Once again, how much time do you have driving a S550 PP1 on the track? If the answer is "no time", then you are basing your opinions solely on magazine results. As mentioned before, I once owned an S197 GT. Even with better tires, that thing rolled and floated like family car. The PP1 is in another world compared to that car when it comes to handling. There is no bounciness with magneride in the PP1. The PP1 is also not just "a little better than base". I almost guarantee that 75% of the disadvantage the Mustang has going up against the 1LE is in the tire/wheel package. Aside from that, the 1LE is taking on cars double its cost on the track. The issue isn't that the Mustang didn't meet engineering expectations. The issue is that the 1LE exceeded them (on a road course). I would encourage you to drive a 2018 before forming opinions. Magazine racing is silly.
That's really it in a nutshell - until the PP2, Ford basically handed the territory above the GTPP/SS level over to Chevy without a fight. It's not that they couldn't have competed up there (which would have been a feather in the integral-link IRS's cap if they had and it did well), it's that they chose not to. Goes to intent, not ability.
With the right tires and suspension, they can still work well. You just need smooth surfaces. Once you have uneven surfaces, they are horrible
If you've been to HPDE sessions, you realize that what a pro can do with a car is very different than what amateurs who rarely visit a track will do. If absolute performance is super important to you, my advice is to go with a new or used GS Corvette rather than either Mustang or Camaro. Otherwise, I am willing to bet that the variation in talent between drivers is significantly larger than the variation between the 1LE and the Mustang GT, whether it has the PP1, 2 or neither.
I owned a couple different 2011 Mustangs. The 2015+ is worlds better than the older SRA form of the car. Anyhoo, like I said I would go with a 'vette for all out performance. Both the Camaro and Mustang are far too porky.
I probably couldn't have said it better (though the PP1 did stand accused of some bounciness in the early days - as in before MagneRide. It might have been Randy Pobst I'm remembering something about the damping from (I can still mentally picture the point in the video).
Because it is an indication of the factory's official intent. Who they think their target buyer is, and how hard they're willing to try to satisfy anybody who is somewhat more demanding than average.
Doesn't hurt to go wider than 255/275 just for your street driving either, assuming that you buy tires with adequate wet weather capability. I'd run the 285/285 setup I have now all the time if I wasn't concerned about getting a puncture too close to a track date. Still would if I move up to 295's or 305's next time around.
Agreed. My '08 can handle gentle curbs at HPDE just fine (I'm actually putting my inside tires on one at about the 10,200 foot mark in the Aim plot below, 1.2-ish g at a little over 95 mph, MPSS tires). Potholed and badly patched streets, not so well.
Actually, I've got a rough idea where I stand, and roughly what the mods I've done have been worth. What I'd want is to know that I wouldn't have to do a whole laundry-list of mods just to keep up with a driver of comparable skill who's driving an otherwise similar car in full factory stock condition.
If you get a used GT350 you can be close to the cost of a new GT, depending on options. You're right that an R is expensive. It's more than I wanted to spend. The GT350 is a blast on the streets and the track. I think it would be a better deal than doing a lot of modifications to a GT because you have to have the faster vehicle.
