yellowjacket05

Interesting. I know all cars are different and all conditions and drivers are not equal. But, I test drove an 05 Mustang GT 5 speed and was able to redline it in 1st 3 gears and into 4th. My take from that ride was that it was very similiar to the 5.0 mustangs I have owned, although faster, not overly impressive, but strong. I also drove my buddies stock 04 Mach 1 with 5 speed and I do not see that these 2 cars are the same in performance at all. The Mach feels much stronger and revs ferociously with a sound like an indy car. I'd say the Mach 1 gonna win 9 out of 10 times vs an 05. This is just my take on back to back test drives. The Mach feels like a low 13 sec car and the 05 felt like a low 14 to high 13 sec car. I placed an order for a new 05 GT, 5 MONTHS AGO!!, because all I read said that they were equal to Mach 1's in performance and feel. After the dissappointing test drive and crazy order wait, I test drove an 2005 GTO 6-speed, I was very impresed with quality and power compared to the 05 GT. I cancelled my order and bought the GTO. Though I still feel that the 05 GT is awsome for the money and the best Mustang in many years, maybe the best american car for the money, I'd wait of a new Mach 1 or Shelby.
-my 2 cents

FuzzyRag

I haven't found a stock 05 Mustang GT dyno, but it looks like the mach is one heckuva torquey motor, able to make almost 250 lb-ft at just 2150rpm. That might explain why the mach seems quicker, although magazine testers are getting similar times from both the Mach and the 05, the 05 is a few tenths of a second slower. I'd bet on a driver's race tbh.

Fatblazer

Ummmm. I have to disagree on that

nanaki

SOHC vs DOHC. mmmm...

yellowjacket05

It may be that it just feels slower, but I am alittle skeptical of the magazine times I've read. When we get more private owners on the dragstrip, then we'll see how they run. When my buddy bought his Mach, I think the mags were getting mid-high 13's, but I heard of private owners getting consistant low 13's and 12's with traction and maybe 4:10 gears and thats how the one I drove felt. The 05 Mustang tests are from 13.3-13.6 in mags, but I've heard 13.8-14.2 from private owners, so is Ford hyping up the test cars to sell more or what? All I can say is my one test drive felt closer to 13.8-14.2 range. Same goes for my GTO, mags say 13.3, Pontiac says 13.1, but I know of several private owners with stock cars getting 12.8-12.9 at 107-109, and thats what mine "feels" like.
Its kinda like the old 5.0 road tests, they were all over the place, from 14.2-15.9. I had an 86 GT that I found a magazine road test that it ran 14.1-14.2, but every where else they were like high 14's, mine ran in the high 14's.
But, drivers make all the difference and a good drive can beat a faster car alot of the time.

FuzzyRag

Really, I heard a lot of people in the 350hp GTO's were getting crappy numbers, around 14s while some rags were getting high 13s with them. Ah well, best bet is just have the same driver hop in both cars, while not being used to either one =)

don_w

Plus, the GTO is BORING!! Looks like every other freakin Grand Am on the road. What a waste IMHO.

yellowjacket05

I was refering to the 400hp 05 GTO, but you are correct, these cars wheel hop like Vettes IRS Cobra's etc. My Supercoupe T-bird did the same and I was able to turn a 14.9 by launching riding the clutch and nailing the gas, very hard on the clutch though. The fastest 350hp GTO I've heard of was the one SLP tested to a 13.1, but I doubt that was a very typical time, I'd expect mid 13's at best on average. I saw a video of a 04 GTO vs 05 Mustang at a dragstrip and the GTO ran like a 13.8 and the Stang ran a 14.5 I think, but I could see tire spin on both cars and wheel hop can be heard on the GTO.
Hey, I am just glad we can talk about 300hp pony cars and GTO's in this day and age of FWD garbage and boring appliance cars. Can't wait for the new more powerfull stangs and hopefully Camaro's soon!

yellowjacket05

Yea, I have heard all the jokes, blah blah blah. All I know is every time I've stopped to get gas someone has commented on it favorably and it gets a lot of looks. And it is not as stealthy as you may think, I have had a ram air firebird and several mustangs rev it up at me on site, I've only owned it a few weeks. If you have not seen one close up and especially if you have not driven one, you'll never get it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I'd rather hear from people who know what they are talking about from experience and not from some magazine pictures. The 05 Mustang is a car you can fall in love with from pictures, mostly because it is a retro design and is unmistakeably a Mustang. There is no doubt it a sweet ride, I just did not think it compared well heads up against the GTO, but that is just my opinion. Now had I driven a Shelby Mustang I am sure I'd have wanted that, but that will be 39k MSRP and whatever dealers will tack on, the GTO was the limit of my budget.

don_w

You can rationalize the new GTO all you want... but it is still plain jane. No style, no appeal... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. GM doesn't get it... Ford does. My 2 cents.

And, I thought for sure I was on a "2005 Mustang" forum. Why the hell are we talking about GM stuff? I'm done with this way off-topic thread.