It's part of the aero package. Really.
Comparison: GT350 and GT350R
- Thread starter treynor
- Start date
To be clear, I'm not talking about the holes for the air to pass through to the radiator(s). I'm referring to the fascia itself. In that pic, the fascia on the R looks like it's molded slightly different from the standard GT350 fascia, whereby all the grille plates on the R look smaller. It's probably just an optical illusion.
The track pack non-r might be the most appropriate car for the type of driving you do but you can't even drive one of those to it's full potential on the street. I do believe that most of the people who didn't buy an R didn't NOT buy one because it wasn't a perfect match to their driving habits or environment...if that was the case, we'd all be driving fuel efficient electric cars...cost and availability obviously come into play. I don't know what it's called but I'll call it "purchase confirmation" - it's that need to confirm, no matter what, that a correct purchase decision was made as opposed to some other product...or not purchasing at all. Everyone wants to know that they made a good choice and people go out of their way to "prove" it.
You are correct. I sometimes call it "left behind syndrome." An apropos story, I was reading reviews for wifi routers last night. Several of the comments on the reviews weren't even about the router being reviewed, but rather somebody talking about how "I have X router and it's just as good. Buying Y router is a waist of money when you can just have X then do ABC to get the same performance as the Y router, and save $XXX dollars!" Really, dude? Because your Frankenstein setup works for you, it's supposed to be the ideal setup for everybody??
Some people just don't like to feel like their [expensive] choice is outmoded, outdated or inadequate. What is perfectly fine for one person is sub par for another. The GT350 is an EXCELLENT car for its MSRP, but if I was looking for something more slanted toward tooling around town, there are much better options for the same money. If I'm buying a performance model of a car, I want the best they offer.
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I thought my review would be particularly useful because I had avoided purchase confirmation. Granted, I chose an extreme method of doing so.
One additional data point: I let a colleague drive both cars, and didn't tell him what I thought ahead of time. He concluded that he preferred the non-R car, which surprised him because he was expecting to like the R more.
He ordered a white/blue tech package GT350 the next day
One additional data point: I let a colleague drive both cars, and didn't tell him what I thought ahead of time. He concluded that he preferred the non-R car, which surprised him because he was expecting to like the R more.
He ordered a white/blue tech package GT350 the next day
I thought my review would be particularly useful because I had avoided purchase confirmation. Granted, I chose an extreme method of doing so.
One additional data point: I let a colleague drive both cars, and didn't tell him what I thought ahead of time. He concluded that he preferred the non-R car, which surprised him because he was expecting to like the R more.
He ordered a white/blue tech package GT350 the next day
What was his reasoning!?
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it was probably because of a softer ride, more compliant seats and more creature comforts. I don't think anyone has confirmed if this made it to production or not, but preliminary information put out by Ford was that the R would not have any trunk lining. A LOT of noise comes into car cabins through the trunk. I could see that turning people off on a daily driver.
Mostly: more compliant ride.
I thought my review would be particularly useful because I had avoided purchase confirmation. Granted, I chose an extreme method of doing so.
One additional data point: I let a colleague drive both cars, and didn't tell him what I thought ahead of time. He concluded that he preferred the non-R car, which surprised him because he was expecting to like the R more.
He ordered a white/blue tech package GT350 the next day
Yes, I had to do something at work and ended my post a little prematurely. My final point was that it's interesting to have a perspective from someone who has both. Like I mentioned, many factors go into choosing a car. I'd ask you; If you hadn't driven either and could only purchase one, which one would you choose?
I think people have become accustomed to fast, compliant street cars over the years. The harder edge of the R probably feels a little foreign when comparing it to most modern "road-going" sports cars.
Good comparison OP. I think people get to caught up in having to have the top-dog model without stopping to consider that cars rarely spend more than a tiny fraction of their time doing track duty, and ones that are set up to be animals at the track are often quite unpleasant to live with on the street.
I threw this together. My Track Pack on the right and an R model on the left. Perspective isn't perfect but I think it answers your questions.
I would have chosen the "R" without a second thought. Lighter / sportier / racier is better, right? That is why I found this conclusion so interesting.
In retrospect, I think I was comparing the regular 458 Italia with the 458 Speciale, where the Speciale is definitely the 'sport' version of the 458, but it's still very compliant to drive, very civilized, very easy to drive day-to-day. The GT350R is less 'sport' and more 'race', and that's a somewhat different ball of wax.
I threw this together. My Track Pack on the right and an R model on the left. Perspective isn't perfect but I think it answers your questions.
Are they not identical?
Me, too. It al depends on what you're after. The R is more exciting for me. I can only choose one. While the non-r is possibly the more appropriate car for the street..being a Mustang fan has frequently led me to choose the less appropriate car
As far as what makes the R feel different... I haven't driven them both but my guess is spring rate, damper programming and the shorter sidewall (especially this) are pretty much 100% responsible. Changing any one of those things on my previous cars makes a huge difference.
Thanks, Tob! That indeed answered my question. They are the same size. Interesting to note also that the center section of the R splitter is larger than the standard GT350. I thought only the outboard dive planes were larger. Also interesting is that the R splitter is a one piece and the standard splitter appears to be a 3 piece.
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