2016 Shelby GT350/GT350R Media Drives & Reviews (CHECK FIRST POST)

[thePill]

I heard the Base GT350 understeers quite a bit more than the R.

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[PP0001]

If I'm not mistaken, VP-build cars are validation prototypes. TT is tooling trial (or try-out). Ford has several build levels that go from concept to pre-production, and the acronym soup is tough to keep straight.

Ford in the past has typicallly had 4 levels of pre production vehicles and they are in this order.

VP - Variable Prototype
TT - Tooling Tryouts
PP - Pilot Production
MP - Mass Production

 

[Bossing]

Since an R is kinda unobtanium w/o paying massive ADMs... my recipe will be the GT350 w/ Track Pkg and add Cup 2 tires on lighter alloys = narrowing the gap.

Heck, maybe even replace the front springs of the non-R with the R's.

 

[PP0001]

As bad as that video is, it got a view of this interesting plate. Bosses had TT, MP and PP designations for the pre-production cars. What the heck is GR?

I suggest that this designation replaces the previously designated MP cars and will try to confirm that over the next few days?

:cheers:

 

[FTD]

Heck, maybe even replace the front springs of the non-R with the R's.

I still think the Track & R have the same front springs. Too many documents have contained misinformation for me to disregard common sense.

 

[PP0001]

Since an R is kinda unobtanium w/o paying massive ADMs... my recipe will be the GT350 w/ Track Pkg and add Cup 2 tires on lighter alloys = narrowing the gap.

Heck, maybe even replace the front springs of the non-R with the R's.

Al, certainly agreed.

 

[Mark Dreyer]

Bob Finley: "GT350R or GT4?"

Randy Pobst: "R. GT4 understeers too much, and stability control cannot be fully switched off. Good idea for many. I am annoyed."

My Boxster S track car doesn't under steer at all. I have -3 camber in the front wheels so that helps. My point is the GT4 with a similar chassis can easily be tuned to neutral handling like my car.

I've met Randy at the track. Not only is he an amazing driver, but one of the nicest guys you could meet.

 

[Bossing]

I still think the Track & R have the same front springs. Too many documents have contained misinformation for me to disregard common sense.

Nope they are different... the R's front coil springs have firmer rates. The rears are the same across the board. http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showpost.php?p=762152&postcount=14

Here, take a closer look:

 

[licktensteins]

Bob Finley: "GT350R or GT4?"

Randy Pobst: "R. GT4 understeers too much, and stability control cannot be fully switched off. Good idea for many. I am annoyed."

I wonder about his statement that the GT4 stability control cannot be fully disabled. That definitely wasn't the case in the previous gen Cayman and would be super-annoying if true.

The comments about understeer carry forward from the Ignition video from a couple weeks ago. They even brought Porsche engineers out to Willow Springs to adjust the car, but couldn't get all of the push dialed out.

Another great testament for the GT350R.

 

[Magpul]

If you care about track performance throw on some better tires and you are good to go. I bet 90% of the perceivable difference in the two cars is the tires.

In some of the reviews I've read and watched, they attribute the extra grip in the R almost 100% the tires.

 

[Nataphen]

You're comparing a car with street tires to one with wider and lower profile R comps. There's no way I'd expect less than a very noticeable difference in grip, and possibly as much as the car feeling completely different. It's like comparing a car with street tires to one with heated up drag radials in a drag race.

A wheel and tire change will likely level the field completely between the two. That being said, I still wish I could get an R over the standard 350.

 

[Bossing]

In some of the reviews I've read and watched, they attribute the extra grip in the R almost 100% the tires.

Yup... those who track well know that tires make a HUGE difference. It's not rocket science.

You're comparing a car with street tires to one with wider and lower profile R comps. There's no way I'd expect less than a very noticeable difference in grip, and possibly as much as the car feeling completely different. It's like comparing a car with street tires to one with heated up drag radials in a drag race.

A wheel and tire change will likely level the field completely between the two. That being said, I still wish I could get an R over the standard 350.

Nothing wrong with comparing OEM tires... still keeping it in context. We're not talking about Hoosier scrubs. And of course, many of us will still take the R... I know I would. The point is the gap can be narrowed and the common denominator is the tire spec.

 

[cjgt350]

The staggered tire width setup is wider on the R as well. But with that the CF wheels do play a bigger role. Wider tires+wider wheels=more rotational weight but the CF wheels drop weight from the GT350 wheels as we all know. While you can change to wider, better tires and wheels the weight savings of high end aftermarket wheels are somewhat offset by the required width. Kudos to Ford on maximizing those dynamics. It will leave even the exotics scrambling to come up with their own line of CF wheels(besides the Koenigsegg).

 

[Rated R]

It's not just the compound but also the size. the R tires are larger by one size front and rear. To get as close as you can to the R you'd need to get the same size wheels as well. That's my story, afterall grip is a safety issue...;)

These would do nicely:

 

[MAV]

Nope they are different... the R's front coil springs have firmer rates.

Agreed, and the owner's manual supplement says the same thing, but what's the meaning of the statement in the Track Package list of goodies that says "Performance front springs"?

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