groho

Watching Top Gear yesterday, (dang those guys are hollarious!) where the boys test drove a GT500 (probably an 2009 episode). One of the comments that caught my attention was that the Roush had better suspension, and the GT500 lacked suspension upgrades due to costs. Is this still the case in 2012 and 2013? Does Roush truly outperform Shelby?

JayyVee

I watched that last night as well, it was also down about 100hp from the shelby, and still got a 2 sec better lap time.

The power of a well-balanced and applied suspension, can outweigh power itself..

jsimmonstx

I think if you were to jump into a 2013 Shelby, the very last thing on your mind - as you approach 200mph - would be worrying about whether or not a Roush corners better than your Shelby.

danzcool

I think the boss today has suspension comparable to what the Roush (and Saleen for that matter) had way back then.

Young_Gun

I thought their suspension complaints were irrelevant.

Complaining about only going straight? Well, that's what we have in America. Long, straight roads.

xkape

Wish I could compare but I am too poor to own a GT500..lol

Andy13186

we have all types of roads, go to any mountainous area.. and suspension helps the feel of the car in all areas anyway, much less brake dive and nose rise etc...

gt500 looked sloppy and apparently felt sloppy

JayyVee

There aren't many straight roads on the East and West coasts for more than a mile at best, you must mean out in the Corn Belt or Florida or something. Unless you happen to live in said corn belt where there also is little to no traffic - the dodging of highway traffic and slow pokers also brings the handling aspect to light. I live in the foothills of the Appalachians, and have enjoyed taking all my cars throughout the years to The Dragon.. Straight line roads can KMA they are boring..

To each their own though, certainly. However I prefer my car to be able to handle and put that power to the ground, and not have the rear end wagging in the air when I brake, or worrying about excessive body roll in turns throwing my weight-balance ratios off.. Take it to the curves where some skill and performance are both needed. You could throw a drunk guy behind the wheel and go straight.. (well sorta..) The fact that Roush built a car that gets 2 secs up on a Shelby with 100hp on it (on a small 1:30 average track setup), says right there it's 'not' all about straight line flooring.. 2 secs is a 'lot' for a small track like that, and 2 secs is 'forever' when you are talking straight line..

They (Euro Top Gear) never have much good to say about Mustangs due to the SRA anyhow. All opinions aside - the episode in discussion was years old, and today's Shelby isn't the one he drove at all. Engine and suspension-wise the differences from the 05-09 to the 10-12 (and now 13) Shelbys are substantial, so it's sorta a moot point.

wcgman

If you buy me both cars, I can give you a full report later.

Young_Gun

I was speaking more to the mid west and desert. Unless I've misread, isn't Shelby American in Nevada?