MississippiMustang Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Alright, I'm new here-I just made this account today. Please don't castigate or emasculate me, but I know very little about this car. I'm just here to learn! That being said, I've recently been given a 2011 GT500 by my grandparents. It has about 47,000 miles. The car isn't stock, either. It was my grandmothers mid life crisis, and they bought it used from a Ford dealership. They know very little about cars, but my grandmother loved it because "it had snakes on it and it was loud." ? Anyway, she's tired of it and has gifted it to me. Here's what the dealer told us was in it: SCT tune, headers, exhaust, intake, and pulley. We have done nothing to it but change the oil, and I bought an aftermarket air filter for it. How soon should I change the spark plugs, or should I at all? What tires would you guys recommend for daily driver with an occasional drag race? It's currently running Pirelli P Zeros. What other checking/maintenance should I do to ensure its operating at optimal efficiency and full power? Remember, I'm new to all this and will readily admit ignorance. Any kind help will be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtkeith Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Alright, I'm new here-I just made this account today. Please don't castigate or emasculate me, but I know very little about this car. I'm just here to learn! That being said, I've recently been given a 2011 GT500 by my grandparents. It has about 47,000 miles. The car isn't stock, either. It was my grandmothers mid life crisis, and they bought it used from a Ford dealership. They know very little about cars, but my grandmother loved it because "it had snakes on it and it was loud." Anyway, she's tired of it and has gifted it to me. Here's what the dealer told us was in it: SCT tune, headers, exhaust, intake, and pulley. We have done nothing to it but change the oil, and I bought an aftermarket air filter for it. How soon should I change the spark plugs, or should I at all? What tires would you guys recommend for daily driver with an occasional drag race? It's currently running Pirelli P Zeros. What other checking/maintenance should I do to ensure its operating at optimal efficiency and full power? Remember, I'm new to all this and will readily admit ignorance. Any kind help will be much appreciated! First off a big congrats and welcome to this site.....your question is legit and no one is going to insult you all here are awesome people and will help you. The mods to your GT500 from what you posted is very mild and normal for this car I actually had almost the exact mods done to mine....nothing much to check really if all is working fine just general maintenance like any other car....some of these cars had clutch and trans issues but mostly the 07's but some 08 09 10 and 11's did also but the later not so much as the 07's your tires if not worn are just fine IMO....Enjoy and keep the rubber side down..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hawkins Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Before you do ANY Racing, make sure your Tires are warmed up, REALLY warmed up or you could end up in a Ditch or in the Wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Bogdanich Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) Congrats on awesome gift, Ditch the pirellis and buy a set of Michellin Pilot Supersports, 295/35/20 rear 275/35/19 or 40 fronts, and yens make sure to warm them up before you mash the gas. Take your time and learn the car before you get on it. leave the traction control on until you feel like you know what it likes. Enjoy! Edited July 22, 2015 by Boris Bogdanich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedrx Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Welcome to the forum. I would want to know more about the Tune. Did you get the SCT programmer or any documentation? Tunes are specific to mods and will also specify gas octane minimums, etc. You will also want to see if there were mods that are not visible like the clutch, rear-end ratio, etc. At 47K, it has probably had a clutch swap, would be good to know if stock or aftermarket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MississippiMustang Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Thanks for the support and help, everyone! I really appreciate it! @speedrx, I think it's an SCT Flash tune. Should I look into a different tuner? Also, the clutch is stock. The only problems with the tranny is that it's hard to shift into 2nd gear sometimes. Other than that, it runs fine! May what mileage should I look into replacing the spark plugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookwyrm Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks for the support and help, everyone! I really appreciate it! @speedrx, I think it's an SCT Flash tune. Should I look into a different tuner? Also, the clutch is stock. The only problems with the tranny is that it's hard to shift into 2nd gear sometimes. Other than that, it runs fine! May what mileage should I look into replacing the spark plugs? If it's hard to shift into 2nd sometimes you may be hitting the synchro issue in the tranny -- once your clutch needs to be replaced (which will likely be soon if it's still stock) you'll probably want someone qualified to check the whole transmission and make sure there's no abnormal wear and tear. As far as the spark plugs -- I believe Ford's recommended interval on them is 45k miles, per the GT500 supplement manual (you can find this and the regular owners manual online at owner.ford.com -- I highly recommend reading at least the supplemental manual if you've never driven a beast like this before) -- so you're probably about due. A lot of people swap them out for a "colder" after market plug vs the OEM, but that's up to personal preference. Be sure to get the gap right if you're replacing them yourself. The SCT tuner is probably fine -- do you know who did the tune that is on it? There may be a label or something from the shop that did it. Especially with the mods you have you NEED the custom tune, otherwise the car will not perform well at all and could be downright dangerous to drive. If you change anything else non-cosmetic yourself you'll also need to get an updated tune, which is why it would be good to know where it came from so that you can get updates. Also, do not lose the SCT tuner -- it is (short of Ford re-flashing the engine) the only way to restore the original factory tune should you ever need to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookwyrm Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 One last thing -- if you have an aftermarket intake, be careful when replacing the air filter that you get the right sized filter -- most aftermarket intakes (and hopefully it's a good one like JLT or K&N) will take a substantially larger filter than the OEM from ford. If you just put the stock sized filter (regardless of if it's OEM or aftermarket) back on the new intake you'll lose a lot of the benefit of the bigger intake. Try and find the part number or at least manufacturer on the intake and check their website for the recommended filter media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobjshelbys Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 If it's hard to shift into 2nd sometimes you may be hitting the synchro issue in the tranny -- once your clutch needs to be replaced (which will likely be soon if it's still stock) you'll probably want someone qualified to check the whole transmission and make sure there's no abnormal wear and tear. 2nd can also be "catchy" when the engine/trans are cold. My Shelby GT would "hitch up", and my Ford GT does as well, until the engine and trans warm up. I drive cautiously by going from 1st to 3rd until the engine reache(d)(s) operating temperature (maybe sooner) and then all is well. I've heard GT500 owners report the same. I've also heard the same from almost all high performance modern transmissions, yes, even Ferrari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VorpalBunny Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Congrats and welcome to the forum! Good advice provided up above. If you have not already, you should register with the Shelby Registry as the new owner. The link can be found below in my signature line. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shel-b001 Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks for the support and help, everyone! I really appreciate it! @speedrx, I think it's an SCT Flash tune. Should I look into a different tuner? Also, the clutch is stock. The only problems with the tranny is that it's hard to shift into 2nd gear sometimes. Other than that, it runs fine! May what mileage should I look into replacing the spark plugs? Welcome to T.S Just a comment on the plugs if you say you have a tune & pulley chances are good that they already changed the plugs to a cooler plug. Why not go back to the dealer find out who the original owner & call him he maybe willing to tell you all about the mods , its worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry T Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Welcome to the family ... I hope you get the answers you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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