Honky!


I'm not really a fan of white cars. Had one once but it only lasted 6 mos till I traded. But the black contrast does look good like you said. And I agree, the white GT/CS with black stripe like Ed's looked great!

 

I just have a hard time thinking of a GT500 having a glass roof. I won't have one on mine, and part of the reason was the heat, part of it was the extra weight, part of it was the cost and part of it was the higher insurance premium (not a lot, but it was something I had to consider). I also love the stripes over the entire car. It just doesn't look right (to me) if the hood and trunk lid are striped, but the entire cabin isn't. Again, that's just me and I'm not at all criticizing anyone's choice in a glass roof. I'd love to trade keys for 15 minutes with someone who orders one to see what it's like to drive one with a see-through roof.

 

My wife has the glass roof on her GT, I love it too.

Is that your car pictured in your avatar? If so, where is the front license plate ?

 

For me it's the SVT Performance Pack and Track Pack. I want the GT500 to perform at it's best right out of the box. Anything else is a nice to have.

 

SVT Pack + Track Pack + Recaros

Can't imagine ordering one any other way.

Glass Roof? Not on a high performance car.
Electronics Package? Not when you have an iPhone or Android with 16-32 GB of songs plus apps like Pandora and Spotify.
NAV? See above.

 

That's ghetto!! LOL

 

I hear a lot of people claim this but never see the proof behind the performance loss. I understand the weight but CG is still a bit negotiable as far as effectively being a problem. Not really arguing but its not like you're replacing a carbon fibre roof. That said I still think you may be right but is getting the GR really killing the performance of a GT500?

 

I have a good answer for that. I was still driving on my temporary plate at the time I took the pic.

 

Not at all. I'm doing the same thing. The NAV in my phone is superior to the on board NAV that is already pretty dated to begin with. The Mustang uses the same unit from the 2010 model year and even the latest map update is still out of date. As for music I'd love to have HD Radio but since I mostly listen to my MP3 player it's a nice to have. Don't even get me started on climate control. That should be standard to begin with.

Oh and in order to use the cool functions of the factory NAV you have to have a Sirius subscription.

 

It's okay If you like your phone more than the EP, but it's still ghetto.

 

I'm ghetto too I guess.

 

Every Baller goes back to visit the ghetto every now and then. LOL

 

Gots to visits my moms.

 

If my GT500 was a daily driver I might consider the NAV but as a fun car it's not really required. Nothing ghetto about not having a touch screen.

 

I get the feeling (and am probably right) that the Track Pack will be similar to a 4x4 SUV
People who get them probably will very rarely to never use or need them.

We all see so many 4x4 SUV's that never see offroad, and some that see dirt roads that a 4x2 can easily handle.

I'm pretty sure many people who buy a 2013 GT500 (or even prior year GT500's) will never take it on a track. And the small percentage who do, won't have the driving abilities or care to push their car hard enough to even need or justify the Track Package.

That can to a smaller extent be said about the SVT PP too.
However, I'd feel that the SVT PP is justifiable.
The Torsen LSD itself in worth it not only for light track duty but for fun canyon carving too. The nicer wheels and shocks also make it a needed buy option on a performance car of the 2013 GT500's caliber.

Recaro Seats? Again, probably not needed for most of the people most of the time, but in the recaros I've sat in before, boy are they form fitting.
A worthy option to get in a performance car.

If you want a driving boombox to pick up the ghetto chicks, buy a ghetto car or some SUV and fill the back with 3 blocks away window rattling speakers and throw on the 24" wheels and hydraulics while you're at it. Otherwise, the GT500 is a performance car, Skip the Shaker Pro Audio 1000, blah blah. Enjoy the music of the engine/exhaust. And when you don't want to do that, I'm sure the regular radio with Sirius will do just fine.

Electronics Pack/NAV system? My guess 90% of people drive 90% of the time in areas they are familiar with. If you are part of the 10% who 90% of the time drive in areas you really don't know well, get the Nav. Otherwise, if you want a voice turn by turn largish screen NAV system buy a $149 Magellan, stick it in the glovebox and pull it out in those rare instances you need to know how to get to a certain address. Plus it's one less electrical thing to go wrong or look outdated in 10 years. In a 650 hp performance car, why, when the other options are so much cheaper and won't be costly to fix when the 3 year warranty expires.

Car cover? If you don't have a garage to park your pride and joy then it's a good option. Otherwise, stick it in the garage when not in use and worry not about the car cover.

Heated Seats? If your pansy-*** needs heated seats, you need to be driving a Lexus ES350 and hit up the Polo Outlet store while your at it for some pink and pastel colored shirts, you could probably pick up a nice scarf there too.


This leads me to this quote:

I don't know how anybody could say they haven't seen "proof" that adding extra weight to the worst part of a car (the roof) doesn't have an effect on CG??? That's ludicrous to even suggest that everything else being equal, adding more weight to the roof of a car will not affect performance.
It affects:
Handling
Braking
Accelerating
in short the 3 areas defined by "performance".

Do your own testing if you don't believe it.
Take a Vbox performance meter.
Do some accelerating tests, some braking tests, and some handling tests.
Then strap a 50 lbs bag of dog food (or any other 50 lbs item) to the roof of your car and go out and do the same tests all over again.
You will get a physics lesson as that extra weight will suddenly cause the car to pull more forward in braking, rock backward and slow the car in accelerating, and cause the car to roll more in turns.

A glass roof (one that doesn't have a sun shade) is also going to mean extra heat from the sun baking your balding head, and adding glare to your fading eye sight.
Is it needed in a performance car? I think not.


In summary:

SVT PP
Recaro Seats

That's it for the options list, unless of course you DO plan on hitting the track with your GT500 and you CAN also drive your new 650 hp performance car hard enough on said track to justify the Track Pack. But if you hit the track for some fun hot lapping at a very brisk pace but not gonzo (oops I just spun my car again) speed, the car without the Track Pack will do just fine!

 

I get the feeling (and am probably right) that the Track Pack will be similar to a 4x4 SUV
People who get them probably will very rarely to never use or need them.

We all see so many 4x4 SUV's that never see offroad, and some that see dirt roads that a 4x2 can easily handle.

I'm pretty sure many people who buy a 2013 GT500 (or even prior year GT500's) will never take it on a track. And the small percentage who do, won't have the driving abilities or care to push their car hard enough to even need or justify the Track Package.

That can to a smaller extent be said about the SVT PP too.
However, I'd feel that the SVT PP is justifiable.
The Torsen LSD itself in worth it not only for light track duty but for fun canyon carving too. The nicer wheels and shocks also make it a needed buy option on a performance car of the 2013 GT500's caliber.

Recaro Seats? Again, probably not needed for most of the people most of the time, but in the recaros I've sat in before, boy are they form fitting.
A worthy option to get in a performance car.

If you want a driving boombox to pick up the ghetto chicks, buy a ghetto car or some SUV and fill the back with 3 blocks away window rattling speakers and throw on the 24" wheels and hydraulics while you're at it. Otherwise, the GT500 is a performance car, Skip the Shaker Pro Audio 1000, blah blah. Enjoy the music of the engine/exhaust. And when you don't want to do that, I'm sure the regular radio with Sirius will do just fine.

Electronics Pack/NAV system? My guess 90% of people drive 90% of the time in areas they are familiar with. If you are part of the 10% who 90% of the time drive in areas you really don't know well, get the Nav. Otherwise, if you want a voice turn by turn largish screen NAV system buy a $149 Magellan, stick it in the glovebox and pull it out in those rare instances you need to know how to get to a certain address. Plus it's one less electrical thing to go wrong or look outdated in 10 years. In a 650 hp performance car, why, when the other options are so much cheaper and won't be costly to fix when the 3 year warranty expires.

Car cover? If you don't have a garage to park your pride and joy then it's a good option. Otherwise, stick it in the garage when not in use and worry not about the car cover.

Heated Seats? If your pansy-*** needs heated seats, you need to be driving a Lexus ES350 and hit up the Polo Outlet store while your at it for some pink and pastel colored shirts, you could probably pick up a nice scarf there too.


This leads me to this quote:

I don't know how anybody could say they haven't seen "proof" that adding extra weight to the worst part of a car (the roof) doesn't have an effect on CG??? That's ludicrous to even suggest that everything else being equal, adding more weight to the roof of a car will not affect performance. Sure in a 650 hp car adding 50 lbs (or more not sure how much more the GR weighs) is going to kill it's performance, but it's not a "needed" option for someone who wants a performance car but wants to keep the price down.
But the facts is adding weight, especially on the roof affects:
Handling
Braking
Accelerating
in short the 3 areas defined by "performance".

Do your own testing if you don't believe it.
Take a Vbox performance meter.
Do some accelerating tests, some braking tests, and some handling tests.
Then strap a 50 lbs bag of dog food (or any other 50 lbs item) to the roof of your car and go out and do the same tests all over again.
You will get a physics lesson as that extra weight will suddenly cause the car to pull more forward in braking, rock backward and slow the car in accelerating, and cause the car to roll more in turns.

A glass roof (one that doesn't have a sun shade) is also going to mean extra heat from the sun baking your balding head, and adding glare to your fading eye sight.
Is it needed in a performance car? I think not.


In summary:

SVT PP
Recaro Seats

That's it for the options list, unless of course you DO plan on hitting the track with your GT500 and you CAN also drive your new 650 hp performance car hard enough on said track to justify the Track Pack. But if you hit the track for some fun hot lapping at a very brisk pace but not gonzo (oops I just spun my car again) speed, the car without the Track Pack will do just fine!

 

I ordered mine on 3-21-12 at m.s.r.p. w/black recaros, glass roof and performance package. At 61,000 whats 1995.00 more for the roof.( no electronics p. ) if it was a convertible i'd get shaker system etc.

 

I agree with what you are saying even if you're a bit belligerent about it.

On the glass roof, I'm not arguing the physics of it with you as you are not wrong. But that weight reacts differently on different vehicles. It's not as easy as saying go strap 50 lbs on your roof. The ratio of weight, power, stiffness, braking power is very different on a GT500 then it would be on my Civic. Adding 50lbs to the roof of my under 2900 lbs Civic will be much more drastic a change than on a 3800 lbs GT500. Nice generalization though.

I guess the GT500 needs to now offer a Carbon Fibre roof like a true performance car.

 

Well as Driver72 pointed out, the vast majority of us aren't racing drivers, which means that the 50lbs on the roof of the car won't make all that much difference to us one way or another, unless we're the kind of drivers who like to overdrive our cars and end up plowing through every turn greater than 10 degrees (he called it gonzo, I call that talentless). I happen to be fairly decent in a car on a track and I can tell you that driving it to its limits doesn't mean spinning the car into the infield every other turn. The car itself is the limiting factor, not the driver. The better drivers know this. The glass roof's weight won't make more than a 2-3% difference in any of the categories he mentioned, so it's a wash to virtually everyone who gets one. I chose not to because I live in Texas, and if the car is not in my garage the sun will eventually damage the seats if exposed to direct sunlight long enough. I don't plan on getting rid of the car, so I had to keep this in mind when adding my options.

 

Good posting