[Bosse'sBoss]

I'm very surprised that the Dark Horse had a better lap time compared to the Camaro ZL1 1LE. But the 2024 Mustang GT is behind all the Muscle car pack. They had great words for the Camaro and the Mach l. https://youtu.be/2mq7gj1bHys?si=Be-n4u2xQCr1CrsG

[m6-lt1]

They said in a different video that the zle is not optimized for their specific track. That being said I was kind of surprised that the dark horse ran in the 1:10’s. I didn’t think it would have been that much faster than the 1le. The tires though could very well explain why. I’m not an expert but would like to know how much time you can shave off going from a cup 2 to a trofeo R.

[Coded4SS]

not too surprised. Slower speed technical tracks aren't the ZLE's tracking advantage.
You see this with times where the Z or even SS1le beats a ZLE on some more technical slower tracks. Burn me at the stake for saying it, but there is data to support it (that I am way to lazy to go find myself again)

[N Camarolina]

Just goes to show you that Ford seems to run behind GM on handling engineering and tech that they incorporate (though admittedly the 350R was a force to be reckoned with).

The MACH 1 just about equals the SS 1LE, but doesn't have the chassis (or steering) feel of the Camaro, and still no HUD. And a good bit higher cost than SS 1LE.

The Dark horse boosts the price significantly further, but seems to have not provided much actual benefit for the price increase (mostly interior refresh and a little HP bump) and STILL no HUD. Relies totally on wider sticky tires to obtain it's fast lap time.

[SnakeEyeSS]

Really looking forward to Lighting Lap results. It's not perfect either (the ZL1 time was botched by wet track, and they never redid it). If it holds up there I'll be happy to look at Mustangs I. several years before their ICE goes away too.

[CTRifecta]

Wish they documented the tires that that Dark Horse was on, which are ultra sticky 180TW 305 front / 315 rear Pirelli Trofeo RS tires.. Believe they compare to a Cup 2 R.

Not surprised that the DarkHorse is fast, especially since it's a tweaked Mach 1, however it's definitely got a high price tag (online build configuration for a DH track pack starts at 70k).

I am surprised that it beat the ZL1 1LE to be honest...

[N Camarolina]

To me, fast lap times that result from putting ultra sticky tires (R compound) on a road-going car, as the case with the DH, is more or less cheating. Trying to make up for chassis / suspension deficiencies by adding traction. Who would spend nearly $600 per tire on a vehicle (in this case the DH) that will see most/all those miles occur from street driving?

The ZLE uses similar tires, but I don't see that as the same thing because the ZLE is billed more as a street legal track car, not one that you'd want to DD because of the suspension.

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

The Trofeo RS on the DH handling package appear to be very sticky and capable tires. Also, track and ambient conditions also play a major role, plus their track has been spitting out a lot of fast times lately; Thomas set the ZLE lap time something like 3-4 years ago, and he might be a better driver now. But also, the ZLE dampers were in their stiffest setting, and TH has talked numerous times about how bumpy their track is. The ZLE they drove in the stiff setting had a hard time putting the power down. I'm pretty confident given how close the SS 1LE's time is to the ZLE, that a regular ZL1 with its more compliant suspension would be faster on their track than the ZLE was in the stiff setting. The lack of straights also nearly eliminates the power advantage over the lower powered cars.

In a post on Mustang7g, James actually replied and said the Trofeo RS fell off really quickly, though, so those lap times will start to drop really quickly.

[Bosse'sBoss]

Here you will see that the Shelby GT350R is much faster compared to the heavier Dark Horse. Probably even the Mach l could be faster if they shared the same tires. https://youtu.be/Pfy-HYKMjUE?si=PdSxa41IJaIVrTiP

[DevilsReject97]

Better tires, 500 hp, short, short track.... all add up to what you saw....

[FarmerFran]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

They said in a different video that the zle is not optimized for their specific track. That being said I was kind of surprised that the dark horse ran in the 1:10’s. I didn’t think it would have been that much faster than the 1le. The tires though could very well explain why. I’m not an expert but would like to know how much time you can shave off going from a cup 2 to a trofeo R.

Well let's see... 150HP down and a second faster... must be LOTS.

EDIT: and this is the exact reason I say they need to test the ZL1 more, while the ZLE is an ultimate track car they cannot keep up with ZL1s in "normal" conditions.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

Well let's see... 150HP down and a second faster... must be LOTS.

EDIT: and this is the exact reason I say they need to test the ZL1 more, while the ZLE is an ultimate track car they cannot keep up with ZL1s in "normal" conditions.

My comments about switching from a cup 2 to the trofeo R was for the SS 1le to do that, not the ZLE. I’m confident the ZLE is faster than the dark horse around 90% + of tracks. The zle was tested on the the stock super car 3 R tires which are pretty much cup 2 equivalents. I think the trofeo R = the cup 2 R.