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      10-06-2019, 07:56 PM   #1
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M4 CP to GT350

So my lease on M4 ended and I bought GT350 and all I can say is wow, what a car! M4 is better looking, smaller, lighter, nicer interior and is just as fast or even faster in straight line and on a track (I tracked my M4 CP stock on multiple occasions). However when I drive a Shelby I could care less about all of that because this car is so much more of a driver’s car that it’s not even close. Has character for days while M4 feels regular in comparison. We all have our preferences and priorities but if “driver’s car” is first and foremost what you’re looking for, get a GT350.
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      10-06-2019, 08:26 PM   #2
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Congrats on the buy.

Other members have made that move and my sincere hope for you (having owned fords myself in the past) is that he car is super reliable and that you get great service from your local dealer.

I get what you’re saying and like that car too, but just playing devil’s advocate that a “driver’s car” might be more like a sub 3000lb car that relies more on momentum than a 3700lb car with a huge motor
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      10-06-2019, 09:23 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknaz View Post
Congrats on the buy.

Other members have made that move and my sincere hope for you (having owned fords myself in the past) is that he car is super reliable and that you get great service from your local dealer.

I’m hoping for the same brother. Never owned a Ford so I don’t know what to expect.

I get what you’re saying and like that car too, but just playing devil’s advocate that a “driver’s car” might be more like a sub 3000lb car that relies more on momentum than a 3700lb car with a huge motor
I agree, however it’s impossible to find anything that light that is fairly new, has a back seat and is not a turbo engine, not to mention rev until 8200 and sound amazing. So weight and size is something I have to make peace with. In any case I was comparing it directly to M4, I’m sure there are better driver cars than GT350, but M4 is not one of them, IMHO.
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      10-07-2019, 08:31 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknaz View Post
Congrats on the buy.

Other members have made that move and my sincere hope for you (having owned fords myself in the past) is that he car is super reliable and that you get great service from your local dealer.

I get what you’re saying and like that car too, but just playing devil’s advocate that a “driver’s car” might be more like a sub 3000lb car that relies more on momentum than a 3700lb car with a huge motor
Driver's car means a car that provides a thrilling and involving driving experience, the GT350 provides that in spades with a screaming, exciting v8 that revs to the moon+ Great Steering and amazing cornering capabilities despite the high curb weight. Determine the car's experience based on driving it, not on stereotypes.
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      10-07-2019, 11:03 AM   #5
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Congrats! I hope you don’t have any reliability nightmares like other people.
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      10-07-2019, 02:38 PM   #6
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The GT350 is a serious bang:buck, especially compared to a M4. I was considering a used GT350R but two friends have had questionable ownership experiences with the nearest Ford dealership so I went with what I knew worked. The couple of threads around oiling issues concerned me, but it seems each platform these days has some fatal flaw. Looking forward to spinning my crank hub for instance
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      10-07-2019, 03:12 PM   #7
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It was a toss up between these two for me as well but I went with my 2016 F82 Comp 6mt. What turned me off from the GT350 was the abysmal oil consumption. I know it's a hit or miss but if it's a "hit" then I didn't want to have to top off a quart every 500 miles.
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      10-07-2019, 04:45 PM   #8
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Congrats OP, it remains one of my all time favorite cars to drive. I just hope you have much better luck than I did reliability wise.
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      10-07-2019, 05:14 PM   #9
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Congrats dude! Keep an eye on that oil level.
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      10-07-2019, 07:30 PM   #10
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Umm.. if we assume the same skill level driver, a stock GT350 will whoop a stock M4 ZCPs ass silly on a track. It wouldn't even be close. Not sure why you think it wouldn't.

The GT350 is one of the prettiest cars out there right now but yeah, I've heard bad things about reliability and warranty issues.
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      10-07-2019, 08:33 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NYG View Post
Umm.. if we assume the same skill level driver, a stock GT350 will whoop a stock M4 ZCPs ass silly on a track. It wouldn't even be close. Not sure why you think it wouldn't.

The GT350 is one of the prettiest cars out there right now but yeah, I've heard bad things about reliability and warranty issues.
Not sure why you think that. A quick search says otherwise. Either way they are both fantastic vehicles.
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      10-07-2019, 08:48 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamRWS6 View Post
Not sure why you think that. A quick search says otherwise. Either way they are both fantastic vehicles.
Where? We've got one on our team and that car is stupid fast for its weight. Not only that, it came almost completely ready for the track. M4 comes with untrackable brakes/calipers/rotors with zero cooling, mediocre suspension and front camber fixed at like 1.4 degrees lol. The amount of money you have to put into any M4 base to CS just to track it makes it a pretty garbage "sports" car when compared to cheaper cars like Corvette Grand Sports and 1LE Camaros which are pretty much ready to go.
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      10-07-2019, 09:30 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by Rahul718 View Post
It was a toss up between these two for me as well but I went with my 2016 F82 Comp 6mt. What turned me off from the GT350 was the abysmal oil consumption. I know it's a hit or miss but if it's a "hit" then I didn't want to have to top off a quart every 500 miles.

I heard of that too, we will see how it goes but I have a daily driver and a JL so I won’t be putting a lot of miles on GT350 so 500 miles would mean 3-4 months between top offs.
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      10-07-2019, 09:33 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamRWS6 View Post
Not sure why you think that. A quick search says otherwise. Either way they are both fantastic vehicles.
I’m taking GT350 to the same track in April so will be able to compare track times then. BTW I used to think that both cars were fantastic too, until I realized that only one of them really is.
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      10-07-2019, 09:36 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NYG View Post
Umm.. if we assume the same skill level driver, a stock GT350 will whoop a stock M4 ZCPs ass silly on a track. It wouldn't even be close. Not sure why you think it wouldn't.

The GT350 is one of the prettiest cars out there right now but yeah, I've heard bad things about reliability and warranty issues.
That could very well be true but (aside from brakes) M4 was very quick on the track. To my surprise I kept up with 997 GT3, new Z06, 991S and others (novice to intermediate drivers like myself)
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      10-08-2019, 09:22 AM   #16
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That could very well be true but (aside from brakes) M4 was very quick on the track. To my surprise I kept up with 997 GT3, new Z06, 991S and others (novice to intermediate drivers like myself)
The S55 is a monster, I was one of the few guys out at the Glen over the weekend hitting 150s in the back straight but all the cars you listed are far more track ready outside of straight lines than the M4 stock. The F82 is a strong platform but a lot of work needs to be done to get it there.
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      10-08-2019, 10:11 PM   #17
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The GT350 is a great car, very agile feeling, engaging and track focused... especially for a car of its size and weight -tons of fun. Only problem is build quality, chassis flex and cop magnet focus because of its aggressive exhaust.
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      10-08-2019, 10:48 PM   #18
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I'm going to get beat up for this... but here goes.

I'm sure it's much more exciting to flog in the moment/on track. However, the problem with cars like that (cheap car with loads of performance) is that after time, all of the rough edges and lack of fine tuning/calibration/attention to details start to wear on you.

While it may be more exciting right now, it will have many shortcomings that will become evident over time and I would be surprised if you're not back in a BMW after some time.

Could be wrong, of course.

Note: my comments are based on owning a 2017 Mustang GT PP. Super fun, super fast, sexy as hell and sounded amazing. But man did it lack true, expert calibration of its systems. Drive line bushings were like marshmallows. Absolute GARBAGE rear suspension design. Lots of buzzing in shifter. HORRIBLE engine calibration that would let the rpms hang, literally, for 2 full seconds with the clutch in (zero engine braking, essentially), the worst possible steering feel you could imagine, very poor forward visibility, crappy sub-3.5k rpm throttle response... and on and on and on. It was a car where many, many corners were cut.

It was a situation of many small details that really detracted from the driving experience and sense of control. Not a GT350, I know I know, but same chassis from the same company. Could it be that they solved ALL of those issues in the upscale model? Possibly. But unlikely given how bad the mid-tier car really was. That car is like a crazy hot chick - lures you in at first and is super fun and exciting... but over time you start to realize the flaws.
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      10-09-2019, 01:06 PM   #19
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Reading this is like déjà vu.....like the alfaquadrifolgio, tesla 3 guys. Maybe the Ford forums are not so exited like bimmperpost.
Trying to convince me ...... I have to much brand loyalty.. is like a disease
The Ford i would consider or drulling for: GT or theShelby gt 500 (R) ...
My choice is pre-owned P-car (991.2 gts or 992).
In Europe driving a mustang is expensive due to import duties, transport and become almost porsche territory.
I would like to do a test drive GT350 in the future..out of curiosity
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      10-09-2019, 07:12 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EricSMG View Post
I'm going to get beat up for this... but here goes.

I'm sure it's much more exciting to flog in the moment/on track. However, the problem with cars like that (cheap car with loads of performance) is that after time, all of the rough edges and lack of fine tuning/calibration/attention to details start to wear on you.

While it may be more exciting right now, it will have many shortcomings that will become evident over time and I would be surprised if you're not back in a BMW after some time.

Could be wrong, of course.

Note: my comments are based on owning a 2017 Mustang GT PP. Super fun, super fast, sexy as hell and sounded amazing. But man did it lack true, expert calibration of its systems. Drive line bushings were like marshmallows. Absolute GARBAGE rear suspension design. Lots of buzzing in shifter. HORRIBLE engine calibration that would let the rpms hang, literally, for 2 full seconds with the clutch in (zero engine braking, essentially), the worst possible steering feel you could imagine, very poor forward visibility, crappy sub-3.5k rpm throttle response... and on and on and on. It was a car where many, many corners were cut.

It was a situation of many small details that really detracted from the driving experience and sense of control. Not a GT350, I know I know, but same chassis from the same company. Could it be that they solved ALL of those issues in the upscale model? Possibly. But unlikely given how bad the mid-tier car really was. That car is like a crazy hot chick - lures you in at first and is super fun and exciting... but over time you start to realize the flaws.
This goes vice versa as well. The reverse happened to me from my previous M3 into my now SS 1LE.

I was fat, dumb, and happy when I picked up my M3. After I started pushing it hard and going 9/10th 10/10th, I was very disappointed and regretting the lease

The M3/4 is a great 7/10th car and all arounder, but a poor performance monster
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      10-09-2019, 07:49 PM   #21
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My neighbor has a GT350R. Complete engine replacement at 3,500mi. Covered under warranty but Ford would not share any details as to why. They did say it wasn’t the somewhat common oil pump failure issue.

Not sure I would be happy with a $65k car that had the engine replaced 2 months into service. No thanks.
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      10-10-2019, 08:49 PM   #22
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Quote:
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My neighbor has a GT350R. Complete engine replacement at 3,500mi. Covered under warranty but Ford would not share any details as to why. They did say it wasn’t the somewhat common oil pump failure issue.

Not sure I would be happy with a $65k car that had the engine replaced 2 months into service. No thanks.
I’m sure if you look hard enough you’ll find someone that had that with their M4... I know for a fact that it happened with early E92 M3’s. Either way GT350 is so much more car than M4 that risk is worth it to me.
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