and 2) they really didn't want to face the anger from all the Mustang GT 5.0 fanboys when a lowly Taurus would run faster than their "hot rod" pony car...

Well, that evening, on that closed section of freeway, I was able to confirm that the governor kicked in at 143 mph, and that the car felt rock-solid at that speed. The engine was still pulling pretty hard when the limiter kicked in, too. I've often wondered just how fast that car might have been without the limiter.

Now back to your regular MTC thread topic... (Sorry for the diversion.)

Great story! Apologies unnecessary.

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[Larrythelunatic]

These whippersnappers don't know about the SHO!! Imagine a boring family sedan and one day Ford says "F it, let's spice things up", adds more power and a 5 speed manual transmission (ask your parents what a manual transmission is), a few body mods, and sporty wheels. It was...revolutionary and unexpected. Today it'd be like if Ford swapped the 2.0 for the 2.7, twin turboed it, added a 6 speed manual, lowered it on mag ride style suspension, dual exhaust with exits before the rear tires, 20 inch wheels on Cup tires, added Brembos on 15 inch rotors, and Sparco seats with alcantara inserts....

With all due respect, Saul, it was hardly revolutionary. This is exactly what was done in the late 50’s, and more so in the early 60’s, when GM, Ford, and Chrysler (via both Dodge and Plymouth) started the muscle car era by dropping large displacement engines into then-compact cars. The Dart became the Barracuda; Tempest became the GTO, etc.
By the way, I believe that the SHO was a Taurus with a Yamaha engine.

 

[Saul T Knutz]

With all due respect, Saul, it was hardly revolutionary. This is exactly what was done in the late 50’s, and more so in the early 60’s, when GM, Ford, and Chrysler (via both Dodge and Plymouth) started the muscle car era by dropping large displacement engines into then-compact cars. The Dart became the Barracuda; Tempest became the GTO, etc.
By the way, I believe that the SHO was a Taurus with a Yamaha engine.

You do have a valid point there...

 

[Waterick]

The Hybrid is somewhat underrated in a way. Ford does not release the torque values of the electric motor. I figure what ever they are, even they governed in some way to limit drivetrain and structural stresses. Does anyone have an idea how much torque is contributed by the electric motor?

 

[2020 GT500]

The Hybrid is somewhat underrated in a way. Ford does not release the torque values of the electric motor. I figure what ever they are, even they governed in some way to limit drivetrain and structural stresses. Does anyone have an idea how much torque is contributed by the electric motor?

Here are the hybrid hp/tq: hard to tell actual tq

POWERTRAIN
DOHC 16-valve 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-4, 162 hp, 155 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 105 and 126 hp, 48 and 173 lb-ft (combined output: 191 hp; 1.1-kWh lithium-ion battery pack)
Transmission: continuously variable automatic

 

[Waterick]

These numbers kind of reinforce what I mean: what is the electric torque? We're not told a lot. I think it's because it is varied by system

 

[Waterick]

Also, as far as I know I there is only one electric motor.

 

[Darnon]

Also, as far as I know I there is only one electric motor.

There are two, but only one is used for primary locomotion.

 

[MLowe05]

I owned an XL EB FWD for 2,000 miles. I now have 1,700 miles on a Lariat Hybrid. The EB was quicker, sure, but it is not night and day by any stretch of the imagination. The hybrid is averaging 9mpg better than the EB in my use.

Honestly I don’t like to participate too much in the pissing contests between the powertrain options. Both are fine. The hybrid gets great mpg for a truck, but the EB is also quite respectable. If Ford has done well enough copying Toyota, the hybrid should - by a large margin - be the best in terms of long-term reliability. But that doesn’t mean the EB is unreliable.

I like/liked them both. I didn’t “need” a truck, and I down tow/haul. The hybrid made the most sense to me. Others have different priorities.

 

[GPSMan]

The two powertrains are NEARLY IDENTICAL in speed and acceleration in all official testing.

Let me say, well type that again.

THE TWO POWERTRAINS ARE NEARLY IDENTICAL IN SPEED AND ACCELERATION!

Here's why and here's the difference.

The 2.0 EB can put out 250 HP sustained.

The 2.5 BB can put out "about" 250 HP in short bursts. Basically for 30 seconds. Until the HV battery is drained. *Not officially on a dyno.

Thus for DRAG RACING they are nearly identical. For towing up a mountain, you probably want the EB because the higher output is sustainable.

And by definition, an electric motor's torque maximum at 0 rpm and falls continuously with rpm increases. Thus torque values are hard to define. But it is always greatest from a dead stop.

For example, a 100 horsepower electric motor operating at 3,600 rpm produces a torque of approximately 150 lb-ft. At 1,800 rpm, torque would be about 300 lb-ft and at 1,200 rpm about 450 lb-ft.

At freeway speeds the electric motor can be above 7,200 rpm, so you'll get less than 75 lb-ft.

So the hybrid is going to be GREAT pulling away from a stop with a trailer and I can confirm that it is.

 

[wax87]

The two powertrains are NEARLY IDENTICAL in speed and acceleration in all official testing.

Let me say, well type that again.

THE TWO POWERTRAINS ARE NEARLY IDENTICAL IN SPEED AND ACCELERATION!

Here's why and here's the difference.

The 2.0 EB can put out 250 HP sustained.

The 2.5 BB can put out "about" 250 HP in short bursts. Basically for 30 seconds. Until the HV battery is drained. *Not officially on a dyno.

Thus for DRAG RACING they are nearly identical. For towing up a mountain, you probably want the EB because the higher output is sustainable.

And by definition, an electric motor's torque maximum at 0 rpm and falls continuously with rpm increases. Thus torque values are hard to define. But it is always greatest from a dead stop.

For example, a 100 horsepower electric motor operating at 3,600 rpm produces a torque of approximately 150 lb-ft. At 1,800 rpm, torque would be about 300 lb-ft and at 1,200 rpm about 450 lb-ft.

At freeway speeds the electric motor can be above 7,200 rpm, so you'll get less than 75 lb-ft.

So the hybrid is going to be GREAT pulling away from a stop with a trailer and I can confirm that it is.

Can I add a turbo to the 2.5? LOL

 

[GPSMan]

I can see why people lament over which powertrain to buy. They are very very similar. So I think, in my view, your primary purpose should decide.

The 2.0 EB is slightly better for heavy "truck stuff". If you mostly do hauling or towing, go with EB. It still gets decent MPG.

The 2.5 BB is slightly better for daily driving. If you mostly drive around empty or without a trailer, go with BB. It still is decent at towing and hauling very heavy stuff.

 

[JimParker256]

With all due respect, Saul, it was hardly revolutionary. This is exactly what was done in the late 50’s, and more so in the early 60’s, when GM, Ford, and Chrysler (via both Dodge and Plymouth) started the muscle car era by dropping large displacement engines into then-compact cars. The Dart became the Barracuda; Tempest became the GTO, etc.
By the way, I believe that the SHO was a Taurus with a Yamaha engine.

I think it was actually revolutionary - in a way... It was the first domestic 6-cylinder normally aspirated performance sedan. It utilized a unique intake tract design (by Yamaha for Ford, as Larry pointed out) which included two sets of intake runners and a mixing valve to select between the two. At lower revs, the valve allowd the long runners to be used, thus increasing torque, and as the RPMs increased, the valve began closing the "short" runners and opening the "long" runners, so that at high revs the short intake runners were fully open for better breathing and thus higher horsepower.

Beyond that, it had the suspension tuned for MUCH better handling than pretty much ANY other large sedan on the market (including dual-piston gas shocks), and came with V-rated (149 mph) tires.

So, ironic though the name might be, the SHO had the "GO" to live up to the name. All while looking like a casper milk toast family sedan. Mine was white, and was basically invisible to cops. I loved that car!

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