I hate this hood…. more aggressive aftermarket options?

[Starship Enterprise]

So OK, let’s assume every fact we are trying to learn is 95% speculation with error margin. The inspiration is either horse or plane, but since the plane was named after the horse, the whole argument could be called a moot point.

I read somewhere that the horse was chosen because Ford didn’t want to have to pay any royalties to North American Aviation. More speculation? maybe…

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[Starship Enterprise]

Hey…more fun facts.

A pony car is a class of American automobiles characterized by their affordable price, compact size, and sporty design. The term originated in the 1960s, with the Ford Mustang being the archetypal example that helped establish this category. Pony cars typically feature rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a shor

 

[AZ_Ryan]

So OK, let’s assume every fact we are trying to learn is 95% speculation with error margin. The inspiration is either horse or plane, but since the plane was named after the horse, the whole argument could be called a moot point.

I read somewhere that the horse was chosen because Ford didn’t want to have to pay any royalties to North American Aviation. More speculation? maybe…

To me when ever I see someone say the Mustang is named after the plane, it's usually someone new to the hobby that read that online somewhere and feels like they have some special trivia they want to share and feel special.

The truth is its not cut and dry. And it's been a debate for 50 plus years. There were many people involved in designing the Mustang, and many iterations and influences during its development. Ultimately Ford chose the horse for its logo and marketing. And the "pony car" was born.

It's pointless semantics to debate name origins at this point. The car will forever be associated with horse no matter what.

Fun fact, it was super close to being called a Cougar. They even tested logos.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

To me when ever I see someone say the Mustang is named after the plane, it's usually someone new to the hobby that read that online somewhere and feels like they have some special trivia they want to share and feel special.

The truth is its not cut and dry. And it's been a debate for 50 plus years. There were many people involved in designing the Mustang, and many iterations and influences during its development. Ultimately Ford chose the horse for its logo and marketing. And the "pony car" was born.

It's pointless semantics to debate name origins at this point. The car will forever be associated with horse no matter what.

Fun fact, it was super close to being called a Cougar. They even tested logos.

OK, I can accept that argument. But as far as “new to the hobby”, my first Mustang was over 40 years ago, and I owned an 06 Mustang GT since 2007…just trading it in for this 2025.

Now 40 years ago, what did we have for sources of information? Books…maybe lucky to come across a magazine article with a story? Sure as hell wasn’t internet….lol.

Now we have internet, with unlimited sources of info, but unfortunately nowadays 90% of them are AI driven with just random garbage listed…anything that has my keyword search terms in it with random nonsensical facts. Then I’m almost left with Wiki which is user-entry, so how accurate is that? So unless I find some Motor Trend or Ford archival online with the answers, it’s still all garbage for legit answers.

So speculation it is….lol.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Anyway, let's get back in topic. We've waisted enough of the OPs time on this side convo.

 

[somckinney]

Anyone added hood scoops or fake vent? Anyone cut the hood on an ecoboost to add the GT vent?

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Anyway, let's get back in topic. We've waisted enough of the OPs time on this side convo.

Agreed! Apologies to OP.

RE: vents in general. Has it been stated yet what the purpose of the vent is? I assume it’s to relieve underhood pressure more than heat?

The S197 had a bad habit of building up a lot of underhood pressure at speed. Not such a problem for street driving, but if you remember there were races where all the cars were lightly modified street cars, and the Mustangs had a bad habit of building up so much pressure the hood latch would fail, and the hood would flip up and over the windshield. I remember watching one race with all S197’s and more than one had their hood latch fail and the hood just flipped up and over. (I wish I could remember the name of the race.)

Looking at current gen forums they also have reported hood flutter/shaking/hood bulge at speed. So to stay On Topic, I would think if shopping an aftermarket hood, it might be wise thing to find a hood with vents and seriously consider hood pins?

 

[Danish]

Well now that you kids got that plane and horse debate settled and poor sapphire got banned, I’ll ask another question

So the cowl hoods force air off the windshield down into the the cowl and let heat escape while at idle and slower speeds, if I’m understanding correctly.
The vents allow heat and pressure to escape at all speed ranges but is especially useful at higher speeds.

I really like the cowl hood style and was looking at the gt500 hood. It looks like it was a 2” cowl with vents on top?
How does that work? Do they not negate each other with the cowl pushing air in while the vents are trying to purge the air pressure?

Is there magic in the hood design or am I just completely wrong about the hood having any cowl properties?

 

[agreywolfe]

Agreed! Apologies to OP.

RE: vents in general. Has it been stated yet what the purpose of the vent is? I assume it’s to relieve underhood pressure more than heat?

The S197 had a bad habit of building up a lot of underhood pressure at speed. Not such a problem for street driving, but if you remember there were races where all the cars were lightly modified street cars, and the Mustangs had a bad habit of building up so much pressure the hood latch would fail, and the hood would flip up and over the windshield. I remember watching one race with all S197’s and more than one had their hood latch fail and the hood just flipped up and over. (I wish I could remember the name of the race.)

Looking at current gen forums they also have reported hood flutter/shaking/hood bulge at speed. So to stay On Topic, I would think if shopping an aftermarket hood, it might be wise thing to find a hood with vents and seriously consider hood pins?

air flow, it helps direct air coming through the radiator out and over the car

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Well now that you kids got that plane and horse debate settled and poor sapphire got banned, I’ll ask another question

So the cowl hoods force air off the windshield down into the the cowl and let heat escape while at idle and slower speeds, if I’m understanding correctly.
The vents allow heat and pressure to escape at all speed ranges but is especially useful at higher speeds.

I really like the cowl hood style and was looking at the gt500 hood. It looks like it was a 2” cowl with vents on top?
How does that work? Do they not negate each other with the cowl pushing air in while the vents are trying to purge the air pressure?

Is there magic in the hood design or am I just completely wrong about the hood having any cowl properties?

I'm not a big aftermarket hood guy, but I do like that GT500 hood.

As for how the aero works, I'm no engineer but obviously the heat extractors are huge. I don't think the vents and cowl cancel each other out. But keep in mind that hood was designed so work with the front end of the GT500 which has large grille intakes for air flow.

Are you doing this just for looks or functionality? If it's for looks, just get the one you want and stop overt thinking the aero. If you want functionality, I'd consider the GTD hood, as I'd think that will work much better with the S650 front vents.

 

[Frogdog1]

Just put the front end of any new pick-up truck on the car. They're all in a contest for the "meanest" looking truck, how high they can be lifted, and, of course, drag the bed almost down to the pavement so the front end will point skyward. Now that would really make a Mustang look aggressive. Somebody else go first.

 

[goodlettjr]

air flow, it helps direct air coming through the radiator out and over the car

I haven’t looked at my car in a few weeks as I have been traveling. Is the vent not above the plastic paneling of the radiator? therefore not activley part of the direct radiator airflow? I would think if that is the case it is more of a low pressure passive vent or something of the sort….maybe wrong wording but I can’t think of anything to describe it right now.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I haven’t looked at my car in a few weeks as I have been traveling. Is the vent not above the plastic paneling of the radiator? therefore not activley part of the direct radiator airflow? I would think if that is the case it is more of a low pressure passive vent or something of the sort….maybe wrong wording but I can’t think of anything to describe it right now.

The vent is indeed mostly over the radiator cover. Probably because Ford didnt want to risk weather exposure to the pullies by putting it farther down the hood. But i'd think there is still enough low pressure to direct the air coming through the radiator up and out while driving.

I can definitely see passive heat venting out the hood when I'm stopped at a light on a hot day.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Another solution to mitigate lift at the front of the car is the addition of a hood vent to redirect airflow. “Any of the air that comes in the front of the car, it's got to go somewhere," Gesek explains. "If it comes in the front and it exits through the tunnel, which is where I think most of the air goes, you have a net momentum change in the vertical direction. And so if the air comes in high and exits low, then it's going to create lift. So if you can get the air to come in high and exit higher, that's going to be better for lift.”

FORD
The hood vent is not only a functional lift-reduction device but is something that Ford has been able to maximize based on what it's learned from its GT3 and GT4 racing programs. The aerospace background from people like Gesek certainly doesn't hurt, either. He shares that the hood vent on the GT Performance Pack and the Dark Horse has an enlarged front slat called a "scupper" in order to accelerate the air coming out of the vent. Gesek added that the goal is “creating this low pressure zone behind that raised leading edge, which helps to draw more air out of that vent. So if we just had that vent flat on the hood, it'd be 20 percent as good as it is. Putting that little leading edge on it kind of turbocharged it.”

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a60718137/ford-2024-mustang-underbody-aero/

 

[JPGC_S650]

Guess American Quarter Horse would've taken up too much room on the decklid. Any way, the horse I mentioned could outrun most horses in the quarter mile, just like the car. The Mustang and Am. Quarter Horse are the two most popular horses in America. Just as the fighter plane was the most popular. So maybe there's multiple reasons to use such a great name like Mustang. But no way could a car have such a long name like American Quarter Horse. So Mustang fits real nice.

The Cobra Jet should have been named Quarter Horse.

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