Last week I got to drive a friend's 95 saleen s351r. He reports 500 rwhp w/505 # trq. Dammmmnnnnn, it was quite an experience. Cruising along at 40mph you just put your foot in the pedal and you're bouncing off the rev limiter because your tires start spinning like a mad man....

gotta launch it gently, cus it'll loose traction in a heart beat and that's with 295's on the rear.

So while I, like many of you have got a grand sitting at my local ford dealership in theory #1 on my local list......How the heck do you drive a car with this kind of heat? I know many of you have modded 03/04 cobras, so I'll just wait for the wisdom to come in...

 

My understanding is just driving it a lot. You will get a better feel for it, along with the gas pedal. I know when I test drove the '05 on returning from Afghanistan it was very different from my '99 or the other vehicles I had gotten used to driving over in Afghanistan.

You will have to get a feel for it. Of course, this also means you can't be one of those people that like to press the pedal all the way to the floor to pass someone .. you have more power that will get away from you.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Drive it like you stole it!!!

Seriously, you do have to respect that kind of HP and not hammer it every time unless you have major dollars to keep replacing the rear tires!!

 

I've owned/driven a few cars over 400HP. My best advice is this: Break it in slow. Get to know the chassis' limitations, over bumps/curves/etc. Use caution when squeezing the juice until you understand the chassis dynamics/break free point of the tires over all kinds of pavement. After that, you will be comfortable with what will happen and when.
I remember the first time I was driving a Viper ONLY 400 HP. At 80mph- on a dry desert road in Nevada- I didn't hammer the throttle, but feathered it heavily. The wheels spun up like they were in butter....

 

How much does the "traction control" button help this type of thing? I read theat the system understands the difference between slipping in the rain and hammering it purposefully.

I'm not saying we should let a computer chip drive for us, just asking if you can hammer the throttle with the system on, and not slide off the entrance ramp...

 

The original system I had on my '99 worked fairly well, but I understand the new one is a vast improvement. I would have to defer to one of the current '05 owners though due to my lack of actual experience with the new system.

 

1) Accelerate gently until the vehicle on your left is centered in your driver's side mirror.

2) Keep it there for several seconds.

3) Accelerate slowly until he can't keep up with you.

4) Try hard not to laugh.

5) Remember 500HP in a Mustang commands a lot of respect on the street.

 

Very Carefully !!

 

Beat the crap out of it until it feels slow, dont me a wimp

 

you would be the fist person to land a mustang on the top of a building if you drive like your talking...

 

lmao, and this "wimp" comment is coming from someone who cant drive...

sorry, not sure how much my dads dakota has, but im sure it aint 500+ so i gotst no idea... not that Ive driven it or anything

 

Fast is usually how it's done.















Only kidding, I think you'll be fine as long as you respect the power. As soon as you don't, you'll get owned by it...and I just hope you aren't around anyone when you do get owned.

 

find an empty parking lot where you are safe from the police and practice rolling onto the throttle and find where and when the tires grip or lose traction. that way under real situations you dont just hammer it and end up facing a guardrail or oncoming traffic.

 

Practice, Practice, Practice. After shreadding the first 2 o r3 sets of rear tires you'll learn.

 

I know people with 193hp V6 stangs kick the back end out and wipe their cars out....

Like stated above...learn the car first.
Once you get used to what the car can do.....rather than the other way....learning what it CAN'T do by doing it....

Heck even the 300hp GT can be a handful if you don't know what you're doing....

 

No it can't, 05 GTs are dogs

 

Feather it.....get to know your ride and it's behaviours in different situations - traction does help during launch in a high hp car (450 + is historically supercar territory), but one cannot depend on it completely as the road conditions, etc. also play a part -

in other words - "test drive it" - within a week of having mine, activated the abs in standing water at 45mph, gradually increased in speed on highway to 140 ish - sharp and uneven turns to feel the response of stabilizers and chassis, felt the body flex -

all of this makes a difference in how to learn the personality of the car....even on a cool day when she sweetens up, sometimes i am caught off guard - (currently modded to 315 rwp/320 ft.lbs)......

good luck and try not to scratch the roof

 

I guess, compared to your '7000hp super-turbo-hydrocharged FantasyMobile'
Mr. Imnotoldenoughtodrive

 

That statement tops the list of some of your recent assesments . . . . .and it isn't a smart list.

Come on Doug . .you should know better than that.

 

You can't be serious? Any car, even a focus, can be deadly in the hands of the wrong person. If you have no idea how to handle the car, the car is then too powerful for that person. Period.