Finally Arrived - G-35 Coupe with mods versus Dodge Ram 2500

[Jacko3]

Nate:

While I have been a good sport about this issue. I think a Dodge RAM can beat many G's depending on the G's set up. With the right set of tires, a Dodge RAM has more than enough torque to make mince meat of many G's, even with the disadvantage of the power-to-weight ratio. So, I am doubtful about the opinions I have heard about Dodge RAMS being slouches. I am skeptical of the opinions that a G will ALWAYS BE FASTER than a Dodge RAM with a Hemi engine, or with cars that have a slight power-to-weight ratio disadvantage. It is not unusual for others to make themselves happy about the capabilities of their cars on straight ways, even when reality is before us. I am a realist about my G. The G is a heavy car and it requires so many modifications to bring it to life, Many of the cars I discuss, have no modifications whatsoever and they are just as quick in their own right. Yet, I love the G not because it is the fastest, but because of how it feels and how it handles on curves with the right set of tires--a real drivers car.

I have gone at it with several Corvettes and none has taken off the lot faster than I, but almost always, they do eventually give me a decisive lead as they pick up speed. I have gone at it with a Dodge SRT-8 and I can tell you that this is the car you really need to stay away from. It was quicker off the lot than a Corvette and it is lightning fast----before you are able to accelerate, its two car lengths ahead of you. I am still impressed with the SRT-8. I have even gone at it with a Dodge SRT-4 and it will spank many Gs out there beyond the quarter mile--doesn't have as much power as the G but a better power-to-weight ratio.

I have gone at it with a Lexus LS 460 and a Mercedes E-class and none of these cars, inspite of their weight ar slouches. The E -class has a very good low end torque and its weight is a disadavantage and the G will not give it that much of a gap--nothing beyond 1 car length. The lexus LS 460 on the top end will run down any G but it seeemed to have a slower response in achieveing such an end--again, its weight.

In fact, i have even got at it with a latter model 3.28i ( I think a 1998 - 20002, I am not sure) and the G was only able to give it a 1.5 car length after a mile. That little thing could keep up and it took up to the third gear and higher RPMS to break away form that little thing.

When you don't give a car more than a car length, then you just barely made it past the other car. And i doubt many Gs are capable of giving many of these cars more than a full car length of gap from a dead start. So, in essence, that does not make smoking any of these cars easy.

Now, when you take all these cars to a twisty and curvy road, the game changes drastically and dramatically. The G will not struggle to keep up with even a Corvette, in fact, these other cars will work hard to keep up with the G, as I have gone at it with an SRT-8 and I was surpised how agile the G was on twisties and curves. Again, the drivers i met may not have been comfortable with those curves and twists--I don't know.

Again, I am entitled to my opinon, and again, I am the one who goes to a twisty track routinely. I don't have to pay for it---its free race track for 4 miles both ways--2 miles each, and I go there at least twice a week to improve my skills and to stretch the legs of the G a little. Again, lets be real about the true potential fo the G-35 Coupe--it looks nice, drives nice, but is it really that much of a performer on a straight way without a power adder which costs an arm and a leg?


Modified by Jacko3 at 4:57 PM 12/9/2008

[Sentientbydesign]

Jacko,

I'm going to assume that I have an overly powerful 6mt coupe and leave it at that. Since I dynoed much higher than heavier modded other 6mt coupes, I guess I just have a better engine or the flywheel is showing it's colors.

I've put a couple of car lengths between me and a late 90s M3 (much more capable than the 328i). I had delayed reaction against the Hemi Ram and put a few car lengths between us.

I don't make it as much of a point as you do to street race, but the few times that I have have show that the G is more capable than these "slow" cars you talk about. You've got to realize that my only mods are a K&N drop in filter, a blocked off stock intake baffle (just one). Blox plenum spacer, polished lower plenum (haven't had a chance against anything since this mod). Grounding wires, and a lightweight flywheel.

Exhaust is still stock, I'm just running mobil 1, I have stock rear tires...etc.

If I can take on these cars and I'm not claiming "test driver" capabilities, what makes it so hard for you to take them on?

[DevonD]

I used to work at a Dodge dealership and I got to take out Ram's on a daily basis. A few times I even had the opportunity to take a spin in the Daytona Edition and the Rumble Bee. They both have a little more HP and Different rear ends than the regular rams just to make them faster. And I have to say I was not impressed.

My boss was a pretty cool guy and he would let us take any car we want out to lunch on Saturday's. I was very curious what was faster my Maxima or the Daytona Ram. So I had a friend at work take the Ram and I drove my car. We found an old two lane country highway and had a race up to 160 (or 100mph). He got a bit of a jump because of my front wheel drive but as soon as I got traction again I just kept pulling away. by the time we got to 160 he was at least four or five cars behind. And there is no way my Maxima could ever stand up to a G.

I don't want to take the victory away from you though. nothing feels as good as wining a race when you fear you might loose. Its just a ram isn't that fast. And if it was the 2500 and not the 1500 that means it was even heavier.

[Jacko3]

On the reverse, did it occur to one that the drivers may not really be pushing their cars as hard or that they maybe inexperienced and thus making ones effort seem outstanding? I am not there so I don't know what took place. But as far as I know, none of these other cars are slouches. Its just that most people don't feel a need to push their cars the way we push ours. I am not sure under which conditions you ran with a late 90s M3 but I a doubt the G-35 can consistently produce such a result all the time with an M3. And by the way, on some days, our Gs seem to be more agile than on some other days.

In the end, I beat the Dodge RAM and it wasn't as easy as it is made to be, and those results cannot be consistently guaranteed. Its not like the other car is standing still and we are the only ones moving.

Now, if you make this argument on a twisty track, i will be the first to tell you that the G-35 and 350Z are formidable cars regardless of horsepower for many V-8s on a real track. Oh yes, I know because I spank v-8s all the time on my twisty secret track with a lot more ease and relaxation, and I do so with so much glee.

The only cars that surprised me on the twisties were not the big cars but the little cars like a regular Chevy Cobalt. The little cars seemed to be able to go through those turns with greater ease than many of the V-8s. Again, that was a surprise for me---somethig about their weight and how they deliver their power and torque to their wheels that allows them to stay on those curves a lot more tenaciously than the big cars. Don't underestimate a little car on a twisty and curvy road.


Modified by Jacko3 at 7:04 PM 12/9/2008

[Jacko3]

If you read my comment, I said at higher rpms, the gap widened. What I am trying to say here is that I don't agree that it as easy as most state it is to pull away from all these cars on the street just like that with a G-35. I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the G-35 is not that great on a drag strip, and I didn't buy it to drag it anyway. Did you notice how hard you hard to work to get past the truck at such higher speeds? So, again, I don't beleive its that easy to go past a Dodge truck with the hemi engine, and be able to replicate that result consistently.


Modified by Jacko3 at 7:21 PM 12/9/2008

[phil4watching]

Hey OP-no offense butA dodge ram weighs almost twice as much as a G - hemi or not - so I'm with the others in seeing your win as a hollow victory -

I have a Quad Cab Dodge Ram in my driveway. My truck is not for racing - it is for hauling. IT will however will kill my G in a race - in the snow or loaded down with a ton or more of materials from home depot.

Modified by Cali 2 Balti G at 2:54 PM 12/8/2008

A couple of my buddies have dodges, I wax them. Some even have some mods, and i still beat them.

Here's a video of my buddies truck. It's been featured in tons of magazines.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpP5r0X1_S8

They have a Ford GT too, and they said that truck blows it out of the water

[Jacko3]

Not convincing at all. I don't know what truck you are referring to. Again, its not like eating a hamburger each time you run these other cars that you will be successful at beating these trucks. I am not convinced its as easy as some want us to beleive. So, many factors can cause another car to run more slowly--driver inexperience, etc.

Now, if you are talking about a 2007 and 2008 G-35 Sports sedan, then maybe I might start taking that argument seriously. But, a G-35 Coupe is does not smoke these cars as easily as it is being discussed here. I have driven both cars severely and I can tell you the difference. Now, on a twisty road and track, I maybe tempted to use a G-35 Coupe anyday anytime. The body framework of a G-35 Coupe seems better suited for the extreme--very little sway in comparison to a G-35 Sedan sports. I have put a loaner G-35 Sports sedan on my secret track and it is not the same as a sports tuned G-35 Coupe.

[Sentientbydesign]

Ok, sense Jacko doesn't want to believe the fact that most of his wins are against less than formidable cars, here's some info from dragtimes.com.

Here's a perfect example of a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 (5.7L Hemi).

The 1/4 mile time for this truck was 13.653. That's pretty awesome. That's equivalent to a G35 coupe with decent bolt-ons....oh!.....wait!!!

This truck was the regular cab short bed...ok, it's a little lighter...wait there's more...What's that? A turbo? Oh and he was running race gas too?

So here's some "proof", Jacko. A 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 regular cab/shortbed (much lighter than the 2500) with 6 psi of boost, c16 race fuel, modified final drive gears, and Nitto 555Rs was able to put down the same time as a G35 with basic bolt ons.

Still want to argue your point?

EDIT: There's another Hemi Ram on Dragtimes with intake, exhaust, and ECU upgrade running low 15s.

[Jacko3]

Once again, I never said that the G-35 Coupe cannot smoke a Dodge RAM, becasue I have smoked one myself and it was n't as easy as most people would like to make it look. All I am saying is that to suggest that such a result can be reproduced consistently and easily for a G-35 Coupe, is spurious, at best. I don't have an idea what the temperatures and conditions where on those very days when this one single run occured, and like I said before, on some days the G-35 seems faster than on some days.

Again, I wouldn't be making this point, assuming we were talking about a 2007 and 2008 G-35 Sports Sedan with the HR engine. I have driven it hard and the result it produces is a lot more consistent than the results produced by the DE engine. And I can tell you without a doubt that if I had a G-35 Sports Sedan, no Dodge RAM will even come close to smoking me.

However, I love the DE engine simply because of its limitless ability to take punishment, which I suspect the HR engine can do too---see the many drag episodes of "Gwoods" a forum member, who has a more recent G-35 Sedan.

Now, you already know the mods on my car, and we both have the same revised DE engine. Now, if your argument was base don the fact that perhaps my testpipes was not producing as much torque on the low end as it should, perhaps, that argument would have been worthy of consideration. My experience so far with test pipes is that it helps the G-35 get off the lot faster--reduces wheel spin, put it lacks the torque to get it moving as fast, at least in 1st and second gear. However, once the RPM ranges get up to 4500 in third gear, the power it produces is unbeleivable--almost like 1 - 1.5 psi boost at 5,000 RPM even before you get to 7,000RPM. If at all, I found it hard to beat a Dodge RAM in my G, I would not hesitate to pin the blame on the test pipe at the low end and in lower gears. By the way, I love the test pipes very much. I love the sound.

Secondly, with test pipes, all the cars that want to challenge you start coming out of the woodworks and they mean business---something psychological about G-35 testpipes on other driver's desire to want to run with you.

[C-Kwik]

Anwho, I routinely go at it with the super bikes on my secret track and the guys i go with are damn good riders in my estimation. On the curves and twisties, the G does keep up. But on the straight way, those bikes are so fast that I have had some of them pass me on just the rear wheel. But as always, the G is a relatively balanced ride on curves and twisties and it does keep up with those bikes as much as you might rever those bikes, on those twisties especially when they slow down to adjust the the bike to the right angle and position, as they go through the curves.

I'd contend that if you are keeping up with them in any way shape or form, then either they are not all that good and/or their bikes are not all that good. A modern Sport Liter-Bike will spank just about any production car. Take a look at the magazine article posted in this link:

http://www.bayarearidersforum....44253

That's a Z06 up against a GSX-R1000. And the bike lapped about 7 seconds faster than the Z06. The article is from 2002, but I doubt even a even a newer Z06 or the new ZR-1 is going to be able to make up 7 seconds on such a short track. Let alone a G35...

But this really wasn't the point. The point was simply that beating a truck that grossly outweighs the G is not much of a comparison. My example with a bike was used simply to illustrate how the premise of beating a car that has more cylinders and a bigger motor than yours is absurd if you don't account for other factors.

I don't know what type of bike you have, but the ones I have gone with are no slouches either (I don't know these bikes by name).

My bike is listed in my vehicles right under my username.

Once again, I never said that the G-35 Coupe cannot smoke a Dodge RAM, becasue I have smoked one myself and it was n't as easy as most people would like to make it look. All I am saying is that to suggest that such a result can be reproduced consistently and easily for a G-35 Coupe, is spurious, at best. I don't have an idea what the temperatures and conditions where on those very days when this one single run occured, and like I said before, on some days the G-35 seems faster than on some days.

Why couldn't the result be duplicated over and over again? Short of a big driver error and/or a mechanical failure of some sort, a car's output and weight doesn't change dramatically from one run to the next...

[Sentientbydesign]

Ok, for everybody except Jacko, beating a Dodge Ram with the Hemi engine should be easy.

If you want to make beating a Dodge Ram harder, look at Jacko's mod list and repeat.

[Jacko3]

Nate:

I like that. How is the little Nate coming along? Its been a while I asked about little Nate. Update us. I know little Nate is going to be as wonderful as Toolboothwilleys beautiful princess.

[Sentientbydesign]

"Little Nate" is nameless as the moment lol. We found out it's a boy. Due in late April.

[SteveTheTech]

Hey Jacko, I really liked your original post I was riveted

How has this turned into bashing? Whatever... sh*t happens. It seems like it started out with Jacko sharing his personal experiences, and turned into a poo flinging debate.

If Jacko likes his HFCs and is willing to deal with the performance impact more power to him, it's your car and your choice of what you choose to do to it.

As for racing bikes, I can't really buy into that. Many of the guys I work with raced bikes and the videos are amazing a skilled driver can maintain ridiculous speeds. I find it hard to think any G can run with a bike, I do not know what your track looks like but I would have to see it to believe that.

The bottom line is a G is not a car you get if you want the fastest car out there. There are some people who are very happy with their G's and the potential speed they have. I personally think the G is fast enough for my needs, and would most likely leave mine pretty stock.

[Jacko3]

Nate:

How do you feel waking up each day knowing that you gonna be a daddy? Exhiliriating, eh? Extend my regards to the wife.

Hey Toolboothwilley, you are gonna have to write a "the joy of daddyhood" manual for Nate

[Jacko3]

Hey Steve:

Thanks. How are ya today? Yes, those bikes are fast. They actually pass me on the straight way on just their rear wheels with the front wheels hanging up at speeds in excess of 1** mph. The first time I ever saw a bike pass me this way this way at those speeds, I thought I was driving and yet watching a circus happening right before my eyes. It was totally crazy and dumbfounding.

[tollboothwilley]

Nate:

How do you feel waking up each day knowing that you gonna be a daddy? Exhiliriating, eh? Extend my regards to the wife.

Hey Toolboothwilley, you are gonna have to write a "the joy of daddyhood" manual for Nate

The "Joy" of daddyhood.

I love my little girl, its crazy how fun it is. But sometimes you just want to sleep without waking up at every sound. It would be nice to have a solid nights sleep! But its so worth it when you get home from work and call their name and get the best reaction in the world! Just to have my girl look at me melts my heart.

[Jacko3]

Awwww, how sweet.