[Shotimes] (OT) Marauder

[Ron Porter]

Well, a couple of things there. As Mark showed on the dyno link, at least
one Marauder pus out the advertised ponies plus a few more, but the peak HP
number is not the critical success factor for a 4,200# car. That car needs
torque to the ground to get it moving. I'm sure that the key difference
between the 320 HP Cobra motor and the 302 HP Marauder/Aviator motor is hat
the 302 HP has the torque curve moved to a lower rpm due to the weight of
the vehicles.

IIRC, the Mark VIIIs were around 3,800#s. Even if they hit 4,000#, they were
still lighter than the Marauder.

The other thing is that Mark VIIIs came with pretty good gearing, and also
had much shorter tires. The Marauder is not geared low enough. 3.55 gears
sound decent, until you realize that it has 18" tires in something like a
55-series. Those babies are TALL.

As with most modern DOHC engines, I'm sure the Marauder also needs a good
10K miles of hard break-in to get running free & easy.

Ron Porter

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chip" <blackjag91@yahoo.com>
To: "Greg Bjorge" <gbjorge1@cox.net>; <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 10:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] (OT) Marauder


> I love the look of it, but the performance is a huge letdown - I have seen
some roadtests recently that put its 0-60 over 8 sec.!
> My Mark VIII had the same engine with 20 LESS hp, and ran 0-60 in the high
6s all day long...it couldn't have been any lighter, either - it was a BIG
car.  The Marauder gets better gears, too...I'm afraid we might be
witnessing another case of "missing ponies", along the lines of the Cobra
fiasco a few years back...
>
>
>  Greg Bjorge <gbjorge1@cox.net> wrote:
> With the talk about all these newer cars, I was wondering if anybody has
taken
> a look at the Mercury Marauder? I haven't been to a dealer but have looked
at
> the specs on-line. It looks like a good sport sedan. The only part I don't
> like is the price. I have heard they are giving a rebate because of the
lack
> of sales.
>
> Greg
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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