OK here's the deal. I have an uncle who is an Impala SS freak. He also has a 95 LT1 Caprice police package. I drove this car and I have to say that it runs very well.
My job has changed and I need to get a car to save on fuel and keep the highway miles down on my PSD in my sig. I would really like to stay all Ford if I can. Does anyone know if the performance of the Crown Vic compares to the Caprice? I have yet to get a chance to test drive a Police package Crown Victoria.
I like the 98 and newer Crown, but I would definitely consider a 97 style if the condition and price were right.
All inputs are welcome. Thanks.

 

I have a friend who works for the local sheriff's department, and he says the police "chip" is not available to the general public. When the older ones are retired, a stock chip is put in them.

 

I talked to a local cop where I live. I don't know about today, but when the caprice was out at the same time, we changed from the caprice to the vic. He said the rearends kept going out on the caprice,but they ran alot better thanthe vic hands down. Said the vic was pretty good up to about 100mph and that was it.

 

While back, Motor Trend has a road test on a Highway Patrol Crown Vic. Had identical Hp,tq numbers to the civillian version, and the times confirmed this. Back in August, I had the pleasure of rideing in the back of a Local Patrol car and the officer was in a hurry to dump me at the station. He kept stomping the pedal from light to light and the speed limit was 50 so he just kept gettin on it, and really it wasn't all that impressive at all, which to me means that I wouldn't bother getting a police package for extra power. You'll just be buyen a car thats been brutalized by some careless guy.


On the flip side, you wouldn't have to worry about hitting curbs.....

 

When the State Police here in Virginia were being switched from the Caprice to the Crown Vic, they would fight to keep the Caprice and try to find another Caprice already in service to switch out to. They said the engine in the Caprice was much more powerful and the handling was better. They weren't concerned about reliability as much as performance as they weren't responsible for repairs (but I don't know how that compared).

 

I have heard similar comments from many police officers about the chip. I have also heard them say that they change the fuel pumps, cams, heads, injectors and several other components. I am somewhat skeptical of these claims though because the particular officers involved were not the gearhead type. I also doubt this because I am a former Deputy and I also worked for a while equipping police cars with lights, cages, radios, etc.. We also stripped them when they were retired and the guy from the auction yard picked them up directly from our shop and took them straight to the auction yard. Naturally there are different policies in every region but you never know.....

Maybe I need to look for a SSP Mustang instead but I sure would like the extra interior space of a 4-door.

 

I used to have a friend who was actually in on cruiser evaluation for the Seattle P.D. They told me the Caprice had a bit more grunt but at high speeds the brakes were only good for a couple of hard shots....not good in a pursuit vehicle. Anyway they went with the Vicky.

 

The LTI Caprice(SS) stomps the 220 HP 4.6.....PERIOD.

I don't know what you want to spend but the Marauder with the 305 HP motor is more than a match for the SS. I'm talking from published AND personal experience.

There is no major metropolitan police dept that changes internals and I doubt the chip claim. These vehicles are still warranted by GM/Ford.

 

I think I sold 5 or 6 hundred Caprice patrol cars. The Departments howled when Chevy changed to the ugly bodystyle, but they really howled when Chevy stopped building the car. I know of a few agencies here locally that are having their cars rebuilt through an outfit back East instead of buying Crown Vics. It's not that the Crown Vic is a bad car- the Caprice is much faster, handled better, and had a longer life-cycle.

DOHCmarauder- you are correct. Those mods put the cars in violation of Federal emissions regs, and also void the warranty.

Back to the original question on the thread- are you after performance or gas mileage? the Caprice will outrun a Vic, but the Vic's get much better mileage, especially out on the highway (3-4 mpg difference).

edit: the real sleeper, if you can find one, is a LT1/LS1 Camaro patrol car. Those cars were not Z/28's, and only the tailpipes give them away visually from a stock sport coupe.

 

[QUOTE=bodabdan] I have also heard them say that they change the fuel pumps, cams, heads, injectors and several other components. I am somewhat skeptical of these claims though because the particular officers involved were not the gearhead type. I also doubt this because I am a former Deputy and I also worked for a while equipping police cars with lights, cages, radios, etc.. We also stripped them when they were retired and the guy from the auction yard picked them up directly from our shop and took them straight to the auction yard. Naturally there are different policies in every region but you never know.....

QUOTE]
Yeah, that is unlikely. To my knowledge, they are identical, 229 hp Crown Vics. I drove plenty "interceptor" Vics working for Ford, doing PDI's. I was looking forward to seeing how they accelerated. They are slower than I thought they would be. Feels just like a normal Crown Vic. And that's before all the extra eqiupment and weight. Man they are slow! I will say this, they handled way better that I expected though. They should offer the Marauder engine for high speed patrol cars. That would solve the problem.

 

Back when I used to wear the badge, all my buddies liked driving the Caprice a lot better. Each shift, the keys for the Caprice's would usually disappear from the board faster than the Crown Vic keys. I think the last year the Caprices were built was 1996, since we would always want the "96 cars" I despised the newer Caprice bodystyle, especially the partially covered rear wheel wells. But I will say they accelerated faster and the turning radius of a Caprice was much better than a Crown Vic. And that was important to us big city cops.

reguy

 

Around here.....the city police use late model chevy impalas while the local sheriff and highway patrol use crown vics. Either way...its hard to outrun a Motorola.

 

FYI the Impala SS and the 9C1 are almost identical vehicles. The only difference besides appearance packages (chrome wheels on the SS) was that the SS has a speed limiter to 155 MPH. The Caprice doesn't have one and is drag limited to about 160-165.

But to the question: Caprice vs. crown vic is an easy one. Caprice all the way. Not only are they quicker, faster, and better handling, but look at repair costs for standard replacement parts.

A set of front calipers? Try about $20 A PAIR. Brake pads? $17. What if the motor decides to quit on you? Rebuild kit is about $300, and you can buy a stock crate 350 for $500 all day long.

The fact that GM used so many parts on so many vehicles for such a long period of time really takes a bite out of costs. Add to that the reliability of the 9C1 -most are retired from police service around 160,000 miles and then go into cab service for another god knows how many- and it's an obvious choice.

Besides, the 9C1 gets about 20/32 mileage. That's pretty darn good and the boost you get with going to the crown vic is NOT worth the loss in speed, acceleration, braking, and handling. Also, the idea of a grandma car that'll do 160 mph and out run almost everything on the road is really appealing to me.

But that's just my opinion.

Justin

 

I don't see the point in being able to go 150mph in a police car - it's an unrealistic speed, and that's an understatement at best. Most patrol chases I've seen occur on back roads with lots of turns, some off road chases, on highway with lots of traffic, and in mall parking lots filled with pot holes and speed bumps. 150MPH is not attainable in any of these. Control would not exist and the police themselves would be putting innocents at high risk by trying to attempt these speeds - much better to radio essential information and positions and keep a huey on the suspect at all times.

The biggest advantage to the Caprice would be better acceleration and turning for closing in on a suspect - not top speed. Also cheaper maintenance parts over the lifetime of the vehicle makes for a good arguement on it's behalf. Hard to believe GM stopped producing the one vehicle they had which gave them dominance over Ford in a particular government niche, since it seems the rest of the emergency/rescue/fire
services prefer Ford trucks.

 

Not saying speed is a necessity, but it's always an added bonus.

Justin