So I am headed home from dinner tonight and I spot a new TrailBlazer SS. The guy is in front of me and I can see him playing. I have only had my Z a couple of weeks and wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but sure enough, we both caught the red light with no traffic in sight. It was a short light so I didn't know exactly what he was going to do but it was clear when the light turned. He started pulling hard off the line so I slipped the clutch to avoid spin or the accleration control. Redlined through first, grabbed second and he was pulling just a bit. Grabbed third and stood on the gas and I started pulling from him. Not much but enough that I call it a win. Maybe half a length. This was only a 0-75 mph race (in a 35 mph zone) but I was pretty pleased with my little Z. According to GM, the TrailBlazer SS is the 6.0 with 395 horses. By no means did I smoke him, but my little 97 held up well. My mods are only, Hypertech, Flowmaster, Hooker Pro series Headers and a cone filter on the end of my air snorkel. Oh, and brand new tires! I will give props though, that thing is stout and I thought I might get beat tonight.

 

In a drag race it is a matter of punds per horsepower. The Trail Blazer has 100 HP over you, but your car is whole bunch lighter, so it was able to outrun the Blazer. This is a good reason never to try against a motorcylcle.

 

Your absolutely correct Pete. Weight and HP go hand in hand. But moreover it is torque per pound. For comparison purposes I pulled this from GM website.

AWD (SS) 4,663 or 4663/395=11.81
97 Z28 - 3442 or 3442/285=12.01

Effectively, I am only about 1 pound per horse better than the $35,000 plus Trailblazer. Makes me like my little tinker toy Z even better. I paid less than a third the cost of his 395HP for my Z with only 40,000 miles on it.

From GM -

TrailBlazer SS redefines the “sport” in Sport Utility Vehicle with a Corvette-based 6.0L LS2 small block V8. It generates 395 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque, taking TrailBlazer from zero to 60 in under six seconds. Based on GM testing.

Edmunds on 97 Z's -
Performance
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 5.8 sec. Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 118 ft.
Road Holding Index: .88 g Base Number of Cylinders: 8
Base Engine Size: 5.7 liters Base Engine Type: V8
Horsepower: 285 hp Max Horsepower: 5200 rpm
Torque: 325 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 2400 rpm

Happy Driving!

 

Refigure Your math, The Trailblazer has You by 0.2 Lbs / HP. So be thankful You had Your mods.