Ford Mustang GT (4.6l) S197
- Thread starter Peerzy
- Start date
Looks awesome. Your lights seem to have condensation issues though
I know, they were fixed but it came back. I've got a set of new headlights to go in once I get chance in the new year.
For tea and coffee?
Soldato
- Joined
- 20 Feb 2010
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- 4,503
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- Darkest Worcestershire
No one cares about an interior when your driving a muscle car with a huge V8 under the bonnet on a car you paid less than 10k for.
Thats true
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Oct 2011
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- 1,544
- Location
- Newbury, UK
This is a rather nice car to be fair mate. Wanna sell it? Lol
Jumping on a little late to this thread, I've had a quote on a remap from ModUrStang already, but how much was the cold air intake?
Also, is the remap only worth doing if you're going to then use 99 octane? Can you map for regular fuel?
LCA's where a good mod, I also got larger Stop Tech front brakes done for around £550.
Seem pretty effective in stopping me at speed!
Also, is the remap only worth doing if you're going to then use 99 octane? Can you map for regular fuel?
LCA's where a good mod, I also got larger Stop Tech front brakes done for around £550.
Seem pretty effective in stopping me at speed!
Jumping on a little late to this thread, I've had a quote on a remap from ModUrStang already, but how much was the cold air intake?
Also, is the remap only worth doing if you're going to then use 99 octane? Can you map for regular fuel?
LCA's where a good mod, I also got larger Stop Tech front brakes done for around £550.
Seem pretty effective in stopping me at speed!
Sorry - only just seen this reply.
ModUrStang seems to be the go-to guy in the scene. I've only bought parts off him though as I have my own garage I use and I'd struggle to get the time to go up to him.
You can remap for any type of fuel, they ask you to specify. I just said 99 without realising only Shell really sell it in the UK. You can do it for 95, 97 or 99.
I got my (new) CAI from a member of the MoCGB and was about £150 delivered but I'd probably expect to pay about £250-£300 if you buy one from a shop.
For the remap you need a tuner, again I got mine (second hand) from a member on MoCGB and paid about £150 but they are quite expensive new. The actual tune was only about £75 and was emailed to me. I then loaded it onto the tuner and did it myself (really easy). The tuning company ask you for loads of stuff (engine codes, serial numbers, mods etc....).
CAI and remap are well worth the £350-£500 it costs, completely removes the throttle lag (which is pretty bad from stock).
I'm still not happy with my brakes (after a fluid change), they're pants compare to my Boxster but the mod most people seem to go for is the GT500 brakes which can come in at around £2k (which I'm not prepared to pay).
I'm coming up to nearly 2 years of ownership now so thought I'd put down a few thoughts on the car.
First off the car is my only car, it's used every day (rain or shine). It's a complete and utter nightmare in anything other than dry weather. The slightest bit of rain on the road really does make the handling a bit hairy. It'll easily throw the back end out doing 10 mph and 1/3rd throttle in 2nd gear so you really do have to watch yourself.
In the dry it's a completely different story, and although I don't have any of the confidence I had in my Boxster the handling isn't completely awful. It boats about a bit but the LHD and basic-ness of everything certainly makes it quite a raw experience.
Power is somewhere around 330bhp, and every gear has massive amounts of power. Providing you can put it down on the road (dry and warm) it certainly pushes you back into the seat and gives you a real thrill.
LHD isn't as much of an issue as you'd expect. I'm completely use to it now and jump between my Mustang and RHD cars daily without any problems. The only annoyance is the rear windows being tinted black meaning joining motorways can be a bit hairy. I tend to have to really look out for a gap between two cars and then use the ample power to ensure I make that gap.
The interior is basic and it's not plush or well done so that's annoying, but I knew that buying the car. It feels like a 11 year old Ford so the inside looks like crap.
The noise and looks I still love to this day, and I'm constantly being photographed and asked about the car. Children and parents stop what they are doing to point and stare and it really does put a massive smile on my face every time I drive it.
The running costs - now this is the bit I was expecting to make me cry, but it's nothing like that at all. Servicing is nice and easy, I have a trusted local garage who like these sort of cars and everything has been pretty cheap. It's annoying now to be able to get parts off the shelf, and ordering most things from the US means paying £20 postage for even the smallest thing.
It's had a few minor MOT failures but nothing that any normal car wouldn't throw at you. I'd say my total garage bills for repairs, services (2) and MOT (2) have been about £500 over the 2 years.
MPG isn't quite as good - I tend to average 12-14 US MPG on a wide range of roads. My morning commute of 4 miles in stop start rush hour traffic is easily sub 10 MPG. Thankfully I only do about 5k per year so none of these figures actually end up costing me that much.
The best running cost of all is the fact the car completely refuses to lose any money. Looking at recent sale prices I'd likely make a small profit, or at least break even on the car if I was to sell now. The lack of depreciation means that the car is actually stupidly cheap to run - seriously, this is both great and a massive pain as it means I'm stuck on what to replace it with.
I'm left in the awkward position of not knowing what to do with the car. I love it, every day I drive it I enjoy the experience. The interior annoys the hell out of me and the fact I can rarely actually use all the power is a pain.
The option of getting a newer one (2010 onwards) with the 5l 410bhp V8 engine is one I've considered, but it would probably end up costing me my car and about another £10k, and I'd still end up with a pretty basic interior and a car that struggles with the UK roads and winter conditions.
I've considered pretty much every other car, but the fact they all cost significantly more if I make a decent step up is annoying. I don't really want to spend more money than I already have in the car and anything I buy will instantly start to lose money. A decent 997 911 or similar sort of performance car is going to set me back my car and at least £10k. Moving away from a Mustang also means I lose the 'experience' and wow factor that I get from the looks, sound and rarity of my car.
Which brings me back to just sticking with mine, keeping it until the brand new RHD Mustang model hits sensible (£20k) money, that's going to be 3-4years and I'm not sure I want to keep it that long.
TL : DR - Still love the car, handling in the wet and interior suck. It costs Fiesta money to run so no possible sensible way to upgrade away from it - therefor no idea what to get next.
First off the car is my only car, it's used every day (rain or shine). It's a complete and utter nightmare in anything other than dry weather. The slightest bit of rain on the road really does make the handling a bit hairy. It'll easily throw the back end out doing 10 mph and 1/3rd throttle in 2nd gear so you really do have to watch yourself.
In the dry it's a completely different story, and although I don't have any of the confidence I had in my Boxster the handling isn't completely awful. It boats about a bit but the LHD and basic-ness of everything certainly makes it quite a raw experience.
Power is somewhere around 330bhp, and every gear has massive amounts of power. Providing you can put it down on the road (dry and warm) it certainly pushes you back into the seat and gives you a real thrill.
LHD isn't as much of an issue as you'd expect. I'm completely use to it now and jump between my Mustang and RHD cars daily without any problems. The only annoyance is the rear windows being tinted black meaning joining motorways can be a bit hairy. I tend to have to really look out for a gap between two cars and then use the ample power to ensure I make that gap.
The interior is basic and it's not plush or well done so that's annoying, but I knew that buying the car. It feels like a 11 year old Ford so the inside looks like crap.
The noise and looks I still love to this day, and I'm constantly being photographed and asked about the car. Children and parents stop what they are doing to point and stare and it really does put a massive smile on my face every time I drive it.
The running costs - now this is the bit I was expecting to make me cry, but it's nothing like that at all. Servicing is nice and easy, I have a trusted local garage who like these sort of cars and everything has been pretty cheap. It's annoying now to be able to get parts off the shelf, and ordering most things from the US means paying £20 postage for even the smallest thing.
It's had a few minor MOT failures but nothing that any normal car wouldn't throw at you. I'd say my total garage bills for repairs, services (2) and MOT (2) have been about £500 over the 2 years.
MPG isn't quite as good - I tend to average 12-14 US MPG on a wide range of roads. My morning commute of 4 miles in stop start rush hour traffic is easily sub 10 MPG. Thankfully I only do about 5k per year so none of these figures actually end up costing me that much.
The best running cost of all is the fact the car completely refuses to lose any money. Looking at recent sale prices I'd likely make a small profit, or at least break even on the car if I was to sell now. The lack of depreciation means that the car is actually stupidly cheap to run - seriously, this is both great and a massive pain as it means I'm stuck on what to replace it with.
I'm left in the awkward position of not knowing what to do with the car. I love it, every day I drive it I enjoy the experience. The interior annoys the hell out of me and the fact I can rarely actually use all the power is a pain.
The option of getting a newer one (2010 onwards) with the 5l 410bhp V8 engine is one I've considered, but it would probably end up costing me my car and about another £10k, and I'd still end up with a pretty basic interior and a car that struggles with the UK roads and winter conditions.
I've considered pretty much every other car, but the fact they all cost significantly more if I make a decent step up is annoying. I don't really want to spend more money than I already have in the car and anything I buy will instantly start to lose money. A decent 997 911 or similar sort of performance car is going to set me back my car and at least £10k. Moving away from a Mustang also means I lose the 'experience' and wow factor that I get from the looks, sound and rarity of my car.
Which brings me back to just sticking with mine, keeping it until the brand new RHD Mustang model hits sensible (£20k) money, that's going to be 3-4years and I'm not sure I want to keep it that long.
TL : DR - Still love the car, handling in the wet and interior suck. It costs Fiesta money to run so no possible sensible way to upgrade away from it - therefor no idea what to get next.
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As with any car there is a 'rock bottom'. The classics (60's and 70's) go for big money and the rubbish stuff in the 80's and 90's still go for £3k-£8k.
A base 2005 V6 will still go for £10k and that instantly makes the V8's worth £12k-£14k.
So far the new models have had 0 impact on the price of my model really, someone looking at a £15k 2005 V8 isn't also going to be eyeing up a £45k RHD new one. There is a big gap in the market currently, you basically have the following;
£10k - V6
£12k-£15k - 2005-2007 V8
£15k-£20k - 2008-2010 V8
£20k-£25k - 2011-2014 V8
£25k-£40k - the odd rare special, Shelby, no miles garage queen car or dreamer
£40k - new model
The new model has a lot of money to lose before it starts to impact the top end of the S197 stuff (£25k).
My car was imported into the country in 2007 (at 2 years old) for £18k, the owner had it for 7 years and lost about £5k in that time.
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I have much the same experience as you after one year, but I don't feel I lose the back quite as much... but maybe in the wet my self preservation takes over and I generally don't floor it, but rather lower the power down.
Have you had the Lower Control Arms changed from stock? It was THE main mod I was told to do and it certainly makes the car more stable. For example the most notable thing for me, before, pull away in a hurry, spin the back up and the rear kicks out. Now, it still spins up, but stays put more often than not. Only around £120 for the pair to be done.
Also, don't forget, it's 2011 onwards that the engines changed. I went for 2010 V8 over a 2011 V6 I had an eye on, despite the V6 having similar bhp and better mpg, and very pleased I did.
Have you had the Lower Control Arms changed from stock? It was THE main mod I was told to do and it certainly makes the car more stable. For example the most notable thing for me, before, pull away in a hurry, spin the back up and the rear kicks out. Now, it still spins up, but stays put more often than not. Only around £120 for the pair to be done.
Also, don't forget, it's 2011 onwards that the engines changed. I went for 2010 V8 over a 2011 V6 I had an eye on, despite the V6 having similar bhp and better mpg, and very pleased I did.
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Hi there
Glad your enjoying her!
Your complaints of lack of grip, have you done any suspension modifications at all to the car and what tyres are you running?
I only ask because I owned my S197 Mustang for over 4 years with over 500 horsepower, it too was driven daily including winter conditions.
The S197 completely stock is poor at putting power down and not so great at corners either, but some simple modifications to the suspension really improve traction and ability, plus decent tyres will do wonders for wet traction.
With 330BHP with some suspension and tyre you could put all that power down even in wet conditions without issue. On my S197 I did things back to front, I went straight in at 500+ horsepower and the thing was absolutely completely wild, spinning the tyres even in 4th in the dry. Suspension and tyres results in no more spinning the wheels even in 2nd at full throttle in the dry and I could deploy all 575BHP in the wet as well 3rd gear up.
Glad your enjoying her!
Your complaints of lack of grip, have you done any suspension modifications at all to the car and what tyres are you running?
I only ask because I owned my S197 Mustang for over 4 years with over 500 horsepower, it too was driven daily including winter conditions.
The S197 completely stock is poor at putting power down and not so great at corners either, but some simple modifications to the suspension really improve traction and ability, plus decent tyres will do wonders for wet traction.
With 330BHP with some suspension and tyre you could put all that power down even in wet conditions without issue. On my S197 I did things back to front, I went straight in at 500+ horsepower and the thing was absolutely completely wild, spinning the tyres even in 4th in the dry. Suspension and tyres results in no more spinning the wheels even in 2nd at full throttle in the dry and I could deploy all 575BHP in the wet as well 3rd gear up.
Soldato
- Joined
- 6 Nov 2002
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- 9,878
- Location
- London UK
What tyres do you have fitted?
Yes it's very easy to get the back out intentionally when wanted but don't understand why you are finding it such a nightmare. I've used mine for almost 8 years in all weathers (including snow/ice) and never really struggled that badly.
Soldato
- Joined
- 6 Nov 2002
- Posts
- 9,878
- Location
- London UK
I think Gibbo has nailed it, must be suspension setup. I swapped mine out for roush springs and tokico shocks/dampeners not long after I got it.