94-98 mustang

[manny]

anybody notice that the BOD has dropped the weight of the 94-98 mustangs in ITS to 2850. heck the ITB mustang with only 4 cyl's has to come in at 2640. that ITS one might be worth a try now?

[SilverHorseRacing]

I plead the fifth in having any knowledge or involvement in that !!! And if I don't build an 05 soon, that might be an interesting alternative, especially since the wife's 94 is getting close to needing a complete overhaul anyway...

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-Marcello Canitano
www.SilverHorseRacing.com

[Ron]

What type of HP numbers could one get out of the V-6. Can you get one of those cars down to that weight?

Ron

[manny]

dont only concern yourself with the HP, but look at how balanced the car setup could be, and yes i think you CAN get it to that weight. and if you marcello had anything to do with the lowering of the weight, THANK YOU! time to build a new car!

[Ron]

Hey Manny, Having just having my doors blown off at Road Atlanta by my friend Tony Burdett in his E-36. HP does need to be looked at. Yes I know my little ITB Mustang is slow in a strait line but thse bimmers scream. Marcello, or anyone I think we can get them to handle fairly close but what about the power?

[manny]

i know what you mean about a ITB mustang.with everything that is alowed in IT i would think around the 180 to 195 HP range. just a good ball park figure.

[SilverHorseRacing]

I think that the weight is the wrong way to go about it... here's why.

With a proper cage, driver, and fuel, you're probably going to be right around 3000 lbs. The weight balance of the SN95 isn't much better than the Fox, the real improvements didn't come until this year (52/48 for 2005), so other than revised pickup points and control arms on the SN95 chassis, they are similar to the fox. Brakes are better, but still aren't much improved until you get to the 2001's, with the multi-piston aluminum calipers.

The aero is the best of any years on 94-98, so that is a plus, but the frontal area is still high when compared to say an RX-7.

The power... stock you've got 140-145Hp based upon year(94-98). Within IT trim, you can expect around 200, maybe a little over, but not much. To really get the motor to put down some numbers, I'd say you need a cam, more open intake and heads, and a good optimization of everything there.

So... my thoughts? I was really hoping for the car to remain at 3100 and get bumped down to ITA. It would have been much easier to build the car to be competitive there, since you wouldn't have to worry about every ounce of weight and the Hp would have been more in line with the cars. The BMW's, from my understanding, are around 240hp or so in IT trim, and have handling on par or above that of the 2005's, which I can say are much better than the 04-prior's.

So, the 64k dollar question... can it run up front in ITS? I don't really think so. It could be a top five car, depending upon the competition and who shows up, but if people like Irish Mike bring out their Mercedes down here, there's not really much of a chance of taking a win from a car like that... I'd build it if you like the car, but I wouldn't build it with the dream of being class champion, even at 2850.

Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it...

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-Marcello Canitano
www.SilverHorseRacing.com

[Ron]

Marcello, that was my thought. ITA might be fun and not having to worry about weight would be fun plus we could run without 60 Miatas around us.

Yes, at Road Atlanta there were 60 of them in my SARRC race. THe race included a first turn crash. In the sunday enduro they did a split start with the miatas starting by them selves. Turn one was so smooth. By the time the front running Miatas passed me they were under control. I would miss the simple pleasures of my old carb ITB Mustang.

By the way is your wife going to let you turn that new white car into a T2 car? I saw you over at cc.com

Ron

[SilverHorseRacing]

While she would like to have it instead of her 94, she fully understands that if I can obtain the proper sponsorship for it, it will be a track whore in short order. Even I am having trouble with the thought of it, but hey, somebody has to race a new Mustang, right?

BTW, what's your handle over there? I wish the search function here worked half as good, we'd avoid 3/4 of the discussions and questions that get repeated...

Oh, and yeah, had the same thing here in November with the Miatas. 54 started, and it was only ok because of the split start that I was okay with it. Definitely was nicer when you didn't have to deal with them buzzing all around the track. I agree that the fast drivers are no problem, but most any of them near the mid-pack ITB cars just plain and simple can't freakin drive....


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-Marcello Canitano
www.SilverHorseRacing.com

[NLPRacing]

So, which should I build, a 93 Probe GT or a 94-98 Mustang V6?

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[Ron]

Marcello, it's RonITB

[Ron Earp]

I was kicking that V6 idea around too. But, that motor for those years is the HRPP model - Highly Resistant to Power Production. I did some inquiries on the Mustang boards to see what the rear wheel numbers looked like and was not that impressed, even with some illegal goodies like a cam. I still might look at it some more, but a 2.5L BMW motor beater it is not, at least I don't think it will be. I like the idea of available parts though.

R

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning Tow Beast
RF GT40 Replica
Jensen-Healey ITS
1/2 a 260Z ITS