Stage_3

I am pretty sure it is the latter.

m05fastbackGT

Burton, the more I notice how Marilyn's DIB has that deep, glossy mirror finish, the more I regret having TorchRed

FromZto5

6 years in October! Can you believe it?!?!?! It's almost like yesterday that I filled out my order sheet, checking mostly all the boxes, then waiting like a kid on Christmas eve, for her to arrive. But alas, she still looks (and feels) new, so I at least have that. There's still one blue piece of new car wrap plastic that I left on the inside passenger door lock to always remind me of how new she really was.

Hey man - thanks dude. Yes and no. My paint is indeed in that quality. Skrapmetal (user on here) has seen it in person a couple of times in town and in Des Moines and could vouche for it I'm an avid detailer (did it professionally in years past, before kids came - now I'm truly blessed lol).

But to answer your question, some pics are tweaked in Photoshop just to lower highlights/glare. Amongst those posted, these are the ones that are unaltered - the bottom two are from the "Latest Pics" thread and taken with a measly iPhone. The first one is taken by my Nikon DSLR.







Thanks Rocky!!! But you JUST committed blasphemy! Marilyn is NOT DIB! She's KONA BLUE. The one, the only, KONA BLUE. Only made in 2011 and 2012 for the S197 platform. Come on man!!!!

m05fastbackGT

Burton, I must be long overdue for my annual eye exam.. Also forgot that Marilyn isn't a 2013/14

Lou_n_Ada

What up Bro!! I see that you still have Marilyn!! I still have mine as well...7 years this past July. Anyway, it's been awhile since I have been on this site and thought I would check in. I hope all is well...Lou

FromZto5

hey Lou!!! Long time indeed! Yes, I still have her, and I think I will have her forever, or at least a very long time. Too much love and care went into her and is still going into her. She's "just" a 5.0, but she's my 5.0.

Lou_n_Ada

I know what you mean....besides, all that "love" cost us a lot of money :-) . For months, I wrestle whether or not to keep her and get me a new 2018 5.0 or even a GT350 or BMW M2. Anyway, I'm going to keep her and once I made that decision, I went ahead and bought me some Wilwood big brakes to go on all four corners. No, I'm not going to take her on the track, but with the types of wheels I have, the factory brakes just looked awful. I'll post pictures once they are installed next week. Good to "hear" from you...Lou

FromZto5

Lou! Share with me what brand, model, price on those Wilwood's... I might want to go that route too The small brakes bug me too.

Lou_n_Ada

Hey Bud...for the front, I went with Wilwood Superlite 6R Front Brake Kit w/ 13.06 in. Drilled & Slotted Rotors - Red Powder Coated...cost $1705

For the rear, I went with Wilwood Superlite 6R Rear Brake Kit w/ Drilled & Slotted Rotors (12.88") - Red Powder Coated...cost $1856

The rear brakes are being installed as I type this. Keep in mind that the factory emergency brake cable will NOT work and you must purchase the Wilwood Parking Brake Cable Kit For the rear Brakes. That's why the price is higher.

While I'm happy with how the front 13" rotors look, Wilwood does makes a front set with 14 inch rotors and I'm now kind of wishing I went that route. Brembo makes a 15" front kit with drilled rotors, but ****, they are close to $5,000!

I went with Wilwood because they were, IMHO, offered the best bang for my money while looking bad *** behind my wheels. I also have a friend who used to race cars and he used Wilwood and he raved about them. So that gave me added confidence to go with Wilwood.

It's been awhile since I've been on this forum, so I'm not sure about the rules regarding the naming of vendors...so if you want to know where I purchased my brakes from, let me know and I will PM you. I will say that I have found better pricing on ebay, but decided to go with a traditional Mustang vendor due to the high cost of this setup.

If all goes well today, I will be posting picture tonight.

Lou_n_Ada

Well...here are some pics of the Wilwood brakes

FromZto5

Lou - that looks amazing. Not sure what size wheels you have there, but I have 20" Niches... so I wonder if 14" rotors up front would work with mine. So all in all, you were out about 3k for brakes, plus install?

Lou_n_Ada

Hey Bro. I have 20s as well.

And yes on the expenditures. The front install was a breeze. Rear install was a ***** due to the disassembly of the rear axles. My mechanic was not a fan of how Wilwood engineered the rear brake assembly.

Stage_3

Very nice Lou.
Looks great!

Lou_n_Ada

Thanks Stage_3!!

Lou_n_Ada

A few more pics of my new brakes

FromZto5

Alright - some updated pics, finally. I got Marilyn fully detailed and she's wearing CG V7 spray sealant on top of DG Aqua Wax. Felt good to drive her and flex her muscles...

First pic is by my house - they're building another one right next to me. Ugh.



Next few - I found a great green wall downtown. Who knew blue/green would pop!!! Turned out great I thought.








Then some love to our forum -




Found an empty semi-alleyway.





The next few pics, I wanted to have Marilyn pose by her soon-to-be-sister... those of you following my other thread know she has a "sister" joining her stable soon.








That Firecracker Red really POPS!!!

(The Wrangler pictured is a JK though... the JL's are to the left and right)

m05fastbackGT

Marilyn looks so much better Burton lol. Btw: how's the ride comfort quality with the Niche Milan 20" wheel/tire combo? I plan on upgrading from my 20x 9.5" Steeda Spyders with Nitto G2 275/35/20" tires to OEM 08 GT500 18x9.5 wheels with Conti Extreme Contact Sports in 285/40/18 hoping that making the switch to a taller sidewall tire may help improve ride quality

FromZto5

Thanks Rocky! Yeah I didn't realize how much I missed her, till I drove her. So much fun - and all the "nice car!!!" yells I get, the thumbs ups I get... after only driving her for a couple days. Awesome.

To your question - on ride comfort. I also have Steeda Sport Springs, and yellow Koni's, and they are on the softest setting, so that probably makes a difference. The right is firm, but not overly stiff, overall. I love it. I don't like spongy feel. You have stock suspension? The talled/thicker sidewall should help.

m05fastbackGT

I don't have stock suspension Burton. Like yourself, I also have the yellow Koni's set on the softest setting along with Eibach Pro-Kit Springs.

Despite having the Koni's set on the softest setting, my ride quality is very harsh on uneven road surfaces and feel every road imperfection especially when hitting bumps. It seems like the only time my ride quality isn't harsh, is when on perfectly smooth/well-maintained roads lol.

I can, however, confirm that before upgrading to the Koni yellows, I experienced the same harshness in ride quality with just the Eibach Pro-Kit Springs and OEM stock struts/shocks, but adding the Koni's did very little to improve the quality at least IMO anyhow.

This leads me to believe that by making the switch to a thicker/taller sidewall as in a 285/40/18" tire over a lower profile sidewall such as a 275/35/20" in which I've been running just might help improve the ride quality overall, otherwise, if not? there's only one other scenario I can possibly think of that could be the problem, my Eibach Pro-Kit Springs

FromZto5

The thicker sidewalls would definitely help! As for the Eibach springs, I did hear that those are pretty stiff, but then again my Steedas are as well. The "harsh ride" is really dependent on the driver though, meaning I may think it's soft and you might think it's super stiff... I dunno.

Let me know what you decide to do!

fyi - do you know the name of the 5.MONSTER guy? Super nice guy who posts and responds to us/me, but I forgot his name! ugh... my bad.