Drove my first 2018 GT

[5.0AVP]

My dealership called me yesterday to let me know they got a 401A performance pack in magnetic in. I have to say it was impressive even at night and filthy.
-It did not have the magneride or active exhaust which I had to double check because of how throaty it sounded. They really improved the stock exhaust for 2018.
-The digital dash is as advertised. Very intuitive and beautiful.
-The interior felt more upscale. The plastic used for the toggle switches felt better
-The clutch is crazy light. Light like my daily 2013 Civic Si. It is also much smoother to engage. The whole drive was butter smooth.
-It revs forever. I didn't beat on it because it was brand new still in plastic. A couple shifts at 5500 maybe 6000. If felt good but somehow less torquey? However, that isn't a fair comparison as my 2015 is broken in. I speculated that maybe with the higher redline the power band has shifted slightly. Or I had a light foot because I was being careful.

As far as the appearance this one didn't have any sort of spoiler and I think it needed it. Other than that the back end looked great. In the dark, in dirty magnetic, the front looked OK but it was hardly a good time to look at the car.

Overall I really enjoyed it. I think Ford made a lot of changes in the right direction.

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[bluebeastsrt]

Does the 18 still have the weird clutch engagement?

 

[NoVaGT]

Does the 18 still have the weird clutch engagement?

This;

All us gear-heads are dying to know of there's the slightest bit of feed-back in the clutch pedal. The friggin' 2011-2017 cars clutch is like stepping on a soggy sponge, you can't feel the engagement of the clutch at all.

 

[whalesalad]

The light clutch problem is easily resolved by removing or replacing the clutch spring.

 

[NoVaGT]

The light clutch problem is easily resolved by removing or replacing the clutch spring.

I've done it, it's not the best answer.

A light clutch pedal AND some feed-back is the answer, and that's an engineering issue.

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

This;

All us gear-heads are dying to know of there's the slightest bit of feed-back in the clutch pedal. The friggin' 2011-2017 cars clutch is like stepping on a soggy sponge, you can't feel the engagement of the clutch at all.

This car has one of the worst feeling clutches I've ever driven. It makes me wish for an SN95 heavy cable clutch to do leg presses on.

 

[5.0AVP]

Does the 18 still have the weird clutch engagement?

No. The clutch is much improved. No weird engagement in my opinion. I retained the clutch spring in my 15 and the 18 feels much better. Much easier to be smooth.

 

[5.0AVP]

This;

All us gear-heads are dying to know of there's the slightest bit of feed-back in the clutch pedal. The friggin' 2011-2017 cars clutch is like stepping on a soggy sponge, you can't feel the engagement of the clutch at all.

As far as feed-back I don't know that you are going to be pleased. While the weird engagement is gone it is lighter so it took me a second to figure out where it let out. But once I did I had no problems.

I should say I don't really mind the clutch in my 15. The odd engagement definitely makes it difficult at times to be smooth if I'm not paying attention but that's on me.

 

[abbeynormal]

I've done it, it's not the best answer.

A light clutch pedal AND some feed-back is the answer, and that's an engineering issue.

I agree. I think the issue is the clutch master is too big. I use maybe 1/3 of the pedal's range to fully disengage the clutch.

I've looked for info on the clutch master bore size and what else might swapped out, but couldn't figure out much. I think the bore is 3/4" and Ford has used the same one for quite awhile on the Mustangs.

 

[bluebeastsrt]

The light clutch problem is easily resolved by removing or replacing the clutch spring.

It's so easy you'd think FORD woulda done it huh????:doh:

No. The clutch is much improved. No weird engagement in my opinion. I retained the clutch spring in my 15 and the 18 feels much better. Much easier to be smooth.

That's good. It was one of the very simple things that I thought would have made the 18 manuals better. I didn't really like the clutch engagement in the 15s.

 

[texasboy21]

I never noticed anything weird with the stock clutch/pedal/engagement. I kinda like it - feels heavy.

 

[Kevin08]

Awesome. I think I’ll go order mine Friday.

 

[Fatguy]

If felt good but somehow less torquey? However, that isn't a fair comparison as my 2015 is broken in. I speculated that maybe with the higher redline the power band has shifted slightly. Or I had a light foot because I was being careful.

Thanks for the review. When it comes to a regular guy’s impressions and a journalist in the industry - I’ll give your impressions more weight. They started messing with the redline so this could be the price. But no need to qualify your first impressions as these are usually the most honest and accurate. In my opinion the first moments are the ones that count. When you drive it for a while your mind can play games with your impressions and comparisons.

 

[texaswrx]

I never noticed anything weird with the stock clutch/pedal/engagement. I kinda like it - feels heavy.

Same here, and this is my second MT82 car. My 2014 PP car and my 15 PP GT felt heavy, but nothing to complain about. Learn to drive it or change something. Never understood the swapping of springs, etc. To each their own

 

[BmacIL]

Same here, and this is my second MT82 car. My 2014 PP car and my 15 PP GT felt heavy, but nothing to complain about. Learn to drive it or change something. Never understood the swapping of springs, etc. To each their own

Oh, if you only knew. It's a giant improvement in feel and engagement consistency. Also, it's not heavy stock. It was engineered purposely to be light for the Euro and Asia markets.

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