Former 5.0 owner

As my wife really misses her convertible (we sold it when we had kids) and she's only got one more chemo treatment left I rented a convertible for her so we could drive around. Luckily for me it turned out to be a Mustang GT vert.

I was really impressed with the Sync system. I thought it was amazing. The quality of the speakers could be better though as I thought the sound from the audio system was only ok. Granted the audio system sounded significantly better than the craptacular HK system in my E46, and it was about the same or slightly better than the Blose in my old B5 A4.

Overall my wife really liked the car and the kids loved it. I thought the trunk and backseat would be a bit bigger than they were. Not that they were small, it's just considering the size of the car relative to say a 1 Series convertible I would expect a bit more room in the trunk and backseat, but I'd say both are ok. I guess I'm just disappointed it wasn't more, but it wasn't bad enough to complain about.

Ok, here's where I put my flamesuit on and risk being called all sorts of names. I did not like the automatic transmission at all. Every time I accelerated hard it seemed to bog down and made the engine feel as though it was a turbo since it took a bit of time for it to hook up and go.

My friend has an E46 M3 so after we put the kids to bed I headed out in the car again with my buddy. We went onto the highway and no one was around so we slowed to about 30 km/hr and did the honk the horn 3X and floored it. I was in an auto and he has SMG so no shifting was involved, just plant your foot. Now, after I honked the 3rd time he might have gotten his foot down a bit quicker than me, but it felt as though the tranny bogged and he got a bit of a gap on me. Once the tranny hooked up then the gap stayed the same but I didn't close before we came up on traffic and shut it down. We had already decided that we were not going to pass anyone going really fast.

I was also a bit disappointed in the suspension and the whole time my friend and I (we both rode in the Mustang, then the M3, then each in the cars separately) we wondering how much better a manual coupe would be. The 3.15 rear end and that automatic is not a combination I liked at all.

I think if we got a vert then I'd look at the V6 as I didn't think the suspension did a great job of controlling the weight and ower of the car. At least with the V6 it wouldn't have as much power. I'd also get the manual and my wife prefers manuals anyway.

What kind of shock upgrades do guys do to their Mustangs? I've put Bilsteins on my E46 and I love them. I thought each time I accelerated hard the nose of the Mustang came up a lot, and under hard braking it dove quite a lot. Significantly more than my car with Bilsteins.

Ok, I'd like to hear comments now. Good and bad about my experience. Maybe some guys here think I missed the boat and I'm an idiot, that's entirely possible. I guess I want to know how my experience with the car compares to what others think and how much of a difference could aftermarket suspension tweaks make, and more importantly I'd love to hear about what others think of the auto vs. manual in the Mustang.

WildPony619

When you tested it out, did you turn off traction control/advanced stablity or at least put it in Sports Mode. With TC on, sometimes there can be a slight pause when you WOT. With TC and AS off or in Sports mode, there is a much more noticeable difference in response. I have a 2011 GT auto and I have no complaints about the auto responding whatsoever. When I go WOT, more than half the time I can't stop burning out. I think the lack of response or slight pause that you experienced could be the computer trying to prevent losing traction when you floor it.

Former 5.0 owner

Hmmm, that might have been intelligent. No, I didn't do that. It seems so obvious, I can't believe I didn't think of it.

dragstart

Well.........................the fact you were street racing means you're somewhat lacking in the aforementioned intellegence.

Here's hoping for your wife's full recovery!

assasinator

dont feel bad. i have shifted from 2nd to 5th a few dozen times. car bogs badly when i do that.

next time put the car in the selected gear manually. ie, if going from a hit at 30 have it in 2nd. manually slide it to drive after you hit it. click it, dont use the detente.

WildPony619

That's ok. Just an FYI, the car defaults the TC/AS back to fully on when you shut off the car and restart it. It's the only thing I kind of find annoying but I figured it's a safety feature. With the TC and AS off, be prepared for your stang to come alive!

tim lester

Geez go easy on the guy.

brycerichert

I'm also kinda wondering what springs we'll need to put in the 5.0 in order for the nose not to dive under braking and go so far up under acceleration like my bimmer. it will be embarrasing at the track (plus, sucky for weight transfer) to have it dive so much.

I've got 550 lb. springs on all four corners of a 3200 pound e46 bimmer. What comparable setup would I need for springs (and strut combination to be a tolerable daily driver) to make it track worthy?

cdynaco

S197 Ford Mustang Anti-Dive Kit



http://www.stangnet.com/2009/04/03/s...anti-dive-kit/

first5.0

Wow. Sometimes I think people make a big deal about street racing because it's become 'the thing' to say. Remember this the next time you stomp on the gas.

brycerichert

There is a big difference between street racing and a little spirited burst now and then.

brycerichert

This looks like a kind of bump stop. Am I way off? How exactly does this work? What is the benefits of this over springs... I'd think I could manage weight transfer a little better with actual springs, no?

David Young

2011 Mustangs have over reactive traction control, in my opinion. Even my V-6 bogs down on fast take offs with the traction control on.

PTRocks

The link explains it pretty well. It's a replacement for one of the front lower control arm bushings.

To be honest, I'm not at all sure how this is supposed to limit dive though. It's doesn't appear to change the suspension geometry in the appropriate way.

PTRocks

The base suspension on the V6 has been described as being more floaty than the GT's. If you want a V6 I strongly recommend that you look into getting the Performance Pack which will be going into production in August. It will have the same stiffness of the GT, but with the lower mass.

dragstart

No. I know people who've been killed street racing. I know a guy wanted for murder because of his participation in a street race that cause a death.

It IS the thing to say, though.

I know where people street race here, and it's unbelievable! Potholes, side streets, telephone poles.

I work at a track where we have two safety trucks with all sorts of rescue tools staffed by well-trained rescue personel, one at the starting line, one in the shut-down. We have an ambulance staged in the shut-down. The shut-down is 1/2 mile long, and at the end is a catch system that cost $140,000 last year. Well lit, smooth, glued. Fiber-optic timing system, ($40,000). No false starts, no arguement as to who won. The timing system will pick the winner down to six digits. We don't care if you bet; I know of 5 and 10 thousand dollar races that I've started.

$20. Stupid to risk lives, your driving priviledges, insurance costs on the street.

You're a dumass if you do.

dragstart

I did.

ireallycare

lol. I despise people who street race or drive dangerously in public streets, but c'mon. He and his friend went on a highway and decided to test their cars when there was no traffic, then decided to stop because they saw cars ahead. Not sure how you can still flame that.

Nathan0490

Exactly... "Street Racing" is wrong only when you are endangering others.. When the road is completely clear and you are 100% (not under the influence of anything or tired) it is not bad. He clearly said they both shut it down before they came up on any traffic... therefore they were not endangering peoples lifes. People act like such tools sometimes.

Your wife is certainly in my prayers brother.

-N

Nathan0490

Good for you... no one cares about your flippin track or if people bet 10 grand on a race at your track.