First spring victory for me!

[natedog1284]

Good evening everyone. Just thought I'd share with you the first victory I had this year since taking my car out. Ok, so here's the situation: my friends and I have nothing to do, so we figure we'll go hunt some rice. The four of us pile into my car, and with half a tank of gas, we head out to the favorite ricer hangout in our area, (favorite hunting ground that is :D ). There's a long stretch of 2-3 lane roads with several stop lights splitting it up. After several passes going up and down this road, I'm having no luck; we either get all green lights, (which in this case is exactly the opposite of what I want), and when we do get a red, the person doesn't race, or is just totally clueless to our intentions, (or afraid, but whatever ;))
Anyway, we go back and forth several times, and I'm getting pretty frustrated, so we decide to call it a night at the end of one of our passes. Not planning on wasting the chance either way, we wait for the next red.
To my great suprise, we happen to meet up with an '02 Camaro SS with some nice sounding exhaust. I rev the engine and, of course, he does likewise, while his buddy opens his window and says "What are you doing?!". At the green, we both launch and, to my surprise, I beat him to the next light. So I'm thinking, "maybe he just lost traction. I mean, those things are supposed to be pretty fast, right? Plus I have four people in the car....". Sure enough, at the light his buddy rolls down the window again and says, "Yeah, now let's try it again with traction control", while the driver inches his car up about 6 feet ahead of mine. So we go on green again. I pull him off the line immediately, (he has no tire spin by the way), and he starts to inch up, then I just pull and pull until there's no disputing the fact that I just totally dusted him. I have to slow down for cars ahead that are stopped the next light, and, as one would expect, he doesn't even look over, and when that light turns green he moves ahead and gets in front of me, then drives off. Apparently he can't handle the fact that his gorgeous and supposedly lightning fast Camaro just got his a$$ handed to him, (TWICE, I might add), by the supposedly slow old grandpa car with four people in it! Heheheh....and this just after I spent a good deal of time repeatedly raping an '05 Civic on the highway a few nights before, (but that was so easy, I don't even count that as a victory). Guys, I can honestly say that, as a MoPar enthusiast, I would never say this, but.....GO FORD POWER!!!!
God I love this country! :D :beer:
-Nate

[2003CTMarauder]

Yeah Nate you should have thrown a box of lube in his window we toasted him.:banana2: I thought those SS Camaros were supposted to be quick becuase we:puke: all over him. Good Times!!!

[bryanthomas]

Sounds cool, man. :) What kind of power are you making? Can you tell me more about your head package?

[NATEHAWK]

Thats what I like to hear Ford power lol....

[natedog1284]

Sounds cool, man. :) What kind of power are you making? Can you tell me more about your head package?
Oh, I can assure you it was cool, especially since this guy is known as a real :censor:. As for my heads, I'll reference you to another thread going on here...
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=25467
-Nate

[blackf0rk]

Either he had a manual and was shifting poorly, he had a fake SS, or you're just making it up. A stock Camaro SS weighs ~3439lbs, has ~325hp, and ~350ftlbs torque. So the horsepower to weight ratio is like 10.58

A stock Marauder weighs ~4199, has ~302hp, and ~242ftlbs of torque. The horsepower to weight ratio is like 13.90.

Your marauder is in no way stock, but with 4 people in your car, I would've bet that SS could've toasted you. But that's only based upon the numbers I have. What do those cams give you?

[2003CTMarauder]

Blackfork, I was in the car with Nate when the race took place. It was a definite kill. The car was a real SS Camaro. We know the driver of the Camaro and he said he was spinning like crazy but I am not buying it becuase I didn't see his tires spinning at all. He said when he bought the car that it's so fast I won't top it out so he might have dogged it a little. His mods are Flowmaster Catback, CAI, and Tune. So lets say that a stock 02 SS Camaro is making 330fwhp and maybe 300 to the wheels. After those mods he's making maybe 330rwhp. Nates car is making at least 350rwhp if not more. Nate is going to get a throttle body and an updated tune soon so we will have some actual numbers.

[natedog1284]

What he said. I'm not a liar, and of that I can give only my word; take it as you will. But I do have three eyewitnesses that were in the car with me. I couldn't tell you how he was shifting as I wasn't really paying attention, but I do know that, at least the second time, there was no visible wheel spin, and no disputing the fact that I beat him to the second light. As Tim said, I will get you some real horse power numbers soon, so either way that should answer your questions.
-Nate

[blackf0rk]

Let's all be clear here...

This post wasn't meant to call you (Nate) out in any way.

I stated the three possibilites of the situation. I did not in any way actually say that you were a liar.You'll also notice at the bottom of my post I said, "I would've bet that SS could've toasted you. But that's only based upon the numbers I have. What do those cams give you?"

That's great you beat an SS - I know how it feels to take down something that is looked upon as fast. I'm happy. It's also good that you have three eye witnesses to back your story up.

All that I am saying though, is that the numbers just don't make sense to me. And since we've ruled out the fake SS, and fake story scenerio's - I can only assume he was shifting poorly.

Again, I will ask the question - what kind of numbers is your car putting out?

[natedog1284]

Again, I will ask the question - what kind of numbers is your car putting out?

At this point I can only estimate, but I won't because I don't want to end up putting my foot in my mouth. As I said before, my car will be going on the dyno soon so I can get some numbers for the other guys interested in doing heads and cams, and then again after I put on a throttle body get it tuned, so I can get some numbers for the guys interested in those mods as well. I'll keep you posted.

Again, no hard feelings :beer: We should all question what we hear!
-Nate

[Big House]

With the listed mods, I ran one the full quarter. He won, but by less than a hood's length. I thought they were really fast and was very apprensive in racing one but I felt a lot better when all he managed was a small nose out. Nate...way to represent, keep it up.

[Blackened300a]

With those mods you have listed, Ill put your RWHP somewhere in the 315-335 range.
If you indeed raced and beat a SS then I have to put the fault on the driver.
Power to weight ratio and considering that a stock SS will run low 13's to high 12's makes people wonder how a 4200lb sedan with 4 people aboard took out a top of the line F-body.
Im not calling you a liar, but its a David vs Goliath type race.

[SergntMac]

Nate and friends...Congrats on your victory. But, trust me on this?

There's a lot of folks out there making a lot of money on guys like you. They are known as "professional engine rebuilders", and sometimes they wear masks.

Don't pound on your MM until it's been tuned. The stock 4/6L Marauder bottom end can take a lot of punishment, but once it leans over, it's gone.

Please wait until you get dialed in? I too, can't wait to see some numbers.

Carry on, gentlemen...

[Blackened300a]

The stock 4/6L Marauder bottom end can take a lot of punishment, but once it leans over, it's gone.

Leans over = Pick up pieces of your engine with a shovel

[Big House]

Blackened,

Are you sure about those numbers on that SS? Those time seen really low out of the box. I am just asking for clarification not calling you on anything...just didn't know that.

Big House

[Blackened300a]

Blackened,

Are you sure about those numbers on that SS? Those time seen really low out of the box. I am just asking for clarification not calling you on anything...just didn't know that.

Big House

Yeah I have 2 friend's one with a 03 SS and one with a 02 Anniversary SS. Both 6 speed
The 03 pulled a 12.90 and the 02 pulled a 13.3 when they were both stock. Now the 02 is pulling mid to low 12's and the 03 was traded for a C-5 Vette.
Its really about the driver when it comes to a manual tranny. you can turn a 12 second car into a high 13 second car if you have no idea how to shift and launch.
You can do a search on and there are many SS owners that have pulled almost identical 1/4 times stock.

Im all for a Marauder smoking a F-body, but just checking the facts.

Heres a article I found on the 02 SS
Chevy Camaro (http://www.thebuchmanfamily.com/carpartsinformation_files/page0001.htm)

Heres a list of the 50 fastest muscle cars. If you scroll down you will see the 02 SS as tested by Motor trend running 13.5 @ 107MPH (Traction issue?)
Musclecarclub.com - 50 Fastest Muscle Cars (http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/general/musclecars-50fast.shtml)

[Big House]

Thanks sir...just needed to know..I raced a guy with an 02 back when I had my Thunderbird. I stayed with him through the launch and the first 60. When he hooked up it was over.

[2003CTMarauder]

Yeah I have 2 friend's one with a 03 SS and one with a 02 Anniversary SS. Both 6 speed
The 03 pulled a 12.90 and the 02 pulled a 13.3 when they were both stock. Now the 02 is pulling mid to low 12's and the 03 was traded for a C-5 Vette.
Its really about the driver when it comes to a manual tranny. you can turn a 12 second car into a high 13 second car if you have no idea how to shift and launch.
You can do a search on and there are many SS owners that have pulled almost identical 1/4 times stock.

Im all for a Marauder smoking a F-body, but just checking the facts.

Heres a article I found on the 02 SS
Chevy Camaro (http://www.thebuchmanfamily.com/carpartsinformation_files/page0001.htm)

Heres a list of the 50 fastest muscle cars. If you scroll down you will see the 02 SS as tested by Motor trend running 13.5 @ 107MPH (Traction issue?)
Musclecarclub.com - 50 Fastest Muscle Cars (http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/general/musclecars-50fast.shtml)


I am pretty sure there are no 03 SS's since the Camaro and Firebird were dropped in 02.

[blackf0rk]

I have an 03 SS, it's right next to my 05 Marauder in the garage. :burnout:

[Blackened300a]

I am pretty sure there are no 03 SS's since the Camaro and Firebird were dropped in 02.

Correct
Its a 01 he traded for a 03 C-5

number jumble

[SergntMac]

Leans over = Pick up pieces of your engine with a shovel Yes, this is, or, will be the end result of a "lean over", thank you and I'm sorry for any confusion.

I first heard this term used inside the engine world back in 1968, when a seasoned wrench who was teaching me about engines in general mentioned it. The way he explained it to me then, "it's like leaning over a cliff. You can lean just so far and when you lean too much, it's all just gravity".

I didn't mean to confuse "lean over" with "running lean", or, "a lean condition" in AFR terms. But, the end result would be about the same...A basket of broken parts.

I do not think anyone will disagree that the weakest link in our 4.6L DOHC engines, are connecting rods. These rods are called "cracked rods" because of how they are produced. Formed by high compression of powdered metals as a one-piece unit, then the rod cap is struck with high impact, and cracked off, leaving each rod and rod cap a perfect fit.

Peek at this?

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/showimage.php?i=446&c=3&userid=392

That's a stock 4.6L Marauder rod. It's made of powdered metal. Powdered metal can endure tremendous compression, that's what makes it work. You can squeeze it all day long, and it's almost like the con rod loves getting squeezed. But, don't ask it to stretch, or, flex. It doesn't do that very well.

The stock 4.6L con rod stretches like taffy pulls. It pulls, and pulls and pulls, then "snap". Snap and buh-buy. So, what I am saying is that a con rod can begin it's stretching long before it snaps, which usually leaves the owner sitting on the side of the road and asking himself over and over again..."What did I do?" 'cause he doesn't memember that SS Camaro he ran from the light 3 weeks ago...Doesn't remember it at that moment anyway.

"Once it leans, it's all gravity" means once it's started to stretch, it just a matter of time, and you won't really know it's coming.

Please tune before racing?

[natedog1284]

You're scaring me Mac; course, I guess that's what you intended to do....
So, to the best of your knowledge, what, specifically, would cause this to happen? And, if it has already started, is there any way to tell/slow or stop the process from continuing?
In the words if Ebenezzer Scrooge: "Please, speak comfort to me Jacob...."

[Blackened300a]

You're scaring me Mac; course, I guess that's what you intended to do....
So, to the best of your knowledge, what, specifically, would cause this to happen? And, if it has already started, is there any way to tell/slow or stop the process from continuing?
In the words if Ebenezzer Scrooge: "Please, speak comfort to me Jacob...."


Get your car on a dyno and make sure the A/F mixture is where it should be.
Generally it should be 13.0-13.2 across the board.
When you have your car tuned you will see what I mean.