NEARLY 2 YEARS WAITING: New Mustang GT PP is finally mine!

[Gibbo]

Stunning stunning car Gibbo, I must say initially I wasn't taken with it from your photos etc

But, I visited OC/UK today and there she was, what a presence, what a car!

I always thought your old 'Stang looked the business, this in the flesh is another level.

Lovely mate.



Some **** has nicked your front plate though

Thieving pikies!

I was out at lunch time doing the other side of the LED's, so I was sat behind passenger wheel so anyone entering OcUK car park could not see me sat there as I was rooting inside the front bumper changing bulbs.

The amount of people walking up to take photos and driving up to check the car out, also our IT director was watching the car on the works CCTV yesterday and said at one stage it had a group of people around it all taking photos.

So like you say in the flesh it has real presence, surprising considering I went for the understated look with the grey colour and chrome trim/wheels. Imagine what would happen if I had gone yellow or orange lol.

But thanks buddy, she drives as well as she looks.
I really want to fit the FRPP suspension simply for the looks as it drops the car 1-1.5" and I think lowered it will look 10x better along with wheel spacers. But am resisting as I want to get a real feel for the car on stock setup.


P.S. Car is filthy, salt and still not washed it, no wax on it either, waiting for a warmer dry day for ideal waxing conditions, gonna put project 32 on it as is good sealant and easily applied, plus it made the 911 look fantastic. Magnetics once waxed pop like crazy, stunning colour.

 

[Gibbo]

Any idea why we don't get the US style DRLs? That's a bit of a disappointment, how easy would it be to fit their headlights?

I can buy the DRL but RGB versions from USA for about $200.
I would then need to remove my front bumper, headlights, place them in an oven, break them open, fit the DRL's, wire them to my daytime running lights and put everything back together. Not a big job, just fiddly. Expensive at the moment labour wise if you get someone to do it for you, do it yourself and the parts are about £150-£250 delivered.

I am happy with the lights now, I just set my headlights to on all the time as the inner three DRL's then look illuminated anyway as they reflect from the headlight.

For now this will do as I simply am loving driving this thing to be worried about the very minor issues with lights, in a years time my wish of course is to make it so:

Front tri-bar DRL are active but with bonus of RGB and trailblazer front indicators like you see on latest Audi's.
Rear trailblazer indicators or sequential whatever you wish to call it. I might stick with clear lenses though as I quite like them, but changing to red ones is not hard should I fancy a change.

 

[Gibbo]

So have You looked in to softer Clutch spring options ?? Assume some mountain bike or something like that could do the job ??

For now Every day is a Leg day Shame its only 1 leg tho

I either need to find a spring that fits, or just contact a custom spring shop to have something made.

What I have found out is the stock clutch assist spring is around 150-190lb spring.
No wonder it makes the pedal so light and lacking feel.

So ideally I need to get something of same dimensions but in the 40-60lb strength region to get the best compromise.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there


Was not happy with the allignment on my bonnet, looked too pinched in centre and was sitting lower than front bumper, very hard to see, but well I knew it was there. Yet another failing on Ford's QC checks, the car might be great value but build quality on exterior panel allignment is an issue on these cars, though I've seen some far worse where it is so easily noticable. Luckily it is easily fixed by adjusting the bonnet catch and the bonnet stops.


BEFORE!

AFTER!

It is now flush with the front-end, an equal gap all across, we even measured everything to ensure absolutely spot on. Easy to do so kind of sucks Ford did not sort it to be frank when they built the car.

Also the chrome horse, is gone, for me it was making the front-end not aggressive enough, so now it has being replaced with a new horse, a black pony and I am very happy with result, front of car looks a lot more meaner and aggressive whilst still remaining completely factory specification.

Also a shot of the rear lights illuminated.

Weather has vastly improved to wet and warm, tyres clearly switched on, no more grease in them and starting to get more of a feel for the car, she handles above expectations to be frank and the LSD works very well and the front end really turns in very well and is very confident inspiring and I am finding feedback really not bad at all, to the point I can feel the road surface in the wheel, which I was not expecting as Dave reported his Shelby is completely lifeless on the steering and its not that I don't know what to look for I own a solid bushed M3 with hydraulic steering and have gone from a 911 (997.1) with hydraulic steering. The Mustang of course is not as good as either of those for steering feel, but it has feel and the weighting is spot on. I've managed to fully get on it second gear a couple of times now and wow does it shift it feels an incredibly strong 415BHP, I'd not be surprised if it has more horsepower than stated.

 

[Gibbo]

Isn't using V-Power a bit of a waste of money when the engine is designed to run on 87 AKI (~91 RON) regular gas?

Even normal UK unleaded is 4 octane points higher than it needs...!

Maybe, but the car is getting the best and Vpower supposedly has a lot of good detergents in it for engine cleanliness, maybe marketing BS but I intend on keeping the car for a long time, so its getting the best.

Plus in 6-9 months I plan to fit the Shelby 350 manifold intake, throttlebody and cold air induction with a remap for 98 Ron and 7500rpm. As this will take peak power from 415BHP to around 475BHP using all factory components.

 

[Gibbo]

After the drama you had with the M3, I'm surprised that you're taking the risk of raising the rev limit again.

This is the same engine from the BOSS 302, it has a stock rev limit of 8200rpm, Ford simply de-tuned the engine it seems on purpose, no doubt so the power would not be so close to the Shelby 350.
But lets see I might just skip this interim step and move straight to the supercharger kit anyway.

Being enough guys in the US running 7800-8200rpm limits on the S550 now for a year that live at the drag strip, stock engines, no failures. Like I say its the exact same engine from BOSS 302 which had 8200rpm limit with track key and had the 302 intake manifolds to raise peak power to 7800rpm. Plus I intend on letting the US guys get a couple of years on their engines pushing 8000rpm to see if any failures crop up but so far so good and my intention would be to instruct tuners to set limiter at 7500rpm (stock is 7000rpm) and not the 7800-8200rpm they offer.


P.S. But nothing is set in stone, I plan on no power mods until engine has a few thousand miles on it and I am watching how things go in the US and letting other UK guys be the guinea pigs. One UK customer is already fitting a Whipple super charger kit next week, be interested to see what power it makes on a UK dyno and how the engine holds with a 7600rpm limit whilst being supercharged with around 750BHP.

 

[Gibbo]

lol, its a brand new car! Even Sainsburys 95 is way better than it was designed for. Enjoy the sub £1 a lire goodness.

Stop trying to convince me to save money, your now making me think as the local sainbury's is less than a year old so freshly installed tanks and you are right its only 99p a litre.

Stop telling me all this common sense.

 

[Gibbo]

It it was set up for 91 that would suggest there are strong gains to be had by retuning it for 99?

US car are 435BHP stock on regular 95.
EU cars were detuned to 420BHP for emissions and UK cars 415BHP for RHD manifolds.

US cars with a remap and tuned for say 98/99 go to around 455BHP. So in theory a UK car with a decent remap would jump to 445-450BHP. So a good 30+ horsepower gain, of course warranty voided.

The Shelby intake manifold, throttle body adds a good further 30BHP on top of that but its all after 6000rpm.

For now I am just going to sit back and watch how tuning unfolds on UK cars considering a few UK owners are already gettings tunes from US and ordering super charger kits. Supercharger kits give a minimum of 675BHP and right upto 850-900 horsepower depending on throttle body, cooling and tuner.

 

[Gibbo]

I don't know. What's your opinion? Guess it won't matter anyway - I'm talking longer term effects'
Premium fuel has documented benefits for cleaning beyond things like RON.
But then you champion gearbox oil and it's 'fill for life' specification. My insight is 240k now. Different league of 'life' to what OEMs spec to.

Mate don't worry Vpower is staying in the car, I believe those additives Shell stick in Vpower are good for the engine and a few guys on the UK Mustang forum have said going between super market unleaded to Shell Vpower has had no impact on performance but their mpg has improved by a couple of mpg, some even went back to regular to make sure they were not imagining it and indeed they lost mpg again, back to Vpower and mpg improves again. So it cost more but it last longer and keeps the engine sparkling inside.

 

[Gibbo]

Just seen yesterday that Dreamscience have finished putting together their maps for both EcoBoost and V8 models. Have you looked into those Gibbo? They are very highly rated maps on other fast Fords.

Link please.

 

[Gibbo]

They are yet to update their website for the new Mustang stuff but there is a bit of info on their Facebook Page, if you message them on their either Jared or Carl will be able to help you further

Cheers have done be interesting to see what stock horsepower they are seeing and what gains they achieve.

 

[Gibbo]

If a remap on decent fuel gives you 475 ish I would seriously consider just doing that, and not going to the expense of a supercharger, chasing ludicrous power.

Would 600bhp + be useable to you on the road? For more than perhaps, a second at a time?

Dont think they will achieve that, 460 tops with just a tune for UK fuel and I am guessing 445BHP, depends on how they improve the low-end and mid-range though, might see greater gains elsewhere in the power band, not always about peak numbers.

My plans NA for the car is keep it simple, 350 intake, throttlebody and remap, cost around £1500 and put the car in the 475-500BHP region. Then when I want more I do the big spend and buy the Whipple kit which allows me to pick my power anywhere between 675-875 safely on stock engine, I would be aiming for 675 as be enough I think.

To hit 500BHP NA the US guys are fitting the Shelby intake setup along with manifolds, those going the de-cat route are achieving around 520BHP NA, to achieve more they would need cams, some engine work and a much higher rpm. Gets silly expensive to the point the supercharger kit cost less and gains so much more. Fitting the Whipple kit makes this car a 10s quarter mile car with 130mph+ terminals on road tyres, sub 10s on drag radials.

Never had trouble using 600BHP on the road in my last Mustang which had no LSD and narrower rear tyres.

 

[Gibbo]

HI there


Some more parts fitted to the car today, hood lifts and some colour added to engine bay:

BEFORE!

AFTER!

No more hood prop in the way and I even removed it. Blue coil covers which match the colour of the Whipple super charger, guess you can tell I am leaning towards a Whipple.

The hood lift kit also means closing the bonnet is easier as just lower the bonnet and let it fall using its own wait against the gas struts and it closes perfectly every time.













I then gave the car a real good clean, snow foam, followed by wash and then I allowed the car to dry by itself and no sunlight. Once dry my intention was to get a good sealant on the car and something I could use without putting any swirl marks into the paint. So I used Autobrite Project 32 sealant which is what the 911 was done in. What makes it so good is you literally spray it on the paint like a quick detailer on a body panel at a time, wipe it over and then turn the cloth and buff it off. Not only very easy to apply but also easy to remove and results in no rubbing or polishing kind of action on the paint. I managed to get two layers on today and already on a brand new car I can see the difference in depth and mirror/glass like look. It is great stuff.

Some photos:

Now I have washed and waxed the car I have being able to fully inspect the paint, no marks or blemishes, but unfortunately a small chip on drivers side rear quarter clearly from a stone, will ask Ford if they can touch it up, though it is not noticable I now know it is there.

The good news is the paint is completely swirl and marr free, no need for a detail or paint correction, just need to try and keep it that way and only using Project 32 along with two bucket method should certainly help, todays washing and waxing session did not introduce any marks into the paint.


Though it is hard to show here is a real close up of the paint:

Very happy with the car, yes it sits way too high and yes I really want to fit my FRPP handling suspension kit and fit my wheel spacers to get rid of those voids in the arches. However as hard as it is for me to resist I am enjoying the car on standard suspension for a few more weeks to fully understand how it handles from factory and to then start changing suspension parts one at a time.

 

[Gibbo]

Love it, and approve of all your modifications so far!

Cheers!

Do you approve of my idea to go supercharged?#

Just in case your not sure, watch this:

That is what 10.5s at 135mph looks like in the quarter and still on road tyres.

That Shelby got whipped!

 

[Gibbo]

you'll need a Supercharger when i meet you at the Pod

Bring a 10s car or go home, rules are you have to drive it there on legal tyres and drive it home.

Bring something on a trailer, with slicks, not road legal is cheating.

 

[Gibbo]

Dreamer X ain't winning jack in his Honda Jazz we all know that. What kind of times do the stock Mustangs run though?

Completely stock:
AUTO V8: 12.5s @ 113mph
Manual V8: 12.7s @ 112mph

Tune (460BHP) with suspension modifications (Vertical links, bushes etc):
AUTO V8: 11.7s @ 117mph
Manual V8: 11.9s @ 116mph


They respond extremely well to just a tune and some simple suspension modifications to eradicate the wheel hop when launching hard.

Of course the above times are from real owners who enjoy drag racing but it shows what the car can do out the box and what less than $1000 thrown at suspension and remap achieves.

Of course throwing a Whipple or Roush on them gives you a 10s car if you can launch it.

 

[Gibbo]

100%, really nice car, but those wheels let it down so much.

I am in agreement with you guys, it will look better when lowered, but of course darker colour (not black) and different design would transform the car.

But they will remain on the car for the life of the tyres, then I shall get decent tyres affixed to much nicer wheels which will then go on. But right now it makes zero sense to shell out for wheels and tyres whilst I have brand new tyres to wear out.

But I agree new wheels with more aggressive offset and dropping the car an inch will transform the look in a positive way.

Hey Gibbo, long time no speaky.

So you're back in the 'stang gang! Fond memories of your previous one fast one. I suppose that's the aim with this new one?

Hope all's well.

Sure is!

 

[Gibbo]

Bit weird that the mounts for the bonnet struts are there already. Do they come as standard elsewhere i.e. the USA? Are you going with new wheels? Made any decisions yet?

Gotta burn these tyres up first, but I have two wheel designs I like a lot in mind.

 

[Gibbo]

Looking great Gibbo!

Silly (perhaps) question, I assume any heavy modding will invalidate the new car warranty, if this is the case, are you minded to hang fire or just think **** it and mod away?






And your reputation sealed in these parts, I hope it was worth it. :/

Hence not touching the engine for a while, the rest is a case of I break, my bank balance pays.

Have you used line lock yet?

Nope, simply because it is my own car and well call me a wuss but I cannot imagine it is any good for the drivetrain?

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there


So today I decided to get back under the car again and get her up on axle stands, made incredibly easy with the Steeda jacking rails I must say, effortless to jack the car very high on the driveway now.

Even though I have no complaints about the transmission, it is a joy to use, I rate it better than my 911's gear change, but 2-3rd at over 6000rpm can on the rare occasion be a little hard to get 3rd if you going for a quick shift. So as I already had the Steeda transmission mount and transmission bushing insert I decided to get them installed.

I started with the transmission mount, thinking this would be harder as people say its hard to get off and to get the new one in you need to undo transmission cross member and drop the transmission an inch or two.

Well I decided to try without undoing the transmission cross member or lowering the trans/gearbox. I got the old one out and the new one in place all OK, yeah it was a little fiddly but it only took me about 45 minutes. I used a 10mm socket with several extensions to make it easy undoing and tightening back up.

I then did the bushing insert, support gearbox with a jack and undid cross member, this bushing is a real tight fit, it took a lot of persuasion, it would probably go in easier with something like WD40 but I wanted to only use the energy suspension grease which is very tracky and no doubt makes it a little harder.

Couple of images of the new parts and old parts:

You can see the stock part is a rather flimsy cheap looking item and you will also see I drilled a hole into the bushing insert to cut down on any potential NVH. So the drive, at first it is really hard to notice anything, maybe the gears a tad less notchy and slot in easier, but if the case then it is real slim. High RPM shifts seem spot on now, though before they were pretty fine, just 2nd-3rd you had to be mindful if doing it fast, so now its a bit easier.

NVH really quite unsure, I think there could be some which will be coming from bushing insert but I am not sure, so that is how minor it is, we shall see on my commute to work tomorrow as today I was simply having to much fun driving the car.

So the jury is out on these parts, I am not witnessing any vast change to how the car changes gear, it was always superb and still is, these parts any improvement is very minor and if they were over £100 I would not recommend them, as such the pair cost me £60, would I do it again, probably not as I found my gear change lovely, it still is but I cannot say this part has transformed the car in any way, it might for others and at £60 it is not breaking the bank. So make your own minds up but unfortunately it is not a part I can turn around and say OMG its made the car epic, or ruined the car, there is an improvement, but it is minor at best.

I was having some fun on a national speed limit road, now the Pzero's have got 250 miles on them and the fact it is 13c outside and wet/damp all of a sudden they are working quite well, full throttle in second gear and she just goes, even 1st gear traction in the damp is actually fantastic, this car can really get up and go from a dig. Loving the car in race mode to be honest, like my 911 the traction systems are dialed way out so they do not interfere, but I've not really pushed the car to hard yet. Then a guy came running out of his unit waving at me, I assumed me flying up and down the road upset him, but he was smiling, pulled into his car park and we got talking. His excitment was because he has a V8 Auto on order and cannot wait to get it, he also has a garage full of parts waiting to go on. Not only that he has a rather impressive garage, Lambo, GTR, Escort RS Cosworth, 911 and he just sold his M4, said he did not like it and the Mustang essentially replacing it. A good guy and someone handy to know as his business is working on cars, vans and trucks.

Couple of photos from tonight of the Stang:

A crowd started to develop, people only had positive things to say, they absolutely love it and it seems common that most people think the rear of the car looks very 60's Mustang and Aston Martin, not a bad thing at all.