Ron Earp
Admin
I saw one of the new Shelby Mustangs the other day on the highway and I thought, that is a good looking car. I'd seen it in the magazines, but it was better in person.
But, why does that damn car have to weigh 4000 lbs???????? What a pig, that isn't going to be fun on track at all, and clearly it'd have much better performance if the weight were somewhat more reasonable, like maybe 3200 lbs?
The motor specs are good:
POWERTRAIN
5.4-liter, DOHC, 32-valve, 90-degree V-8
500 horsepower, 480 lb.-ft. of torque (SAE certified)
Roots-type Eaton supercharger and air-to-water intercooler
Iron block, Ford GT aluminum heads, dual exhaust
Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual transmission
Rear-wheel drive, 3.31:1 axle ratio; Traction Control
CHASSIS
Wheelbase:107.1 in.
Height:54.5 in. (Coupe) / 55.7 (Convertible)
Length:187.6 in.
Width:73.9 in.
Weight:approx. 3,920 lbs. (Coupe)
And I have been kicking around on SVTPerformance.com to see what the cars are doing with modifications. There are some there that are running in the 11s WITHOUT increasing the boost. One is at 11.7 @ 125mph in the quarter, stout. Increasing the boost results in phenominal gains and it appears the bottom end is good to about 650 rear wheel hp, very nice.
But it is just too heavy. My truck only weighs in at about 600lbs more!!
Really too bad I think, good looking car with some good specs, until you get to the weight part. While the weight above is estimated, the real weights people are getting at the track are naturally higher with fuel and driver.
Ford Vehicles: 2007 Ford Shelby GT500
Back to that motor - those mod motors I feel were a bad decision for Ford. The undersquare design 3.55" x 4.17" doesn't want RPM. So why have overhead cams that lend themselves to higher RPM useage? A 5.4L DOHC V8 should be able to make serious power without the blower, but, it is well known in the Ford community that about the only way to make one produce is with a blower, and Ford seems to realize that too. Poking and stroking is severely limited. I wonder how much just the engine weighs in this thing?
But, why does that damn car have to weigh 4000 lbs???????? What a pig, that isn't going to be fun on track at all, and clearly it'd have much better performance if the weight were somewhat more reasonable, like maybe 3200 lbs?
The motor specs are good:
POWERTRAIN
5.4-liter, DOHC, 32-valve, 90-degree V-8
500 horsepower, 480 lb.-ft. of torque (SAE certified)
Roots-type Eaton supercharger and air-to-water intercooler
Iron block, Ford GT aluminum heads, dual exhaust
Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual transmission
Rear-wheel drive, 3.31:1 axle ratio; Traction Control
CHASSIS
Wheelbase:107.1 in.
Height:54.5 in. (Coupe) / 55.7 (Convertible)
Length:187.6 in.
Width:73.9 in.
Weight:approx. 3,920 lbs. (Coupe)
And I have been kicking around on SVTPerformance.com to see what the cars are doing with modifications. There are some there that are running in the 11s WITHOUT increasing the boost. One is at 11.7 @ 125mph in the quarter, stout. Increasing the boost results in phenominal gains and it appears the bottom end is good to about 650 rear wheel hp, very nice.
But it is just too heavy. My truck only weighs in at about 600lbs more!!
Really too bad I think, good looking car with some good specs, until you get to the weight part. While the weight above is estimated, the real weights people are getting at the track are naturally higher with fuel and driver.
Ford Vehicles: 2007 Ford Shelby GT500
Back to that motor - those mod motors I feel were a bad decision for Ford. The undersquare design 3.55" x 4.17" doesn't want RPM. So why have overhead cams that lend themselves to higher RPM useage? A 5.4L DOHC V8 should be able to make serious power without the blower, but, it is well known in the Ford community that about the only way to make one produce is with a blower, and Ford seems to realize that too. Poking and stroking is severely limited. I wonder how much just the engine weighs in this thing?