2020 Mustang Shelby GT350R track/road test

[key01]

Have you seen this

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/...t350r-lap-video-andy-pilgrim-pro-racers-take/

Pilgrim can really hustle in the GT350

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[TTown]

It would be nice if Ford would drop the A10 or the GT500's DCT in the GT350. But no, Ford knows best what customers want....

 

[95CobraR]

.. I would pick the GT350 because of the exhaust. It just satisfies and completes the sensory overload while enjoying the G-loads.

Great time to be a car lover huh?

Dave,
You nailed it.

I would also pick the GT350.

I just returned from a Christmas drive of 540 miles in a 2019 GT350:

My wife hated the hard suspension as well as the 'loud' exhaust sounds.

She has a wimpy little Mercedes E car which can't get out of it's way.

It's a girl car.

 

[Hi-PO Stang]

Sales of the GT350 R may be slowing in the country where more GT350 Mustangs were sent because of the warmer climate. Up here in the Midwest it is hard to find dealers who have allocations that have not been spoken for over two years. Please give us up here a chance to get a GT350R from our local dealers before you cancel production of the GT350R.

 

[JPC]

Do you think having wheels that are 15 lbs lighter per corner would NOT make a difference to braking?
Plus, you know the tires have a different diameter so gearing is effectively different too, right?

I really "like" the $6,000 cost of replacing ONE of those CF rims.
The strengthen of those CF rims is joke, many many have broken from street driving.
Ops sorry, I forgot....drink the coolaide...yes I love the GT350

 

[oldbmwfan]

I really "like" the $6,000 cost of replacing ONE of those CF rims.
The strengthen of those CF rims is joke, many many have broken from street driving.
Ops sorry, I forgot....drink the coolaide...yes I love the GT350

I'm an owner of one of those rims that broke (manufacturing defect). But your statement is asinine. With any new tech there will be failures and improvements over time. The idea that "the strengthen [SIC] of those CF rims is joke [SIC]" is ridiculous, given their performance in Ford's internal testing. In my direct experience and my opinion, the issues we are seeing have nothing to do with the strength of the material or the design, but more with the consistency and quality of manufacturing - a very different issue.

Your comment is like saying "aluminum alloy wheels are all crap" because there are a lot of crap quality ones out there. Don't forget that for the GT350R, Ford found a low-volume, niche manufacturer and helped them get up "to scale" where "scale" is several thousand wheels/ year (that is, not very "scaled" at all).

18-lb wheels that are stronger and stiffer than 33-lb wheels in smaller dimensions is an amazing achievement. Don't shit on the technology because there are some teething issues along the way. Remember the first iPhones totally sucked to use, but I'll bet you have one now.

Here is a write-up on the testing that Ford wheels go through, CF included:
[URL]https://media.ford.com/content...ws/2015/07/10/gt350r-carbon-fiber-wheels.html[/url]

And anecdotally, my friend who works at FP told me the CF wheels did so well on the curb jump tests that they repeated the tests more than they normally would to be sure there weren't errors in how it was run. Turns out that having a much lighter wheel that doesn't deflect much improves resilience over such barriers because the suspension can react so much faster ... and that ultimately led to the suspension engineers calibrating the Magneride differently for handling race track curbs and such (they reduce compression resistance on the unloaded front wheel in a corner so the wheel essentially "floats" over a curb without disturbing the chassis).

The lack of intellectual capability from some posters is staggering.

 

[Wildcardfox]

I really "like" the $6,000 cost of replacing ONE of those CF rims.
The strengthen of those CF rims is joke, many many have broken from street driving.
Ops sorry, I forgot....drink the coolaide...yes I love the GT350

 

[JPC]

I'm an owner of one of those rims that broke (manufacturing defect). But your statement is asinine. With any new tech there will be failures and improvements over time. The idea that "the strengthen [SIC] of those CF rims is joke [SIC]" is ridiculous, given their performance in Ford's internal testing. In my direct experience and my opinion, the issues we are seeing have nothing to do with the strength of the material or the design, but more with the consistency and quality of manufacturing - a very different issue.

Your comment is like saying "aluminum alloy wheels are all crap" because there are a lot of crap quality ones out there. Don't forget that for the GT350R, Ford found a low-volume, niche manufacturer and helped them get up "to scale" where "scale" is several thousand wheels/ year (that is, not very "scaled" at all).

18-lb wheels that are stronger and stiffer than 33-lb wheels in smaller dimensions is an amazing achievement. Don't shit on the technology because there are some teething issues along the way. Remember the first iPhones totally sucked to use, but I'll bet you have one now.

Here is a write-up on the testing that Ford wheels go through, CF included:
[URL]https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2015/07/10/gt350r-carbon-fiber-wheels.html[/url]

And anecdotally, my friend who works at FP told me the CF wheels did so well on the curb jump tests that they repeated the tests more than they normally would to be sure there weren't errors in how it was run. Turns out that having a much lighter wheel that doesn't deflect much improves resilience over such barriers because the suspension can react so much faster ... and that ultimately led to the suspension engineers calibrating the Magneride differently for handling race track curbs and such (they reduce compression resistance on the unloaded front wheel in a corner so the wheel essentially "floats" over a curb without disturbing the chassis).

The lack of intellectual capability from some posters is staggering.

I have purchased several sets of performance, lightweight track wheels over the years.
.......NONE of them cracked.....NONE of them were $6000 each
FOR ME, the level of quality and performance for a $6000 wheel is sky high
....but maybe I'm WRONG to expect MORE from $6000 wheel

 

[L8APEX]

I have purchased several sets of performance, lightweight track wheels over the years.
.......NONE of them cracked.....NONE of them were $6000 each
FOR ME, the level of quality and performance for a $6000 wheel is sky high
....but maybe I'm WRONG to expect MORE from $6000 wheel

https://www.fordpartsgiant.com/parts/ford-wheel-asy_fr3z-1007-r.html

More like $4k for the rim....

 

[JPC]

Your Price: $4045.92
Retail Price: $6326.07
You Save: $2280.15

I stand corrected.....Retail price $6326.07/ea (x4 $25,304.28) FordPartsGiant.com today price is $4045.92/ea which is only $16,183.68 for a set of 4
Please help me how to find value in $16,183 rims

SpeedPhenom
Tunnel Chaser

 

[oldbmwfan]

I have purchased several sets of performance, lightweight track wheels over the years.
.......NONE of them cracked.....NONE of them were $6000 each
FOR ME, the level of quality and performance for a $6000 wheel is sky high
....but maybe I'm WRONG to expect MORE from $6000 wheel

And none of them were new technology. Big f'n deal. Why are you all worked up about the product? Don't buy it if you don't like it or can't afford it, no one will cry except you.

 

[jpindustrie]

o

I wish I could tell you but I rarely keep track of lap times. I will say this, when I got in the R for the first time, I felt like I wqas back in my FR500C again. It was that good

Wow its funny you say this... I always say the GT350/R are like street versions of something like an FR500S or a Boss 302R , more of a race car for the street. It doesn't have the most hP but it will lap session after session, morning to afternoon even to the evening and then take the Mrs out to dinner with a smile on its face.

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