Best Drivers Car Competition. GT350 almost wins.

[GT30fan]

I don't like the style of this new Porsche as much as the last, but if it's a better car, I'd consider one

A few comments was made if they had the 350R instead of a straight 350, things might of been different. I think, if not mistaken, the 911s just had a simple street summer tire. Putting a more track focused tire on the 911s could of maybe buried the R as well. Dunno, but just saying

HOWEVER

...."MIND BLOWN" that a Mustang, at half the cost or less, and a MANUAL did so amazing well. If this was "best drivers car under $75,000" we won

Course, setting money aside Porsche 'keeps going' with the Turbo S. From what I understand, the 911 Turbo S is literally unbelievably good. For those with the 200k in spare change....

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[Antigravity Batteries]

Is it me, or was the race kinda “staged”?

That was boloney.... they are getting like Top Gear all set up and boloney lies to tell the story they want. They also couldn't let their start driver lose... but as they said all just for fun....

 

[NorthernBeast]

Laguna Seca isn't the GT350s best track...nor the Jag. It's a horse power track, but deceptively a momentum track at the same time. Really have to take these lap times with a grain of salt. Randy has a particular driving style and they only tested it at one track. I'd bet the Jaguar is a good bit faster at the 'Ring. The GT350 would understeer too much there to be insanely quick, IMHO.

FWIW - GT3s kill me at my local club track. At COTA it's game on.

Can you expand on your experience a COTA with the GT350 against other cars? It is often overlooked how much the type of track can play to a cars strengths and weaknesses.

 

[NorthernBeast]

Ford should make a special edition GT350 with the GT500's Dual Clutch for even just one year. The GT350 platform and motor with a Dual Clutch or 10R80 would really elevate the overall performance. I love my GT350 as is but I am also very curious as to how much 'quicker/faster' it would make the car with a state of the art transmission.

 

[GT30fan]

Ford should make a special edition GT350 with the GT500's Dual Clutch for even just one year. The GT350 platform and motor with a Dual Clutch or 10R80 would really elevate the overall performance. I love my GT350 as is but I am also very curious as to how much 'quicker/faster' it would make the car with a state of the art transmission.

I think it's pretty obvious it would be vastly improved from the numbers stand point, 500+ horse power with a computer to take advantage of all the sweet spots and do so in nano seconds

The question is, was the speed worth the cars soul (lol)?

 

[Wildcardfox]

I think it's pretty obvious it would be vastly improved from the numbers stand point, 500+ horse power with a computer to take advantage of all the sweet spots and do so in nano seconds

The question is, was the speed worth the cars soul (lol)?

will never happen as Ford is very clear that the spirit of the GT350 is analog. They gave that response when people asked about including the digital dash.

 

[NorthernBeast]

will never happen as Ford is very clear that the spirit of the GT350 is analog. They gave that response when people asked about including the digital dash.

I get that it is unlikely but look at Porsche, a company who is the pinnacle of drivers cars. They've even gone to only PDK for the GT3 RS

Ford could easily keep the standard GT350 as is and make an 'RS' version of the GT350 R that has a dual clutch. I am willing to donate my car for a transmission swap for a 10R80 or dual clutch....can you buy the GT500 transmission yet?

 

[Wildcardfox]

I get that it is unlikely but look at Porsche, a company who is the pinnacle of drivers cars. They've even gone to only PDK for the GT3 RS

Ford could easily keep the standard GT350 as is and make an 'RS' version of the GT350 R that has a dual clutch. I am willing to donate my car for a transmission swap for a 10R80 or dual clutch....can you buy the GT500 transmission yet?

I’m repeating what I’ve gotten from Ford in my role as a journalist.

Ford is following the Porsche model where the GT350 base is equivalent to the Porsche Carrera, GT350R=GT3, and GT500 carbon is GT2RS.

They have chosen to take one car and make multiple iterations.

The 500 got the digital dash and the DCT transmission because it is meant to be the highest pinnacle of technology and performance. It also had to fight in two arenas, dragstrip and the road track (read Hellcat and ZL1).

There is no GT350R “RS” version Because the Ford engineers threw everything they could at that car to make it the best that it could possibly be. They did come back around the 2019 with the ABS and the new steering column in 2020 which gained a second on track because of deeper braking and trail braking improvements.

There’s also the spirit of the GT350 that they have integrity in. The original car, the 1965 GT350 competition models which became known as the GT350R, was analog. You shifted it. It was brutal and bare. That is the spirit that Ford wanted to keep.

I would also say that eventhough it’s been discussed over and over again, this is the last year of the GT350. There are some people on the forum who are privy to information without divulging the exact information on why, some of those people have said that this is the last year, yet still we talk about it continuing till the end of the S550 model.

I would say that I know that you’re enthusiastic about trying this with the automatic out of a GT, but think about all the research and development time and money that Ford spent on designing a car with a particular transmission as well as all of the tooling and government certification. They’re not gonna go back to redo that. So you’ll never see a GT500 that comes from Ford with a manual. They went all in, they only sell a few of these cars that are halos, and they’re set.

As for a small shop doing this, it would also take lots of time and money and just offering your car without covering some of those costs would be a losing proposition.

 

[GT30fan]

I get that it is unlikely but look at Porsche, a company who is the pinnacle of drivers cars. They've even gone to only PDK for the GT3 RS

Ford could easily keep the standard GT350 as is and make an 'RS' version of the GT350 R that has a dual clutch. I am willing to donate my car for a transmission swap for a 10R80 or dual clutch....can you buy the GT500 transmission yet?

I'm no expert on cars, but wouldn't that take a lot of programming to let the auto trans know the best points in time to shift, etc? Like the "normal, sport" modes, etc etc?

This may be another case that if you want to go supercharged and auto trans (for example), the cheapest way would be sell it and buy the GT500?

By the way, I may be the only one, but I really like the "analog" (as you called it) dash on the gt350. It has the digital area between the gauges and it has the screen over the console, it isn't like it doesn't have tech. What you NEED (speedo and tach) is always there, and while in the right mode the digital dash puts that right in your face, I know I will be boo-hoo'ed for this but it's kinda "Honda" to me

I think the reason it was #2 on the 10 Best Drivers cars is because it IS a drivers car. But that doesn't mean it's the RIGHT car for everyone. Like fighting city hall, I think if it was me and I was burning to go with an automatic trans, it might be time for me to question if I really should be buying another model.

I personally wonder if it was an auto without that joy and engagement, would it have even placed in the top 10, ahead of the Jag's, BMW's, etc? My guess is it might improve the get up and go, but now your trying to beat other super-cars at their own game.

 

[NorthernBeast]

I'm no expert on cars, but wouldn't that take a lot of programming to let the auto trans know the best points in time to shift, etc? Like the "normal, sport" modes, etc etc?

This may be another case that if you want to go supercharged and auto trans (for example), the cheapest way would be sell it and buy the GT500?

By the way, I may be the only one, but I really like the "analog" (as you called it) dash on the gt350. It has the digital area between the gauges and it has the screen over the console, it isn't like it doesn't have tech

I think the reason it was #2 on the 10 Best Drivers cars is because it IS a drivers car. But that doesn't mean it's the RIGHT car for everyone. Like fighting city hall, I think if it was me and I was burning to go with an automatic trans, it might be time for me to question if I really should be buying another model.

I personally wonder if it was an auto without that joy and engagement, would it have even placed in the top 10, ahead of the Jag's, BMW's, etc? My guess is it might improve the get up and go, but now your trying to beat other super-cars at their own game.

I love my GT350 with a manual but I am also just a very curious person and I love the high revving nature of the GT350 over the Supercharged nature of the GT500. Same reason I would take a GT3 RS over a GT2 RS. I just want to see it done once so my mind can rest easy lol

 

[jpindustrie]

If you want the dual clutch , the 500 is what you want

As others have stated Ford decided to offer two speciality mustangs, one with the best of yesterday (GT350) and the best of today (GT500).

Theres a reason why Ford doesn't emphasize numbers on the 350s, especially 0-60, its not a good marketing story.

A better story is a car fully analog with 'just enough' HP to turn around a racetrack without overheating (too much).

If you want numbers the GT500 is where they are focusing that marketing on.

 

[honeybadger]

Can you expand on your experience a COTA with the GT350 against other cars? It is often overlooked how much the type of track can play to a cars strengths and weaknesses.

Sure thing. For perspective, I just want to make sure we all know we're talking about my highly modified car A stock GT350/R gets eaten alive on any track by GT3/RS.

At my local club track, there's not a lot of time to put power down in a straightline or "settle" the car. The GT350 is quickest in big sweepers, under HEAVY braking, and straightaways. It doesn't change directly very quickly when compared to something like a GT3. So, on tracks where you aren't carrying a ton of speed or you have tons of starts/stops at medium speeds, a car like the GT3 can carry more speed and put power down more easily with the DCT.

Here's a lap at my local track on heat cycled Cup2s. Note, this was my first day running zero traction control with a setup meant for COTA, so it's not optimal. But still 5 seconds faster than a stock GT350.



Now at COTA, there are 5 areas to carry a ton of speed: front straight, through the esses (especially using the HB line as in the video below), going down the hill into T11, the back straight, and the carousel. All those areas play well into the cars strengths - high speed, momentum, and "throwing" the weight around. Because those make up more than half the track, I can keep up with/beat GT3s fairly easily. I roast them pretty good in the high downforce areas (esses, carousel, etc.). They still give me a lot of trouble out a dig, though. They just put power down so well.

 

[Hack]

3 years later and they're still comparing it to the 911 ...

Another thorn in the side of the smart people at Stuttgart ...

Porsches are really good but they don't have the thrill for the $$ that a Mustang has. Road course times are one thing - driving enjoyment is another. Reviewers sometimes seem to forget that cars aren't used to win races. They are for driving and enjoying.

 

[Wildcardfox]

If you want the dual clutch , the 500 is what you want

As others have stated Ford decided to offer two speciality mustangs, one with the best of yesterday (GT350) and the best of today (GT500).

Theres a reason why Ford doesn't emphasize numbers on the 350s, especially 0-60, its not a good marketing story.

A better story is a car fully analog with 'just enough' HP to turn around a racetrack without overheating (too much).

If you want numbers the GT500 is where they are focusing that marketing on.

just remember Ford actually doesn’t publish any numbers. They’re marketing take is that they want ja ournalist to discover the performance. For the entire 500 roll out we were prevented from saying what it’s zero to 60 time was (3.5—mid 3), because they wanted us to get in a car and discover it for ourselves.

This doesn’t always work in Ford’s favor as most automotive journalist cannot drive, crash cars on the regular, and couldn’t do a track or drag session to save their life. But that’s still bargain they take I guess.

HINT HINT you guys might want to think about that when you’re discussing Car and Driver, Road and Track, and MotorTrend road test or other car comparison articles. there are so many factors that can skew the results and they are not a perfect comparison, and most cases a poor relation.

So Ford is not shying away from publishing GT350 numbers, they don’t publish any numbers or times officially.

 

[DCShelby]

Well at some point, we will see wadded GT500 and a person will salvage the tranny and attempt to put it in the 350, and ergo at some point a Tremec six speed will be grafted into the GT500. Give it about a year or so.

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