question about shelby gt500
- Thread starter aqil
- Start date
weight, traction, more tq harder to plant
Weight of the car and the ablitity to transfer that weight to the ground.
+100000000000000000
0-60 is more about traction than about absolute power. The GT500 has an additional hundred horsepower, but the current chassis/suspension/tires can't put down any of that additional power. Basically, the Shelby's extra power is wasted at launch.
Think of traction as a cup and power as a cold beverage of your choice. The Shelby and Boss have very similar sized cups (available traction), but the cup is too small to hold all of the beverage (power) that the Shelby is trying to poor into it. If you pour too much, the extra beverage (power) just spills out onto the table.:burnout:
Both cars end up putting similar force to the pavement in first gear (because both cars are traction limited) but the Shelby is a heavier car. That's how the Boss wins to 60 mph.
Once traction is no longer the limiting factor (like in the higher gears), the Shelby can utilize all of its power to overcome the added weight and out-accelerate the Boss. So yes, with stickier tires (drag radials or slicks) the traction envelope can be enlarged enough to allow the Shelby to outaccelerate the Boss.
Think of traction as a cup and power as a cold beverage of your choice. The Shelby and Boss have very similar sized cups (available traction), but the cup is too small to hold all of the beverage (power) that the Shelby is trying to poor into it. If you pour too much, the extra beverage (power) just spills out onto the table.:burnout:
Both cars end up putting similar force to the pavement in first gear (because both cars are traction limited) but the Shelby is a heavier car. That's how the Boss wins to 60 mph.
Once traction is no longer the limiting factor (like in the higher gears), the Shelby can utilize all of its power to overcome the added weight and out-accelerate the Boss. So yes, with stickier tires (drag radials or slicks) the traction envelope can be enlarged enough to allow the Shelby to outaccelerate the Boss.
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Still, I am with the OP in that something doesn’t quite add up. I say that because I had a 2007 Corvette Z51 400 hp 6 Sp manual and it performed on par with my 2011 GT500 SVT PP. The 0-60 times are about the same ~4.1 sec, braking and handling were similar as well but the weight difference is ~ 600 pounds (the Z51 came in just over 3200 while the 11 GT500 is around 3850). Recent magazine tests put the 436 HP 2011 Grand Sport on par with the 2011 GT500 SVT PP as well and there is about 600 pounds difference in weight. Generally 100 pounds of weight corresponds to .1 sec in the quarter mile so I think something else is going on here. I agree the Shelby is traction limited but my Corvette hooked up very well and made the most of its horsepower to weight ratio and never cracked below 4 sec. The Boss isn’t all that much lighter than the Shelby, maybe around 200 pounds, so it doesn’t look like weight is the big factor here. I suspect it has more to do with where the power comes on in the Boss as it pulls hard at higher RPMs and makes the most out of 2nd gear on its way to 60MPH.
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