my friend at school just got a 98 mustang special edition 10,000 miles, piece of **** motor (the 3.8 dog) but it got some nice fat rims, the dual side exhaust (saleen-esk), some kind of k&n intake deal, and chip by the by he paid 10,000 for it and i already whooped him for it but he liked the looks and sound of the thang


so we go down to golden gate in the bay, we did three runs i whooped the first time, he just spun his wheels for the beginning, we could only get enough ground to get up to 60 mph or so (i topped out 2nd gear) round one good guys

the 2nd one i spun and he took me by a cars length

the 3rd go i had an alright launch but i couldn't beat the 3.8 rwd off the line, so my friend had about a cars lead after the launch i walked back enough to loose by half a hood, good race, nice rush the one bright spot for the 3rd race was that a mazda 626 also lined up with us but he wasn't even close, he was cocky also

anywayz is that me just being ****ty at launching or is the rwd and 3.8 beating me, my car would have pased him easily if the race was a 1/4 mile, it was just too short to make up the launch difference

 

are you auto or stick? what about him?

 

both sticks, i have a cai my oil was old, i changed it the next day and put in mobil 1, feels better now, that could have hurt my acceleration, also i had all my tools in the trunk about 50 or so pounds

 

I'm no expert, but I think it really was his RWD and launching power that did you in. First, RWD gives inherently better launches by design. Second, that 3.8L engine was designed by Ford to be a torquey motor with all it's power down low to move that car off the line well. Doesn't make a lot of HP, but its torque curve is wide and above all, low. This brings to mind a car review comparing the 3.8L Camaro to the 3.8L Mustang. 0-30mph, the two cars have similar accelleration times. 0-60 though, and the Camaro stomps it flat because it's rated at 200HP versus the Mustang's (150HP? Can't remember - it's crappy though). I think also the Mustang might only be like 100-200 lbs heavier than your car, though I could be wrong.

 

You've gotta be careful with those rear-wheel launches. Just this week, my friend and I took our cars out for some dragging competition. He drives a 99 Mustang (190 HP) with flowmaster dual exhausts, cold air, and an upgraded suspension. After a series of hard launches, the Stang and my VE Max were neck and neck all the way past 90. Both cars are 5 spds, and both of us are car nuts who can definitely launch a car the right way. Possibly it was my 225 width tires that helped me get the extra grip on the launch to keep up with the Stang.

 

man i'm hurtin on traction. . . . hence the sig

 

yeah, its 150 stock and with his mods id say 170 or so, but i dont know much about the mustang, he also had wider tires than stock, but i still felt like a **** loosing, i was pulling on him as the race ended, y pipe here we come, plus my tires are getting bald but im saving for the y pipe