http://www.wieck.com/public/*2PV_055243
http://www.wieck.com/public/*2PV_055241

 

According the CarTest2000 a 100% stock 2003 F150 Lightning should have a top speed of around 143-144 MPH.

According to the same program, the Silverado SS should have a top speed of around 122 MPH.


I think, while a lot of that is due to the power and weight difference... most of it is due to the Lightning's .34 drag coefficient, compared to the Silverado SS' .48 drag coefficient, plus the SS' 4th gear is not designed for top speed at all.

 

With a little help from Eaton, ala Ford !

Different animals altogether, though.

Maybe we should ask if a Lightning could climb an icy hill in the winter ?

Take off at (or near) WOT in the rain ?

Carry cargo weighing more than 500 LBs ?

They (the SS's) are nice trucks, but so dam expensive IMHO.

Of course, I am known as a cheap SOB - a crown I wear proudly !


Britt

 

Or drive uphill at WOT in deep, wet leaves? My friend''s Sierra C3 did that one.

 

I don't think the Lighning and the Silverado SS are in the same league. I would compare the SS to the Harley F-150. Now a short bed, six spd, rwd, reg cab SS would do the trick.

 

147mph??? Not bad for a 4700lb brick.

I was reading some truck mag, and they had projected #'s for the 2004 Lightning concept. I think the #'s were: 0-60 in 4.5sec, 1/4 mile in 12.5, and top-speed surpassing 155mph. Handling and braking were equally impressive for a vehicle its size. That'd put MANY performance/sports cars to shame. I hope the production version comes out to be very close to the concept.

 

Only if you dropped it off of a very high cliff. Having the engine running is optional.

 

You won the "funniest thing I read this week" award.


Nice to know I'm not the only cheap SOB here.

The 2 do have different missions, but as Chevrolet has said, the "SS" badge is for the ultimate performance vehicles at Chevrolet. Since I think it's safe to say that means the quickest and best handling vehicles, the Silverado SS (while would make an excellent and reasonably quick "Special Edition" truck, ala Ford's Harley Davidson trucks) is completely miscast with an SS badge on it. To say the Silverado SS is the "performance" truck of Chevrolet doesn't look well on Chevrolet's definition of performance.

Also the AWD SS's price of $39,000 and some change compares to Ford's Supercharged Harley Davidson F150 price of $38,000 (which includes supercharger!), and would be a real choice (an SC or AWD). The Silverado SS with a different name wouldn't raise an eyebrow.

But with the SS name, of course it's going to be compared to the Lightning, as it most certainly should. Lightning is quicker, faster, and CHEAPER by $7,000!

Silverado SS, though reasonably quick for a 5,300 pound truck (gives new meaning to the trademark phrase "like a rock" doesn't it?), by Chevrolet's own definition, it's no SS.

 

Man... GM had the Silverado SS perfect with the gold one a while back, they loaded their guns, took dead aim at the Lightning, then turned them around and shot themselves right in the face.

That was almost more of a disappointment to me than the damn Fbody cancellation.

 

Do I get one of those SRT-4's you said you'll be giving out as Christmas gifts?

 

But I see this as the SS mission at Chevrolet...especially in the next few years. The "ultimate performance" tag line is hyperbole sizzle.....and maybe that's a sound strategy to move big ticket , high profit vehicles.
What it will mean IMHO, is "token performance increases for that big MSRP sale".

I'll really believe the tag line....when the Z06 gets replaced by the Corvette SS.

 

I drove the SS last Friday and the Dealer let me hammer the hell out of it, I am talking what a blast.

 

Good point, but there was never an SS on the corvette to begin with. I’m sure you already knew that. The SS designation has ZERO ties to the corvette name, whereas it does have ties to the Silverado, Malibu, Camaro, Impala, Monte, etc… Slight difference. For that reason, an SS Corvette would be a very long shot. I’m sure they’ll stick to their more traditional designations.

 

Wasn't the "SS" name actually rooted in the Corvette? I seem to remember Corvette "Super Sport" being the name given to Corvette race cars at the dawn of the 1960s.

 

Haha. I did a search and got tons of "1957 Corvette SS" links. It was some type of experimental car. Thing looks like a mini-spawn of the bat-mobile. It was nothing more than an experimental car though. I saw no mentioning of a 60's Corvette SS race cars.
http://www.diecast.org/diecast98/htm.../reviewpix.htm

Kinda has a nice ring to it...Corvette Super Sport. Makes me picture a 600+hp corvette or a vette with the C5-R's 427ci motor.