Lightning Lap 2024 - DH edges Mach 1 by .2 sec

[MAGS1]

color me stupid, link?

Here you go

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[AZ_Ryan]

.2 seconds...?

 

[spankybranch]

I’m at Barber for the weekend, just a fun HPDE but I am hoping to see some DH or even just s650 out this weekend. I was at Road Atlanta in September and there was a a single base-auto/non-HP Darkhorse there … but 4 Mach1-HPs including mine, 2 GT350 and 2 GT500 plus a couple GTs and one EB.

 

[robvas]

That's a car length and a half if my math is right

(25 feet, 86mph)

 

[VictorH]

The Dark Horse puts in a respectable performance. The auto trans is an advantage to the manual for a one lap max effort. The Mach 1 6 speed is using, at most, gears 2-5 for VIR (I tend to run gears 3-5), so only 4 gears, the auto trans 7th gear is same as Tremec 5th gear. The auto, based on the overall ratios looks like it's going to be running between 3rd and 7th gear, total 5 different gears per lap, plus much faster shift times. I think that alone might be sufficient for the time difference.

Other than weather factors others have pointed out, it also depends what time of day you run you laps at VIR. The asphalt is getting really old and is due for a repave. My experience and others is that the best runs, based on available traction, will be in the mid-to-late morning runs. In the afternoon, once the track heats up, the traction goes down. I've lost between 1.5 to almost 2 seconds between morning and afternoon runs on a moderate temp day (mid 60s, low 70sF). This the opposite experience of most all other tracks I run, as I'm just an amateur and generally get faster as the day goes on.

There's no denying the S550 and S650 platforms are really pretty good out of the box and for the price it's really hard to beat. I think the S650 is probably an incremental improvement over the previous generation, but both are very capable.

 

[gorditas]

It might be .2 seconds quicker, but the front end still makes me say "is that a Mustang or a Camaro" when I see one on the road at a distance.

 

[Galvez1978]

Likely different drivers, and they were run on different days with likely different weather conditions. These comparisons are fun, but comparing times from different years isn't really viable because of how much difference the conditions can make in lap times.

I think is the same driver and the DH have automatic transmission.

Car tested DH 75K Automatic
Car tested Mach1 61K Manual
Mach1 is faster than DH

 

[Galvez1978]

So as a Mach 1 owner we no longer have a dog in this fight, but it was nice to see the Dark Horse only bested the Mach 1's time by .2 sec.

Strange as it was, the DH was listed as 2:50.0 during the commentary section but later showed 2:51.2 which I find to be more likely.

2:50 is the BWM time, was a mistake the DH time was 2:51:2

The Mach1 lighting lap was with manual transmission, If the dark horse was only 0,2 faster with automatic transmission, with manual transmission will be slower than Mach1

 

[Galvez1978]

Well it would suck if Dark Horse was 0.2 sec behind Mach 1 HP
This only shows they're pretty much equal. Those 20 hp are useless.
Mach 1 with long tube headers and H-pipe tuned to premium octane petrol (AKI 93+ / RON 100) will beat DH to the ground while DH has issues to be tuned (unless authorized as it's online locked). That's my plan after warranty expires in 5 years.

Not even talking about worse looking exteriour and questionable/subjective interiour.
We chose well, I knew it already in 2021

On Europe the Dark Horse have less power than Mach1 450CV DH Vs 460CV Mach1.

 

[s3ltz3r]

So an automatic Dark Horse beat the 6-speed manual Mach 1? How is this a fair comparison?

The key takeaways are that the Dark Horse is 200 lbs heavier, and the overall performance was subpar compared to the Mach 1 with the heating issues on the Dark Horse. Oh and inferior cornering grip. And the Dark Horse had better tires.

Watch the 2022 LL YT video and all they did was rave about the the Mach 1, as opposed to the Dork Horse for the 2024 LL video.

To anyone with logic and common sense, the Mach 1 remains as the best overall performer even with the puny .2 sec lap difference. Give me the Mach 1 all day long. And it looks waaaaaaay better.

The Dark Horse is a big, fat flop.

 

[s3ltz3r]

They said that the transmission fluid in the DH was getting hot? Does the DH have all the same cooling as the M1?

Supposedly, yes. I'm wondering if the 200 lbs difference is the cause of this heating issue. That's a big difference everything else being equal.

These guys are the first ones to push the Dark Horse to the limits at a track.

 

[Tones GT]

This tells me how much they got the Mach1 right.

 

[Charlemagne]

The key takeaways are that the Dark Horse is 200 lbs heavier

Why is it so heavier? Chassis? Surely Gen 4 Coyote with dual intake doesn't add that much weight.

 

[Dragster]

My God, some of you guys apparently missed the numerous posts stating that you can't compare times from different years. The track conditions and weather are different, and those variables can account for large time differences. Not to mention that we don't know if the drivers were the same.

 

[shogun32]

Why is it so heavier?

sound deadening. No really. The immediate impression when driving the car for 40 minutes was, damn this thing is quiet. I guess Ford thought they were going to entice Honda Accord drivers.

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