F355 Challenge cant shake a Mustang Cobra...

[RC45]

Originally Posted by graywolf624 I have to disagree. Again, its an otc and its with drivers we don't know. It shows nothing. I'd put down good money with the right driver your not going to find a modified camaro lapping much better then a stock C6.. At least without run flats. As far as Im concerned since tires are a wear item the car is still stock with different ones. That being said cars should be measured with like tires, which brings me back to the begining of this paragraph. A little lesson about the sn95. Dynamic flaw number 1. Drive one wheel up on a curb. The rest will remain on the ground. 2) when lowered the sn95 experiences major issues. The caster angle is such that lowering actually creates a dynamic condition of positive camber. 3) weight 4) the rear axle options are bad. Stock stick axle had quadra links. Read: really bad binding of the suspension causing snap oversteer. The cobra had a multilink, which was so bad people went back to the stick axle (tendancy to wheel hop under breaking will tighten anyones spinchter). 5) All of these items can be overcome but cost money, weight, and begin to get into the point where your talking tubbed rear and other things that make it the car formerly known as a mustang. 6) The mustang cobra only cost 32k and the gt was 26k (ball parks) which means its competition with a few exceptions are things like toyota camrys. In other words, 1-5 still in tact its still a great car. The same comes back to that old camaro. It was a superior platform to the mustang, but even its limits with respect to 5 mean your better off going purpose built to play with the big boys. Or being in SCCA f class where it meets like cars.

All that being said, here is a video of an "SN95" being driven in such a way that is is able to keep up with a superior car that i snot being driven slowly.

All of the "problems" you highlight, appear to have not really bothered this guy on this day. In fact, he looked to be having a great time.

If it had of been a simple matter of dropping the hammer to put daylight between the 2 cars, I have serious money that says if the F-Car driver could have he would have just walked away.

But perhpas he would have had to have pushed much harder, perhaps past his comfort zone for the day to do so....

I know everyone wants to believe the F-Car MUST have been short shifting 3 gears and running on old tyres with 87 octane fuel, 2 plug wires cut ad marshmallow fo rbrake pads - and that on any other day would have pulled 25 seconds ahead through the first 5 turns o fthe video... but it didn't on this day

Here is some Cobra R action for comparison hehe

2000 cobra r chasing down a porsche carrera gt - YouTube

2000 cobra r chasing down a porsche carrera gt - YouTube

[graywolf624]

All of the "problems" you highlight, appear to have not really bothered this guy on this day. In fact, he looked to be having a great time.

That would be the nature of budget racing. You bandaid the car to the really bad stuff and learn to cope with the rest. Its still a blast on the track.. Hell Ive heard even prius' are fun out there, and I thought driving one on the street was the worst thing imaginable.

But perhpas he would have had to have pushed much harder, perhaps past his comfort zone for the day to do so....

It really comes back to the nut behind the wheel. Put me behind the wheel of an enzo and Schumacher behind the wheel of a mustang gt (maybe even stock) and outside the straights Im not getting away. *caution low blow ahead* And that could even be Ralph....

and that on any other day would have pulled 25 seconds ahead through the first 5 turns o fthe video...

I didn't say anything about the health, shifting, or anything else. I did say ot is about as relevant as the hair on my ass to how good a car is. In fact.. its only one notch above a magazine test.. where they still test with different drivers under different conditions.

[RC45]

More nuts behind the wheel... Cobra R style

You Tube

You Tube

[79TA]

Originally Posted by graywolf624 Thats why racing has classes. So us poor folk can modify a camaro and still be competitive.

Well, coming from someone who has yet to plunk down his 40 dollars for a NASA membership (and subscription to Grass Roots Motorsports Magazine) the Camaro modders look pretty wealthy. The vette is a better base than the Camaro, but not so much that it takes a tremendous amount of modding to get an LS1 Z28 to lap with a stock C6 (especially with really good brakes and tires.)

I could go on so many tangents from here . . . I could talk about:
- my cousin's beastly 525 N/A Z28 that he's set up for road racing
- how much the C6 owned the other cars on Forza Motorsport Showdown (a Speed Channel show)
- how Mustangs and Camaros are cheaper, more expendable (*cringe*), and therefore more likely to be made into dedicated track cars
- how I'd love to track the TA, despite its 3700 lb heft
- the idea of taking my new little fox body out to a NASA HPDE event this summer
- reminding myself that I'm broke until i get another job

[graywolf624]

The vette is a better base than the Camaro, but not so much that it takes a tremendous amount of modding to get an LS1 Z28 to lap with a stock C6 (especially with really good brakes and tires.)

It takes alot more then you would think.. My wallet in college reflected the dollar value. Can it be done? yes!.. Once the c6 starts modding is the z28 screwed.. signs also point to yes.

That being said the ls1 isnt the best choice for a camaro track car. Ironically its a 3rd gen. Overall they are lighter with the same suspension. Just replace the engine and your cooking with gas.
*personally dumped a 5 figure sum into a 1000 dollar camaro track car.

[79TA]

Yea, I've seen quite a few really nice (that is, fast) third gen track cars. The thing is they all seem to take pretty extensive modification in order to make decent power. One thing I found frustrating during my recent car search was how few of them seemed to be equipped with manual transmissions. Maybe you'd swap that out too, but the 6 speed gear box coupled to the LS1 seems a bit more capable.

Do you still have the third gen? You should run it in NASA's American Iron series or something

[graywolf624]

Maybe you'd swap that out too, but the 6 speed gear box coupled to the LS1 seems a bit more capable.

They sell a direct swap in for the ls1 with 6 speed engine. Whole change is about 3k if you do it yourself. I was considering it at one point. Then I was jobless for a time and sold the car. So no I no longer have the thirdgen. Now its only the vette and Trans am. The TA has an exhaust but other wise both are stock and under 10k miles. So not much chance of a track car for either.

[79TA]

i wouldn't mind performing such a swap on the ol' fox body I just got . . . sooo wrong

[RC45]

Originally Posted by 79TA i wouldn't mind performing such a swap on the ol' fox body I just got . . . sooo wrong

There are a ton of Fox body LSx hybrids over at LS1tech.com

You know you want a real engine in that bad boy