Tough decision, need guidance

[GT30fan]

Perfect reply. I'm shaking my head at the few people on this forum who are going to trade in a gt350 for a mach 1.

I'd assume those are the sorts that want the A10, and want to do their own motor mods

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[mavisky]

I'll chime in with a few insights into different aspects of GT vs GT350 ownership. For reference the GT350 is the 3rd Mustang I've owned and the 5th I've driven in considerable amounts.

Engine: The coyote is going to "feel" better around town to the average muscle car owner with it's healthier punchier low end torque. For those owners who drive around at 1800rpm and punch it from time to time from 2200 rpm the GT350 will feel like an absolute dog. Driving it is much more like driving an old E46 M3 where you're not really doing much of anything unless you're up in the RPM's. I tend to drive my GT350 around at 2800-3000 rpm most of the time as I've spent years driving small displacement turbo imports and that is just normal for them to fight the lag.

Suspension: Determine your end goals here. If track performance is your goal you could easily get a set of well valved coilovers that can out perform the magenride setup on track. What you won't be able to do is achieve a balance of road manners and track capabilities in one setup. The GT350 excels in this functional dual competency.

Transmission: The TR3160 is the best manual transmission I've ever driven from Ford. There's a reason it gets such great reviews. Nothing in the GT is comparable.

Braking: Get used to squeaks with the stock pads and also learn to have a light touch on the pedal as their prodigious capability takes some getting used to.

Mod-ability: I've heavily modified every car I've ever owned as they are always a balance of engineers desires, bean counter sensibilities, and a multipurposed directive. I don't daily my car, but I do enjoy it on nice smooth roads and built it with a focus on back mountain road handling. I initially wasn't ecstatic with the body roll and the sense of the rear being only partially attached at the rear of the car. Luckily all the same parts manufacturers who make parts for the regular GT offer solutions for the GT350 as well. Ford Racing developed a set of springs and swaybars that keep the car cornering flatter and reduce that initial "roll and set" body motion the car had from the factory. Steeda makes a great set of rear IRS braces to tie the subframe to the chassis in a much more secure fashion and that resolves the mid-corner wiggles from the chassis that I wasn't a fan of. SRP makes a great set of pedals to ease heel toe'ing on the streets for those of us who struggle with the factory pedal alignment.

Other than those basic modifications the car is mostly stock otherwise with the majority of the changes being looks based modifications. It's by far the car I've modified the least out of anything I've previously owned and that's 100% down to the engineering that Ford put into the car.

The final thing I'll say about the GT350 is that it's truly more than a sum of it's parts and figures. A C7 Grand Sport is probably as fast if not faster around almost any track you can put them against each other on, but the GT350 manages to deliver a cohesive uniqueness that i've only ever experience with cars costing far more than it costs. You'll often hear this sentiment echoed by the motoring press and it truly feels special driving through traffic or when driving flat out.

 

[dpAtlanta]

Well said Kyle... you definitely understand the GT350 my friend,

 

[Lorne34]

I'll chime in with a few insights into different aspects of GT vs GT350 ownership. For reference the GT350 is the 3rd Mustang I've owned and the 5th I've driven in considerable amounts.

Engine: The coyote is going to "feel" better around town to the average muscle car owner with it's healthier punchier low end torque. For those owners who drive around at 1800rpm and punch it from time to time from 2200 rpm the GT350 will feel like an absolute dog. Driving it is much more like driving an old E46 M3 where you're not really doing much of anything unless you're up in the RPM's. I tend to drive my GT350 around at 2800-3000 rpm most of the time as I've spent years driving small displacement turbo imports and that is just normal for them to fight the lag.

Suspension: Determine your end goals here. If track performance is your goal you could easily get a set of well valved coilovers that can out perform the magenride setup on track. What you won't be able to do is achieve a balance of road manners and track capabilities in one setup. The GT350 excels in this functional dual competency.

Transmission: The TR3160 is the best manual transmission I've ever driven from Ford. There's a reason it gets such great reviews. Nothing in the GT is comparable.

Braking: Get used to squeaks with the stock pads and also learn to have a light touch on the pedal as their prodigious capability takes some getting used to.

Mod-ability: I've heavily modified every car I've ever owned as they are always a balance of engineers desires, bean counter sensibilities, and a multipurposed directive. I don't daily my car, but I do enjoy it on nice smooth roads and built it with a focus on back mountain road handling. I initially wasn't ecstatic with the body roll and the sense of the rear being only partially attached at the rear of the car. Luckily all the same parts manufacturers who make parts for the regular GT offer solutions for the GT350 as well. Ford Racing developed a set of springs and swaybars that keep the car cornering flatter and reduce that initial "roll and set" body motion the car had from the factory. Steeda makes a great set of rear IRS braces to tie the subframe to the chassis in a much more secure fashion and that resolves the mid-corner wiggles from the chassis that I wasn't a fan of. SRP makes a great set of pedals to ease heel toe'ing on the streets for those of us who struggle with the factory pedal alignment.

Other than those basic modifications the car is mostly stock otherwise with the majority of the changes being looks based modifications. It's by far the car I've modified the least out of anything I've previously owned and that's 100% down to the engineering that Ford put into the car.

The final thing I'll say about the GT350 is that it's truly more than a sum of it's parts and figures. A C7 Grand Sport is probably as fast if not faster around almost any track you can put them against each other on, but the GT350 manages to deliver a cohesive uniqueness that i've only ever experience with cars costing far more than it costs. You'll often hear this sentiment echoed by the motoring press and it truly feels special driving through traffic or when driving flat out.

great review.. I am looking to get a set of pedals for heel-toe.. I am 5'7" with a size 8 shoe.. so my feet are not large... I see that SRP has a standard, medium and large set. Any idea as to what size I should purchase?

 

[mavisky]

great review.. I am looking to get a set of pedals for heel-toe.. I am 5'7" with a size 8 shoe.. so my feet are not large... I see that SRP has a standard, medium and large set. Any idea as to what size I should purchase?

I use their largest pedal gas pedal and I'm 6' with a size 11-1/2 shoe.

 

[526 HRSE]

you are not reading what has said obviously. I never said my decision was superior. I said that some people prefer the coyote over the voodoo for daily driving. He DID act very elitist by acting like no GT owner in their right mind would ever store their car in a garage, when it obviously does frequently happen. Not everyone that owns a gt350 or gt500 is an elitist, but he was certainly acting like one in multiple replies. If you really think that me saying some people have a preference over the other is me saying its a smarter decision, then I can only recommend reading comprehension classes honestly.

I daily drive my car. Your problem is that you come into a gt350 board and drop lil comments and try to make our cars look bad. You seem to want to chop them down to your car's level. Maybe if you had a 500 your opinion would matter.

It's like you have a chip on your shoulder which was probably caused by making the wrong choice, or maybe that you didn't have the extra money to buy the better car.

I'd just say, If you don't like the "elitists", stay on the GT board or maybe keep your snarky opinions to yourself.

 

[Adamone92]

I daily drive my car. Your problem is that you come into a gt350 board and drop lil comments and try to make our cars look bad. You seem to want to chop them down to your car's level. Maybe if you had a 500 your opinion would matter.

It's like you have a chip on your shoulder which was probably caused by making the wrong choice, or maybe that you didn't have the extra money to buy the better car.

I'd just say, If you don't like the "elitists", stay on the GT board or maybe keep your snarky opinions to yourself.

I have never once said a thing to make the gt350 look bad. If you think me saying that some people prefer the coyote (which is an opinion multiple people have agreed or disagreed with) and that a gt350 doesn't do 3.5 0-60 is me having a chip on my shoulder and making your car look bad, then you really should re-evaluate your thinking. I made the choice i wanted and am happy with it. I almost got a gt350 but didn't. Not everyone wants the same car as you and it's a shame you can't grasp that. I already stated my reasons for buying a gt and for my actual use of the car, it is faster than if i bought a gt350 as i dont track all the time and i wouldnt have supercharged a gt350 if i had one. I dont "come to your forum", the posts pop up on the top and i click and read out of interest (i believe this is the second post on the gt350 side ive commented on, and this same exact post and title is on the gt forum. I commented here without even realizing it was on the gt350 forum since if you notice, we are ALL on the same forum and can see and reply to any of them....weird.. also 1) this thread he asked gt owners and 350 owners so the opinion is warranted and 2) 0-60 time in the other thread isnt an opinion. So your point is irrelevant anyways.). If you actually read my replies in this thread..i recommended OP either trade for the GT350 (surprise) or wait for the new mach 1 to come out if he prefers the coyote engine (which is where the daily driver thing came from). Why would i recommend the gt350 if i had something against it? Yet you take personal offense. So either you didnt actually read..or maybe you are defending your purchase..or...idk should grow up and quit being insecure i guess.

I have no desire to respond to you being childish anymore but here goes. I never once said all gt350 owners are elitists. Just ones that act like you (which is funny because when i said that before..i believe i was referring to another member), so again, if you take offense to it.... that is probably a sign. Lol. Your "if you had a 500 your opinion would matter" comment shows exactly what type of person you are and that you are probably trying to compensate for something. I have no qualm with 99% of gt350 owners..one of my good friends has one, people on here like @RPDBlueMoon seem cool...etc...But i have problems with people like you as a whole. There are people that say the same stupid bs to v6 or ecoboost owners when they have a gt like it actually matters. Newsflash...90% of the world thinks you have the same car as an ecoboost. Same for my gt. After testing many cars...gt350 included..i was down to a gt and 2ss 1le.. chose my gt and supercharged it and havent looked back. Only thing im considering is the new mach 1 when it comes out.

 

[Rapid Red]

A parallel world, another hobby I mess with is model RR. There are three common sizes or gauge, O, HO & N. For the nitpickers I'm only referring to these 3 to make a point, so take a pill.

N gauge being the smallest of the 3. The folks that model in the larger scales. Knock & find faults with the rolling stock the N folks work with.

Common: denominator my trains are bigger than yours. So I'm saying the childish banter, mine's better is just that.

One size fits all, in spite of what the socialist are telling people, is untrue.

Just saying

 

[MNGT350]

The final thing I'll say about the GT350 is that it's truly more than a sum of it's parts and figures. A C7 Grand Sport is probably as fast if not faster around almost any track you can put them against each other on, but the GT350 manages to deliver a cohesive uniqueness that i've only ever experience with cars costing far more than it costs. You'll often hear this sentiment echoed by the motoring press and it truly feels special driving through traffic or when driving flat out.

I think this is the key point regarding the GT350. Normal driving is still fun due to the intangibles, the noise, the NVH, steering feel and feedback. You get a lot of visceral driving fun just bouncing around town. A crucial thing, because you rarely get to experience the true talents of this car in non-track driving.

 

[Angrey]

Again, from a pure "value" perspective, the GT350 is the better buy, hands down. UNLESS, UNLESS, UNLESS, the owner's intention is to create a purely straight line car and modify it to be fast in that single aspect. If that's the case, the GT is the much better buy. Why waste money on a bunch of turn hard, stop fast and often, "visceral" items if your only goal is to stomp and go fast in a straight line.

At some point, everyone graduates from the straight line acceleration camp. In the world of racing, road and track racers make fun of circle track racers, who in turn look down their nose at drag racers. If racing were golf, drag racers would be the driving range heroes who can smash a driver a zillion miles but can't do anything else well (like chip or put).

Straight line acceleration is indeed the center piece of any driving experience, but at some point, even people who build a fast strip car start wanting to add things like braking and turning. From that perspective, again, I ran the numbers. I've built one GT to a pretty hardcore state and moderately modified another (starting with go fast bits first) and toward the end of the build when wanting to modify things like looks (aero, wheels, body panels, etc) and brakes, it's really expensive.

My final thoughts are, if you want a car that's a platform for building the fastest straight line ripper you can create (in the shortest time and the cheapest budget) get the GT.

If you're wanting a more rounded driving experience, there's no way you can replicate the other features of a GT350 and do it more cheaply than just buying it in a package from Ford. I've ran the numbers a zillion times. I have no loyalty to Shelby American or the name or the image. I'm a straight up value calculation guy.

Furthermore, if I were a straight line guy, I'd get the A10 all day long and wouldn't even CONSIDER the garbage MT82 (not just because it's a piece of isht, but because if stomp and go is your main or only concern, you're not going to row faster than an A10 can shift).

 

[K4fxd]

A weekend road racing is going to cost 2 to 5K

A weekend drag racing is going to cost 2 to 5 hundred.

 

[mavisky]

I would also argue that if you are going to build a stripped and caged road course car the GT is the better starting platform as its cheaper entry point helps the financials as you'll be replacing/upgrading many of the GT350's components including the magneride system anyway.

The GT350 shines in being capable of handling the track but then driving home and making your commute feel special too.

 

[stanglife]

A weekend road racing is going to cost 2 to 5K

A weekend drag racing is going to cost 2 to 5 hundred.

That's true - but if you bought a car for one or the other, you know what to expect. I like a good rounded, handling car...I'm not going to buy a straight line car just because it's cheaper to drag race.

I personally know 2 VERY successful drag racers who once they discovered road racing, told me that they wish they would have found it a long time ago.

 

[460Fred]

I personally know 2 VERY successful drag racers who once they discovered road racing, told me that they wish they would have found it a long time ago.

Same holds true with motorcycles. Taking off with a high HP liter bike is exhilarating for sure, what a rush. Where the real fun begins is in the twisties. Personally I just love the long sweepers....best of both worlds.
Question is, do you want the rush to last around 10 seconds at a time or do you want your heart rate up for several minutes at a time.

 

[Rapid Red]

Also a fan of a road course, I like 2 drive. Drag racing is fun just too short .

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