Base GT350 Review

[J_Maher_AMG]

Just a difference of opinions & lots of experience at the racetrack.:first:

Sounds like you bought a track car to go drag racing with. :headbonk:

Sponsored

 

[chuckty101]

Sounds like you bought a track car to go drag racing with. :headbonk:

No I bought my second Shelby just to go to car shows & cruise nights. Also blow the doors off a few Camaro's & Mopars in my area.
I had a 10's 1962 Falcon Coupe that I use to take to the drag strip on the Weekends.

 

[Norm Peterson]

So why does every road test magazine give you straight line 0-60 mph performance times if it does matter? :headbonk:

Because readers with little or no automotive knowledge can grasp what it means. Among enthusiasts, straight line acceleration and its various measures is nearly always the first thing learned. Either way, it's only the first step.

And that's not entirely a good thing, because people tend to form pass-fail (or at least overall strength/weakness) judgments on individual cars based only on straight line acceleration stats. Even when that wasn't what the car's primary mission was all about . . . like right here in this thread.


Norm

 

[Minn19]

Because readers with little or no automotive knowledge can grasp what it means. Among enthusiasts, straight line acceleration and its various measures is nearly always the first thing learned. Either way, it's only the first step.

And that's not entirely a good thing, because people tend to form pass-fail (or at least overall strength/weakness) judgments on individual cars based only on straight line acceleration stats. Even when that wasn't what the car's primary mission was all about . . . like right here in this thread.


Norm

Agree 100%, well said.

 

[chuckty101]

Direct quote from from CarandDriver:

"The base GT350 reaches 60 mph in 4.3 seconds after a somewhat difficult launch and does the quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 117 mph. Perhaps not stunning numbers these days, but the test car did weigh 3796 pounds. With its 18-pound carbon-fiber wheels and stickier Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the R (at 3710 pounds) makes it to 60 in 3.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds at 119 mph. Guess what? Porsche 911 GT3 drivers don’t jump up and down about drag-strip times. Stats that matter to them more are skidpad grip and braking distances. There, the 350 and 350R pull 0.98 g and a startling 1.10 g, while stopping from 70 mph in 152 feet and 146 feet. Ford’s priorities become clear when you check the track-sheet data.

A 100lbs or so does make a little bit of a difference in performance stats.
3710lbs vs 3796lbs
0-60 @ 3.9 vs 4.3
1/4m @ 12.2/119mph vs 12.5/117mph

 

[firestarter2]

Direct quote from from CarandDriver:

"The base GT350 reaches 60 mph in 4.3 seconds after a somewhat difficult launch and does the quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 117 mph. Perhaps not stunning numbers these days, but the test car did weigh 3796 pounds. With its 18-pound carbon-fiber wheels and stickier Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the R (at 3710 pounds) makes it to 60 in 3.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds at 119 mph. Guess what? Porsche 911 GT3 drivers don’t jump up and down about drag-strip times. Stats that matter to them more are skidpad grip and braking distances. There, the 350 and 350R pull 0.98 g and a startling 1.10 g, while stopping from 70 mph in 152 feet and 146 feet. Ford’s priorities become clear when you check the track-sheet data.

A 100lbs or so does make a little bit of a difference in performance stats.
3710lbs vs 3796lbs
0-60 @ 3.9 vs 4.3
1/4m @ 12.2/119mph vs 12.5/117mph

Different tires on each

 

[Norm Peterson]

Emphasis mine, sort of important.

Direct quote from from CarandDriver:

"The base GT350 reaches 60 mph in 4.3 seconds ... does the quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 117 mph. ... the test car did weigh 3796 pounds. With its 18-pound carbon-fiber wheels and stickier Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the R (at 3710 pounds) makes it to 60 in 3.9 seconds ...12.2 seconds at 119 mph...

A 100lbs or so does make a little bit of a difference in performance stats.
3710lbs vs 3796lbs
0-60 @ 3.9 vs 4.3
1/4m @ 12.2/119mph vs 12.5/117mph

Stats without thoughtful interpretation aren't worth as much as what they sound like. Worth even less when there's anything 'cloudy' about them and they're still being used to prop up an argument that's mostly irrelevant to what the car is best at.

That hundred lbs weight difference only accounts for about 1 mph difference in trap speed (I've got a couple of different ways to check this and they both came up with just under 1 mph for an 86 lb weight difference). Something else was going on that even C/D failed to account for.

Acceleration times starting from a dead stop depend more heavily on tire grip once there's enough power available to spin the tires on launch. Here, it introduces a variable that's difficult to accurately assess.


People will drag race just about anything with wheels and a motor no matter how irrelevant that kind of contest is to the vehicle's mission, including semi's and fire trucks. Heck, somebody somewhere has probably tried to drag race a hop rod (not a spelling error, google it).


Norm

 

[chuckty101]

So I should just upgrade my rear tires from 305 to 315, and get the same straight line performance as "R".

 

[Mike02z]

So I should just upgrade my rear tires from 305 to 315, and get the same straight line performance as "R".

Don't forget the savings in unsprung mass due to the CF wheels. An R may also have a different tune and no resonators but the resonator delete should not make a noticeable difference.

 

[dron_jones]

:frusty: unsubscribe

 

[Norm Peterson]

So I should just upgrade my rear tires from 305 to 315, and get the same straight line performance as "R".

Compound > nominal width . . .


Norm

 

[chuckty101]

Cheaper just dropping the rear tire pressure to 24lbs & increasing the front tire pressure to 45lbs. Old drag racers trick.

 

[Stuntman]

Compound > nominal width . . .


Norm

You forgot the tire diameter differences and effective gear ratios.

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

Direct quote from from CarandDriver:

"The base GT350 reaches 60 mph in 4.3 seconds after a somewhat difficult launch and does the quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 117 mph. Perhaps not stunning numbers these days, but the test car did weigh 3796 pounds. With its 18-pound carbon-fiber wheels and stickier Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the R (at 3710 pounds) makes it to 60 in 3.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds at 119 mph. Guess what? Porsche 911 GT3 drivers don’t jump up and down about drag-strip times. Stats that matter to them more are skidpad grip and braking distances. There, the 350 and 350R pull 0.98 g and a startling 1.10 g, while stopping from 70 mph in 152 feet and 146 feet. Ford’s priorities become clear when you check the track-sheet data.

A 100lbs or so does make a little bit of a difference in performance stats.
3710lbs vs 3796lbs
0-60 @ 3.9 vs 4.3
1/4m @ 12.2/119mph vs 12.5/117mph

So I should just upgrade my rear tires from 305 to 315, and get the same straight line performance as "R".

Cheaper just dropping the rear tire pressure to 24lbs & increasing the front tire pressure to 45lbs. Old drag racers trick.

You really are brainwashed aren't you?

1. The R has Cup 2 tires, which are far, far grippier than the Super Sports. So wider, MUCH stickier tires, and almost 100 lbs difference, along with carbon fiber wheels added up to 0.3 seconds difference.

2. As someone said above, compound >>>>>> width. Surprised you're too braindead to realize this considering you claim to be a "seasoned drag racer"...

3. You go ahead and do that man... again, as you should know, since you are an experienced racer and all, with modern tires, dropping the pressure actually causes the centre of the tire to bow upwards, and you actually decrease your surface area/surface pressure... :headbonk:

Get a grip man. :lol:

 

[Zitrosounds]

You really are brainwashed aren't you?

1. The R has Cup 2 tires, which are far, far grippier than the Super Sports. So wider, MUCH stickier tires, and almost 100 lbs difference, along with carbon fiber wheels added up to 0.3 seconds difference.

2. As someone said above, compound >>>>>> width. Surprised you're too braindead to realize this considering you claim to be a "seasoned drag racer"...

3. You go ahead and do that man... again, as you should know, since you are an experienced racer and all, with modern tires, dropping the pressure actually causes the centre of the tire to bow upwards, and you actually decrease your surface area/surface pressure... :headbonk:

Get a grip man. :lol:

Funny! When I read the post about tire pressure I literally LOL. Great response.

Sponsored