New 2008 GT Questions...

[BudgetPlan1]

Just picked up a new 2008 GT and I'm wondering:

1. When rapping my knuckle against it, the hood and doors don't have that same kind of metallic sound as the fenders, quarters and trunk. Is this some kinda composite panel?

2. They shoulda put the tach on the right, speedo on the left.

3. Throttle response/gas pedal is kinda mushy and not very quick to respond, even a rev in neutral; any way to fix this with tuning?

Otherwise, neat little car for 23K; like a go cart on steroids.

Oh, and after reading some pertinent threads, looks like jacking points for the s197 are as varied by opinion as they are for the vette. How the heck ya lift the back easily if not from the differential (with a floor jack)

 

[DarkFireGT]

1. Not sure.
2. I disagree. Almost every car has the speedo on the right. My Magnum had the speedo on the left and it felt awkward. Ford did it from '67-'70 and on the SN95, but they always come back to having the speedo on the right. On the SN95 it wasn't so bad because there was no separation between the gauges. With the separation that we have on the S197, it would feel awkward, just as it did with my Magnum. There's a pretty decent sized gap, and that would put the speedo too far away.
3. That's the drive by wire system. A custom tune from Brenspeed or Bamachips will fix that up for you and make the car much more enjoyable. Custom tunes are just about the best bang for the buck you can get for these cars. Gears would be the other one.
4. Welcome aboard!

 

[BudgetPlan1]

2. I disagree. Almost every car has the speedo on the right. My Magnum had the speedo on the left and it felt awkward. Ford did it from '67-'70 and on the SN95, but they always come back to having the speedo on the right. On the SN95 it wasn't so bad because there was no separation between the gauges. With the separation that we have on the S197, it would feel awkward, just as it did with my Magnum. There's a pretty decent sized gap, and that would put the speedo too far away.

Yeah, it makes sense; it's just that my tubby pork-pie left arm obscures the tach when it's in the 12 o.clock position which I seem to like in the 1/4 mile.

Now awkward is my daily driver Saturn Ion with the gauge pod on top of the dashboard, right in the middle between driver/passenger. *That* took some getting used to.

One thing i really miss in the Mustang vs. the Vette is the HUD display on the windshield, makes the speedo & tach in the dash irrelevant. I will say that the Mustang w/ the 5 speed is more entertaining that the vette w/ the auto. I think even if the vette had the 6-speed, the mustang would still be more fun for me as i like 'smaller' feeling cars and the vette feels large and low.

 

[gashog]

Here are the lift points taken straight out of the manual. Welcome! :SNSign:

 

[1965coupe]

1. When rapping my knuckle against it, the hood and doors don't have that same kind of metallic sound as the fenders, quarters and trunk. Is this some kinda composite panel?

No. Hood is aluminum. Other than bumpers and rockers, everything is metal. It's quiet because it's a Ford and not a GM.

2. They shoulda put the tach on the right, speedo on the left.

Hmmm.. never seen that as an issue. If anything, the numbers are too small.

3. Throttle response/gas pedal is kinda mushy and not very quick to respond, even a rev in neutral; any way to fix this with tuning?

Yeah.. drive-by-wire.. There is a fix..

Otherwise, neat little car for 23K; like a go cart on steroids.

You must be mistaken.. these cars are somewhat large..

 

[BudgetPlan1]

You must be mistaken.. these cars are somewhat large..

Compared to the big fat-ass of the 2004 Vette, this car seems like my old 1994 Escort...and I like that very much.

 

[viiiStang]

No. Hood is aluminum. Other than bumpers and rockers, everything is metal. It's quiet because it's a Ford and not a GM.


Hmmm.. never seen that as an issue. If anything, the numbers are too small.

Yeah.. drive-by-wire.. There is a fix..



You must be mistaken.. these cars are somewhat large..

For the drive-by-wire fix, would the FRPP Power Pack fix that??

 

[BudgetPlan1]

For the drive-by-wire fix, would the FRPP Power Pack fix that??

From what I've read, to a degree perhaps; it seems as if the FRPP tune might be a bit more conservative than some of the other tuners.

I went w/ the C & L CAI/Brenspeed XCT-3 tune package which folks say *will* correct the lazy throttle. Been 2+ weeks since I ordered, supposed to ship 5/21 so they must be busy at Brenspeed.

Just for giggles I ran it down the 1/4 a couple at a track rental last Sunday at 945 miles on the clock; [email protected] with TCS left on. My wife pretty much stomped me in the Vette but my driving kinda sucks. I'll run it again after CAI and tune so I'll have a pretty good idea how much that really offers in terms of gains.