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Best Daily Driver GT350 vs GT500 ? Whats your pick and Why????

526 HRSE

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I don't know how many people have even had the pleasure to drive both as a daily driver to even be able to comment..
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526 HRSE

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nodonut

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Why the digital dash? I hate that dash.
Ive seen a wide body GT350 they did in Las Vegas and they brought the GT350 out to the Sonoma Raceway last year. Its freaking BEAUTIFUL!
They call it the J-Lo. ;-)
 

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Spart

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I'm going to be that guy and say "neither" for a DD.

A few things that are different about the GT350 compared to my GTPP that make it worse for daily driving:
  • Despite the GT350 not being much lower overall than the GTPP, the front fascia/splitter is much lower on the GT350. The nose of the car wants to scrape everywhere. That's a pain on a daily where you need to be able to get anywhere.
  • 5W50 oil and an external oil cooler mean the thing is pretty cold blooded. I always wait till the oil temp gets to 190 to really get on it and that can take anywhere from 5 to 10 miles of driving when it's warm, and it won't even happen on cold days. With the 5W20 and no external cooler on my GTPP I felt like I could have fun as soon as the coolant gauge got to the middle.
  • Alcantara steering wheel means I'm always very careful to wash my hands before I get into the car. If you daily a GT350, you'll want to put replacement steering wheels in your maintenance budget.
  • The range on the thing is terrible. S550's don't have a very big tank to begin with. I went from averaging 20 or so in my GTPP to 15 or so in the GT350. On the highway that picks up, but keep in mind you NEED premium for the GT350, so if you're taking a road trip out west (or anywhere else) where stations with premium can be few and far between, you reallllly have to plan out your stops. In a GTPP you can run 87 or 89 in a pinch without any anxiety.
  • The Recaro seats in the GT350 aren't as comfortable as the GT Recaros, and they seem to wear faster. For a car you get in and out of at least twice a day, that wear will accelerate. Replacement seat skins aren't cheap either. You can option down to the regular GT style seats though.
  • The stripes are easily susceptible to damage, all the moreso if you have to park it outside and it gets bird poop on it. I don't drive my car to work and park it there for that reason, and when I do park it somewhere outside for a length of time I'm always careful to check for bird crap on the stripes and clean it immediately.
If I wanted an S550 daily, I wouldn't hesitate to get another GTPP. Fortunately my GT350 is a weekend type car and my daily is a Tacoma. Cheers! :beer:
 

Rael

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I loved daily driving my GT350, in the city and on long distance drives, but I didn't have Recaros or stripes.
 

torque124

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GT350 is fine for a daily. I only scraped my track pack spoiler once or twice in 3 years of ownership... It is actually better than a GT350R for dailly commutes, just because of the front spoiler, and those expensive carbon wheels .... you don't NEED premium on GT350. You get more power with 93 octane, but 91 is fine....

If you're a fatty or big guy, sure , the Recaro's are tight... Range, if you care about gas money, you bought the wrong car.. I think for a daily, a GT350 (nonR) is perfect in my view; especially if you live in a warm climate which does not get snow and salt on the roads. I don't so I park my car for the winter in a garage...

Just my 2 cents.
 

Spart

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GT350 is fine for a daily. I only scraped my track pack spoiler once or twice in 3 years of ownership... It is actually better than a GT350R for dailly commutes, just because of the front spoiler, and those expensive carbon wheels .... you don't NEED premium on GT350. You get more power with 93 octane, but 91 is fine....

If you're a fatty or big guy, sure , the Recaro's are tight... Range, if you care about gas money, you bought the wrong car.. I think for a daily, a GT350 (nonR) is perfect in my view; especially if you live in a warm climate which does not get snow and salt on the roads. I don't so I park my car for the winter in a garage...

Just my 2 cents.
91 is premium.

I'm talking gas stations out west, and even around where I live, that have only 87 or 89.

Hell, I have to drive eighty miles just to get 93.

Range is not the same thing as expense. No amount of money can make the range on your car better. I give two shits about the fuel economy as long as I can make it to the next gas station.

The Recaro's aren't tight, they're just about right. But the GT350 design has a lot more flat surfaces whereas the GT Recaro design is more rounded. I find the GT design far more comfortable, especially when you're in the car for two hours at a time or more. I took my GT chasing a good spot to photograph the 2018 eclipse, spent six hours in the car that day and didn't have a complaint. In the GT350 I want to get out after about two hours.
 

Socalrugger

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500 is gorgeous but 350 all the way......Owning a manual car means itā€™s safe from being driven by the wife and 16 year boy.....people just donā€™t know how to drive manuals these days and they arenā€™t going to learn on mine.....!
 

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lateinthegame

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91 is premium.

I'm talking gas stations out west, and even around where I live, that have only 87 or 89.

Hell, I have to drive eighty miles just to get 93.

Range is not the same thing as expense. No amount of money can make the range on your car better. I give two shits about the fuel economy as long as I can make it to the next gas station.

The Recaro's aren't tight, they're just about right. But the GT350 design has a lot more flat surfaces whereas the GT Recaro design is more rounded. I find the GT design far more comfortable, especially when you're in the car for two hours at a time or more. I took my GT chasing a good spot to photograph the 2018 eclipse, spent six hours in the car that day and didn't have a complaint. In the GT350 I want to get out after about two hours.
I would not want to live where there is no "TRUE" premium of 93.
 

Rael

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500 is gorgeous but 350 all the way......Owning a manual car means itā€™s safe from being driven by the wife and 16 year boy.....people just donā€™t know how to drive manuals these days and they arenā€™t going to learn on mine.....!
:clap: Those are additional benefits!

(Another: a young valet at my wife's doctor's office asks me to park my own car there because she doesn't know how to drive a manual.)
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