Bullitt owners only - How old are you?

[hlfbkd420]

I am SOOOOO impressed that there is a young female in the US of A that actually can drive stick!

i thought about buying a manual just so no one could steal it.

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[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Hey, you might be the only one. Ha ha. But welcome to the family .

You know what, I was actually thinking that too.

Thread drift is what we do on these forums.

I thought about doing a poll, but am a bit of a luddite, so.............. lol

It seemed to me that a majority of the Bullitt owners were older, and it makes sense given the more 'mature' nature of the Bullitt over the boy racer striped, winged, scooped crowd, and the low key sleeper with premium content the Bullitt brings to the table. Biggest complaint is the cheap plastic that surrounds the radio/nav and some of the hard plastic on the dash,

As for quality, I have been mostly impressed with the quality and F&F of the Bullitt, and I find the panel and body fit to be excellent, but let's be honest, hop in a new M4, or 911, and there is no comparison. But at 1/2 to 1/3 the price, I think Ford has done a great job. Much better than Chevy or Dodge, and IMO is about equal to the Supra.

Perhaps I am still enamored with the Bullitt, but I am in a Mustang rental this week (work trip) and find it rather plain.....

Like I said, I am probably going to do a little chart or something this week, just cause I like data and am curious how that's going to look like in age spread etc.

As far as interior stuff goes, yeah, that area around the infotainment is probably the most cheap-feeling thing on the entire car unfortunately. :(

I am SOOOOO impressed that there is a young female in the US of A that actually can drive stick!

My 28yo wife that drives the Bullitt ever so often would like a word with you!
Actually, when we started dating in our early 20s, I made her learn to drive a stick on my 1998 Escort. She then owned a Rav4 5spd, drove my 2008 Cobalt and 2018 Accord, all manuals, and now enjoys driving the Bullitt (although she is far from a car enthusiast).
So, they are out there, just definitely in the minority.

 

[Bulldog9]

All my kids (2 girls 1 boy) can drive manuals, and were taught to drive manual when learning to drive. My son (29) only drives manual. My wife also drives manuals, and only drove manuals for years.

And let's be honest, the S550 mustang has to be one of the easiest and most forgiving manual transmissions ever, especially with the hill assist and rpm bump on clutch release.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

All my kids (2 girls 1 boy) can drive manuals, and were taught to drive manual when learning to drive. My son (29) only drives manual. My wife also drives manuals, and only drove manuals for years.

And let's be honest, the S550 mustang has to be one of the easiest and most forgiving manual transmissions ever, especially with the hill assist and rpm bump on clutch release.

Yeah, I'm mental when it comes to autos, have never owned one and as long as manuals are available, I'll always buy them (that's why I got my Accord before my Bullitt). I'm also from Europe, so that's really all you grow up to be accustomed to. Funnily enough, even the most basic utility van in Europe with stick is immensely more fun (to me) than its auto equivalent. Feel free to hate me. I'm just very passionate (clearly) about manuals.

 

[Elp_jc]

the S550 mustang has to be one of the easiest and most forgiving manual transmissions ever, especially with the hill assist and rpm bump on clutch release.

True, but you forgot rev-matching . It can't get any easier with all of that. However, the freaking clutch action is probably the worst I've ever experienced in my 59 years, making it very hard to drive this car smoothly, especially for inexperienced drivers. The only way is to fully release the clutch without zero gas, and even that is challenging sometimes. Ha ha. If the clutch was like Porsche's, it'd be the dream manual car.

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

True, but you forgot rev-matching . It can't get any easier with all of that. However, the freaking clutch action is probably the worst I've ever experienced in my 59 years, making it very hard to drive this car smoothly, especially for inexperienced drivers. The only way is to fully release the clutch without zero gas, and even that is challenging sometimes. Ha ha. If the clutch was like Porsche's, it'd be the dream manual car.

I actually am struggling quite a bit sometimes to get smooth shifts and it makes me question my skill. I've never had these issues with many previous (and arguably much worse) manual cars, but in the Bullitt it sometimes is nearly impossible to be smooth. Glad to hear my skill might not be so bad.

 

[NGOT8R]

I actually am struggling quite a bit sometimes to get smooth shifts and it makes me question my skill. I've never had these issues with many previous (and arguably much worse) manual cars, but in the Bullitt it sometimes is nearly impossible to be smooth. Glad to hear my skill might not be so bad.

It’s clear that this has proven to be an issue that many of us have to contend with when driving our manual tranny cars, especially during spirited driving. Ford has certainly had plenty of time to rectify the drivetrain issues by now. There’s no reason any modern Mustang shouldn’t have a robust tranny and clutch system that is capable of supporting more power than it does currently. Ford knows people are buying these cars intending to drive them as hard as they very well please. If they didn’t know this, they wouldn’t have installed things like, timers, launch control and line locks on them.

 

[Elp_jc]

Glad to hear my skill might not be so bad.

Absolutely not. Ha ha. I can drive most manual cars like if I had owned them for years right off the bat, with smooth shifts, and perfectly executed rev-matched downshifts. And with the 'trickier' cars, it'd take me a day tops. But not with this damn car. Ha ha. But on the plus side, it keeps us challenged to drive it better every time. What is frustrating is I already have 4.5K miles (mostly highway though), and if I need to shift relatively quickly, I feel like a freaking rookie. Ha ha. So have to drive it very sedately to do it smoothly... which is not bad for our licenses. We have to look at the bright side .

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

Absolutely not. Ha ha. I can drive most manual cars like if I had owned them for years right off the bat, with smooth shifts, and perfectly executed rev-matched downshifts. And with the 'trickier' cars, it'd take me a day tops. But not with this damn car. Ha ha. But on the plus side, it keeps us challenged to drive it better every time. What is frustrating is I already have 4.5K miles (mostly highway though), and if I need to shift relatively quickly, I feel like a freaking rookie. Ha ha. So have to drive it very sedately to do it smoothly... which is not bad for our licenses. We have to look at the bright side .

Yeah, I got 4x the mileage and still am there. Boy I've had it at the dealer for 6 days now and this just reminds me how much I love the car. I am actually longing for a quick spirited drive around the county somewhere.
It might have something to do with the loaner econo-shitbox Escape that pretty sure shifts to the 10th gear at 45mph and even uphill doesn't downshift until you slam the accelerator down. I've never driven a 1.5/1.6 (whatever the small engine is) that felt this badly and almost like a diesel. Plenty of good cars in Europe where 1.6 is considered a big engine and they feel smooth. Damn automatics.
RANT OVER

 

[Bulutt]

Replace the OEM clutch spring with the Steeda spring and clutch issues gone.

 

[Cold_one]

All the information and opinions re. Shifting and transmission is good to read, but I’ll get the thread back on track...

63, nearly 64.

 

[OldPhart]

Absolutely spot on.
lots of folks walking around looking to be offended.

Hi - Those folks see righteous indignation as a virtue... Bruce

 

[Graemecdn]

I agree with bulutt 100%, the Steeda clutch spring really works. I never had any issues with the clutch in my 05 GT, but stalled the Bullitt twice leaving the dealership. The Steada clutch spring was installed shortly after that embarrassing experience.

 

[OldPhart]

I agree with bulutt 100%, the Steeda clutch spring really works. I never had any issues with the clutch in my 05 GT, but stalled the Bullitt twice leaving the dealership. The Steada clutch spring was installed shortly after that embarrassing experience.

Hi - I had the same experience as I was leaving the dealership after purchasing the Bullitt, but I got used to it pretty quickly. The Bullitt clutch is a piece of cake compared to my GTO clutch. I did deactivate the hill assist soon afterwards as I didn't like that feature... Bruce

 

[Bit_the_Bullitt]

All the information and opinions re. Shifting and transmission is good to read, but I’ll get the thread back on track...

63, nearly 64.

Surprisingly, I took mine to Nelson Ledges (OH) last September after 6 months of ownership and shifting was a totally non-issue. Perhaps it was the adrenaline on the track, etc. The shifting experience felt different than on daily driving.
Overall though, a great car on the daily AND the track. A versatile beast, very happy with it.

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