Do I really need the Performance Package?

[Hoofer]

I noticed everyone mentioning the active exhaust. Is that part of the PP1 now because the PP1 between 2018 and 2021 PP1 was the following and the active exhaust was a stand alone option.

Here was the options:
The Performance Package adds stickier Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. It also includes added stopping power thanks to the Brembo six-piston brake calipers. Here’s a full list of this year’s Performance Package features:

• 19” x 9” (front) and 19” x 9.5” (rear) Ebony Black painted aluminum wheels
• 255/40R10 (front) and 275/40R19 (rear) summer tires
• Brembo six-piston front brake calipers
• Engine-spun aluminum instrument panel
• Gauge pack
• Heavy-duty front springs
• K-brace
• Larger radiator
• Performance rear wing
• Torsen differential with 3.73 axle ratio for manuals, 3.55 axle ratio for automatics
• Unique chassis tuning
• Unique stability control, EPAS, and ABS tuning
• Upsized rear sway bar

Except on verts, the "Performance Rear Wing" is "Spoiler Delete". AFAIK, I wasn't credited.

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[mikengail]

Mine doesn't have the PP or the MagnaRide. 401a, A10, Digital Dash, Security System, BLIS and Adaptive Cruise Control. Comfortable and fast. I'm not a Road Racer, so I don't miss the upgraded suspension. I installed GT350 Half Shafts and some Steeda IRS parts without creating any extra vibration. No wheel hop on Drag Radials.

I would think that a good used Gen3 Vert without the upgraded suspension would be much easier to find. Best buys for Convertibles will be December, January and February. Good luck. Verts are fun. Fast Verts are eternal bliss...

 

[Aero1900]

not true! After now having completed 7 HPDE events I can say it's fine.

Right. With a cage though!

Awesome, btw. I'm sure it's super fun to track it top down!

 

[gone_n_60]

Right. With a cage though!

Awesome, btw. I'm sure it's super fun to track it top down!

Total fun! FYI that's a Watson 4 point roll bar, not cage. A cage would make it a track only GT.

 

[50BMG]

FWIW,
I too would probably not waste the extra $ for the PP on a vertible GT...
As a guy who tracked a Superformance Shelby 427SC Replica a few times, even with the roll bar it did have, I still ran into trouble at some places during tech inspection.

Now, on my 2020GT, PP1 car (A10 tranny), I DO love the PP1 option because of (in close to order of pref. from high to low. #1 & #2 are hard to tell which is first):
1) Torsen pig w/3.55 gears and the extra strength that comes with it. Should be useful when/if I install the 3.0L Whipple on top of the motor like I want to.
2). Big Brembos up front. The car stops just about as good as it accelerates! Not kidding!
3). Magna ride shocks; when I was first looking for a GT (not necessarily a PP car at that time either), I didn't think I wanted the Magnaride shocks. They were $440+ each to replace if they broke and after having test driven a GT without them, I was a bit indifferent as to "needing them" when I was looking for a car to buy. BUT... After having them & taken highway corners with large numbers on the speedo, leaving sissy Camaro, Charger and yes, even Vettes in the wake behind me, I'm glad I have the Magna shocks now! They really DO work quite well. My 20 year old engineering student son was right!
4). Spoiler: I think the 2020 PP1 spoiler does finish off the back of the car nicely. It's not terribly hard to wash/wax around either.
5). Adjustable exhaust: Honestly, I personally am not super impressed with any of the settings on the GT's adjustable exhaust. If I had to pick one setting for overall "tone" pleasantry, I think the Sport setting is the best one. I think my opinion is a bit prejudiced though considering my Cobra had a 520 inch plant that was running through very short headers, only 1 bend in the side-pipes to reach the mufflers, then diamond-merged into nearly unrestricted 3" cored stainless mufflers that one could roll a major league baseball through them from end to end... TALK ABOUT SOUND! It was nearly Pro-Stock when I burned rubber! LoL... As someone mentioned earlier, it IS nice to be able to put the car on "Quiet" for early morning starts with the adjustable exhaust, that is, IF you give an "F" what the neighbors think anyway I guess... LoL...

Honestly, wife driving it or not, I don't think I would ever buy a Mustang with a manual trans after owning the A10 car!!! People say when I put on the Whipple, this is where the A10 will REALLY pay off!?!
I can't believe I'm actually saying that after having many muscle cars in my life and nearly all of them being 4 & 5 speed manual trannys (5 speed Tremec TKO w/Steeda short throw shifter in the Cobra too).
BUT, in Sport mode, the A10 trans does a pretty amazing job shifting all by itself. It even downshifts fairly aggressively when one is using the brakes like they are supposed to be used when cornering too. And, even though the A10 is not a super fast shifter when the paddles are tapped, the slight delay is plannable AND one never-EVER misses a gear. The range of ratios in the A10 gear-pack are also awesome, such that I think a "100% stock" A10 car (with the Torsen 3.55 gears like I have), when the A10 is shifted with the paddles at the right places on the tach (a little lower RPM than what the trans itself will normally shift at) is actually slightly faster (straight line) than a "100% stock" 6 speed car. No offense to you manual guys out there, and I "could" be wrong. But, I've beaten a few similar year Stangs in a straight line battle on the street that I thought were not even stock cars, which surprised me... YMMV ;-)

On other nice thing about the A10 that I've discovered... On a perfectly flat & straight highway, with the cruise control pinned at 90MPH. My A10 PP1 car gets 27MPG fuel economy! No BS! I tested that for over 30 miles on one stretch of road in the middle of the MI U.P. (M28 west between M77 & H15). Flat, perfectly straight & boring as hell! LoL...

Anyway, I guess I'm done. As they say, YMMV

 

[Topdown]

Got a 21 Gt Convertible, very comfortable and smooth we don't get many options down here.

To be honest the car handles like an oil tanker i should gave gone the Magnaride suspension . What else aftermarket would improve handling and cornering?

The steering is very heavy and stiff.

 

[ManyfordsnoMustang]

PP is not necessary, sometimes I wish I had it just because my car is loaded and that's the only option it doesn't have but I wouldn't pay extra for it. Clearly, based on all the responses to your question, there are plenty opinions. Mine is that you will more than love the car. My perspective comes from owning 911s including a twin turbo manual which I tracked often and owning muscle cars.

First of all - I miss the track but at this point in my life not sure how much I would get there anyway. Driving a convertible is fun everywhere (with the top down).

Auto/manual
I have owned sticks - they are a joy and an experience, but they can get old, especially in large city traffic. Even when it comes to quick safety maneuvers, a novice, (your wife or child) may not be able to get it in reverse or first gear quick enough to get out of harms way. The auto has the paddle shifters - I for one never use them.

Convertible/hardtop
I think the hard top Mustang is a way nicer looking car than the convertible with the top up. Once the top is down it is equal. But the joy of driving a convertible is wonderful. The Mustang is so much more aerodynamic than my old muscle car convertibles. that means I can hear my passengers, the radio or the exhaust, which ever one I prefer. It also means with heated/cooled seats I can drive that car in 40º or 100º weather. The car really keeps the heat or ac in even with the top down (at least for the people sitting in front.

Active exhaust
I would try to get that. Nice to have it quiet late at night/early morning. I usually keep mine in sport mode, track is too loud sometimes but nice to have.

As for your wife, nothing wrong with making her happy. Making other's happy with me, makes me happy! I was signing documents for a used 350 which my wife fully supported. I realized no one in my family would enjoy the car like I would. They don't drive stick and my kids would love being in the back of the convertible much more than jammed in the back seat of a hard top. Being in Chicago, pot holes, accidents, wear and tear, salt, etc. means much harder on wheels and brakes that are more expensive. Sure, in the end the 350 would be worth $15k-$25K more now than what I paid for it but even my convertible is worth $5k more.

I am now looking at getting a 2021 or a 2023 convertible.

 

[BaileytheDog]

Thanks Steven,
Being in the Midwest like me, what do you run for tires?
I don't plan on running in the winter, just dry. But we do go up North and will probably stuck in rain.
Do you run a summer tire, or have you migrated to something else. Our roads are the same as you have with pot holes and such.

PP is not necessary, sometimes I wish I had it just because my car is loaded and that's the only option it doesn't have but I wouldn't pay extra for it. Clearly, based on all the responses to your question, there are plenty opinions. Mine is that you will more than love the car. My perspective comes from owning 911s including a twin turbo manual which I tracked often and owning muscle cars.

First of all - I miss the track but at this point in my life not sure how much I would get there anyway. Driving a convertible is fun everywhere (with the top down).

Auto/manual
I have owned sticks - they are a joy and an experience, but they can get old, especially in large city traffic. Even when it comes to quick safety maneuvers, a novice, (your wife or child) may not be able to get it in reverse or first gear quick enough to get out of harms way. The auto has the paddle shifters - I for one never use them.

Convertible/hardtop
I think the hard top Mustang is a way nicer looking car than the convertible with the top up. Once the top is down it is equal. But the joy of driving a convertible is wonderful. The Mustang is so much more aerodynamic than my old muscle car convertibles. that means I can hear my passengers, the radio or the exhaust, which ever one I prefer. It also means with heated/cooled seats I can drive that car in 40º or 100º weather. The car really keeps the heat or ac in even with the top down (at least for the people sitting in front.

Active exhaust
I would try to get that. Nice to have it quiet late at night early morning. I useually keep mine in sport mode, track is too loud sometimes but nice to have.

As for your wife, nothing wrong with making her happy. Making other's happy with me, makes me happy! I was signing documents for a used 350 which my wife fully supported. I realized no one in my family would enjoy the car like I would. They don't drive stick and my kids would love being in the back of the convertible much more than jammed in the back seat of a hard top. Being in Chicago, pot holes, accidents, wear and tear, salt, etc. means much harder on wheels and brakes that are more expensive. Sure, in the end the 350 would be worth $15k-$25K more now than what I paid for it but even my convertible is worth $5k more.

I am now looking at getting a 2021 or a 2023 convertible.

 

[ManyfordsnoMustang]

Stock tires for four years and had no issues even in snow - not the easiest to drive in snow but you have just have to be cautious. Saying that I had an issue in the rain this weekend. I may be looking for a new convertible. :-(

 

[HAVOC_5.0]

So I have finally gotten the ok to purchase a mustang. Unfortunately, per the wife, it needs to be a convertible and auto so she can drive it.
Does not make me happy, but any way I can get one, I'll take it!
I have been looking for my specs: Auto, Active Exhaust, Performance Pack, Magna Ride and Digital Dash (401A). And her specs: Auto, Convertible, not a black exterior.

I have been having a hard time finding that package in a convertible. I guess the question is do I really need the performance package? Because of the convertible, I cannot hit the tracks around here without a roll bar anyway which I'm not going to do yet.
We are looking at 2020-2023. I can order a 2024 from the dealer, but getting up there in price, plus I do not want to wait until October.

Thoughts?

I have the BEST solution for you.

You both get Mustangs. One for you, one for her. Let her get her Tan Interior, Auto, Convertible (doesn't need to be a V8, Get an EcoBoost. You get what you want. Problem solved.

 

[scregan]

I had been looking for a while for a Convertable, 401, Automatic, PP1, Active Exhast, Magnaride. It had nothing to do with need. It was what I wanted after driving a few different Mustangs. Was able to pick up a new (2023) one in March that had everything I wanted plus optional wheels and Midnight Blue interior & it was below MSRP.

 

[shogun32]

bought it and got a pretty good deal, way under msrp(due to 2024’s coming)

nice! Ted Britt?

 

[Hi rpm]

Scregan, what a beautiful car. A car optioned like that could possibly make me trade my Mach 1.

 

[gone_n_60]

Thanks Steven,
Being in the Midwest like me, what do you run for tires?
I don't plan on running in the winter, just dry. But we do go up North and will probably stuck in rain.
Do you run a summer tire, or have you migrated to something else. Our roads are the same as you have with pot holes and such.

I'm in Indiana, for my streets I have the Continental ExtremeContact DWS it's ultra high performance but a good street tire, has good traction in wet too.

 

[dackbw]

nice! Ted Britt?

Actually, Ourisman Manassas(at the time they had like 35-40 Mustangs on the lot). I will be using Ted Britt for service as it is closer to the house.

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