Just was wondering if anyone has run a new SS Commodore (225kw)against the stook

and i would like to know how it would handle against the s2k.....

DavidM, it would be great if you could do a graph like the S2k v R8 etc.....

the reason for this is a friends dad owns one and thinks the SS will eat the stook, and he particularly made a point about going up hill...... i told some figures and that top speed was about 260km/h and he was like yeah right a four banger, and said that means it's faster than an R8 at top end......so what does an R8 do top for top speed? i though it was like 257km/h off the top of my head, but anything to give the stook a better reputation guys......

 

Hey Aus2k,

Before my S2000 was stolen I raced mine at Eastern Creek.
It ran a 14.2sec @ 97miles, I don't think a SS commordore can run a low 14 they normally run close to 15s.

I ran a 255kw clubsport, we where on the M5 he got me down low but once I was reving hard I actually caught him. He got about 2 cars on me but I reeled him in.

I also ran my mates Porsche Boxster S , and there was nothing in it. If anything I got the better of him once we into 3rd. And I tell you that I have not had a problem taking a standard WRX.

This brings back the memories of my little silver beast.

 

I have "raced" an SS from a standing start and it was dead even, I got a crappy launch but my nose stayed at his front door all the way till about 90-100. Sicne the stook is supposed to beat an ITR quite comfortably, you do the maths

I also have people that their AU falcon will eat my ITR alive ... hmmmm ...

 

I've only run against an HVS R8 - this thing with the 'right fuel' (98RON) has 260kW and also it has shorter gearing than the SS (ie quicker for more than one reason). Though it weights about 50kg more. You read my post about my runs against my father's R8 so that's how the S2000 compares to one of those .... the SS is slower than the HSVs (about 0.3 secs to 100kph and good 5-8kph down by 400m mark at ~160kph) so if I can 'hang' or be quicker than an R8 then I will 'aways' be quicker than an SS. That is unless you're doing a 'low-revs' rolling start (or launch) in which case even a V6 Commodore will get a jump on S2000.

Though, if you put them on a track (ie. handling/braking) then there's night and day difference between an SS and S2000 ... there's a big difference between an R8 and S2000 and R8 has big wheels/tyres, best tyres you can buy, worked suspension and huge brakes (unlike the SS). Keep in mind that an SS is a 'family sedan' while the S2000 is an all out 'sports car'. it's like comapring handling (or track ability) of a 911 Porsche to an M5 BMW - you cannot really compare them. Same with the SS - it could be an awesome performer for a 'family car' but it's no a 'sport car' and will get outhandled by most cars with sporting intentions (Type R, WRX, 200SX ... even an MX5 , though that does not have enough power to keep up with an SS).

If you're interested in how an S2000 lines up (in the straighline) agaisnt a WRX or a 200SX then do a search on this board for my name or '200sx'/'wrx' and you'll find my side-by-side runs. They both can beat the S2000 in the straighline under the right circumstances (read my posts).

ps. I'd plot you a graph but I need to get a hold of SS's power output - I only have one for R8 at the moment. If you got one then let me know and I'll make you a 'plot'.

 

cool,

thanks for the reply's, but what about going uphill? cause the SS is a torque monster going straight up a fairly steep hill will it beat us?, the s2k only has 176kw vs 225, even with the weight difference that's a fair bit more......

 

The SS has 225Kw but weighs 1652 Kg for a power/weight ratio of 7.3Kg/Kw. The S2000 has 176Kw and weighs 1259Kg for a power weight ratio of 7.2Kg/Kw, so on paper they should be about even.

However, we don't drive on paper and out on the asphalt you'll find that the S2000 lower frontal area will mean less air resistance at higher speeds.

The SS develops maximum torque at 4400rpm and max power at 5000rpm. Both curves drop off sharply after that. What this means is that the SS will go well until about 140-150 Km/Hr and then suddenly become "breathless".

Over the last year or so I've come up against a few Commodores (HSV & SS) at Winton, Sandown & Phillip Island. My experience is that the top-of-the-line Commodores (with good brakes & modified suspension) simply have too much power for a stock standard S2000 on standard road tyres.

However, the lower end HSV's & the standard SS's will be about 4-5 seconds a lap slower than an S2000. This is mainly due to brakes & handling. On the straights they're about even.

Now as to your question about hillclimbing. My suggestion is that you challenge him to a hillclimb, and choose a hill that has a few corners............

 

I think I know the kind of guy you are talking about: "8 is bigger than 4 so mines faster" That sorta thing.

It wouldn't matter what facts and figures you came up with. You could race him and run circles around him and he still wouldn't be convinced.

My response would just be "Still looks like a family car to me!"

 

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but what about going uphill? cause the SS is a torque monster going straight up a fairly steep hill will it beat us?, the s2k only has 176kw vs 225, even with the weight difference that's a fair bit more......
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As someone else mentioned, the SS weights 400kg more than the S2000 and that is a lot more weight to lug ... especially uphill. Yes, it has extra 50kW (and extra 230Nm) to help it along but there's more to it then just weight and max power. There's also the gearing - SS (manual) is geared 69, 103, 141, 183, 247, 367kph for it's 6 gears. The S2000 is geared on the other hand 69, 105, 144, 186, 232, 266kph and that allows it to always have 150kW+ on tap ... even up the hill. The SS gearing is not bad in the 1st 5 gears but it's still nowhere as short as S2000's and therefore it's more likely to be further away from the power peak.

What this means is that yeah, the SS can beat the S2000 uphill - for instance if you say that you're both going to be in 3rd or higher gear, and doing low revs (ie. low speeds) then the SS will blow the S2000 away (thogh it can do it even on a flat road under those conditions). Oddly enough if you were doing the 'hill climb' in 6th gear and a reasonably low speeds (ie. 100 kph) then the S2000 will blow the SS away as the SS has a hard time running in the 6th at 100kph even on the flat road let alone up-hill (it's pulling 1.5k revs) ... and that's even with all that torque. The 6th gear is pretty useless in the SS as it is there for no other reason but economy - there's no 'performance' in that gear at all. Also, if you're allowed to 'drive' the car anyway you like then the S2000 will do just as well as on a flat road - hills don't handicap a car if it's allowed to run in it's 'powerband' ... and the S2000's gearbox allows the car to be in the powerband at any speed above 45kph.

If your friends start talking about 'towing a boat' then you might as well submit to their argument that the SS has more 'pull' as the S2000 is not going to tow anything ... you need the low-revs grunt for that - which SS has got plenty while the S2000 has very little.

ps. You asked about top speeds for these cars in a previous post. The speeds that are the speedo is reading at 200kph+ are not correct. All speedos have an 'error' that gets greater with speed. Even S2000 has about 15kph error at arounf 250kph. So, these numbers bellow are numbers from magazines that were measured with a radar/corveit:
- S2000 = 241kph
- HSV R8 = 258kph
- SS = 245kph

The S2000's aerodynamics are pretty poor ... in particular when compared to cars with a proper roof and top speed has a lot to do with the aerodynamics - that I know that at 210kph it's still pullong like a rocket :-) Though, here's some other figures (they demostrate acceleration up to about 200kph) for the SS and S2000 - they are standing 1km runs:
S2000 = 25.8secs
SS = 26.25secs (at 203kph)

I'm not entirely sure what speed the S2000 is doing when it crosses the 1km mark, but I do know that it can do 200kph in 24.4secs. Also, if you think that 0.45sec is not much at 200kph, then look at it this way - 0.45sec at 200kph is equal to 25m.

pps. Iggy, when you ru nthe TypeR against an SS, what speed/s did you run up to? Reason I'm asking is that the TypeR has incredibly short gearingin the 1st 3 gears.

 

I ran thru 1st and 2nd redlining and hit 3rd for a little bit and backed off ... it was a stupid area to do a drag in (60limit) but he was getting on my nerves.

 

Thanks,

Aus2k,

Sorta of exactly the same guys, but i couldn't exactly race them as i am 16 , but maybe one day......

David,

Thanks for the Info, good to know it can get to 200km/h in 24.4 secons

i thought the top speed of the stook was 250+km/h..... what is 241km/h in mph?........

so does that mean that in each cars powerband the s2k will pull away uphill?