Newbie considering a Shelby GT350

Hi to other forum members. I am new here as I have been considering the 17/18 Mustang Shelby GT350 as my next 'fun' car. For the past 3 years I leased a Maserati Ghibli S4 and it was a great car to lease. The sound was great and it was a unique car that nobody else really had around my area of the world. I turned it in at the end of the lease in August.

I am now looking for another fun vehicle to cruise around in and generally have fun with. My first car was a 67 Mustang convertible with a 289 - loved that car and yes I know I should have kept it. I saw the GT350 at the car show recently and then checked out how they sound on Youtube - and they sound amazing. I have yet to drive one, but will do so when the weather permits.

So will be looking on this forum to see what people like and don't like about their new GT350 to help in my decision. Thanks everyone in advance for the help and advice!

If its a 2016 car make sure it has the track pack. The tech pack cars did not get auxiliary coolers. Many went into limp mode under spirited driving. The 2017 and 18 cars all come with the track pack as standard equipment essentially. If you want to retain the comfort package seats and have a navigation its 2017 and 18 if you want to retain coolers.

Next big item is the oil filter. All 2016s and early 2017s used a conventional spin on canister filter. They have a torque spec. It must be followed. Some have reported the oil filters backing off and toasting the motor. Cars made after 02/17 come with a cartridge filter from the factory. The canister still works fine but again its imperative to torque it properly. Some have gone as far as putting a hose clamp around it and butting the screw end against the chassis to act as a fail safe.

Rest of it comes to personal preference. Only other real changes made to the car besides those above is the colors available.

17 or 18 IMO you cannot go wrong. The car is truly a driver's car. I came out of my 700+ 11 GT500, and I have no regrets. Also I just did my first oil change at 3020 and I had zero issues with consuming oil. Now admittedly I have not ran a road course yet, i have only taking her down the track a few times. My car came with the cartridge, and as it says its a 17.

I say if you want a solid car thats a enjoyable driver's car go for it. You cannot go wrong with a 17/18 version. All of the track bits plus electronics and Recaro's.

Bender said:

If its a 2016 car make sure it has the track pack. The tech pack cars did not get auxiliary coolers. Many went into limp mode under spirited driving.

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Really? Many went into limp mode under spirited driving? Where did you read that? Yes, many 2015-16 base and tech cars went into limp mode when they were tracked, but not during spirited driving on roads, not that I could find many references to anyway. This was/is a track issue.

There's a thread with a couple of drivers who mentioned going into limp mode in super hot weather not on a track, but the vast majority of complaints came from guys who tracked GT350s without the track pack. There's also a thread about a guy going into limp mode WITH the track pack.

There are some great deals out there right now on the '16s, and as long as you don't plan on tracking the car, I'd have no problem recommending a '15-16 tech or base GT350. My '16 tech GT350 has been a blast and absolutely trouble-free, and that includes a lot of spirited driving ... just not on a track.

swish77 said:

Really? Many went into limp mode under spirited driving? Where did you read that? Yes, many 2015-16 base and tech cars went into limp mode when they were tracked, but not during spirited driving on roads, not that I could find many references to anyway. This was/is a track issue.

There's a thread with a couple of drivers who mentioned going into limp mode in super hot weather not on a track, but the vast majority of complaints came from guys who tracked GT350s without the track pack. There's also a thread about a guy going into limp mode WITH the track pack.

There are some great deals out there right now on the '16s, and as long as you don't plan on tracking the car, I'd have no problem recommending a '15-16 tech or base GT350. My '16 tech GT350 has been a blast and absolutely trouble-free, and that includes a lot of spirited driving ... just not on a track.

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I've been on the forum since the first cars were being delivered and there have been some that go into limp mode on the street usually when under all or some of the following conditions, in hilly terrain, more than two passengers and hot weather. Concerns about limp mode on the street are overblown. On track with multiple sessions and a fast driver it is nearly a 100% guarantee but nothing a $1k upgrade can't fix. Many here have done it including myself with great success.

With that said if near term (2-3 years) residual value is a major consideration than a '17-'18 will definitely be better due to the bad press. Otherwise the $3-5k saved can be used to add coolers and other upgrades.

TDC said:

I've been on the forum since the first cars were being delivered and there have been some that go into limp mode on the street usually when under all or some of the following conditions, in hilly terrain, more than two passengers and hot weather. Concerns about limp mode on the street are overblown. On track with multiple sessions and a fast driver it is nearly a 100% guarantee but nothing a $1k upgrade can't fix. Many here have done it including myself with great success.

With that said if near term (2-3 years) residual value is a major consideration than a '17-'18 will definitely be better due to the bad press. Otherwise the $3-5k saved can be used to add coolers and other upgrades.

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100 percent agree. There's a lot of unfair negativity about the GT350s that don't have the additional coolers, but the reality is that it's a track issue, not a street/road/highway issue. The fact that a couple of GT350s might have hit limp mode off the track does not mean it's a widespread problem.

I've been driving Mustang GTs for about 6 years and bought my GT350 this last September. They are great cars and for the type of driving you described, should be enjoyable. They are low cars with a low front spoiler and you definitely have to watch out for speed bumps, even moderate dips on entrances and driveways and learn to cross them at an angle or avoid them all together. Even then you will ground the spoiler periodically.

They are relatively expensive to maintain and several areas have to be maintained carefully. Oil changes are expensive due to the required Ford oil and filter. As mentioned above the filter has to be torqued. This is not a car you take to the local Jiffy Lube to get an oil change. Wheel lug nuts torque to 150 ft-lbs. In this case you probably don't need to worry about the local tire store gorilla with his impact gun over-torqueing them. Clutch action is light but has a strange feel from the factory. This can be fixed with a $15 spring from Steeda. The transmission is so good compared to the 2012 Mustang GT transmission that I don't even care about the slightly long throw with the factory shifter.

Tramlining is pretty bad in these cars (which I'm kind of old and otherwise just call - wanders all over the road due to bumps and ruts). It's a bit alarming the first time I took it down a severely rutted and humped old asphalt road. I've learned to set my steering on the "comfort" setting which dampens the feedback a little through the steering for around town driving and seems to lessen the effects. It's a car you really need to keep both hands on the wheel most of the time.

The engine is pretty amazing. It may not pull like a Shelby GT500 from idle but it does pull smoothly and it just revs forever, building power as it goes. Set on normal suspension setting it rides very well around town and serenely - on par with my last GT or you can play boy-racer and set it on Sport with open exhaust and rip a few shifts off and cut a few corners. If buying used - I would tend to buy the lowest mileage car you can with the maximum warranty still left - that you can afford. These cars do occasionally have problems and the motors are hyper-expensive to replace - I doubt lesser repairs are any bargain too.

All 350s with a 2017 build date have the cannister type oil filter. The key is build date.

aham23 said:

All 350s with a 2017 build date have the cannister type oil filter. The key is build date.

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That is true (as far as I know) for a 2017 "calendar year" build date. My 2017 350 built in calendar year 2016 has a disposable filter.

I have a 2016 Tech Pack car and have gone into limp mode once on the street as well as numerous times on track. Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend this car. My street limp mode experience was on a hot day, in bumper to bumper traffic, and on a mountain pass. I have never been able to replicate this with spirited driving although I have come close. This is the ultimate Mustang...so far.