Ahoooo

Salesperson just had one come off the closed container truck from Roush in Michigan with 10 miles on it.

2002 Roush R360 Stats:
0-60 = 4.3
Quarter = 12.3 at 111 mph
Top End = 166

2002 Z06 Corvette Stats:
0-60 = 4.0
Quarter = 12.4
Top End = 168

Options Installed:
It has 17" wheels. I would prefer the 18".
Salesperson said with 18" wheels the rear tires go for about $400 each where they are extra wide.
Car did not have side exhaust but I prefer the dual pipes in the rear anyways.

Test Drive:
Dealer is M&M Ford in Epsom, NH. We took it
out on Route 28 which is a 2 lane road.
I had to figure out how to drive a standard again!
Starting it up the car had a nice sort of quiet idle. Rev it and it let out a screaming sound.
Dealers said they were the Roush stock exhausts and not as loud as flowmasters.
1st gear was very short.
2nd gear allowed you to start winding out.
3rd gear was a screamer where you could hear the blower kick in above 3k on the tach. It was a medium volume whining sound that reminded me of being in a batmobile or something. Took it up to
90 in 3rd.
4th gear the car went up to 95 without really touching the gas pedal and I backed off. Sales person had a 454 cubic inch 600 hp weekend toy so he was cool with my driving.

In 3rd and 4th gear the car seemed liked it just wanted to go and pull forever. It redlined at 5500 and I brought it up to near 5000 in 3rd.

The feel of the car in 3rd and 4th was solid and sure footed with the Stage 3 suspension which includes:
(front & rear springs, front struts, rear shocks, sway bars and lower control arms - patent pending)

I love the Roots style Supercharger whining!!!

When your stomping on it the car is loud and people are going to get out of the way...

5th gear is overdrive and at 80 mph the tach was reading 2000 which was unbelievable. I thought our CL-S's was good at 2250 at 80!


Likes about the car:
- the short shifter was great
- Gas mileage at 19/25
- 3 year/36,000 miles Rouch warranty on engine and suspension. Ford warranty takes care of the rest of the car
- White with blue stripes (other option is only
red with black stripes.
- intercooler looks like a mini radiator and is located in front of air dams
- All aluminum pedals
- huge rotors with four piston calipers on rear
- Roush removes the engine to modify it
- Roush engineered Front Engine Accessory Drive which is a large steel plate that stabilizes the front end of the pulley spools.
- Roush designed intercooler reduces the internal air flow in the engine by 100 degrees
- Torque is steady between 3k and 5k (see picture)
- Roush Stage 3 fuel system
- Electric lumbar support in drivers seat
*** Seat had Ford leather and was better than I expected. The Roush leather seats have lateral support similar to our car plus their insignia.
- Aluminum flywheel

Dislikes:
- Price of $43,650 is about $8k less than the Z06
but still a little too steep I think. We're talking a little more $$$ than a S4 but no comparison in my opinion.
*** Roush has changed 513 total parts, of which 110 are engine parts on the Stage 3 Mustang
- no grill - salesperson said SVT Cobra is also like that. They don't want to restrict any airflow to radiator.
- no insulation on bottom of Cobra hood otherwise the hood would not close over the Supercharger

Over All Impression:
Pleasantly surprised. Very solid car with almost unlimited pulling and a decent top end and not much out there that can touch you.

See http://www.roushperf.com/

Ahoooo

from brochure

Ahoooo

more

Ahoooo

with side exhaust...

Nashua_Night_Hawk

stay with your next 2003 E55 AMG

astro

I second that!

JetSet

i drove a brand new stage 2 last year a month before i bought my CL...(was going to get a stang GT) and was very impressed. only problem was $$$

was an awesomely powerful car tho...

JRock

Sounds like the best Mustang around, but $43k is too much for a Mustang.


Btw, that supercharger looks SO funny all big and bold on top of the engine block, LOL.

"I swear it's stock, man!"

Ahoooo

You know on the Roush site they claim to have the fastest car for under $40k with their base Stage 3 model.

Lets say I buy a new CL-S 6 speed for $32k and
add headers for $1k, Comptech Supercharger for $4.5k, CAI and a few handling goodies to take the price up to $39k. Do you in your wildest dreams think this car will be in the same galaxy as the Roush for both performance and handling. If you do I think you are in denial. Plus, I really don't want to get dusted by the new Dodge Neon coming out.

Luxury wise I'll miss the CL-S even though the car I drove yesterday came with a in-dash 6 cd player and 400 watt stereo.

The two reasons I purchased the CL-S, which I still love, are VALUE and QUALITY. I know some may have their doubts about the quality part. I have had no problems in 46,000 miles.

My dream has been to someday own a low 12 second car and low 4's daily driver that got more than 10 mpg and had a comfortable drivers seat. This car also had to represent value and quality for what you got. I think the Roush at $39k or $43k with 18's I hope meets these criteria.

I have never liked American cars and can't remember when I last owned one because of quality. I believe that Roush has definitely given you quality in the engine and suspension mods and about the rest of the car only time will tell.

As far as getting my dream car of the 2003 E55 at 460hp. I doubt this $80k car will ever match the current Roush numbers. It was so much fun yesterday using a stick shift for a change and feeling some serious pulling. For those who have never driven a low 12's car (yesterday was my first) checkout http://www.roushperf.com/ for the nearest dealer and go have a little fun and then you'll know where I'm coming from. I was amazed!

Astroboy:
How far back in your review mirror do you think I might be running your 911 twin turbo in the quarter?

I've learned from reading many posts on a few of the forums that the bottom line is as follows:
"It isn't the stats, write-up, or badge on the car that really matters. It comes right down to which ride puts that 'shit eating grin' on your face. It is one of those things you just know."

This CL-S did this for me and still does but not as often. "Variety is the spice of life and you only live once."

niphilli

What is the difference in that car and the previous years 360HP model? Just wondering because the best performance numbers I have ever seen on that car ('01stage 3) with street tires are:

0-60:4.8
1/4:13.1@110

It would take a serious amount of power to get that heavy of a car to a quarter of 12.3, the MPH is about right but the time is off. The z-06 puts around 360 to the wheels when broken in and weighs just a tick over 3,000lbs. I would say that the 360R weighs in the neighborhood of 3400lbs and I think the 360HP is at the crank. Incredible car though. IMHO the 18" chromies and side exhausts are a must.

-Nick

Ahoooo

Good point about the numbers.

I looked in their brochure and the 12.3 came from Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords test April 2001.
Here is that issue and I don't see any test on the Roush.
http://www.musclemustangfastfords.co.../toc0401.shtml

The brochure or website did not list weight but Edmunds.com lists 2002 GT at 3,241 pounds, about 300 pounds lighter than our cars.

Edmunds reviewed the 2001 and gave 12.9 and 4.9 as the numbers.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadt...2/article.html

They did not have the short shifter when they tested so don't know if that made a differnce.
I'm going to ask the salesperson to verify these numbers with Roush where Edmunds gives different numbers for 2001 vs the brochures 2002.

I asked the salesperson about the 2003 390hp SVT Cobra coming out this fall. He doubted that it would match the 360hp Roush numbers just because Ford is not Roush when it comes to building race cars.

Motortrend shows the 10" rear tires burnout. They give 13.1 for the 2001 model.
http://www.motortrend.com/june01/mustang/2.html

phil2

looks much better now!!!!!

niphilli

Weight sounds about right. You would need to add around 150LBS to that number for the blower intercooler and bodywork. Dont believe all that salesmen have to say. If anything the new cobra is under rated at 390HP. Think about it. They are running about the same boost as the roush but on a 4V DOHC motor. And 4V heads LOVE boost. There is also a six speed manual 3.55 rear gear options, IRS, and headwork to the '01 heads. The Roush may have a slight advantage in the twisties but I think the SVT guys have done thir homework on this one, look for it to be a real runner. IMHO I would wait until the SVT hits the showroom floor. You can always add the Roush wheels and side pipes to it all for less $$$$$.

-Nick

Ahoooo

Hopefully last post on this topic:

Salesperson just got back to me after calling Roush. The 2001 and 2002 are identical models except 2002 only offers white with blue stripes or Red with black stripes. Roush said they use two sets of numbers:
MuscleMustangsFastFords.com April 2001 for the 12.3 and 4.3 and Car and Driver Feb 2001 for higher numbers. He said temperature, track conditions and drivers are going to always give different numbers.

Salesperson said he'd give me 18" wheels with 295x35 and 265x35 BF Goodrich GForce ZR rated for $2,900 his cost which comes out to $725 each which sounds good to me. The 295x35 is a 10" wide tire on the rear. He might do an exchange deal for the 17's that are on the car.

Thanks for your comments.

BigPimp

The car will deffinetly looks much better with better looking 18s because those 17s are failry ugly looking.

Its a ford still, but like you said, you only live once, so why de hell not.

spiroh

Would you consider the Z06? I would probably take that over the Roush.

spiro

Ahoooo

I met a guy at the dealership yesterday that told me he would never buy again a manual Corvette or a n automatic Mustang. He said the clutch on the Corvette is a real bitch (hard on leg) especially in traffic. He said the stang was a bore with the auto.

Personally I don't like the look of the Vette as a daily driver especially in the winter. I sat in the Z06 in the Auto show and the seat was not as comfortable as the Ford leather in the Roush.