Any Shelby GT500's over or near 100,000 miles? How reliable have they been?

[VenomVeins]

Hello gentlemen,

After nearly pulling the trigger on a Terminator Cobra and deciding against purchasing a 60's muclecar, I decided to take a second look at the Shelby GT500's.....and wow, what a blast they are. I've test driven a few different ones recently (2008, and 2010) and really enjoyed them more than I thought I would. The interior was slightly different on the 2010, but nothing that I would consider to be a dealbreaker. The '13/14's are out of my price range, so im looking at the 2007-2010's.


My main question is this: How much maintenance do these cars require, and what is the overall reliability of them? I plan to keep this purchase for many years, and I have decided that it will be my daily driver. Dont care about the cost of gas, just want to enjoy my daily drive to work-and my lexus is literally boring me to death after owning numerous mustangs and vettes.


Thank you for the input, and looking forward to the responses.

 

[Kenneth]

I have a 2011 Shelby. currently at 56K miles.
It has been tuned before doing the first oil change, throughout the years I've added more mods. Now sitting at over 700 rwhp.

I do an oil change (Amsoil 10/30 sig. series) every 6 months. change fuel filter once a year. and plugs once a year (Motorcraft SP-417)

Car has run flawless, I wouldn't hesitate to jump in it and drive cross country.

 

[Speedboosted]

They're strong running cars. If you plan to really keep it a long time, just do simple bolts on, make 550 or so at the wheels, and enjoy. Maintenance like plugs, the right oil, and quality gasoline go a long way. Heat and detonation is what kills the engines from what I've seen

 

[VenomVeins]

Thank you for the responses Kenneth and Speedboosted, i really appreciate it! Im mainly concerned about the detonation/heat thing due to 'the tick' associated with the 03/04 cobra heads and now the Coyote 5.0's. I couldnt find anything about that issue with the GT500's, but found plenty of info about the clutch issues on the 07' to '09's. That doesnt bother me. The head tick does-i really dont want to worry about that in the back of my mind while doing some spirited driving.

I dealt with numerous issues on my last Z06, including harmonic balancer wobble and the valve spring issue, among other things which really soured me on another vette purchase.

Thank you again, and keep the responses coming! The more i know about the nuances of this car, the sooner i can feel confident in purchasing one, which should be very very soon.

 

[Speedboosted]

2007's don't have a good harmonic balancer or something like that. I'm not exactly sure what it is as I never looked into one of them but that and clutch dragging are the only things I can think of. Get a '10, or better yet an '11 if you can. The interior is much nicer and is better made. The '06 I have has nearly equal miles to the Shelby (it's an '11) but has waaaaaay more creaks and rattles inside. You can really tell Ford did a much better job putting the newer body style together. Plus a '10 has knock sensors that can save an engine from failure, and then the '11 has an onboard wideband and of course, that lighter aluminum block (100 pounds or so).

 

[builttodrive]

Thank you for the responses Kenneth and Speedboosted, i really appreciate it! Im mainly concerned about the detonation/heat thing due to 'the tick' associated with the 03/04 cobra heads and now the Coyote 5.0's. I couldnt find anything about that issue with the GT500's, but found plenty of info about the clutch issues on the 07' to '09's. That doesnt bother me. The head tick does-i really dont want to worry about that in the back of my mind while doing some spirited driving.

I dealt with numerous issues on my last Z06, including harmonic balancer wobble and the valve spring issue, among other things which really soured me on another vette purchase.

Thank you again, and keep the responses coming! The more i know about the nuances of this car, the sooner i can feel confident in purchasing one, which should be very very soon.

The GT500's are exempt from "the tick". 07's had a heavy crank balancer that can be replaced with an 08 and newer one for cheap and ford racing offers it as well. Clutches aren't the best but any good aftermarket one will be a great replacement and will hold lots of power with long life. Otherwise they are pretty great cars with just minimal normal maintenance. All these factors depend on your driving/ use of the car and at what performance level your are happy with. 2010 cars had the best oem clutch from what I understand and the also have knock sensors to help forgive detonation.

Just my 2 cents;-)

 

[bFoxGt500]

Buy one, drive it every day and enjoy it for years - you will not be sorry!!

 

[tktlwyr]

83,000 miles, 700 rwhp. The only issues I've had are from normal wear and tear.

 

[Speedboosted]

83,000 miles, 700 rwhp. The only issues I've had are from normal wear and tear.

How long at that power level?

 

[VenomVeins]

83,000 miles, 700 rwhp. The only issues I've had are from normal wear and tear.

Excellent!

Like speedboosted asked-how long at that power level? No major fixes?


The more I read about these engines (both the iron and aluminum block) the more I am impressed.

 

[Speedboosted]

I could be wrong on this, but I see more aluminum block cars having issues than iron block ones. There are 4 model years of each block, with the Iron seemingly holding up better. A lot of that could be just from aluminum block owners being generally more aggressive and running more power through them. I should say now, I'm not specifically talking about issues with the bare block itself, but with the short block. Just what I have seen though

 

[NightRide]

A few years ago there were quite a few iron block failures, recently it seems to be the 13/14 guys though. Still a small number compared to the thousands out there.

 

[VenomVeins]

A few years ago there were quite a few iron block failures, recently it seems to be the 13/14 guys though. Still a small number compared to the thousands out there.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!

Any idea why? Maybe too much boost?

I dont plan on going crazy with it-550 RWHP is enough for me.

 

[Speedboosted]

A few years ago there were quite a few iron block failures, recently it seems to be the 13/14 guys though. Still a small number compared to the thousands out there.

Ah see I wasn't really into the Shelby scene at that point. But yeah that last part really sums it up and is something I forgot to mention...its a very small percentage that have issues.

At 550 rwhp, the car will be as stout as can be with good maintenance and proper fuel

 

[charged87]

NOOOOOOOOO!!!

Any idea why? Maybe too much boost?

I dont plan on going crazy with it-550 RWHP is enough for me.

I said that to last summer now I have a 13-14 TVS in the garage ready to bolt on... these car's are a blast to drive even at stock hp levels.

 

[builttodrive]

NOOOOOOOOO!!!

Any idea why? Maybe too much boost?

I dont plan on going crazy with it-550 RWHP is enough for me.

Any of them can do 550 rwhp all day long with no worries! 650 rwhp isn't too crazy either but where ever you go with one make sure you have a good tune, good fuel, and plenty fuel supply.

 

[Booky]

I have put over 20K miles on my 2012 with the upgraded 2.3 TVS, supporting mods and custom dyno tune.

No problems so far except for lack of traction, and the MT ET Street Radial II's largely cured that.:-D

As others have said, running a good conservative tune is the key for longevity.

 

[Kenneth]

I dont plan on going crazy with it-550 RWHP is enough for me.

I said I was going to stop at 600 when I started modding.
Kinda past that now.

 

[tktlwyr]

How long at that power level?

About 70,000 miles. Rev limiter is set to factory, although I wish it was 6,500.

Personally, I think you're pretty safe with a good tune and moderate rev limiter. When you go above 6,500 rpms, that's when people start to have problems.

 

[DGladhill]

I said that to last summer now I have a 13-14 TVS in the garage ready to bolt on... these car's are a blast to drive even at stock hp levels.

Yerp, I had 0 intention of modding anything outside of the catback on my '07 when I picked it up Oct 2013. Less than a year later and I had the mods in my sig :cryying: