timothyrw

i think i've quoted the main thrust of your post.

and i disagree.

the beauty of the mustang is thatit can easily be made into the carthat YOU want it to be. you want a great handling car? it can be done. someone else wants a drag machine? no problem.

and a lot of guys are able to do it in their garage in a weekend!

you want the car that does EVERYTHING well straight off the lot? you can have it!

go to your local BMW dealership and pay the 40-50 thousand for a car where all the engineering has already been done for you.

what's a bmw m3 convertible going for nowadays?????? probably pushing $60k...

marcuskeeler

Sorry, that is tooooo far out of field.

Getting a chassis to handle is not just a case of springs, shocks and a set of LCA's, it's about the chassis itself and how it transfers and handles loads placed upon it. It's about suspension methodology and geometry, and I mean geometry that you can't access by swapping removable parts. There is absolutely ZERO finesse in the Mustang horse & cart chassis at all and adding the finest handling kit around will never make it an M3.
The car you can make out of it is a better drag car, and that's because all that has to do it stay between the hedges on a straight road, my soapbox kart did that

This is OK though, this is why it's cheap and partly why we love it. The rudimentary approach to corners is a "Mustang thing" and I'm comfortable with that. It just saddens me a bit when I read opinion we are all potentially a step away from a Ferrari track car killer, we most certainly are not, get used to it.

mightymouse

I think the 03-04 Cobra has an IRS in it.. i may need to chek in to that but i think it does.

Dwisforme05

personally, i hate the solstice the new gxp i kinda respect because its quick. but they look like ****. yes the handle better then the mustangs, but its a solstice. My father just bought himself a new car and sold his old one. he bought a 2007 Mini cooper S. at first i hated them because of how small they are and the basic coopers are slow as ****. 8.3 0-60. thats gross. but the new Turbocharged mini cooper s, if u want a car that handles take that thing on a curving road. THAT thing handles like a dream. but hey man, now u have a straight line muscle car and a weekend toy car. just dont complain that a MUSCLE car twice the size of the solstice doesnt handle as well.

kodos78

I have to most respectfully disagree.

I had a C5 Vette. And while that chassis was outstanding, I don't think that the Mustang is all that bad.

In fact, I think that a modified Mustang can be a great track car, the biggest problem is that once you make it a great track car it is dubious (to my mind) whether it will be a great road car at the same time.

That's the genius of a car like an M3, Corvette, Porsche or Ferrari.

In fact, even that lame brain on Top Gear gave high marks to the Roush Mustang -- it didn't do too bad against an Elise on the track either.

But the Mustang starts with several handicaps. For one, it has 4 seats, compared to the two that most of these other cars have (again, this is what BMW does extraordinarily well -- making sedans handle great, but you have to pay). Second, it costs less than most of these other vehicles. The cost of entry into the Mustang chassis is < $20,000 (V6 coupe). And of course the third one is the live axle, which is a byproduct of the last handicap primarily. But a live axle has been proven to work well on a road course.

GidyupGo

Try to campare apples to apples. Crap, shave off 1000 pounds while you are at it to make things more equal.

Twister086

i must say i have had my tokico struts and springs for about 2 years now. and i drive my car without a front sway bar for drag racing. about amonth ago i drove a new 07 gt with no mods, and i threw up alittle in my mouth. i forgot how big of a difference that 750 dollar suspension upgrade made. i would be happy to take my car to summit and run against all those cars, but i cant afford to buy the upgraded brakes and wheels i would need to be safe. i know the factory brakes are horrible, and thats the main thing preventing me... that and the all terrain tires that come from the factory. is it safe to say you may not have pushed your car as hard as they did or drove it as consistently as them. last time i was at summit there was a gorgeous black gt pacing the field for most of the race. the only car that managed to pass him was a e36 m3 purpose built car.

timothyrw

i never said the mustang can be a m3.

i think that goeswithout saying and i try not to fill my posts with the obvious.

i said it CAN be a great handling car. and i stand by that.

StantheMan

I bought my Stang because it was cheaper thanthe Soltice. I paid for my 07 GT, Somewhat plain 22.5K, new. I went to the GM dealer during GM days and they were not discounting the Soltice. I drove the Solstice and it was a fun car to drive, but lets face it, it no Stang. The cheapest Soltice they had on the lot was 28K before they upped It another5k for, Adjustment Market Value (I call it Arrogant Market Value). The Soltice is a nice car, should be for what it costs, but with little more than an over sized washing machine motor it should do something for all those big bucks Chevroletasks for it. Handles, you bet, if the Stang had the weight of a 4 cyl.. it would handle much better too. Get real, compare apples to apples! If you want both, ante up the other 30k and buy a Vette.

bazguitarman

I think it`s easy to do some shaky comparisons in today`s auto market place. The truth is, any real race fan knows even with the top cars they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. That`s straight up reality. Some can drive into turns hot and heavy, but can`t exit under throttle as well. Some suffer in turns, but can put major power down on exit. That`s the only way to compare cars. In my 37 years of experience, most production cars will do and are capable of more than what their drivers have skill for.

The new Mustang is a great little car. I wouldn`t consider buying one if it wasn`t. But let`s be honest. If you are a super serious road racer then you would have never bought a Mustang in the first place. Those that do an occasional open track day for the fun of it are well served with a lightly modified Mustang GT. Any one who complains doesn`t have a real problem with the Mustang. They just made a bad decision and bought something that they really didn`t want. No big deal. It happens all the time. I`ve done it. Everyone has at one time or another.

The bottom line is this. I personally know many Mustang owners that have fully streetable cars that will pull 1 G lateral. That`s competative with a new Dodge Viper, Z06 Vette and many more expensive Euro cars. It takes a little investment capital and wrench turning, but a new Mustang can be turned into a fairly dangerous street performer. Up to the limitation of the live axle rearsuspension set up. Then the more expensive cars are going to out pace you. But on the street that`s a non-issue. Honestly how fast are you going to be driving on a curvey street? Driving fast is fun up to a point, but is just too dangerous after that. Even those Viper and Z06 owners don`t max there cars out on a public street. Why take the chance on killing yourself or possibly someone else.

Drop about $2K into your S197 suspension and you would be amazed at what it would do. But don`t expect it to handle like an Enzo on the track. That`s my .02 worth. Take it for what it is.

Eric