GT350 vs GT Premium Track Pack vs Bullitt

[BmacIL]

Almost every car will depreciate. Cheap mustang bits or expensive Mercedes bits..

We can agree to generally disagree on the premise that one shouldn’t own a thing that isn’t going to be utilized the way it was meant to be used. For starters - the GT350R is a street car that you can track. So driving it on the street and or track is using it how it was meant to be used. In fact - it’s not even an ideal track car. It’s expensive to run because it’s heavy with expensive splitter, spoiler and wheels. The motor is so expensive to run Ford racing teams don’t even bother... among other things.

For you - it doesn’t make sense to spend the extra money to buy a GT350 and street it as much or more than you track it. That’s cool. Don’t do that.

I’m not sure why you don’t think it’s possible to take advantage of better brakes, suspension, cooling and an 8250 redline on the street.

I’m not Mr Rogers and neither are you.. you drive a damn Mustang... and if you do drive around like Mr Rogers in your 8cyl Pony car on the street - then you’re contradicting yourself.

Agree to disagree because you missed the point.

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[Fangi0]

Hello all!
I haven't been on in a while so I'm a bit out of the loop. Some brief history, I've owned a new 2007 GT, 2011 GT and a 2014 GT/CS (with some other cars thrown in here and there). A couple of years ago I sold the 2014 and purchase a 2012 C6 Grandsport. I actually love the corvette. My only issue with it is the interior quality but other than that it looks and runs fantastic. It gets a ton of compliments and I love the removable targa top. All that being said, I'm getting the usual 2 year itch and have just started looking at the three cars mentioned above. If I go GT350 it would be a slightly used 2017+.

The prices of the 3 are fairly comparable. I've seen GT350s with low miles for right around $50k. I'm now also seeing new Bullitts around me going for around $45k. Not sure how much the GT premium with the PP2 option would be but I'm guessing it would be similar.

Given the 3, what would you all go with? I'm pretty sure I'm going to narrow it down between the new Bullitt and the used GT350 but threw the GT with the PP in there. I don't race my cars but may do some auto crossing. That's not the deciding factor though. The reason I like the track pack over a regular GT is mostly for the looks and the fact that I prefer the wider tires and wheels.

I love the looks of the Bullitt but I really love the engine in the GT350. Curious what others would do given the choice.
Thanks!

All great choices. I went through a similar exercise a few months ago and decided in favor of the PP2. Here is my why —hope this helps:

Bullitt - a PP1 with some special treatment, cosmetic and mechanic —none of them my cup of tea for the price. Roush supercharger doesn’t fit it.

350 - incredible machine, best mechanical components of the family: brakes, transmission, cooling systems, et al. Mechanically, this car has it all. But... similar engine characteristic to my E92 M3: you have to row your gears and keep your revs high to truly bring that marvel of an engine to life. I would take an M2 10 out of 10 times over the E92 for daily driving: as intoxicating as the high-revving engine experience and sound is, you have to wait to get to the fun zone, and keep rowing to stay in the fun zone —nothing wrong with that, all personal preference... with the E92 the pleasure got eventually dimmed by the waiting, and there were plenty of times when the more immediate power of, say, an M2, would have been very welcomed. You can supercharge it, albeit outside Ford’s warranty.

PP2 - no 350 transmission, cooling systems, et al... but more than enough performance and handling and at a bargain price. Would I miss not having those? No, I wanted a Grand Tourer, for the purposes of grand touring. You can supercharge it within Ford’s warranty. I got it new, extended warranty w/ bumper 2 bumper 6 years 100K miles. Got the Roush supercharger and a few needed minor mods, all warranty covered. I still spent less than a new 350, and have ~660rwhp. Could not be happier.

 

[Stonehauler]

if you can afford a GT350, go for it! Just test drive them both back to back and you will feel the Gt350 is a no brainer. much better car. Bullitt is a green mustang with some badges. Doesn't make sense to me. But its for people that like the movie I guess.

GT350 all day

You are assuming that the dealer lets you test drive it. I saw one last summer with a note in it "test drives are reserved for the owner of the car" 6 months later, I saw the same car, with the same note... Stupid to be charging a premium and not letting legitimate prospective buyers test the car to see if it's what they want. I understand their initial thoughts, but if I was in the market for that car at the time, that would have put it off it right there...

 

[shogun32]

lookaround for a Shelby sitting at a CarMax. They'll let you drive it.
https://www.carmax.com/car/17497325

 

[jake_zx2]

The brakes are considerably better if you're an advanced track driver. Larger, two piece, but also have tapered piston bore sizes to promote a lot better pad wear (like race brakes do). The radial mount of the caliper is also better for feel and performance than the traditional axial mount of most cars. If you are a serious track guy, this stuff is significant and a reason to buy.

The aero on the Shelby is better for track performance than the PP2 also. People underestimate the goodness of OEM integration. I can speak from experience: converting a base GT to a PP + much better suspension, I really wish I had not been cheap and had bought the PP to start from.

To be honest, I didn't realize that the GT350 calipers had tapered piston bore sizes until now. That's definitely impressive and does help with pad life. However, the difference will hardly be noticeable for OP, who admittedly isn't going to be doing much tracking in his car, so it's not significant. And even if he were, you can add brakes + trans + coolers for less than the $15k difference between the 2 cars.

The aero difference between the standard GT350 and the PP2 I'd wager is quite negligible. PP2 has a quite sizeable front splitter on the front, and with the hood vents unblocked can flow quite a good bit of air through to prevent lift. If we were discussing the R, then yes, it undoubtedly has better aero, mostly due to the massive wing on the rear.

I'll agree that converting a base GT to a PP + better suspension isn't the best idea (I took that route, and still regret it... definitely should've just sprung for the PP2 and waited for the magride shortage to go through), but that's a $6500 difference, not a $15k+ difference. It's hard to make a base GT into a PP2 level car with just $6500, but it's easy to make a PP2 even better than a GT350 with a $15k budget

 

[Zooks527]

The aero difference between the standard GT350 and the PP2 I'd wager is quite negligible. PP2 has a quite sizeable front splitter on the front, and with the hood vents unblocked can flow quite a good bit of air through to prevent lift. If we were discussing the R, then yes, it undoubtedly has better aero, mostly due to the massive wing on the rear.

Not that negligible. The front splitter adds 24 lbs of downforce at 80 mph. The rear spoiler is functional as well.

https://performance.ford.com/enthusiasts/media-room/2017/10/mustang-gt-performance-pack-2.html

 

[jake_zx2]

Not that negligible. The front splitter adds 24 lbs of downforce at 80 mph. The rear spoiler is functional as well.

https://performance.ford.com/enthusiasts/media-room/2017/10/mustang-gt-performance-pack-2.html

Reread: "between the standard GT350 and the PP2 I'd wager is quite negligible"

That 24lbs is over the standard PP car. The PP2 has quite a large splitter; even larger than the GT350's; but I know a lot of work went into designing the GT350's front bumper to optimize aero. I know there was also a good bit of research revising the aero of the 18+ front end, but I don't know if their benchmark was the 15-17 GT or the GT350... my guess is the former, as they were targeting GT350-esque aerodynamics with the low slung hood.

Either way, I'd say the standard GT350 and PP2 probably have fairly similar aero qualities

 

[Zooks527]

Reread: "between the standard GT350 and the PP2 I'd wager is quite negligible"

My misread. I read "GT350" and thought "GT".

 

[pike1346]

Hello all!
I haven't been on in a while so I'm a bit out of the loop. Some brief history, I've owned a new 2007 GT, 2011 GT and a 2014 GT/CS (with some other cars thrown in here and there). A couple of years ago I sold the 2014 and purchase a 2012 C6 Grandsport. I actually love the corvette. My only issue with it is the interior quality but other than that it looks and runs fantastic. It gets a ton of compliments and I love the removable targa top. All that being said, I'm getting the usual 2 year itch and have just started looking at the three cars mentioned above. If I go GT350 it would be a slightly used 2017+.

The prices of the 3 are fairly comparable. I've seen GT350s with low miles for right around $50k. I'm now also seeing new Bullitts around me going for around $45k. Not sure how much the GT premium with the PP2 option would be but I'm guessing it would be similar.

Given the 3, what would you all go with? I'm pretty sure I'm going to narrow it down between the new Bullitt and the used GT350 but threw the GT with the PP in there. I don't race my cars but may do some auto crossing. That's not the deciding factor though. The reason I like the track pack over a regular GT is mostly for the looks and the fact that I prefer the wider tires and wheels.

I love the looks of the Bullitt but I really love the engine in the GT350. Curious what others would do given the choice.
Thanks!

GT350. DONE

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