Mustang Enthusiasts Debate Fox vs. S197 in Heated Suspension Geometry Showdown

A discussion erupted on /o/ this week when the original poster solicited advice on purchasing either a classic Fox-body or modern S197-generation Mustang, inadvertently triggering a forum-wide argument about suspension geometry that consumed the thread’s latter half.

The OP laid out the case for both platforms in brutally honest terms. According to the poster, Fox-bodies allegedly offer sexier aesthetics, lighter weight (reportedly 2700 lbs for the 5.0 versus 3400-3500 lbs for the S197’s 4.6 3V), and superior fun factor, but suffer from rust, high collector-market prices, and “horrible at handling” characteristics. S197s, by contrast, supposedly provide better reliability, modern conveniences, superior steering feel, and genuine track capability with suspension upgrades, but at the cost of aesthetics and size.

The conversation quickly descended into automotive pedantry. One respondent explained the engineering differences between MacPherson struts and double-wishbone suspension, alleging that strut geometry cannot achieve the same dynamic camber control as A-arms without compromising steering characteristics. Another user shot back that the claim was pure “Reddit meme” parroting, insisting that “from an OEM engineering perspective there is zero difference in geometry outcome between the two.”

A third commenter cited Porsche’s purported abandonment of 50 years of MacPherson struts for the 992 GT3’s double-wishbone setup as evidence that the engineering debate had real-world consequences, prompting yet another respondent to accuse them of cherry-picking exotic track cars irrelevant to “road cars” and “layman interpretations.”

Threadside, other users weighed in on Mustang generational politics. One commenter dismissed critics of modern Mustangs as “douchebags that complain” about lack of chassis updates, comparing them to people who “shit on the Model A for being too fancy.” Another user allegedly claimed the Mustang’s cultural cachet as “the only car on the road that even the normiest npc woman knows about” made it uniquely valuable.

The thread also spawned debates over Ecoboost versus V8 variants, import costs in Europe, and whether the S650 generation’s styling represents genuine evolution or mere edge-case refinement of a 20-year-old design language.

At publication time, no consensus had emerged on either suspension geometry or which platform to buy.