Good logical insights, good job for not just being a fanboy. But just FYI i daily drive a stick and it would have been cheaper to put in a used T56 then build my 4R like I did - so i wasn't exactly stuck with it.
Nevertheless, i wish I had two fast mustangs - one of each. I rarely hate on the manual, but i do defend the auto. And if a auto is supposed to be half a second slower than my car must have been the only NPI heads/cams GT to see a "13.47" ever.
If yours run 13.47 with npi and an auto to boot.... You sir have a freak and should be happy. I respect autos, Don't get me wrong..... I was just quoting MY PERSONAL experience stock for stock. I've owned (as stated above) one nasty built auto that worked flawlessly... it was idiot proof... Mash the gas at the light (built suspension with tires, no spin at all) and shift when the light comes on... No way to miss a gear obviously and ran very consistent... I have seen a few npi cars run good (one around here runs 14.27 at like 92, so he obviously knows how to handle it or its just a freak like yours.)
04's do tend to run a bit better to my knowledge, mine ran very low 14's showroom stock.... but it didn't respond to the gears till I did the exhaust. Ran a best of 13.71 at 101 (again, high humidity here) on street tires. 1.9 sixty foot in a premium gt. My 98 thats at least 200lbs lighter (alum block, no a/c and sn's are a tad lighter) only runs that with nittos (only 1.8 60 ft... My rear susps needs some work and the 98 has 3.73's compared to 4.30's of the 04). So with that said, all cars are different whether they have a auto or manual. Your almost comparing apples to oranges when it comes to it.
Here's an example. I consider my self a good 5 speed driver, not professional but I hold my own just fine.... Lets face it, I was able to pull sub 2.0 60 foots on street tires very very consistently... Anyway, I am currently building another 98 gt, pi swap car-full bolt on's- That being said, this car stock I was only able to get a 15.7 out of it... now I only ran it once and had a passenger so lets say I might of got a 15.4 or something out of it.... 98k on it and in realtively good shape. Now it was showroom stock, 6 cats and all.... But as you see most npi cars don't run that well. Hell there is one on our local club forums that runs 13.90's with a 100 shot... stock npi car.
So that being said, lets let the petty auto vs manual argument go.... They both have their place and are both good for what they were designed for. And can BOTH be made to work very well above what they were intended for.
Plus with an auto you can manually shift the tranny using the 1 --> 2 --> D options, hitting the max TQ/HP rpm range and then shifting to the next gear without taking any power away from the wheels (and getting very loud tire barks in the process)
If yours run 13.47 with npi and an auto to boot.... You sir have a freak and should be happy. I respect autos, Don't get me wrong..... I was just quoting MY PERSONAL experience stock for stock. I've owned (as stated above) one nasty built auto that worked flawlessly... it was idiot proof... Mash the gas at the light (built suspension with tires, no spin at all) and shift when the light comes on... No way to miss a gear obviously and ran very consistent... I have seen a few npi cars run good (one around here runs 14.27 at like 92, so he obviously knows how to handle it or its just a freak like yours.)
04's do tend to run a bit better to my knowledge, mine ran very low 14's showroom stock.... but it didn't respond to the gears till I did the exhaust. Ran a best of 13.71 at 101 (again, high humidity here) on street tires. 1.9 sixty foot in a premium gt. My 98 thats at least 200lbs lighter (alum block, no a/c and sn's are a tad lighter) only runs that with nittos (only 1.8 60 ft... My rear susps needs some work and the 98 has 3.73's compared to 4.30's of the 04). So with that said, all cars are different whether they have a auto or manual. Your almost comparing apples to oranges when it comes to it.
Here's an example. I consider my self a good 5 speed driver, not professional but I hold my own just fine.... Lets face it, I was able to pull sub 2.0 60 foots on street tires very very consistently... Anyway, I am currently building another 98 gt, pi swap car-full bolt on's- That being said, this car stock I was only able to get a 15.7 out of it... now I only ran it once and had a passenger so lets say I might of got a 15.4 or something out of it.... 98k on it and in realtively good shape. Now it was showroom stock, 6 cats and all.... But as you see most npi cars don't run that well. Hell there is one on our local club forums that runs 13.90's with a 100 shot... stock npi car.
So that being said, lets let the petty auto vs manual argument go.... They both have their place and are both good for what they were designed for. And can BOTH be made to work very well above what they were intended for.
A stock 99-04 GT should hit close to 150mph top end. Things like hood scoops and bigger side scoops probably mean a later GT will not have as high a top end as say a '99 that had small side scoops and no hood scoop. Pulls pretty good 'til about 130-ish. Not that I've done it or anything.