GT350/R Price Drop? Time to Buy?

[662]

Pretty amazing Ford can build a somewhat limited run of a vehicle and in the 3rd year of production still getting ADMs. I think they will have over 2000 units built by end of 2018 MY.

Tom

I think the wheels (and maybe the motor) limit production #'s for us, that little company can only produce so many rims a year to constrain Ford's greed...

So I took the plunge today too, traded my 16 tech pack GT350 for 17 GT350R, 5K adm. I did not want to wait til I was shopping used.

I will say the GT350 is so much kinder to drive on the street, the R in normal mode is stiffer than the track mode GT350. I can feel the lighter wheels and better acceleration which is surprising.

Oh, and I was planning to buy the flood ford warranty, had been watching it for a year and in the last two weeks they separated out the GT350 and GT350R and jacked the GT350 prices by 2k... Until last month they were charged same as any Mustang and the 8YR/60K mile was 1155... now it's 3100... Re-thinking my calculus.

 

[GT Premi]

Welcome to the club, newbies!

I’m now kind of thinking what does a gt350 have that a fully loaded 2018 doesn’t.....10 days too late lol. I know there are many things but Ford must be coming with something pretty big to show up the 350 so easy.

"Show up the 350" in what way?

 

[termoil78]

Welcome to the club, newbies!



"Show up the 350" in what way?

Well a stock ‘18 running 12.0 in 1/4 for starters, with a motor that is easier/safer modified.

The adjustable suspension addition.

Exhaust updates.

Was just commenting that the gap between a 350 and GT seems to have shortened quite a bit.

Granted it is still just a GT, for not a lot less than a 350 $.


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[ANGREY]

Well a stock ‘18 running 12.0 in 1/4 for starters, with a motor that is easier/safer modified.

The adjustable suspension addition.

Exhaust updates.

Was just commenting that the gap between a 350 and GT seems to have shortened quite a bit.

Granted it is still just a GT, for not a lot less than a 350 $.


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Again, it comes down to value. IF you could get the new '18 with the perf pack 3 for a lot cheaper than a slightly used 350, it would be a threat. After all, if a 350 costs you $15k more for simply 100 more horsepower and slightly wider wheels/tires and the uniqueness of the flat plane sound and the wide body kit and aero, etc, how much is all that really worth?

But right now you can grab used 350's for roughly $5k-$10k above what a new maxed out GT goes for (and although the gap may be closer, it's still there, particularly when you start talking about little things like seats, wide body styling, the transmission, etc.)

The new GT will provide "support" (to draw from a technical trading term) on the bottom end of the 350's pricing and keep them from dipping lower (at least for a bit).

At the end of the day, everyone weighs cost and feature and determines if it's commensurate and this is called "value." If the 350 and the '18 GT (PP3) sold for the same price, Ford would have a difficult time selling many of the new PP3's because it would have little value over the better 350 at the same price point. But once the price delta grows a bit, now the cost difference starts to come in line with the benefit differences and the value balance is restored. Stretch that cost gap out more and all the sudden, the value is less than fair (i.e. why spend $15k more on something you could potentially do yourself and regain most or all of the performance with $5k in aftermarket effort).

 

[ZYBORG]

The new gt just burried the 350 (performance wise). At least the 350 still owns the looks department.

 

[GT Premi]

Well a stock ‘18 running 12.0 in 1/4 for starters, with a motor that is easier/safer modified.

...

What's the MPH, though? Also keep in mind that that's with a 10-speed automatic. The GT350 does it with a manual, less torque, and a little more weight. Don't get it twisted. The gap is still there. Track performance is not even going to be a competition. Even with the Level 2 Performance Pack option, the '18 GT will still just be "on par" with the SS 1LE, which trails behind the GT350.

 

[AustinSN]

118 was what the car trapped.

The GT350 is not set up to run down the strip. I've watched more than enough videos to know that car is not easy to get it to leave right.

I can tell you from playing with them on track that they get the hell out of corners really well though.

 

[ANGREY]

The new gt just burried the 350 (performance wise). At least the 350 still owns the looks department.

Well, yeah. Are we back to this? If all I wanted was a strip car, I could buy a used coyote car and dump $15k into it and run 9's all day long. And have enough money left over to nearly buy a second one as backup before it put me over the cost of a GT350.

Drag cars and the muscle cars of the past few decades are like the douchebag who goes to the gym and only ever bench presses. Sure he can bench press 350 lbs, but the guy can't do anything else.

I've been the strip car guy. I've expanded my tastes to something more. Sure the whole acceleration and trap speed thing is a big part of the thrill of driving a sports car. I'm going to throw a blower on my 350. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate the brakes and tires and suspension.

If we wanted, we could spend $500 and do a rear gear swap out and eat stock '18 GT's for lunch all day at the drag strip. But why?

 

[ZYBORG]

Well, yeah. Are we back to this? If all I wanted was a strip car, I could buy a used coyote car and dump $15k into it and run 9's all day long. And have enough money left over to nearly buy a second one as backup before it put me over the cost of a GT350.

Drag cars and the muscle cars of the past few decades are like the douchebag who goes to the gym and only ever bench presses. Sure he can bench press 350 lbs, but the guy can't do anything else.

I've been the strip car guy. I've expanded my tastes to something more. Sure the whole acceleration and trap speed thing is a big part of the thrill of driving a sports car. I'm going to throw a blower on my 350. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate the brakes and tires and suspension.

If we wanted, we could spend $500 and do a rear gear swap out and eat stock '18 GT's for lunch all day at the drag strip. But why?

We arent talking about modded cars vs stock cars. We are talking about factory stock vs factory stock. So your "Ill buy a used coyote and drop 15k into it" doesnt quite apply.

Im also talking about road course / handling abilities, not just the drag strip. I believe that the new gt pp2 will be nipping at the heals of the 350 (sans R) at the road course. Making it a a way better performance per dollar option.

Also, didnt know that rear gears were already readily available for the 350s. Especially not at that $500 bargain price.

 

[AustinSN]

I thought the GT350 used the same rear end as the regular mustang?

Ford designed it so the gears would work from the solid axle cars.

 

[ANGREY]

We arent talking about modded cars vs stock cars. We are talking about factory stock vs factory stock. So your "Ill buy a used coyote and drop 15k into it" doesnt quite apply.

Im also talking about road course / handling abilities, not just the drag strip. I believe that the new gt pp2 will be nipping at the heals of the 350 (sans R) at the road course. Making it a a way better performance per dollar option.

Also, didnt know that rear gears were already readily available for the 350s. Especially not at that $500 bargain price.

It does apply in that if all we're using to judge a car is the trap/et stats, then we might as well just not even consider cars like Shelby's or Roushes, Saleens, etc.

Because if trapping a high speed or running a quick time is all that matters, then might as well just buy a GT and slap some fats and skinnies on it, throw a 150 shot and a tune and voila, you're going to smoke just about everything out there.

So yeah, if all you care about is the drag strip, then the PP GT is your ticket.

 

[ZYBORG]

It does apply in that if all we're using to judge a car is the trap/et stats, then we might as well just not even consider cars like Shelby's or Roushes, Saleens, etc.

Because if trapping a high speed or running a quick time is all that matters, then might as well just buy a GT and slap some fats and skinnies on it, throw a 150 shot and a tune and voila, you're going to smoke just about everything out there.

So yeah, if all you care about is the drag strip, then the PP GT is your ticket.

It doesnt apply. Lol.

Stop it.

And one more time, we arent talking just et/traps, we are taliing the whole package.

 

[ANGREY]

I thought the GT350 used the same rear end as the regular mustang?

Ford designed it so the gears would work from the solid axle cars.

I'm not talking about solid vs. indy rear, I'm talking about gear ratios.

The 350 has really "wide" gears beause it revs so high. It's not meant to jump off a dig in a hurry. It's meant to live at 4-8k rpm, right in the power band and so launching from a dead stop is particularly challenging in a 350. 1) The lower end torque suffers because again, the powerband is meant to be higher in the RPM range. This means you're having to dump the clutch from way high to have enough built up fly wheel momentum to even have a shot not to bog. When you do that, it's a delicate dance of bog or spin, and even if you grab and don't spin, you still end up bogging because 1st gear is tall(er) and the lower end rpms are a bit torque sluggish.

Bottom line is that despite having less power, the regular GT (ESPECIALLY with a new 10 speed auto) is much better setup for the strip.

Put the car out on the track where the 350 is meant to be and it becomes obvious where the money went.

 

[AustinSN]

I'm not talking about solid vs. indy rear, I'm talking about gear ratios.

The 350 has really "wide" gears beause it revs so high. It's not meant to jump off a dig in a hurry. It's meant to live at 4-8k rpm, right in the power band and so launching from a dead stop is particularly challenging in a 350. 1) The lower end torque suffers because again, the powerband is meant to be higher in the RPM range. This means you're having to dump the clutch from way high to have enough built up fly wheel momentum to even have a shot not to bog. When you do that, it's a delicate dance of bog or spin, and even if you grab and don't spin, you still end up bogging because 1st gear is tall(er) and the lower end rpms are a bit torque sluggish.

Bottom line is that despite having less power, the regular GT (ESPECIALLY with a new 10 speed auto) is much better setup for the strip.

Put the car out on the track where the 350 is meant to be and it becomes obvious where the money went.

I wasn't replying to you on that one, just that the gears should be readily available and cheap because it uses older design.

 

[ZYBORG]

ANGREY gunna be ANGRY when the new gt pp2 posts lap times... lol

 

[ANGREY]

It doesnt apply. Lol.

Stop it.

And one more time, we arent talking just et/traps, we are taliing the whole package.

I love how guys always do this. Let's have a debate in a vacuum, where no one ever modifies their cars.

As if out of 10k sports car guys, there's more than a handful that buy a car and refuse to buy aftermarket parts (or even consider them)....ever.

If we were talking about the differences between a McLaren and a Ferrari, I give you, because modding those cars is insanely expensive and virtually impractical

But if your REAL concern is strip times, you're not considering the 350 at all, and probably not considering paying what it costs for the PP3 in the GT model.

Put a 10 speed auto in a 350 and see how much faster it is in the 1320 than the new GTs.

And I've yet to see any comparable lap times or data suggesting the pp GT's are on par with the 350. We could do extrapolations based off the eye test, with the wheels, brakes, suspension, etc......

 

[ANGREY]

ANGREY gunna be ANGRY when the new gt pp2 posts lap times... lol

Not really. Might be surprised. I wouldn't pick a PP GT even if the performance was comparable. I don't like the sound of a coyote motor. I think they sound like garbage. And I like the other stuff that goes with my car too (like seats and widebody). I don't care for the droopy nose of the new cars.

Even if the car is as fast (which is a stretch already) I still wouldn't want it over my 350. I like the styling and the motor better in my car.

 

[ZYBORG]

ANGREY, now we are doing "what ifs"?

Stop it.

 

[ZYBORG]

Not really. Might be surprised. I wouldn't pick a PP GT even if the performance was comparable. I don't like the sound of a coyote motor. I think they sound like garbage. And I like the other stuff that goes with my car too (like seats and widebody). I don't care for the droopy nose of the new cars.

Even if the car is as fast (which is a stretch already) I still wouldn't want it over my 350. I like the styling and the motor better in my car.

This is like the only valid point you have made. Lol

Yes, totally agree there, except the "5.0 sounds like garbage" part.

350 looks all the way. No comparison there.

Ill take the 5.0 motor over that flat plane crank bs, all day and twice on Sunday!

 

[GT Premi]

ANGREY gunna be ANGRY when the new gt pp2 posts lap times... lol

I doubt it. Don't forget Ford is still producing an '18 GT350. Not a chance in hell the L2PP GT is going to outperform it around a track. Like I posted earlier, it will be on par with the SS 1LE.