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Tony Alonso's 2015 GT Magnetic Fastback Journal

Tony Alonso

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What a (almost) week! In the long line of Ford Mustangs I have owned going back to 1995, I've ordered only 2 times. The first time was for a 2007 GT that I got in calendar year 2006 - a spoiler delete car. That car was customized with appearance items so that I made it mine (rear decklid spoiler, front grill trim piece, lower front grille spoiler).

This time, having looked over this new car and thinking about how I would change it visually, I am hard pressed to change a thing. This amazes me. I am either getting older or Ford has really teased the design of this car so highly that I cannot envision changes easily. I have never been so pleased with the stock look of a Mustang and so unlikely to change the appearance.

Regarding the interior, I really like the two-tone leather combination. Normally I am not a fan of tan or brown colors, but the dark saddle contrast with the ebony leather looks amazing to me. The materials quality really brings things forward compared to every Mustang I've owned before it.

I want to share some "daily driver" experiences as compared to the 2010 GT I traded for it. I really struggled with the decision early on when I decided to buy. However, the changes have been dramatic enough that I am not as sad as I imagined I would be.

After about 140 miles of driving in the first 6 days, I relate in subsequent posts what its been like to live with this car as a daily driver.

Photo below taken in late afternoon sunlight in auto mode on a Sony NEX...
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Tony Alonso

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WASH THE CAR

The dealership thoughtfully did NOT wash the car at the time of delivery. It was clean enough to go through the week and not look terribly bad.

Compared to my 2010 GT in Sterling Grey, this Magnetic 2015 GT stayed similarly "low maintenance" in terms of dirt showing. Part of this, I assume is because this is factory paint that had limited touching outside the manufacturing process. However, the darker grey tint of Magnetic appears to hide dust and dirt marks a bit better than the lighter of Sterling Grey. With the dirt, however, the sparkle is less noticeable, so the color "dulls down". This is similar to the 2010.



Photo below is the sparkle of Magnetic in the low sun light of later afternoon. "Brownish" appearance to the tint...
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Tony Alonso

Tony Alonso

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MORE CAR WASH STUFF - UNDER THE HOOD

I lightly rinsed the car with spritzes from the hose because I wanted to see where water would run when washing.

Typically, I wash by hand, even in the winter if it is not below 35 degrees. Sometimes though I use a touchless car wash to remove road salt and dirt from winter street driving. I usually try to limit how much I am out in the snow, but I do drive it. Here in Ohio, the roads are often treated with a brine solution, and if the weather will be particularly bad, we'll get salt on top of that.

With the 2010 GT, water ran off the surfaces very nicely, particulaly in the hood area because of the way it was shaped. Also, I did not have hood vents on that car. On the new one, I wanted to see where the water might go in the engine compartment. As I mentioned, I shot lightly and actually tried to avoid the vents. When I popped the hood after washing,
water streamed out from under hood blanket off one of the wire assemblies into the compartment. Also, the grille in the area of the engine compartment next to the firewall had standing water. This was definitely different than the 2010 configuration. It seems a bit more "open" to water in the 2015.

My ongoing practice will be to avoid shooting the near the vents as much as possible. In fact, I might just use a wet wash cloth for the initial application of rinse water to minimize how much gets into the vents. I am not certain what I will do with a touchless wash. I assume I will know more about what it is like in the engine compartment after soaking rains or snow that covers the hood.

If you have read this far and are freaking out, I apologize for the trauma. It's definitely part of the challenge of owning an all-season driver!

PS - The 5-spoke wheels are easy to clean!
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Congrats Tony. :)

Any issues pop up yet or is everything A-OK after checking it out?
 

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Tony Alonso

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LIVING WITH THE INTERIOR

Many things have already been said about the interior quality. Of note, the leather surfaces are softer feeling than what was in my 2010 on the key interface points - the steering wheel and seat bottoms. Even though I did not get option 68B (premier trim with color accent), the hard plastic surfaces appear richer in grain and feel less "plasticky" than in the 2010.

The action of the buttons and switches are comparable between the 2010 and 2015, although I'd give the slight nod to the new car because of the toggle switch. I actually preferred the turning and detentes of the dials on my 2010 Shaker stereo to the 2015 version. The button pushes, both on the dash and steering wheel, definitely feel a bit more positive. It could be from the newness of them, but hopefully it will stay fairly close. I think a good deal of time was spent to make the touches and turns feel nicely weighted and positive in the interior.

One thing I did notice over time was the effect that oil from my skin left shiny areas on the 2010's steering wheel in the 9 and 3 positions. This is where I grip the wheel when driving. On the 2015, of course there is the nice leather covering where the thumbs rest. What I am hoping to avoid is wear marks on the new car, so I will be treating the leather steering wheel cover more frequently than in the 2010 (read: I didn't treat except once or twice over almost 5 years, except when some of the leather paint started rubbing off). I also thought about wearing gloves, although that is somewhat troublesome to wear all the time.

I also had a shiny stock shift knob on the 2010. The leather on the shift knob in the 2015 feels nicer, so I definitely want to avoid "shining it up" also.

Last thing on the 2010 - on some of the steering wheel buttons I used more frequently, the skin oil also had the effect of cause a bubbling of the black coating. I generally pushed the buttons around the edges rather than the white lettering so I avoided wearing that away. The bubbling was peculiar - I never had that happen on other cars. Perhaps my love of spicy foods is causing stuff to melt :D

I am going to work harder on interior maintenance in this car than my 2010 because it really looks so nice.
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Tony Alonso

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SHAKER 9-SPEAKER SOUND SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

I preface my comments with these provisos -
1) my hearing is somewhat dulled from years of loud 80s music in my college years
2) my sensitivity to some of the clarity that audiophiles can easily detect is somewhat suspect because of number one
3) I listen to A LOT of satellite radio

Compared to my 2010 car, I'd say that the new Shaker system's sound is clearer. I can hear the high and midrange performance better. I will say that the base response seems similar, although the 2010's Shaker has a bit more boominess, which I like because of my dulled hearing!

I've listened to FM stations, satelllite radio stations, and MP3 files from a Bluetooth-connected Android phone. Of all those sources, I like the sound of the MP3 files better than what I heard in my 2010. The FM stations sound similar to me, and the satellite radio sounded better to me in the 2010. This is most likely because of the better high and midrange sounds in the new car, some of the base boominess of the 2010 is gone, which again I like because of my hearing sensitivity.

I think an audiophile with better hearing than mine would have different judgments.

Overall, I definitely think the new 9-speaker system is a step up from the 2010 version. Of course, since I heard the Shaker Pro in Zombie's car, I can definitely say that power and volume of that system is a BIG difference from the one in my car. I actually would have considered that system had it come as a separate option. I do like my trunk space maximized though.
 
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Tony Alonso

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Congrats Tony. :)

Any issues pop up yet or is everything A-OK after checking it out?
So far, so good. I haven't noticed any issues with fit/finish or operation of the car. I hope you get yours soon and that your experience is similar!
 

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You crack me up!
 
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Tony Alonso

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DRIVING FEEL ON THE ROADS

It's been said many times that an IRS would transform this car over its prdecessors. I've found that to be enormously true. I've driven live axle Mustangs for a long time. I have become very accustomed to the little hop skips on bumps (or bigger ones on really bumpy roads).

The stock GT suspension, in my opinion, needs NO changes for a "GT" driving experience. I would not lower it, I would not change shocks or springs - nothing.

Having read the many reviews regarding the Performance Pack on the track, I admit I was wondering how things would be when I started accumulating some miles. I've autocrossed before, actually quite a bit in a 1990 Nissan 300ZX, 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbo, 1996 Ford Mustang Cobra, and 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1. I have a novice+ understanding of driving dynamics - steering, braking, accelerating. I've autocrossed both in dry and wet conditions. I fully believe, based on the reviews that have been given of the standard and Performance Pack GT suspension, that there is opportunity to tune up for greater race track performance. For a daily driver, where I do spirited cornering, acceleration, and braking without finding the limits of tire adhesion, the base suspension tuning of the redesigned front and rear suspensions turn a workhorse more toward thoroughbred.

I've read the reviews of "bouncy" suspension feel. On the rougher street surfaces I've driven, it's my experience there was more bounce in my 2010 GT than this new one. That was inherent to the action of the rear suspension, even as tied down as Ford had made it. I've ridden in S197 Mustangs that have firmer damping (Shelby GT, MRT TKO, etc.), and I would say the base GT suspension begins to approach those, but in a more comfortable way for a daily driver.

Riding in Zombie's GT with Performance Pack, I can tell a difference in damping and the grippier tires over the standard GT suspension and all-season tires. I could foresee how this would perform a step up from the standard suspension. It's a very nice set-up for the money that is quite streetable.

For a daily driver, I appreciate the suspension tuning which is tuned more toward the ride comfort side. No doubts the 18" wheel and taller sidewalls of the tires helps in that department also. As far as the car jumping up and down like it's "mushy" or "bouncy", I haven't experienced that.

I look forward to autocrossing this car a few times for fun and to see how it performs. I suspect it will be very good at putting the power down out of the corners, although the all-season tires will be a limiting factor on grip.

All of my driving has been done in standard mode. I've tried the Sport+ mode twice, with the main changes being the heftier steering feel, snappier throttle response, and a bit louder growl from the exhaust. Normal mode in the 2015 is perfectly acceptable to me in a street driving situation. It feels sporty with a lighter touch. Compared to the 2010 GT I traded, the new suspension ups the ante on driving feel for certain.
 

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Hey Tony,

Ever go to FUEL on Saturday mornings? You should bring your Mustang down.
 
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Tony Alonso

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Here are some photos of different angles. It was awesome to wash this car with all the surfacing done on the new design. Sexy!!
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Tony Alonso

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Hey Tony,

Ever go to FUEL on Saturday mornings? You should bring your Mustang down.
That was my plan for this weekend if the weather cooperated! Do you have a delivery thread on the forums somewhere? I'd like to see your car!
 

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Dude. 140 miles in 6 days? What a garage queen! Lol. I'm at 200 and picked up Friday. And I haven't driven as much as I'd like!

Poking fun is all man.
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