There have been quite a few mustang reviews for this model so I won’t go into my usual level of detail. For once there is plenty out there and more on the subject. Besides… its a Mustang so whats to know right? Big(ish) engine, bad handling, awful fall apart interior and mullets galore right?
Wrong. Very Very Very wrong. For one, I owned a Mustang that gloriously lived up to that stereotype and this car is nothing like it. For one it doesn’t actively try to kill me at the slightest provocation despite the fact it does still have a live rear axel. Just exactly how Ford managed that is a deep dark mystery… but I suspect someone lost their soul over it.
The new 5.0 deserves its Press. 400+hp hitched to a slick shifting 6 speed tied to standard limited slip differentials in 3 exciting flavors (3.31 ‘fun’, 3.55 ‘hell yeah’ and 3.73 ‘holy $#!&’). All that and it is still a typical base mustang engine (read lots of tuning potential). The difference is unlike in the past you no longer have to tune it just to get the power level that should be there from the start. 400hp with damn near 400 tq out of a lighting fast NA engine is a whole lot of automotive ju ju to play with.
The Brembo Package is a no brainer option for anyone who actually buys this car to drive for reasons other than making large clouds of white smoke (though thats certainly still an option). For those that don’t know this ~$1800 bundle of goodness brings you an actually sporty suspension tune, 255 max performance summer rubber on decent looking if heavy wheels, 14” 4 piston Brembo’s up front that can stand a hot lap or three without melting and a track mode for the electronic nanny for a nice additional touch. Any one of those upgrades over standard would cost you about the same thing as the whole ford factory package and each would risk voiding large sections of your warranty.
Combine the basic GT Mustang with the Brembo option and you get the following…
“Mustang…. its not just for straight lines any more”
It doesn’t even really take the Brembo package… that just seals the deal. Even the base beast is no longer just a traffic light drag race warrior. The base car is now essentially the 2008 Bullit limited edition car with a nicer interior and a serious drive train upgrade which isn’t exactly shabby.
Don’t take my word for it… go drive one. I did and will now do so on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. It may take surgical implements to remove the grin. All this and its still a ‘bang for the buck bargain’. Ford is currently pushing 0% financing out to 60 months and just 1.9% for 72 through early October (2011). Invoice cost is realistic though (patience may be required) and that drops damn near 2k off the sticker.
Oh yeah… I will throw in a couple of nuggets I know nobody else has bothered to report on. The rear latch system will work for a baby trend seat and the V-8 apparently has a distinct rumble that sends infants (well at least one) immediately to sleep :-)
Update: 2/21/2013
So after more than a year of ownership and ~22k miles what do I think? Well the Pirelli's that come with the car are expensive and they do not last long. Many folks on the forums quite 12-15k of life. I got 21 before getting down to the wear marks. Have seen a few folks claim 30k miles but they must really be driving like granny's to get it. I am not some hooligan doing burnouts and donuts all over the place. But I will break the back end loose on occasion and chirp the tires launching every now and then just because I can. After all, if you are not interested in that why exactly would you buy a 400+hp car to begin with? If you buy from tire rack and are looking to replace this tire look for the Audi spec one. it is $100 less than the Mercedes spec they quote as OEM for the mustang with the Brembo brake package and A call to Perelli confirmed they are the same tire. Same compound, same carcass. And from my experience so far the exact same driving experience. For some reason the speed ratings are different. but the Audi spec is still rated for 186Mph... considering the car in stock trim is electronically limited to 155Mps I think its safe to say the least. Even if you remove the limiter 186 is beyond the reach of the stock engine setup as the car tops out around 170 something in stock power/aerodynamic trend.
Other than that the only issues have been a slight misalignment of my front tire courtesy of a curb I lost track of in a drive through and oil changes every 5k miles. Ford says every 10k but they do not use synthetic by default in these cars and it is cheap peace of mind if over cautious to half the service interval (about 50$ for a dealer inspection/oil change). Think I paid around $100 for my 15k that also did the various filters.
I replaced that damned plastic piece of garbage they called a steering wheel in my 200a interior (base level) with a take off Boss unit from Roush. Wheel cost $250 from Roush (vs 400+ direct from Ford) and 150 to install and program the computer to use the new radio control buttons. Makes a HUGE difference in the quality of the interface with the car. Whoever approved that base level wheel needs to be sacked. The 150 install was a bit of a ripoff... but I really didn't want to mess with the airbag and Ford had to hook it up to their shop computer to program it regardless so I let them do the whole thing. Ended up costing about the same installed as if I had bought the wheel from Ford Racing parts.
Beyond that I have not done any modifications to the car and do not think it needs any to enjoy driving legally on public roads. However, for future HPDE runs I would like to do I am following the Vorshlag build discussion (google it) and have given a lot of consideration to their recommended wheel/tire/suspension upgrades. Vorshlag camber plates at 2-2.5 neg camber, AST adjustible shocks, linear springs, white line watts link, 18"x10" forge star or Dforce 20# wheels and probably some BFG Rival super high performance tires for a street able setup that can haul ass around the bendy stuff without quickly destroying 1000+ worth of tires in the process... oh yeah and probably carbotech pads and some braided steel lines. Brembo's seem more than up to snuff for hot laps otherwise. Works out to around 6k of stuff. Add in some aero work it it looks like you have a really serious road racer on your hands in the Coyote s197 package. Stock power is plenty and to spare for the stock setup... and probably even for that super nice suspension setup based on what they are seeing with their second car. They have done no power mods on it and have been running similar laps to their first car with new headers and a tune pushing 420ish or so to the rear wheels.
