I was at a light over lunch on a sort of local highway and took off pretty hard through 1st and 2nd hoping I'd make the next light but sure enough I caught it. Hate that!

At this light I also "take off" but not nearly as hard and I short shift into 2nd at below 4000rpm. All 4 of my windows are down and that's when I hear the Lincoln LS V8 next to me. His hood was right at my back door and he was at WOT and seriously winding out that puppy. That 3.9 V8 was screamin!

I had already shifted to 2nd and I was below 3k when I heard him winding out and realized he was trying to race! Damn!! He was a half car behind and pulling on me. Uh-oh...I just planted my right foot and prayed the VQ wouldn't let me down.

Now we were going into a sweeping left hander and he was in the left lane and had the advantage but was still dead even with me with his hood right at my open window (talk about loud!) I was watching my tach and hit 3rd at 6100 to avoid bogging up top and here's what happened after that.

bye-bye

I kept it planted through 3rd and took it up to about 80 or so and then shut it down after pulling about 3-4 car lengths on him or so. And then he did a ricer style fly-by. We were side by side at the light before and he didn't do anything but I guess he wanted to play after he saw me take off (fast driver) and saw my tail bouncing (5spd confirmed) hehehe

An interesting note from the race. As his engine was deafening me with it right by my open window I noticed that his 1st and 2nd gears were extremely close to each other, almost like a half shift. But after he shifted to 3rd it was much much wider. It seemed like 1-2 were optimized specifically for a good 0-60 time. I checked the ratios on CarTest2000 and look at this:

LS V8 Gearing:
1st: 3.25 (44 mph)
2nd: 2.44 (60 mph)
3rd: 1.55 (94 mph)
4th: 1.00 (132 mph)
5th: 0.75 (xxx)

Lincoln did all they could to give the car good "mag times" because 1/2 are optimized for 0-60mph and then 3rd is as short as possible to get you through the 1/4 mile. I think the car is a good bit slower than what the mag times make you think. If I was even remotely trying on that launch I would have burned him bad all the way down that stretch of road.

hehe...that was fun. I should get out of the office and go for a spin more often around lunch time!

 

I like them. Nice looks for a Ford. The V6 has the optional manual while the V8 only gets the auto.

 

The Lincoln LS is a nice looking car....but not worth the price IMO. Good Kill!

 

See!! you should convert from Honduh to Nissan earlier!!

 

Good Kill but watch out for the new 2003 LS with the performance package. The new 3.9 liter V8 will be supercharged putting out 350 hp, with an optional 6-speed manual. But as for now you VQ's can eat LS's all day long. The new one sounds like one bad car.

 

Nice kill!!

I had a run with those once in the past. It was only traffic light to traffic light, but we were able to get it up to 80mph in between lights. I had him each time by about a car length.

That's about the only Ford product (aside from Jag) that I wouldn't mind driving...

Hotnicks
01 SE 5spd

 

....from Hertz Rental Car at San Jose airport when I was in Santa Cruz for business.

I drove it hard on Highway 17 from San Jose, and it was a nice handling car. I though, hmm....this car seems faster than my 97 Max.
I had it for about 2 weeks, driving to Yosemite and all, and my impression is excellent (but somewhat heavy). Unfortunately, the LS understeers, unless you plant that pedal to the metal after apex. I though RWD car usually oversteers..??

Went home to Milwaukee, and drove my Max. You know what, Max is still faster than the LS V8

The Max feels much lighter and faster in acceleration. The LS is a nice car, but the brakes....OMG!!! The brakes are like #@$@%!!!!

 

dayum, are you serious?!?!



Speaking of fast American full-sized sedans, I saw the new Mercury Marauder the other day going in the opposite direction. I know that puppy has an S/C'ed V8 too but I'm not sure of what the specs are. I wonder if it's a twin to the S/C LS? I think they're built on different platforms though so maybe not.

 

the 2003 LS comes in 3 models

V6
V8 (with the option of upgraded intake and exhaust which gives it 300hp)
V8 supercharged (pumping 350hp 350 lb ft torque), 1/4 mile times of high 14's low 15's.. not bad for a 3800 lb car but not worth the 55k base price tag, 65k manual price tag

 

Mercury Maruder
302hp
318 lb ft torque
weight: 4165 pds

$33,000 price tag

 

i considered the LS for a replacement. i like the looks and the interior and i think it would respond well to a tire wheel upgrade. but for that amount of $$$$$$$$$...you can keep it... that is BMW territory. the only car that i would consider in that price range

 

you can get a 2000 LS V8 for 18k, slap on the tranny rebuild and supercharger, exhaust, intake, which will run you about $8300 total, and you can have one with 350hp

 

My dad recently purchased a Lincoln LS V8. Without the sport package. (he likes wood and smooth ride) Anyway I've got a 5 speed 96 SE. So I drove his car last weekend and I thought it drove great, had huge levels or refinement and a super stiff chassis. I can say that with the AdvanceTrac traction control engaged its a baby. But I was very surprised to see the rear end break loose when it was disengaged. I swung a u-turn with the traction control off and the rear end started coming around and I was just getting on the power. The chassis and steering make it a baby to control and I wore a grin from ear to ear on the ride home. Lets get it straight, this car will not beat a Maxima in any acceleration tests. The 3.9 V8 dyno's about 200-210 hp at the wheels. Nice but when those horses are pushing around a 3700lbs car it doesn't work out to Maxima eating acceleration. The 5 speed auto is decent but leaves you wanting a 5 speed manual and the only way you can get one is with the V6. If they offered a V8 5 speed combo that would be a really good car.

Side note: The tranny's quick 1st to 2nd gear change can become a pain in the *** in stop and go traffic. But this car is great on the open road, very quiet, and at 80mph the car sits at about 2500 rpm and its very quiet. And for the enthusiasts lets not forget that the battery is in the trunk. Can you say 52/48 weight balance! Wish the Max could say the same (62/38)

 

yea i have an LS now, it is a great car, im not big on racing (just another chance to get a ticket or get killed) so it's good for me

 

they don't allow you to type much at work huh?

 

Does your dad know what you're doing to his Luxo V8?...

G

 

I went home for lunch. I'm enjoying my nice 0.5 mile (4.5 miles the long way) commute for the next two weeks while it lasts.

After that it will be 25 through crappy DC traffic!

 

I followed a LS V8 off the line when it was going WOT, it didn't pull on me much.

 

only time will tell!!!!!!



DA-MAX a.k.a HSV Commodore SS freak!!!!!!!

 

The Maruder was suppose to have power, but in Ford fashion, I guess they didn't get the kind of numbers they wanted. Predicted power was suppose to be around 330hp. I don't think the Maruder is SC'd either. I believe it's a Cobra DOHC 4.6 tuned more for lowend torque. Nearly a 4200lb weight means this car will barely crack the 14-second barrier in comparison, the old 260hp/340 ft/lb torque 94-96 SS weighed 4200lbs and was a lower 15 second ride. I don't see the lower displacement 4.6 being that much quicket in the 1/4 due to a lack of torque.


Dave

 

Maybe I should ask my neighbor for a race? He has a Lincoln LS.
Or maybe I should ask him to race me in his 2002 Z06 Vette?

 

its not, like you said its the Cobra motor "detuned." but it's gonna end up like most of the early big power Ford and Chevy "muscle sedans"(ie- 9c1 Caprices(350) and 94+ Impala/Caprice(LT1)....no real threat stock....but modded can change everything! as for the Marauder my guess is it will probably run mid/high 14's at best, but nothing beats AMRICAN torque , I was driving my dad's Regal the other day...WHEW, for an old fogey car, that thing can get up nicely!!

 

I raced my friend's stock 96 Impala at Capitol Raceway with my 2000 Maxima. He ran 14.7 to my 15.9. That's faster than most Maximas here. He's added catback and few other tricks, so he's running even faster than 14.7 now. The new Marauder should be in that neighborhood.

 

yeah, I remember when you guys raced! yeah I'm not saying they aren't fast, its just the majority I've seen run low 15s and up...but still considering its only a ~250hp automatic that wieghs more than a buttload even still low 15s is pretty good...14's is amazing!

and hey come on out to the picnic on the 22nd, Paul!!! you're still in the area right???

 

I was seriously thinking about coming out for this one. This event is more my style.

 

I think there was an article in SCC a while back about gearing for 0-60. I bet some cars would be faster overall if they didn't worry about 0-60 so much.

 

If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would have skipped the Accord V6 altogether and just gotten a Maxima to begin with

Hiya Paul!

 

Hey Steve! So you have no car in the family. The Highlander is very nice.

 

those marauders are bada$$ cars. for a boat-like cop car, they look burly with 2 huge exhaust pipes stickin out the back. the muscle cars are coming back. but i will always stay away from domestics... except maybe for that 6 spd ls.

 

Anyone see the Car and Driver TV show with John Moss? He's the guy that does prototyping and aftermarket stuff for GM, they had a kick a$$ Regal that was putting down over 300HP, and it looked pretty good. But it'll never make it to production.

Boy that guy has a tough job

 

They still don't look as good as the 96 Impala SS.

 

I think the Maurader is PHAT!!!! This is the first American car on my want list in a long time.

 

I agree. Check out http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=04545940

 

Lincoln LS looks cool. but they are weak

 

It should be more like 48-52mph because it to short shifts the 1-2shift. It actually shifts at 5,900rpms when its peak HP is made at 6,100rpms. The other gears are shifts at redline, 6,500rpms. Car and Driver has had many comments on the poor gear spacing, meaning 2 and 3 are too far apart, 1 and 2 are too close.