Been around a couple weeks, lurking a lot longer....
04-26-2012, 10:44 AM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 50
Been around a couple weeks, lurking a lot longer....
Right so I've had the Mustang for a bit now and I never really did do one of these posts. I figure I can pass on my thoughts now that I've had a little seat time. Yes, I know it's a novel. You don't have to read it 
I got a 2012 Mustang GT Premium w/Brembo and 3.73s. Oh, and the interior upgrade package and HIDs
My previous car was a 2010 GTI. Loved it, but not sad to see it go.
Things that I notice in comparison to that car:
The first thing is that the Mustang is harder to park. You can't see exactly where the hood ends because of that central bulge, it makes placing it a bit more difficult...but it's the kind of thing that you get used to as you become more comfortable with the car. Also it's sort of strange going from a hatch to a vehicle with a trunk. The rear wheels of the GTI were basically where the bumper was...there's like a foot and a half extra sticking out on the Mustang. It's not much, however having the rear wheels right at the very back of the car makes it a lot easier to place the rear end....you can almost do it by feel, because your body can sense the pivot point (rear wheels) when you're backing up and your brain knows...well...that's the back of the car. (these aren't really negatives....they're just different)
The second is that...the fuel economy isn't as good. I was getting 28mpg average in the GTI....I'm averaging 20.7mpg right now in the mustang, with about 600 miles of mixed city, highway, and high-speed autobahn (it gets 18.4 at 125!). Not atrocious, and I expect as the engine wears in a little it'll go up by a MPG or two but it's not 28. It DOES have over double the power though...
The Mustang's interior built quality is just a tiny bit worse than the GTI. The actual look and comfort is higher in the Mustang (a bit more leg room, I prefer the seating position) And MyColor is a neat little gimmick that I had fun setting up. But there are a few areas where the seams between panels aren't quite what they should be (for example, the soft-touch materials around the steering column)....but you kind of have to really look for them. Given the better style and slightly better comfort of the Mustang's interior and the slightly better built quality of the GTI's, I'd say they're just about even. The plaid seats in the GTI were pretty snazzy though, and had better lateral support.
That Shaker 500 is no joke, and Synch is awesome. No more touch-screen scrolling through my SD card to get to my music...The mustang recognizes my voice perfectly almost every time. The GTI's sound system was excellent...EXTREMELY clear....when I first got the stang I was a bit concerned because things sounded a little muddy. I took the time to set up the audio system and set the sound focus to "drivers seat" and those changes made all the difference...now it sounds just as crisp as the GTI but with much better bass response.
Drivetrain lash. The GTI didn't have any...the Mustang has a little. There's a quiet "thunk" if you are in gear, let off the throttle, and then hit it again. The GTI didn't have this, however it also didn't have anywhere NEAR as heavy duty of a drivetrain. The slight thunk also occurs during shifting when re-engaging the clutch. Yes, I know it's normal, and the last Mustang I had (95 Cobra) did the same thing. The heavier-duty parts have to have a little extra slop so you can actually use them without being a body-builder. The GTI actually had more gear noise though, go figure.
OMG YES. The Mustang doesn't hang on to revs. I hated that about my GTI. You let off the throttle and the RPMs stick at the point you left off for about half a second. It made it very difficult to get a good surge-free shift at low speeds, like in stop/go traffic or parking lots.
The Mustang's stability and traction control systems are vastly better. You couldn't turn the GTI's stability control completely off, and in the full-on setting I could pretty easily trigger it if I drove aggressively at all. In the Mustang, I have not yet gotten the stability control to activate under any condition....not in full-on or sport mode; probably because the limits are so high that I'm not comfortable exploiting them on public roads. And the traction control....you don't need it! This car just flat hooks up. So much nicer than the GTI.....I can use more throttle from a stop in the Mustang and it's got twice the power. I've managed to hang the tail out a couple times and it was extremely controllable, and I was in sport mode so there was no interference from the computers.
Balance: The GTI felt significantly more nose-heavy than the big-engined Mustang. Friggin FWD. Also it understeered like crazy. The Mustang seems to get smaller the faster you go. Yeah, you can induce understeer in very tight corners if you over-cook them, but that's a driver issue, not a car issue.
Suspension: The GTI kind of poured itself down the road...it was very hard to upset. The Mustang is a little bouncier/stiffer, but it handles sharp bumps a lot better. There's one particular spot on the highway leading to my house where, in the GTI at 60mph, it made a pretty dramatic crashing, and in the Mustang it doesn't. The GTI also had noticably more body roll.
Live-axle: Uh....yeah definitely a non-issue. I've driven one of the new SS Camaros...this thing feels more planted in the rear than that. There does seem to be a little bit of shimmy action over particularly bad spots, but it doesn't feel like the rear is hopping to the side or anything. You can just feel a little bit of movement, it's not particularly alarming. I'm not even sure it's the live-axle, it could just be the damping. Anyways, I'm not a stupid enough driver to be pushing hard enough for it to cause any issues on public roads.
Power: What can I say? The GTI felt pretty damn quick up to about 50 and then it slowly tapered off. At 80mph, the Mustang is accelerating like the GTI at 30. It's ridiculous enough that I have absolutely no desire to add more power....there's so much right now that even on German roads it's kind of silly. I can get to speeds that make me uncomfortable extremely easily....130mph is plenty hair-raising when the road is damp and you're zipping past traffic in the fast lane on the autobahn. That's as high as I've gone so far....it hasn't stopped raining for 2 weeks and regardless of what people think, the Autobahn is actually pretty crowded....and about 70% of it actually has a speed limit.
The powerband is also the exact opposite of the GTI: The GTI's small turbo spooled up very quickly and gave the car a torquey, strong mid-range but tapered off at higher RPM. The Mustang starts with more torque, and as the revs climb you get pushed back into the seat harder and harder.
Also: German kids seem to love Mustangs even more than American kids. They all rubberneck every time I drive by, it's hilarious. The next-gen Mustang is going to do VERY well over here.....
The biggest thing I've come to realize over the last few hundred miles is that my plans of upgrading the suspension or putting more aggressive rubber...yeah.....that's not necessary right now. The car clearly has more potential in stock form than I have skill (or stupidity) to use on public roads. So...for the sponsors here that have helped me out, given me advice, etc....thank you. And I probably will eventually buy stuff from you.....but I feel right now I need to work on getting the driver mod taken care of.
I got a 2012 Mustang GT Premium w/Brembo and 3.73s. Oh, and the interior upgrade package and HIDs
My previous car was a 2010 GTI. Loved it, but not sad to see it go.
Things that I notice in comparison to that car:
The first thing is that the Mustang is harder to park. You can't see exactly where the hood ends because of that central bulge, it makes placing it a bit more difficult...but it's the kind of thing that you get used to as you become more comfortable with the car. Also it's sort of strange going from a hatch to a vehicle with a trunk. The rear wheels of the GTI were basically where the bumper was...there's like a foot and a half extra sticking out on the Mustang. It's not much, however having the rear wheels right at the very back of the car makes it a lot easier to place the rear end....you can almost do it by feel, because your body can sense the pivot point (rear wheels) when you're backing up and your brain knows...well...that's the back of the car. (these aren't really negatives....they're just different)
The second is that...the fuel economy isn't as good. I was getting 28mpg average in the GTI....I'm averaging 20.7mpg right now in the mustang, with about 600 miles of mixed city, highway, and high-speed autobahn (it gets 18.4 at 125!). Not atrocious, and I expect as the engine wears in a little it'll go up by a MPG or two but it's not 28. It DOES have over double the power though...
The Mustang's interior built quality is just a tiny bit worse than the GTI. The actual look and comfort is higher in the Mustang (a bit more leg room, I prefer the seating position) And MyColor is a neat little gimmick that I had fun setting up. But there are a few areas where the seams between panels aren't quite what they should be (for example, the soft-touch materials around the steering column)....but you kind of have to really look for them. Given the better style and slightly better comfort of the Mustang's interior and the slightly better built quality of the GTI's, I'd say they're just about even. The plaid seats in the GTI were pretty snazzy though, and had better lateral support.
That Shaker 500 is no joke, and Synch is awesome. No more touch-screen scrolling through my SD card to get to my music...The mustang recognizes my voice perfectly almost every time. The GTI's sound system was excellent...EXTREMELY clear....when I first got the stang I was a bit concerned because things sounded a little muddy. I took the time to set up the audio system and set the sound focus to "drivers seat" and those changes made all the difference...now it sounds just as crisp as the GTI but with much better bass response.
Drivetrain lash. The GTI didn't have any...the Mustang has a little. There's a quiet "thunk" if you are in gear, let off the throttle, and then hit it again. The GTI didn't have this, however it also didn't have anywhere NEAR as heavy duty of a drivetrain. The slight thunk also occurs during shifting when re-engaging the clutch. Yes, I know it's normal, and the last Mustang I had (95 Cobra) did the same thing. The heavier-duty parts have to have a little extra slop so you can actually use them without being a body-builder. The GTI actually had more gear noise though, go figure.
OMG YES. The Mustang doesn't hang on to revs. I hated that about my GTI. You let off the throttle and the RPMs stick at the point you left off for about half a second. It made it very difficult to get a good surge-free shift at low speeds, like in stop/go traffic or parking lots.
The Mustang's stability and traction control systems are vastly better. You couldn't turn the GTI's stability control completely off, and in the full-on setting I could pretty easily trigger it if I drove aggressively at all. In the Mustang, I have not yet gotten the stability control to activate under any condition....not in full-on or sport mode; probably because the limits are so high that I'm not comfortable exploiting them on public roads. And the traction control....you don't need it! This car just flat hooks up. So much nicer than the GTI.....I can use more throttle from a stop in the Mustang and it's got twice the power. I've managed to hang the tail out a couple times and it was extremely controllable, and I was in sport mode so there was no interference from the computers.
Balance: The GTI felt significantly more nose-heavy than the big-engined Mustang. Friggin FWD. Also it understeered like crazy. The Mustang seems to get smaller the faster you go. Yeah, you can induce understeer in very tight corners if you over-cook them, but that's a driver issue, not a car issue.
Suspension: The GTI kind of poured itself down the road...it was very hard to upset. The Mustang is a little bouncier/stiffer, but it handles sharp bumps a lot better. There's one particular spot on the highway leading to my house where, in the GTI at 60mph, it made a pretty dramatic crashing, and in the Mustang it doesn't. The GTI also had noticably more body roll.
Live-axle: Uh....yeah definitely a non-issue. I've driven one of the new SS Camaros...this thing feels more planted in the rear than that. There does seem to be a little bit of shimmy action over particularly bad spots, but it doesn't feel like the rear is hopping to the side or anything. You can just feel a little bit of movement, it's not particularly alarming. I'm not even sure it's the live-axle, it could just be the damping. Anyways, I'm not a stupid enough driver to be pushing hard enough for it to cause any issues on public roads.
Power: What can I say? The GTI felt pretty damn quick up to about 50 and then it slowly tapered off. At 80mph, the Mustang is accelerating like the GTI at 30. It's ridiculous enough that I have absolutely no desire to add more power....there's so much right now that even on German roads it's kind of silly. I can get to speeds that make me uncomfortable extremely easily....130mph is plenty hair-raising when the road is damp and you're zipping past traffic in the fast lane on the autobahn. That's as high as I've gone so far....it hasn't stopped raining for 2 weeks and regardless of what people think, the Autobahn is actually pretty crowded....and about 70% of it actually has a speed limit.
The powerband is also the exact opposite of the GTI: The GTI's small turbo spooled up very quickly and gave the car a torquey, strong mid-range but tapered off at higher RPM. The Mustang starts with more torque, and as the revs climb you get pushed back into the seat harder and harder.
Also: German kids seem to love Mustangs even more than American kids. They all rubberneck every time I drive by, it's hilarious. The next-gen Mustang is going to do VERY well over here.....
The biggest thing I've come to realize over the last few hundred miles is that my plans of upgrading the suspension or putting more aggressive rubber...yeah.....that's not necessary right now. The car clearly has more potential in stock form than I have skill (or stupidity) to use on public roads. So...for the sponsors here that have helped me out, given me advice, etc....thank you. And I probably will eventually buy stuff from you.....but I feel right now I need to work on getting the driver mod taken care of.
04-26-2012, 11:18 AM
#4
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 50
04-29-2012, 06:18 PM
#10
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: TN
Posts: 36
Welcome.. I strongly advice you a 3 day driving program in one of the schools of your choice. There is a whole lot out there. Open wheel program. Once you drive an open wheel car, there is no way back. You will know what you want out of your car
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