Best '13 mod so far.

[Snoopy49]

From the 2013 GT500 Owners Manual Supplement:

 

Winter Driving

The original equipment tires on your SVT vehicle are designed for maximum performance in dry and wet summer conditions. They are not designed for winter use on ice or snow and cannot be used with snow chains. If you will be operating your vehicle in these conditions, winter or all-season tires must be used.

• Use winter tires with a “V” speed rating and a 93 load index or higher for all models. You may also use P255/40R19 winter tires with a “V” speed rating and a 93 load index and 19 inch wheels from the 2010-2012 model year Shelby GT500. Using these wheels will provide adequate brake and suspension clearance.

• Do not use a winter tire with less than a “V” speed rating, and even with clear, dry driving conditions do not operate your vehicle above posted speed limits while using winter tires. Never perform high speed driving with winter tires.

Please call the Ford Performance Info Center at 1-800-FORD-SVT (367-3788) for specific winter tire recommendations.

[Madlock]

Good grief. A huge difference exists between cold weather driving capabilities and driving a GT500 on snow and ice. In fact, the F-1 G: 2's are SO temperature sensitive that driving in even moderate temperatures can be dicey.

 

Now would I dare test this theory when it is consistenly under 60 degrees? No. Winter tires will be going on.

 

 

Precisely.

[TrakRat]

Disservice by not offering an all weather option? Seriously?

 

How many people would buy a track pack on 20's to drive in the snow? I'm pretty sure GT500 owners, like Corvette owners have a piety good idea what they are getting themselves into when they are staring at the window sticker.

 

That's a lot like saying ford missed the boat by not offering R Comps on the Fusion Hybrid. There is this thing

called the aftermarket if the consumer so desires a feature like that.

[Madlock]

Disservice by not offering an all weather option? Seriously?

 

Yes, seriously. Very. Unless your intent to defend some arbitrary bias rather than offering buyers and shareholders the lat

[Madlock]

Disservice by not offering an all weather option? Seriously?

 

Yes, seriously. Very.

 

Unless your intent is to defend some arbitrary bias that served no purpose rather than offering buyers and shareholders the latItude and profit potential each should enjoy respectively.

 

I s'pose Ford also shouldn't be selling convertible GT500's because of the cold climate and sticker prices ALREADY north of $74K - and that's denominated in a currency that's REAL money with ACTUAL value.

 

Convertible Shelby's already sell at rate that's a much larger percentage of the overall mix and several times the rate per consumer than in the U.S.

 

Especially with far more cold weather tires that have reasonable occasional track use ability than track tires that run decently on the street in the cold.

 

The Fusion comparison is absolutely irrelevant as the other attributes Fusion must achieve through its mix by virtue of its volume matter much more than exploiting every last nickel or being able to offer consumers the broadest possible selection.

 

Furthermore, it won't be long until the amounts and types of Fusion, Fiestas and Foci Ford sells will determine how many GT500s (or its future equivalent) Ford may be ABLE to produce.

[TrakRat]

Sorry, I don't see ford turning ANY reasonable profit trying to market a low slung 650hp rwd Shelby as a viable all weather muscle car.

 

If the consumer chose it for that, they have chosen poorly. Ford offers many all weather vehicles to cover that niche.

 

It snows here, I knew this buying the car, and its options. I use out for its intended propose and what it was marketed for.

[MJN]

So should I or not, but just seen the new 2013 SHO from Car and Driver was sporting the F1's

[Madlock]

Sorry, I don't see ford turning ANY reasonable profit trying to market a low slung 650hp rwd Shelby as a viable all weather muscle car.

 

 

Good grief.

 

650hp wouldn't be HALF the output needed to make the leap required to equate offering a configuration option to marketing an "all-weather muscle car".

 

Unless you're referring to Ford Racing's Hyperbole Pack.

[TrakRat]

 

 

Good grief.

 

650hp wouldn't be HALF the output needed to make the leap required to equate offering a configuration option to marketing an "all-weather muscle car".

 

Unless you're referring to Ford Racing's Hyperbole Pack.

 

 

I have no response because I have no idea what you just said.

[BCPD199]

I think perhaps they didn't offer this like the GTR because even with all seasons you can't drive this car in the snow.

 

 

I beg to differ. I drove my '08 two winters in the North Jersey/Rockland County, NY snow. And I'll add, the car never left me stranded with the winter tires, not once. Now the stock Goodyears, well, they were like driving on ice once the temps got into the low 50's.

[svt13]

I beg to differ. I drove my '08 two winters in the North Jersey/Rockland County, NY snow. And I'll add, the car never left me stranded with the winter tires, not once. Now the stock Goodyears, well, they were like driving on ice once the temps got into the low 50's.

 

 

I don't understand how your statement is different from what I said? I said all seasons wouldn't help much in snow and you just said you were fine with winter tires. It would have made more sense if you said nothing happened to you in NY snow with all season tires.

[Snoopy49]

This is from the 2012 Camaro ZL1 Owners Manual.

 

Summer Tires

This vehicle may come with high performance summer tires. These tires have a special tread and compound that are optimized for maximum dry and wet road performance. This special tread and compound will decrease performance in cold climates, and on ice and snow. We recommend installing winter tires on the vehicle if frequent driving in cold temperatures or on snow or ice covered roads is expected.

 

Winter Tire

 

Consider installing winter tires on the vehicle if frequent driving on snow or ice covered roads is expected. All season tires provide good overall performance on most surfaces, but they may not offer the traction or the same level of performance as winter tires on snow or ice covered roads. Winter tires, in general, are designed for increased traction on snow and ice covered roads. With winter tires, there may be decreased dry road traction, increased road noise, and shorter tread life. After changing to winter tires, be alert for changes in vehicle handling and braking.

 

 

See your dealer for details regarding winter tire availability and proper tire selection.

If using snow tires:

. Use tires of the same brand and tread type on all four wheel positions.

. Use only radial ply tires of the same size, load range, and speed rating as the original equipment tires.

 

Winter tires with the same speed rating as the original equipment tires may not be available for H, V, W, Y, and ZR speed rated tires. If winter tires with a lower speed rating are chosen, never exceed the tire's maximum speed capability.

 

All-Season Tires

 

This vehicle may come with all-season tires. These tires are designed to provide good overall performance on most road surfaces and weather conditions. Original equipment tires designed to GM's specific tire performance criteria have a TPC specification code molded onto the sidewall. Original equipment all-season tires can be identified by the last two characters of this TPC code, which will be “MS.”

 

 

 

Consider installing winter tires on the vehicle if frequent driving on snow or ice covered roads is expected. All-season tires provide adequate performance for most winter driving conditions, but they may not offer the same level of traction or performance as winter tires on snow or ice covered roads.

 

 

[Madlock]

So should I or not, but just seen the new 2013 SHO from Car and Driver was sporting the F1's

 

 

There's a SHO Performance Package that comes with 20" Wheels, lower and firmer ride, Sport Mode and a "true off" ESC and shorter gearing among other things which has the F1's. Pulled them off the car even before I took delivery.

[MJN]

There's a SHO Performance Package that comes with 20" Wheels, lower and firmer ride, Sport Mode and a "true off" ESC and shorter gearing among other things which has the F1's. Pulled them off the car even before I took delivery.

 

 

Thats sweet I would love to have one

[Madlock]

Thats sweet I would love to have one

 

 

It's a pisser - with full torque available from 1500 RPM. Whatever your gear or revs, you just GO. The V6 EcoBoost is phenomenal.

 

Sometimes almost as much fun as the GT500 - just in a different, paddle-sift-with-the-seat-massagers-on kid of way. The only downsides are the Performance Package locking owners into summer-only tires ESPECIALLY for a car that's meant to be a year-round daily driver with AWD and given the many terrific UHP A/S tires available and the Performance Package and Adaptive Cruise being mutually exclusive options for some asinine reason.

 

Would've preferred the MKS EcoBoost except for the fact that inexplicably, no performance option type pack is available. Ford beefs-up the content enough for some people to consider in the $55,000 sandbox, but it refuses to give one of the few feature options that would make it truly stand-out and become a terrific luxury performance value. I just don't get it.

[MJN]

Just too big of a daily driver for me but would be hell of alot of fun hehe. Really wish they would do a AWD focus.

[Husky44]

Definitely not trying to start any arguments here, just wanting to give one man's real world experience.

 

Just drove my 2013 GT500 convertible from Anchorage AK to Fairbanks and back. Left Wednesday night, with temps around 50. Saw them drop to the low 40s around Denali park, and had very light rain on and off during the first half of that trip. North of the park, and south of Fairbanks I got up into the hills where it gets twisty, and saw temps fluctuate between 44 and 34 (dry roads). I went into it pretty easy, given all the talk here about how treacherous these tires are. I wasn't "hammering on it", but I was running 85-90 through the hills, in curves marked 45-50. I didn't have any problems with loosing grip.

 

Today on the way home, the temps never got above 40, until I got into the heavy rains, where it did warm up into the mid 40s. Before I hit the rain, I was able to run the car pretty hard, and never once felt any indication of traction issues (living in AK, you get pretty good at feeling when you're losing grip).

 

Now, when I was driving around Fairbanks yesterday, and I'd get on it a little, yes, they broke loose very easily. I don't have enough experience with this car to know how well it hooks if the tires are warmed up, road temps are higher, etc, so I can't say how much of that is due to tires vs. excessive amounts of power. It does drift pretty well though!

[440sprint]

I clicked on SPECIAL PROMOTIONS on the Stone Guard site & found a place there to get a coupon code for TS members, but that led to an error. I did submit an inquiry to TS store about the error, but no response yet. I'll post when I get an explanation or a coupon code.

 

 

I gave up on a coupon code & ordered my Stone Guards. Never heard from TSPP!

 

Thanks, Ma'd'lock!

[MJN]

I gave up on a coupon code & ordered my Stone Guards. Never heard from TSPP!

 

Thanks, Ma'd'lock!

 

 

I may be wrong but I think you need to be a Team Shelby Member to be able to get some of the special discounts?

[bergenfelter]

Definitely not trying to start any arguments here, just wanting to give one man's real world experience.

 

Just drove my 2013 GT500 convertible from Anchorage AK to Fairbanks and back. Left Wednesday night, with temps around 50. Saw them drop to the low 40s around Denali park, and had very light rain on and off during the first half of that trip. North of the park, and south of Fairbanks I got up into the hills where it gets twisty, and saw temps fluctuate between 44 and 34 (dry roads). I went into it pretty easy, given all the talk here about how treacherous these tires are. I wasn't "hammering on it", but I was running 85-90 through the hills, in curves marked 45-50. I didn't have any problems with loosing grip.

 

Today on the way home, the temps never got above 40, until I got into the heavy rains, where it did warm up into the mid 40s. Before I hit the rain, I was able to run the car pretty hard, and never once felt any indication of traction issues (living in AK, you get pretty good at feeling when you're losing grip).

 

Now, when I was driving around Fairbanks yesterday, and I'd get on it a little, yes, they broke loose very easily. I don't have enough experience with this car to know how well it hooks if the tires are warmed up, road temps are higher, etc, so I can't say how much of that is due to tires vs. excessive amounts of power. It does drift pretty well though!

 

 

One thing I have noticed about this car vs. other live axle cars I have owned is that this one is very predictable when you start to lose traction - this vehicle is very balanced in terms of understeer/oversteer. No big surprises in the event of traction loss - very controllable.