Stock Marauder Performance?

[joedee]

I purchased my Marauder last Aug. I have owned many muscle cars through the years and expected this would be the same or better. I was surprised when I hit the gas to find only a little chirp from the tires. The car has only 18k miles and has always been taken care of. The performance once you are moving is great but off the line is a joke. Don't get me wrong, I think the car is great and I like the ride and performance once you are moving. I know I can add a turbo charger and a tune but I expected a car with 300+hp from the factory would perform a little better off the line. Do the rest of you have the same issue?

[Bluerauder]

I purchased my Marauder last Aug. I have owned many muscle cars through the years and expected this would be the same or better. I was surprised when I hit the gas to find only a little chirp from the tires. The car has only 18k miles and has always been taken care of. The performance once you are moving is great but off the line is a joke. Don't get me wrong, I think the car is great and I like the ride and performance once you are moving. I know I can add a turbo charger and a tune but I expected a car with 300+hp from the factory would perform a little better off the line. Do the rest of you have the same issue?
Been discussed here since 2002. The MM weighs about 4,164 lbs without the driver. It takes a bit to get her moving. A tune and 4.10 gears will address your concern over low end torque. Or just jump to a supercharger -- take your pick of three S/C.

[Bradley G]

Not any more! LOL
This barge might tip the scales a little better than your old muscle cars.
If you are looking to burn rubber off the line get a stall converter.
If your budget allows, get a Trilogy supercharger.
If you live in my area, a test spin in the Marauder I drive is no problem.
I purchased my Marauder last Aug. I have owned many muscle cars through the years and expected this would be the same or better. I was surprised when I hit the gas to find only a little chirp from the tires. The car has only 18k miles and has always been taken care of. The performance once you are moving is great but off the line is a joke. Don't get me wrong, I think the car is great and I like the ride and performance once you are moving. I know I can add a turbo charger and a tune but I expected a car with 300+hp from the factory would perform a little better off the line. Do the rest of you have the same issue?

[offroadkarter]

Just adding a tune will cause my T/C to kick on anytime i go WOT, thats always fun :D


It just takes one or two mods to get the car where you want it to be... Basically fixing what ford couldnt do... 4.10's and a good tune.

[Vortech347]

Gears will fix that.

Its a DOHC modular engine with only 281 cubes. Thats one minor setback.

[Motorhead350]

From my experience a 3500 stall torque converter gave me the biggest difference off the line. Even more than a blower!

[O's Fan Rich]

Rip out that DOHC and put a 2 valve in it!

[RR|Suki]

Rip out that DOHC and put a 2 valve in it!

giggle :banana::banana::banana:

[Vortex]

I have never understood why folks expect this car to be a drag racer. Sure, with enough money you can make it a drag racer. Ive always believed this car would be much better at an autocross than other forms of racing, but even with that, its not going to be on the same level as much lighter vettes or hypo mustangs ect... What it is to me is a "Gentleman's Express". It is made for the long distance drive. It looks nice (in fact, its getting better looking with age), it is very comfortable inside with a top quality interior, it handles much better than other cars of similar size/weight and if you are already moving along at over 30 mph and you stomp the gas, it will pull like a son of a gun up to about 120 mph. Good enough for me. If I wanted to build a drag racer, Id buy a 69 Nova with a 350. Just my opinion, we are all different.

[Aren Jay]

The Marauder is one of those rare cars that requires you to spend anywhere from a Few hundred to a Few thousand dollars before it shows it's true potential. Just don't go crazy though, because they will break when pushed too far. It is a fine balancing act and needs to be carefully controlled.

You might want to consider some of the, shall we say, fixes for the problems that Marauders have.

cylinder 8 coolling kit
axels on 03's
rust proofing on the doors
and if you consider a stereo upgrade you might want to check your HVAC while you have your dash off.


Then there is the Door keypad code. This is very important and if not supplied or secreted in the Marauder somewhere it can be tricky to get at. (you have to take the door panel off or pay a dealer to pull it from the ecu)

[Bigdogjim]

What it is to me is a "Gentleman's Express". It is made for the long distance drive. It looks nice (in fact, its getting better looking with age), it is very comfortable inside with a top quality interior, it handles much better than other cars of similar size/weight and if you are already moving along at over 30 mph and you stomp the gas, it will pull like a son of a gun up to about 120 mph. Good enough for me.

Very well put it's the same way I feel about the marauder:up:

[lucenti]

the MM is a sleeper. off the line is not 1 of it's strong points, but for me thts a plus. could be very costly,
with a few additions for performance it's a fine performing machine, nice ride, has a very strong presence. now the sleeper part is 1 of my favorite aspects, on the Hwy on several occassions while cruising say at 60 mph I have been challenged, if we were in the mood for it, i take it up to 75 fast then drop it to 45 if challenger followed my move, window opens and head turns with a smile :) head nod and 3 count. next thing I c is tht auto in the rear view, and 110 on my speedo:flamer:, flashers get turned on for a moment, then back to cruising once again. nice feeling !!!!

choosing who to race is does help :D

[tjg442]

I have never understood why folks expect this car to be a drag racer. Sure, with enough money you can make it a drag racer. Ive always believed this car would be much better at an autocross than other forms of racing, but even with that, its not going to be on the same level as much lighter vettes or hypo mustangs ect... What it is to me is a "Gentleman's Express". It is made for the long distance drive. It looks nice (in fact, its getting better looking with age), it is very comfortable inside with a top quality interior, it handles much better than other cars of similar size/weight and if you are already moving along at over 30 mph and you stomp the gas, it will pull like a son of a gun up to about 120 mph. Good enough for me. If I wanted to build a drag racer, Id buy a 69 Nova with a 350. Just my opinion, we are all different.

Amen !!! It took me years and money to fix my 85 delta 88 too where I wanted it..Did it all with my signature, on the sales slip for my DTR !!!! "Done"

[Pat]

joedee;

I perceive from your initial post that you are not wanting a race car but something to fill in the low end void that has stymied the Marauder's performance envelope since the beginning.

The most popular remedies have been a tune and 4:10 gears. Other bolt-on's that will make the car more responsive on the street are underdrive pulleys, hi speed stall converters, exhaust upgrade, CAI's, nitrous system, and superchargers.

I personally achieved my goal of a respectable street/road machine, as Vortex so eloquently put it, a "gentleman's express", with the following mods, CAI, Tune, 4:10 gears and a 3500 stall speed converter.

Later I added a 100 shot nitrous for fun at the strip (not street).

Later still, I added a supercharger for that dominating feeling. I have issues with my size.

Regards,

[Egon Spengler]

When the car was reviewed on speed channel BRAND NEW before they were even on the market... the guy had like alot of things about the car... one of the cons was the sluggish response off the line... go on youtube... there is video of the test drive