handling: SVO vs F-body

[sar4497]

Be honest here. Someone was telling me that the 3rd gen F-bodies could outhandle all fox bodies, including the SVO. Whattya think? Which car do you suppose has more handling potential?

[SVO4PWR2]

fox body, yeah. SN95 with IRS, no. ya gotta remember the early fox sat higher and not as wide as the F-body.
-RICH-

[GAboySVO]

I have recently rented several 2003-04 Mustangs V6s. Although they handle quite well for a rental car, they don't compare to my lowered SVO. I'm sure that with some suspension mods similar to my SVO, it would handle similarly.

I imagine Ford took some of what they learned from the SVO and incorporated it into later models.

Maybe some guys here who AutoX or do some road racing can relate their experiences racing against lete model Stangs.

[svobud]

Originally posted by GAboySVO
I have recently rented several 2003-04 Mustangs V6s. .

GAboy .. just making sure you understood that he was asking about F-bodys? Meaning: Camaros and Firebirds.

sar4497 - I've competed against quite a few of them in autoxing. I could beat them every now and then, but that was probably due to poor driving skills on their part. It's very hard for me to match their times if the more experienced drivers are behind the wheel. Open Track .. different story. I can take corners faster than most. But maybe that was due to me having more experience or bigger balls than the average Camaro driver?

[SVOeric]

Gene Baird is probably the best person to answer this question. he a has one of each, and auto-x's them.

[IMSA SVO]

Hmmm. I have absolutely NO experience with the SN95 or later Mustangs - but tons of racing experience with Fox bodied SVO and LX5.0's (see my recent post in "Welcome" section for a long-winded history.)

The truth is that, unfortunately, the F-bodies (all modifications being equal) will ALWAYS outhandle the Fox bodied Mustang. It's just physics - longer wheelbase, wider track and lower center of gravity. Couple that with outstanding brakes, bigger fuel tanks (especially on the 1LE optioned Camaros), and room for more stock rubber - and you can see why the F-bodies dominated late 80's, early 90's showroom stock racing. Wish it wasn't true - my brothers and I banged our heads against the wall by sticking with the Mustangs for almost 10 years.

Of course, there is some satisfaction in the fact that the F-bodies lost the war - after all, you can still buy a new Mustang at your local Ford dealership.

ERIC

[AT6svo]

Re: handling: SVO vs F-body

Originally posted by sar4497
Which car do you suppose has more handling potential?

See, now here ya open up a can of worms. The definition of potential is open to interpretation.

Stock Fox body vs stock F body?

Potential? Does that mean mods are allowed? Ever see a Fox3 (not SN95 car) equipped with Griggs or MM hardware run a course? Toss on some Baer brakes, etc etc. Whats the ratio of Mustangs vs F-body's in the AI & AIX series & which manufacturer has won more races? And when it comes to racing, its all about how fast you want to go and how much $$ do ya wanna spend. And now matter how fast you are around a course, there will always be someone better. maybe not that particular day or week, but they do exist, its only a matter of time.

Using the word potential throws in alot of ambiguity that makes it open to opinion and preference, hence something which can have no definitive answer.

[SVOMARK]

Originally posted by svobud
GAboy .. just making sure you understood that he was asking about F-bodys? Meaning: Camaros and Firebirds.

sar4497 - I've competed against quite a few of them in autoxing. I could beat them every now and then, but that was probably due to poor driving skills on their part. It's very hard for me to match their times if the more experienced drivers are behind the wheel. Open Track .. different story. I can take corners faster than most. But maybe that was due to me having more experience or bigger balls than the average Camaro driver?

Bud said it best. Of course, Bud could drive a Yugo on flat tires faster than most of us could drive in a Viper.