brucelinc Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 http://www.motortrend.com/cars/lincoln/mkz/2017/2017-lincoln-mkz-3-0-awd-first-test-review/ Good review. Much different than C&D. However, the acceleration results are disappointing. Also, something else is goofy. They said that mashing the gas on takeoff would overwhelm the tires. Either they did the acceleration times on a wet track or the AWD was not working properly. No way will this car have traction issues taking off on dry pavement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Well, they wouldn't sell many magazines if they didn't find some sort of "fault" with it. The only time I've ever made my Escape AWD spin tires is on a snowy/icy surface. And I kept mashing the gas even though traction control was going off. But it still accelerated and went straight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 I have driven 3.0 MKZs. They will barely chirp the tires on dry pavement with a WOT launch. I could see the FWD version overwhelming the tires but not the AWD model that they tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) They said that mashing the gas on takeoff would overwhelm the tires. Either they did the acceleration times on a wet track or the AWD was not working properly. No way will this car have traction issues taking off on dry pavement. AWD in Ford and Lincoln cars is a front-wheel drive biased, reactive system. It will only shift torque to the rear after the front wheels spin and lose traction. So it was working as designed. Jaguar and Mazda by contrast have predictive AWD with sensors and software that are able to predict traction loss before it happens. Edited November 8, 2016 by rperez817 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) I don't know how you break traction with that system, but then again I don't have the 3.0L. And nobody drives like this anyway, the only thing you want to hear is what they have to say about the confident smooth power on the highway. That's really the only time you get to go fast anyway in the real world. The only complain I think is worth mentioning is that the suspension feels pretty sloppy in cornering, especially on rough pavement, it feels like it's all just sliding around on itself, it's not a solid feeling. Edited November 8, 2016 by BORG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 AWD in Ford and Lincoln cars is a front-wheel drive biased, reactive system. It will only shift torque to the rear after the front wheels spin and lose traction. So it was working as designed. Jaguar and Mazda by contrast have predictive AWD with sensors and software that are able to predict traction loss before it happens. You don't know what you are talking about. Regardless of that, I have plenty of experience with Ford's AWD system in drag racing as well as on the street. I can assure you that the MKZ will not overwhelm the tires on dry pavement by just mashing the gas from a standstill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 AWD in Ford and Lincoln cars is a front-wheel drive biased, reactive system. It will only shift torque to the rear after the front wheels spin and lose traction. So it was working as designed. Jaguar and Mazda by contrast have predictive AWD with sensors and software that are able to predict traction loss before it happens. Absolutely not true. Ford's system will predict a potential loss of traction based on throttle, steering angle and other sensors and transfer torque to the rear before the fronts start to slip. It's been that way since at least 2007 maybe earlier. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 http://m.wardsauto.com/technology/demand-growing-ford-s-intelligent-all-wheel-drive-system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 I would hope they can test it once they car is broken in, I was expecting it in the 4 second range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 8, 2016 Author Share Posted November 8, 2016 I know of a few guys with SHOs who have run their cars at the drag strip over and over multiple times without any cool down between runs. That can result in overheating the PTU and RDU. In those cases, the AWD system basically shuts down to protect itself and little if any torque is transferred to the rear. The result is front wheelspin and poor times. Once cooled down, everything is fine, again. I am only speculating that something like that may have happened to the MKZ tested by Motor Trend. You have to beat the crap out of the car for this to happen but it does occur. I have heard of this from SHO guys who track their cars on road courses, too. Yes, a few SHO owners really do this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 I know of a few guys with SHOs who have run their cars at the drag strip over and over multiple times without any cool down between runs. That can result in overheating the PTU and RDU. In those cases, the AWD system basically shuts down to protect itself and little if any torque is transferred to the rear. The result is front wheelspin and poor times. Once cooled down, everything is fine, again. I am only speculating that something like that may have happened to the MKZ tested by Motor Trend. You have to beat the crap out of the car for this to happen but it does occur. I have heard of this from SHO guys who track their cars on road courses, too. Yes, a few SHO owners really do this! That's interesting since I'm sure the system is being pushed to its limits as we dig into 400/400HP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 I should point out that the SHO owners I am talking about have their cars tuned to MUCH more than 400 hp. However, abuse can overheat the PTU on stock tuned cars, too. That is why SHO performance package and Police Interceptors have PTU coolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 I've had my share of problems with leaking PTUs, I'm surprised they aren't exploding left and right under these loads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 As long as they have the proper level of lubricant and stay in the appropriate temperature range, the PTUs do not fail. They are a really beefy piece. Heat and lack of lubricant will kill them but high torque will not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 I don't know how you break traction with that system, but then again I don't have the 3.0L. And nobody drives like this anyway, the only thing you want to hear is what they have to say about the confident smooth power on the highway. That's really the only time you get to go fast anyway in the real world. The only complain I think is worth mentioning is that the suspension feels pretty sloppy in cornering, especially on rough pavement, it feels like it's all just sliding around on itself, it's not a solid feeling. I agree that the MKZ is not a sports sedan and that there are compromises that prevent it from being at the top of the heap on handling. I seriously doubt if many buyers who place razor sharp handling the highest priority will even bother looking at this car. However, for the entry premium buyer who likes power, content, a decent ride and a level of handling a step above the Lexus ES or Buick LaCrosse, this car deserves consideration. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 And according to some engineers the heat problem is binary. As long as you stay under the heat threshold the fluid will last 150K. But once you go over the heat threshold it's toast and needs to be changed. I think they really need a temp sensor to monitor the PTU and alert the owner to change the fluid if it exceeds threshold. But I doubt they would do that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 That's interesting since I'm sure the system is being pushed to its limits as we dig into 400/400HP. I know one of the MKZ configurations uses the same system as the Focus RS for AWD...I haven't heard issues of that blowing up...yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 I know one of the MKZ configurations uses the same system as the Focus RS for AWD...I haven't heard issues of that blowing up...yet. I thought that was only on the Continental, not MKZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 I thought that was only on the Continental, not MKZ. It's both, but only with the 3.0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 It's both, but only with the 3.0. Excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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