mustang vs S-Car -- Re: [s-cars] RE: Stebro

[Theodore Chen]

--- steve powers <steve at thepowers.net> wrote:
> 
> When did you purchase yours? and with how many miles? This may be a factor 
> on how you judge the ride. In my experience, the S6/S4 handles way better 
> than _any_ T-bird and probably most Camaros. Late model Camaros are piggy. 
> Mustangs are much lighter and if well equipped, will perform better.

of the cars you listed, i'd give the performance nod to the 3rd gen f-body
(camaro and firebird).  it has SLA front suspension, a torque arm and 
panhard rear suspension, torquey V8 set back in the chassis (enough that 
half the engine is under the windshield).

in the old IMSA firehawk endurance series, it was the camaro versus the
'95 mustang cobra R in Grand Sports.  if you watched them at the 24 hours 
of daytona, you'd see the camaros pulling away from the cobras in the 
infield, and then the cobras catching up on the high-speed oval.

that's because SCCA put restrictor plates on the camaros, and allowed
the cobras to use improved "factory replacement" aluminum heads.  the
steeda cobra Rs were rumored to be putting out close to 400hp at the
crank.  if it weren't for that power adjustment, the camaros would have 
won all the races.  the E36 M3 ran in the same class but wasn't competitive 
at all.  the firehawk endurance series is basically showroom stock.

the audi S4/S6 handles decently for a large sedan, but it's got too
many disadvantages to begin with: 4000lbs. of road-hugging weight,
engine out in front of the front axle, triangulated antiroll bar as
a suspension link, and limited tire size.

the front suspension geometry is a big hose.  the caster and wheelbase
change a lot as the suspension compresses, and will whack your trailbraking
in the head.

> For comparison I bought my S6 Avant in '95 with 7 miles on it. All miles on 
> my car are mine. It rode great, though tended to roll a bit when it was 
> stock. It's far from that now and has numerous suspension upgrades since. It 
> performed very well at the recent club autocross event. It just turned 105k 
> this AM.

that's great, but a driver in a mustang cobra or camaro who knows what
he's doing will clean your clock easily.

i'm not saying they are better than the audis.  they are different cars
for different purposes.  if i had to have just one car for everything, 
i'd get the audi.  but taka already has an audi, and wants something
different.

i know after driving around in my audi for a while, when i get in the 
mustang, it's noisy, beastly, crude, and leaps forward at every prod of the
accelerator pedal.  and i love it.

-teddy



	
		
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