WTB an S197 Mustang and Get Some Advice (Bought One)

Andrew Jonell · **Joined:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:43 pm **Posts:** 1350

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

It's not. The GT350 isn't a pony car. :wink:

When I think of a pony car, I think of live axles, cross-plane V8 rumble, extremely favorable $/hp ratio, and a chassis that handles decently well given the circumstances/grading on a curve.

The GT350R is an M3 killer in the same way the Corvette has been the 911 killer.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:35 pm

Andrew Jonell wrote:

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

It's not. The GT350 isn't a pony car. :wink:

When I think of a pony car, I think of live axles, cross-plane V8 rumble, extremely favorable $/hp ratio, and a chassis that handles decently well given the circumstances/grading on a curve.

The GT350R is an M3 killer in the same way the Corvette has been the 911 killer.

Exactly, and the S550 Mustang is so vastly improved over any prior version, I don't think of it as a pony car either: nicely designed and stiff body-in-white, both in torsion and bending (pony car = flexi-flyer); excellent design IRS with a lot of good work on bushing design/stiffness and geometry through the range of travel (pony car = massive unsprung weight live axle design from 50+ years ago); all four engine options are extremely well-done imo with no excuses/cheap shortcuts/etc. I only wish the S550 wasn't actually larger than my E39 5-series four door and it didn't have a hood length and height like a boat (the only part about driving that car that I greatly dislike).

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Fri Jan 29, 2016 7:17 pm

The V8 vs V6 argument aside, I went from a Camaro to a Miata and traded the Camaro on the focus. Honestly, I don't miss the Camaro a whole lot, the Miata is a ton of fun to drive. I believe the 2011+ V6 mustang has the HP to be a fun car so I don't think you can really go wrong when you throw out the V8 argument.

The newer car could very will likely have some warranty also and less miles. Does he like working on cars or just driving them? If he's not interested in doing maintenance items the new car would make more sense. It'll also be more budget friendly fuel wise, plus, like others stated, the american are much better than what they used to be and that seemed to start with the 2011 cars with ford.

I'm assuming it's also going to be his only ride, so newer and more reliable might be better too.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:14 am

I had an '01 GT convertible. Was not a big fan of the live axle. Traded it for a Z06.

However, it did have a glorious sound to it with the X pipe and aftermarket exhaust. Caused an Apex cop to run back to his car so he could give chase one morning.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Mon Feb 01, 2016 5:17 pm

Time for the obligatory semi regular reminder that... Posts in the Swap and Sell forum are viewable to the outside world. This was done way back because we wanted people to be able to post FS/WTB, etc. stuff and non-members can see it.

But...

People end up treating this part of the forum as general discussion. So beware that all is viewable to the general public.

Richard

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

I thought the open status of swap & sell was brought up at a club meeting last year (or was it in the forum) and the decision was to make swap & sell private like the rest of the forum. Does anybody else recall the same?

On to Mike's original question.... a couple of things to consider:

What is the insurance cost for each car? Anders is in the high-rates age group.

The 2011+ V6 has a coarse feel, in my opinion, but that's just the impression I got from the passenger seat of a friend's car.

If street class is the target, do your homework regarding top speed in each gear and available wheel sizes. I think the 2011-14 V6s are all limited to 8" wide wheels, while 2006-9 GTs can run 8.5" wide wheels.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2016 12:15 pm

Richard was just "concerned" because I showed up................... :mrgreen:

Michael Westerfield · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2016 6:37 pm

Just returned my ecoboost rental. I concur the ecoboost sounds as bad as you would imagine in person. No way I could own one for that reason alone. Otherwise it actually felt alright and had decent pickup otherwise. Throttle was wonky, but that was probably more software than turbo lag. The digital gauge in the center of the dash goes as high as 19lbs of boost! :twisted:

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Thu Feb 04, 2016 12:34 pm

steve remchak wrote:

Richard was just "concerned" because I showed up................... :mrgreen:

LOL! No. I am sure you are no different in public forums.

I just know people tend to think the forum is 100% private so I toss out that warning occasionally. I have emailed Zach to get his opinion/go ahead to make everything 100% private. I expect if anyone has a FS/WTB that they want to be public they have plenty of other options.

Richard

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Thu Feb 04, 2016 4:16 pm

Michael Westerfield wrote:

Just returned my ecoboost rental. I concur the ecoboost sounds as bad as you would imagine in person. No way I could own one for that reason alone. Otherwise it actually felt alright and had decent pickup otherwise. Throttle was wonky, but that was probably more software than turbo lag. The digital gauge in the center of the dash goes as high as 19lbs of boost! :twisted:

I have a Mazda Speed 3 which has a pretty nice sound. The Ford 2.3 is based on the MS3 MZR Turbo engine. The sound is blurbury at idle, doesn't drone at any speed, but makes a nice but not annoying sound when you hit the gas. I've had people ask me what exhaust I put on it and were surprised to find out that it was stock. BTW, I hope that Ford has made improvements to the MZR Turbo engine. It's been on the market for 9 years.

As an update, the 2011 V6 is a very sweet little engine with great fuel economy, 4 more than a V8. It's more like an electric motor with very consistent pull throughout the rev band. The 4.6L V8 has stronger pull just off the line, but drops off with RPM and an exhaust note that the V6 can't match. We're still bouncing back and forth between the V6 and the V8. The nice thing about the V6 is that the exhaust, brakes, and suspension are interchangeable with the GT. We could get the throw aways from someone hopping up a GT cheaply. With the right mufflers the V6 might even sound like a 370Z. :lol:

Andrew Jonell · **Joined:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:43 pm **Posts:** 1350

I think the Nissan VQ has the most unique sounding pedestrian motor. Anders and you might have a lot of work ahead of you if you're trying to reproduce it.

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Fri Feb 05, 2016 2:37 pm

Andrew Jonell wrote:

I think the Nissan VQ has the most unique sounding pedestrian motor. Anders and you might have a lot of work ahead of you if you're trying to reproduce it.

Andrew, I was joking, Ha Ha. The point was that a V6 will never have the wonderful sound of an American V8. Probably the only way to get it would be to run it through the stereo like some Audi's.

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:24 pm

michaelsmiller wrote:

Andrew Jonell wrote:

I think the Nissan VQ has the most unique sounding pedestrian motor. Anders and you might have a lot of work ahead of you if you're trying to reproduce it.

Andrew, I was joking, Ha Ha. The point was that a V6 will never have the wonderful sound of an American V8. Probably the only way to get it would be to run it through the stereo like some Audi's.

Don't worry, Ford actually does that too, the system is in my wifes Fiesta ST, i'm sure it's in newer Mustangs too. Even the GTs had a sound tube with a diaphragm going through the firewall to pipe more sound into the cabin.

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:14 am

We finally got a Mustang, a 2007 GT. The lure of a V8 won out. This one pulls a bit harder than the new V6. Thanks for all of the advice. It's a nice car and Anders is very happy with it.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Sat Feb 20, 2016 9:06 am

michaelsmiller wrote:

We finally got a Mustang, a 2007 GT. The lure of a V8 won out. This one pulls a bit harder than the new V6. Thanks for all of the advice. It's a nice car and Anders is very happy with it.

AWESOME.

I hope he enjoys the long tube headers because they were a b*tch to install!

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WTB an S197 Mustang and Get Some Advice (Bought One)

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