Multiyear Owners - What do you do to take care of your GT350?

[Tank]

For those of you who have owned your GT350 for more than a year, what measures do you take to:
1) Take care of, preserve and protect your GT350 and
2) Are there any idiosyncrasies you do for whatever reason you’d like to pass on to new owners?

I’ll start. Mine's not my daily and spends a lot of time in storage due to my location and road salting.

1) After reading in this forum of people complaining, much to their surprise, their engines have been 4 or more quarts low, I always check my oil before I first start it up for the day. Just to make sure there’s oil in there.

2) Also, at least a couple of guys have said their GT350s have died while they were just idling. I make it a point never to have my GT350 just idle for prolonged periods. The most is to close my garage door after taking it out.

3) I redline it at least once when I take her out. Just seems like the right thing to do.

4) I plug in the trickle charger if I’m
not going to start it for a day or longer.

5) I avoid salt like the plague and use Sottozeros for storage and cool weather driving early in the Spring and late in the Fall.

Let me know if there’s other questions to ask.

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[JAJ]

I do my best to ensure that there's a race track at one end or the other of every journey.

 

[Bluelightning]

Mine lives in the garage at all times when I'm not driving it. I check the oil every 500 miles. I don't let it warm up before I drive it, but I don't go above 3500 rpm until it's up to temp. As far as trickle chargers go, I have one, but have never used it, and my car will sometimes not get driven for a month at a time due to weather, etc... Still on the O.E battery from 2017.

 

[Trackaholic]

Nothing too special.

• Check the oil often.
• When I get in a press the clutch I like to wait for the exhaust valves to cycle before starting the car.
• Since I have to keep mine outside, I keep a plastic bin with an ultrasonic emitting lightbulb under the car to keep rats away (had them chew through parts of the engine wire harness, which luckily could be spliced without too much trouble). Not sure it does anything, but keeping my fingers crossed that I don't get rats in the engine bay again.
• Try to redline at least once or twice every trip (assuming the oil gets up to temp).

Currently have 43,000 miles. Doesn't get driven a whole lot these days due to COVID, but try to take it out once a week at least.

-T

 

[Carbide]

Nothing too special.

• Check the oil often.
• When I get in a press the clutch I like to wait for the exhaust valves to cycle before starting the car.
• Since I have to keep mine outside, I keep a plastic bin with an ultrasonic emitting lightbulb under the car to keep rats away (had them chew through parts of the engine wire harness, which luckily could be spliced without too much trouble). Not sure it does anything, but keeping my fingers crossed that I don't get rats in the engine bay again.
• Try to redline at least once or twice every trip (assuming the oil gets up to temp).

Currently have 43,000 miles. Doesn't get driven a whole lot these days due to COVID, but try to take it out once a week at least.

-T

Good to see someone not afraid to pound on the miles. Well done.

Nice thread. I will be interested in hearing tips as well.
I am just 120 miles into my GT350 journey. Snowing again right now, so more waiting.
I still need to bring mine back to the dealer for some unfortunate panel adjustments. Then it'll be going in for PPF and ceramic coating.

 

[honeybadger]

Kevin's step to maximum enjoyment of a GT350

Step 1: Shine it up good

Step 2: Load it in the trailer so it's nice and "garage kept" while traveling

Step 3: Unload it at the track

Step 4: Scare every living thing within 2 miles due to noise

Step 5: Bring home, change fluids, and clean from track day

Step 6: Rinse and repeat as often as possible

 

[PP0001]

For those of you who have owned your GT350 for more than a year, what measures do you take to:
1) Take care of, preserve and protect your GT350 and
2) Are there any idiosyncrasies you do for whatever reason you’d like to pass on to new owners?

I’ll start. Mine's not my daily and spends a lot of time in storage due to my location and road salting.

1) After reading in this forum of people complaining, much to their surprise, their engines have been 4 or more quarts low, I always check my oil before I first start it up for the day. Just to make sure there’s oil in there.

2) Also, at least a couple of guys have said their GT350s have died while they were just idling. I make it a point never to have my GT350 just idle for prolonged periods. The most is to close my garage door after taking it out.

3) I redline it at least once when I take her out. Just seems like the right thing to do.

4) I plug in the trickle charger if I’m
not going to start it for a day or longer.

5) I avoid salt like the plague and use Sottozeros for storage and cool weather driving early in the Spring and late in the Fall.

Let me know if there’s other questions to ask.

Great thread especially for fairly new or soon to be GT350/R owners.

Having owned numerous 2nd generation GT350/R's over the last 5 years here is a list of measures that I personally take with my cars.

1. Oil levels always checked on a regular basis.

2. Tire pressure is checked twice per month.

3. When not in use for more than a week I disconnect the battery and hook up a battery tender to each car. I am very anal about keeping the OEM Motorcraft battery for each car in tip top condition with this process keeping my batteries in great shape for many years.

4. After putting my car away after some spirited driving I always put a car cover over it once my car has cooled down but will not put a car cover on an extremely dirty car therefore will clean up a dirty car soon as possible.

5. When washing and detailing my cars I always employ the use of a Metrovac Master Blaster air dryer. I can't say enough how important it is for me to get rid of excess water or moisture in hidden and difficult to access areas on our vehicles.

6. Once I leave my neighborhood I always put my cars into "Sport Mode" as I cannot get enough of the aural sound from our FPC engines especially from ~4,500 RPM up to the 8,250 RPM redline.

7. I change my oil on a regular basis even if one of my vehicles does not get driven that much.

8. Prior to getting on it I keep an eye on my oil temperature and water temperature guages.

9. Being an old school guy my track days are over therefore I don't get involved with PPF but certainly enjoy and endorse a good ceramic wax. I have been a Griot's Garage product guy for quite some time but have recently come across a company called "International Aero Products" which was originally formulated for aircraft but I also find it great for my cars and still learning about their products and like what I see so far.

10. I found out early in my automotive life that getting on any high performance vehicle with cold tires is a recipe for disaster therefore I always warm up my tires before any spirited driving.

Those are my top 10 suggestions and hope that some of these items may be of help to some of you.

 

[16Kobra]

Kevin's step to maximum enjoyment of a GT350

Step 1: Shine it up good

Step 2: Load it in the trailer so it's nice and "garage kept" while traveling

Step 3: Unload it at the track

Step 4: Scare every living thing within 2 miles due to noise

Step 5: Bring home, change fluids, and clean from track day

Step 6: Rinse and repeat as often as possible

Great Explanation Kevin, thats exactly what I do....

 

[Nfs1000f]

Build oil pressure before first start in the spring and after it’s been parked for more than a week or so.

 

[drought_buster]

1: change the oil when I put it away in the fall
2: top off the gas tank
3.hook up the trickle charger
4: cover it up
5: turn on the thermostat in the heated garage to 60f
6: complain to myself that I didn't drive it enough in the given year
7: hide all the christmas presents in the trunk of the car so the kids can't find them
8: wait for spring time

 

[P85596]

I keep mine in a garage and it's my daily driver so it goes out rain or shine.
I check the oil @500 miles and I don't go above 4,000 rpm until the oil temp is over 150 degrees.
It currently has 41,500 miles on it and is on its second engine and 7th a/c compressor.

 

[kgschrader]

Interesting thread.
My first GT350 was a 2016 Tech Pack.
I drove it every day to work and back. Checked oil frequently as I do on all my vehicles.
I certainly didn't baby it.

I did hit a young hog that ran across the road on the way to work one early morning, so had to have some repairs done to the right front corner.

The only problem I ever had with it was a leaky A/C evaporator which was replaced under warranty. Oh, and as others have reported, the factory alignment (mainly toe) really wears out the front tires on the inside and makes the car 'darty'. Good alignment and no more problems.

I sold it to a friend who absolutely loved it from the first time he saw it. I had put 43,000 miles on the odometer. He drove it a lot, but died from ALS and his wife traded it in, so it is now on at least its third owner somewhere.

I sold it because I found a McLaren 570 that I really liked.

Later, I realized how much I missed the G350 and was lucky enough to find and afford a 2020 GT350R which I still own. When I get so old and decrepit that I can't drive it, I may put it up for sale, but that's the future.

And then... the 570S got swapped for a 720S, but that's another story.

I still have the GT350R and love getting into it and driving it.
My son drove it and said he had to have one, so he's got a 2018 R.

FWIW,
Kirby

 

[TreeFiddyAre]

Just came across this thread, so I figured I'd chime in.

I've wanted a GT350R since the first time I saw one. The sound, the chassis, the fact that Ford somehow convinced management to let engineers build a street-legal race car—it immediately became my dream street car. About six months ago, I finally pulled the trigger on a 2019 R with 28,600 miles. It came with a complete service history and I purchased an extended warranty. Best decision ever, because roughly 20 days later the A/C system decided to retire early. Welcome to Shelby ownership.

Once I got the car back, I started going through it the way I do all of my performance vehicles. First thing was a fresh set of spark plugs. I'll continue replacing them every 10k miles. Once the car goes on boost, that interval will be cut in half.

Next was an oil change. I do all of my own oil changes and the car never goes beyond 3,000 miles on an oil change interval. Overkill? Maybe. Do I sleep better at night? Absolutely. I also installed catch cans which get inspected every other fuel fill-up. The Voodoo may be a masterpiece, but I'm not interested in feeding the intake tract anything it doesn't need.

From there I changed the differential fluid using Motul gear oil with the proper friction modifier. My plan is every 30,000 miles under normal street use. If the car starts seeing regular track time, I'll likely move to a slightly heavier fluid and shorten the interval considerably. Heat is the enemy, and the track generates plenty of it.

The transmission fluid was next. I switched to Royal Purple and, surprisingly, the difference was immediately noticeable. The transmission felt smoother, quieter, and more precise. Whether that's science or Shelby owner placebo effect, I don't know—but I'm sticking with it. All drivetrain fluids will be serviced together every 20,000 miles moving forward.

Soon after, I replaced the front rotors and pads. The original setup was pretty well worn when I bought the car, and the brake dust was so aggressive I felt like I was detailing the wheels every night after driving. The new pads are dramatically cleaner. Initial bite is slightly reduced, but pedal feel remains very linear and braking performance is still more than adequate for spirited street driving.

As for appearance, the car stays covered whenever it's parked and gets cleaned no less than three times per week. It also gets a quick detail spray treatment weekly since it has a ceramic coating. Some people call it excessive. I call it preventative maintenance for my sanity.

My warm-up routine is probably where people think I'm crazy. The car doesn't leave its parking spot until oil temperature reaches at least 150°F. Around 175°F I'll keep it under 3,500 RPM, and once it hits 190°F or higher, then I'll start enjoying the car the way the engineers intended. The Voodoo is an exotic engine trapped inside a Mustang body, and I treat it accordingly.

At the end of the day, I don't view maintenance as an expense—it's part of the ownership experience. The GT350R is one of the most special modern performance cars ever built, and my goal is simple: keep it healthy, drive it often, and enjoy.

 

[Joe Mac]

ALL I CAN ADD IS AFTER PULLING MY CAR INTO THE GARAGE I OPEN THE HOOD AND LET ALL THAT HEAT ESCAPE.

 

[Postal Bob]

ALL I CAN ADD IS AFTER PULLING MY CAR INTO THE GARAGE I OPEN THE HOOD AND LET ALL THAT HEAT ESCAPE.

^This! That engine generates a tremendous amount of heat. I've had my permanently attached battery tender leads start to deform from the heat.

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