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My 2013 Mustang GT500 Arrived

16K views 35 replies 23 participants last post by  blacksnakesvt 
#1 ·
It's in my garage! I got it fully loaded (minus the glass roof) for MSRP.

For those that are dying to know (waiting to receive their own). Here are my first impressions on the GT500. As a reference I'm coming from a 2011 Mustang GT Premium, stock engine w/ tune and a fully modified suspension and RTR wheels w/ Nitto N555s.

1. The 3.31s and the tall gearing feel really good for the street, more torque than the tires can handle at any RPM. I can't comment on track driving yet. The long gearing is really only 1st gear and after I got used to it (about an hour) I like it.

2. Traction control has never been more useful. Bonus - the traction control feels a lot less intrusive than my 2011 GT. It doesn't feel like nasty throttle cut + ABS, it feels more gradual and intelligently attenuated so it doesn't just kick in and kill the fun. It will let you spin the tires just enough with traction control on. I can say for the first time in any car I've owned (and there have been 34 in total) this is the first time I don't feel annoyed by traction control and that's pretty huge.

3. Grip -- it needs MORE. I'm not talking about lateral grip for turns, I'm talking about straight up acceleration. This car really needs 325s. I can't say what that would do to the understeer on a road course, but it certainly would help put more power to the ground as this car will burn rubber just by thinking about it.

4. Recaros, Recaros, Recaros. Having spent a lot of time in the non-recaros, I can say with certainty, I would have paid twice as much for these seats and still been happy. Supportive but nice. I'm 6'4 200lbs average build and I fit very nicely.

5. I love the one-piece carbon fiber drive shaft. No more clunk when you forget to feather the clutch when coming to a stop or during that 3mph stop and go in traffic. Thanks Ford!

6. TRACK APPS! It's almost like they gave us an OBD2 reader right there in the dash. Gas mileage graphs over time, instant mpg, boost pressure, intake temp, everything (wish it told me my tire pressure but whatever). I haven't played with the cornering and acceleration apps yet.

7. Push button ride control -- I am so glad I got the push button ride control. I live in San Francisco and those potholes feel tolerable in Normal mode, then once I get out of the city, I put in Sport mode and the whole car firms up like a totally different car.

8. Handling compared to a stock 2011 Mustang GT: Stock for stock, when I put the Shelby in sport mode, the Shelby feels more responsive and tighter. I got a chance to look under the car while they were cleaning it up at the dealership and they definitely beefed up the LCA and PHB. However I do feel like lowering the car 1" will help quite a bit to stiffen up a bit more. And if those ZL1 guys give us too much grief, then maybe swap the PHB for a watts link and wider tires in the back and call it a day.

9. Appearance. You've probably google'd the GT500 over and over like I did, and you probably thought it looked good, but let me tell you -- it looks SO MUCH BETTER in person. Mine was completely black and freshly polished so that probably helped.

10. Worth it? YES. Do I feel like a hick driving a SRA tractor? Whatever - let the Chevy guys gloat over their one "on paper advantage". The Shelby feels great on the road. Honestly, I'm unbiased and feel the ZL1 is a great car and a great technological feat, but I chose the car that fit my desires best.

And here are the photos... BTW - is there a way to post in the thread other than as an attachment?
 

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#5 ·
Thanks guys! I'll try to post more pics when I take better photos with a proper camera.

I'm almost tempted to trade my Bullitt on a 2013 GT500 'vert ...
These cars are going for 15k over. If you can find one for MSRP I'd say go for it, but you've already got a great car, maybe hold off for a year when these cars drop below MSRP.

Having said that -- this car is worth the 15k over (IMO). Other cars can claim all the handling awesomness they want, but driving a ~700hp car is like skydiving to work every morning.
 
#4 ·
^that wow op so sexy&sleek:worship
 
#7 ·
Very nice! Especially since you elected not to have the stripes going over the car. That plane black looks mean!
 
#8 ·
Thanks! I wanted to see how it looked in person without stripes. It looks really nice. I'm thinking that I MIGHT get a red stripe on the side and no stripes on the top. Or maybe get the matte black stripes on the top and side.
 
#9 ·
Is this your daily driver? I would bet it still needs aftermarket control arms. I would say springs for sure so you can keep the push button suspension. How is the body roll? Do you think sway bar upgrades are needed? Some 10.5 or 11 inch rears would be a must I think for some 305 or 315's. I use a r compound tire for the street but I live in a much dryer location than you do. For the watts link, unless you are looking to shave tenths off of lap times an adjustable PHB is good enough. After you get used to the car take a look at the tuners. I've seen them making 640 at the wheels with a tune only. I can't wait until they make a pulley for it.
 
#11 ·
I think you hit the nail on the head here.

It definitely needs 305 or 315s if I can get a wheel to fit, however these Goodyear Eagle F1s are barely broken in with 200 miles so far. Not sure if they're going to get grippier.

I'm cool with the stock power level. This car makes 500ft/lbs at the wheels at 2000 rpms. I'm pretty good at feathering the throttle/clutch on a car and I'm still a bit nervous. Last night I accidentally made the car go completely 90 degrees sideways around a typical city right turn at like 15mph with traction control on -- no joke -- 100% accidental because for a split-second I forgot this car wasn't my 2011 GT -- it's THAT EASY to spin the wheels even with traction control on.

Regarding the watts link... To be 100% honest, I'm not skilled enough to make use of it - it would be purely for increased acceptance among SRA haters... I know I'm shameful...

Body roll in "Normal" mode is significant. You feel like you're driving a family sedan with crap-tons of power.

Body roll in "Sport" mode is present but minimal enough that a 1" drop would make it perfect.

As for the sway bars, I'd say its a matter of preference here. Like I said before, there is SOME body roll in "Sport" mode. Whether you want to attack that with springs or try sway bars or both is up to you. Personally I'd like to attempt to keep the stock ride height to avoid scraping on the driveway like I did in my 2011 GT. So fat sway bars are on my christmas list.
 
#12 ·
Beautiful car. Much nicer than the Camaro. They were hot when they came out, now the design is just... eh. Not sure how to put it. Give me the Mustang body lines any day. And I'm glad there are folks that get to enjoy these beautiful steeds. Sadly not poor bastards like me :(
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
Pure luck. I called and called tons of dealerships before the Shelby's started coming in, and most of them were saying they wanted 10-15 over. Well I found one dealership that said they get more Shelbys than most dealerships so they can afford to sell the first one or two at MSRP to improve business. Luckily I was able to reserve the first one from this dealer and got the price in writing.

At this point, I don't think there are many dealerships selling them at MSRP anymore, but in 6-12 months I bet they'll come down just like the Boss did last year.

Right on angryBits, I hear ya. Like all of us always say when we get a car... I'm good with the power. When you get used to it you'll want more, like we all do, haha. I guess the level of modding would depend on what you wanna do with it. As for me, the purpose of my car is to stomp people on a race track. I love going by M3's and GTR's and Vette's and Camaro's with my ancient SRA mustang. Last year the Tiger Racing Boss with its SRA dominated the Pirelli World Challenge.

It sounds like springs and sway bars would be an awesome place to start. Have you noticed any wheel hop yet?

Any Black with no stripes if for sure the best!
Not really. If I spin the tires from a 10-80roll (yep I can spin'em at 80) then its smooth as silk, all you notice is that the tail gets a little slippery but no hop.

However from a standing start, depending on the road surface, compared to my stock 2011 GT it's WAAAY better almost no hop, but I'd say it's not as good as my GT was after I lowered it and put the steeda lower control arms and 3rd link and all that, but pretty close. I'd say lowering this car 1" would really take care of any sloppiness or wheel hop.

If I lower the car 1" though, I think I'm going to have to take off the front lip extension. This car is already pretty close to scraping.
 
#18 ·
car really needs 325s
Not enough. My car is stock with 345 rear and the car is dangerous. I don't have traction nor stability controls, so that doesn't help. The 2013 viper has 355 rears as stock. Yours should have 345 at a minimum stock. There really isn't a street tire produced (DRs don't count) for these automobiles that produce such massive torque, but 345-355 would help. All-wheel drive would be another solution, but the purchase price might double?

Impressive automobile by the way
 
#21 ·
I do just fine with 585 rwtq with 305 R888's
Aren't they a street-legal road racing tire? I hear they do grip very well but not a tire that would come stock from the factory along with the car.

Like any car with some 600 some pounds of torque, traction will always be a major challenge on average street surfaces with the stock issued tires on his mustang. Aftermarket tires that are softer and stickier do not generally evacuate water as efficiently.

The GT500 does deserve a stock wider rear tire though...345 at a minimum.
 
#23 ·
Yes they are street legal and yes they are a road race tire. I wouldn't drive a car with that much power without them. *edit* In the wet they are better than you would expect. As long as you drive carefully that is.
 
#24 ·
305 R888s I'll have to check them out.

I now have 3500 miles on the car after my road trip and I've learned the stock tires are a lot better once they've warmed up. Slippery as F when cold though.
 
#27 ·
Great write up. I too have a 2013 as well as an 11 and a Roush RS3, everyone on the Roush the forums are always asking for a write up to give them an accurate description of the car. So if you don't mind, I may have to "borrow" yours.

As far as getting them for MSRP, they are still out there, just takes lots of calls and emails back and forth, but you can find them. Many dealers have had the buyers back out once the car came in due to financial changes in their life or other things and since those cars don't count against their allocation they are willing to deal.

I happened to be at the dealer when the person who ordered what was to become my car backed out. I drove out an hour later $600 under MSRP. I wasn't even there looking for a 13, I was just ordering some parts for my other car. So if you want one and don't want to pay the crazy mark ups people are asking for just be patient and it will happen. If you don't mind waiting 6 months, most dealers will order you one at MSRP, just takes 6-8 months to get it.

Here is my new Baby:


and all my Babies:
 
#29 ·
Thanks!

They are nearly black - kind of a dark charcoal - much darker than the 2011/2012 wheels. I really like them.
 
#31 ·
And here are the photos... BTW - is there a way to post in the thread other than as an attachment?
Wow! What a vehicle!

The easy way to post in-line images is to hot link them from a free photobucket account. (For some reason this forum does not support that feature)
 
#32 ·
Quite the ride . I just ordered one yesterday . I was not impressed with the MANY dealers I spoke with . What a bunch of stupid, misinformed, lazy ,greedy ,sleaze balls . I hope the one I finally went with will prove to be OK . Now the waiting starts . How long did you have to wait ?
 
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