REDLINE vs MUSTANG GT

[cfjara]

I owned Mustang GT's since 2000, and recently gave them up to get into my Sky..
The Sky gets the looks and agility. The Mustang wins the raw power.

My opinion...

given - both are 5 speeds.

In a straight line..you need a much more skilled driver in the SKY to take the GT. The GT is much more forgiving. One of things that bothered my about the Sky R/L..is you just barely make it to 60 in 2nd gear. Depends how good your launch is. The GT can take you up to 70MPH+ in second gear. I always find myself redlining the SKY if i'm not paying attention. I guess I'll get better with time.

For the average every day Joe. ...in a straight line its a toss up. Just depends who has the most balls.


One thing's for sure....the GT owner will get an eye brow raise from seeing they can't take for granted that a 4 banger can keep up, if not beat them, with their engine being more than twice the size.

[Ahnuld]

Originally Posted by cfjara

.... One of things that bothered my about the Sky R/L..is you just barely make it to 60 in 2nd gear. Depends how good your launch is. The GT can take you up to 70MPH+ in second gear....

Hows the first gear speeds compare?

I am not a manual expert, as my prev manual was in 1988!
But i was surprised how fast the Redline.... um.. redlined in first gear... seems like i am hardly moving and I am shifting out. Is that to have the wider range in 2nd gear to get the turbo going?

Or is that the way it should be?

[cfjara]

Originally Posted by Ahnuld

Hows the first gear speeds compare?

I am not a manual expert, as my prev manual was in 1988!
But i was surprised how fast the Redline.... um.. redlined in first gear... seems like i am hardly moving and I am shifting out. Is that to have the wider range in 2nd gear to get the turbo going?

Or is that the way it should be?

Honestly i can't remember. I compare 2nd gear since this is the gear most will be in for their 0-60MPH runs. This sounds like a question for our resident engineer...
BOGIE

[compdoc777]

I can't wait to get to track and see what the sky can do to the competition.

[Homer]

Originally Posted by Bogie

Both are rated 0-60 in 5.5.

Consider the SKY is also built for cornering. So you gotta ask yourself: Do your want the well-known muscle look with some rumble, or a less known ninja look with some twisties?

Originally Posted by Bogie

The Shelby is a nice car. Gotta hand it to Ford in how many different versions they can spit out. Let's not even consider the five or six versions below the the GT:

GT: 300HP
Bullitt: 315HP
GT500 (Shelby): 500HP
GT500KR: 540HP

Given the pricing, the demand seems to be high compared to supply. I've seen Shelby's sitting on showroom for 60K+. I guess they sell 'em for that price.

well said if your looking for raw v8 power go with the stang and save some money. if you like to do more than big smokey burnouts and driving in a staight line i would go with the sky. and if you feel people arnt looking at you enough go with the sky

[BlueSkyRL]

Originally Posted by cfjara

One thing's for sure....the GT owner will get an eye brow raise from seeing they can't take for granted that a 4 banger can keep up, if not beat them, with their engine being more than twice the size.

That's the best part about the whole conparison thing going on here
Talking about a 4-banger and v8 in the same conversion....priceless

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Lithium Lotus

A GT hardtop with a manual should run mid-high 13s, with the auto slightly slower.

My Redline ran 13.8's with an auto

[RedHeaded RedLine]

Originally Posted by thefred

Just wondering has anyone run up against a new GT on the street ? How did you do? I no there too different cars but im kind of torn between the two

On a 45 second , not very technical AX course, Hubby beat a GT by 2 seconds, I tied him. Driver Definately plays a big part!
If you have to think about it...you might not be SKY material. -J

[thefred]

redheaded redline just trying to buy right car . Seems to me no big deal as far as to which car is faster now after a lot of replys in forum the SKY has a lot of different problems + the dealers don't know how to fix them

[RedHeaded RedLine]

Originally Posted by thefred

redheaded redline just trying to buy right car . Seems to me no big deal as far as to which car is faster now after a lot of replys in forum the SKY has a lot of different problems + the dealers don't know how to fix them

There are differences between 'fast', 'quick' and 'nimble'. The SKY is quick & nimble; the 'Stang is fast.
You will never get a second look in a Mustang GT, but you will be able to hook it up much cheaper/easier.
Is there anyone else in your life that gets input? Are you single? -J

[Bogie]

Originally Posted by cfjara

Honestly i can't remember. I compare 2nd gear since this is the gear most will be in for their 0-60MPH runs. This sounds like a question for our resident engineer...
BOGIE

Well, I'm not much acquainted with the fine art of gearing a car. I've played some racing sims where part of the challenge is gearing for a track. But here we're talking about a production car, so the gearing has to meet the every day needs plus the performance needs. I don't have a good handle on the thought process.

Looking at the first gear, if I had to throw in a wild guess, I would say it's a bit beefy for the following complimentary reasons: 1) Get the Turbo up to speed; 2) Give more torque before the Turbo gets up to speed.

When I looked at the gear ratios I discovered the ratio change between 1/2 and 2/3 is basically the same. I don't know the significance of this discovery, except perhaps it gives a common RPM swing dropping the RPMs on the shift into the mid 3000s, which is comfortably above the bottom torque roll off and probably where it needs to be to keep the turbo spooled.

On the other hand, I note the automatic gearing is slightly softer (pulls less torque, but can stay in gear longer) in one and two, stronger in three, same in four, and stronger in five; I'm still contemplating the significance. Is the auto faster because it shifts faster or is the auto faster because staying in one and two longer makes up for for the lower torque? Questions...questions. I don't know the answer.

Edit: I'll say this much. The Fun Factor (first gear acceleration) in a manual is probably more fun than in an automatic, which could be another reason to make first gear beefy.

[OLDMX4]

Not condoning any street racing here

But I did shock the heck out of some guy in a late 90's 5.0 mustang........He challanged and I pulled away.

I stopped to talk and he kept on going

[Bogie]

Originally Posted by OLDMX4

But I did shock the heck out of some guy in a late 90's 5.0 mustang........

Ah, those 1990s 5 Liter V8 Mustangs. Wonderful cars. Fast forward ten years later and we have a 2 liter 4 banger that can deliver better low end torque and peak out with a higher HP at higher RPM.

[xmicro_Redline]

I wonder how a Mallett SKY would hold up to a Saleen Mustang?

[RedSkyMan]

Originally Posted by xmicro_Redline

I wonder how a Mallett SKY would hold up to a Saleen Mustang?

The LS2 version like mine probably would get it's doors blown off. 620 HP to my 400 HP wouldn't make much of a contest, but the LS7 version with Turbonetics Turbocharger upgrade (1000 HP) might give the advantage to the Sky.

[Bogie]

Originally Posted by thefred

the SKY has a lot of different problems + the dealers don't know how to fix them

You have tradeoffs you must consider. Keep in mind the kappa is only a couple of years old. The Redline, only about one year old. We're talking BRAND SPANKIN NEW UNIQUE TRADITION. There is something special about being one of the firsts. And there is something special about being unique. You drive a SKY, and you get noticed....A LOT. New comes with a price. New is...well...new. The kappa doesn't have half a century of refinement. So you're going to have some blemishes along the way. I've had this car almost a year, and it's been fantastic. The blemishes pale in comparison to the pluses.

Also keep in mind this car delivers some of the best integrated technologies the community has to offer. It has the largest specific output production engine ever produced by GM...EVER. More punch per liter than any Vette ever produced. It contains an engine that is the FIRST North American gas direct injection. It uses oil jet cooled pistons, continuous variable valve timing, and uses sodium filled valves...a technology carried over from the Vette. And with the low RPM valve overlap and dual scroll turbo, one of the fastest spooling turbos on the road today.

Then, there's the Mustang. Nothing wrong with a GT. It is a beautiful car. If you want to drive tradition, buy a Mustang. If you want to MAKE tradition, buy a SKY. If you want to drive evolution of refinement, buy a Mustang. If you want a revolutionary collection of state of the art technology, buy a SKY. If all the little quirks of the SKY have you worried, buy a Mustang. If you can overlook a few blemishes to get the most top-down fun you can have anywhere, buy a SKY. If you need practicality, buy a Mustang. If practicality can be thrown to the wind, buy a SKY. If you want to be one of many "nice" GTs trolling the highways and byways, buy a Mustang. If you want eye popping lookers everywhere you go, buy a SKY.

It's really not a hard decision. These are two SIGNIFICANTLY different vehicles offering significantly different things to an owner. The fact they perform on par is probably one of the few things they share. Everything else is different enough that once you lay out all the pros and cons of each, I don't think the decision will be hard. And if you do it right, I trust you will purchase the car for YOU, no matter the one you choose.

[cfjara]

Originally Posted by Bogie

. If you need practicality, buy a Mustang.

ummm....I wouldn 't consider it "practical". Actually moving from an "impractical" car to another "impractical" car was an argument which helped me make my decision to buy the sky..


I owned a drove 2 Mustang GTs prior to my sky. My first was an 01, then went to an 02. Sold my mustang and purchased my 08 Sky last August. If anyone wants insight from a muscle car fanatic going to a small roadster..feel free to ping me.

I agree with Bogie on his comparison..with the exception of my comment above.

I will say this. A stock Z28 could not catch me once i had the jump on him. The fun ended at 120MPH , he may have been able to catch me on the higher end....but then my "dream" ended and I woke up.

..some things to add...

The impracticality comparison of the Sky Vs. Mustang.


trunk is useless in both. -- can't fit a decent beer cooler in either.
back seat is useless -- can't fit adults back there...in either car... : )

[Gerry]

Originally Posted by Bogie

...Is the auto faster because it shifts faster or is the auto faster because staying in one and two longer makes up for for the lower torque? Questions...questions. I don't know the answer...

The primary reason the auto is faster in the straight line is that the turbo keeps up a head of steam throughout the run since it never unloads, where the manual has to build boost following the shift. And the more you make the engine grunt in the upshift, the more boost it will hold.

Though, the faster shift also plays a part.

Also, an often overlooked element in the torque converter is that for that first few feet off the mark, the converter is multiplying torque by around 2:1 in addition to the torque multiplation offered by the 1st gear ratio.

[Rob the Elder]

Ive had two Mustangs and now a Sky and Sol.

the Mustangs were more cramped feeling for me, every time I hit a bump I hit my head on the headliner. They are less firmly planted on their suspension and while they go quickly straight ahead are less happy actually making a course change.

My Sol GXP is much closer to my 68 GTO. A basic very capable car that you drive not just sit in and opera