Cars - American Cool

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
It wasn’t too long ago that 400HP was considered a shit ton of HP for a normal car. The new numbers they are regularly pumping out now are redonkulous. [/quote]

Keep in mind the weight and overall size of vehicles has also increased. [/quote]

Motorcycles are even more insane than cars today. Anyone who has ridden a modern sports bike like a GSXR-1000 or a Z-1 knows that you simply will never use the higher gears because no one in their right mind is going to travel 200mph+ on public roads.[/quote]

The same thing can be said for these cars. Unless you live somewhere with little population, and have some elevation changes there is nowhere to drive them.

I recently sold my S4 because there was no point in paying the insurance premium on a performance car that was never allowed to perform. It wasnt the fastest car, it would keep up just fine with C5 Z06’s, but i felt like i was using a thoroughbred to pull a cart. Looking for a 4runner now.

Also, Turbo > NA. My S4 was a 2.7 liter 30valve twin turbo V6. It had a very smooth powerband, got 30mpg on the highway, and i got around just fine staying out of boost. I think a lot of the complaints about boosted cars is because most are 4bangers, which needs the boost just to move. Having a boosted V6 is just like any other car, but you get that nice kick in the ass when you want.
[/quote]

Yep, I’m probably going to grab a 2015 Mustang GT at the end of the year when it’s released here and those 436 horsies are more than enough for me. Roush does a supercharger kit that boosts it over 700 but I don’t see the point. I’d rather spend on mods to improve the handling.[/quote]

That will be a sick ride.

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]silverblood wrote:
I can see getting overpowered by it but at least get a few days of fun. He probably got into it more than just a little. I’m just glad he hit a tree and not a car full of people. It is a lot of power for anyone. Kinda like a guy I met whose parents bought him a Honda CBR1000F Hurricane for his first bike. Wonder if he’ll try to sue because it doesn’t have a warning label?[/quote]

If he does, the car people of the world may publicly lynch him. You can make us where seat belts and put emissions controls on cars, but don’t take our horsepower. It happened once and we are still stinging from it.
The fact that you can get a 707 HP for around $65K is a blessing. Stupid people exist, we can’t adjust our lives to the lowest common denominator all the time.[/quote]

Top speed is already limited by government regulations. It won’t be long before we see power to weight ratio limits for road vehicles in my opinion. Sure, there’ll be resistance but I’m sure they’ll try to do this.

Edited[/quote]

Probably, that’s what I am saying. We living the best era of cars in the history of cars. To many times we yodel about the good ol’ days not knowing it’s way better now. Somebody is bound to come and fuck up the party. Enjoy while you can…

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
It wasn’t too long ago that 400HP was considered a shit ton of HP for a normal car. The new numbers they are regularly pumping out now are redonkulous. [/quote]

Keep in mind the weight and overall size of vehicles has also increased. [/quote]

Motorcycles are even more insane than cars today. Anyone who has ridden a modern sports bike like a GSXR-1000 or a Z-1 knows that you simply will never use the higher gears because no one in their right mind is going to travel 200mph+ on public roads.[/quote]

The same thing can be said for these cars. Unless you live somewhere with little population, and have some elevation changes there is nowhere to drive them.

I recently sold my S4 because there was no point in paying the insurance premium on a performance car that was never allowed to perform. It wasnt the fastest car, it would keep up just fine with C5 Z06’s, but i felt like i was using a thoroughbred to pull a cart. Looking for a 4runner now.

Also, Turbo > NA. My S4 was a 2.7 liter 30valve twin turbo V6. It had a very smooth powerband, got 30mpg on the highway, and i got around just fine staying out of boost. I think a lot of the complaints about boosted cars is because most are 4bangers, which needs the boost just to move. Having a boosted V6 is just like any other car, but you get that nice kick in the ass when you want.
[/quote]

Yep, I’m probably going to grab a 2015 Mustang GT at the end of the year when it’s released here and those 436 horsies are more than enough for me. Roush does a supercharger kit that boosts it over 700 but I don’t see the point. I’d rather spend on mods to improve the handling.[/quote]

As a '13 GT owner, I say good choice. The 435 HP the car comes with is really quite a lot. The coyote engine is just an amazing engine. It’s so well built.
I thought about mods too, but I am kinda happy with the way the car is. I would do an exhaust because the Corsa exhaust for the GT sounds epic…

I don’t want a modded out Mustang anyway. It’s like that’s more common than stock. And like a lot of supplements, a lot of mods don’t really do a whole lot. I think my car looks it’s best stock. If I were to upgrade anything other than the exhaust I would do the Ford Racing suspension kit. I have looked at kits for hours and hours and really, the Ford Racing kit is the best, plus it does not violate your warranty and comes with it’s own.
If you were going to do the supercharger kit, I’d again go with Ford Racing. Again, 625 HP with your warranty in tact and it’s not more expensive than other kits.
Watch out for tunes. I am not saying don’t get one, if you get one, get the right one. A lot of tuners turn off some upstream/ downstream sensors which is a good way to fuck up the motor. And keep in mind that the max HP on the Coyote engine is 84 HP per piston. Anything beyond that you have to gut the internals.

Anyway, the check boxes I would recommend are either the Track Pack w\ Recaro seats. Or:

  • Brembo Brake package
  • Recaro seats
  • 3.55:1 diff

It’s up to you if you want the Sync or not. I don’t have the tech pack. It’s got some cool stuff, but it’s all preference.
The Track Pack comes with the Brembos, faster spring rates, oil cooler (5W-50 synthetic oil), larger radiator, and a 3.73 diff, 19" wheels all around.
The Brembo package comes with faster spring rates, the Brembo brakes and 19"s all around. The Recaro’s are optional but totally worth it.

Sorry for rambling, I love to talk Mustangs. If you want to Mustang pow-wow, let me know, I love to talk about them.

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
It wasn’t too long ago that 400HP was considered a shit ton of HP for a normal car. The new numbers they are regularly pumping out now are redonkulous. [/quote]

Keep in mind the weight and overall size of vehicles has also increased. [/quote]

Motorcycles are even more insane than cars today. Anyone who has ridden a modern sports bike like a GSXR-1000 or a Z-1 knows that you simply will never use the higher gears because no one in their right mind is going to travel 200mph+ on public roads.[/quote]

The same thing can be said for these cars. Unless you live somewhere with little population, and have some elevation changes there is nowhere to drive them.

I recently sold my S4 because there was no point in paying the insurance premium on a performance car that was never allowed to perform. It wasnt the fastest car, it would keep up just fine with C5 Z06’s, but i felt like i was using a thoroughbred to pull a cart. Looking for a 4runner now.

Also, Turbo > NA. My S4 was a 2.7 liter 30valve twin turbo V6. It had a very smooth powerband, got 30mpg on the highway, and i got around just fine staying out of boost. I think a lot of the complaints about boosted cars is because most are 4bangers, which needs the boost just to move. Having a boosted V6 is just like any other car, but you get that nice kick in the ass when you want.
[/quote]

Yep, I’m probably going to grab a 2015 Mustang GT at the end of the year when it’s released here and those 436 horsies are more than enough for me. Roush does a supercharger kit that boosts it over 700 but I don’t see the point. I’d rather spend on mods to improve the handling.[/quote]

As a '13 GT owner, I say good choice. The 435 HP the car comes with is really quite a lot. The coyote engine is just an amazing engine. It’s so well built.
I thought about mods too, but I am kinda happy with the way the car is. I would do an exhaust because the Corsa exhaust for the GT sounds epic…

I don’t want a modded out Mustang anyway. It’s like that’s more common than stock. And like a lot of supplements, a lot of mods don’t really do a whole lot. I think my car looks it’s best stock. If I were to upgrade anything other than the exhaust I would do the Ford Racing suspension kit. I have looked at kits for hours and hours and really, the Ford Racing kit is the best, plus it does not violate your warranty and comes with it’s own.
If you were going to do the supercharger kit, I’d again go with Ford Racing. Again, 625 HP with your warranty in tact and it’s not more expensive than other kits.
Watch out for tunes. I am not saying don’t get one, if you get one, get the right one. A lot of tuners turn off some upstream/ downstream sensors which is a good way to fuck up the motor. And keep in mind that the max HP on the Coyote engine is 84 HP per piston. Anything beyond that you have to gut the internals.

Anyway, the check boxes I would recommend are either the Track Pack w\ Recaro seats. Or:

  • Brembo Brake package
  • Recaro seats
  • 3.55:1 diff

It’s up to you if you want the Sync or not. I don’t have the tech pack. It’s got some cool stuff, but it’s all preference.
The Track Pack comes with the Brembos, faster spring rates, oil cooler (5W-50 synthetic oil), larger radiator, and a 3.73 diff, 19" wheels all around.
The Brembo package comes with faster spring rates, the Brembo brakes and 19"s all around. The Recaro’s are optional but totally worth it.

Sorry for rambling, I love to talk Mustangs. If you want to Mustang pow-wow, let me know, I love to talk about them.[/quote]

No, thanks for rambling pat. I’m not very knowledgeable about cars so it’s good to get some advice from someone who already owns a Mustang.

And I think it’s very unlikely I’ll get a supercharger. Firstly, I’m sure I don’t need any more power. I’ve driven similar power cars and it’s more than enough for me. I was planning on getting the performance pack with the Brembo six piston ceramics up front. Mods will depend on what I think could improve handling after driving it for a while. I’ll probably pester you with questions when the time comes. :slight_smile:

Edit: I’m not sure the Australian version will offer the same packages. I’ll check again but I think the “performance” pack has the six piston callipers up front and the recaro seats but I’ll have to check again to see what else you get with the performance pack.

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:

[quote]beachguy498 wrote:
I de-tuned my factory '68 Mustang GT from a 390 4-speed to a 351W and an automatic. It was still around 300HP, but with the gearing and the fact it was light, even that could get me in trouble if I wasn’t careful. My current project should top out at around 400HP, plenty enough for me.
[/quote]

That’s a nice swap, lots of room to grow if you want. That 390 never got a lot of love.
[/quote]

Actually the C4 automatic was a lot lighter than the 4-speed top loader. The 390 had to be 150 lbs heavier than the 351. So I knocked 200 lbs off the front of the car, it may have weighed 2600 lbs.

I was into my Fords at the time, had a bunch of Galaxies and Fairlanes. When I got divorced, I practically gave away most of my 390 & 406 engine parts.

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Nice thread idea. Plenty of these slipped past me since I’ve had the “foreign is better” blinders on.[/quote]

The late '70’s and '80’s and part of the '90’s reigned hell on the American car reputation. And rightfully so, they were making garbage. But things are much better now.

The bean counters at GM, Ford and Chrysler should have been shot, resurrected and shot again for what they did to cars.[/quote]

[quote]pat wrote:
Anyway, the check boxes I would recommend are either the Track Pack w\ Recaro seats. Or:

  • Brembo Brake package
  • Recaro seats
  • 3.55:1 diff[/quote]

The packages changed for 2015. The package with Brembo’s is the GT Performance package. It comes with a 3:73 rear diff and you can’t option the 3:55 with it (according to their configurator).

Sync is standard and I don’t think that you can option it out.

james

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
It wasn’t too long ago that 400HP was considered a shit ton of HP for a normal car. The new numbers they are regularly pumping out now are redonkulous. [/quote]

Keep in mind the weight and overall size of vehicles has also increased. [/quote]

Motorcycles are even more insane than cars today. Anyone who has ridden a modern sports bike like a GSXR-1000 or a Z-1 knows that you simply will never use the higher gears because no one in their right mind is going to travel 200mph+ on public roads.[/quote]

The same thing can be said for these cars. Unless you live somewhere with little population, and have some elevation changes there is nowhere to drive them.

I recently sold my S4 because there was no point in paying the insurance premium on a performance car that was never allowed to perform. It wasnt the fastest car, it would keep up just fine with C5 Z06’s, but i felt like i was using a thoroughbred to pull a cart. Looking for a 4runner now.

Also, Turbo > NA. My S4 was a 2.7 liter 30valve twin turbo V6. It had a very smooth powerband, got 30mpg on the highway, and i got around just fine staying out of boost. I think a lot of the complaints about boosted cars is because most are 4bangers, which needs the boost just to move. Having a boosted V6 is just like any other car, but you get that nice kick in the ass when you want.
[/quote]

Are those sequential turbos, or one for each cylinder bank on that car? Either way they’ll produce less lag than a single big one. Turbos like everything else have come a long way the last 2 decades. Variable geometry, slicker bearings, lighter materials, etc… have all made a big difference in the way boosted engines operate, and lag is really minimal in a modern engine.

Automakers also used to put turbo charged engines in absolutely retarded places. I remember at one point my mother owned a Dodge Caravan with a turbo charged 2 liter. The fuck is that shit? And than there is the reputation for reliability problems, which I believe stems from people who don’t think things through buying a car built for performance and than wondering why the guy down the block with the base model never breaks down while his turbo charged engine is in the shop. Thinking back to the Plymouth Laser of the 90s. My sister’s husband owned the turbo charged RS. Quick little car. Almost 200 hp. The naturally aspirated version of that 2.0 liter makes half that. Personally the only turbo charged engines I’ve ever owned myself are diesel pickups, but that’s a completely different animal all together.

All that said, there’s still no replacement for displacement.

As for fast cars and horse power, once you get used to bikes you’ve gotta get pretty extreme before any car is fast in an exciting sort of way. Fastest car I’ve owned was a 97 Cadillac Seville STS. 300 hp to the front wheels even in a car that heavy didn’t leave much to be desired. Not exactly exciting, but you’re not tapping your foot waiting for the downhills to pass either, and even wound out to 150 mph the ride and handling were smooth as silk. I would say for sure that 400-500 to the rear wheels of a road car is plenty. After that you’re just cruising the streets in a track car burning high octane fuel for nothing.

Father in law owns a 55 Chevy Bel air configured for cruising, and a heavily modified 88 chevy half tonne pickup for the strip. Will post pics when we pull them out of winter storage in the spring.

[quote]pat wrote:

Probably, that’s what I am saying. We living the best era of cars in the history of cars. To many times we yodel about the good ol’ days not knowing it’s way better now. Somebody is bound to come and fuck up the party. Enjoy while you can…[/quote]

Today’s cars are legit fast. Because of that, they don’t have the same sensation of speed. You take an old car with solid axles on leaf springs and you hot rod it to run a 15 second quarter, and when you make a pass your heart is pumping because it felt like you were gonna die. You take a 12 second car with modern suspension down the track and it feels almost pedestrian. A 15 second car is slow.

[quote]Broncoandy wrote:
Are those sequential turbos, or one for each cylinder bank on that car?

I remember at one point my mother owned a Dodge Caravan with a turbo charged 2 liter. The fuck is that shit? [/quote]

The 2.7 Audi motor has 2 small turbos on each side, and can be upgraded with the bigger European spec RS4 turbos which put it up around 500hp. (bolt them on, program different software, and start walking vettes and 911’s)

That turbo minivan is kinda real cool, especially when you raise the boost and make it fast as fuck.

[quote]Aggv wrote:

That turbo minivan is kinda real cool, especially when you raise the boost and make it fast as fuck.

[/quote]

I only ever drove it when she needed it fixed, and it’s the only minivan I’ve ever driven so I don’t have any real points of reference, but it’s lack of low end torque was a glaring problem. Spec wise I looked it up right now and it did make the same (peak) hp, and torque (150hp / 180 lb-ft) as the 3.3 liter they brought out in 1990. It was also a 2.5 liter not a 2.0. I did offer to tweak it a bit for her at that time (although I wouldn’t have risked more than a few extra pounds of boost), but she declined. lol. A mini van would be a cool sleeper, but I don’t think I’d start with that one. Maybe swap an NSX engine into a Honda Odissy or something.

[quote]Broncoandy wrote:
Maybe swap an NSX engine into a Honda Odissy or something.[/quote]

skip to 4:30

lol. Wonder if they really got that out of an XJ220. Either way that’s win.

[quote]atypical1 wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:
Anyway, the check boxes I would recommend are either the Track Pack w\ Recaro seats. Or:

  • Brembo Brake package
  • Recaro seats
  • 3.55:1 diff[/quote]

The packages changed for 2015. The package with Brembo’s is the GT Performance package. It comes with a 3:73 rear diff and you can’t option the 3:55 with it (according to their configurator).

Sync is standard and I don’t think that you can option it out.

james
[/quote]

That is correct, the now named ‘Performance Pack’, you only get the 3.73.

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:

[quote]Aggv wrote:

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
It wasn’t too long ago that 400HP was considered a shit ton of HP for a normal car. The new numbers they are regularly pumping out now are redonkulous. [/quote]

Keep in mind the weight and overall size of vehicles has also increased. [/quote]

Motorcycles are even more insane than cars today. Anyone who has ridden a modern sports bike like a GSXR-1000 or a Z-1 knows that you simply will never use the higher gears because no one in their right mind is going to travel 200mph+ on public roads.[/quote]

The same thing can be said for these cars. Unless you live somewhere with little population, and have some elevation changes there is nowhere to drive them.

I recently sold my S4 because there was no point in paying the insurance premium on a performance car that was never allowed to perform. It wasnt the fastest car, it would keep up just fine with C5 Z06’s, but i felt like i was using a thoroughbred to pull a cart. Looking for a 4runner now.

Also, Turbo > NA. My S4 was a 2.7 liter 30valve twin turbo V6. It had a very smooth powerband, got 30mpg on the highway, and i got around just fine staying out of boost. I think a lot of the complaints about boosted cars is because most are 4bangers, which needs the boost just to move. Having a boosted V6 is just like any other car, but you get that nice kick in the ass when you want.
[/quote]

Yep, I’m probably going to grab a 2015 Mustang GT at the end of the year when it’s released here and those 436 horsies are more than enough for me. Roush does a supercharger kit that boosts it over 700 but I don’t see the point. I’d rather spend on mods to improve the handling.[/quote]

As a '13 GT owner, I say good choice. The 435 HP the car comes with is really quite a lot. The coyote engine is just an amazing engine. It’s so well built.
I thought about mods too, but I am kinda happy with the way the car is. I would do an exhaust because the Corsa exhaust for the GT sounds epic…

I don’t want a modded out Mustang anyway. It’s like that’s more common than stock. And like a lot of supplements, a lot of mods don’t really do a whole lot. I think my car looks it’s best stock. If I were to upgrade anything other than the exhaust I would do the Ford Racing suspension kit. I have looked at kits for hours and hours and really, the Ford Racing kit is the best, plus it does not violate your warranty and comes with it’s own.
If you were going to do the supercharger kit, I’d again go with Ford Racing. Again, 625 HP with your warranty in tact and it’s not more expensive than other kits.
Watch out for tunes. I am not saying don’t get one, if you get one, get the right one. A lot of tuners turn off some upstream/ downstream sensors which is a good way to fuck up the motor. And keep in mind that the max HP on the Coyote engine is 84 HP per piston. Anything beyond that you have to gut the internals.

Anyway, the check boxes I would recommend are either the Track Pack w\ Recaro seats. Or:

  • Brembo Brake package
  • Recaro seats
  • 3.55:1 diff

It’s up to you if you want the Sync or not. I don’t have the tech pack. It’s got some cool stuff, but it’s all preference.
The Track Pack comes with the Brembos, faster spring rates, oil cooler (5W-50 synthetic oil), larger radiator, and a 3.73 diff, 19" wheels all around.
The Brembo package comes with faster spring rates, the Brembo brakes and 19"s all around. The Recaro’s are optional but totally worth it.

Sorry for rambling, I love to talk Mustangs. If you want to Mustang pow-wow, let me know, I love to talk about them.[/quote]

No, thanks for rambling pat. I’m not very knowledgeable about cars so it’s good to get some advice from someone who already owns a Mustang.

And I think it’s very unlikely I’ll get a supercharger. Firstly, I’m sure I don’t need any more power. I’ve driven similar power cars and it’s more than enough for me. I was planning on getting the performance pack with the Brembo six piston ceramics up front. Mods will depend on what I think could improve handling after driving it for a while. I’ll probably pester you with questions when the time comes. :slight_smile:

Edit: I’m not sure the Australian version will offer the same packages. I’ll check again but I think the “performance” pack has the six piston callipers up front and the recaro seats but I’ll have to check again to see what else you get with the performance pack.[/quote]

Feel free to ask. I wish we could still send messages, if you wanted to go off line and talk. I find the Mustang a very balanced car.
You can have fun playing with the builder on the Ford website:

[quote]Ben94PL wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Nice thread idea. Plenty of these slipped past me since I’ve had the “foreign is better” blinders on.[/quote]

The late '70’s and '80’s and part of the '90’s reigned hell on the American car reputation. And rightfully so, they were making garbage. But things are much better now.

The bean counters at GM, Ford and Chrysler should have been shot, resurrected and shot again for what they did to cars.[/quote]
[/quote]

I was in the ‘foreign is better’ camp for a long time too. There was good reason for that in the past, but now America is at the top of it’s game. I am very happy about that. Corvettes beating Ferrari’s? I love it.

[quote]Broncoandy wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

Probably, that’s what I am saying. We living the best era of cars in the history of cars. To many times we yodel about the good ol’ days not knowing it’s way better now. Somebody is bound to come and fuck up the party. Enjoy while you can…[/quote]

Today’s cars are legit fast. Because of that, they don’t have the same sensation of speed. You take an old car with solid axles on leaf springs and you hot rod it to run a 15 second quarter, and when you make a pass your heart is pumping because it felt like you were gonna die. You take a 12 second car with modern suspension down the track and it feels almost pedestrian. A 15 second car is slow.[/quote]

Leaf springs will definitely make anything feel fast. I like the old cars too. I like cars in general, I don’t discriminate between Ford and Chevy, Porsche or Ferrari. I love them all.
What I hate are Camry’s, minivans, hybrids and electrics. I hate practical cars. I get the need for them, but they are boring, slow and ugly. I like exciting, fast and pretty.

[quote]pat wrote:
hybrids[/quote]

Man, there are actually some cool things being done with hybrids at the top end (i.e. cars that most of us will never own).

Not American cars, but LaFerrari is a hybrid, and i seem to recall there is a fully electric Mercedes SLS AMG with over 700 hp divided between 4 motors (one at each wheel for the ultimate 4 wheel drive handling). And of course the Tesla which is American, not insanely priced, and has it’s own thread here.

I too am not a fan of minivans (although I do enjoy a good sleeper van / station wagon / etc…). And I do believe that the Corolas / Civics / etc… of the world are cars for people who don’t like cars.

[quote]Broncoandy wrote:
And I do believe that the Corolas / Civics / etc… of the world are cars for people who don’t like cars.[/quote]

Yep.

Or who believe cars are appliances like stove and dishwashers.

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:

[quote]Broncoandy wrote:
And I do believe that the Corolas / Civics / etc… of the world are cars for people who don’t like cars.[/quote]

Yep.

Or who believe cars are appliances like stove and dishwashers.
[/quote]

Man, I didn’t used to even think those people actually existed. A few years ago, the owner of the company I was working for decided to start stepping back from the business and having his kids take over. This family owns half the town, all very well off. Old man owns a few mercedes. One son comes in in a different porche every day, etc… Real nice, high end stuff…and than the last one shows up,and he drives a fucking rust bucket PONTIAC VIBE. He used to get such a hard time from everybody. Between ownership, and employees we had a parking lot full of Mercedes, Porche, Harley Davidson, hot rods, custom pickups, you name it… and he parks a fucking Pontiac Vibe out there. Was the goofiest thing I ever saw.

I don’t think it was any coincidence he was an accountant.