Throttle House puts the 2020 GT500, Camaro ZL1 and Challenger Hellcat Redeye on the track

[shogun32]

offered a CFTP or ZLE for free, no strings attached, factory new, any options you want

that's what the raffle is for, right? I would pick the CFTP because the DD is perfectly acceptable. I don't live at the track and by taking the economic argument out, the ZLE loses that advantage. If it was my own money the normal ZL1 would be my choice. But if you gifted me the ZLE my first call would be to Multimatic for a set of shocks built "properly" for 80/20 DD/Track usage. And accompanied by pre/post dyno output.

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[RaceHorseV8]

Actually, not at all true. I've owned more Mustangs than Corvettes and Camaros combined. There was a time early in my career at GM when I owned two 1979 Mustang Pace Cars, one a 2.3T and the other a 5.0L. And I drove them to work every day. Maybe that's why I eventually headed Competitor Intelligence.

I think even newmoon and millhouse will tell you that I am constantly defending GT350, and to a lesser degree GT500 on C6G (I've driven GT350, haven't driven GT500 yet). My current job requires me to be subjective about all the vehicles I review. That's why I try to make it clear when I'm providing my personal opinion vs observations from facts / testing.

EDITING BECAUSE I DIDN'T ANSWER YOUR QUESTION:
Given to me free no strings attached: CFTP. Better all around car
Spending my money: ZL1 1LE. I like my seats powered, heated, and ventilated and I like my display heads up. Then there's that PDR. Yummy.

Hey fellow former 1979 Mustang pace car edition owner, I was just reminiscing about mine and have a question for you. I had the 2.3T version and was never able to test the 5.0 variant. Can you give me some comments on the difference between the two? You're the ideal person to give a fair comparison. Thanks!

 

[martinjlm]

Hey fellow former 1979 Mustang pace car edition owner, I was just reminiscing about mine and have a question for you. I had the 2.3T version and was never able to test the 5.0 variant. Can you give me some comments on the difference between the two? You're the ideal person to give a fair comparison. Thanks!

EcoBoost to 5.0L and then some. This was Ford’s first go round with turbocharging if I recall correctly. Maybe some stuff in Europe with Merkur. But it had ridiculous lag. It was pretty much like driving any 2.3L Mustang of the day unless you were REALLY on it. Then it was tons of fun. Mine caught fire. Thankfully right across the street from a fire station or it would have been totaled. Fuel line routed directly over the turbocharger leak gas onto the turbo. Fixed it and sold (gave) it to my older brother. The 5.0L was more of a fun ride in my opinion. As good as V8 Mustangs could be in the choked down early ‘80s.

 

[RaceHorseV8]

EcoBoost to 5.0L and then some. This was Ford’s first go round with turbocharging if I recall correctly. Maybe some stuff in Europe with Merkur. But it had ridiculous lag. It was pretty much like driving any 2.3L Mustang of the day unless you were REALLY on it. Then it was tons of fun. Mine caught fire. Thankfully right across the street from a fire station or it would have been totaled. Fuel line routed directly over the turbocharger leak gas onto the turbo. Fixed it and sold (gave) it to my older brother. The 5.0L was more of a fun ride in my opinion. As good as V8 Mustangs could be in the choked down early ‘80s.

Apologies for hijacking this thread! Thanks for the comments and I agree on the killer turbo lag. Mine started to burn oil at 60k (traded it) but before that it was a fun car in its day. Cheers

 

[Houston Kid]

Considering a GT350R ran a 1:28.29 at Willow Springs, I would say the tires were cooked of the GT500. 2-4 second improvement with fresh tires?

https://fastestlaps.com/tracks/willow-springs

 

[02gtnh]

Considering a GT350R ran a 1:28.29 at Willow Springs, I would say the tires were cooked of the GT500. 2-4 second improvement with fresh tires?

https://fastestlaps.com/tracks/willow-springs

They said the track was running slow. Heck a reg. zl1 did it in 1:26.16 a whole sec faster then the 1le.

 

[millhouse]

Why the hell didn't they put fresh tires on these cars? It's already known the GT500 loses up to 3 seconds after only 3 laps on fresh tires.

 

[Arkarius]

They said the track was running slow. Heck a reg. zl1 did it in 1:26.16 a whole sec faster then the 1le.

That's why same day track comparisons matter.

Thoroughly enjoyed the video. Each car was able to show off what they are good at.

Both the GT500 and ZL1 are incredibly impressive for what they offer.

It's too bad that Ford didn't put on new tires, always something with these comparisons to throw them off slightly.

I would take a GT500 CFTP if I'm being offered one of these beasts for free. No doubt.

 

[millhouse]

That's why same day track comparisons matter.

Thoroughly enjoyed the video. Each car was able to show off what they are good at.

Both the GT500 and ZL1 are incredibly impressive for what they offer.

It's too bad that Ford didn't put on new tires, always something with these comparisons to throw them off slightly.

I would take a GT500 CFTP if I'm being offered one of these beasts for free. No doubt.

This isn't on Ford, it's on the reviewers. You can't do road tests, burnouts, drag racing etc. all on the same set of tires and come away with accurate data. It was their responsibility to assure the test was as fair and equal as possible. They simply didn't wan't to spend the money on 3 sets of tires for 3 vehicles.

 

[Arkarius]

This isn't on Ford, it's on the reviewers. You can't do road tests, burnouts, drag racing etc. all on the same set of tires and come away with accurate data. It was their responsibility to assure the test was as fair and equal as possible. They simply didn't wan't to spend the money on 3 sets of tires for 3 vehicles.

These guys don't have the money to put brand new rubber on all 3 cars. Ford supplied the GT500 for them to use.

I agree though, this kind of comparison should really have 2-3 new sets of tires for each car. Problem is, someone has to spend the money to do so.

 

[Classic Lover]

All these cars are great and you have nothing to be ashamed of if you like any one of these.

I am a little surprised the redeye pulled that hard on the 500 top end. I thought they would be neck and neck in a roll race.

 

[ALUSA]

Does the CFTP delete the rear seats? ZL1 1LE still has rear seats with an additional 30 lbs weight and ability to squeeze 2 midgets.

 

[Arkarius]

Does the CFTP delete the rear seats? ZL1 1LE still has rear seats with an additional 30 lbs weight and ability to squeeze 2 midgets.

Yeah I believe it does. I haven't tried squeezing 2 midgets into mine, but I have managed one oversized midget.

 

[millhouse]

These guys don't have the money to put brand new rubber on all 3 cars. Ford supplied the GT500 for them to use.

I agree though, this kind of comparison should really have 2-3 new sets of tires for each car. Problem is, someone has to spend the money to do so.

Then they shouldn't have published track numbers. It was their responsibility to assure their test was on the up and up, not Fords. At the very least they should have put on a new set of tires on and then ran the track numbers first, followed by the 1/4 mile and then the road test.

There is a reason every Motortrend comparison shows piles of tires in the background of their pictures.

 

[Arkarius]

Then they shouldn't have published track numbers. It was their responsibility to assure their test was on the up and up, not Fords. At the very least they should have put on a new set of tires on and then ran the track numbers first, followed by the 1/4 mile and then the road test.

There is a reason every Motortrend comparison shows piles of tires in the background of their pictures.

They did run it that way, track tests were done first thing in the morning. (They mentioned this in the video.)

Sounds like the Throttle House guys are pretty disappointed in the tire situation too, but sometimes you've got to run what you've brung.

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