If you could change one thing with the new stangs..

[Caldwell]

What would it be?
If I had to change one thing with the new stangs, it would be the back end:

Now:

This is what I like:

What would you change?

 

[Killercanary]

The weight of it and get rid of the torque management system in the EEC. A 5.4 would have also been nice. Looks wise I'm OK with the way it comes from the factory. The view from the back could be better, but I don't know what I'd change to make it so.

 

[Caldwell]

The weight of it and get rid of the torque management system in the EEC. A 5.4 would have also been nice. Looks wise I'm OK with the way it comes from the factory. The view from the back could be better, but I don't know what I'd change to make it so.

how heavy are those pigs anyway?
and i agree 110% on the engine... i read an interesting article about the new 05s and their only beef was that the 4.6 has never been a "popular" engine, so why not do something about it? especially since you're essentially starting off with something different.

I wasn't a fan of the looks, the rear lights included...
but that trunk has GOT to go.

 

[Scott_95GT]

That does look good with the back end brought in a bit. I'm sure a lot of guys are gonna come on here and say more power, more power, more power. However, I think the new GT's are very well balenced cars, and the 3v 300 hp motor serves it well.

Anyways, if I could change something (And this isn't really a change to the body of the car) I would give the v6 and gt models better wheel/tire combo's from the factory. Those huge 05 wheel wells need more rim & tire.

 

[Caldwell]

Hm, i'm still surprised the standard 17/18 inch rims come with the car.
I will say a 20 fills the wheel well nicely.
Now just think of it in a torque thrust rim in that size... a 20 on that car...

300 horse for $30G isn't something to sneeze at... i agree.
Thankfully shelby, roush, and saleen are making high end stangs available for those power hungry stangers.

 

[Scott_95GT]

Hm, i'm still surprised the standard 17/18 inch rims come with the car.
I will say a 20 fills the wheel well nicely.
Now just think of it in a torque thrust rim in that size... a 20 on that car...

300 horse for $30G isn't something to sneeze at... i agree.
Thankfully shelby, roush, and saleen are making high end stangs available for those power hungry stangers.

It would have been great to at least have an option for 17x9's with a 255-275 tire on the GT. But instead they got slightly smaller than the 99-04's with the 235's, while the wheel well got bigger.

We all know what a value the new Gt's are, and staying 4.6 helped ford keep the price down, but it also allowed for that 'in between' stang (Mach 1, bullit). Maybe a N/A 5.4, maybe a blown 3v 4.6, ect. Something in between the shelby and the GT. If ford were to go 5.4 on the GT, they don't leave much there in the middle to work with.

 

[Killercanary]

If ford were to go 5.4 on the GT, they don't leave much there in the middle to work with.

Sure they do, just like the models past. They could offer the SOHC 5.4 in the GT, a 3V 5.4 in the "special" models like the mach 1, etc, and stuff a supercharger on the 3V 5.4 for the cobra. The V6 should have come with 4.6SOHC engine found in the '99-04 GT's, and then they could have easily put the 5.4 in the GT's and upper models. That would have been a sweet day for the blue oval crowd!

 

[Blackened302]

nice chop, caldwell--saleen took the back-end and made it even longer.

i'd definately want a 5.4 in there, at least in a cobra or mach1/boss.

another thing i've been big on is how there havn't been any different body configurations since 94 and up. ever since the mustang came out you could tell which was a gt, cobra, or v6/i4 (and trim level) by the body config--notch, sportsroof, fastback, etc. i hate that 94 and up v6's can so easily be made to look like cobras or gt's because there's no difference in body config.

 

[1SLO306]

I hate the rear but other then that i like it.

 

[Scott_95GT]

Sure they do, just like the models past. They could offer the SOHC 5.4 in the GT, a 3V 5.4 in the "special" models like the mach 1, etc, and stuff a supercharger on the 3V 5.4 for the cobra. The V6 should have come with 4.6SOHC engine found in the '99-04 GT's, and then they could have easily put the 5.4 in the GT's and upper models. That would have been a sweet day for the blue oval crowd!

That would be awesome, but Ford needs the v6 mustang to stay a v6. Ford sells more v6 stangs than any other model. The v6 stang grabs an entire different body of customers. Part of the mustang's late-model success is it's ability to appeal and compete with an extremly wide range of vehicles. What other car can compete with everything from a Sebring to a Corvette? As a mustang enthusiast, I would love to see that happen, but it's not realistic for ford.

I like the idea of the all 5.4 lineup though. I didn't consider the 2v 5.4. That does provide more options. Or how about a high-revving DOHC 32v 5.4 similar to the 2000 Cobra R?

 

[215what]

Yeah the hole car crapola

 

[Caldwell]

I like the idea of the all 5.4 lineup though. I didn't consider the 2v 5.4. That does provide more options. Or how about a high-revving DOHC 32v 5.4 similar to the 2000 Cobra R?

that's what I'm sayin... 350 horse stock.
but still, there's no way a mustang now keeps up with the z06 vette...
we needed shelby to do that and he made 475 horse... that thing would keep up with maybe a low end vette... a convertible maybe LOL

thanks paul (ram)
but i didn't realize saleen extended the rear...
are you sure?
i do know the 05 bodies still seem long on the end for me though...
hmph.

 

[bimmertech]

if they made the ass look like your chop and dropped 300lbs, i would have one in my garage right now.

as far as the torque management we will get used to it, just like the LS1 guys got used to it. a bigger motor would be nice, but not super important as that is what the aftermarket is for.

i would like to see a 6spd option for the GT with 3.73's.

20'a on a gt look alright, but leave very little room for a drop, i prefer an 18" wheel and a more agressive drop--especially considering the much stiffer chassis.

 

[sade04]

i wish their wheel wells werent so huge. anything less than an 18in wheel looks out of place. and sometimes depending on the wheel, even 18s look small.

 

[Blackened302]

thanks paul (ram)
but i didn't realize saleen extended the rear...
are you sure?
i do know the 05 bodies still seem long on the end for me though...
hmph.

the first thing i noticed w/ the saleen kit is that the rear was over-extended, especially w/ the decklid spoiler. imo it kills the car, as i myself like the long roofline (fastback!!) and a really short decklid.

compare the two photos:
stock gt:

saleen:

 

[Caldwell]

I'll be damned
Wow... good call on that Paul

nice heads up.
I still think the reg gts could use maybe a small adjustment, but nothing at all compared to the saleens

what the hell were they thinking?

 

[SeventyMach1]

we needed shelby to do that and he made 475 horse... that thing would keep up with maybe a low end vette... a convertible maybe LOL

Shelby never really built a Shelby Mustang necessarily to race or "keep up" with the Vette. That's what the Shelby Cobra was for. The "real" Shelby Cobra.


So yeah, I guess you can say that the GT500 will be underpowered when compared to a new Z06. But what did Shelby use to race the Z06's used in the '60's? That's right, the original Cobra. So what now? There's a new one on the way boasting over 600 hp from a V-10.

 

[Menace-01GT]

forged internals

 

[Zero Signal]

Factory 18x14 wheels in the rear and 18x10 in front with, and yes shorten the rear some more.

 

[5.0_GT_kid]

I'd put the 5.4 SOHC in there...plus they'd have BLACK interiors again.