Got a question about differences.

[Nozerone]

So I've been watching a lot of videos, looking at sites, gradually building my list of parts I'll be getting to put on my 2015 GT. Thing I keep seeing though is people saying things like 2018 to 2020 mustang, or 2011 to 2017 mustang. How ever from what I've found the S550 is 2015 to current right? So why are people lumping sixth gen in with 5th gen? What's the difference between a 2015 GT, and the 2018 GT?

This is my first Mustang, so in the process of reading things, watching videos, gradually learning more about this car.

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[Widow]

So I've been watching a lot of videos, looking at sites, gradually building my list of parts I'll be getting to put on my 2015 GT. Thing I keep seeing though is people saying things like 2018 to 2020 mustang, or 2011 to 2017 mustang. How ever from what I've found the S550 is 2015 to current right? So why are people lumping sixth gen in with 5th gen? What's the difference between a 2015 GT, and the 2018 GT?

This is my first Mustang, so in the process of reading things, watching videos, gradually learning more about this car.

Honestly, you should get the car you like the look of more interior and exterior wise. Its your car, not anyone elses to benchmark against. However, you are correct, the 2015-21 are the "s550" line, but the 2015-17 have the gen 2 coyote and the 2018+ have the gen 3 which are a little beefier in some regards and have more horsepower.

At the end of the day though, its all up to you. Do you save a little money and go used on an older mustang or go brand new with a warranty. With car prices right now there was no point buying used in my opinion.

 

[Nozerone]

Honestly, you should get the car you like the look of more interior and exterior wise. Its your car, not anyone elses to benchmark against. However, you are correct, the 2015-21 are the "s550" line, but the 2015-17 have the gen 2 coyote and the 2018+ have the gen 3 which are a little beefier in some regards and have more horsepower.

At the end of the day though, its all up to you. Do you save a little money and go used on an older mustang or go brand new with a warranty. With car prices right now there was no point buying used in my opinion.

Ah, I see ok. So then when it comes to engine mods what would fit a 2018-21 might not fit on a 15-17? Or is it simply that the engine is the same other than being more robust and putting out a little more HP?

As far as get a car I like, that's exactly what I did. I bought this mustang about 2 weeks ago, after having planning on buying a gen 6 mustang for well over a year. yea, would have liked to get one newer, but really it was more for the body style, and the way the car sounds. I'm sure there are some hardcore fanatics that can tell the difference between a 15-17 and 18-21 engines, but to me they still sound roughly the same depending on exhaust choices. May not have gotten as new as I wanted, but got the color I want, the 6 speed manual I wanted, and the model of Mustang I wanted. So 3 out of 4 at a good price is more than good for me.

 

[Stangnut]

Just off the top of my head here a few minor differences between 15-17 & 18+:
Front end changed - including fascia, headlights, fenders, grille, & hood
Rear end changed - brake lights, trunk panel, dual exhaust tips
Steering wheel controls were reversed
Louder exhaust. (my '15 GT was the quietest Mustang I've ever had)
Rev matching added.
Magneride offered
Digital Dash available.
"Improved" seat cooling.
New gearing for the 3.73 gears

Here's a good article from CJ Pony Parts:
2017 Mustang vs 2018 Mustang

And a Car & Driver article with a cool photo comparison
2018 Ford Mustang facelift: see the changes side-by-side

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

When someone lumps 2011-2020+ Mustang GTs, they are generally referring to the engines offered. In 2011 the 412 hp Gen 1 Coyote came out in the refreshed 2011 GT (part of 5th gen) to compete with the 426 hp Camaro SS engine. The Gen 2 Coyote (435 hp and 400 ft-lbs torque) upped the power (but the car wasn't any faster because it was 150 lbs heavier than the 5th gen GT) and was offered in the 2015-2017 Mustang GT, which is the first three years of the 6th generation Mustang. In 2018 Ford refreshed the Mustang, but it's still the 6th generation (just a refresh), but there were a LOT of updates to the car and engine. 2018 also introduced the highly advanced Gen 3 Coyote engine (460 hp and 420 ft lbs torque). The torque was "only" 20 ft lbs higher at peak than Gen 2, but the Gen 3 Coyote generates quite a bit more midrange torque than the Gen 2 Coyote engine.

The 2018 Mustang had entirely new bodywork from the a-pillar forward (lights, hood, fenders, front bumper cover, splitter, etc.), and the entire rear end is different styling as well. The doors and roofline and glass are the same 2015 and up.

There are a LOT of differences between the Gen 2 Coyote found in the 2015-2017 Mustang GT and the '2018 and up Gen 3 Coyote engine in the GT. Just to name a few off the top of my head (yes I studied this quite a bit when I had my 2018 Mustang GT):

Port injection + direct injection
Higher compression ratio
Plasma wire cylinder liners creating a larger displacement (307 ci vs 302 ci in Gen 2) eliminating iron sleeves
Larger dia. pistons
Larger camshaft with 1mm higher lift
Larger intake and exhaust valves
Revised valve springs for higher rpm
Revised damper for higher rpm balancing
Revised heads and ports that flow more air
Revised/more robust crankshaft for higher rpm
500 rpm higher redline (7500 vs 7000)
Revised intake manifold
Revised cold air intake
Revised engine tuning to take advantage of all the above changes
Louder exhaust, and the available active exhaust

It's amazing all those changes only netted +25 hp, but I think in reality it's more like 35-40 more hp based on nearly 1/2 sec. improvement in 1/4 mile times with arguably worse M6 gearing in the 2018+ (M6 to M6). The A10 2018+ GT is much faster than any GT before it - nearly 1 sec. and 8 mph faster in the 1/4 mile than the auto 2015-2017 Mustang GTs. The A10 is that good at taking advantage of the Gen 3 Coyote's flat top end horsepower curve.

The Gen 3 Coyote is my 2nd favorite engine I've had, behind my ZL1's 650 hp LT4. I loved how that Gen 3 Coyote rev'd, though.

2018 also had MagneRide available as an option on the performance pack 1, along with numerous safety tech. introductions. MagneRide makes a noticeable improvement over the base and PP1 suspensions.

So, there you go.

 

[Nozerone]

I really appreciate the information y'all have given me. It makes me wish I had gone after the 2018 more, but it was almost 10 grand more expensive than what I got.

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