Goats4ever Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I'm trying to get a feel from owners how much foot stomping can be had without damaging the drive train. I'm breaking in my 725 HP Snake this Spring and treating the car nicely up to the 500 mile mark, but after that and an oil change, I'm wondering how often I can nail the throttle and not damage the car. How many miles do you have on your Snake and how often do you run the car to it's limits? I have no idea what the limits are, so I'm trying to get a wide variety of owner's experiences with pushing their Snakes hard. Obviously, the red line on the tach should not be passed, but other than that what would you expect the lifetime of the engine to be if you drove the car hard on the street, strip, road courses, etc.? Thanks in advance for any input. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knownukes Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I'm trying to get a feel from owners how much foot stomping can be had without damaging the drive train. I'm breaking in my 725 HP Snake this Spring and treating the car nicely up to the 500 mile mark, but after that and an oil change, I'm wondering how often I can nail the throttle and not damage the car. How many miles do you have on your Snake and how often do you run the car to it's limits? I have no idea what the limits are, so I'm trying to get a wide variety of owner's experiences with pushing their Snakes hard. Obviously, the red line on the tach should not be passed, but other than that what would you expect the lifetime of the engine to be if you drove the car hard on the street, strip, road courses, etc.? Thanks in advance for any input. Jim Jim, I have just over 10k miles and 3 track days post modification. About half the miles are pushing it. It's very hard not to lean on it everytime I get in it. So far I have had zero problems with my car. I have 5 track days scheduled in the next 30 days(Sebring & Homestead) so I'll check in with you after that. Take care of it. Keep the temps down(did u get the cooling mod? makes all the difference in the world(thnx Van)) and drive it like you stole it. I strongly suggest getting the rear wheels widened and wider tires(305 to 335's) immediately. I waited until a used up the 275's, big mistake imo. It is a completely different car once you get some tire under it. The 2nd gear acceleration is unbelievable. With the 275's 1st, 2nd and most of 3rd gears are useless. You can't use full throttle until about 75 mph. Good luck with it and enjoy. Welcome to the world of SS ownership. You are going to love it. BJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneDoc Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Jim I think you and i picked our SS up on same day. I am pretty aggressive with mine.... including a few trips to the dragstrip now. I run a 3" pulley and have either a street or a race gas tunes running at all time. I think you are OK to cut loose at this point. I have 12,500 miles on her... about 3000 as a SS . I use wide open throttle almost eveytime i take her out. i drive on nice weekends for the most part. no major issues so far. the rev limiter should keep you out of trouble. Have fun. Glad your health is improving. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Jim, I have just over 10k miles and 3 track days post modification. About half the miles are pushing it. It's very hard not to lean on it everytime I get in it. So far I have had zero problems with my car. I have 5 track days scheduled in the next 30 days(Sebring & Homestead) so I'll check in with you after that. Take care of it. Keep the temps down(did u get the cooling mod? makes all the difference in the world(thnx Van)) and drive it like you stole it. I strongly suggest getting the rear wheels widened and wider tires(305 to 335's) immediately. I waited until a used up the 275's, big mistake imo. It is a completely different car once you get some tire under it. The 2nd gear acceleration is unbelievable. With the 275's 1st, 2nd and most of 3rd gears are useless. You can't use full throttle until about 75 mph. Good luck with it and enjoy. Welcome to the world of SS ownership. You are going to love it. BJ BJ, Thx for the info. Yes, I did opt for the cooling package and the temp stays constant. That's incredible that half your mileage is pushing the car and no maintenance. How often do you change the oil / filter, and air filter and what kind of oil do you use? I'll check out the thread on widening wheels, etc. Oh, did you have the flywheel / clutch TSB work done? I am amazed that the A/C compressor can keep up with the constant high RPMs! Thx BJ! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Jim I think you and i picked our SS up on same day. I am pretty aggressive with mine.... including a few trips to the dragstrip now. I run a 3" pulley and have either a street or a race gas tunes running at all time. I think you are OK to cut loose at this point. I have 12,500 miles on her... about 3000 as a SS . I use wide open throttle almost eveytime i take her out. i drive on nice weekends for the most part. no major issues so far. the rev limiter should keep you out of trouble. Have fun. Glad your health is improving. Ron Hey Ron! Been a long time and thanks for responding. Yes, you and I picked up our Snakes the same day. Do you have the wider rims and tires? I'm not so sure I would modify the original wheels. The rim and tire combo on the SS are inadequate. In fact, the stock tires from the car are just as wide as what Shelby installs at SAI. Definitely not enough rubber for the horse power. What brand fuel do you use? Do you think I should have the TSB flywhel / clutch changed out for general principle? Thx Ron. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Strauss Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I have been road racing my snake for more then 2 years now. 17 thousand miles on it. 7 of that after it was snaked. I have run Daytona 2 times as a Snake. The 1st time ran over 625 miles on a 3 day event. Most all my miles are on track. Problems--- Rear gear came loose at Homestead but the bolts didn't fall out. Gear oil out the rear vent. Trans fluid out the vent. ( only at Daytona). Change oil after ever event. Broke crank at Daytona ( Headers, Pulley,Tune, LowerPully, Injectors, Comp Boostapump) Building lots of torque. Don't think you will ever be able to HURT a stock snake. Ran 192 MPH in the Texas Mile. I shift at 6500rpms. rev limit at 6700. Have spun it 7200-7300 a couple pulls in Texas. Clean the air filter only went it starts to get dirty. Here is my YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/user/Jasit390 Good Luck John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knownukes Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 BJ, Thx for the info. Yes, I did opt for the cooling package and the temp stays constant. That's incredible that half your mileage is pushing the car and no maintenance. How often do you change the oil / filter, and air filter and what kind of oil do you use? I'll check out the thread on widening wheels, etc. Oh, did you have the flywheel / clutch TSB work done? I am amazed that the A/C compressor can keep up with the constant high RPMs! Thx BJ! Jim Jim, I change the oil/filter every 3000 miles or track event. I use the Motorcraft sythetic listed in the owners manual(there's a thread on that either here or gt-500 mod &tech). I have not had any clutch work done yet. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I clean the air filter as needed when it gets dirty. so far that has only been once. BJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I have been road racing my snake for more then 2 years now. 17 thousand miles on it. 7 of that after it was snaked. I have run Daytona 2 times as a Snake. The 1st time ran over 625 miles on a 3 day event. Most all my miles are on track. Problems--- Rear gear came loose at Homestead but the bolts didn't fall out. Gear oil out the rear vent. Trans fluid out the vent. ( only at Daytona). Change oil after ever event. Broke crank at Daytona ( Headers, Pulley,Tune, LowerPully, Injectors, Comp Boostapump) Building lots of torque. Don't think you will ever be able to HURT a stock snake. Ran 192 MPH in the Texas Mile. I shift at 6500rpms. rev limit at 6700. Have spun it 7200-7300 a couple pulls in Texas. Clean the air filter only went it starts to get dirty. Here is my YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/user/Jasit390 Good Luck John John, That is incredible! I checked out you tube; some awesome videos. You ran 192 mph before the header install, etc. or after? Regardless, that is really fast! Breaking the crank is pretty wild! Any damage to the orginal block when that happened? So far John it appears you take the cake with putting your Snake to the limits of the stratosphere! Congratulations! Be safe. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneDoc Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Hey Ron! Been a long time and thanks for responding. Yes, you and I picked up our Snakes the same day. Do you have the wider rims and tires? I'm not so sure I would modify the original wheels. The rim and tire combo on the SS are inadequate. In fact, the stock tires from the car are just as wide as what Shelby installs at SAI. Definitely not enough rubber for the horse power. What brand fuel do you use? Do you think I should have the TSB flywhel / clutch changed out for general principle? Thx Ron. Jim Jim Agree the stock wheels on the SS are laughable. The stock GT500 tires are actually wider than the stock SS tires (285 vs 275)! not sure what SAI was smoking the day they made that decision, but I want some! it is not ideal to widen the rims but if you really want to use that 725 HP you bought your gonna have to modify the car in some way and that made the most sense to me. I do not plan to sell mine so resale value is not an issue for me. I have a tune for street (93 octane) and one for the track (103 octane). I get unleaded 105 at the track for my race tune. My dragstrip sells Sunoco products. I did get the TSB done to my car just before the SS was completed.... I did not want any issues hanging out there with the added HP. Hope that helps. any update on the SS owners manual? Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Jim Agree the stock wheels on the SS are laughable. The stock GT500 tires are actually wider than the stock SS tires (285 vs 275)! not sure what SAI was smoking the day they made that decision, but I want some! it is not ideal to widen the rims but if you really want to use that 725 HP you bought your gonna have to modify the car in some way and that made the most sense to me. I do not plan to sell mine so resale value is not an issue for me. I have a tune for street (93 octane) and one for the track (103 octane). I get unleaded 105 at the track for my race tune. My dragstrip sells Sunoco products. I did get the TSB done to my car just before the SS was completed.... I did not want any issues hanging out there with the added HP. Hope that helps. any update on the SS owners manual? Ron Ron, Thanks for the info. Yes, that's ludicrous that the stock tires are wider. Regarding the owner's manual, I have called and e-mailed Roger quite a few times, but no response; not sure what to think of all the effort that went into owners posting their input. I sent him all of the documentation collected and then some so the Ford engineer could write a decent manual. If all else fails, I'll write one myself. If you buy a Roush car, you get a real nice Owner's Manual; I've seen them. Then again Roush has a ton of engineers; they manufacture all of there installed components from what one of the Roush engineers told me. Shelby on the other hand buys all there install parts from over the counter. I've been told Shelby has "two" engineers. Obviously, with a Snake you get the prestige of the Shelby name; I don't think Roush will ever be able to compete with that, but then again, anything can happen in this crazy world. Thanks Ron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INDYSHELBY Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Ive had mine for about a year and a half drove it hard from day one just on the street but always push it each drive. No broken parts yet but with all that power it wont supprise me maybe thats an advatage of the tires not hooking up. Good news only one speeding ticket enjoy your ss when you open it up Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Strauss Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Thanks Jim The crank broke after the mods, no damage to any internals. I will just be replacing the crank and bearing. I'm not pulling the pistons or heads. This engine has always made way more power then most and knowing how well its valve and ring seal is I didn't want to disturb any thing. I'll be looking for your videos. If you change your own oil. A little trick I found works well, on the frame under the oil filer there are 3 or 4 holes, this lets the oil get into the frame and leak out all over. Changing oil as much as I do I have covered these holes with duct tape. It works great. I have had to change the tape due to it getting oil soaked. But after 30 or more changes thats not bad. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee N. Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I'm trying to get a feel from owners how much foot stomping can be had without damaging the drive train. I'm breaking in my 725 HP Snake this Spring and treating the car nicely up to the 500 mile mark, but after that and an oil change, I'm wondering how often I can nail the throttle and not damage the car. How many miles do you have on your Snake and how often do you run the car to it's limits? I have no idea what the limits are, so I'm trying to get a wide variety of owner's experiences with pushing their Snakes hard. Obviously, the red line on the tach should not be passed, but other than that what would you expect the lifetime of the engine to be if you drove the car hard on the street, strip, road courses, etc.? Thanks in advance for any input. Jim I hammer mine everytime I am in it. I had it Super Snaked when the car had less than 1000 miles on it. Modified the SS package with a lower pulley, 80lb injectors, headers, 3" exhaust, dyno tune (93 and 116), 12" wheels, etc, at 1100 miles. I hit the 2000 mile mark doing 191 at the Texas Mile (at 6750 rpm). These cars are meant to be enjoyed. Drive the hell out of it and enjoy it the entire time! Not sure I have ever gotten in the car without generating some degree of tire smoke. You will soon find out that its impossible to push these cars to there limits on the street without getting killed or arrested. If you really want to see what the car is capable of you need to take it to an event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I hammer mine everytime I am in it. I had it Super Snaked when the car had less than 1000 miles on it. Modified the SS package with a lower pulley, 80lb injectors, headers, 3" exhaust, dyno tune (93 and 116), 12" wheels, etc, at 1100 miles. I hit the 2000 mile mark doing 191 at the Texas Mile (at 6750 rpm). These cars are meant to be enjoyed. Drive the hell out of it and enjoy it the entire time! Not sure I have ever gotten in the car without generating some degree of tire smoke. You will soon find out that its impossible to push these cars to there limits on the street without getting killed or arrested. If you really want to see what the car is capable of you need to take it to an event. Hey Lee, What you said is reassuring. Thanks for the input. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bchorney Posted May 6, 2010 Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 Jim: Glad to hear you are feeling better. I was able to get about 700 miles on it before I put it away last fall, but by the end of the break in period that SAI suggested I was opening it up pretty good. I have barely been able to drive it here in Calgary as it keeps snowing! Gotta love spring here. Like Lee and Ron, I will eventually get to doing something with the rear tires if I want to get agressive with my car at the track. For now on the street the car is great and you run out of speed limit long before you run out of car. Get out and drive that thing! Cheers Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2010 Jim: Glad to hear you are feeling better. I was able to get about 700 miles on it before I put it away last fall, but by the end of the break in period that SAI suggested I was opening it up pretty good. I have barely been able to drive it here in Calgary as it keeps snowing! Gotta love spring here. Like Lee and Ron, I will eventually get to doing something with the rear tires if I want to get agressive with my car at the track. For now on the street the car is great and you run out of speed limit long before you run out of car. Get out and drive that thing! Cheers Brett Hey Brett! Long time my friend. Thanks for thinking of me Brett. Getting older (55 now) is a bear; plus the 35 years in the USMC took a toll on the body. BUT, every time I take the Snake :snake: out, the adrenelin starts to flow and all the pain goes away! I just noticed that both of our pics look almost identical! If I could get hold of another set of SS rims, I would modify them. I envy your weather even though you have long winters; I prefer the cold; was raised in very cold climates so I like it! And Canada is simply a magnificent country across the board; the scenery, mountains, etc., are breath taking. Ride safe my friend. JIm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Posted May 7, 2010 Report Share Posted May 7, 2010 I have been reading the relies, and I must admit, I stepped into my 725 once. The car currently has less than 400 miles on it, so I have not experience my car as much as many people on this forum, BUT, when I did step into it, I was caught off guard. I was getting ready to do a cruise at the end of a car show and each car followed the other a couple blocks through town and gathered in tight formation for the "cruise". It was dark, and I had a large gap (like a full city block) between myself and the 68 Mustang in front of me. I had just installed the full 3" JBA and the Ford Racing shortys. As soon as I went through the intersection I stepped into it in 1st gear, the car hit the rev limiter so quick, I wasn't sure if it was in gear. It over powered the rear tires so quickly it seemed to be in neutral, but the car was trusting forward while heavily spinning, the engine bounced at the rev limiter a couple of times, WOW! The friend of mine who was a block ahead in the 68 said all he could hear was the KB, he said it sounded like a "zipper". All I knew was that my friend was a city block in front of me one second, and I was "with him" the next second, spinning the 275's the whole way, WOW!! I then realized that I need more time understanding this 725 and how it responds to a caress of the right foot, and don't second guess weather it is in gear, just shift!! R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 I have been reading the relies, and I must admit, I stepped into my 725 once. The car currently has less than 400 miles on it, so I have not experience my car as much as many people on this forum, BUT, when I did step into it, I was caught off guard. I was getting ready to do a cruise at the end of a car show and each car followed the other a couple blocks through town and gathered in tight formation for the "cruise". It was dark, and I had a large gap (like a full city block) between myself and the 68 Mustang in front of me. I had just installed the full 3" JBA and the Ford Racing shortys. As soon as I went through the intersection I stepped into it in 1st gear, the car hit the rev limiter so quick, I wasn't sure if it was in gear. It over powered the rear tires so quickly it seemed to be in neutral, but the car was trusting forward while heavily spinning, the engine bounced at the rev limiter a couple of times, WOW! The friend of mine who was a block ahead in the 68 said all he could hear was the KB, he said it sounded like a "zipper". All I knew was that my friend was a city block in front of me one second, and I was "with him" the next second, spinning the 275's the whole way, WOW!! I then realized that I need more time understanding this 725 and how it responds to a caress of the right foot, and don't second guess weather it is in gear, just shift!! R Robert, Those were very cool words! Can you feel a difference in the 3" JBA? I know what a rev limiter is, but can you explain how the system works in the Snake? I have a 725 as well. Thx, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bchorney Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 Jim: It has been a while. Just good to see you back on here. I love driving my car. Expecially by myself. I don't have to worry about anything and I can just enjoy the sound of the car and the feel of it when I put the gas pedal to the floor!! Any worries you may have are gone for that moment!! I love it! In fact in a few minutes I am going for a ride down to the flower shop!! My lovely bride has taken my mother-in-law and the kids out to the mountains for the afternoon for a stroll. Nice break! Yes, I think almost everyone that picks up their car from Vegas has that shot! Love it. When I went for a test drive I took a few shots by the speedway. Thanks for the kind words. I think the winters just make you really appreciate the summer more. I don't know if I could live somewhere that doesn't have the change in seasons. One of the best things about Canada is it is huge and diverse. There are so many different things to see. I was really hoping that SAI was going to produce the rears in 11" so I didn't have to mod, but we'll see. Cheers Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 Robert, Those were very cool words! Can you feel a difference in the 3" JBA? I know what a rev limiter is, but can you explain how the system works in the Snake? I have a 725 as well. Thx, Jim ---------------------------------------- Before I changed to the 3", I had stepped into the throttle a couple of times, not hard, but enough to get the car up and going briskley. I have now noticed that when I do this same type of acceleration, the RPMs seem to climb much quicker, that is how/why the RPM's got way that night before the cruise, the engine seemed to zip out of sight much quicker than it did previous to that night. I had just finished the 3" JBA and shorty conversion that afternoon. As for how the rev limiter works, I am not sure if spark or fuel is limited, but since the computer controls both, when the rpm threshold is met and exceeded, the computer does what it is programmed to do. I have so few miles on this car, I try not to spin the tires or engine excessive, but instead keep it just at the point where it still keeps traction and accelerates. A few weeks ago, I made a turn onto an open two lane road, granny shifted from 1st to 2nd, made sure that car was straight, and stepped into it to the point where the tires just began to break loose, I could have held it there with a steady/slow climb to the rpm limit, and the tires would have just kept cooking. It seemed effortless........... R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 Jim: It has been a while. Just good to see you back on here. I love driving my car. Expecially by myself. I don't have to worry about anything and I can just enjoy the sound of the car and the feel of it when I put the gas pedal to the floor!! Any worries you may have are gone for that moment!! I love it! In fact in a few minutes I am going for a ride down to the flower shop!! My lovely bride has taken my mother-in-law and the kids out to the mountains for the afternoon for a stroll. Nice break! Yes, I think almost everyone that picks up their car from Vegas has that shot! Love it. When I went for a test drive I took a few shots by the speedway. Thanks for the kind words. I think the winters just make you really appreciate the summer more. I don't know if I could live somewhere that doesn't have the change in seasons. One of the best things about Canada is it is huge and diverse. There are so many different things to see. I was really hoping that SAI was going to produce the rears in 11" so I didn't have to mod, but we'll see. Cheers Brett Brett, That is a "poster" shot in front of the tunnels! Vista Blue is a real eye catcher. Yes, I too have the "great escape" when I drive my Snake; you're in another world for sure. So Shelby is supposed to come out with new wheels? I guess we would have to swap in our original wheels for the 11's? That's pretty cool getting flowers for the bride. We're gonna have Maryland blue crab tomorrow. Good stuff! Take care Brett. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goats4ever Posted May 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 ---------------------------------------- Before I changed to the 3", I had stepped into the throttle a couple of times, not hard, but enough to get the car up and going briskley. I have now noticed that when I do this same type of acceleration, the RPMs seem to climb much quicker, that is how/why the RPM's got way that night before the cruise, the engine seemed to zip out of sight much quicker than it did previous to that night. I had just finished the 3" JBA and shorty conversion that afternoon. As for how the rev limiter works, I am not sure if spark or fuel is limited, but since the computer controls both, when the rpm threshold is met and exceeded, the computer does what it is programmed to do. I have so few miles on this car, I try not to spin the tires or engine excessive, but instead keep it just at the point where it still keeps traction and accelerates. A few weeks ago, I made a turn onto an open two lane road, granny shifted from 1st to 2nd, made sure that car was straight, and stepped into it to the point where the tires just began to break loose, I could have held it there with a steady/slow climb to the rpm limit, and the tires would have just kept cooking. It seemed effortless........... R Robert, How may $$$ were the mods? What are shorties? Thx, JIm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Posted May 9, 2010 Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 Robert, How may $$$ were the mods? What are shorties? Thx, JIm ----------------------------------------------------- Jim - It is the optional JBA "Super Snake 700" exhaust system that is offered through the Shelby Performance Parts catalog. I don't remember how many $$$ I have in that system, maybe $1400 or $1500, not including the headers, which were an additional $600 or so for ceramic coat. A glimps of the "shorty's" are shown below, they are the Ford Racing shorty headers for the Shelby GT500. They bolt directly in place of the stock cast iron exhaust manifolds. I am not sure of any power gains with the shorty's, maybe none, but they sure look better than rusty cast iron manifolds, even if only a small portion is visible........................ Before After Before After and then the Cool looking "SHELBY by JBA" tips!! I am still, at some point going to have the exhaust re-adjusted and pull the tips in (less sticking out), but I have not taken the time to get the car over to an exhaust shop on the other side of town with an owner who "appeciates" performance cars and does excellent work. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bchorney Posted May 9, 2010 Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 Jim: They talked and talked about doing an 11" rear for the SS, but it wasn't ever approved. I doubt that it will be made now. Maybe some day. Cheers Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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