ZL1 (formerly TT 1LE) Vs Mustang 5.0 (formerly Supercharged)
 

Thread continued on Camaro6. I do miss my 5th gens, I wish I could have kept them all.

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=450694

Mustang versus Camaro. Does it get better than this?

Here is the story. For the past couple of years I have gone back to racing. My racing in the past was on the street. I was young and an idiot. The only good thing about this was no one got hurt.

My racing now is only at the track and mostly I am happy just running Test & Tunes. Or better know as "Run what ya brung". It is $15 for a night of fun, meeting new friends and good conversation. Cheaper than a movie if you forget about car expenses. When I first started running the real 1/4 mile I had an '11 LS3 SS with a CAI, LTs, cats, and no tune. After some practice I started running consistent 12.8s with the standard Pirellis. With this car I was faster than most Mustang 5.0s, at least the stock ones.

But there was one 2013 5.0 grey auto that I could not beat. He was consistently running 12.5-6 completely stock. In good air he cut a 12.4. On top of that he is awesome at the lights. A bad run for him is a .1something RT. I kept trying to catch him on a bad run, but no luck. We got to talking and I found out his name was Pat and he has been drag racing whatever he has owned for years.

Next year I figured I would catch him with my new 1LE. I added the LTs, scoop, CAI, and cats from my '11 and I added a set of drag radials. My 1LE was much faster than my old SS due to the DRs. Now I could run consistant 12.4-5s and even slipped into the 12.3s. I think with more time I could have trimmed another .1-.2 seconds with a better launch. But no luck beating that grey 5.0. Pat added DRs, a CAI, an xpipe, and a tune. Now he was running consistent 12.0s and in good air consistent 11.9s. When we would run me he would give me a slight lead and then run me down.

I had not seen him all winter and I decided that it was time to step up my game. This spring I added AGP twin turbos. Even though I decided to go low boost (4.5 lbs) I figured with some practice I had him. On my first night racing this spring with the TTs I had big clutch problems. I forgot to flush my clutch reservoir. Doh! Wont happen again. I did not see Pat that night. A couple of nights later I went back with clean clutch fluid and started running consistent 12.0s and an 11.9. Pat was there but was running his wife's Chrysler.

The next T&T night I want back and Pat was there with his grey Mustang. In the staging lanes we met and started looking over each other's car. He thought my turbos were cool and then we went over to look at his car. He added a Paxton blower! The bastard! But he said he "only" had 490 at the wheels. He thought my 550 would be more than enough to beat him.

That did not happen. Right off he started running 11.5s every run. My car was slower than the last time. The humidity was way high. I raced him a few times, lost big, picked up a CEL, and decided to call it a night.

Edit: With no changes Pat is running 10s in the fall. :frown:

So back to the drawing boards. My car is going back to the shop for a few adjustments. For number of reasons I decided to go with different wastegate springs and get tuned at 9 lbs. Probably this will give me another 50 RWHP. But I know Pats tuner is still working on his tune.

Think I have a chance?

Sounds to me this guy has a car that just runs damn good. I would thnk he's making a bit more than 490 hp. I would say it should definitely be a closer race, but keep in mind he is also a bit lighter than you. What kind of tires you running, I didn't see that anywhere in your post.

Have you looked into suspension upgrades? A stock 1le is a great track car but like the SS, not so great at drag racing.

Also, is the stang an auto or manual?

I was gonna say the same thing! His car is like 240lbs lighter!

Your fighting a up hill battle with him being a auto. You would have to pour so much money and power into your car to keep up with him plus be a great driver. A Paxton 2200 is a animal. He is probably making more than 500RWHP and that's through a auto trans. That blower has gone 9's with a auto full weight 5.0 with full exhaust, gears, converter, 15" dr, and completely stock long block.

There are 3 major advantages he has over you.
1. He could be up to 300lbs lighter. You would have to strip your car to level the playing field.
2. He can easily run a 15" drag setup and a 275/60r15 MT ET street pro. You'll never achieve this level of traction with the low weight and rolling resistance short of pouring at least another $3k into your car.
3. He has a auto. You will never out shift a auto and even if you somehow could pull of perfect shift and launch techniques he could install a aftermarket converter and then your really screwed as no manual is going to keep up with a stalled auto when all other variables are equal.

I would recommend a clutch upgrade, full rear suspension upgrade, 17" Weld wheels with true slicks, 12 bolt, 9 inch or ZL1 rear end and 10 psi boost on a race gas, meth or e85 tune. Of course will also need lots of practice. Even with the above he could still outrun you spending way less doing so. Bottom line enjoy your car and don't worry so much about who can beat you.

You're gonna need some cubic dollars to beat him. If he's only at 490whp, it's only cause he hasn't turned it up to 650 yet. Those 5.0's in auto with a blower run mid 10's super easy. They are the best little drag car Ford has ever built and GM didn't have drag racing in mind for the Camaro5. You can easily turn the power up on yours beyond what he can, but your car gets exponentially harder to hook with all that power.

There is always somebody faster. I've been puppy kicked recently by a cammed 13 SS with long tubes and exhaust. You know what I did to my Mustang the next week? Nothing at all. I got new 383 and new rear 1/4 window regulators for my 62 Nova lol

Great story/thread

uphill battle..seems he's always one step ahead of you..:nod:

And the 6R80 trans in the Mustang can take a hell of a lot of punishment directly from the factory before going bye bye. So like others said, next time you run into him he might even have more done.

Great thread. On top of him being one step ahead of you on mods, I think he has the upper hand in driving skill as well. No offense to you, but from how you described it, this guy can drive on top of having a sick car. That's a tough combination to beat. Enjoy your car as it seems like you have what many on this forum would dream to have as well!

You win and loose right off the line and his reaction is only part of the equation.

What is your 60 foot time? Every .1 off the 60 = .2 on the big end.

If you are cutting 1.9 60s (you didnt say??) and 12.0s and get get that down to a 1.7 you will see 11.6 or so....run some 1.5s and you are deep 11s easy.

Curios your MPH as well

-Matt

this!!

keep it up! make us proud! :burnrubber:

and yea, we'd love to see the slips.

I am running 18x305x45 NT555Rs on 22 lb TSW wheels @ 20-15 pounds of air. They are my everyday tires.

My best 60' so far is 1.85. I know I can leave harder on boost. Still babying my clutch and rear. He is running ET Streets but they are kind of skinny 18s. 265s? Just a guess.

Yes this is a good running Mustang! And with a good driver. I am still learning.

His advantages:

• Lighter car (at least 240 less)
• Better driver
• Automatic
• Solid rear

My advantages:

• More power
• More weight for better traction (LOL)
• The turbo whoosh and BOV cough
• I'm the underdog