FocusCanada Forums

So my dealership was having an all-mustang event today. Go in, bring your mustang, and test drive any of the 2011 mustangs they had handy...

and of course, I pull into the parking lot to see it lined with 2011 GT500s, oh, a 5.0 GT, and of course, the Ford GT...



So, the first test drive was in a blue GT500 convertible -- since I'm a 'vert owner already...

The 1st thing that strikes me about the 2011 Mustangs is just how incredibly light the clutches are... they are lighter than the focus clutch (IIRC), and could be actuated by a 5 year old. In fact, out of the 3 pedals, the clutch is probably the lightest.

I'm not sure I'm big on this fact, since it ruins me... I'm so used to muscling my own clutch, that I never really got the hang of this incredibly light clutch, and it's quick actuation.

it didn't make for the smoothest shifts.

Another striking thing is the rigidity of the 2011 convertible. It's noticeably stiffer than the 2007 'vert I'm used to.. and the steering is light too. Once again, coming from the heavier feedback of my front end, it takes a bit of getting used to.

Of course, I'd love to tell you how it sounds, and it sounds amazing out of the box, but unfortunately, this particular gt500 hasn't passed it's minimum requirements for unlocking the supercharger, so the engine was limited to a butt-dyno-tested 250hp... and the only sound from the engine was a normally aspirated grunt from the dual exhausts.

But still, what a sound...

So, with this car still locked, it was time to try an unlocked GT500.. so we climbed into a silver coupe and went for a short drive.

And honestly, I've been driving cars that have been limited to about 200-220 HP, and climbing into something that has over twice that is quite a shock to the system. 0-80kph passes in first gear, and that's the end of the story... on city streets anyways. Unfortunately, this test drive wouldn't make the highway (too far from the dealership), but I can tell you without a doubt, that the acceleration is brutal, and the sound is just amazing.

It's almost gross negligence for Ford to make a car that sounds THAT good on boost.

This particular GT500 had the track pack, which meant super sticky semi-slicks and in a straight line you'll get no complaints from the traction control when stomping on it.

In short, the GT500 is absolutely amazing... I have a hard time seeing things that need improvement on that car. It's one hell of a package that Ford's put together.


So that's the GT500, what about the lesser stangs?

Well, there weren't any v6's in manual trim, so it was off to the 5.0 GT for a drive.

And the GT is very similar to the GT500 in terms of driveability, and to an extent, grunt too. you don't quite get that sudden assault on your senses that you get from the GT500, but you still get a good throaty surge as it asserts it's power.

Honestly, the new GT, with a track pack would likely keep up with the GT500 in all but the most demanding racing situations. It is a seriously quick car. The leap from the GT to the GT500 isn't quite so large anymore... it feels like the shelby, but with the volume turned down a notch.

It was a sad moment going back into my 2007 V6, fighting with the clutch to pull out of my parking space... and then lumbering home in quiet anonymity... I've never driven a car so eager to do what you want it to do as I have in the GT and GT500.

What a fun evening it's been so far... I'll be smiling for a couple days I'm sure -- and the car that I have that once brought me so much happiness, just doesn't feel so special anymore.

As in the focus, where 200HP makes it a VERY fun car to drive, the mustangs start hitting their sweet spot around 400HP... I foresee a lot of pre '11 stangs going for cheap in the near future as people upgrade.

The 2011's are nice..... but i'm glad i bought mine when i did!

AND....

The intercooled X-chargers are finally being advertised online now!!!

And the Ford Racing exhausts have been on sale for a bit too!!

I have the Ford Racing 2010 exhaust on my car since last year and love it. sound is awsome!

Lots of ways to wake up your 07 and make it feel new again!!

I think I might go with the Borla true duals and then xcharge the car.

and that would get me awefully close to 400HP... which would surprise a few 2011 GTs IMO

(07-08-2010, 09:30 AM)darkpuppet Wrote: [ -> ]I think I might go with the Borla true duals and then xcharge the car.

and that would get me awefully close to 400HP... which would surprise a few 2011 GTs IMO

Ford Racing is pretty much the same set-up and almost half the price @ $699usd based on their listed MSRP's

edit: link http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/par...Field=9910

yeah, that's what I thought, but the HP gains for both are a little different, with the Borla taking a slight lead... and the tips on the borla don't quite taper as severly as the ford racing ones do going into the muffler. Even though Borla apparently supplies the parts for the ford racing one... .. Haven't figured if the Borla's better looks and slight performance edge are worth the extra, but it's something I'm considering.

one of the guys in our lapping club rented a 5.0 for the track day at shanonville. Thing motors, and sounds bad ass.

the new 5.0 is one helluva a car...

tip: Donway Ford has a used 2011 mustang GT coupe in blue with GT appearance package... $39,000, will likely go for $37,000 ... that's cheaper than my v6 'vert brand new....

The 2012s are going to start being built in Jan (I know, wtf?) so since I'm ordering in Jan mine will likely be a 2012.

BTW Puppet, with employee pricing you can order whatever you want new starting at $34,500

So no report on any of the autobox 'Stangs for those of us who can't handle a clutch eh?

I'm guessing a 2011 auto GT with the track pack upgrades (installed after the fact) would be one hell of a ride myself.

NefCanuck

The automatics are alright for those that need it, but there's always those three seconds between standing on the gas, and the car starting to move... I think with a better autobox tune, it might be good, but it's just when you get the auto, especially in a car like the stang, when you step on the gas, you get a lot of noise, and not a lot of action...

stupid torque converters

Ah yes, that dreaded "one steamboat" thing as I call it when you mash the go-pedal in an autobox.

Luckily Steeda is all over reprogramming the ECU's of Mustangs to minimize that crap. My guess is if they haven't already, the 2011 ECU's will be cracked & re-tuned shortly.

Mmm.... Steeda worked over Mustang.... must stop drooling....

NefCanuck

I hear ya Dan... I need to touch base with Ken and see how his experiences are with Steeda... 'cause I've already started my shopping list.

(07-09-2010, 04:35 AM)darkpuppet Wrote: [ -> ]I hear ya Dan... I need to touch base with Ken and see how his experiences are with Steeda... 'cause I've already started my shopping list.

I'm back to Steeda's dyno tomorrow to finalize the water-meth tune ... my first go round suffered from a mis-assembled WMI injector (my fault, not Steeda's) and so being tuned with zero water-meth I only have a base tune that suffered from the exceptionally high IATs the water meth was supposed to cure ... losing in the neighbourhood of 10 to 12 degrees of timing.

In the meantime I insulated the entire air passage including the snorkel, the air box, and intake tube ... and I moved the WMI injector from the body of the s/c to before the TB, to give the water more time to do it's cooling effect ... so I'm hoping for significant improvements to my IAT.

In terms of the tune, so far so good ... now with an insulated intake and a fully operating WMI it pulls really strong even with the very safe, very conservative base tune ... it's nice to have 6 psi of boost right off idle ... so I've got my fingers crossed for 200, but I'll be happy with 185-190 ... and I suppose that even 170 to 175 would be realistic ... I just hope it cools down a bit tomorrow.

Pat was good in the first session and was excellent in slotting me back in and without a major hit to the pocketbook ... so far I would have to say the experience has been very good ... I'll let you know my final assessment after tomorrow.

Sorry to wander OT like that.

Thanks for the feedback Ken, keep us posted!

There was a lot of drama around Steeda in the past, and I'm looking for a decent stang shop near home that I know I can trust to do install/tuning.

Thread kill again...

A guy my dad works with did work at the Mustang shop next to Steeda for a while and they have had quite a few stangs leave Steeda in pieces when the car goes over to Pat, due to poor quality and poor mannors. Word of mouth.

Stay away from Steeda.ca

i have also heard some not so great things from there. i also heard that the "mechanics" arent even licensed mechanics and are really just people like you an me who work on our cars. i wouldnt pay their shop rate personally, especially for some1 who is essentially a back yard guy like myself. would be one thing if it was cheap and they knew what they were doing, but in all reality (word of mouth) the owner wont hire a mechanic due to the amount he would have to pay them and all the tuners are young guys who think they can tune. a friend of mine was offered a job there because hes an older mustang guy (a few years back) and they wouldnt even pay him what he was already getting paid when he worked at shawn hyland, northern motorsports or the wreckers he was once at. pretty sad...

yeah, it's stuff like that which gets me rather worried when it comes time to do mods. I would love to be able to buy the part, have some knowledgeable staff install it and not have to worry about it.

I can deal with unlicensed guys -- hell, I do better work on my own over a couple master mechanics that I personally know -- and most of that is due to the fact that I can read (instructions) and they seemingly can't.

(07-09-2010, 06:54 AM)darkpuppet Wrote: [ -> ]yeah, it's stuff like that which gets me rather worried when it comes time to do mods. I would love to be able to buy the part, have some knowledgeable staff install it and not have to worry about it.

I can deal with unlicensed guys -- hell, I do better work on my own over a couple master mechanics that I personally know -- and most of that is due to the fact that I can read (instructions) and they seemingly can't.

x2 on the DIY ... but to be clear - I had no mechanical work done at Steeda - I either did it myself or had my own mechanic do it.

The only thing I am not equipped to do, nor is my mechanic, is the tuning. And since I already have an Xcal2 I suppose I could buy SCT's software (for less than a dyno tune session) and tune it myself ... but I'm under the impression that tuning is not a simple thing - especially when you factor in the boost and the water-meth.

In our many conversations Pat has convinced me that he knows what he's doing in terms of tuning - even with s/c and water meth ( a popular combination with the Mustang boys BTW) ... so I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

I've heard horror stories from both Steeda and Dasilva's

But from my tuning experience alone at Steeda's i probably won't be going back.....
The tune is great, but i know i was over charged at least 2 hours shop time everytime i was there on top of that having to wait 1-2 hours after my appointment times. I could understand if it happened once, but everytime? Seemed very unprofessional to deal with.

What do these fine machines cost?
I got the go ahead to "start looking" for the "fun car."