GT without the badge

[timd38]

Very good post, although I only opened it in hopes to learn a practical way to get rid of the 5.0 badge on my Mustang. LoL

I thought the same, but did enjoy the story. Changed my 5.0 badges to black.

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[Tatum337]

Use some fishing line to get the badges off. Wrap around finger on both hands and slice away. Rub excess rubber off with fingers and wax.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Use some fishing line to get the badges off. Wrap around finger on both hands and slice away. Rub excess rubber off with fingers and wax.

Unfortunately, the factory badge has pins that go thru holes in the fender. I don't like holes any better than the badge. ;)

I only hate alphanumeric badges, so will probably cover the holes with a tri-bar pony or some vinyl stripes if I ever find any that look good to me and would cover the holes.

 

[speedfrk]

Unfortunately, the factory badge has pins that go thru holes in the fender. I don't like holes any better than the badge. ;)

I only hate alphanumeric badges, so will probably cover the holes with a tri-bar pony or some vinyl stripes if I ever find any that look good to me and would cover the holes.

I put the Ford Motorsports badges on my EB because it really looked like it needed something there and I didn't like any of the aftermarket badges. These might be big enough to cover the holes from the 5.0 badges...

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I put the Ford Motorsports badges on my EB because it really looked like it needed something there and I didn't like any of the aftermarket badges. These might be big enough to cover the holes from the 5.0 badges...

Thanks. That's better than the 5.0 but still a bunch of letters in there. Will do that if I don't find something I like even better.

 

[luke]

looks like a good place for a Texas flag.

 

[jtmat]

I test drove a vert GT with a very nice special on it (2015 model)...

After the test drive I felt MUCH better about my EB decision.... or rather, I remembered why I picked the EB. The EB is a lot of fun to drive... for me, the EB (with a tune) has the right balance of power.

 

[ETCH]

i would really like to know what you used to cover the holes on the side fenders. ive been wanting to take my badges off from the trunk lid and the fenders, but i didnt want the holes on the fenders?

 

[PonyGrrrl]

i would really like to know what you used to cover the holes on the side fenders. ive been wanting to take my badges off from the trunk lid and the fenders, but i didnt want the holes on the fenders?

Op's car is an EcoBoost, no badge, no hole.

 

[ETCH]

Well that would explain it... daa i feel like a tard

 

[VinnAY]

I just replaced a 2013 Scion FRS. That car was a hoot in a go cart sort of way. Low center of gravity and a small engine that required lots of revs. Then there are the low traction tires that encourage wheel spinning after every stop and loss of traction drifting on every corner. It was really fun around town, but I found when I wanted to make an actual trip I would tend to take the more comfortable Jeep Grand Cherokee which just didn't seem right. Some of the reasons the FRS was a little fatiguing was the difficulty getting in and out, due to how low the car is, the buzzy 3,000 MPH cruise at 70 MPH and the scraping on everything again due to how low the car is. Oh, the stereo was a complete piece of junk.

I started thinking about what rear-drive car would be a comfortable tourer. Adequate power, comfort and range, with accommodations for two. It would have to be available with a spare tire (lots of flats and no cell phone coverage areas out here in the boonies) and manual transmission. So that is kind of my definition of a GT or Grand Touring Car. Notice that no where in that definition is a requirement for the lowest trap speed, loudest noise, largest rims or stiffest suspension. That GT badge, as normally used, is something that just makes me look elsewhere.

The sort of GT car I wanted is almost not available.

I keep up with cars in just a general sort of way so wasn't fully aware of the new generation mustang. I have had a long standing prejudice against turbocharged car engines. I owned a 2001 Ford Escape V6 and really liked it. When Ford started putting those little turbo engines in them I decided I was not interested in them anymore. I didn't want to deal with turbo lag and had the idea those engines wouldn't be suitable for towing (wrong).

When looking at the possibilities I saw the Mustang and looked at the various models. When I saw the torque curve of the 2.3, I was startled. Wow, this is different from what I thought. Can I get a manual transmission? Yes. Can I get a spare tire? Yes. Is the car comfortable? Wow, Mustangs now have independent rear suspension that seems well regarded. Is there annoying turbo lag? Most people say no, I would need to test drive.

Another factor was the styling. I am an old guy and think the average car has gotten uglier and uglier over the years. Life is too short for that. My FRS looked good and so does the new Mustang. Very clean, especially the ecoboost model that has no script and only two badges (horses) on the entire car. I really really like the look.

My small town dealer only had an auto transmission model with the 2.3 so I drove that. I was impressed with the low RPM pull and was not impressed with the auto transmission. The car was pleasantly quiet and comfortable, despite the tires being inflated to 45 PSI, which didn't seem to bother the salesman any.

Nothing near what I would want was available within many hundreds of miles so I ordered a car to my specifications. I was pleased that I didn't have to make a lot of compromises. For instance there was no need to choose a lower trim level to avoid a sunroof. I picked an ingot silver ecoboost premium with 201A, reverse sensing system, spare tire and spoiler delete. Easy and simple. I was very glad to be able to get the 18" rims as I like a little more cushioning tire and a little less heavy rim.

The salesman was uncommunicative during the wait but I was able to get the VIN by physically going to the dealership and talking to the sales manager. The car arrived last Monday, as I knew from cotus. On Wednesday, the salesman answered an e-mail that I had sent in April asking for information. His message said that they didn't know where the car was and that his manager was contacting the factory. I told him the car had been sitting on his lot for a couple of days and as I found out later, he still had trouble finding it.

He rushed things up and I took delivery on Thursday. The fit and finish was very good, the wash job pretty mediocre, and sure enough the tires were inflated to 45 PSI. I found this ironic as the tire sidewalls, which don't matter at all were all shiny, which must have taken quite a while to achieve and which is completely unimportant, but the tire pressure, which would have taken a couple of minutes to adjust properly and matters a very lot was not dealt with at all.

In the last few days I have put about 800 miles on the car and I am very happy with it. No squeaks, rattles or strange noises have been noticed. The seating position and seats are very comfortable for me. I like most all of the tech stuff although I'm not sure if the reverse sensing system is working.

During the test drive I was struck by how small the side mirrors are. In practice it doesn't seem to be a negative factor, especially with the alert lights that show when there is traffic alongside.

I think the manual transmission is very good. It is the best I have experienced in over fifty years of driving. The FRS was balky going into first at low speed and going into second most of the time. No such problems with the Mustang. From reading the forums I got the idea the clutch feel may not be very good so had already taken delivery on a Steeda clutch assist spring. I won't be putting that on as I think the clutch feel is fine as delivered.

Before I put the Proclip phone mount on I tried to put my phone in the small cubby at the bottom of the console, where it rattled around and blocked controls, then in the cup holders, where the phone flopped around and got in the way of my shifting arm. Everything is nice with the Proclip and the cables tucked nicely out of sight.

I mentioned that range is important to me on my GT car. That is one reason I prefer the 2.3 to the V8. My car will never be on a race track so I can't really use that extra power; the extra range I can use all the time.

Based on what I have seen so far the EPA numbers are easily achievable and I will have about a 500 mile range with this car. I like that a lot.

The recommended octane is 87 and I live at a higher altitude where that is not available so I am using 88 octane. When the octane issue comes up I always think about the reason why higher octanes are not available at high altitude. I believe that is based on normally aspirated engines that produce less power at altitude and require less octane. It would seem with turbos that that would not apply so much, although I don't have any idea what the critical altitude would be with my engine.

As I said, I am an old guy. Maybe that is part of why I am not interested in a lot of exhaust noise. I like the sound of my little four cylinder engine. It is pleasant to me and just "there" enough to give gear shifting cues. I listened to audio of quite a few after market exhaust systems and found ALL of them just annoying. The only time I have found the stock system annoying was going down a steep hill in second gear at 35 mph. That was irritating, but doesn't occur often.

I like the stereo. I am not a thumper guy and I get very listenable audio as long as it isn't on Sirius/XM. At least 10 times better than the poor FRS on this score.

I think I am really going to enjoy putting lots and lots of miles on this beautiful and efficient automobile.

At bet you're a blast to be around

 

[pwguy]

5,000 mile update

I am starting to understand why none of the automobile fuel computers I have seen have been anywhere near accurate. I was happy to find calibration instructions on this site and I have been working on that. I am finding that limitations in precision make it difficult to get repeatable figures. That may explain why the car manufacturers use the optimistic figures. At least that way it doesn't show worse than actual fuel mileage. None I am just trying to get the computer to show better than actual as often as it shows worse than actual.

The shot above shows the figures for the life of the car, excluding the first tank. It is fairly accurate as I began the calibration procedure early in the life of the car. The highest actual mileage I have gotten is around 35 MPG under favorable conditions. I notice that the calculated average speed is about 40 MPH.

Earlier I mentioned that I thought the cross traffic warning on my car was not working correctly. Indeed, it is not. I get the warning light in the mirror but get no audio alert. I do get the audio alert for the backup warning. I don't think I will do anything about this problem as I don't think the cross traffic alert is worth having anyway. Under most conditions I can see the cross traffic visually or in the back up mirror well before the alert shows. This problem, or operating manual inaccuracy, whichever it is, is the lone fault I have found with the car so far.

I did find one oddity with the active sound control device. I was stationary with the windows down and a little breeze outside. I started getting a boom boom sound and looked around for another car. A little experimentation showed it was my sound system. Rolling up the windows eliminated the problem, as did shutting the car off. As it is, the engine note is a bit harsh during acceleration, so I am glad to have the slight artificial aid. In cruise, I find the car to be very quiet and comfortable.

Below, my current tank is pictured. I am very happy with the performance/economy balance; in fact I am pretty amazed. A 450 mile range with the smallish tank is satisfying and convenient.

This car is just plain fun. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think, wow, I get to drive the Mustang to work soon.

 

[Maggneto]

Nice review and congratulations on your new EB. Here is a funny GT story for you.

The other day I was taking my garbage to our recycling center (I work from home and take my own garbage to our dump sites twice a week) and some redneck asked "Is that a GT car" to which I replied, technically it is a GT car but it is not a V8, it is the new Turbo. The man looked like a deer in the head lights and asked "Is it a v6 Turbo?", I said no it isn't a V6 Turbo. I waited for him to ask if it was a 4 Turbo as that was the next logical progression but he just stood there trying to figure out what the hell was under the hood. Finally I said "It's the new 4 cylinder Turbo". Well, I thought the old boys head was going to explode so I began to explain all the benefits of the 4 Turbo and when I was finished he looked at me and said, " I like the sound it makes" and walked away.

 

[cjj237]

-_-

I opened this to see the best way to go badgeless. Wish I could tag it as misleading title.

 

[Apwrx]

Nice write up. I also purchased an Eco and thought it was a great car stock.After driving it for awhile and adding a tune and bolt ons for me it still needed more power. I of course went and test drove a Gt...Then decided I prefer my Eco and slapped a bigger turbo on it. Lots of Power and the fun of a lighter 4cyl turbo car. I love the look I get when I tell people it's a four. So entertaining.

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