model info question

[fordforlife]

im sure this has been asked alot , but i couldnt find anything on my specific years by searching, sorry in advance if this has been asked!

I was wondering with the Same basic mods, cold air, exhaust, 3.73 gears, tri-ax shifter (with a good driver), would an 89 LX be faster than a 97 GT? Would the 97 be faster just in the higher rpms? im basically trying to figure out which car i should get, because i know of both cars for sell, and i need a little background on the models head to head. Thx!!

[StangNut86]

actually that's a good question, we dont' see all that much of that here.

well, what body styles are we talking about here? there's 3 options for the '89 and 2 for the '97. i'm assuming both cars are V8s.

the primary advantage of fox-bodies (such as the 89) is their lower curb weight. most manual trannies are lighter than autos and produce more power at the wheels as well. the sn95 style car (such as the '97) has the advantage of more power straight from the factory.

so, i believe that fox-bodies are great for guys who like engine work and are good at it, and have deep enough pockets that expensive mods arent' a major problem. i like the 85 and 86 'stangs because of their front ends and such.

i'm gonna say that with those mods, the 97 is going to be faster than the '89. i'm only saying this because of the difference in base power. it's easier to change heads on a pushrod motor than an ohc one (generally speaking). both motors, however, can be made to produce as much power as you want, and weight reduction is always an option.

good luck!

[fordforlife]

what about a 89 sport lx (v8) verse a 95 gt (v8). both standard with same mods. would 89 win cuz of weight?

[fordforlife]

also, on say a 97gt, if 1 was a standard with good driver, and the other an auto with shift kit, would the stick win??

[StangNut86]

while the '95 and '89 have the same CORE motor, you'd think they'd be equally matched. however, as ford got better at staying within emissions limitations, they were able to increase the horsepower between the two years substantially. so with the same driver, i'd say the '95 or '97 would win regardless of transmission.

as for your second quesiton, the stick would win if the driver knew what he was doing, had practiced in that car a lot, and didnt' miss any gears. the difference would be very small, however.

generally speaking, autos lose about 20-25% of their flywheel horsepower through the driveline (trans, rear axle, etc), where as standards will lose a lower number, usually from 10-20%. there are some autos that lose much less and some manuals that lose much more, it all depends on their design and manufacturer.

just to make sure you're clear, only standard transmissions use a flywheel. autos use something similar called a flexplate, which is little more than arms to hold the torque converter and a starter ring gear.

[fordforlife]

thx dude!