Lancer Evo vs.Trans Am

[SniperSmurf]

late 1970s trans am 5.5 liter 455 im a trans am /firebird guy so of course i said no way....

Ummmm... I can't believe nobody's caught this yet, but a 5.5 liter is not 455 ci.
350 ci = 5.7 liters
454 ci = 7.4 liters
These are not exact metric to US conversions, but they are what GM uses.

Late 70s (actually, anything after about '71) muscle cars were positively chocked with emissions equipment. The TransAm you are referring to only put out between 250 and 290 horsepower stock and was much heavier than the Evo VII which puts out like 270 for the US market.

As much as I love GM big blocks, I have to vote Evo on this one...

[bornl33t]

I know squatt about either car, but 271 hp for 3200lbs is not a very good weight to power ratio. just for comparison, the early 90s Ford fox body mustang coupe only weighted in at 2800lbs is I remember correctly with about 205 hp stock the cobra was a little above that I don't remember the specs.
I don'y who would win on a quarter mile, but I gurantee the trans am will pull a "energizer bunny" and just keep on going. The evo will not have the torque to push it much past 150mph if even that.

but who really cares?

[SniperSmurf]

The TransAm weighed in at about 3800 lbs, and with the 250 hp 455 (which most were) has a much worse power-to-weight ratio. In addition, the Evo is AWD, which helps immensely with initial hook-up (though it also saps some of that power). I agree that torque is a whole different story, and is also what matters most off the line. The 455 puts out approx. 100 more lb. ft. than the 4 banger, which is a HUGE advantage with the right tires.

Seriously though, who'd want to drive a mid '70s muscle car at 150+ mph anyway (without MAJOR brake work at the very least)? Not me...

Asking which one would "beat" the other, without giving us the type of racing to be done or the year/options of the TransAm, is really subjective.

But yeah, I don't really care either...

Ask me which one I'd rather actually own and I'd have to go with the Pontiac, given that it was a prime example.

[bornl33t]

Seriously though, who'd want to drive a mid '70s muscle car at 150+ mph anyway (without MAJOR brake work at the very least)? Not me...

better question, who would need to drive any car over 100mph.

[skife]

Ummmm... I can't believe nobody's caught this yet, but a 5.5 liter is not 455 ci.
350 ci = 5.7 liters
454 ci = 7.4 liters
These are not exact metric to US conversions, but they are what GM uses.

Late 70s (actually, anything after about '71) muscle cars were positively chocked with emissions equipment. The TransAm you are referring to only put out between 250 and 290 horsepower stock and was much heavier than the Evo VII which puts out like 270 for the US market.

As much as I love GM big blocks, I have to vote Evo on this one...

actually its anything after late '72, because '73 was the year of the gas crisis and cars got wimpy.... kind of.

[eg0_Slayer]

easy conversion

i figured out a pretty simple way to do the displacement conversion (CI to liters) all you have to do is multiply the liters by 61, for example, 5.0 liter, miltipled by 61, is 305.
and you can do the same thing in reverse, 305 divided by 61, is 5.0. sometimes you have to round up, but so far, it's never been wrong. oh yea, and as much as I love american muscle, I'd have to go with the EVO on this one.

[SniperSmurf]

actually its anything after late '72, because '73 was the year of the gas crisis and cars got wimpy.... kind of.