Unichip

2005 Saleen S281-E Preview

New, used car prices, reviews and dealers Written By: MyRide.com
Reprinted under license.

Tweaking America's Favorite Pony Car

2005 Saleen S281
Continue to more photos from MyRide.com

What It Is

Saleen is one of the best-known creators of aftermarket performance Mustangs. For nearly two decades, the company has been tweaking America's favorite performance car to extract more power, better handling, and improved braking. Garishly outfitted with signature decals, scoops and spoilers, Saleen Mustangs have sold in small but reliable numbers, enough to allow the small company to perform its magic on a wide range of Ford products from the Focus to the Thunderbird. Accompanying the 2005 redesign of the Mustang is the 2005 Saleen S281, originally introduced at the California Auto Show last fall. Three versions of the Saleen S281 are available to consumers: the standard S281, the S281-SC, and the S281-E. Each Saleen Mustang gets modified styling front and rear, boosts in power, suspension modifications, upgraded braking components, and unique interior trim. For extreme performance, enthusiasts will want to pony up at least $65,000 for the new 2005 Saleen S281-E, which is available as a coupe or a convertible.

What's Under the Hood

"E" stands for Extreme, and with a 500-horsepower engine generating about 480 lb.-ft. of torque, this Saleen S281-E has no problem living up to its name. Only the 4.6-liter V8 motor's original block is retained during the modification - Saleen replaces everything else and re-assembles the engine in-house. The S281-E contains a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, and special aluminum cylinder heads with unique valve springs and performance camshafts. The result is an engine with a higher redline and more power. Then Saleen installs a twin-screw supercharger to blow the horsepower and torque ratings into the stratosphere. With all this firepower on board, Saleen claims that the S281-E will run to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds and can blaze the quarter mile in 12.1 seconds at 117 mph. Other engine modifications include a Saleen PowerFlash performance engine management system, a variable design muffler system that reduces engine backpressure while creating an intoxicating wail at speed, and a free-flow air cleaner. A heavy-duty, close-ratio Saleen six-speed manual transmission manages the muscular mill, shunting power through a high-performance flywheel and clutch disc assembly to a custom-balanced driveshaft and Saleen MaxGrip limited-slip rear differential.

Continue to 2005 Saleen S281-E Preview from MyRide.com

© 2008 Autobytel Inc. All rights reserved.


Rate This Article:

Related Articles

Uni Chip Devices
Uni chip devices are very useful for any car owner. If you have a car, and you are tired of the rising gas prices, you need to do something about it, and you need to do something about it right now. You have other things to spend money on, and you don’t need another device that is going to fail on you or that you are never going to figure out how to work. It is difficult to modify a car if you do not know everything about how they work, and even then you risk making it very hard to use your car later on. You have to be careful and read any and all instructions that come with any kind of car modification device first, because you might damage your car if you do not read them. When you get a Uni Chip, you will be able to modify it fo ...

Develop Your Domains

Develop your domains with WhyPark. WhyPark provides all the Design, Content, and Ads for free to start a website. You can add content of your own and use your own creativity and skills to further enhance your website.

Visit some of our other websites:

Rear BikeRack, Biker MicroBlog, Car MicroBlog