Fixed up my 2015 GT

[15wile]

Cross-posted in 7G also, since shopping for an S650 was what prompted this whole journey.

I was halfway convinced to buy a new S650. My 2015 GT I've had since the S550 launch had a lot of trouble. Valve cover oil leak causing smoke. Shifter was f'ed up. HVAC controls were halfway broken (I couldn't change defrost/dash/footwell vents - and it wasn't the servo motor, it was the stereo stack somehow sending the wrong signal). The A/C wouldn't hold freon. Both wheel hubs were bad and the ABS system was messed up. There was paint oxidation and peeling on the roof. My aftermarket spoiler and hood vents had oxidized and looked like crap. The stock speakers were blown - they crumbled to dust when I took them out. Plus a number of other misc. problems. Just cumulative issues in a 9.5 year old car that had been daily driven and tracked/dragged hard through its life.

Then I saw the prices of new S650s. I bought this base model GT for $29k back in the day. An equivalent buy today was going to be like $45k. And it wouldn't be much - if any - faster or more engaging to drive. With how bad of shape my car was in, I'd doubt I'd get more than $12k in trade, if even that. So spending $30k+ for basically the same car?

Instead, I dropped about $5k into this car.

1. Had the roof resprayed.
2. Bought a 4dtech Sync 3 upgrade kit and replaced the base stereo with it - which also fixed my vent control issue. Added drive modes as a bonus.
3. New evaporator coil and high side line for the A/C - had to pay a shop to do this part.
4. Shoved a boatload of A/C sealant into the system after that, and now it holds freon again.
5. New wheel hubs - which also cleared the ABS troubles.
6. New Alpine speakers, amp, and subwoofer.
7. New spoiler & heat extractors.
8. Added rear window louvers.
9. New decklid (old one was oxidized).
10. Emblem black out.
11. New lugs & wheel caps. (lugs were rusty, caps had faded and looked like crap)
12. New valve cover gaskets. This was a job and a half - getting to one of the bolts required disassembling what felt like a third of the damn engine.
13. New catback exhaust with blacked out tips. MBRP.
14. New shifter assembly and shift knob.
15. New air filter.
16. Black mirror covers.
17. Cerakote on all exterior plastics + headlight restore.

She's back and drives like new again, and the new stereo + speaker system is fantastic. The blacked out look is way better than stock base GT. Maybe she'll last me another ten years now. But if I ever decide to sell or trade in the future, at least it won't be a steaming pile of hot garbage and I might get a decent price for her.

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[Crew4991]

Nice upgrades. I think you bought yourself a decent amount of time by doing this.
Its hard to justify the price of the new S650s just yet. That Dork Horse for $70k is a bit ridiculous as that money gets you a nice well sorted Shelby GT350 and its unique Voodoo engine. IDK my personal opinion on that, probably should not be comparing a new car to a used car but whatever. Even the base model ecoboost is like a $40k+ car... I don't see the value there but that is inflation. I would let miss depreciation do its magic and let those use prices drop down to more realistic figures after a few years, then scoop one up and feel good that you got a nice used model for much less than the original owner.

Sad to hear about all the issues you had on your 15 but it was the first year of the S550; the first year of anything usually has the most issues. Glad you didn't get a S650 yet as I can guarantee you that it will have just as many issues as any other first year car. The only think I would caution you on is dumping more money into the current car when you know deep down that you want a different car. Obviously it buys you time enjoying the current car longer and you can save more money doing that but eventually you will get bored/rid of it and realistically you won't recover any/much of that money you dumped into it on upgrades.

Best of luck OP, ether way you come out ahead since you are still driving a great vehicle.

 

[15wile]

The only think I would caution you on is dumping more money into the current car when you know deep down that you want a different car.

Yeah. What I dumped into it with this work... most of that I would get back. It was in such a bad way before that selling or trading it would have meant taking virtually nothing for the car. Nobody wants a mustang with bad paint, smoking oil leaks, blown speakers, broken A/C, etc. Now it's nice, runs well, drives like new, and looks good again. If I sold it today, I would get most or all of that money back out vs. how low the value would have been before.

But dumping more money into it after this would be foolish, as you say. Anything else I put into it would be wasted if/when the time comes to sell. It's all good, though. I just wanted to have a decent fun car again, and I do now.

 

[15wile]

Some pics from when I was working on her:

Taking apart the dash for the Sync 3 upgrade. 4dtech did a good job with the harnesses and installation videos. Though Forscan still shows some DTC codes I can't clear. I read about it in some other threads and will just live with it. Everything works properly.

Taking apart a bunch of crap in the engine bay to get to the valve cover bolts. Side note, if anyone ever has smoke coming out of the engine bay, check these valve covers. From the factory, every other bolt is really a piece of plastic, and the bolts can come loose easily. Then the gaskets lose their seal, and oil starts to drip on the exhaust manifold, creating the smoke and smell. The gaskets were too far gone in my case, so I needed new ones, but if you catch the problem early enough you may just be able to tighten the bolts. Like $50 though so no big deal, aside from the time needed to get them out. I replaced one of the plastic clips with an extra bolt where I saw it had come loose. No more smoke.

Also replaced the air filter after this - I have the power pack 2 (GT350 intake and throttle body + canned tune). Needed the GT350 air filter.

Replacing the exhaust. MBRP Street. You can also see some of the roof paint oxidation in this pic. Had to respray it. The Florida sun is merciless on your paint.

The sound of the exhaust. MBRP makes a great product. This is very quiet under 2200 RPM or so, but gets properly loud at high RPM. This is a good compromise where sometimes you want quiet, and sometimes you want to slam it. Short of buying an S650 with active valve exhaust, this is probably the best way to have the best of both worlds.

 

[rwp50]

Cross-posted in 7G also, since shopping for an S650 was what prompted this whole journey.

I was halfway convinced to buy a new S650. My 2015 GT I've had since the S550 launch had a lot of trouble. Valve cover oil leak causing smoke. Shifter was f'ed up. HVAC controls were halfway broken (I couldn't change defrost/dash/footwell vents - and it wasn't the servo motor, it was the stereo stack somehow sending the wrong signal). The A/C wouldn't hold freon. Both wheel hubs were bad and the ABS system was messed up. There was paint oxidation and peeling on the roof. My aftermarket spoiler and hood vents had oxidized and looked like crap. The stock speakers were blown - they crumbled to dust when I took them out. Plus a number of other misc. problems. Just cumulative issues in a 9.5 year old car that had been daily driven and tracked/dragged hard through its life.

Then I saw the prices of new S650s. I bought this base model GT for $29k back in the day. An equivalent buy today was going to be like $45k. And it wouldn't be much - if any - faster or more engaging to drive. With how bad of shape my car was in, I'd doubt I'd get more than $12k in trade, if even that. So spending $30k+ for basically the same car?

Instead, I dropped about $5k into this car.

1. Had the roof resprayed.
2. Bought a 4dtech Sync 3 upgrade kit and replaced the base stereo with it - which also fixed my vent control issue. Added drive modes as a bonus.
3. New evaporator coil and high side line for the A/C - had to pay a shop to do this part.
4. Shoved a boatload of A/C sealant into the system after that, and now it holds freon again.
5. New wheel hubs - which also cleared the ABS troubles.
6. New Alpine speakers, amp, and subwoofer.
7. New spoiler & heat extractors.
8. Added rear window louvers.
9. New decklid (old one was oxidized).
10. Emblem black out.
11. New lugs & wheel caps. (lugs were rusty, caps had faded and looked like crap)
12. New valve cover gaskets. This was a job and a half - getting to one of the bolts required disassembling what felt like a third of the damn engine.
13. New catback exhaust with blacked out tips. MBRP.
14. New shifter assembly and shift knob.
15. New air filter.
16. Black mirror covers.
17. Cerakote on all exterior plastics + headlight restore.

She's back and drives like new again, and the new stereo + speaker system is fantastic. The blacked out look is way better than stock base GT. Maybe she'll last me another ten years now. But if I ever decide to sell or trade in the future, at least it won't be a steaming pile of hot garbage and I might get a decent price for her.

Great job! Looks great and you are right, the new one wouldn’t provide any advantage. In todays time I’d rather have money in the bank.

 

[CrackedHorn]

I went through a very similar dilemma and came to the same conclusion and decided to keep my 2015 GT and update it/add a Paxton.

I wanted to buy an S650 and order with a whipple.

Went to test drive the S650 and, while a good car, wasn't worth the ~$55k price with an 84 month loan at ~7%.

If I could have purchased a S650 GT under $40k (without whipple but with a couple of options) I would have definitely gone for it.

It blows my mind that people are spending $60k for a mustang.

 

[coz0502]

Looks good, glad you're happy with it again. I still love my 16, it's now my 2nd car so it doesn't get the miles it once did, nor have I had many issue with it.

Question for you, where did you get the black mirror covers? I haven't found anyone offering those outside of the carbon fiber overlays or buying the entire mirror assemble.

Thanks in advance.

 

[15wile]

Question for you, where did you get the black mirror covers? I haven't found anyone offering those outside of the carbon fiber overlays or buying the entire mirror assemble.

Amazon. Cheap, but did the job. Note these are only for non-premium, since they don't work with the mirror turn signals. I have a base 300A, so they worked for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B28F885C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

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