[tt335ci03cobra]

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

So, when you put handling AND grip together, "end of story"...right?

That's what we thought/knew, too...

Not really; no. You get great handling and track times. If that was the case, everybody would be in love with lotus exige's and factory cup car variants like the c6 cup, gt3 rs cup etc.

A lot of people also like quick drag strip times, big hp, broad torque, and high speed let alone personal preference and mog.

Yes the zl1 handles amazingly but its missing the engine and gearing to run easy 11's and 200mph. Different strokes for different folks. Both cars are amazing in different ways. One handles great and has amazing speed/accel for the cash (only $60k vs euro cars that cost 2 to 4x as much; $370,000 Lexus lfa eats a brick), the other has great acceleration and top speed with amazing handling for only $55k (vs cars that are two to three times the price; Aston Martin DBS, Mercedes sls can't keep up)

On a real note; these cars can both be complimented with mods that bolster their great skill sets to the level of their amazing sets relatively inexpensively; and thats the beauty of American pony/muscle; or rather these latest hyper pony/muscle cars.

Getting 100hp out of the zl1 without upping the boost which would try the internals of the motor and build heat soak? You'll need a cam, heads, valve springs, etc plus a dyno tune and labor. That's about $4,500 done correctly. If you wanna buy used or lesser parts, it can be done for $2,000 but labor alone will bump that right up. If you up the boost, you'll exacerbate heat soak which would ruin its on track ability as it would be dangerous to be hard on the car once it started seeing high iat's; a couple laps and the fun would be done.

A set of sway bars endlinks/bushings, springs and stickier/wider tires should take a gt500 to a whole new level if it just needs a little grip and less body roll. $2,500 on a high with labor. Problem is though, bigger tires might drop mpg a bit and stiffer springs/sways might hurt launch but the wider stickier tires might help peak grip. Hard part is ride will also be punished which is a more serious problem with this approach..

What do we learn? Each cars factory engineering is pretty maxed in each of its possible efforts without driving costs too high or stressing durability. You can have great handling and amazing speed/accel or great speed/accel with amazing handling. From there it's the owners play call if they wanna bolster the skillets of either car.

Tomato tomawto man; with muscle cars half the fun is being able to bring more potential out of them and personalize them. Reference: 1964 mustang sales. Argue that isn't the case and you'll look the fool as most everybody on car forums mods their cars from little ways to power adders and motor swaps.

My car factory handled ok and had good speed/accel; now it handles great, grips really well, and has ridiculous speed/accel. Other guys have built custom sla's, added downforce, and built very durable na motors to really track their cars and have amazing grip, handling etc with great speed and accel. It's the fun of muscle cars, buy it on a workers budget, enjoy it, and mod it if you'd like inexpensively compared to euro and Asian cars.

Bottom line? What you thought/knew isn't the general consensus, most people but something after weighing pros and cons, and deciding what they may or may not change. When people buy a house, they paint the rooms, stain the deck, paint the outside, change the windows, custom tailor the yard, etc.

When they buy a car, they tint the windows, add gadgets, and enthusiasts mod them. Often. It's quite easy to assume enthusiasts will buy the gt500 and zl1 and it's obvious modding is already full under way for both cars. The options are there so there isn't a clear end of story.