teamsketch
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2017
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 52
- Reaction score
- 46
- Location
- Kirkland, WA
- Vehicle(s)
- 17' GT350R
- Thread starter
- #1
After the long shipping wait, HR405 is here. Have had about a week with the car now and these are my early impressions:
The Good:
- My last (and only) Mustang was a 12 Boss 302. This car is light years ahead of that one in every way. I could go on and on about this. I still like the Boss and think it is a good car, but this car really is revolutionary compared to the older platform.
- Endless youtube clips cannot accurately reproduce the sound of this exhaust. It is so much better in person the first time you actually drive it. I still can't believe this is what comes from the factory.
- I purchased this car sight unseen, and it really does look great in the flesh. Went back and forth on the color, but really like the blue.
- The transmission is really good. It feels different than other great boxes I have had, but works just as well. Heel-toe is not as hard as the Boss and can be accomplished on the street, even at a moderate pace of driving.
- Overall dynamics of the car are great, I wouldn't call it 'tossable' but it doesn't feel as heavy as it is.
- This thing just feels special. Sometimes I find myself just admiring it in the garage.
- The voodoo is great, I am amazed at how much fun I have had just setting the shift indicator to 5500 and using that as the max shift point for break-in. There is so much drama down low, I don't even have to rev it out, although I can't wait to do that after break-in.
- As soon as I get the PPF on I'm going to the track. I can already tell this is going to be monster and way better than either the Boss or the E36 M3 for track duty.
The So-So:
- I am not surprised but still disappointed by the steering feel. It is super 'direct' as people have said but the feel just isn't there. Driving the GT350 back-to-back with either my E36 M3 or older X3 and the difference is very pronounced. In a vacuum, I don't think it would be so bad, but compared to older cars it is a let down.
- I believe that for modern high performance cars this is one of the most exciting at low speeds, but you really can't use the performance anywhere outside of a racetrack. This makes it a little frustrating to drive on the street. I also had the same problem with the Boss. But I guess in some ways this is a good problem to have.
The Bad:
OMG this car tramlines so badly! I get it, it has 305 cup tires on the front, what did I expect. But seriously this is the worse I have ever driven. It is way worse than my E36 track car running NT01's and 3.5 degrees of camber up front. The tramlining combined with the lack of steering feel, makes the car a real handful in normal driving situations. I guess I need to move back to some non-r wheels and MPSS tires ASAP.
Early Verdict:
Ford has done an amazing job on this car. As Matt Farah said, this really is the Mustang Ford Performance always wanted to build. It truly is special. That said, I'm not sure I will get enough use out of it to justify having it. We'll have to see how the summer goes. Also, the steering feel is a problem for me (but I am really picky). I'll also need to pick up a set of wheels and MPSS's sooner than I thought.
The Good:
- My last (and only) Mustang was a 12 Boss 302. This car is light years ahead of that one in every way. I could go on and on about this. I still like the Boss and think it is a good car, but this car really is revolutionary compared to the older platform.
- Endless youtube clips cannot accurately reproduce the sound of this exhaust. It is so much better in person the first time you actually drive it. I still can't believe this is what comes from the factory.
- I purchased this car sight unseen, and it really does look great in the flesh. Went back and forth on the color, but really like the blue.
- The transmission is really good. It feels different than other great boxes I have had, but works just as well. Heel-toe is not as hard as the Boss and can be accomplished on the street, even at a moderate pace of driving.
- Overall dynamics of the car are great, I wouldn't call it 'tossable' but it doesn't feel as heavy as it is.
- This thing just feels special. Sometimes I find myself just admiring it in the garage.
- The voodoo is great, I am amazed at how much fun I have had just setting the shift indicator to 5500 and using that as the max shift point for break-in. There is so much drama down low, I don't even have to rev it out, although I can't wait to do that after break-in.
- As soon as I get the PPF on I'm going to the track. I can already tell this is going to be monster and way better than either the Boss or the E36 M3 for track duty.
The So-So:
- I am not surprised but still disappointed by the steering feel. It is super 'direct' as people have said but the feel just isn't there. Driving the GT350 back-to-back with either my E36 M3 or older X3 and the difference is very pronounced. In a vacuum, I don't think it would be so bad, but compared to older cars it is a let down.
- I believe that for modern high performance cars this is one of the most exciting at low speeds, but you really can't use the performance anywhere outside of a racetrack. This makes it a little frustrating to drive on the street. I also had the same problem with the Boss. But I guess in some ways this is a good problem to have.
The Bad:
OMG this car tramlines so badly! I get it, it has 305 cup tires on the front, what did I expect. But seriously this is the worse I have ever driven. It is way worse than my E36 track car running NT01's and 3.5 degrees of camber up front. The tramlining combined with the lack of steering feel, makes the car a real handful in normal driving situations. I guess I need to move back to some non-r wheels and MPSS tires ASAP.
Early Verdict:
Ford has done an amazing job on this car. As Matt Farah said, this really is the Mustang Ford Performance always wanted to build. It truly is special. That said, I'm not sure I will get enough use out of it to justify having it. We'll have to see how the summer goes. Also, the steering feel is a problem for me (but I am really picky). I'll also need to pick up a set of wheels and MPSS's sooner than I thought.
Sponsored
