Ken Coons
As an aviation machinist's mate working on F-14 fighter planes, Ken Coons is rather familiar with high-horsepower hardware. The Mustang GT that he brought to our shootout was built by his brother, who sold it to Ken upon his return from deployment in the Middle East.
The 1996-98 4.6-liter engines have been purported to be the weakest of the modular family, but this Mustang receives intercooled air from an ATI ProCharger making 12 pounds of boost. This along with a stout suspension has given the horse the power to stand tall and defend the Blue Oval, if Ken wasn't already doing enough.
Ken's track day was unfortunately cut short due to some bad spark plugs, but he reported that a recent outing to Atco Raceway netted a 12.52 e.t. at 107 mph, with a 1.72 short time. The weakest 4.6? Not any more.
| STRIP SPECS |
| Owner: | Ken Coons |
| Hometown: | Virginia Beach, VA |
| Driver: | Ken Coons |
| Year/Model: | 1998 Mustang GT |
| Weight w/driver: | 3,570 lbs. |
| Engine: | 281 ci |
| Built by: | Ford |
| Intercooler: | 3-core air-to-air |
| Power adder: | ATI ProCharger P600B |
| Maximum boost: | 12 psi |
| Intake manifold: | Stock |
| Cylinder Head(s): | Stock |
| Compression ratio: | Stock |
| Camshafts: | Stock |
| Ignition: | MSD DIS-4 |
| Computer: | Stock |
| Exhaust: | BBK headers and H-pipe, 2.5-inch Flowmaster mufflers |
| Transmission: | Stock AODE |
| Rear type: | 8.8 axle with 3.73 gear |
| Wheels: | 17x9-inch Cobra R |
| Tires: | Nitto 555/ M/T ET Street |
| Suspension front: | Stock |
| Suspension rear: | BBK control arms, Eibach springs |
| Best shootout ET/MPH: | 13.02/102.83 |
| Best-ever ET/MPH: | 12.52/107 |
| STRIP LOG |
| Run # | R/T | 60-ft. | 1/8 | MPH | 1/4 | MPH |
| 1 | .831 | 1.92 | 8.36 | 82.22 | 13.24 | 100.52 |
| 2 | .750 | 1.90 | 8.28 | 84.31 | 13.02 | 102.83 |