I deferred to Steeda's in-house hotshoe for the real passes. Somebody has to take the pictures after all, and Scott clearly knew how to get the best out the car. He clicked of a bracket-consistent (five out of the six passes were all within 0.046 of each other) series of 12.teens that were painfully close to the 11s, but it just wasn't to be that night. As is typical, his first pass-a 12.14 at 115.73-was his best pass.
They say it's the little things...
They say it's the little things that always get you, and just the simple addition of Steeda's Rear Aerodynamic Wing really improves the Sport's backside view.
Once Scott had given his best effort, I jumped behind the wheel to see what the fuss was all about. After heating up the Nittos, I staged at 4,000 rpm and dropped the hammer. Those NT05Rs flat out hook, and you could probably see my grin from the stands as I shifted the high-winding Coyote at 7,000 rpm. I only managed a 12.54 at 113 on my first hit, but it sure felt great. On my second pass, I launched a bit higher and it was feeling good-till I missed a gear. However, what I learned on the first pass is that the car needed to go into Fifth just before the stripe, as the limiter was set at 7,300 rpm in the Steeda tune. I suggested that Scott raise the limiter and see if he could get the sport into the naturally aspirated Promised Land.
A couple weeks later Scott headed back to SGMP with a revised tune taking the limiter up to 7,600 rpm. "The first pass was an OK but promising 12.17 with a 1.78 short. Well, with that short time, I knew we had a 12.0 in the car," Scott explained. "I let it cool for only about 20 minutes and went right back in line. Bam! (It ran) an 11.969 at 115.18 with a 1.724 short (best short I've had with this car). I shifted it at 7,400 and sung it through the traps right at 7,600, where it would just clip the rev limiter at the stripe."
This car is clearly impressive. I witnessed Scott beating up on GT500s with ease in this NA 5.0, and one guy with a Neon even asked if the car had nitrous on it because it pulls so hard on the top end. Nope, the Sport is all natural, and lots of fun.
5.0 Tech Specs
Engine And Drivetrain
Block Coyote 5.0 aluminum
Crankshaft Forged-steel, fully counterweighted, induction-hardened
Rods Forged-steel
Pistons Hypereutectic, short-skirt, flat-top w/four equal valve reliefs; moly friction-reducing coating; oil-jet cooled
Camshafts DOHC, four camshafts, independently adjustable timing
Cylinder Heads Aluminum, four valves per cylinder
Intake Manifold Composite shell-welded with runner pack w/Steeda cold-air induction
Fuel System Sequential mechanical returnless
Exhaust Stainless steel tubular headers
Transmission Getrag MT82 six-speed manual
Rearend 8.8-inch w/3.73 gears
Electronics
Engine Management Copperhead PCM with Steeda/SCT tune
Ignition High-output coil-on plug
Gauges MyColor
Suspension And Chassis
Front Suspension
Struts MacPherson strut
Springs Steeda Sport
Brakes 13.2-in vented discs, twin-piston 43mm floating aluminum calipers
Wheels Steeda Spyder, 20×9.5-in
Tires Nitto NT05, 275/35-20
Rear Suspension
Shocks Gas pressurized
Springs Steeda Sport
Control Arms Three-link
Brakes 11.8-in, vented discs; single-piston, 43mm floating-iron calipers
Wheels Steeda Spyder, 20×9.5-in
Tires Nitto NT05, 275/35-20