NEARLY 2 YEARS WAITING: New Mustang GT PP is finally mine!
- Thread starter Gibbo
- Start date
Soldato
My neighbour gets his mustang in a few days. Haven't seen one on the road or in person so looking forward to checking it out.
Soldato
Looks stunning, congrats 
Soldato
Only just got back from my test drive as the sales guy was with another customer all afternoon, so it was fairly dark and tbh i'm slightly underwhelmed 
My seat ended up in the wrong place so I found the clutch really uncomfortable and I didn't find it very quick at all
So I've arranged for another test drive in the day next week.
MW
My seat ended up in the wrong place so I found the clutch really uncomfortable and I didn't find it very quick at all
So I've arranged for another test drive in the day next week.
MW
Soldato
Soldato
By any chance does the Mustang have an economy feature that shuts down cylinders to save fuel, the Mustang I drove only had 30 miles in the tank ?
MW
MW
Only just got back from my test drive as the sales guy was with another customer all afternoon, so it was fairly dark and tbh i'm slightly underwhelmed
My seat ended up in the wrong place so I found the clutch really uncomfortable and I didn't find it very quick at all
So I've arranged for another test drive in the day next week.
MW
The clutch is aweful, as I originally stated, the clutch assist spring has to come out otherwise it is just zero feel and makes the car unpleasant.
Its 415BHP that does 100mph in around 10s, it not quick like an M4 quick or GTR quick, you have to work for it. But also if you drove the car in normal mode the throttle will be very lazy and you will have bury the throttle to the floor for it to pick up and if it detects spin it will probably limit or take power away. Hence my suggestion for race mode, better throttle feel.
But I've done a few test now and compared to 911 the performance is very even so its not slow, but in normal mode you do need to mash the loud pedal to the floor.
If your worrying about economy now, V8 is not for you, check the ecoboost out.
It has no cylinder shut down mode, the absolute best you can hope for on a run between 60-80mph is 28mpg area and expect 15mpg in city driving.
Soldato
The clutch is aweful, as I originally stated, the clutch assist spring has to come out otherwise it is just zero feel and makes the car unpleasant.
Its 415BHP that does 100mph in around 10s, it not quick like an M4 quick or GTR quick, you have to work for it. But also if you drove the car in normal mode the throttle will be very lazy and you will have bury the throttle to the floor for it to pick up and if it detects spin it will probably limit or take power away. Hence my suggestion for race mode, better throttle feel.
But I've done a few test now and compared to 911 the performance is very even so its not slow, but in normal mode you do need to mash the loud pedal to the floor.
If your worrying about economy now, V8 is not for you, check the ecoboost out.
It has no cylinder shut down mode, the absolute best you can hope for on a run between 60-80mph is 28mpg area and expect 15mpg in city driving.
It wasn't a question regarding economy as such, I was trying to understand why it didn't feel quick. I thought maybe because they hadn't put any fuel in the car it was running in some kind of economy mode as I've heard some cars shut down the cylinders.
My next test drive might be in an automatic anyway
MW
HI there
So today I made a start on improving the rear-end of the car. Though the car drives great as I already mentioned in my more detailed review it can get floaty and when you do power oversteer from a corner, though it is progressive and controllable, there is a floaty sensation coming from the rear.
So today I started by installing BMR Vertical Delrin/Spherical links, these are advertised as helping reduce deflection and wheel hop with no added NVH.
Removing the old ones is very easy, wheel off, undo the 18mm bolt and undo the 15mm bolt, they comes right off. To make my life easier I had a jack under neath the rear hubs to support it so once I removed the vertical links all remained in place.
Stock vertical link VS BMR vertical link
The first thing you can see is the BMR looks a far more solid and stronger item compared to stock. Yet it weighs less due to being made from billet and is vastly stronger and uses much larger bushes that fill the entire space.
I used energy suspension lube everywhere as I had heard of some people getting knocks/clunks after vertical link installations, but those were delrin/delrin version and I had gone with spherical/delrin to help eliminate any noise/NVH.
The instructions say put the supplied top bolt in first and then the original stock bottom bolt. Doing it this way round meant I could not line up the bottom bolt to go all the way through and instead of using pry bars and going wild. I removed the top bolt to give me some more wiggle room for the bottom bolt, worked and the top bolt went straight in. Top bolt tightened to 81lb/ft and bottom bolt to 129lb/ft and used blue loctite on bottom bolt for safety, no need on top bolt due it using a nylock nut.
Test Drive
First thing, no knocks, clunks and zero added NVH, to drive the car feels hardly any different. But putting power down in 1st gear, wheel hop is reduced, the wheels just spin instead with less hop/judder, but have to say grip seems improved. Power oversteer feels more direct and the car feels more planted in the rear. Were talking all minor improvements in here, but a change for the better indeed and again at £100 cost they are well worth the price.
Picture of one installed:
Set aside 1-2hr for install!
So then it was time for the Steeda differential bushing insert kit. When accelerating hard, especially if you get wheel spin the whole differential bounces around in its housing and typically give a bit of a sloppy feeling, it also no doubt contributes to the rear end bounce a little as well and wheel hop.
These are very easy to install, first just support the differential with a jack, then undo the two rear subframe bolts by about 2-3 full turns. Now undo the bolts in the rear differential, one at a time. Put the bushing insert into the void, it will only fit one way and then re-tighten, getting a socket on is hard due to lack of room, so a 22mm and 18mm spanner is very handy. Re-tighten to 129lb/ft and also re-tighten rear subframe bolts also to 129lb/ft.
The front differential bushes are a little harder, you need to support the rear subframe with a jack and remove the front differential bolt on one side at a time. Then remove the bolt and replace with a shorter bolt. Then insert the bushing insert on the opposite side using the short bolt.
As this is a fiddly job it will take you anywhere from 2-4hr in driveway.
These bushes fill the void and help prevent the differential having excess movement, keeping it under far more control. The kit comes with red and black bushes, black being firmer, I went with red ones as again they claim no added NVH.
Picture of an insert installed and one not:
You can see that the stock rubber bushing allows the differential to have a lot of movement, no doubt for comfort, but it does no favours for control and wheel hop. These kits cost around £70 so are great value for money!
Test drive with BMR Vertical Links & Steeda differential bushing insert system
Now things become more noticeable, but not in a bad way, ride comfort is practically as it was and again there is no added NVH, something I am very sensitive too.
These two combined together and really got rid of a lot of the rear-end slop and rubberized feeling the car had. To be frank the car feels bloody awesome now in the rear with just these simple modifications, it is far more direct, the car just feels a lot more sharper whilst still also being the great tourer as comfort and ride quality is un-changed. If anything for me it feels better as the car feels a lot more connected, it bounces less, wheel hop is practically all but gone and power oversteer now the rear-end no longer feels like it is floating and if anything the car is more controllable on the throttle.
These pair of modifications together are superb, if you also feel your Mustang feels a bit rubberized and sloppy/bouncy in the rear and you have wheel hop and/or traction issues. Well give these parts a try because they reduce all of those symptoms.
This car just keeps getting better and better!
Monday I am going local garage to get the springs and dampers fitted, plus an alignment.
So today I made a start on improving the rear-end of the car. Though the car drives great as I already mentioned in my more detailed review it can get floaty and when you do power oversteer from a corner, though it is progressive and controllable, there is a floaty sensation coming from the rear.
So today I started by installing BMR Vertical Delrin/Spherical links, these are advertised as helping reduce deflection and wheel hop with no added NVH.
Removing the old ones is very easy, wheel off, undo the 18mm bolt and undo the 15mm bolt, they comes right off. To make my life easier I had a jack under neath the rear hubs to support it so once I removed the vertical links all remained in place.
Stock vertical link VS BMR vertical link
The first thing you can see is the BMR looks a far more solid and stronger item compared to stock. Yet it weighs less due to being made from billet and is vastly stronger and uses much larger bushes that fill the entire space.
I used energy suspension lube everywhere as I had heard of some people getting knocks/clunks after vertical link installations, but those were delrin/delrin version and I had gone with spherical/delrin to help eliminate any noise/NVH.
The instructions say put the supplied top bolt in first and then the original stock bottom bolt. Doing it this way round meant I could not line up the bottom bolt to go all the way through and instead of using pry bars and going wild. I removed the top bolt to give me some more wiggle room for the bottom bolt, worked and the top bolt went straight in. Top bolt tightened to 81lb/ft and bottom bolt to 129lb/ft and used blue loctite on bottom bolt for safety, no need on top bolt due it using a nylock nut.
Test Drive
First thing, no knocks, clunks and zero added NVH, to drive the car feels hardly any different. But putting power down in 1st gear, wheel hop is reduced, the wheels just spin instead with less hop/judder, but have to say grip seems improved. Power oversteer feels more direct and the car feels more planted in the rear. Were talking all minor improvements in here, but a change for the better indeed and again at £100 cost they are well worth the price.
Picture of one installed:
Set aside 1-2hr for install!
So then it was time for the Steeda differential bushing insert kit. When accelerating hard, especially if you get wheel spin the whole differential bounces around in its housing and typically give a bit of a sloppy feeling, it also no doubt contributes to the rear end bounce a little as well and wheel hop.
These are very easy to install, first just support the differential with a jack, then undo the two rear subframe bolts by about 2-3 full turns. Now undo the bolts in the rear differential, one at a time. Put the bushing insert into the void, it will only fit one way and then re-tighten, getting a socket on is hard due to lack of room, so a 22mm and 18mm spanner is very handy. Re-tighten to 129lb/ft and also re-tighten rear subframe bolts also to 129lb/ft.
The front differential bushes are a little harder, you need to support the rear subframe with a jack and remove the front differential bolt on one side at a time. Then remove the bolt and replace with a shorter bolt. Then insert the bushing insert on the opposite side using the short bolt.
As this is a fiddly job it will take you anywhere from 2-4hr in driveway.
These bushes fill the void and help prevent the differential having excess movement, keeping it under far more control. The kit comes with red and black bushes, black being firmer, I went with red ones as again they claim no added NVH.
Picture of an insert installed and one not:
You can see that the stock rubber bushing allows the differential to have a lot of movement, no doubt for comfort, but it does no favours for control and wheel hop. These kits cost around £70 so are great value for money!
Test drive with BMR Vertical Links & Steeda differential bushing insert system
Now things become more noticeable, but not in a bad way, ride comfort is practically as it was and again there is no added NVH, something I am very sensitive too.
These two combined together and really got rid of a lot of the rear-end slop and rubberized feeling the car had. To be frank the car feels bloody awesome now in the rear with just these simple modifications, it is far more direct, the car just feels a lot more sharper whilst still also being the great tourer as comfort and ride quality is un-changed. If anything for me it feels better as the car feels a lot more connected, it bounces less, wheel hop is practically all but gone and power oversteer now the rear-end no longer feels like it is floating and if anything the car is more controllable on the throttle.
These pair of modifications together are superb, if you also feel your Mustang feels a bit rubberized and sloppy/bouncy in the rear and you have wheel hop and/or traction issues. Well give these parts a try because they reduce all of those symptoms.
This car just keeps getting better and better!
Monday I am going local garage to get the springs and dampers fitted, plus an alignment.
Nope I have had mine down to 10 miles in the tank, no effect on performance.
The car is extremely refined, it can do 200mph and not fly apart unlike old Mustangs, they hide speed remarkable well, 90mph feels like 60mph etc. and power delivery is incredibly smooth. But saying that if you floor it 2000-3000rpm in 2nd gear it should just pin you and pull right to 7000rpm. Or you can be doing 30mph in 5th and floor it at like 1500rpm and the car pulls and your at 60mph in not time. But it is refined. This car is a little slower than my M3 in the real world, but in reality it feels a lot slower as the M3 is a lot more brutal due to how light it is and the SMG gear box smashing through the gears.
Drive the auto and make sure you absolutely floor it in 2nd say doing 30mph, once it has decided to kick down the thing should fly, even though its refined it is still 400+ horsepower and 400 torques.
For this car to feel properly fast it will need well over 500 horsepower and closer to 600BHP to be honest, if you want something that feels truly fast.
Soldato
Saw one of these on Thursday, look far better in the flesh, was the same colour as yours too, very nice.
Soldato
You don't hang around do you 
For very little money and just a little time both of those mods seem made a serious improvement so it'll be interesting to see the further improvement once the new suspension gets installed.
PS I surprised that the spherical on the Stock vertical link is showing rust already.
For very little money and just a little time both of those mods seem made a serious improvement so it'll be interesting to see the further improvement once the new suspension gets installed.PS I surprised that the spherical on the Stock vertical link is showing rust already.
You don't hang around do you
PS I surprised that the spherical on the Stock vertical link is showing rust already.
Pretty normal I find for suspension parts to show rust quick, just like differentials go rusty in colour in no time at all.
Nope I knew what I wanted to do before I got the car, I know the look I want and I knew about the weak areas others had complained about.
Yeah the new dampers and linear springs will be interesting, am hoping the ride comfort is not to badly effected by them, will know Monday. Will then aim to get the anti-roll bars fitted a few days later.
Associate
Looks slick. Congrats and when I have the money might join you!
Soldato
How does one put the car into race mode ?
MW
Use the mode switch, but the image is a US car, on UK cars they are opposite way round.
Mode options:
Normal: Lazy throttle, ECS only marginal slip, TCS some spin, normal steering weight.
Sport+: Normal throttle, ECS more slip angle, TCS more spin, sport steering weight.
Race: Sport throttle, ECS lots of slip angle, TCS off, sport steering weight.
Wet/Snow: Very lazy throttle, ECS no slip, TCS no spin, comfort steering weight.
I use normal for only greasy or extremely heavy rain.
Sport+ I use for wet conditions and Race I use in the dry.
Sport+/Race transform the car, make it feel a lot more awake compared to the default normal mode. I always set steering weight manually using the other switch simply as in sports mode it has less feel due to artificially adding more weight. So I select sport+ or race and then I put steering weight back to normal using other toggle switch.
If the sales guy won't let you drive it in those modes then simply floor it to the floor.
Soldato
I don't think the sales guy would know what I was doing, he hadn't even seen the puddle lights until I pointed them out
MW
MW
Soldato
Well, I'm in absolute LOVE.
Test drove the above, don't like the soft top. Nor the white. But wow, what a car! And the quality inside is just fine! Considering it's so cheap.
Test drove the above, don't like the soft top. Nor the white. But wow, what a car! And the quality inside is just fine! Considering it's so cheap.
Well, I'm in absolute LOVE.
Test drove the above, don't like the soft top. Nor the white. But wow, what a car! And the quality inside is just fine! Considering it's so cheap.
How many miles did it have?
Mine is nearly 500 miles in and the interior is rattling and falling apart.
Oh wait, its not, no rattles or anything.