cjbaldw

Reprinted from Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords magazine, November 2001 issue, MM&FF Road Test, 2001 Mustang Bullitt GT, sidebar titled: Measuring the Competition, page 133:

It pains us to say this, but a faceful of taillights is what you may get if you race a Camaro SS with a stock Bullitt. Or GT. Or Cobra. We flinched a few years back when we tested a stock LS1 Z/28 and it went 12.89 at 108. But we attributed some of that to the cold, mineshaft air on our test day. No way was this SS going to run 12's in the heat.

Oops. It went 12.96 at 107.43 in lousy air with a near-full tank of fuel, not to mention a 13.06 at 108.71 and a 13.08 at 107.67 later in the hottest part of the day. With any kind of air, the SS might have gone 12.7's or better. On stock radials.

Back at Crazy Horse, it pumped 321 horsepower to the rear wheels on the Dynojet. Are you feeling ill yet? That's 42 more than the last Cobra we tested and 82 more than the Bullitt. But gee Uncle Henry, it only has one camshaft.

Pricing? Base Z/28 coupe: $21,645. SS option: $3950. Destination: $575. Total: $26,170. Our's had a few extras like leather and topped out at 29-large.

Now, don't kill the messenger. We're not advocating selling your Mustang to buy a GM product so please don't cancel your subscriptions. This is just to open your eyes and those of the folks at Ford engine development and Team Mustang. We've been waving the Blue Oval banner for decades, fighting the good fight and spending thousands of our hard-earned dollars every year to whip Bowtie butt. But it's time for Ford to send in the reinforcements. We can't do this on our own, guys. - J.C.

End quote.

In that same article the best MM&FF could muster was a powershifting 13.91 at 98.5 from the Mustang Bullitt GT in hot weather, and they comment that they personally knew of people running 13.7's in their Bullitt's on stock Goodyears with better air. It is also worth mentioning that the stripper Z/28 that originally ran 12's was a 1998 model, not a 2001 model that had improvements in the form of intake, a different cam, and a few others that improved dyno results and 1/4 times and ET's. The SS was a 2001 model however.

My point isn't to bring up a closed thread by any means, I've raced two 350Z's with the same results, from a stop it's even until the top of 2nd gear and then I start pulling pretty handily on the Z cars. I've owned both foreign and domestic cars, and I love the Z cars, I've got a close buddy who's always been a Z car fan and currently owns three, two 74's and an 87 Turbo currently. He didn't like the 1990+ body style which is why he didn't own one of those.

My wife really likes the 350Z's looks so if she ever starts working (currently home with the three kids full time) I could easily see us adding one of these to our stable sometime in the future, and I wouldn't think twice about it, although it'd be a tough choice were it me personally between this and the upcoming RX-8 Mazda.

You are correct that the F-body cars are behind the times in fit and finish and efficiency of design, which is largely why they aren't produced any longer. I personally like the interior layout of the F-body better than the current Mustangs, but that's just me. I drove both before I bought my 99 Camaro SS used. Everybody likes different qualities in a car. No sense bashing any kind of automobile. IMHO a real auto enthusiast has the capability to admire almost any kind of performance automobile (even non performance autos!) for what it has to offer.

The LS1 engine, while still a pushrod OHV engine, is still a good engine. I get 30mph on the open highway (mostly due to 3.42 gears and a .50 ratio 6th gear), but even guys with 4.10 gears get 26-28mph highway, city mph suffers though.

In any case, I'm not trying to justify at all here, I did want to post a legitimate article by a legitimate performance magazine of the F-body LS1 cars running 12's for your reading pleasure.

In regard to the Vette versus F-body argument, the Vette is lighter by a few hundred pounds in weight, uses an IRS (independent rear suspension), a rear mounted tranny (better weight distribution front to rear) a better exhaust (true dual), and a better intake (actually Vette had slightly different difference s every year). Dyno results between F-bodies and Vettes are nearly identical due to the IRS the Vettes use (IRS has more driveline loss when putting power to the ground) versus the solid axle that the F-bodies use (more efficient when putting power to the wheels - but worse for handling when things get dicey). IRS also makes it harder to launch the Vettes off the line (same problem with Mustang Cobras - they all have IRS), which is why it's not uncommon to see F-bodies run like times to Vettes even though the Vettes have the weight advantage.

In the end, we all have awesome cars IMHO, see everyone out on the highways!

sukkoi19

Good points but they are going to be lost on some.

tbcz

cjbaldw,

Thanks for the informative post, and the adult manner in which you presented it. I agree with your insights...most of the owners here are true enthusiasts, who can appreciate (or should appreciate) the joy that our GM and Ford friends get from their machines. There truly is nothing like a growling, torquey American V8...the same can be said for the silky smooth rush of a BMW inline 6...or the wonderful VQ engine in the 350Z.

I agree with Jay closing this thread, however, as it would simply be deja-vu all over again. This is why it is unfortunate that there are those who feel the need to flame each other and their cars...now opinions and facts will not be shared because of the inability of a few to act like adults and appreciate the similarity of our passion, rather than arguing over the differences in our timeslips.