Tomster
Beware of idiots
like I said earlier, I'll save myself a whole lot of typing. Get the R
Sponsored
I agree with you, an older R is not necessarily a better car than a 19 or 20. Some of this is what we call water cooler value. You know hanging out and saying I have...In my case I didn't consider R due to below reasons:
1. I can barely make out of my driveway with GT350, nevermind R with bigger front spoiler and lower clearance.
2. I read reviews for 2019 GT350 vs. 2019 GT350R which pointed that revised 2019 GT350 in par with R model. The real difference are CF wheels, which I don't need in most of my DD.
3. I had to have rear seats.
4. If consider all the above, the cost factor for R wasn't justify for me, given I purchase my GT350 for $10K less MSRP.
Letās consider another approach as I love both levels of GT350ās ; approximately 19000 for advanced engineered Carbon fiber wheels that do you make a difference . A 10,200 list price carbon fiber wing that does make a difference . Higher grip pp2 tires. A different rear anti-sway bar, Resonator delete , lower build numbers. Yes a 136.16 @ Laguna Seca is a little quicker than a newer your model GT 350 . ( a 2020 GT350R with its small changes hasnāt been Randy Pobst tested at Laguna Seca to my knowledge) . Major depreciation has not struck the 19 or 20 yet and could find them in the mid to upper 30s years from now . Where as a GT 350 R I doubt would ever be in that low of a value because of its exclusivity. You can also consider paying 50 to 55 for a low miles earlier GT 350 R and have it worth maybe 45 to 50k in five years versus the New or newer GT 350s paying 60 to 65 being worth 35 to 40 later as a value statement . Yes they are itās not for everyone as others have said because of its build design . I love speaking of past histories to consider a 1957 f supercharger T-bird not being as practical on the street as when they came out compared to a rear seat 1958 TBird ( Ford sold a lot more 58 T-birds because of the rear seat) . Worth now ??$$ And more 1965/ 66 mustang GTās with the A code engine were sold than the high-performance K model that had to have the valves adjusted and cost more ? Worth now ?? In my experiences; buy the mustang with the lowest build numbers with the best performance and let somebody else take the first few years of depreciation and you win in the wallet category. Unless youāre driveway wonāt let you in .(Of course you could put a standard GT 350 splitter on and if it meant that much to you to have the R and keep the original splitter for value retention) .I agree with you, an older R is not necessarily a better car than a 19 or 20. Some of this is what we call water cooler value. You know hanging out and saying I have...
1-2 second difference seems to be what is typically thrown out there comparing the 19+ 350 to the R, if you are a hardcore track rat maybe you could take advantage of this, but I suspect most of us wouldn't push either car that hard chasing lap time glory. The main question I think is do you want a back seat or not?The R wing makes more downforce, Andy's Video is incorrect. Wildcard Fox numbers are straight from Ford. The 19/20 bas model closed the gap by 50%. So, a 4 second difference at VIR became 2. still significant. And no, Its not the tires, the wheels or the suspension, its all of it put together. A 17/18 R is still faster then a base model. The 19/20 R's are a tick quicker due to revised ABS and the 20 has the revised steering component
Its all just data. In the end, He has to take that Data and make a decisionTrue, in the he may be mistaken on the downforce, but I noticed most quote the downforce specs measured at a given speed the car is traveling. Could one have more force then another, pending at what speed? 2 parked cars are both at zero downforce (LOL). But I don't know, it takes time to research it all but odds are as you say, he is mistaken. But the other stuff he was talking about I know by heart he was correct on
If 2 MPH difference is correct, and I am too busy to dig into it, some will say that will be significant trying to win races. no doubt. But most of these times are clocked with EXTREMLY good drivers in EXTREMLY fast cars and they might run at close to 3 minutes/typical if you mean VIR in Virginia. The best of the best "world champs" might be in the 2 minute 30 second.
He will need to decide that if he gets his skill up to be decent, if that if 2 seconds trade off will off set his daily needs, if he does any street driving. There is no doubt ALL the GT350's are made to be great on the track, so if he is willing to make those trade-offs, including costs, he needs the R.
I am curious how a base 2019 up GT350 with better then the "street-able Cup 2 lite" tires would do. I am not that much of a track person to be the guy. I like the "cup 2" lite tires since I hear they last longer, and are sticky and grab rocks, etc as well...but not as bad