Happy with your 350? Previous owners of GT500, please chime in.

[jamyzd39]

I wanted to get your guys overall thoughts on the GT350. I don't like just googling articles that are paid advertisements, I want the truth from the owners. So I currently own a 2014 Roush and am considering getting rid of it either buying an 13/14 Shelby GT500, or a 16/17 GT350. Currently I run around 650RWHP and I am used to boosted cars.

I figured maybe I would get some reviews from other owners who maybe had a 14GT500 and now has a GT350. I am used to boosted cars, so I would like to know if I might be happy with a naturally aspirated car again....

I would just like to hear some stories, positives/negatives. Overall would you buy again? Are alot of owners considering offing their 350's since the new 500's are around the corner, or are you happy with it?

I know everyone has a different definition of what they like and don't. Personally I do like the older body styles better but I admit some new modern day conveniences are enjoyable.

Any reviews should help, thanks guys

 

[Drewsky65]

i am in this same debate myself, driven them a few times and really love a lot about the 350's. the SOUND the way they look drive and perform all around is amazing. few things right away i didn't like was the pure lack of low end power ( coming form my 13 gt500) my first initial impression was that it felt like a standard 5.0 with better handling. however i was not driving in the power band these cars perform in. I am on the fence of trading mine in for a 17 gt350 currently and still looking for just a few more reasons to do so. i am 50/50 on it so i knwo this isnt going to be very helpful

 

[JAJ]

It depends on what you want to do with it. I traded from a 14 GT500 to a 16 GT350, and on balance, I'd say it was a good move for me. The GT350 is easier to drive around town and it's a completely different experience on the track. Not as powerful, and ultimately not any faster, but a lot less of that "teetering on the brink" sensation you get when you go fast in an S197.

As for daily driving, it's a breeze at "regular" revs. Once you go through 4,000RPM it's a whole different story, but from idle to 4k, it's very easy to drive.

 

[Pete Grimaldi]

I haven't got the desire to get rid of mine. I may go for a 2018 GT as a daily driver when the lease is up on our 2016 Fusion though. I love this GT500! I don't track the car, it is strictly a street car. Maybe if the roads were better in the Northeast I might have different thoughts, but nothing you drive here is going to make these roads feel any better.

Pete

 

[jvandy50]

I had a 16 GTPP with bolt-ons that actually felt more torquey than the 350(MT82 vs TREMEC). It was weird to get used to, and at first i was not as impressed as i thought i would be. The shifter felt like a noodle(i had MGW on the GT), the seats were tight af on my back, and bottom end torque was meh...

Fast forward a few months, and of course an MGW install, and i freaking love this thing. The recaros fit me like a glove now, and after going to the ford performance driving school I actually want a harness/roll bar. The shifter issue is fixed, and now i also drive it higher in the rpms and past 4K it’s a rocket....and just keeps going. You don’t really get a chance to wind it out save the most remote of roads.

It would be hard coming from all that torque to the 350. But if you give it some time and do what it wants, i think it will reward you back with nothing but smiles.

 

[tomshep]

I have a 14 GT500 and I LOVE the torque on the street. Torque is what makes driving a vehicle fun on the street fun. It reminds me of my old 428 CJ. It fries the tires at 2000 rpm in 2nd rolling into the throttle.

I've driven a 350 R on track and instructed in it. Great car on the track. You just point and floor it. The handling is great and the brakes are AMAZING.

I've not driven one on the street, but from reading many other posts it is gutless under 4000 rpm which is where 99% of your street driving is.

I definitely don't plan on selling my 14. But I sure would like to get a 350 at some point. When the 500 comes out they will drop nicely in price.

Tom

 

[Tob]

OP, do you track your cars at all?

 

[StrayBullitt]

OP why leave it N/A ? The GT350 is a 2.9 whipple away from 750+ hp and 530+ TQ at something like 10 psi. Tap that voo doo's potential !

 

[blue 07]

Like most have said, depends on what your looking for and what you plan on doing with it. I will say , you will miss the supercharger ! The one thing that sold me on the GT500 was exactly that, insane torque and that supercharger whine.
If your looking to slam your head back in the seat, buy a 13/14 GT500, if you want to smash your face on the side glass, get a GT350, or wait for the new GT500 and you can do both.

 

[usaf_branham]

I had a procharged ‘15 (Premium GT) before my 350 and it was clearly the faster car. However, the 350 is all around better. I’ll jump on the band wagon here and say it’s balanced. So, while I miss the blower, I am happier in the 350. One day I will likely put a power added on it, but that won’t be for a very long time.

 

[Osiris]

I just don't get the gutless comments. Perhaps that's coming from people with SC'd cars. I think the 350 has plenty of pull. Even with the exhaust in normal, it's a little loud, so even though you're feeling like keeping the car in 3rd of 4th around the street you'll end up in 6th, and yeah...No blower to pull you out of that...

Needless to say, I've never felt like I didn't have enough power, whatsoever. It's pretty easy to over-drive the fat rear tires, even with the nannies on, but it also hum along like any other car and not make you feel nervous to be in traffic either.

Here's what you'll love...

The ride. Sorry 197 guys and gals...I had one too, with suspension work...That thing was like a bus on the street. The S550 is actually pleasant to drive, even in Shelby form.

The look. The GT500 is, to us...a stand out, right? To the rest of creation, it looks like every other Mustang out there. I can't tell you how many times, to this day, I see people breaking their neck to look at the 350....Ford just nailed it in the looks department...

The Brakes...Good Lord...They're nice...I don't recall my experience in a 500, but I've been in a Roush RS3 with the upgraded brakes and I think the 350 is amazing.

I think you just need to evaluate your needs. Both cars are built for different things...I love them both, but I don't regret my choice one bit.

 

[rwleonard]

"if you want to smash your face on the side glass, get a GT350, or wait for the new GT500 and you can do both."

Or, buy a 13/14 GT500 and take the money saved from buying a new 350/500 to your nearest Griggs installer...

Just buy the one you "like" and fill in the gaps with money!

 

[ANGREY]

"if you want to smash your face on the side glass, get a GT350, or wait for the new GT500 and you can do both."

Or, buy a 13/14 GT500 and take the money saved from buying a new 350/500 to your nearest Griggs installer...

Just buy the one you "like" and fill in the gaps with money!

I'm not so sure this is a completely honest assessment.

Can you create a 350 equivalent (in terms of handling) out of any of the current model 500 cars? Probably, but at what cost?

What's the largest size tire you can run (front an rear) in the current 500 offerings without having to widebody it? And no, I'm not talking about being a ricer/redneck and running tires that stress the hell out of the suspension geometry and stick out past the fenders and throw rocks all over your paint job, have steering rub issues and etc.

How much brake would you need to run in order to achieve the same braking performance? Keep in mind the extra weight of the 500 is going to require some serious bread loaves over massive rotors to get the beast to woah with the same haste as a 350.

Can a solid axle car ever really handle as well as an IRS?

What I'm getting at is that you can probably upgrade the current offered 500s in the suspension arena and improve them, but to get to a true 350 turn and stop performance with a current 500 you'll either have to cut some corners or spend SERIOUS money.

 

[ANGREY]

I just don't get the gutless comments. Perhaps that's coming from people with SC'd cars. I think the 350 has plenty of pull. Even with the exhaust in normal, it's a little loud, so even though you're feeling like keeping the car in 3rd of 4th around the street you'll end up in 6th, and yeah...No blower to pull you out of that...

Needless to say, I've never felt like I didn't have enough power, whatsoever. It's pretty easy to over-drive the fat rear tires, even with the nannies on, but it also hum along like any other car and not make you feel nervous to be in traffic either.

Here's what you'll love...

The ride. Sorry 197 guys and gals...I had one too, with suspension work...That thing was like a bus on the street. The S550 is actually pleasant to drive, even in Shelby form.

The look. The GT500 is, to us...a stand out, right? To the rest of creation, it looks like every other Mustang out there. I can't tell you how many times, to this day, I see people breaking their neck to look at the 350....Ford just nailed it in the looks department...

The Brakes...Good Lord...They're nice...I don't recall my experience in a 500, but I've been in a Roush RS3 with the upgraded brakes and I think the 350 is amazing.

I think you just need to evaluate your needs. Both cars are built for different things...I love them both, but I don't regret my choice one bit.

It's a little bit to do with countering what people have become accustomed to over the years.

I see vids of people short shifting the 350 a lot, simply because people are used to the cadence/rhythm of previous V-8s that didn't rev an extra 2k rpms.

Similarly, I think most of us got accustomed to cruising on the highway in overdrive and when you're ready to pass someone, you just used your right foot. The 350 needs to be in higher rpm to generate any comparable levels of torque we're used to.

Additionally, we're used to not having to drop and rev every time we want a little torque, but with the voodoo, that's absolutely what's necessary (to run the rpms up quite often).

The car loves to live in the track range of rpms, but don't low, is pretty pedestrian.

So I've had to break some habits/expectations about keeping the car in sub 3k rpms (and not shifting) to get it to move quicker than a Taurus.

My advice to anyone who says that the 350 is gutless or has no torque is...you have to change your mindset and your typical way of driving every other V8 you've driven. It doesn't work that way and you're driving it WRONG.

 

[Osiris]

Well, if you're in 6th under 3k then yes...That's not going to pull much of anything...I only go into 6th beyond 65mph anyway...

I haven't seen what E85 does to it yet...but summer's coming...I've driven it on 101 and it was noticeable.

 

[GNBRETT]

Cars that make no Torque are just boring to drive and at that price one should be getting a beast of a car but their not. The common complaint of just about every GT350 owner other then u apparently is the lack of power.

BFD it can go around the track faster then the S197 or GT500 or brake better currently. My Brembo's stop on a dime don't need to stop any faster. How many times how u been to the track with ur car? Ill bet about as many times as 99% of the GT350 owners have which is zero times.

Its a novelty car and Ford totally missed the boat with this car and as soon as the GT500 is released the GT350 will be sold in record numbers and tank in value.

Sorry GT350 owner but the Camaro ZL1 embarrasses the GT350 at the track and on the street and for that reason alone I would not care for one considering the GT350 is pretty much a single purpose car which is a track car. The only thing the GT350 seems to do better is sound louder!

I just don't get the gutless comments. Perhaps that's coming from people with SC'd cars. I think the 350 has plenty of pull. Even with the exhaust in normal, it's a little loud, so even though you're feeling like keeping the car in 3rd of 4th around the street you'll end up in 6th, and yeah...No blower to pull you out of that...

Needless to say, I've never felt like I didn't have enough power, whatsoever. It's pretty easy to over-drive the fat rear tires, even with the nannies on, but it also hum along like any other car and not make you feel nervous to be in traffic either.

Here's what you'll love...

The ride. Sorry 197 guys and gals...I had one too, with suspension work...That thing was like a bus on the street. The S550 is actually pleasant to drive, even in Shelby form.

The look. The GT500 is, to us...a stand out, right? To the rest of creation, it looks like every other Mustang out there. I can't tell you how many times, to this day, I see people breaking their neck to look at the 350....Ford just nailed it in the looks department...

The Brakes...Good Lord...They're nice...I don't recall my experience in a 500, but I've been in a Roush RS3 with the upgraded brakes and I think the 350 is amazing.

I think you just need to evaluate your needs. Both cars are built for different things...I love them both, but I don't regret my choice one bit.

 

[Osiris]

I typically don't respond to cretins who don't know the difference between their and they're, but **** it...It's Monday...

Okay troll. Think what you want. This proves you've never driven one, so by all means, bench race away. I won't waste time posting pics of proving you wrong about me racing mine either.

And I would expect a car with similar weight and 100 more HP to beat it. But uh...There's this, from "Chevy Hardcore":

"But lets get down to the nitty gritty. The Camaro ended up turning in a 1:27.90 around Willow Springs, besting the GT350R’s 1:28.29 time. While a split of .39 seconds doesn’t sound like much, a win is a win"

650h/650tq vs 524/436 and that's embarrassing the GT350? Again, shows me you spend too much time on the internet talking shit about what you apparently know nothing about.

In case you missed it, people make forced induction kits for the GT350 too, it's only money. I'm sure you know what that's like, Looks like you had to dump money into your car too, huh?

We'll see on the 500...We have two more years at least before anyone will even have the chance to buy one. In the meantime, the 350 continues to sell at sticker (The R with ADMs) while the ZL1 sits on lots with 5K discounts.

 

[GT Premi]

I just don't get the gutless comments. Perhaps that's coming from people with SC'd cars. I think the 350 has plenty of pull. ...

The look. The GT500 is, to us...a stand out, right? To the rest of creation, it looks like every other Mustang out there. ...
I think you just need to evaluate your needs. Both cars are built for different things...I love them both, but I don't regret my choice one bit.

I don't understand the complaints about power, either. You buy a car that's meant to be revved out, you won't rev it into its power band, then you complain that it doesn't have enough power and that you shouldn't have to rev it out all the time. Huh?? How much sense does that make? The people complaining about the perceived lack of power down low probably bought it just to have the next shiny and newest thing and didn't really know (or care at the time) what they were buying. They just had to have it just to say they had one. I actually doubt the honesty in those testimonials. My GT500 is probably putting close to 700HP to the wheels, and I still don't feel any lack of around town driveability in my GT350R. I admit, though, that lightweight wheels contribute a LOT to how a car feels. When I put lightweight wheels on my GT500, it felt 400 lbs lighter even though the actual weight reduction was "only" 60 lbs. With all the other weight reduction I've done, my GT500 now drives like a 3300 - 3400 lbs car.

...
How much brake would you need to run in order to achieve the same braking performance? Keep in mind the extra weight of the 500 is going to require some serious bread loaves over massive rotors to get the beast to woah with the same haste as a 350.

Can a solid axle car ever really handle as well as an IRS?

What I'm getting at is that you can probably upgrade the current offered 500s in the suspension arena and improve them, but to get to a true 350 turn and stop performance with a current 500 you'll either have to cut some corners or spend SERIOUS money.

A standard GT350 and an '11 - '14 GT500 are pretty close in weight. Almost identical, in fact. So some better brake pads would put them dead even in the braking department. The smaller rotors on the GT500 will boil the brake fluid much sooner, though, and won't have the endurance of the GT350.

A solid axle car can absolutely handle as well as an IRS car. The Mustang GT has been neck and neck with the same-years BMW M3/M4 in performance ever since the S197 came out. Albeit very sloppy while doing so. However, there is no shortage of suspension parts and manufacturers that can make the S197 handle like a dream and still be comfortable and compliant on the street. I speak from experience. Yes, it is expensive to do so, but it's very rewarding. If I had to put my GT500 back to its stock suspension setup, I'd just get rid of the car. It's THAT much better. It's not even the same car anymore.


OP, I still have my heavily-modified-for-handling/lightly-modified-for-power GT500. I still enjoy every second behind the wheel of my GT350R in spite of it being woefully outmatched by my GT500 in the power department. I actually enjoy driving my GT350R at pedestrian speeds more than my GT500. It's easier to modulate and moderate the power around town. With my GT500, whenever leaving from a stop behind another vehicle, I have to let them get at least 3 car lengths ahead before I start moving because it just leaps forward from a stop. It's fun having that kind of power, but it's also annoying sometimes.

If I were ever in an unfortunate position where I had to get rid of one of them, I'd have a very hard time picking which one. Even though my GT500 is now a corner carver, they're still both very different cars. Yet they both provide equal thrills.

 

[ANGREY]

You're comparing apples to oranges on the suspension. Will an IRS car on the SAME platform, handle better than a live axle car ON THE SAME PLATFORM.

Of course a solid axle mustang can beat an IRS passenger bus.

If IRS doesn't help it handle better, then what's the point? I'm guessing it does. Solid axle is cheaper and less complicated and obviously better for drag applications, but IRS is more handling and response and ride quality. You can't tell me that going around a corner on an imperfect surface doesn't translate into a more livened rear end....any disruption to one tire transfers over to the other and the entire rear end.

 

[ANGREY]

And comparing the brake pads is a bit unfair as well. Smaller rotors are inferior. So if one could upgrade the pads on a 500 and be "equal" then wouldn't the 350 be able to upgrade the same pads and be once again...better? My point is, from a handling stand point, the 350 is superior, as it should be. It has wider tires, bigger brakes, and slightly better weight distribution AND it has magnetic ride dampening. The 500 obviously has more power which makes up for this on longer straights and less technical sections. But the 500 has been a "one lap hero" for brake fade.

I'm not trying to take away from the previous 500, but it was and is a muscle car. Can it be made more nimble? Sure, but so can the 350. Can the 350 be made to make more power? Sure, but so can the 500. Both cars start off as different animals.