Test drove a 5.0 Today

GZ3

thanks for sharing with what I assume SHOULD be your own personal experience with both vehicles...correct?! BTW no one is trying to downplay the 5.0 here....am having flash backs of driving it like a wild night of sex that I was to drunk to recollect...but wanna remember and experience moooaarr

Endgame

Exactly. Not downplaying the 5.0 by any means. I am just saying, let's keep it real. The Stang is not a better handler. That is like saying the M3 handles better than a Cayman S. NOPE!

Power, yes, the 5.0 does have. And it is not a bad handler by any means. Just not with the Z.

And, the Z still needs an oil cooler.

Diesel370

The M3 DOES handle better than the Cayman S. And the '11 Mustang GT has OUT HANDLED the Nissan 370z. The Mustang can even out handle the Cayman!! Oh boy You're just full of assumptions aren't you?

At VIR:
Cayman S 3:05.8
BMW M3 3:05.4

At Willow Springs
Cayman S 1:28
BMW M3 1:27
'11 Mustang GT 1:27
Nissan 370Z 1:28

At Laguna Seca
Cayman S 1:43
BMW M3 1:42

At Nordschleife:
Cayman S 8:06
BMW M3 8:05

At Autozeitung:
Cayman S 1:41
BMW M3 1:40

Endgame

Ummmm. NO.

Not full of assumptions. I have driven both the Z and the Stang 5.0 back to back now. Z handles better and has the FREAKING LOOK AT THAT looks. Five point OHHHHH has the power!!! Great ride...

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG. The Stang can out handle the Cayman. Wow. I have nothing more to say. I am just trying to keep it real.

Better driver's car:
Cayman S over M3
Z over Stang

Greater Power and outright speed car:
M3 over Cayman S
Stang over Z.

That is ALL I have been trying to say. Let's not get all crazy. The Z is not a brute force type of car, the Stang is not a canyon carver. Both cross the line somewhat, but have clear missions.

I cannot wait till my buddy sells his 4.6 and gets the 5.0.

M4A1... ENJOY your Stang Five point OH man....

Diesel370

Wow you have driven both cars so that makes you the expert on which car handles better? LMFAO!!

I guess track times mean absolutely nothing to you.

shadoquad

Not to take the other guy's side, but performance statistics for the average buyer crack me up. For my purposes, lap times mean jack. Because they were achieved on a professional racing circuit or closed test track by a trained racing/test driver moving at 10/10ths, just thrashing the car around the track. 0-60 times? They achieve that with as perfect a launch as they can get, and how often are you accelerating that hard? skidpad/slalom? Only tell half of the story. 1/4 mile? Top speed? Even Horsepower! All a tad overrated for the avg driver.

To someone looking to track or drag their car, this stuff matters. To John Q. Driver, on public roads, with normal speed limits... What does it all mean, other than "on paper, my winkie's bigger"?

Fast cars are fast cars, man.

If you track your car, then I apologize. Lap times should matter to you.

Diesel370

Regardless of whether he is a average buyer or a track junkie the fact of the matter is the BMW M3 and the 2011 Mustang GT handle just as well as a Cayman S and the 370z if not better around the curves. This guy comes on here acting like he's the subject matter expert on handling of cars after driving 2 cars and stating a definitive fact that one car cannot out handle the other, just cracks me up.

Endgame

An you are an expert?

How much HP do the cars listed have in relation to the Cayman and Z? How much more power does the M3 have over the Cayman? How much more power does the Stang have over the Z? THAT is why their track times are better. Geez...

The fact that cars with so much less power can still post such close lap times speak to their handling prowess. I am not saying better track car; I am saying better handler, better drivers car. Again I am forced to LOL!

Diesel370

I am by far no expert, All I have to do is look at track times buddy. And LMFAO at your HP explanation for having better track times. If track times were dependent on HP alone then why does the 370z, Cayman always have better track times than a 500HP BMW M5? Shouldn't the M5 be beating them around the track?

While the 370z or Cayman may FEEL like the better handler to you that does not mean it can't be out handled around the track by a Mustang which basically what you were stating as a definitive fact.