S281 E

Personally when it comes to cars the longer you can wait the better deal you will get. You might think its a sweet deal now but it will only get better. When the 2011 hits the prices will be firm, but the 2010 will drop.

Norm Peterson

What will the car be used for where gearing might become really important?

All the drag-race guys are going to tell you 4.10's for a MT or (mostly) 3.73's for an AT. Except for a fanatic few who might mention 4.30's. Most everybody is going to recommend against 3.90's because of less than satisfactory experiences with who makes them.

If you're going to autocross or open-track the car on a road course, 4.10's will be too much gear. Even 3.73's might be too deep for a fairly wide-open autocross (where you really don't want to have to use 3rd).

For around town and general highway driving, either 3.55 or 3.73 will work just fine and it would probably come down to a fraction of a mpg and whether you prefer a slightly more relaxed cruise or always having just a few more rpm showing on the tach.

Edit - FWIW I opted for 3.55's vs 3.31's on a car built to order. Even that was an easier choice than 3.55 vs 3.73.


I have no basis for suggesting one year over the other once price gets involved.


Norm

dave2521

How hard is it to update at a later date? Is it something that is D.I.Y. or have to go to a shop to get done?

deekum1627

i would get the 3.73 then you will be good for whatever you wanna do down the line say supercharger or whatever else. also the 2011 will be about 1g more the the 2010's where so u wont get a deal on a 2011 for a few yrs.

sdsguy

unless you know of a reputable shop, get the gears from factory. i've read many threads about people not installing gears right and it creates gear whine (and further issues).

personally, i'd get the premium. yes, it's 3K more but i'd rather have a car that i feel comfortable in when i drive it day in and day out and one that has amenities for my daily drive (sync, the nice stereo, and the nicer trim) because it'd be something i want to sit in. however, if you think you'll be doing a lot of swapping on your own, then just get the base GT and you can swap out parts later.

dkontner

I bought a 2006 GT, went to Ford racing site, found a authorized Ford dealer (only 3 in Ohio), bought the "Drag Pack" and the "handling pack" (they had the Track Pack as well, which made it to production) and they did the whole deal for me and I kept the warranty. Is came out to almost 3k. The drag pack came with headers, CAI, tune, 3.73... It was funny, because the GT-H came out almost a year later and it was almost identical to what I had done. Same exact parts.

dave2521

I appricate all the feedback guys. It sounds like I will be the new owner of one here soon.

Quick question for you all cause on not sure if you all use your mustangs as Daily Drivers or not, since this will be my daily driver do i have to worry about any special driving habits? I'm sure not but I though I would ask to be safe