The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

2014 Z28 vs Boss LS

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

I just watched a video on youtube posted by Chevy showing them testing a 2014 Z28 against a 2012 Laguna Seca Boss 302. On their proving grounds it was over 4 seconds a lap faster. The Chevy engineer said his one goal was to beat the shiznit out of anything Ford can put on the street. That thing has a 305 front tire on it. Hopefully Ford will respond with something. I know that Z28 will cost more than 80 grand and if I put 30 grand in upgrades to my car...bye bye Z28.
 
Re: 2014 Z28

There is a thread on this site under "other card forum" on this topic. Thanks for the video addition. The new GT 350 site has a thread that I added to today suggesting the GT 350 may be a counter to the Z/28. As you pointed out, cost equals performance. Ford did an awesome job building a more accessible car.
 
401
0
Re: 2014 Z28

Z/28 Boss 302
Engine 7.0L NA 5.0L NA
HP ~500 444
TQ 480 370
Brakes F Carbon Steel
396 mm 355 mm
6 Piston 4 Piston
Brakes R Carbon Steel
390 mm 300 mm
4 Piston -
Weight 3800 lbs 3640 lbs
Trans Tremec Crap

Lets not even go into suspension, and how far behind the Mustang's live axle is compared to IRS.

Is this really a competition?
 
Re: 2014 Z28

sadil said:
Z/28 Boss 302
Engine 7.0L NA 5.0L NA
HP ~500 444
TQ 480 370
Brakes F Carbon Steel
396 mm 355 mm
6 Piston 4 Piston
Brakes R Carbon Steel
390 mm 300 mm
4 Piston -
Weight 3800 lbs 3640 lbs
Trans Tremec Crap

Lets not even go into suspension, and how far behind the Mustang's live axle is compared to IRS.

Is this really a competition?

GT 350 will be a fairer comparison. 7 liters for ~500 HP?
 
Re: 2014 Z28

The Z28 is not a natural competitor for the Boss...the 1LE is. They are priced similarly. The Z is going to be priced up around the GT500, if not higher. The fact that Chevy is pushing this as a boss killer is a joke...nit even same class.
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
Moderator
4,008
1,924
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Cookeville TN
Re: 2014 Z28

When I see one at the track I'll worry. Have run against a total of 3 new generation Camaros since 2011, 1 ZL1, 1 Supercharged SS and 1 regular SS and the plain SS was the best driven. The other 2 cars the drivers were either bad or scared of the car. I have been on track with twice as many GTR's and GT3RS's and 10 times as many Corvettes.
Guess Camaro guys don't like road racing as much. 2015 Mustang will be very competitive with whatever Chevy puts out there.
Steve
 
Re: 2014 Z28

The old saying in racing, "Speed cost money. How fast do you want to go?" certainly applies. Chevy upped the ante with the new Z/28, just as Ford did with the Boss 302, which started development even before the Camaro hit the showroom. Huge ceramic/6 piston Brembos, massive 315s all around, magneto-rheological shocks, and 500 HP and mountains of torque equate to -- no surprise -- faster lap times. (And 500hp from 7 liters ain't all that impressive...you can get that from a Boss 302 given the right tweaks, or a FRPP 5.0 "Aluminator" crate motor.)

At the Boss Reunion last month at MPH during the Fri evening Ford preso, Ford engineer Chuck Drake gave a timeline of Mustang performance develop, from the '60s up to today, and said that when the new Boss was developed there was no Camaro to benchmark against, and at the time the M3 was considered the performance benchmark they shot for, and exceeded. Ford expected that the Chevy team would benchmark the Boss 302 in developing a new Z/28, and as Chuck said, with each new benchmarks you raise the performance bar. Basically, a performance "arms race."

I took this as an implied acknowledgment that Team Mustang is fully aware of what's going on across town in Detroit at "Brand X", and that the new S550 chassis, maybe in the form of the new GT350, will enable new level of performance exceeding what's on the market today, like the new Z/28. Let's hope, anyway!
 
Re: 2014 Z28

cbj5259 said:
The Z28 is not a natural competitor for the Boss...the 1LE is. They are priced similarly. The Z is going to be priced up around the GT500, if not higher. The fact that Chevy is pushing this as a boss killer is a joke...nit even same class.

Lets pit that Z28 against a Boss 302S since I'm guessing the Z28 will be close to it in price.
 
Re: 2014 Z28

Surprised no one mentioned the 7:37.4 Nurburgring time, pretty impressive and looks like much faster then several cars so far. It is also funny that the guy who headed the project says he wants to be faster then Ford and yet the car is no wear near the price point of anything Ford makes that is street legal.
 
Re: 2014 Z28

ArizonaGT said:
I agree the BOSS is way outgunned in this comparison, but I also agree with Steve--I'm not gonna flinch when I see one at the track.
I agree. All you have to do is put the same rubber on both cars and it will be very close. Those Pirelli Trofeo's are supposed to be much faster than the Corsas. That and wider rubber will make a huge difference. Right Gary? ;D
 
Re: 2014 Z28

NFSBOSS said:
I agree. All you have to do is put the same rubber on both cars and it will be very close. Those Pirelli Trofeo's are supposed to be much faster than the Corsas. That and wider rubber will make a huge difference. Right Gary? ;D
Wider and stickier rubber is about the best mod you can make. I will be anxiously awaiting the first track sighting. I'll be sure to report back if it runs me off the track. I'm pretty sure I still have less into my Boss than what the Z28 will cost.
 
Re: 2014 Z28

cloud9 said:
Wider and stickier rubber is about the best mod you can make. I will be anxiously awaiting the first track sighting. I'll be sure to report back if it runs me off the track. I'm pretty sure I still have less into my Boss than what the Z28 will cost.

Depending on what you paid for your Boss I would almost guess you could buy a second one as a DD and have the first as a track car and still not amount to the price+adm on those Z28's.
 

pufferfish

Supporting Vendor
1,094
66
Maryland
what could ford put out if they followed the same general line of improvements chevy did going from the ss to the z28, using nothing but the parts available from current street legal vehicles and the FRPP catalog and some engineering knowhow?

1) drop in the baddest pump gas n/a motor available: aluminator XS (500+ hp)
2) add the best brakes available: 15" GT500 brakes
3) swap in the best suspension available: FRPP handling pack
4) lightweight wheels and fat dot legal r compound tires: BBS 18x10's with the same 305 wide trofeo's
5) lose 10% curb weight: 3600lb stock, now 3240lb (the new platform promises to lose some of that weight already)
6) put in an IRS with GOOD geometry: 2015 will have it, so we are all set there!
7) vehicle dynamic control: reprogram the EPAS and ABS modules to what the 302S gets.

bet that would give a bit more than 4 seconds back to an LS boss! oh yeah, and there is no need for "Porsche-like" maintenance! imagine replacing one of their shocks or a rotor? how ridiculous would that be?
 
pufferfish said:
Bet that would give a bit more than 4 seconds back to an LS boss! oh yeah, and there is no need for "Porsche-like" maintenance! imagine replacing one of their shocks or a rotor? how ridiculous would that be?

+1, I don't entirely want a fast car if I can't do the maintenance myself.
 
I'm going to stir the pot here a little bit. Seeing this car several other places, I have to say its a very good looking car. I can say that I am pretty impressed with it. Forget the fact that its not in the same class as our car basically, and that it'll cost more then a GT500, Id still love to go for a ride in it and give it a try. All this coming from a Ford only guy and totally not impressed with Chevys previous attempts at a bad ass car. I look forward to seeing one in person at the track and what Ford will have in response to it.
 

pufferfish

Supporting Vendor
1,094
66
Maryland
Shaun12 said:
I'm going to stir the pot here a little bit. Seeing this car several other places, I have to say its a very good looking car. I can say that I am pretty impressed with it. Forget the fact that its not in the same class as our car basically, and that it'll cost more then a GT500, Id still love to go for a ride in it and give it a try. All this coming from a Ford only guy and totally not impressed with Chevys previous attempts at a bad ass car. I look forward to seeing one in person at the track and what Ford will have in response to it.

you will probably never get the chance to see one on track. sounds like they are going to be super-limited quantity, so they will likely end up in collections. for that reason, will ford bother with a response or plug away at continuing to make the best production car for the money? from my list above, it really wouldn't take a whole lot of extra msrp cash to come up with it. rumor mill is already placing the XS engine in the new gt350, so the list is half way there. I just hope ford can at least produce quantities to prevent them from falling into the z28's hermetically sealed class.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top