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5th Gen Not so good for Autocross Competition
FYI, interesting discussion and comments from a suspension and SCCA autocross guru, Sam Strano from stranoparts.com over on LS1Tech:
"First of all, I now hold a total of 15 SCCA Championships (of the Nationwide variety, not regional, divisional type stuff--not sure I can count that high). I've won about half in F-bodies and half in Mustangs. I owned multiple versions of both cars. I am a pony-car guy.
GM killed the Camaro in 2002. It took them years to have another one. What they came up with isn't my cup of tea. It's heavy, it's cramped (for me with a helmet on), it's wide, it's got screwy wheels and a stock suspension that's not as adjustable in the front. And with the 5.0 in the Mustang, doesn't really hold any sort of power advantage to make those shortcomings up. Years back when I first got in the Mustangs, a GM employee working on the 5th gen project called to ask what I would want to see on the car for autox use. Those things never happened--maybe because they don't car, maybe because of the lack of money. I don't know.
There are a lot of assumptions being made about why I don't do X, Y, or Z. I have my reasons. In this case, I wasn't shelling out $30+k for a car that was not competitive. My business is largely based on the fact I don't just sell parts--but that I USE parts and understand how they work, and win with them. I'm not tying myself to a car that can't win for loyalty. And fwiw, Ford has done way more to help me than GM ever did.
I'm considering what to do for next year, and that might include another LS1 powered car, but that's TBD at this point. "
"First of all, I now hold a total of 15 SCCA Championships (of the Nationwide variety, not regional, divisional type stuff--not sure I can count that high). I've won about half in F-bodies and half in Mustangs. I owned multiple versions of both cars. I am a pony-car guy.
GM killed the Camaro in 2002. It took them years to have another one. What they came up with isn't my cup of tea. It's heavy, it's cramped (for me with a helmet on), it's wide, it's got screwy wheels and a stock suspension that's not as adjustable in the front. And with the 5.0 in the Mustang, doesn't really hold any sort of power advantage to make those shortcomings up. Years back when I first got in the Mustangs, a GM employee working on the 5th gen project called to ask what I would want to see on the car for autox use. Those things never happened--maybe because they don't car, maybe because of the lack of money. I don't know.
There are a lot of assumptions being made about why I don't do X, Y, or Z. I have my reasons. In this case, I wasn't shelling out $30+k for a car that was not competitive. My business is largely based on the fact I don't just sell parts--but that I USE parts and understand how they work, and win with them. I'm not tying myself to a car that can't win for loyalty. And fwiw, Ford has done way more to help me than GM ever did.
I'm considering what to do for next year, and that might include another LS1 powered car, but that's TBD at this point. "
This is not left field for me -- all part of research for the new gen., and pre-planning mods -- its good to get some discussion for comparison. Strano does not know everything. 
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