S550Boss
Well-Known Member
Simple, I was at the GT350 press launch, saw all of the parts and handled them, test drove the car at high speed, and have over 100 pictures of all the parts in close detail. I also told the Ford engineers there and the Team Mustang folks that the suspension bits of the GT350 should be put on the entire Mustang line - to improve it's dynamics and also to cut costs (it makes little sense to have hundreds of separate parts for the GTxxx - things like control arms could be shared to save significant money and get the too-expensive GT350 costs in line - some of the GT350 parts are a rethink when materials for the PP2 and have seen everything written. And on that as an example readers should re-examine the GT350, where the rear control arms use counter-wound springs which the engineers told me are not comparable with the base cars spring seats. Simple visual confirms that. So the spring rates might maybe be the same, but the rear springs themselves are not (despite what the notoriously inaccurate part numbers say).
As for the SS 1LE, just look at the long list of parts specific to that model... especially the coolers of which the PP2 has none. Having been a track instructor for 20 years in a very hot climate, I have seen nearly everything fail - even the last-gen Ford GT which left it's engineers shaking their heads at it's press event (SVT was always an embarrassment at their own events until they finally got it together with the last instance of the GT500 - and not the earlier ones which were so poor in cooling and also prone to bad spins). Only the track-pack equipped GT350, or the 2017 and above, can survive being driven hard and well because the time has been put into cooling. We have that message loud and clear from non-track 2016 owners.
The SS 1LE, even though I hate having students in those because you cannot see out of them, is nearly a true supercar because it's been engineered as a complete package and tested extensively, as was the GT350 (track pack equipped, not otherwise because of the coolers). The ZL1 is a supercar. So Ford had better do a damned good job with the GT500, and ignore the silly drag race mode ideas (there purely to compete with Dodge). Pricing is especially sensitive, since the GT350 is so expensive.
Meanwhile, the PP2 is a half-way project. And it's temporary... the new Mustang S650 (or whatever it's designated now), is not very far off at all in terms of production planning and advanced readiness. That's where the focus is, and other than the GT500 project (which took far longer than planned and was repeatedly reworked) the rest is all minor work to fill in the time and keep momentum going.
As for the SS 1LE, just look at the long list of parts specific to that model... especially the coolers of which the PP2 has none. Having been a track instructor for 20 years in a very hot climate, I have seen nearly everything fail - even the last-gen Ford GT which left it's engineers shaking their heads at it's press event (SVT was always an embarrassment at their own events until they finally got it together with the last instance of the GT500 - and not the earlier ones which were so poor in cooling and also prone to bad spins). Only the track-pack equipped GT350, or the 2017 and above, can survive being driven hard and well because the time has been put into cooling. We have that message loud and clear from non-track 2016 owners.
The SS 1LE, even though I hate having students in those because you cannot see out of them, is nearly a true supercar because it's been engineered as a complete package and tested extensively, as was the GT350 (track pack equipped, not otherwise because of the coolers). The ZL1 is a supercar. So Ford had better do a damned good job with the GT500, and ignore the silly drag race mode ideas (there purely to compete with Dodge). Pricing is especially sensitive, since the GT350 is so expensive.
Meanwhile, the PP2 is a half-way project. And it's temporary... the new Mustang S650 (or whatever it's designated now), is not very far off at all in terms of production planning and advanced readiness. That's where the focus is, and other than the GT500 project (which took far longer than planned and was repeatedly reworked) the rest is all minor work to fill in the time and keep momentum going.
Sponsored