20th Oct 2010, 13:12

Why do Z24 owners keep going on about beating Mustang 5.0's with them? I've owned both and the Z is a great car and lots of fun but in NO WAY will it beat a 5.0 off the line, on the highway or anywhere else.

You have 140 HP and 185 lb. ft. of torque. The Mustang has 225 HP and 300 lb. ft. of torque and they are pretty much the same weight... or close. The Z does 0-60 in around 8 seconds and the Mustang does it in around 6.2. It is really not even a close race.

My cousin had a '92 LX 5.0 5-speed with the 3.08 axle. I had my '90 3.1 Z24 with a 5-speed. I raced him all the time. I was a better driver than he was as far as shifting goes and such and he would easily pull away after second gear every single time. When I got my next car, a 5.0 Mustang after this Z24 I was then beating my cousin who still had his '92. I also raced a Mustang GT on the highway once and he easily pulled away as we approached 70 MPH and above. I actually jumped started on him as I never fully stopped when I came up along side of him and he still easily wiped the pavement with my Z... ha ha ha. I believe you "beat" the Mustang but that in no way means your car is faster than that one.

Many times guys in faster cars toy around with you and don't really waste their time actually racing you. I used to do that all the time. It was fun to let them win and let them go home and brag about beating a 5.0 with their 6 cylinder or 4 cylinder... Everyone looks at them like they are a crazy fool... ha ha ha.

The Z24 3.1 was a great car. I loved mine. They were fast enough but not that fast in reality. Let's keep the facts straight and go by the numbers that they actually produced and not some crazy dream of dominance over cars that outpowered them by over 50%.