DRIVEN!
8/19/04, 05:57 PM
#1
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I’ll start with driving impressions, since that’s what we’ve all been waiting for. Additional details about the car, the show, etc, will be added later (if requested). For now I just want to get this post in while the adrenalin’s still a flowin! FYI, my pony car experience is as follows: H.S. girlfriend drove an ’89 5.0 vert which I spent plenty of time in. My first new car was a ’99 V-6 auto, and I spent the first 2 months of this summer in a 2002 6 speed Z28 that I bought for my old man. So without further adieu…
Wetting the palette. Ladies and Gentlemen, this car can COOK, and man do I mean it.
I got my lap in 1 of the two black GT’s that were running at the time. You heard it here: Dump the clutch on this puppy and you WILL go up in smoke (I feathered it, per “Jason’s” request, but others who went before me lowered the boom and made quite a smoky mess). Grab second with some gusto and you WILL lay down a patch. I’ll level with you, I didn’t get her all sideways as I often do in the Z28 when I do a hard 1-2 shift, but it was definitely more than a “bark.” The Jury’s still out on whether it’ll break traction in the 2-3 shift since I simply ran out of road on the front stretch, and the rest of course was curves and cones (Amy and others can verify). :bang:
Torque. Solid, though not overwhelming. I left it in third for the last few curves just to see how it would pull even at low RPM and speed. Pretty impressive. The car will satisfy as daily driver, as constant shifting will hardly be necessary. The only even moderately disappointing facet of the drive was during my first (and alas, only) launch. I feathered her off the line, and buried the accelerator at about 5 mph. The response was a little sluggish. The Stang almost seemed to “think” while building up speed. A similar launch in the Z28 (which makes ungodly torque from 1500 to redline) would have planted me firmly in the seat. Here’s where it gets interesting though. As it built speed, the Stang seemed to pull even harder, and when I finally reached for second, she absolutely sprung to life. Those screaming tires were poetry to my ears. The back end hunched down, the hood bobbed up, and it surged forward like it was late for a date. Additionally, several folks who laid into the cars (I had a pleasant 1.5 hour wait along the fence just next to the course, so I saw dozens of launches) produced much more aggressive launches. I’m thinking the 4.6 simply lacks the bottom end grunt of the LS1. Torque numbers are lower and I would imagine the distribution doesn’t favor the bottom of the power band. So summing it all up, my guess is that the Stang may very well be as quick as the Z28; it simply needs to driven a little differently (read: launched at higher revs). Those of you who are more knowledgeable about modular motors may care to comment…
Handling. In a word, IMPRESSIVE. I don’t know how fast Amy, Shea, and others hit the cones on the backstretch (the consecutive ones, not the staggered ones before the speed bump), but I took them at 25-30 (there was not a ton of space between them) and I have to say the side to side transitions were simply stellar, IMO. Every bit as tight and planted as my V6 despite being a heftier and heavier car. The body roll was superior to the Z28’s. This pony simply knows how to stay level, and steering feel and response were excellent. It even LOOKS like it drives well from the third person view, as several others who went before me came around the corners pretty darn hot, and the car kept its balance without dipping excessively. I will say one thing that threw me off was the front/back suspension travel. The car does seem to bob up and down quite a bit along that axis. More so than my X’s 5.0, more so than my V6 (which didn’t have to power to hunch back like that anyway), and certainly more than the Z. Even watching others drive the cars. The upward/downward motion was quite pronounced to my eyes. Now I drive a LeSabre (among others), so I’m more than used to cars that “feel” fast because they dip way back like that upon acceleration. The problem is, the Mustang genuinely was fast (whereas the Buick is merely “dramatic”) though I can’t say whether or not it will run as quick as the Z since the bobbing motion clouds my assessment. Perhaps the car dips BECAUSE it is so powerful. Perhaps it’s indicative of the ’05 alone….perhaps all recent Mustang GTs. I’ll have to see what other folks think. Strangely enough, though the car will “lift” during acceleration, the “dip” was far more muted during braking. In fact, the nose dives LESS than my V6, which I had always considered have strong braking.
General Driving Impressions. This car has very “significant” feel to it from behind the wheel. I wouldn’t call it heavy, but it’s certainly a notch or two larger in sheer scale. I would compare the new Stang to the 99-04 in the same way we might compare the Dodge Dakota to other compact trucks. In essence, the 99-04 feels like a 7/8ths rendition. Despite the heft, however, the car’s handling, braking, and acceleration (with above mentioned caveat about the low end torque) are simply outstanding. The car felt incredibly buttoned down and just buttery smooth to drive. Honest to God, folks, that was perhaps the most noticeable distinction in my mind. My old V6 sounds like a thrashy lawnmower compared to the new GT. The Z28 feels like a mid 60’s GTO in comparison (not a bad thing, necessarily). The GT reminded me A LOT of yet another X’s BMW (a ’97 540i). The power is there, but the delivery is so refined that you wouldn’t even know it until you call it up.
It goes without saying, I’m just one guy with one opinion from but a single (short) lap behind the wheel. By all means, we should compare my feedback with Amy’s, Shea’s and others to see which parts of our assessments overlap and which parts diverge. Doing so should give a broader and more representative overview of the cars performance and driving dynamics. That said, I have not a single regret for ordering my ’05 (though the Concept rims look SO much better than the Bullits….GRRRRR!!!!).
I know it was only a short dance, but from what I’ve seen, she’s got the looks AND the moves. Overall, a most favorable impression.
:dance:
Wetting the palette. Ladies and Gentlemen, this car can COOK, and man do I mean it.
I got my lap in 1 of the two black GT’s that were running at the time. You heard it here: Dump the clutch on this puppy and you WILL go up in smoke (I feathered it, per “Jason’s” request, but others who went before me lowered the boom and made quite a smoky mess). Grab second with some gusto and you WILL lay down a patch. I’ll level with you, I didn’t get her all sideways as I often do in the Z28 when I do a hard 1-2 shift, but it was definitely more than a “bark.” The Jury’s still out on whether it’ll break traction in the 2-3 shift since I simply ran out of road on the front stretch, and the rest of course was curves and cones (Amy and others can verify). :bang: Torque. Solid, though not overwhelming. I left it in third for the last few curves just to see how it would pull even at low RPM and speed. Pretty impressive. The car will satisfy as daily driver, as constant shifting will hardly be necessary. The only even moderately disappointing facet of the drive was during my first (and alas, only) launch. I feathered her off the line, and buried the accelerator at about 5 mph. The response was a little sluggish. The Stang almost seemed to “think” while building up speed. A similar launch in the Z28 (which makes ungodly torque from 1500 to redline) would have planted me firmly in the seat. Here’s where it gets interesting though. As it built speed, the Stang seemed to pull even harder, and when I finally reached for second, she absolutely sprung to life. Those screaming tires were poetry to my ears. The back end hunched down, the hood bobbed up, and it surged forward like it was late for a date. Additionally, several folks who laid into the cars (I had a pleasant 1.5 hour wait along the fence just next to the course, so I saw dozens of launches) produced much more aggressive launches. I’m thinking the 4.6 simply lacks the bottom end grunt of the LS1. Torque numbers are lower and I would imagine the distribution doesn’t favor the bottom of the power band. So summing it all up, my guess is that the Stang may very well be as quick as the Z28; it simply needs to driven a little differently (read: launched at higher revs). Those of you who are more knowledgeable about modular motors may care to comment…
Handling. In a word, IMPRESSIVE. I don’t know how fast Amy, Shea, and others hit the cones on the backstretch (the consecutive ones, not the staggered ones before the speed bump), but I took them at 25-30 (there was not a ton of space between them) and I have to say the side to side transitions were simply stellar, IMO. Every bit as tight and planted as my V6 despite being a heftier and heavier car. The body roll was superior to the Z28’s. This pony simply knows how to stay level, and steering feel and response were excellent. It even LOOKS like it drives well from the third person view, as several others who went before me came around the corners pretty darn hot, and the car kept its balance without dipping excessively. I will say one thing that threw me off was the front/back suspension travel. The car does seem to bob up and down quite a bit along that axis. More so than my X’s 5.0, more so than my V6 (which didn’t have to power to hunch back like that anyway), and certainly more than the Z. Even watching others drive the cars. The upward/downward motion was quite pronounced to my eyes. Now I drive a LeSabre (among others), so I’m more than used to cars that “feel” fast because they dip way back like that upon acceleration. The problem is, the Mustang genuinely was fast (whereas the Buick is merely “dramatic”) though I can’t say whether or not it will run as quick as the Z since the bobbing motion clouds my assessment. Perhaps the car dips BECAUSE it is so powerful. Perhaps it’s indicative of the ’05 alone….perhaps all recent Mustang GTs. I’ll have to see what other folks think. Strangely enough, though the car will “lift” during acceleration, the “dip” was far more muted during braking. In fact, the nose dives LESS than my V6, which I had always considered have strong braking.
General Driving Impressions. This car has very “significant” feel to it from behind the wheel. I wouldn’t call it heavy, but it’s certainly a notch or two larger in sheer scale. I would compare the new Stang to the 99-04 in the same way we might compare the Dodge Dakota to other compact trucks. In essence, the 99-04 feels like a 7/8ths rendition. Despite the heft, however, the car’s handling, braking, and acceleration (with above mentioned caveat about the low end torque) are simply outstanding. The car felt incredibly buttoned down and just buttery smooth to drive. Honest to God, folks, that was perhaps the most noticeable distinction in my mind. My old V6 sounds like a thrashy lawnmower compared to the new GT. The Z28 feels like a mid 60’s GTO in comparison (not a bad thing, necessarily). The GT reminded me A LOT of yet another X’s BMW (a ’97 540i). The power is there, but the delivery is so refined that you wouldn’t even know it until you call it up.
It goes without saying, I’m just one guy with one opinion from but a single (short) lap behind the wheel. By all means, we should compare my feedback with Amy’s, Shea’s and others to see which parts of our assessments overlap and which parts diverge. Doing so should give a broader and more representative overview of the cars performance and driving dynamics. That said, I have not a single regret for ordering my ’05 (though the Concept rims look SO much better than the Bullits….GRRRRR!!!!).
I know it was only a short dance, but from what I’ve seen, she’s got the looks AND the moves. Overall, a most favorable impression.
:dance:
8/19/04, 06:13 PM
#4
I Have No Life
I love hearing this stuff...
MORE
Hope you had fun.
But now your probably itching more, cause you've had a short ride in it.
Its like crack,
they give you a taste..and you just want more
heheh
MORE
Hope you had fun.
But now your probably itching more, cause you've had a short ride in it.
Its like crack,
they give you a taste..and you just want more
heheh
8/19/04, 06:22 PM
#5
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the reason for the body pitching and rolling and yet still having a high level of adhesion is due to the design of the suspension tuning. ford embarked on a different strategy back in the 90's to abandon the brutally hard suspension settings for that last tenth of handling, but sacrificing the comfort of the car's ride. with some body roll and some pitching, you can have the best of both worlds: decent handling and a compliant ride over the bumps. it's good to hear that the gt had a balanced feel to it through the cones. was the electronic stability system on or off? jackg 90seville 95k
8/19/04, 06:26 PM
#6
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Originally posted by Proc@August 19, 2004, 6:06 PM
Nice post. I posted my driving impressions under the "Wow" post.
Isn't it a fun car???
Nice post. I posted my driving impressions under the "Wow" post.
Isn't it a fun car???
Absolutely loved it. Never grew tired of that exhaust note either. I can't believe some folks got to third in the accelleration run....I must be losing it :bang:
8/19/04, 06:28 PM
#7
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Originally posted by justgreat@August 19, 2004, 6:25 PM
the reason for the body pitching and rolling and yet still having a high level of adhesion is due to the design of the suspension tuning. ford embarked on a different strategy back in the 90's to abandon the brutally hard suspension settings for that last tenth of handling, but sacrificing the comfort of the car's ride. with some body roll and some pitching, you can have the best of both worlds: decent handling and a compliant ride over the bumps. it's good to hear that the gt had a balanced feel to it through the cones. was the electronic stability system on or off? jackg 90seville 95k
the reason for the body pitching and rolling and yet still having a high level of adhesion is due to the design of the suspension tuning. ford embarked on a different strategy back in the 90's to abandon the brutally hard suspension settings for that last tenth of handling, but sacrificing the comfort of the car's ride. with some body roll and some pitching, you can have the best of both worlds: decent handling and a compliant ride over the bumps. it's good to hear that the gt had a balanced feel to it through the cones. was the electronic stability system on or off? jackg 90seville 95k
8/19/04, 06:33 PM
#9
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Originally posted by Boomer@August 19, 2004, 6:16 PM
I love hearing this stuff...
MORE
Hope you had fun.
But now your probably itching more, cause you've had a short ride in it.
Its like crack,
they give you a taste..and you just want more
heheh
I love hearing this stuff...
MORE
Hope you had fun.
But now your probably itching more, cause you've had a short ride in it.
Its like crack,
they give you a taste..and you just want more
heheh
I may very well leave my '05 to someone this forum, since this cursed anticipation will likely kill me before it arrives :bang: :bang: :bang: Still, I got my fix for the day. But what happens next week :shock:
:crazy:
8/19/04, 06:33 PM
#10
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Additional details about the car, the show, etc, will be added later (if requested).
But thanks for your nice summary
8/19/04, 06:34 PM
#11
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Purple Hayz, thanks so much for sharing your experience !! That must have been so cool to have planted yourself in the car, and been able to jump on it. To think you had the opportunity to do this after waiting so long !! Come on October !!!
8/19/04, 07:18 PM
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Nice review. That sounds like a typical modular motor, you need some RPM'S to get it really going.
I sat in a GT with IUP and leather seats. It is awesome inside. The interior quality is way up from last model. The seats are the most comfortable I have ever sat in. The interior has more room and the seats have a lot of travel for taller people. The Shaker 1000 really thumps, it sounds great.
Would be nice to hear more. Like interior quality, room inside, your overall impression (not only driving stuff), ergonomics, nice features, what disturbed you (if this was the case), what surprised you etc.
8/19/04, 07:24 PM
#14
GTR Member
Excellent write up ans analysis!
The fact that you said the "he GT reminded me A LOT of yet another X’s BMW (a ’97 540i)" makes me really want to drive one the day it hits the lots.
The fact that you said the "he GT reminded me A LOT of yet another X’s BMW (a ’97 540i)" makes me really want to drive one the day it hits the lots.
8/19/04, 07:38 PM
#15
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Good write up's fellas
Let's head back up there tomorrow
Oh wait
When I got there in the morning it was freezing and started to rain a little. Glad it warmed up for everyone later.
Let's head back up there tomorrow
Oh wait When I got there in the morning it was freezing and started to rain a little. Glad it warmed up for everyone later.
8/19/04, 09:47 PM
#20
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Purple Hayz, the one significant thing you didn't talk about was the transmission. How was the shifter feel? Notchy? Balky? Or smooth and short like the higher end imports?
Great review otherwise though!
Great review otherwise though!