1st Gt350 has arrived.........

So today the dealership toke deliver of its first GT350 and after install the front spoiler I toke it for a short road test to make sure all was well and I have to say I am a bit disappointed, being a flat plane crank engine I would have expected it to give me the same thrill as driving my ferrari but it did not and to be honest I now think I prefer the GT500. Anyone else feel the same way ?

 

No offense but how does someone who just took delivery of a car at a dealership get the correct feel of a car with just delivery miles? Glad that's not my car.

 

When I drove one a few weeks back I was instructed to wind it out to 8000rpm.

And, as mentioned, how do you judge the car on just a delivery test drive ?

 

I drove one in September and thought it was damn good. Loves to rev. Isn't very expensive. Will be a huge hit for Ford.

 

It's certainly not going to give you the same sound as a modern Ferrari. Ford had to make some packaging-related compromises with respect to the intake tract and the exhaust headers. There were other compromises necessary as well, one of which had to do with the crankshaft and associated reciprocating weight. So while I'm sure the engine likes to rev, it's not going to do so with the same bravado as a modern Ferrari V8.

I have a GT500 and it's a great musclecar, fantastic even - for what it is. It's my daily driver and I really enjoy it. But I have no illusions that the GT350 isn't going to be a better driver's car.

 

Yeah, no kidding. That's why when I buy a car, I insist it be driven off the truck and parked. No prep, no inspection, nothing. Call me paranoid, but I've been the victim of arrogant dealership behavior before.

 

Shoot, we did the same thing when we ordered our 2001 Lightning............. and that was a truck.

Dealership employees love to take out the latest greatest performance vehicle and beat the crap out of it for a few miles. It's BS.

 

Dealers move metal, they sell appliances to the ignorant, they dont care.
When you test drive and put 10 miles on the car, and someone else does another 5 and then another 5 the actual buyer gets a car with 23 miles on it, seems new. Those 20 were brutal, 50k later the motor is shot.

Cars from factory have maybe 1 mile on them, only buy a car that way.
Of course most people lease so they dont care anyway..

Just think of the life those 6 month old ferraris sold by flippers have lead, esp by the time they get to their 3rd owner..

 

Don't a lot of new cars have software that limits engine performance until certain break-in parameters have been met?

 

This car will be a massive hit.

 

Yes they do

 

I agree. The only things the GT350 and a modern Ferrari have in common is the flat plane crankshaft (not identical like you mentioned) and they are both V8's. Personally I am very happy with the direction Ford has taken with the new GT350 and GT350R.

 

This car is going to be a hit. I don't expect the numbers sold to be huge but it just took the Mustang brand up at least ten notches.

 

Why did/does gtr get so much criticism for being over weight and 350 does not when both weigh same? And gtr gives awd and dct transmission

 

I went back and did some research on the weight of both vehicles and the 2015 Nissan GTR is at 3840lb's and the new GT350 and GT350R were measured to be from 3700lb's to 3800lb's and as we all should know there is no "rounding off" so we are left with either a 140lb or 40lb difference. 40lbs is huge in the performance car arena.

The real question comes down to if these weights are "dry" or "wet". Also I never thought the GTR was overweight.

 

Official curb weight from Ford for the GT350R is 3650 lbs. I assume that this is without the optional A/C. It's supposed to be ~130 lbs lighter than the GT350 but again not sure if this compares a GT350 that has A/C as standard equipment vs the GT350R where A/C is optional. But even if not, there's a good chunk of any weight difference in unsprung weight with the GT350R's cf wheels. Unsprung weight differences are more readily felt than sprung weight differences.

Regardless, the car isn't a lightweight, though not exceedingly heavy by modern standards and in light of the price point. Though I would've liked to have seen a GT350R closer to 3500 lbs.

 

The carbon fiber R wheels only weigh 18 pounds each, about 15 lbs lighter than the gt350 wheels, which equals about a 60 pound weight savings of unsprung weight.

 

Anyone know how cf wheels will stand up to potholes?

 

Spoken like a true New Yorker.....

 

It's essentially a track car, how could you complain after a quick spin??

 

The wheels are 60lbs of the 130 lb totall. Delete the back seat no ac and you are there.
Or put another way an r with ac is probably 90-100 lbs lighter than a get 350. Get a set of track wheels and your weight loss 60 lbs less.

Great car as others have said a bit heavy but so are others. It demonstrates the virtue of low unsprung weight from all angles including suspension setup.

Hope the eps is really good because some really suck

 

I've been driving mine around for about 50 miles and love the crap out of it! The sound is amazing coming from the GT500, will probably let that one go soon. Kudos to Ford!

 

Had a chance to experience a new 350 recently, really really love this car. It sounds wonderful. Probably the best steering wheel I've experienced in a long time, and I see lots of em!

One friend has a 350R due in a month or two. Interested to see how the CF wheels and rest of the package will look and feel.