Roadway 5.0
Strassejager
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2016
- Threads
- 57
- Messages
- 1,483
- Reaction score
- 1,780
- Location
- New York - USA
- First Name
- Mike
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016GT PP 6MT
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
- Thread starter
- #1
Did my 2016 Mustang GT PP 6MT survive? Short answer, yes! ...but something didn't make it
Last summer I decided to do an "Alpine Tour" that spanned four countries (Germany, Austria, Italy & Switzerland), 2000 miles, and covered the Alps' five best roads: Austria's Grossglockner, Austria's Hahntennjoch, Italy's Stelvio Pass, and Switzerland's Furka and Susten Passes.
I wasn't sure how the Mustang would hold up, frankly. While I know Ford's engineers battle-tested the S550 (as seen on Netflix's "A Faster Horse"), I wasn't sure if their testers mashed the Mustang like how I was planning. In my route I would drive on Germany's Autobahns, drive upwards of 10,000 feet on Italy's Stelvio Pass, and essentially "track" the car for over 10 hours on the twistiest roads in the Alps. Either way, the show had to go on, and here is my feedback on how the S550 did:
120mph for 4hrs: The S550's engine handles speed well for long distances. I had zero temperature issues, misfires, or oddities when stopping for fuel and starting the engine again after long pulls. To note: my engine is bone stock (even the air filter). The chassis, on mine improved greatly via suspension modifications (see signature), enjoyed going fast and taking turns at 120+mph. I admit, the bone stock S550 gets a bit nervous on large bends at these sorts of speeds, but a touch of modification goes a long way. A front splitter, installed just before the drive, really helped keep the steering heavy and responsive; anything over 110 or so, in stock form, had the handling a bit floaty.
2000 Miles in 5 Days: the S550 has zero issues here as well. Not once did the engine not start on the first push, nor did the car sputter at all. The Steeda dampers retained their effect, and all of the fluids (trans/rear OEM; oil Castol Edge) did their job flawlessly.
10hrs "Track": I have track in quotes as I didn't hit dedicated racetracks; I hit the five Alpine Roads as mentioned above. Either way, these bits of road are indicative of a track setting, and REALLY test the brakes when approaching a downhill hairpin turn at speed. The S550 again impressed, and had zero mechanical issues. The OEM PP brakes and pads never faded (I used a good deal of engine braking fyi), the fluids did their job, the manual transmission shifted flawlessly (it seems to get better with heat), and the car really dug all of the twists and turns with the beefed-up suspension. I've driven these roads with the OEM PP suspension as well and had no issues (just went a bit slower).
Altitude (up to 10k feet): here is where the S550 did lack a bit. The weight of the car really showed itself when hitting the steep grades of these mountain roads (especially the Stelvio Pass). Pair the weight with the OEM low-torque-at-low-RPM-tune and the car struggled a bit in 2nd gear on the exiting apex. Yes, the aftermarket can fix this easily; I've just shied away from 93 tunes, for now, as my endurance runs often take me to places where 93 isn't always readily available (ala Romania, Hungary, & Czech Republic).
So what didn't stand up to the test? The factory Pirellis. I had about 8k miles on them when I left, with nice tread, but the intensity of the 2000 mile trip turned these tires into rubber paper weights. I suppose I can't knock the tires too much; the amount of heat and grip used was well out of spec for what most PP GTs see. Either way, it's time for new tires.
So that wraps up my torture test. Other than tires and stopping to refuel often, the S550 Mustang is awesome for this sort of driving and was damn comfortable while doing so (love the a/c seats!!!). If you've done some torture testing yourself please post up and let me know how your car did; I'm very interested to hear if someone in a GT350 or 2018+ GT has undertaken such a trip and how they did.
On a side note: if you're interested to see some of the roads I drove during my Alpine Tour, you can check out my YouTube channel. Below is my most recent video/road review of Austria's Hahntennjoch. Have a good one,
- Mike
Last summer I decided to do an "Alpine Tour" that spanned four countries (Germany, Austria, Italy & Switzerland), 2000 miles, and covered the Alps' five best roads: Austria's Grossglockner, Austria's Hahntennjoch, Italy's Stelvio Pass, and Switzerland's Furka and Susten Passes.
I wasn't sure how the Mustang would hold up, frankly. While I know Ford's engineers battle-tested the S550 (as seen on Netflix's "A Faster Horse"), I wasn't sure if their testers mashed the Mustang like how I was planning. In my route I would drive on Germany's Autobahns, drive upwards of 10,000 feet on Italy's Stelvio Pass, and essentially "track" the car for over 10 hours on the twistiest roads in the Alps. Either way, the show had to go on, and here is my feedback on how the S550 did:
120mph for 4hrs: The S550's engine handles speed well for long distances. I had zero temperature issues, misfires, or oddities when stopping for fuel and starting the engine again after long pulls. To note: my engine is bone stock (even the air filter). The chassis, on mine improved greatly via suspension modifications (see signature), enjoyed going fast and taking turns at 120+mph. I admit, the bone stock S550 gets a bit nervous on large bends at these sorts of speeds, but a touch of modification goes a long way. A front splitter, installed just before the drive, really helped keep the steering heavy and responsive; anything over 110 or so, in stock form, had the handling a bit floaty.
2000 Miles in 5 Days: the S550 has zero issues here as well. Not once did the engine not start on the first push, nor did the car sputter at all. The Steeda dampers retained their effect, and all of the fluids (trans/rear OEM; oil Castol Edge) did their job flawlessly.
10hrs "Track": I have track in quotes as I didn't hit dedicated racetracks; I hit the five Alpine Roads as mentioned above. Either way, these bits of road are indicative of a track setting, and REALLY test the brakes when approaching a downhill hairpin turn at speed. The S550 again impressed, and had zero mechanical issues. The OEM PP brakes and pads never faded (I used a good deal of engine braking fyi), the fluids did their job, the manual transmission shifted flawlessly (it seems to get better with heat), and the car really dug all of the twists and turns with the beefed-up suspension. I've driven these roads with the OEM PP suspension as well and had no issues (just went a bit slower).
Altitude (up to 10k feet): here is where the S550 did lack a bit. The weight of the car really showed itself when hitting the steep grades of these mountain roads (especially the Stelvio Pass). Pair the weight with the OEM low-torque-at-low-RPM-tune and the car struggled a bit in 2nd gear on the exiting apex. Yes, the aftermarket can fix this easily; I've just shied away from 93 tunes, for now, as my endurance runs often take me to places where 93 isn't always readily available (ala Romania, Hungary, & Czech Republic).
So what didn't stand up to the test? The factory Pirellis. I had about 8k miles on them when I left, with nice tread, but the intensity of the 2000 mile trip turned these tires into rubber paper weights. I suppose I can't knock the tires too much; the amount of heat and grip used was well out of spec for what most PP GTs see. Either way, it's time for new tires.
So that wraps up my torture test. Other than tires and stopping to refuel often, the S550 Mustang is awesome for this sort of driving and was damn comfortable while doing so (love the a/c seats!!!). If you've done some torture testing yourself please post up and let me know how your car did; I'm very interested to hear if someone in a GT350 or 2018+ GT has undertaken such a trip and how they did.
On a side note: if you're interested to see some of the roads I drove during my Alpine Tour, you can check out my YouTube channel. Below is my most recent video/road review of Austria's Hahntennjoch. Have a good one,
- Mike
Sponsored
Last edited:
