2013 Shelby GT500 Introduction

[2010KonaBlueGT]

Ah yes, I've driven down that way many times although never had a reason to stop in Prunedale.

<snip>

So is your car in hibernation for the winter already?

But I digress..

 

 

Prunedale's claim to fame: Prunedale, it's where you turn to go to Monterey!

 

And that's IT.

 

Yep, my car is put away for the winter. We had "decent" day last week but I never got a chance to pull the Shelby out as I had other commitments.

 

Blackout just bought a 2012 GT500 and had Shelby upfit it to a Super Snake but plans to have a set of Blizzak's mounted up so he can use it as a daily driver. There's a husband/wife couple up in Denver that have his/her Shelby GT500's and they have AS tires on both of their cars and drive them 24/7/365 so it's not like I *can't* drive it year round, it's more that I WON'T (e.g. SALT, the killer of unit body cars).

 

 

To each his/her own,

 

Phill

[cobradad]

Prunedale's claim to fame: Prunedale, it's where you turn to go to Monterey!

 

And that's IT.

 

Yep, my car is put away for the winter. We had "decent" day last week but I never got a chance to pull the Shelby out as I had other commitments.

 

Blackout just bought a 2012 GT500 and had Shelby upfit it to a Super Snake but plans to have a set of Blizzak's mounted up so he can use it as a daily driver. There's a husband/wife couple up in Denver that have his/her Shelby GT500's and they have AS tires on both of their cars and drive them 24/7/365 so it's not like I *can't* drive it year round, it's more that I WON'T (e.g. SALT, the killer of unit body cars).

 

 

To each his/her own,

 

Phill

 

 

I hear you on the salt. I take a power washer to the undercarriage on the truck every time we come back from the snow.

I'd follow your lead and park it for the winter. Too much money invested to see it rust away from the underside out.

Your right on Prunedales claim to fame. I used to trailer the race car that way turning off on 156 to go to Laguna Seca.

It was and still is so much a nicer driver than going over 17.

Sounds like you have a good group of Shelby owners to bounce ideas off of.

I've seen a few GT500's around here but they never slow down for a hello.

I'm running Hankook Ventus V12's with my SGT daily driver. They have been pretty good dry

but still need to see how they are when the real rain starts coming down.

Clarence

[bandit67]

I hear you on the salt. I take a power washer to the undercarriage on the truck every time we come back from the snow.

I'd follow your lead and park it for the winter. Too much money invested to see it rust away from the underside out.

Your right on Prunedales claim to fame. I used to trailer the race car that way turning off on 156 to go to Laguna Seca.

It was and still is so much a nicer driver than going over 17.

Sounds like you have a good group of Shelby owners to bounce ideas off of.

I've seen a few GT500's around here but they never slow down for a hello.

I'm running Hankook Ventus V12's with my SGT daily driver. They have been pretty good dry

but still need to see how they are when the real rain starts coming down.

Clarence

 

 

It's not the salt around here that's so bad, it's the mag choride that destroys everything even worse than salt, and they spray that garbage all over the place like it's going out of style.

 

I had my wife's SGT out today because it was such a nice day and I have it at my shop down in town, so I took a break and went for a short "test drive". But we're getting to the point that I have to trailer the cars back and forth between the shop & my house. Roads are still clear enough for the most part, especially in town, so I'm going to get in and drive my summer cars whenever I can. The first year I had my GT500, it was parked for 7 months, and it was sheer h*ll. Really hoping I can get the SPJ 302 out once more before the storms really start rolling in and the roads get cruddy.

[C-Ray]

It's not the salt around here that's so bad, it's the mag choride that destroys everything even worse than salt, and they spray that garbage all over the place like it's going out of style.

 

I had my wife's SGT out today because it was such a nice day and I have it at my shop down in town, so I took a break and went for a short "test drive". But we're getting to the point that I have to trailer the cars back and forth between the shop & my house. Roads are still clear enough for the most part, especially in town, so I'm going to get in and drive my summer cars whenever I can. The first year I had my GT500, it was parked for 7 months, and it was sheer h*ll. Really hoping I can get the SPJ 302 out once more before the storms really start rolling in and the roads get cruddy.

 

 

Bandit, I lived in Pine for several years back in the early 90's. Have not been there in years. It would be interesting to see how its grown. Since then, I've lived in Dallas, Illinois, the Seattle area and back to Illinois. One of my best friends lives in Highlands Ranch. I would love to take my Shelby from Pine down through Deckers on the back way to "the Springs" now. That is one of the greatest roads ever. Did lots of rock climbing down in that area - and trout fishing on the Platte.

[C-Ray]

Ps. Ditto on the Mag Chloride...

[bandit67]

Bandit, I lived in Pine for several years back in the early 90's. Have not been there in years. It would be interesting to see how its grown. Since then, I've lived in Dallas, Illinois, the Seattle area and back to Illinois. One of my best friends lives in Highlands Ranch. I would love to take my Shelby from Pine down through Deckers on the back way to "the Springs" now. That is one of the greatest roads ever. Did lots of rock climbing down in that area - and trout fishing on the Platte.

 

 

Pine's still pretty small, but probably has grown a bit since then. You'd probably be real blown away by how much Conifer has grown.

 

I've run both the GT500 and the SGT on that road. It's definitely a fun drive if you can do it with minimal traffic.

[2010KonaBlueGT]

I've run both the GT500 and the SGT on that road. It's definitely a fun drive if you can do it with minimal traffic.

 

 

Is that 83 (or) 85, whatever number that road is that runs parallel to and west of I-25?

 

I took it ONCE (northbound) recently on my last trip out to Cali and there was a ton of road construction on it...and that was after my Nav system advised me that there was a construction delay on I-25 just before C-470. Man, never again. It took WAYYYY longer that way but it dumped me out by Bandimere (if I remember correctly) so I gained a little road distance.

 

But then, I keep hearing what a great drive it is. That and 115 between So. CoS and Hwy. 50/Pueblo.

 

Do I have the wrong road in mind, perhaps? What road are you guys talking about. I also know a (fellow TS member) that lives up in Highlands Ranch (Hawkbarr) and 25 is SOOOoooooo boring, I'd probably make the drive up to Hawkbarr's place more often...or for the first time! <lol>

 

Oh, and yeah, the mag. chloride is HELL on chrome pieces, and more so on the new "plastic chrome" items that come on pretty much every modern day vehicle produced. My 2011 F-150 and my wife's 2011 Flex Limited have a TON of it on them but thankfully my 2010 Shelby GT500 has very little chrome on the exterior of it. The exh. tips & faux gas cap are all that I can think of and it's chrome plated metal, not plastic.

 

I got a BIG surprise after moving out here to Co. Springs the first time I looked under my 2006 GMC. After only 2 years (here) there was at LEAST 15 "California years" of rust on it. The leaf springs, the muffler straps, etc. were all completely rust covered and worse between the leafs and muffler/strap. It was because of that discovery that I decided I would NOT run my Shelby on the roads during our Winters here. Then the City of CoS recently announced that they were increasing the amount of salt they put into their "sand" (HA, "sand" MY ASS!) up to 6%. Oh, and then the black CRUD that builds up behind the wheels and up into the wheel wells that leaves piles of dirt when it falls of the vehicle and melts on the ground....IN MY GARAGE. Before I moved to a snowy place I thought when they said "sand" it was like beach sand. BS! It's like small gravel mixed with dirt and it is MESSY. Even though I do NOT drive my Shelby in the winter I still use a touchless car wash that has a undercarrige spray/wash.

 

I've been around cars all my life and I've seen what rust will do to a unit construction (aka "uni-body") car with all spot welded seams. Rust is a KILLER of uni-body cars, Mustangs included. It's bad enough on a full-frame vehicle but at least it doesn't hide in seams...

 

I don't regret moving to Colorado but I would MUCH rather be back in the beautiful Monterey Bay Area of California (where I grew up).

 

Salt? HA! Yeah, I know what that is. That's something you put on your French Fries you get at your local In-n-Out Burger joint (another GREAT CA institution I badly miss)!!!

 

 

Homesick Phill

[Rachane]

I think I read earlier in this thread that the 2012-optional Recaro seats are now going to be standard in the 2013+. My wife and I [and we are both normally-built] find the regular 2010-12 GT500 seats very comfortable for both short and long trips. [i did modify my 2011's passenger seat to give it the same Ford-OEM power controls as the driver's seat.] When we sampled a 2012 with the Recaros, however, we both found them extremely uncomfortable: low, flat, pinching, non-tilt, and both manual. They would be just the ticket for track use, or for a short-duration twisting-road drive, but for daily/normal use completely unacceptable. And on a 4-500 mile trip the rigid seating position would become intolerable after awhile. The passenger seat is probably worse for women because of its lowness (even below the stock manual regular seat) and because of the "pinch", as women have wider pelvic bones than men. Most are also shorter than men, and even with the standard/higher manual seat find their forward vision restricted over the dashboard.

 

The dealer from whom I bought my 2011 regularly gets quite a few Shelbys, and the 2010s & 11s flew off his lot. The only ones which have sat there are the 2012s with the Recaros, and I can't help suspect this is the same deal-breaker as it would be for me.

 

I notice that rigid/severely-bolstered seats seem to be the trend in performance cars these days - for example in Jaguar, where the R-models are again more cramped than the regulars. And even the sacred ZR-1 Corvette gets complaints because its seats aren't so-bolstered.

 

If Ford offers the regular seats as a 2013 GT500 option, of course, this wouldn't be a problem for people special-ordering their cars. If past years are an indication, however, the Mustang "comfort package" (which includes a full-power passenger seat) will once again not be offered as a GT500 2013 option. Those who special-order regular seats would still have to separately purchase the Ford hardware to power that seat (about $6-700 FYI).

 

As for the 100hp jump over my 2011, it sounds great, but I really have to confess that I've never come anywhere close to "running out of power" with my meager 550/550. Indeed I lose my nerve long before the car loses its! I suspect that once again this is going to boil down to a tire-issue: How much of that 650 can you put down without breaking the tires loose or just sanding them to the rims?

 

Finally it was cool to read that this is a 200-mph car instead of a measly 160mph car. So maybe it would be worth it to be able to get away from all those CHP cars after me at 160 ... rather like the "nitrous moment" in Gone in 60 Seconds. I don't think that even the pro tracks around here, like Laguna Seca, have enough straightaway to support 200mph, so I guess periodic pilgrimages to the Nevada salt flats are going to be de rigueur with the 2013.

[2010KonaBlueGT]

I don't think that even the pro tracks around here, like Laguna Seca, have enough straightaway to support 200mph, so I guess periodic pilgrimages to the Nevada salt flats are going to be de rigueur with the 2013.

 

 

Two words for you: Mojave Mile.

 

It's close to you and they have events multiple times per year. Google it and check out their website.

 

It would be fun and I plan to run it one day but first I have to "get my ducks in a row"....

 

I agree with your Laguna comment. I took a course on Laguna (Keith Code's California Superbike Class) and on a Motorcycle, I was cresting the rise at the end of the front straight at between 148 and 162 mph. Ain't NO WAY you're gonna get a GT500 anywhere near 200mph on Laguna.

 

I don't think the Indy Cars (which hold the record at LS) will get to 200mph on that track.

 

 

Phill

[ChrisSD]

I wouldn't worry about the recaros. If you don't like them - nearly ANYONE with the other seats will trade you + cash instantly.

[SVT NAJA]

I don't regret moving to Colorado but I would MUCH rather be back in the beautiful Monterey Bay Area of California (where I grew up).

 

Salt? HA! Yeah, I know what that is. That's something you put on your French Fries you get at your local In-n-Out Burger joint (another GREAT CA institution I badly miss)!!!

 

Homesick Phill

 

 

Phill,

 

Maybe these will hold you over until your next visit...

 

 

 

[hourigan218]

 

Ok love the food, but time to get back on track. So when exactly can the "13" be ordered and WHEN DO I GET MY CAR? My dealership here dont know beans about the car. I had to give them the details (SAD) But they did try to sell me a 12 model at M.S.R.P. Ohh and has anyone heard anything about colors yet? I WANT MY CAR!!!!!!!

[Grabber]

Ok love the food, but time to get back on track. So when exactly can the "13" be ordered and WHEN DO I GET MY CAR? My dealership here dont know beans about the car. I had to give them the details (SAD) But they did try to sell me a 12 model at M.S.R.P. Ohh and has anyone heard anything about colors yet? I WANT MY CAR!!!!!!!

 

Dealer enrollment will begin in Febuary. Each dealer will get one if they enroll and pay the sign in fees. The rest of the GT500 allotments will be given away based on "share of the nation " based on the retail sales that the dealership has. Low performers might only get one or two. Production starts 2nd quarter in April or May. I suspect you will see the cars hitting the dealerships in June like we did the 2007 GT500.

 

You have at least 7 months to sit back and relax. Can you say PSDS ?

[Rachane]

I wouldn't worry about the recaros. If you don't like them - nearly ANYONE with the other seats will trade you + cash instantly.

That's an option, of course, if you want to go through the hassle and uncertainty of buying a 2013 (including its embedded Recaros cost), finding a swapper, doing the deal, doing in de/reinstallation. You're also taking the chance that the 2013 Recaros might be on a new mounting that is not interchangeable with the 2010-12 regular seats, and since the Recaros are 100% manual, Ford may have deleted the entire electrical wiring, beyond just the seat wiring harness, from this model.

 

With my 2011, when I added the Ford power frame and controls to the front passenger seat, the wiring harness was 95% plug-and-play. In short, the car was set up with standard Mustang seat wiring, so all the factory did was just mount a manual passenger seat assembly on the track.

 

Again I'm not knocking the Recaros in the least for those who like them and plan to use the car in ways that call for their grip. But I see the GT500 as a Grand Touring vehicle in the classic sense, whose proper competition today is not the Camaro but rather the Aston DB9, the Maserati Gran Turismo S, the Jaguar XKRS, and the Ferrari California. None of those have spartan seats.

 

Actually what I'm considering with my 2011 is this upgrade, but I'm waiting for an opportunity to see & test it installed first.

[Grabber]

 

 

 

Actually what I'm considering with my 2011 is this upgrade, but I'm waiting for an opportunity to see & test it installed first.

 

That is a nice upgrade. When my 2007 needs seats.....those will do fine !

[Rachane]

That is a nice upgrade. When my 2007 needs seats.....those will do fine !

Here are some additional photos from the same company.

[REAL ONE]

How many will be produced?

 

I'm betting 7000+ each model year.

 

There will always be more powerful and better this and that. The 2013 looks great if you are in the market for a GT500. But the older GT500s are't chopped liver either. You want more power? Easy. TVS. You want better suspension? Easy. FRPP. I agree with the notion that you should be happy with what you have unless you just like chasing every improvement every year.

 

My KR stock is "only" 580hp at the crank it goes like stink and breaks loose in second gear without a sweat. Handles great. You need more? While it's 1 of only 212 red KRs and I wouldn't trade for any standard GT 500 (60s vintage excluded) my point is these GT 500s have more than enough power and I wouldn't take a huge loss on trade in for more hp that's just going to go up in smoke at the rear wheels.

[ChrisSD]

5.8 > 5.4 =)

[bandit67]

5.8 > 5.4 =)

 

 

That's exactly why I'm interested. The 5.8 is an even better starting point than the 5.4. Yes, the 5.4 was no slouch, but this new 5.8 is gonna be hot.

[bandit67]

Is that 83 (or) 85, whatever number that road is that runs parallel to and west of I-25?

 

 

 

 

No, it's 126, about 30 miles west of I-25. Runs from Pine through Deckers to Woodland Park (or vice versa where you're concerned).

 

As for CA, everywhere I've been, from LA area to Oakland area, there's just way too many people & traffic for my taste. Really don't know how folks can deal with that - I think Denver's got too much traffic as it is. I grew up in the northeast, spent plenty of time in NYC, and though I like to visit, I just can't live in such congested areas. That's why I move. Also, as much as I like nice weather, the 4 seasons make you appreciate the nice weather even more.

 

We've got In & Out around here now. I think they bought out the local Icon Burger - now those were some serious burgers.