Holy cow. I guess I snoozed on the whole "Ford finally built a decent and affordable fun car" thing. WOW...

Due to my industry getting a little unstable, I downsized from my 2004 GT3 this past Saturday. Don't cry for me as I sold it for exactly what I paid for it, and I enjoyed it for 12K miles and 9 months. More importantly, I was really down in the dumps about not having a fun daily driver. Enter the Machine Silver Ford 2012 GT that now sits in my garage.

On the way to meet the new buyer for my GT3, the phone rings and a dealer informs me that the car I inquired about online was still available. So after making the swap of car and title for cash, we head to the dealership to check this car out.

At the end of the day we ended up paying $22750 for this "Premium" edition, equipped with the Ford Sync System, shaker entertainment, and 420HP/400# of torque. The ride is excellent, the power is amazing, and the fuel economy isn't shabby either. Also, this is the first car in my life that I've not wanted to change the shifter (stock from the factory) and that has proper pedals to heel/toe with (again from the factory). Best of all, the mods I plan to do won't break the bank. After 6+ years of Porsche tax, I'm really surprised at what you can do to make a 3600 pound coupe turn, stop and accelerate quickly!

 

Good deal!

I've thoroughly enjoyed my '12 5.0 and you can definitely pick up some nice performance with a few mods.

First thing you might want is tires...traction will be an issue as ford doesn't believe in putting much rubber on the rear of mustangs!

 

ive deeply considered getting the boss for a fun DD....

 

Nice...they can be quick cars...and I agree that once the new 5.0 came out that they have done a solid job.

Enjoy !!

 

Nice car, I really like my 2013 5.0 as well. It is really a fun car to play around with.

 

Congrats

What mods are you going to do?

 

I bought the car to put a ton of miles on commuting and wanted something that wouldn't be boring. So I plan to do either the Ford Racing "trakpak" suspension kit, or the Eibach prokit. I also plan to upgrade the brakes to the Brembo factory option.

Beyond that, I may do FR500 axlebacks and a cai/tune. And of course, tires. The two sets of wheels for my Datsun V8Zcar track project bolt right up, so I could potentially put my CCW wheels on this thing!!! The TSW Thruxtons are a square 9.5 inch rim all around, so I could install them with some summer only tires for more summer traction!

I'm open for suggestions guys. This thing is so much fun to drive. My kids both were like "You're not a Mustang Guy"! Two of them drove the car and were shocked at how fast it is. I think I'll enjoy it for the intended goal, back up to my track car, and daily driver.

For $22750, it's a LOT of performance in a reasonable package!

Mike

 

Check out strano performance regarding suspension upgrades. He has several handling packages to choose from. I went with his koni str.t package, gave it a great stance and corrected all the factory rolling and dipping issues.

New mufflers are a must...the stock ones are so ridiculously quiet! I went with gt500 mufflers, but they are more on the quieter end of what is available, depends on your taste.

With a tune and exhaust you can pick up about 40hp, I would suggest AED for your tune. I used my pbox to measure different tunes and it was the best I tried.

With those few bolt ons some 275 or 285 tires on the rear will be nice to have

 

I'm def. going with a matched spring/strut setup for the suspension. I don't want to screw with the valving. Thinking about the Eibach Pro-+ kit along with swapping the brakes for the Brembos, along with some GT500 Axle back exhaust, a Boss 302 intake, 85mm Tbody, and a tune. I think this will be a good start.

Mike

 

That'll wake it up for sure! What rear end do you have?

 

I dont have the 373s in it. Whatever is the stock Ford Mustang GT Premium package gearing...

Just got the GT500 upper shock mounts in the mail tonight. Should get the longer camber bolts within a day or two.

 

I just installed Tokico D specs and FRPP-L springs on my GT500 and man what a difference. I know the GT500 crowd seems to like this setup and now I can see why. Check them out for your GT. Had the first drive with them today now time to start exploring different setting to see what works best for me.

 

Already ordered the Eibach pro+ kit. American Muscle has shipped it.

Mike