6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
06-05-2006, 07:23 AM
#1
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location:
Posts: 176
6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
Well, I've got 6000 miles on my 06 GT, and just thought I'd share what I think of it so far.
I'll start with the Likes:
1. It's fast. Not blazing fast, but fast enough to have fun. It's my daily driver, so I guess I don't really want something blazing fast. Oh wait, yes I do
. It won't stay stock for much longer 
2. It handles well.....as long as the roads are smooth. More on that in the dislikes.
3. It looks awesome. I get a woody every time I look at it.
4. It's comfortable. I took a 600 mile trip with it and had no issues. Also, compared to previous Mustangs, you don't feel like you're sitting so high in the cabin.
5. The traction control is very liberal. It lets you get the rear end a bit loose on the turns without kicking in.
Now it's on to the dislikes:
1. Electronic throttle control. This has to be the worst implementation of fly by wire I have seen. The thing decelerates worse than an automatic (it's a 5sp). If you shift it quickly, the revs continue to increase, so it sounds like you don't know how to shift. Accelration response isn't much better. Luckily this gets much better with a flash tuner. It will be my first mod.
2. Solid rear axle. With a completely new Mustang, why didn't Ford take the opportunity to get into the 21st century with an independent rear suspension? Sure it may handle well on smooth surfaces, but who drives on a racetrack all the time? I live in CA, with some of the worst roads ever. When having fun on the backroads, the rear end hops and skips all over the place.
3. The shaker 500. I'd rather have a Jensen system than this piece of crap. In between skipping, spitting out CD-R's, not reeading some MP3's, and one time completely stopped responding, I'll be using this thing for target practice when I take it out. Not to mention the pass side subwoofer is already blown, and I've never even turned it up past 1/3 or so.
4. Worthless auxiliary guages. Wow, my oil pressure is somewhere between really high and really low, whatever those values might be. Ford might as well have put some hello kitty pictures in their place. I probably would have gotten more use out of it.
5. It's built cheap. I'd expect a little more for close to 30k. Ford quality has gone downhill. My 90 TBird was built much better than this car. 90% of the interior is plastic. The door lock bezel flew off a few days after I got it when I shut the door. Some doofus on the assembly line bent the tabs when putting it on. The body panels don't line up all that well. As an example, I've got a noticably larger gap between the hood/fender on the pass side than I do on the driver's side. The sheet metal is awefully thin. I would expect the roof to bulge in when washing, but the trunk too? For such a small piece of sheet metal, with reinfored bracing, it should not bulge when I put pressure on it.
6. The gas tank. Yes I have the filling problem. I'll be modifying my filler tube when I get around to it to correct this.
7. Fuel level gauge is too sensitive. With a quarter tank, hit a few hard turns, and next thing you know you have 0 miles to empty.
8. Speaking of the low fuel indication, I hate all the damn dinging. Your lights are on, your door is open, your ebrake is up, your fuel level is low, your fuel level is lower, your fuel level is even lower. I'm waiting for it to ding and tell me my fly is open.
9. The blinker sound. It just doesn't sound right. What happened to the good old fashioned relay sound?
10. The A/C is not very efficient. It doesn't blow that cold. The only time it really gets cold is when it's cool outside. But then, why would I want to use the A/C then?
11. The head rest doesn't tilt. It sits just perfect for normal driving, but you can't tilt your head back to relax if you want to take a nap or something (not while driving of course )
12. The brakes. They work great when cold, but get them good and hot, and it feels like you're going over railroad tracks when you hit the brakes. Some new pads should take care of that.
Overall I like my mustang. Some of the dislikes are fixable, and the rest I'll just have to learn to live with.
How about you guys? What are some of the likes/dislikes about your Mustang?
I'll start with the Likes:
1. It's fast. Not blazing fast, but fast enough to have fun. It's my daily driver, so I guess I don't really want something blazing fast. Oh wait, yes I do
. It won't stay stock for much longer 2. It handles well.....as long as the roads are smooth. More on that in the dislikes.
3. It looks awesome. I get a woody every time I look at it.
4. It's comfortable. I took a 600 mile trip with it and had no issues. Also, compared to previous Mustangs, you don't feel like you're sitting so high in the cabin.
5. The traction control is very liberal. It lets you get the rear end a bit loose on the turns without kicking in.
Now it's on to the dislikes:
1. Electronic throttle control. This has to be the worst implementation of fly by wire I have seen. The thing decelerates worse than an automatic (it's a 5sp). If you shift it quickly, the revs continue to increase, so it sounds like you don't know how to shift. Accelration response isn't much better. Luckily this gets much better with a flash tuner. It will be my first mod.
2. Solid rear axle. With a completely new Mustang, why didn't Ford take the opportunity to get into the 21st century with an independent rear suspension? Sure it may handle well on smooth surfaces, but who drives on a racetrack all the time? I live in CA, with some of the worst roads ever. When having fun on the backroads, the rear end hops and skips all over the place.
3. The shaker 500. I'd rather have a Jensen system than this piece of crap. In between skipping, spitting out CD-R's, not reeading some MP3's, and one time completely stopped responding, I'll be using this thing for target practice when I take it out. Not to mention the pass side subwoofer is already blown, and I've never even turned it up past 1/3 or so.
4. Worthless auxiliary guages. Wow, my oil pressure is somewhere between really high and really low, whatever those values might be. Ford might as well have put some hello kitty pictures in their place. I probably would have gotten more use out of it.
5. It's built cheap. I'd expect a little more for close to 30k. Ford quality has gone downhill. My 90 TBird was built much better than this car. 90% of the interior is plastic. The door lock bezel flew off a few days after I got it when I shut the door. Some doofus on the assembly line bent the tabs when putting it on. The body panels don't line up all that well. As an example, I've got a noticably larger gap between the hood/fender on the pass side than I do on the driver's side. The sheet metal is awefully thin. I would expect the roof to bulge in when washing, but the trunk too? For such a small piece of sheet metal, with reinfored bracing, it should not bulge when I put pressure on it.
6. The gas tank. Yes I have the filling problem. I'll be modifying my filler tube when I get around to it to correct this.
7. Fuel level gauge is too sensitive. With a quarter tank, hit a few hard turns, and next thing you know you have 0 miles to empty.
8. Speaking of the low fuel indication, I hate all the damn dinging. Your lights are on, your door is open, your ebrake is up, your fuel level is low, your fuel level is lower, your fuel level is even lower. I'm waiting for it to ding and tell me my fly is open.
9. The blinker sound. It just doesn't sound right. What happened to the good old fashioned relay sound?
10. The A/C is not very efficient. It doesn't blow that cold. The only time it really gets cold is when it's cool outside. But then, why would I want to use the A/C then?
11. The head rest doesn't tilt. It sits just perfect for normal driving, but you can't tilt your head back to relax if you want to take a nap or something (not while driving of course
)12. The brakes. They work great when cold, but get them good and hot, and it feels like you're going over railroad tracks when you hit the brakes. Some new pads should take care of that.
Overall I like my mustang. Some of the dislikes are fixable, and the rest I'll just have to learn to live with.
How about you guys? What are some of the likes/dislikes about your Mustang?
06-05-2006, 08:02 AM
#3
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 307
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
my hood isn't lined up very well either. I do know what you mean about bumpy roads and its rear end getting funky. i have about 5,000 miles on her so far, and i'm loving it.
06-05-2006, 01:42 PM
#5
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 337
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
No major issues to complain about here.
The gas tank filling problem only lasted about a few weeks after I first got the car. It has only done it a few times in the last 8 or 9 months, but all I do is turn the nozzle upside down and it fills up fine.
I've had mine since July 05 and it had 6800 miles just before I went on a road trip to Tennessee, a week ago. Now, it has just over 8500 miles and didn't have any issues during the trip.
It averaged just over 27 MPG throughout the whole trip.
The gas tank filling problem only lasted about a few weeks after I first got the car. It has only done it a few times in the last 8 or 9 months, but all I do is turn the nozzle upside down and it fills up fine.
I've had mine since July 05 and it had 6800 miles just before I went on a road trip to Tennessee, a week ago. Now, it has just over 8500 miles and didn't have any issues during the trip.
It averaged just over 27 MPG throughout the whole trip.
06-05-2006, 01:47 PM
#6
I ♥ Acer
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location:
Posts: 782
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
06 GT here, almost 2 weeks old. My hood, doors, trunk are about as perfect in alignment you would want.
I pulled the spare, put foam carpet padding under it, on top of it between the spare and jack, and that solved the noise issue that I had.
Don't start that cheap plastic sh** in the interior, it's the same interior as the under $20K base model. You paid $30K for the engine, drivetrain, premium pkg, leather, wheels etc.
Not blazing fast ? WTF do you want ?
JMO
I pulled the spare, put foam carpet padding under it, on top of it between the spare and jack, and that solved the noise issue that I had.
Don't start that cheap plastic sh** in the interior, it's the same interior as the under $20K base model. You paid $30K for the engine, drivetrain, premium pkg, leather, wheels etc.
Not blazing fast ? WTF do you want ?
JMO
06-05-2006, 02:07 PM
#7
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location:
Posts: 209
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
I find the complaints about the solid rear axle funny. There's the group that whines and moans about IRS, then when the car has a solid rear axle as part of it's heratige people complain. Yeah the solid rear may not be as nice as an independant rear, but if you knew about it before hand and yet willingly bought the car despite knowing that the roads in and around your home suck then while you could comment you'd like to have IRS, complaining about it seems moot.
The interior materials may have been better in the early 90's cars but as far as construction and design, Ford did a much better job with these cars than they did with those. Yeah my 94 Tbird SC had a better interior material quality wise, but then again, it was a top tier car back then and doing any work on it was a PITA.
Worst? You haven't driven my Mazda 3 then...
The interior materials may have been better in the early 90's cars but as far as construction and design, Ford did a much better job with these cars than they did with those. Yeah my 94 Tbird SC had a better interior material quality wise, but then again, it was a top tier car back then and doing any work on it was a PITA.
1. Electronic throttle control. This has to be the worst implementation of fly by wire I have seen. The thing decelerates worse than an automatic (it's a 5sp). If you shift it quickly, the revs continue to increase, so it sounds like you don't know how to shift. Accelration response isn't much better. Luckily this gets much better with a flash tuner. It will be my first mod.
06-05-2006, 03:06 PM
#8
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location:
Posts: 393
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
The electronic throttle is bs. Glad my tuner will be in tomorrow. I don't like the fact that they made car where when my foot punches, it has to figure out that I punched it then decided if it really wants to go. Not good when I gotta leave an area where we're racing and the cops show up.......happened recently, glad I was in my buddies vehicle. The gas tank sensitivity annoys the **** out of me. I would go get it fixed, but its better on me just to keep track of the miles and turn the radio up then leave my car in the shop for them to replace the gas tank. I've learned to only use real cd's in some slots and burned ones in others. I find that slots 4-6 don't like burnt cd's on mine, but 1-3 tend to play them a bit more decently. Other then these problems I absolutely love the car. Like what has already been mentioned, these problems can be fixed and its not that hard to do so.
06-05-2006, 03:06 PM
#9
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Palmer, Alaska
Posts: 954
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
We have 13,000 miles on our '06 Yellow Vert GT. It's 8 months old today, and it's NOT our daily driver!
Likes;
Convertible in Alaska you ask! Yes and if this is how nice convertibles are I see no reason for our 'fun' car to ever not be a convertible. Drove it in -32 degrees (F) and was toasty warm with heater on a little over mid way on temp and #2 on fan. (on another note we have never turned the A/C on lol!)
Looks amazing! We get compliments and smiles everyday! And we say 'Thank you' to every complement. (About 20 years ago I told some guy he had really nice '70 mustang his reply was 'Yea, I know' and for some reason that turned me off so much I told myself when ever I have something nice and someone compliments it I will just say thank you)
Top is quick (<16 seconds) to change and can be opened or closed while in motion. (<3 mph)
Dislikes;
I don't like the antilock brakes and TCS defaulting and turning itself off when driving aggresively during the winter. (I have yet to have it happen during summer) TO reset and have anti-lock and TCS back it seems you have to stop and Shut off the car for about 10 mins or so.
Also I dislike when you are crusin with the cruise control on at 80 and hit an expansion joint and the anti-lock and TCS blink on for a few seconds while it's little 'brain' tries to figure out what just happend. (hmm the funny thing is none of these have ever happened while my wife drives! lol)
The live rear axel doesn't like any bumps whether youu are accerating, cornering, or braking aggresively.
Fuel guage not being accurate. (showing 1/4 tank when I know it's close to full) But them again I have felt the car try and die just after '0 miles until empty' beep comes on (once I was accerating hard and the other I was cornering hard @ about 80) I have gone 12 miles after the "0 miles until empty' light came on and I think I put in like 17.6 gals (yes I was empty)
What Ford needs to add/change;
What was Ford thinking 2 years and counting NO in car trunk release?
A prop rod for the hood?
Heated seats and mirror temp (I know some of you have no use for either of these, but they could be an option for those that want them)
Like was posted before, Ford stepping to the 21 century with independent rear suspension would be nice.
05SDI
Likes;
Convertible in Alaska you ask! Yes and if this is how nice convertibles are I see no reason for our 'fun' car to ever not be a convertible. Drove it in -32 degrees (F) and was toasty warm with heater on a little over mid way on temp and #2 on fan. (on another note we have never turned the A/C on lol!)
Looks amazing! We get compliments and smiles everyday! And we say 'Thank you' to every complement. (About 20 years ago I told some guy he had really nice '70 mustang his reply was 'Yea, I know' and for some reason that turned me off so much I told myself when ever I have something nice and someone compliments it I will just say thank you)
Top is quick (<16 seconds) to change and can be opened or closed while in motion. (<3 mph)
Dislikes;
I don't like the antilock brakes and TCS defaulting and turning itself off when driving aggresively during the winter. (I have yet to have it happen during summer) TO reset and have anti-lock and TCS back it seems you have to stop and Shut off the car for about 10 mins or so.
Also I dislike when you are crusin with the cruise control on at 80 and hit an expansion joint and the anti-lock and TCS blink on for a few seconds while it's little 'brain' tries to figure out what just happend. (hmm the funny thing is none of these have ever happened while my wife drives! lol)
The live rear axel doesn't like any bumps whether youu are accerating, cornering, or braking aggresively.
Fuel guage not being accurate. (showing 1/4 tank when I know it's close to full) But them again I have felt the car try and die just after '0 miles until empty' beep comes on (once I was accerating hard and the other I was cornering hard @ about 80) I have gone 12 miles after the "0 miles until empty' light came on and I think I put in like 17.6 gals (yes I was empty)
What Ford needs to add/change;
What was Ford thinking 2 years and counting NO in car trunk release?
A prop rod for the hood?
Heated seats and mirror temp (I know some of you have no use for either of these, but they could be an option for those that want them)
Like was posted before, Ford stepping to the 21 century with independent rear suspension would be nice.
05SDI
06-05-2006, 06:47 PM
#10
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location:
Posts: 551
RE: 6000 miles on the odo, my impressions so far
AAAAAHHHHH STFU.....JESUS BUY A BMW YOU SPOILED BASTARD [sm=sorry.gif]
0-60 in 4.9 sec isnt fast enough for ya?
yeah...too bad i gues my focus is better than your stang !
0-60 in 4.9 sec isnt fast enough for ya?
yeah...too bad i gues my focus is better than your stang !