Got My New Oxford White 2018 GT - BLIS Update

[HeavyMetalMonk]

This is Shadowfax ;)

GT with PP1, MR, 401A, Shaker (not requested, but it had it), active exhaust and BLIS.

Yesterday me and kids worked all day to install the stripes, paint the calipers and apply ceramic (wow, this stuff is amazing, I'd never used it before). Also had it tinted 20% all around. The stripes turned out ok, not perfect but ok for now. I need to replace a couple nose pieces I guess, and maybe next year I'll spring for painted ones. Everywhere around here wanted $600+ just to install stripes I already had.

Thoughts on the car.

-BLIS - It's pretty unobtrusive, and I kind of like it, but YMMV. The light on the mirror is nice, and I had the brake system light up on me once. I think it could be pretty beneficial for one of those scenarios when traffic stops really quickly and you don't catch it.

- MR- I haven't had a chance so far to really hit any corners hard or anything, but the MR is rock solid, much less sway than a non MR car.

- Exhaust- everyone knows it sounds amazing, so no surprise there. It's really sinking in how loud track mode is though. I almost ordered H-Pipes before I took possession of the car, and now I'm glad I didn't. I may still add later, but I suspect it'll make track mode unusable on the street. As it is I can hear the engine over moderately loud music.

-401A- The digital dash looks great. I know some people are concerned it will look dated in a few years, but I think it's done well enough that it won't be a concern.

At any rate, I love this car. Yes, it was expensive (I'm sure some of the same posters will be by shortly to say "OMG A $50k GT" as if they forgot how much a loaded GT cost or something) but I'm happy with it.
The last time I bought a new car was 2004 and it was a family car, so I'm ok spending a bit more since I haven't had a car payment since 2007.

One concern, of anyone can offer advice- shifting above 5-6k RPM seems to produce a noise in the transmission. It may be just a bit of a grind, or perhaps linkage making some noise or something. It's pretty subtle, which is why it's tough to pin down exactly what's going on.
Is this normal or should I take it in to the dealer?

Last of all it's also really become apparent to me that although I'm good at driving a manual in such a way that my passengers aren't getting jerked around I need to really get better and driving a manual for performance. My shifts are slow...

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[UAmach1]

REALLY dig the stripes!

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

Thanks! They're Bigworm Graphix of course. I wish I had a better job on the lower front, and one spot on the rear otherwise they look pretty good for a first attempt.

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

I also forgot to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the height. It seems wheel gap is less than I've seen in some pictures. I was considering the FP lowering springs, but I'm pretty happy as is and I'll think I'll leave it.
Next up in the next few month-
Catch can and maybe the new Steeda Performance shifter.

 

[MrWolf]

Car looks great.

Love the stripes to but not quite wide enough for my taste. As Bigworm Graphix aren’t doing any wider stripes, will have to get a custom set.

Very interesting to hear about the wheel gap. I was going to go FP or Eibach GT350 springs, but will wait until I see my car in person (hopefully March) and make my mind up then.

Are you planning anything else in the near future?

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

Car looks great.

Love the stripes to but not quite wide enough for my taste. As Bigworm Graphix aren’t doing any wider stripes, will have to get a custom set.

Very interesting to hear about the wheel gap. I was going to go FP or Eibach GT350 springs, but will wait until I see my car in person (hopefully March) and make my mind up then.

Are you planning anything else in the near future?

I would definitely recommend at least seeing it before placing the order- and listening to the exhaust in person too.

Yeah, today I have a white shift knob coming.
Catch can within the next month
Steeda performance shifter in the next maybe 2 months.
Lund e85 Tune and maybe CAI in the next 6 months. Probably it for a while.

 

[Kevin08]

What ceramic product did you use, Cquartz?

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

What ceramic product did you use, Cquartz?

Mckees 37. I used the prep polish after a wash, then coated the paint and used the glass and wheel coating too. We'll see how it holds up but so far I'm pretty pleased. Water beads right up and the gloss is pretty nice except for a few areas that are a bit foggy on the paint- I think I may have used a bit too much product and need to buff it out a little more. It's hard to see though unless it's in the right light.

I bought the $99 kit on Amazon.

 

[NoVaGT]

- MR- I haven't had a chance so far to really hit any corners hard or anything, but the MR is rock solid, much less sway than a non MR car.

Than a non-MR PP car? Or standard GT?

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

Than a non-MR PP car? Or standard GT?

I drove an auto with PP and no MR and a manual with out either. The PP + MR is definitely more solid than both, but of course its a wider margin from the non PP car.

I'll also add that I played with the sport vs normal modes on a rough road yesterday and it's a fairly noticeable difference. Bumps and imperfections are "sharper" feeling in sport, and softer in normal. Not a HUGE difference, but it is noticeable.

 

[sbrenskell]

Mckees 37. I used the prep polish after a wash, then coated the paint and used the glass and wheel coating too. We'll see how it holds up but so far I'm pretty pleased. Water beads right up and the gloss is pretty nice except for a few areas that are a bit foggy on the paint- I think I may have used a bit too much product and need to buff it out a little more. It's hard to see though unless it's in the right light.

I bought the $99 kit on Amazon.

Blaze is getting professionally ceramic coated this week. I should have him back on Sunday. I miss that car so much. I noticed a shift light which I thought it was very weird to have it on a automatic. I haven't had the brake light come on. Cause I've been very careful with him.

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

Drove about 46 freeway miles yesterday. I used the ACC the whole time and I am VERY impressed. It will easily take away about 90% of my road rage induced by retards camping in the fast lane. Logically I knew what the system would do, but I was still impressed to see how it did it in real life.
It adjust to traffic in front of you obviously, and when someone merged in front of me I would see it pop on the dash letting me know it "saw" it. It slowed down smoothly when required, and same for acceleration. The automatic braking is what really surprised me. Again, I knew it would happen it was just the smoothness and seamlessness of the process that was impressive.

IMO the cost of the BLIS is worth it simply for the ACC.

 

[scottmoyer]

You want better shifts? Check the hydraulic clutch line at the bottom of the master cylinder. Every GT i've looked at from 2015-2017 has the line halfway off. In some instances, it's actually leaked some fluid. The line is too short and is being pulled so it doesn't seat tightly on the master cylinder. The angle it's being pulled allows air into the system causing shifts to be rough. Check it out and see if they fixed this on the '18s. If not, you WILL notice a difference in your shifting after you fix it.

 

[HeavyMetalMonk]

Thanks for the tip man, I'll take a look at it.

 

[320guy]

Drove about 46 freeway miles yesterday. I used the ACC the whole time and I am VERY impressed. It will easily take away about 90% of my road rage induced by retards camping in the fast lane. Logically I knew what the system would do, but I was still impressed to see how it did it in real life.
It adjust to traffic in front of you obviously, and when someone merged in front of me I would see it pop on the dash letting me know it "saw" it. It slowed down smoothly when required, and same for acceleration. The automatic braking is what really surprised me. Again, I knew it would happen it was just the smoothness and seamlessness of the process that was impressive.

IMO the cost of the BLIS is worth it simply for the ACC.

I have ACC in my RAV4 and it’s a must when I buy the mustang. You can try it also approaching a red stop light behind traffic. Our car goes down to 20mph, then it disconnects and you just finish stop it.

Does the car also have the front sensors to let you know about obstacles while parking?

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