The Ram's Eye - A Driver's Blog

Inevitably, comparisons between the new +Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the +Nissan GT-R Nismo are being made. Before I get to any discussion, here are the performance numbers for each:

Corvette Z06 (manual)Corvette Z06 (auto)Nissan GT-R Nismo0-30 mph1.5 sec1.3 sec1.2 sec0-40 mph2.1 sec1.7 sec1.7 sec0-50 mph2.6 sec2.3 sec2.2 sec0-60 mph3.2 sec3.0 sec2.9 sec0-70 mph4.1 sec3.8 sec3.7 sec0-80 mph4.9 sec4.7 sec4.7 sec0-90 mph5.9 sec5.6 sec5.8 sec0-100 mph7.2 sec6.8 sec7.0 sec1/4 mile11.3 sec @ 126.2 mph11.1 sec @ 127 mph11.2 sec @ 125 mphbraking 60-0 mph91 ft91 ft97 ftbraking 70-0 mph128 ft128 ft145 ftfigure 822.5 sec @ 0.98 g (avg)22.5 sec @ 0.98 g (avg)22.9 sec @ 0.91 g (avg)
The manual Z06 acceleration numbers are based on Motor Trend's test because they tested a manual and the auto's numbers are based on Car and Driver's test because they tested an auto. The GT-R Nismo acceleration numbers are based on Car and Driver's numbers because they published full acceleration tests…

This isn't "A Closer Look". I don't have a second opinion, criticism or a different view. I simply have to include the performance numbers of a new Corvette Z06. Especially when they're blistering. 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds. 3 seconds flat. From a front (mid) engine, RWD car with a starting price under $80,000. With a manual, this number drops to 3.2 seconds. The full acceleration numbers are:
0-30 mph (auto/manual): 1.3 sec/1.5 sec 0-40 mph (auto/manual): 1.7 sec/2.1 sec 0-50 mph (auto/manual): 2.3 sec/2.6 sec 0-60 mph (auto/manual): 3.0 sec/3.2 sec 0-70 mph (auto/manual): 3.8 sec/4.1 sec 0-80 mph (auto/manual): 4.7 sec/4.9 sec 0-90 mph (auto/manual): 5.6 sec/5.9 sec 0-100 mph (auto/manual): 6.8 sec/7.2 sec 1/4 mile (auto/manual): 11.1 sec @ 127 mph/11.3 sec @ 126 mph



It is worth mentioning that the numbers were recorded by different sources. Car and Driver tested the automatic and Motor Trend tested the manual but the gap makes sense so take that for what it'…

Here it is in all its glory. The coupe stole the lights from those with the early leak and the bright white paint job but this, this right here is the piece de resistance for me. I don't know what it is about fast sedans that makes them so appealing to me. I think it's the fact that a sedan body style isn't as cool or "fast" looking as a coupe. It's there because of function. It has more space and more doors for easier egress and ingress. A coupe is for style. It's for fun. By definition, you compromise on practicality just for the sake of some kind enjoyment. For me, the ultimate enjoyment comes from driving it and a fast sedan means that it excels at everything you ask of it. The same applies to fast wagons. For more information, visit the earlier post: 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Leaked.




For more pictures, visit GM Media website: 2016 ATS-V Gallery. Which one would you choose, this or the coupe? Sound off in the comments below!

I feel like a kid on Halloween night who has just been told he can eat all his candy that night. Or even better, it's Christmas morning and all the gifts under the Christmas tree are mine. I don't even know why because It's not like I can buy this anytime soon but I'm getting all giddy just reading about it. Meet the Mustang Shelby GT350; the return of a legendary name.




There has been many rumours about this flat-plane crank 5.2L V8 "Voodoo" engine that's naturally aspirated. The rumours are true. It has an 8,200 rpm redline. If that's not impressive enough for you, consider this. This a V8. A big V8, not a V10 or V12. It's a 5.2 litre V8. Ford said it will have more than 500 hp. I expect it will be between 510-520 hp. GM said that the LS7 they're dropping in the Camaro Z/28 will have more than 500 hp and ended up with exactly the same amount as the C6 Corvette Z06, 505 hp. The GT350 shouldn't be aimed at the Z/28 as it should be more str…

I love sleepers. A picture of this car could be put in a dictionary next to the word "sleeper". The styling isn't aggressive. The brand, if recognized, would be recognized as an electric car maker not a performance car maker (except for the avid car enthusiast). It's a four door. It even doesn't look any different from the pedestrian Model S 60. And to top it all off, the electric motors noise (or lack thereof) won't be convincing anyone they're V8s or anything with enough power to worry about. That couldn't be further from the truth, though.

This is the fastest accelerating sedan that Motor Trend has ever tested. 0 to 60 mph arrives in just 3.1 seconds. The 1/4 mile passes in 11.6 seconds at 115.2 mph. For a full review and the rest of the stats, go to: 2015 Tesla Model S P85D First Test.




There are a couple of things I don't like about the car, though. For one, the interior. I don't know why every one is going crazy over this centre screen. …

"Now you see it. Now you don’t. See it all November 18." That's all what Cadillac said under the Youtube video so I'm going to leave it at that.

450 hp and 445 lb-ft out of a twin turbo V6, six speed manual and an e-locking differential, probably of the same variety used on the C7 Corvette Stingray. These details are just about enough to know about the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V to know that you want one. The ATS-V seems to have been leaked yesterday and it looks menacing. The fantastic looking ATS has been chiseled to produce a much more aggressive look that is distinctly Cadillac but the good news don't stop there.



More juicy bits include titanium connecting rods, two water-to-air intercoolers, titanium turbines for the turbos and an additional radiator dedicated to cooling the gearbox and diff. GM has been using Michelin tires on many high performance models and this is no exception as Pilot Super Sport tires will keep this car stuck to the road and suspension roll stiffness has been turned up 50%.




The car should weigh around 3,600 lb and while that isn't lightweight, it's right around what you would expect right now …

Remember the 2015 Mustang GT that broke into the 10's in the 1/4 mile with a bunch of Ford Racing parts? Original Post: 2015 Mustang GT breaks into the 11's in the 1/4 mile! A modified naturally aspirated Mustang did a 11.77 s at 116.2 mph and a supercharged one did 10.97 s at 128.9 mph. Well, after Ford debuted the King Cobra Mustang at SEMA, it announced that they will offer a King Cobra package through Ford Racing. Ford says that an early version (of the King Cobra) was tested on Milan Dragway in Michigan and posted an elapsed time (ET) of 10.97 s which is identical to the time posted earlier in the promotional video.

The King Cobra package apparently isn't a single package but rather a group of Ford Racing packages - the Drag Pack, the Handling Pack and the Super Pack. More information about the parts has been released about the included parts which are:


The Drag Pack:

Heavy-duty half shafts Rear sub-frame kit with pre-installed high-performance bushings

The Handling P…

As some of you may know, a few weeks ago I ordered some lower control arms for my Mustang. I decided to go with the UMI Roto-Joint units because of their claim of providing the proper articulation like a spherical rod-end while avoiding most of the degradation in ride quality. They do this using two different types of bushings, a traditional polyurethane bushing on the chassis side and a unique bushing called Roto-Joint on the axle side. The Roto-Joint is a spherical-like design which uses a pivot ball lined with a greaseable delrin race, which replaces the metal housing in a ball joint and absorbs more shock reducing NVH.

So far, the control arms have been living up to the expectations. I was just smiling ear to ear the first time I floored it. I was in 1st gear and the last time I was that aggressive with the throttle in 1st gear, wheel hop was terrible. Wheel hop is not 100% gone, which is to be expected since you need upper control arms to get rid of all hop, but it was very brief…

As promised, here's a video comparing the stock axle backs to the Heartthrob Flowpack units I installed a few weeks ago. The video shows start ups, both cold, and a few revs after the car had warmed up. The video doesn't do the difference in volume justice but you can tell the difference in tone with a good set of headphones or speakers. For a full review, go the original post: 2012 Mustang Boss 302 - Heartthrob Flowpack Axle Back Exhaust.

Yes, Lightning Lap 2014! I thought they were going to skip 2014 all together but luckily they didn't. I know it has been available for a while in the paper magazine but I am not subscribed so I wait for it to be available online to read it. The full article is here: Car and Driver - Lightning Lap 2014. This is easily one of my favourite magazine features of the year. As always, my car picks aren't necessarily very quick or slow. They simply did much better or much worse than I excepted them to. With that said, I would like to get one car out of the way. The Focus ST.


The Highs:



LL1 (Up to $35,000) - Ford Focus ST: This car made it to last year's feature, Lightning Lap 2013, and it was on my "Lows" list (Car and Driver's Lightning Lap 2013 - A Closer Look). It posted a very mediocre-for-the-class 3:21.4. I said last year that "I wouldn't be surprised if, with more seat time on the track and a true limited slip differential, the Focus ST may be well unde…

There are plenty of videos and write-ups online about how to install axle backs but I couldn't find any covering installation while the car is on ramps with little room. I don't know for sure if all the models are identical since I only have experience with the Boss 302 but I don't see why Ford would over complicate it and mount mufflers differently so I included all models in the title to make it easier to find when searching.

The first thing to keep in mind is safety. Disconnect negative battery terminal, ensure that the mufflers aren't too hot before you tackle this and wear safety glasses. I also feel more comfortable using ramps over jack and jack stands but if you use jack, make sure you secure the car on jack stands and not rely on the jack. I use Rhino ramps and so far, they haven't shown any sign of stress. I highly recommend them. If you use ramps, make sure that the tires are centered on the ramps.

Tools:

Drive extension bar
Drive extension bar with a sw…

A few weeks ago, I started the car up and realized that I forgot something so I ran back in to grab it and when I walked out, I noticed that there's a lot more vapour pouring out of the side pipes than the rears (as the car was warming up). I read many articles that said Ford designed the side pipes for noise and they flow very little compared to the rears. It certainly seemed like there's more flow through the sides than the rear (although I do have the side baffles completely removed). After that, I decided that I wanted an axle back exhaust. I'm obviously not expecting any power gains (nothing more than a couple hp anyway) but I was ready to turn up the decibels!

I decided on the Heartthrob Flowpack kit (the picture above is of a Mustang GT from Heartthrob's website, not mine) and bought it from American Muscle. I was very pleased with shipping. It shipped on the same day despite ordering in the afternoon and it only took one week to deliver despite being in Canada…

Well, this comparison was bound to happen. A 2015 Mustang GT equipped with the Performance Package vs a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro SS equipped with the 1LE package. Before we get to the numbers, let's look at how these performance oriented packages improve on the regular spec models.
The Mustang Performance Package ($2,495 USD/$3,700 CAD) adds the following:
Chassis stiffening through a Strut-tower Brace and a K-BraceA Larger RadiatorUnique Chassis TuningUpsized Rear Sway BarHeavy-Duty Front SpringsK-BraceBrembo 6-Piston Front Brake Callipers with Larger Rotors (15")19" x 9" front and 19" x 9.5" rear wheels (Gloss Black Aluminum)Unique Stability Control, EPAS (Electronic Power Assisted Steering) & ABS Tuning3.73 TORSEN Rear Axle (differential) The rear wheel size is 0.5" wider than those on the outgoing Mustang with the Track Pack which used 19" x 9" wheels front and rear. It also gets 255/40/19 front and 275/40/19 rear Pirelli P Zero tires a…

Very depressing news came from Dodge today when it announced that it will pull its factory-backed SRT Motorsports Viper from the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship after the 2014 season. This is just within days of multiple wins. SRT Motorsports won the 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GTLM-class driver and team championships in the season-ending Petit Le Mans 10-hour endurance race at Road Atlanta just two days ago, Saturday, October 4. It also finished second in the GTLM manufacturer championship, all in just its second full year of the program.

This and a strong heritage for Viper in road racing means that success can't be the problem. Why is Dodge pulling the plug? It is unclear but, according to Ralph Gilles, Senior Vice President of Product Design at Chrysler, it is a business decision. He said: “Our company has made a business decision to discontinue the SRT Motorsports Dodge Viper GTS-R racing program. We are very proud of the amazing achievements our fantas…

It went 11.77 seconds to be exact and past the traps at 116 mph and that's with minor modifications. The modifications were courtesy of the folks at Ford Racing. They recently got a hold of three 2015 Mustangs, one with the 2.3L EcoBoost engine making 310 hp and two GT's with the 5.0L V8 making 435 hp.




The power modifications are minor for two of the three Mustangs. The 2.3 EcoBoost gets a "Prototype Off-Road Exhaust" which most likely means there are no catalytic converters or "cats", a more free flowing exhaust and a tune. One of the GT's gets the same off-road exhaust treatment and a tune plus "ARH Cobra Jet Long Tube Headers". In the video, they say they did "a few changes to the air intake system but basically these are close to what any consumer can buy" so they may have included a K&N drop-in filter which FRPP Performance Packs for the 2014 Mustang GT included or an aftermarket CAI with a cone style filter.

The final GT g…