Performance Package for Daily Driver...comments? experiences?

[4wheelpilot]

I'm close to ordering an S550 Premium 6MT with Performance Package to be driven as my daily driver, about 50% city, 30% hwy and 20% burbs, winter, spring, summer and fall. No track but I enjoy spirited driving.
At first I had to have the performance upgrades but after reading a few posts on the performance package (staggered tires, final drive ratio, limited slip, etc.) I now question whether the upsides are worth it.

I don't have a big problem with getting a second set of rims and tires for the winter (or I may just get a set of Conti Extreme Contact DWS for year round use).

Any comments, especially from members who drive their S550 with PP everyday, would be greatly appreciated.

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[50hhh]

Drive it every day. No different than any other car just have to get used to the 3.73s and the short first gear.

 

[John S.]

Love mine. Wouldn't buy a mustang without it.

 

[P4RKER]

I DD mine 3 seasons and it's perfect. 3.73s are a blast everywhere including city and highway. The fuel economy drop is not significant when cruising (I get 25mpg on my 250 mile drive back home). And spirited driving is going to be low across the board. The staggered wheels are a little annoying but if you get a good set of tires (MPSS for me) you can get decent mileage out of them even without rotating. As to the limited slip they are all limited slip. The PP upgrades you to a Torsen limited slip though.

 

[chrisgonzales]

It's great wouldn't have it any other way.

The only reason IMO that you would ever not, is if price was not a factor in your purchase and you want an auto or you plan on replacing EVERY single component from the get go to build a track car. I will be upgrading stuff in the future springs and such that replace some of the PP parts, but then until i do that i have a great setup now.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I wouldn't make a big deal out of it, not much different than DD'ing anything with a "sporty" setup: M car, Porsche, Corvette, Lexus IS models with F-sport, 370Zs, GT-R, etc.

You might have to shift an extra time here and there, but if you're already committed to driving a manual, again, it's not a big deal.

It's not like the car goes from 435HP to 700 and has a triple plate clutch, it's some nice suspension updates, brakes, some braces, it's great, but it's a street car and very easy to drive.

 

[50hhh]

I DD mine 3 seasons and it's perfect. 3.73s are a blast everywhere including city and highway. The fuel economy drop is not significant when cruising (I get 25mpg on my 250 mile drive back home). And spirited driving is going to be low across the board. The staggered wheels are a little annoying but if you get a good set of tires (MPSS for me) you can get decent mileage out of them even without rotating. As to the limited slip they are all limited slip. The PP upgrades you to a Torsen limited slip though.

Torsen isn't limited slip.

 

[paul123]

if you are willing to put season appropriate tires on the car, and will be happy with a manual transmission, then get the PP. The only other variable is the spare tire / Torsen question, but one guy is emailing Torsen directly to find out whether they support running an 18" donut. He should get the answer in a day or two.

 

[Old 5 Oh]

if you are willing to put season appropriate tires on the car, and will be happy with a manual transmission, then get the PP. The only other variable is the spare tire / Torsen question, but one guy is emailing Torsen directly to find out whether they support running an 18" donut. He should get the answer in a day or two.

The Torsen is unaffected by wheel diameter. It may be a little picky about overall tire diameter. All of the Mustang wheel/tire combos are between 27.1 and 27.5 inches overall. Not a significant difference.

The spare tire issue seems to be tied to summer tires. There are three Mustangs not available with a spare. EB PP, GT PP, and any car with the 20-inch wheels, which come with summer tires. The EB PP tires are exactly the same diameter as the 235/50-18s, and the EB doesn't have Brembos, so neither of those are reasons for it to not have a spare available. It's about the incompatibility of the spare with the stickiness of the summer tires. Put the spare on the rear, and the car will oversteer like made when the spare is on the outside of the turn. Not sure why Ford won't say this.

 

[brandonsmash]

My GT/PP is my daily driver. I come from over a decade of being motorcycle-only.

Other than some build quality issues (come on, seriously, I would like panel gaps that don't have differences measurable with a tape measure) I have no real complaints.

 

[paul123]

The Torsen is unaffected by wheel diameter. It may be a little picky about overall tire diameter. All of the Mustang wheel/tire combos are between 27.1 and 27.5 inches overall. Not a significant difference.

I meant total tire diameter. That 1/2" doesn't seem like much, but maybe it is to the Torsen, at highway speeds ?

It's about the incompatibility of the spare with the stickiness of the summer tires. Put the spare on the rear, and the car will oversteer like made when the spare is on the outside of the turn. Not sure why Ford won't say this.

you think stickiness makes much difference? I was thinking that unless you were in a high tire grip situation, which is rare, the car will drive the nearly the same. And at a certain temperature, exactly the same.

The only obvious change is that 1/2". I don't feel like doing the math to figure out how many RPM more the one tire would spin at 60-70 mph. Although on a donut, you aren't supposed to go that fast.

edit: the main handling issue is probably the donut. That could be a "summer" and still be precarious

I have a donut, but I might still try to get a full size spare

 

[smav03]

I've been daily driving my gt/pp for about 6 weeks and I have a comparable breakdown of city v. highway. I think the entries on this and other threads are spot on. 1st gear mildly annoying. buying winter tires is an extra expense but worth it. mileage will be better than you think. not many mentioning my favorite feature, though. The pp brakes are terrific. 'spirited' driving is much more fun when you have great brakes that you're confident in. Go ahead-pull the trigger and order it!

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I come from over a decade of being motorcycle-only.

Wow!

 

[P4RKER]

Torsen isn't limited slip.

Is that a serious statement? Torsen is a limited slip. It's a highly controlled limited slip but it is in fact a limited slip.

 

[paul123]

Is that a serious statement? Torsen is a limited slip. It's a highly controlled limited slip but it is in fact a limited slip.

I think he meant its not LSD with clutches and special diff fluid

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