Struggling... Upgrade my 2016 Tech Pack to Track car, or sell/trade and buy 2016 Track Pack or 2017 or newer model

[AgSurfer]

Going to look at a 2017 GT 350 with tech package and Recaro seats tomorrow. 2,366 miles. Yellow with black stripes. Two owners; car was never at auction. Traded into dealer by a "collector" apparently who never really drove it. The dealer offered me a solid price for my Red w/ black stripes 2016 Tech Pack GT 350 (offering what I paid for it actually). There is a valuation difference. I am paying up for the 2017 to get the OEM installed Track Pack equipment instead of spending $6k to put all the track gear onto my 2016 Tech Pack car. Plus, the 2017 model I am looking at has the Recaro seats. Those are not cheap and very had to find on the market. Hopefully I like them and they feel OK. I am 6'1", 220lbs, and broad shouldered.

Hopefully all goes well. I am not taking my car to them tomorrow, as mine is storage in garage on battery tender. They totally understood. They got all the pics and records. If I like their 2017 GT350, I'll put deposit down and hold the car, and hopefully the salt washes off the OH roads in a couple weeks and I can drive back to the dealer and get the transaction done.

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[Jbraun2828]

Good luck, hopefully everything works out. I think you’re making the right decision.

 

[AgSurfer]

Definitely costs more to upgrade to the 2017 or newer model versus upgrading my 2016 with full track pack and other comparable equipment. See table below. I am spending additional $4k (estimate) to "trade up" to the 2017 GT350 model year.

Track Pack upgrade - parts, labor, etc.				$ 5,538
Recaros Seats + install (estimate)				$ 4,000
Spoiler + install (estimate)				$ 1,000
Total parts, labor, etc.				$ 10,538
Plus: Remaining loan balance				$ 21,505
Total for existing 2016 GT350 upgrades				$ 32,043
Purchase 2017 GT350, net of 2016 GT350 trade in, w tax				$36,133
Difference				$ 4,090

 

[AgSurfer]

Wanted to play devil's advocate on this... what are the major downsides of installing the track pack upgrades to my 2016 tech pack GT 350? Here are some of my thoughts:

1. My 2016 GT350 is low mileage and in excellent condition - physical, mechanical, etc. It has the resonator delete and JLT CAI, and with the JLT canned tune, it put down 490 rwhp on a Mustang chassis dyno.
2. The cost of the track pack upgrades with tax, labor, etc. is approx. $5,500. This is overall very reasonable. Ford Performance is selling the Transmission (with pump) and transmission cooler kit at low close-put price (I spoke to Ford Performance tech and he said they have tons of the Track / R transmissions in inventory).
3. The Full Tile Boogie Racing differential cooler kit seems to be very common with members and is more reasonably priced than the Ford Performance kit (which has been discontinued as far as I can tell)
4. I get a brand new transmission, as opposed to buying a used one in a 2017 or newer model GT350 and I don't know how hard a former owner(s) has pounded that puppy
5. Still don't have the GT350 branded Recao seats, but I imagine I can find these somewhere.
a. there are other options besides Recaros, but I am not familiar with them.
6. I have an excellent local Ford dealer and master tech I work with and he knows the cars extremely well (and has gone the extra mile on other cars / service for me).

I'm still looking hard for low-mileage and great / excellent condition 2017 or newer GT350s in a 200 mile radius, but the options in the market are not good and as per my other post, pricing on these cars is high. Low mileage (10k or lower) 2018s - 2020s are all listed for high 50s to low 60s.

Appreciate the insights.

 

[Hack]

I personally wouldn't bother with the Recaros, but I would definitely get a roll bar and harnesses. If you don't have a good harness you will be flopping around in the car trying to hold yourself in position - no matter what seat you have. With a good harness pulled tight you can relax behind the wheel and focus on car control. I had the sofa seats in my GT350 and with a tight harness they worked great on track.

I was able to experience the Recaros at the GT350 Track Attack and I still needed the harness pulled very tight in order to relax behind the wheel. So in my opinion Recaros are unnecessary.

They do look very "racy" though.

 

[torque124]

I personally wouldn't bother with the Recaros, but I would definitely get a roll bar and harnesses. If you don't have a good harness you will be flopping around in the car trying to hold yourself in position - no matter what seat you have. With a good harness pulled tight you can relax behind the wheel and focus on car control. I had the sofa seats in my GT350 and with a tight harness they worked great on track.

I was able to experience the Recaros at the GT350 Track Attack and I still needed the harness pulled very tight in order to relax behind the wheel. So in my opinion Recaros are unnecessary.

They do look very "racy" though.

Let me be the first to disagree strongly.. Unless you are (insert offensive word for oversized people) and you don't fit , the Recaros are a must!
I LOVE my Recaros. The only other seat I love is from my M3, but that is second to the GT350R.

...running for cover now....

 

[torque124]

I personally wouldn't bother with the Recaros, but I would definitely get a roll bar and harnesses. If you don't have a good harness you will be flopping around in the car trying to hold yourself in position - no matter what seat you have. With a good harness pulled tight you can relax behind the wheel and focus on car control. I had the sofa seats in my GT350 and with a tight harness they worked great on track.

I was able to experience the Recaros at the GT350 Track Attack and I still needed the harness pulled very tight in order to relax behind the wheel. So in my opinion Recaros are unnecessary.

They do look very "racy" though.

Where the hell is the "thumbs down" , "hate" button... what is this, Facebook???

 

[AgSurfer]

Where the hell is the "thumbs down" , "hate" button... what is this, Facebook???

Ha - too funny. I was taking a shortcut. I should have been more formal and said - - thanks your input / perspective. I have not had the opportunity to sit in any true "racing" style seats. I sat in some Corbeaus years ago and I hated them. The GT350 Recaros felt very good and snug, but I hear what you're saying about the Recaros potentially not being the most secure / solid when actually tracking the car.

 

[VoodooPower]

I had a 2016 Base GT350 that I installed Track Pack OEM transmission cooler and external pump. This set up worked great and car never went into limp mode at the track after install. I took off the kit when I traded my car in. I would be willing to sell the complete kit for $800. Kit includes trans cooler, braided stainless hose cut to proper length with AN fittings, mogel pump, switch and fuse for power. I’m in Ohio as well. PM me if interested and I’ll send pictures of the kit and provide more details.

 

[VoodooPower]

Picture of the kit I took off my 2016 Base Shelby GT 350.

 

[milner_7]

Seriously man, just slowly add the components you want. If you plan on tracking the car get the tranny cooler first. Then when you can add the spoiler, and if you want (which IMHO dont need right away) get the diff cooler. Enable the trans temp with FORSCAN. And you can add a harness. Recaro's are great but the seats you have are fine and Recaro's are way over priced. Your happy with your car and have had no issues with it. You could end up with we lemon

 

[Hack]

Let me be the first to disagree strongly.. Unless you are (insert offensive word for oversized people) and you don't fit , the Recaros are a must!
I LOVE my Recaros. The only other seat I love is from my M3, but that is second to the GT350R.

...running for cover now....

No worries. You can call me names if you'd like. I definitely don't fit well in the Recaros. I'm not fat. I'm 6'4" and 200. I do have a somewhat wide/stocky build. But for the purposes of the OP it really doesn't matter whether I fit in the Recaros or not. What matters is if the Recaros are worth the money or necessary for a track day. After all, he would be giving up heating/cooling and lumbar. Adjustable head rests. And potentially more comfort. I'm merely trying to help him.

You can imagine, if the Recaros were going to hold someone in position on track, they would hold me in position. I'm really squeezed tight in them. However, they don't hold me in position unless I have a harness on and it's pulled very tight. As I explained before, I found this out at the Track Attack. I had a harness on and I thought it was tight enough, especially with the Recaro seat. But I had to really tighten up the harness to keep myself from moving around in the Recaro.

And I found out that the sofa seats are fine on track with a tight harness. I was able to relax and allow the harness to hold me in place as long as I was using a good harness when I drove on track in my 2016 tech pack car.

So yes the Recaros are cool looking but in my opinion they are not needed in order to be able to run the occasional track day.

 

[AgSurfer]

Well don't count your eggs before they're in your pudding. Got an interesting phone call this evening from a dealer who knew I was in the market. He had a prior hold on a car and the buyer apparently backed out. So I am planning to look at a 2020 GT350R with 2,800 miles on it this Saturday. Price is $73.9k for the GT350R. Probably put deposit down tomorrow (refundable) to hold the car until my inspection on Saturday. And only 95 miles from my home.

We have a deal put together over the phone already this evening. Subject to my inspection of his GT350R and their inspection of my 2016 GT350, we may be in business. We're probably going to trailer the cars to and from.

I did a nationwide search via TruCar of all 2018 - 2020 GT350Rs for sale; found 7 in total. Outside of one dealer asking $95k for essentially a brand new 2020 (5 miles on it), the average sale price is $75k.

 

[Carpenater]

Market apparently has jumped. I bought a one owner, PPFed, 19R last year for $64k with 450 miles.

Don’t forget to ask about the owners supplement kit and car cover. I’d run an Oasis report for GP too.

 

[AgSurfer]

Market apparently has jumped. I bought a one owner, PPFed, 19R last year for $64k with 450 miles.

Don’t forget to ask about the owners supplement kit and car cover. I’d run an Oasis report for GP too.

I am not familiar with an "Oasis report for GP"; can you educate me on these subjects? Thanks.

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