The weather gods hate me.

by "Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
Published 09/19/2017 at 19:27

Tags: will alibrandi ; GT350 ; Shelby Mustang
STARS: 2

Ford dropped a GT350 here for a week to review, and it’s been raining all day. Dammit. (Same day Ballaban posted an article about the 350R. Weird.) Initial impression is ohmygoddoesthissoundamazing . And it’s fast. Like, stupid fast. Ask any questions and I’ll try to answer without sounding like a total Ford fanboy.

Replies (30)

"Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner" (gavinharter30)
09/19/2017 at 19:43, STARS: 1

Have you crashed it at a cars and coffee yet?

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
09/19/2017 at 19:45, STARS: 1

If you could swap the engine into any normal, non-enthusiast car with no other supporting mods, what would you pick?

Also let me drive it plz

"BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo" (bluemazda2)
09/19/2017 at 19:55, STARS: 1

Which is the best color for the GT350 and why is it Avalanche Grey?

"Milky" (jordanmielke)
09/19/2017 at 20:01, STARS: 0

Why haven’t they refreshed it? I think its weird that this and the Raptor seemingly have no plan to get the base vehicle’s new look.

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 20:21, STARS: 0

What’s different? I haven’t been keeping up.

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 20:22, STARS: 1

Come on, I just got it today. Give me time. (weekend is coming!)

"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
09/19/2017 at 20:23, STARS: 0

How is it in the rain? We get tons of that around here, and my dad might be picking up a GT350 next year...

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 20:23, STARS: 1

I have this ridiculous idea of swapping in a 5 liter Coyote out of a wrecked GT into my ‘08 Town Car. The 5.2 would be even more ridiculous.

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 20:24, STARS: 1

Blerg. Grabber Blue is the business.

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 20:28, STARS: 1

Well the smart move is DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT SHUTTING OFF THE TRACTION CONTROL. (duh?) That, for the most part, should keep you from becoming one with a tree. Maybe.

If you try to drive with any kind of gusto in the wet, you will break the tires loose, esp in turns, and the back will step out a bit but TC will save yer arse.

"Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner" (gavinharter30)
09/19/2017 at 20:30, STARS: 1

Basically the looks and updated transmission (10 speed in the raptor). In full honesty, I like the previous designs better

"BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo" (bluemazda2)
09/19/2017 at 20:40, STARS: 0

Grabber Blue is nice, but Avalanche Grey gets a 17/10 in my book.

"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
09/19/2017 at 20:48, STARS: 0

The new face is the Shelby face. Like the last model.

"Milky" (jordanmielke)
09/19/2017 at 20:54, STARS: 0

New bumpers and lights along with a lower hood.

I wonder if they’re just skipping a year for the Shelby to get the refresh.

"JR1" (type35bugatti)
09/19/2017 at 20:57, STARS: 0

Would a GT350 convertible fit this cars character

"Milky" (jordanmielke)
09/19/2017 at 20:58, STARS: 0

2018 ‘stangs get new lights and a lower hood. The Shelby def has the “old” lights.

"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
09/19/2017 at 21:04, STARS: 0

Reminds me of autocrossing a 435i xDrive in a torrential downpour – the concrete paddock turned into a lake! The back end stepped out just a bit in the slalom a couple times, but it was quickly corrected. That day was a definite highlight hehe

Anyways, how would you say the GT350 is as a daily driver? (bar snow or temps below the tires’ boundaries, of course!)

"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
09/19/2017 at 21:05, STARS: 1

Honestly, both of those vehicles to my eyes have horrid refreshes so this makes me happy.

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
09/19/2017 at 21:32, STARS: 1

My guess would be that it’s just waiting a year for the refresh.

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 23:13, STARS: 1

Only had it since this afternoon, but no deal-breakers yet. The clutch pedal is low effort, but feels like it doesn’t want to come up quickly. Never encountered that before.

"Variance" (Variance)
09/19/2017 at 23:15, STARS: 1

Gas mileage aside, it’s a fantastic daily. Seats are comfortable, Magneride suspension is surprisingly compliant, and the car doesn’t particularly mind being driven “easy”, unlike some other track-focused cars.

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/19/2017 at 23:17, STARS: 1

I don’t think so; it’s too firmly sprung for a vert. IMO that takes away from the top-down cruising aspect of the car. But now the ‘18 is up to 460hp so the power gap is a bit less.

"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
09/19/2017 at 23:27, STARS: 0

Does the clutch still have that sort of “two-step” feel when you release the pedal?

"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
09/19/2017 at 23:30, STARS: 0

Music to my ears! Are those the ‘comfort’ (i.e. cooled) seats, or the Recaros?

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/20/2017 at 07:44, STARS: 0

No, it feels pretty linear but it does take a little getting used to. It engages kinda high off the floor, but that could be it having 11k miles and driven hard by a whole bunch of auto journalists?

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
09/20/2017 at 10:21, STARS: 1

Update to this morning’s pre-coffee reply: Yes it definitely does have the two-step feel to it.

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
09/20/2017 at 17:16, STARS: 0

Original looks better.

"Variance" (Variance)
09/20/2017 at 17:47, STARS: 0

The Recaros; I refused to buy the car without them.

I realized I should add a caveat regarding the ride quality, however: my other car is a Lotus Elise, so my definition of “compliant” may be different from a lot of people’s.

"Variance" (Variance)
09/20/2017 at 17:50, STARS: 1

I actually removed my clutch pedal spring for specifically this reason. It’s a two-stage setup that made the pedal feel janky as hell; I felt like I couldn’t drive worth a damn until I got rid of it.

"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
09/20/2017 at 18:38, STARS: 0

Haha perhaps! Still valuable info, though. You can only get so much from a test-drive...