Review: GT500 ABs, The Lion Sleeps Tonight
3/18/13, 09:44 AM
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Review: GT500 ABs, The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Once in a while a part comes along that makes you want to slow down and take it easy - live a little in the 7 – 10 o’clock side of the tach. For me at least, that part has a name: M-5230-MGTCA1. Most people refer to these as the “GT500” axle backs.
I’ve spent about a month with the 2014 Mustang GT [Track Pack] and have become very familiar with almost every aspect of it. This car has proven to be the result of a heroic effort on Ford’s part, finally striking that ideal balance between performance, fit & finish, and price. Where before, cheap materials and other obvious cost-cutting would abound, the driver is surrounded by a slew of more touch-friendly and appealing textures and materials. Add to that the suspension and power train – what is this world coming to?? Where was this car a few years ago? I could’ve said with certainty that the world was coming to an end – the Saints have won the Super Bowl, I now eat raw fish and love it, and a Mustang can handle! Surely there’s a Hell freezing over somewhere!
You can see the pattern here – Ford has given us a great platform upon which we can tweak and modify until we find that personalized, magical combination of ingredients. We’ve got an über-rigid chassis for suspension tweaking; a relatively powerful brake master cylinder for brake upgrades; a smooth and powerful motor with strong internals to handle power adders, and yadda/blah/etc.
My coffee hasn’t gotten to work yet and I’m getting off track. One of the points I wanted to address was the exhaust tone. Like the rest of the car, it’s really decent as-is; it has a deep and mellow tone, which allows bystanders to connect the dots, so to speak. When you have your cold start moment, or you are running through a parking garage, or simply rowing through the gears down the road, people assume you’re playing with a V8. The [delightfully/sexually tuned] induction system on the Coyote does most of the talking while the mufflers are out back muffling or doing whatever it is they do – who really knows? With all that seductive rumbling happening up front, it’s easy to forget about the action out back in the Mullet Zone; weren’t we told there’s a party out back? Well, get yourself some axle backs, son!
My criterion was simple and only had to meet a few non-negotiables: It had to be at least twice as loud as stock and ten times as mean; it can’t be obnoxious – I wanted it “out of the way” when I was at a stop light or idling somewhere; and it can’t drone – I enjoy the happy space inside of the Mustang. After getting this in line I set about the YouTube for answers. And then 5 minutes later, I realized that all of the clips sucked and I’d end up having to gamble. So, I did.
The smartest thing you can do when installing the driver’s side muffler is to cut off some hanger material – there’s too much there and if you just remove about half of it, you can slide it onto the rubber mounts without having to remove the bracket. The driver’s side took about 15 minutes, while the passenger used up 10 in total.
At startup, I instantly knew I made the right decision. The 5 liter announced its presence with authority and sent chills up (and down) my spine. I’ve seen decibel meters comparing the sound output across several popular axle backs, and among them the GT500s rank in the bottom percentage. Do not let that fool you – the perceived volume is what counts (unless your car is loud enough to have Poncharelli waving the meter near your tail pipes). The reality is that these mufflers are twice as loud as the stock mufflers – for me, this is perfect. Let’s talk about the tone.
When you are driving your GT – when you are driving a V8, you want it to sound…angry. That’s because it is. You’ve got an extra 4 cylinders that were called in to work for nothing. An inline 4 could’ve done the job of propelling the car. With the stock exhaust, question marks hung above the heads of those around you. In fact, no one even bothered to think about your car until they actually saw it and the experiences were limited to, “Oh, look…another Mustang”. Now, when you are anywhere on the tachometer off idle, there is no mistaking what’s happening under the hood. Now you are in the Mullet Zone and everyone knows it – the business up front KNOWS there’s a party out back.
The exhaust tone is of the gods and it is the sound you hear in your mind when you think of muscle cars. It’s as close to the pushrod sound of the 5 liters of yore that you’re going to hear, where the mid-mounted mufflers and long tail pipes created a distinctive and aggressive throaty roar. You could hear that tone and identify it as a Mustang long before you saw it’s boxy Escort-esque form hauling buns down the street.
If that metaphor doesn’t paint the picture for you, imagine the sound of a roaring lion – deep, thunderous, and chesty bass mix in with throaty, guttural midrange coalescing into a breathing and heaving presence.
As the RPMs decrease mid-shift and coming off throttle, it is as though the coffee pot of Zeus himself has fallen from the heavens, fusing its essence with the GT; the exhaust crackles, snaps, pops, and percolates, serving up the most intoxicating brew of the gods. Now, is this the loudest setup on the block? Not even. But, like a great cup of coffee, flavor is balanced with the buzz and I like to drink coffee all day long.
Like me, you will find yourself wanting to sit around in slow moving traffic with windows down playing in the left side of the tach. Parking lots will give way to turning heads, rock fists, and thumbs up from the guys. Women’s faces will contort either in disgust or eros. Babies will cry and young boys, clinging to their parents as baby apes on the backs of their mothers, will solemnly gaze as the roar of your car burns into their hearts the desire of achieving this sound.
Suddenly the balance of your car becomes less about speed and more about feel. You will think about this sound long after you put your car to sleep for the night, waiting for the chance to climb back in for anther pull of the god’s brew.
I’ve spent about a month with the 2014 Mustang GT [Track Pack] and have become very familiar with almost every aspect of it. This car has proven to be the result of a heroic effort on Ford’s part, finally striking that ideal balance between performance, fit & finish, and price. Where before, cheap materials and other obvious cost-cutting would abound, the driver is surrounded by a slew of more touch-friendly and appealing textures and materials. Add to that the suspension and power train – what is this world coming to?? Where was this car a few years ago? I could’ve said with certainty that the world was coming to an end – the Saints have won the Super Bowl, I now eat raw fish and love it, and a Mustang can handle! Surely there’s a Hell freezing over somewhere!
You can see the pattern here – Ford has given us a great platform upon which we can tweak and modify until we find that personalized, magical combination of ingredients. We’ve got an über-rigid chassis for suspension tweaking; a relatively powerful brake master cylinder for brake upgrades; a smooth and powerful motor with strong internals to handle power adders, and yadda/blah/etc.
My coffee hasn’t gotten to work yet and I’m getting off track. One of the points I wanted to address was the exhaust tone. Like the rest of the car, it’s really decent as-is; it has a deep and mellow tone, which allows bystanders to connect the dots, so to speak. When you have your cold start moment, or you are running through a parking garage, or simply rowing through the gears down the road, people assume you’re playing with a V8. The [delightfully/sexually tuned] induction system on the Coyote does most of the talking while the mufflers are out back muffling or doing whatever it is they do – who really knows? With all that seductive rumbling happening up front, it’s easy to forget about the action out back in the Mullet Zone; weren’t we told there’s a party out back? Well, get yourself some axle backs, son!
My criterion was simple and only had to meet a few non-negotiables: It had to be at least twice as loud as stock and ten times as mean; it can’t be obnoxious – I wanted it “out of the way” when I was at a stop light or idling somewhere; and it can’t drone – I enjoy the happy space inside of the Mustang. After getting this in line I set about the YouTube for answers. And then 5 minutes later, I realized that all of the clips sucked and I’d end up having to gamble. So, I did.
The smartest thing you can do when installing the driver’s side muffler is to cut off some hanger material – there’s too much there and if you just remove about half of it, you can slide it onto the rubber mounts without having to remove the bracket. The driver’s side took about 15 minutes, while the passenger used up 10 in total.
At startup, I instantly knew I made the right decision. The 5 liter announced its presence with authority and sent chills up (and down) my spine. I’ve seen decibel meters comparing the sound output across several popular axle backs, and among them the GT500s rank in the bottom percentage. Do not let that fool you – the perceived volume is what counts (unless your car is loud enough to have Poncharelli waving the meter near your tail pipes). The reality is that these mufflers are twice as loud as the stock mufflers – for me, this is perfect. Let’s talk about the tone.
When you are driving your GT – when you are driving a V8, you want it to sound…angry. That’s because it is. You’ve got an extra 4 cylinders that were called in to work for nothing. An inline 4 could’ve done the job of propelling the car. With the stock exhaust, question marks hung above the heads of those around you. In fact, no one even bothered to think about your car until they actually saw it and the experiences were limited to, “Oh, look…another Mustang”. Now, when you are anywhere on the tachometer off idle, there is no mistaking what’s happening under the hood. Now you are in the Mullet Zone and everyone knows it – the business up front KNOWS there’s a party out back.
The exhaust tone is of the gods and it is the sound you hear in your mind when you think of muscle cars. It’s as close to the pushrod sound of the 5 liters of yore that you’re going to hear, where the mid-mounted mufflers and long tail pipes created a distinctive and aggressive throaty roar. You could hear that tone and identify it as a Mustang long before you saw it’s boxy Escort-esque form hauling buns down the street.
If that metaphor doesn’t paint the picture for you, imagine the sound of a roaring lion – deep, thunderous, and chesty bass mix in with throaty, guttural midrange coalescing into a breathing and heaving presence.
As the RPMs decrease mid-shift and coming off throttle, it is as though the coffee pot of Zeus himself has fallen from the heavens, fusing its essence with the GT; the exhaust crackles, snaps, pops, and percolates, serving up the most intoxicating brew of the gods. Now, is this the loudest setup on the block? Not even. But, like a great cup of coffee, flavor is balanced with the buzz and I like to drink coffee all day long.
Like me, you will find yourself wanting to sit around in slow moving traffic with windows down playing in the left side of the tach. Parking lots will give way to turning heads, rock fists, and thumbs up from the guys. Women’s faces will contort either in disgust or eros. Babies will cry and young boys, clinging to their parents as baby apes on the backs of their mothers, will solemnly gaze as the roar of your car burns into their hearts the desire of achieving this sound.
Suddenly the balance of your car becomes less about speed and more about feel. You will think about this sound long after you put your car to sleep for the night, waiting for the chance to climb back in for anther pull of the god’s brew.
Last edited by fdesalvo; 3/18/13 at 02:41 PM.
3/18/13, 06:09 PM
#4
Roush Forum Stalker
Awesome review! Thanks.
My favorite paragraph;.....When you are driving your GT – when you are driving a V8, you want it to sound…angry. That’s because it is. You’ve got an extra 4 cylinders that were called in to work for nothing. An inline 4 could’ve done the job of propelling the car. With the stock exhaust, question marks hung above the heads of those around you. In fact, no one even bothered to think about your car until they actually saw it and the experiences were limited to, “Oh, look…another Mustang”. Now, when you are anywhere on the tachometer off idle, there is no mistaking what’s happening under the hood. Now you are in the Mullet Zone and everyone knows it – the business up front KNOWS there’s a party out back.
My favorite paragraph;.....When you are driving your GT – when you are driving a V8, you want it to sound…angry. That’s because it is. You’ve got an extra 4 cylinders that were called in to work for nothing. An inline 4 could’ve done the job of propelling the car. With the stock exhaust, question marks hung above the heads of those around you. In fact, no one even bothered to think about your car until they actually saw it and the experiences were limited to, “Oh, look…another Mustang”. Now, when you are anywhere on the tachometer off idle, there is no mistaking what’s happening under the hood. Now you are in the Mullet Zone and everyone knows it – the business up front KNOWS there’s a party out back.
3/19/13, 07:52 AM
#7
Legacy TMS Member
Only thing that sucks about this review is I can't go outside and drive MY Mustang and hear those GT500 mufflers sing ... it's freakin SNOWING out there !!!!
Great writing, once again, man ... are you a professional writer? LOL
Great writing, once again, man ... are you a professional writer? LOL
3/19/13, 09:27 AM
#8
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Thanks, guys!
Gabe, I was just thinking about how you guys back east and up north handle not being able to enjoy your cars year round. I guess it has its benefits, though - you can take your time modding and waxing. If I was up where you are, my car would have at least 30 layers of something on the paint right now haha.
I'm not a professional writer; I'm just an adult with an odd sense of humor mixed in with a dash of OCD and ADHD. I still see the world through the eyes of an 8 year old (my poor GF!) and when something moves me, I feel like I have to share it - as though I've just discovered it. I’m new to this car scene, so I’m trying to find my baseline and not get too excited about things that you guys may take for granted.
Again, I really appreciate the kind words. It would be nice to do more objective reviews of things, but everything I've bought for the car has come at the end of much research, so I knew beforehand that the parts would lead to a positive outcome.
It would be nice to be in a position where I could test these things and report back with greater criticism in the hopes of protecting your purchases, but again, many of the things that we buy for our cars are only pleasing to us. How many cars do you see rolling down the street with every accessory sold by AutoZone attached to it? Most of them are Mustangs, too! I’ve seen two different types of stick-on vents on top of the other before! Those people drive their cars with the windows down; they want to see you seeing them. They love it. Different strokes…!
Gabe, I was just thinking about how you guys back east and up north handle not being able to enjoy your cars year round. I guess it has its benefits, though - you can take your time modding and waxing. If I was up where you are, my car would have at least 30 layers of something on the paint right now haha.
I'm not a professional writer; I'm just an adult with an odd sense of humor mixed in with a dash of OCD and ADHD. I still see the world through the eyes of an 8 year old (my poor GF!) and when something moves me, I feel like I have to share it - as though I've just discovered it. I’m new to this car scene, so I’m trying to find my baseline and not get too excited about things that you guys may take for granted.
Again, I really appreciate the kind words. It would be nice to do more objective reviews of things, but everything I've bought for the car has come at the end of much research, so I knew beforehand that the parts would lead to a positive outcome.
It would be nice to be in a position where I could test these things and report back with greater criticism in the hopes of protecting your purchases, but again, many of the things that we buy for our cars are only pleasing to us. How many cars do you see rolling down the street with every accessory sold by AutoZone attached to it? Most of them are Mustangs, too! I’ve seen two different types of stick-on vents on top of the other before! Those people drive their cars with the windows down; they want to see you seeing them. They love it. Different strokes…!
3/19/13, 04:27 PM
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3/19/13, 04:30 PM
#11
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Great review and even greater story telling! Really had me imagining it all as i was reading! You should start a creative outlet thread. People get creative with their writing, use different forms like short stories, poems, or just a fun lil tale for the laughs! Itd be nice to see, almost as nice as pics and vid! Get em up! 
3/19/13, 05:45 PM
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3/19/13, 05:47 PM
#15
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3/19/13, 06:22 PM
#17
Roush Forum Stalker
Gabe, I was just thinking about how you guys back east and up north handle not being able to enjoy your cars year round. I guess it has its benefits, though - you can take your time modding and waxing. If I was up where you are, my car would have at least 30 layers of something on the paint right now haha.
Snowed out again today!!!
3/19/13, 06:53 PM
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Haha! Ahhhhh-wheema-whop-ahweema-whop lol
You guys need to get a little more creative. We need to make some tank tread units for the rear hubs along with some modified snow ski blades for the fronts. Lets's noodle on this.
Last edited by fdesalvo; 3/19/13 at 06:55 PM.
3/19/13, 08:26 PM
#20
Currently a Corvette Owner!
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GT500 SVT axle-backs sound great, look great, have no drone, are OEM Ford Racing, AND they are just about the $$ cheapest performance mufflers out there for our GTs. That sealed the deal for me - plus I sold my stock mufflers and recouped half my cost. As for the resnators, get those cut out, replace with 3" pipe, and you won't believe it gets even better, from idle to WOT. With NO drone, none - no negative affects whatsoever. I love the way mine sounds. Thanks to other TMS users who helped me along the way. Here's my TMS thread:
https://themustangsource.com/f800/re...-video-513738/
Hope this helps you!
GT500 SVT axle-backs sound great, look great, have no drone, are OEM Ford Racing, AND they are just about the $$ cheapest performance mufflers out there for our GTs. That sealed the deal for me - plus I sold my stock mufflers and recouped half my cost. As for the resnators, get those cut out, replace with 3" pipe, and you won't believe it gets even better, from idle to WOT. With NO drone, none - no negative affects whatsoever. I love the way mine sounds. Thanks to other TMS users who helped me along the way. Here's my TMS thread:
https://themustangsource.com/f800/re...-video-513738/
Hope this helps you!