Anyone who has to wait for their blower to spool up must not be driving a Lightning. I will admit that after second gear through midrange rpm it does seem to pull harder but off the line there is no spooling up.......instant *** slammin power baby!!! even on my stock 03....u guys are nuts.

 

Mine hasnt been spooling at all lately but i dont think i count

 

Here is a copy of the email I sent to Larry Edsall and his response.

I am impressed that he replied.




-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Durham
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 6:15 PM
To: ledsall@***.net
Subject: Spool Up?????????????


Did someone forget to tell you that Lightning's have a super charger, not a turbo charger?
There is no "spool up" in a Lightning. Your tires where probably spinning...LOL.

14 second 1/4 mile????????? I am part of a large group of Lightning owners, I have yet to see a Stock Lightning fail to get into the mid to upper 13's. If someone is running a 14 or slower, we usually check to see what is wrong.

There is also no such thing as a 5.3 liter Ford motor. It is a 5.4 liter.

Are you sure you where out there with a Lightning or did someone tell you stories about what happened that day?

The write up did settle my fears about the new SRT-10. I don't see any problem spanking that big ugly truck. Unless you are wrong about the Dodge part of your story too.


Sincerely,

Ron Durham


***response***

it certainly could have been the transmission contributing to the delay in power reaching the ford's wheels, but we all agreed that day that it certainly felt like the supercharger was slow to produce its power. it was great once it got going, but it took a while for the power to reach the road.

Larry Edsall

 

maybee he was in a f150 with Lightning badges.

 

Yeah....I think Dodge be fu$k!n with that boy. Dodge did provide the Lightning. They probably put one of those valet programs on it.


I can just see the Dodge boys all standing around trying to act as if they can't figure out, "why that darned Lightning is so slow".


We are going to make alot of SRT-10 owners crazy at the tracks.


Rocks

 

My guess is that most of the corners had exit speeds around 20-25 mph...just high enough that the L wouldn't downshift. There IS a noticible spot between 25-40 mph in second gear where the L is really flat on acceleration. I know if I were a Dodge PR guy setting this up, I would try and give my vehicle every advantage I could. Since the Ram has a manual, it is more controllable on a autocross or road course- that's a no-brainer.

I'm not sweating the article for two reasons: First, they don't have a clue how to test performance vehicles, have no credibility, and have never given the L it's due. Second, I'm not planning on racing in any parking lots, but if I do, I'll have my boost contoller set to lock out the wastegate, so my blower will spool faster and make MAD power!

 

I think the Lightning is a vehicle that comes with awesome
power straight off the showroom floor, but more importantly,
it can be made a hell of a lot faster w/ min money + time invested
For example, thanks to Eaton, we can take a stock off the floor Cobra or Lightning, simply make a 1/2 hour pulley change, a simply filter change, put a chip in it, and in less than an hour turn the L into a easy 12 sec beast, and the Cobra into an 11 sec beast. Of course with the other bolt on mod's the L will go 11's, and the Cobra even faster.

Ok now someone will say, but wait if Dodge puts a S/C on it
they'll be faster. Well maybe thats true, BUT if we put a built motor in ours with that extra cash it takes to buy a Dodge,
THEN WE'll BE IN THE 10's

So lb for lb, $ to $, any L that SRT runs into on the streets is most likey gonna whoop it's a$$, due to the fact most of us do have the basic mods like filter chip n pulley, (12 sec trucks), and for those that kept the wrrnty, they prob still have filter + exhuast (low 13 to hi 12 sec truck) which will still whoop the Dodge's butt



Like I say, it's Fugly
I absolutely love the thought of a Viper Powered Truck,
but why oh why would Dodge not have lost 500 lbs OR SO,
and made it KING OF THE STREETS, and put a SOMEWHAT good looking nose on it, is beyond me ???????
This is the same mistake they made with the Hemi, they took a Motor that has amazing possibilities, and put it in a big old ugly
TRUCK.
Oh Ya
THAT YOU MUST CLIMB INTO,
NOT SLIP INTO LIKE A LIGHTNING

 

Look guys, I loOOOVE Ford, I mean we own 7 of them in my family..One being a 2001 lightning{modified}
there is no way in hell that a lightning with simple bolt ons will outrun a srt-10.. No way, no how..
It is meant SOULY to be a QUICK TRUCK {it even comes with a 4.10 geared rear for gods sake}
when your STARTING with 500hp and 500+lb tq, your the king truck in my book...
I would trade my lightning for one in a new york min.
Anyway, I wouldnt think about jumping on a SRT 10, Unless you just want to look like a looser being spanked by a viper with a truck bed....
read this weeks issue of Autoweek magazines OFFICIAL ROAD TEST OF THE PRODUCTION MODEL...
Youll see....

 

Buy the way, someone posted about a weight diff?
A "stock" lightning is quicker if you ADD weight in the rear...
{old school style} Less tire spin...
Dont believe me?Try it, again, youll see...
Be well informed fellas, no lightning with JUST A CHIP and a pully change is goung to run faster that 13.00 to 13.30's.
period. You need slicks {wich most perple dont drive around town on} to even make it into the 12's..
How about hopping on kenne belle's site, or a svt only forum to see the top lightning times and vehicle ranking...
Hell, a stock 1993 z28 will outrun a stock lightning....
Personally, I see all the "potential" in the world in a Lightning.
But only 5.4 ltr of dis. in a 6,000lb truck? 33,000 dollars?
Hello? Its justa frigging f150 {16,000 dollar 6 cyl truck body} and stiff springs. Whats the xtra $ for, blower? 3,000 Wheels? 1,000
body kit {kind of} 500.. if we need to talk about overpriced, lets talk lighting.. Hell, at least on the dodge, EVERYTHING IS VEHICLE SPECIFID EXCEPT THE BODY ITSELF.... FULL SUSP, FULL BRAKES, FULL TRANS, hell even the ecm is for the srt-10 only.. No SHARED stuff there... I dont know fellsa, dodge is comming out strong...
I will pay an extra 15,000 for one{30,000 for lightning +15000 for the dodge} 100= more hp, 100= more ft lb tq, 6 speed man, and a suspension thats worth a damn... hell, you will spend that much in upgrades on your lightning and get power but at the cost of longevity and driveability.. trust me, I know, I ran 21psi {blowzilla}on my 2001... Everytime you drive it like that, its like rolling the dice...
Craps.....

 

Hmmm... Post Count: 3

Do I smell a dodge boy trying to cause trouble?

 

You sir are clueless...Your points are without merit. If you do own a Lightning please do us all a favor and sell it. Better yet trade it on an srt-10. I will patiently await your arrival on the street.

 

Who has a lightning that weighs 6000 lbs? You sure as hell dont sound like you know much...a few here have gone low 12 on STOCK TIRES! Get a clue.

 

1) 1.8 60' - 12.6 @ 110 on F1s.

2) '93 Z28 - low to mid 14 sec. car with good driver. Now, an LS1 (98' +) will have a slight advantage over a Lightning, stock vs. stock.

3) I weighed in at 4,860 - full trim. I DID NOT pay 33K.

4) What other mods?

5) I was thinking the same.

 

Everything is vehicle specific except the body? No SHARED stuff on the truck? Oh, how about the engine? I do believe it came out of the viper. And I could be wrong on this one.. but I believe the trans came from the viper too.

 

hmmmm.....my stock 2002 Camaro SS wouldn't outrun a stock Lightning although it would be a close race. I didn't realize that the 93's with their LT1's were that much quicker than the 02 LS1's