Kevindust

I just bought the following take off parts from a fellow local Mustang enthusiast with a 2007 GT500:
-18" x 9.5" wheels with SVT center caps
-springs
-dampers
-anti roll bars
-strut tower brace
-mufflers
-shifter with shift ****
-SVT sill plates

I was originally only looking for 18" wheels but this deal was too good to pass up because I paid $500 for everything. All the parts are in boxes from when the original owner upgraded his car with Ford Racing goodies. The wheels are boxed in bubble wrap, the suspension pieces still have part number stickers on them. The owner said he did the swap at 11000kms and never drove the car in the rain (much less winter...)

Questions:
-I know the wheels fit but the Ford Racing website mentions a steering stop when mounting 18 x 9.5 wheels on a car that came from the factory with 17"s, is this necessary?
-Is the strut tower bar a direct bolt on? i.e. Is it low enough to fit under the stock GT hood? (My car does not have the "Powered by Ford" intake cover)
-Has anyone done the GT to GT500 spring/damper/anti roll bar swap? Is it beneficial? I know the GT500 is nose heavy and engineered differently from the GT. If I'm doing the labour anyway, is it preferable to install (for example) lowering springs that are designed for a GT?
-Is the muffler inlet the same size on a GT vs. GT500? or is the full exhaust on the GT500 a larger diameter? I already have Flowmasters, just wondering if I can keep the GT500 mufflers as spares or if I should try to re-sell them.

I don't imagine there is much of a re-sell market for the stock GT500 shifter...obviously it won't go on my car (and I have an MGW waiting to be installed anyway.) Maybe I'll figure out a way to mount it to my computer desk so I can row through 6 gears while I surf the internets...

jodadejSS06GT

Not much info for you from me but the last line is classic!

whysoserious

Hey Kevin. Well, I would suggest that you do not use the springs or dampers from the GT500. Those were designed for a Mustang that weighs 3900 lbs with most of that weight over the nose. Now, the sway bars would be good additions. The 2010 GT track pack uses GT500 front and rear sway bars as well as GT500 lower control arms. The additions help to vastly improve the handling of the car. Not sure about the strut tower brace, as the regular GT has its own from FRPP that is different. Also can't tell you about the muffler fit. As far as the wheels go, they should be a direct fit with no additional modification needed. Did you get the stock GT500 tires with them? The stock 255/45 up front should be no problem, sometimes with a wider tire you run into issues with the steering. Rears are usually no problem with wider tires. Hope this help some.

Northwest GT

I just put a set of GT500 takeoff wheels and tires from Shelby and I haven't seen any indication of rubbing or clearance issues after a couple of months so far.

The Goodyear F1's are nice tires, but they sure are warm-dry weather treads. I still have the stock 17" wheels and Pirelli's, and I might keep them as "snow" tires. They always seemed to be pretty good in everything but deep snow.

Jaden

The GT and GT500 mufflers are the same.

Garyalpusa

No need for the stops. 275 35 18s, no rubbing....GA

NastyStang113

The GT500 mufflers are the same as an Automatic GT. The Manual and Automatic mufflers have different internal baffling.

ETNOATS

Whats the size difference between the GT and GT 500 front sway bar? I have a chance to pick one up for $50. Figure the swap would only take an hour or so. Can the GT sway bar be used on a V6?

whysoserious

It can. I remember seeing a video from newtakeoff.com where they took GT suspension components and put them on a V6 and it worked out good. Not sure on the actual size of the GT and GT500 sway bars.

Tsbird1994

Easiest way for the STB is just to test fit it, and slowly close the hood and check the clearances. They're easy to put on and off, and you could probably answer your own question within 30mins

Let us know what you find out

Kevindust

I had the STB installed in under 5 minutes and it fits nicely with no apparent clearance issues. There seems to be some debate about how beneficial the GT500 STB is (and I can't feel the difference with the 215/60/17 winter tires mounted) but at the very least it looks cool and only weights like 3 lbs.

Further research (on here and other places) agrees with what's been posted: the GT500 springs would not be beneficial and might even raise the nose of the car but the GT500 anti-roll bars should be a great mod.