Trade in my GT350R for a race car?

[Poppadeizal]

So, I bought a GT350R, 2017, 2700 miles a little over a year ago. I LOVE IT. 

Then I stumble across a GT350 that's been professionally supercharged, added tons of carbon fiber goodies and other upgrades.  975 hp at the crank. Meth...its insane. 

So, the R is unique. But this tuned 350 will smoke...anything? Well not a Bugatti or something else for a million plus, but ZR1, 911, hellcat...straight line or track doesnt matter...

What do you guys think. I'm really not sure.

[Secondo]

Trade the beautiful R-Model that you got a deal on brand new for a modded GT350 with an unknown history? No way man, keep yours and install similar mods if you like what they did to it. And you'll still have a special R Model that you know exactly what was done to it and how it was driven. Sweet ride, btw! 

[twobjshelbys]

Who supercharged the Voodoo?  Ford does not acknowledge such a modification and you do so at your own risk. 

[Mongoose]

1 hour ago, Poppadeizal said:

So, I bought a GT350R, 2017, 2700 miles a little over a year ago. I LOVE IT. 

Then I stumble across a GT350 that's been professionally supercharged, added tons of carbon fiber goodies and other upgrades.  975 hp at the crank. Meth...its insane. 

So, the R is unique. But this tuned 350 will smoke...anything? Well not a Bugatti or something else for a million plus, but ZR1, 911, hellcat...straight line or track doesnt matter...

What do you guys think. I'm really not sure.

Okay, here’s my two cents worth!   If your really going to use all that H.P. and it really puts a “Huge Smile” on your face and you have to have it, fine.   But, also remember the guy next to you has no idea whats in your car, (only you do), so remember there goes some of your bragging rights!     Also, in the end when everything is said and done you might be better off with your stock GT350R which is a hell of a car!      Also, here’s something else to remember, theres always a faster car coming around the bend!!  

J.M.O.       Hope this helps Ya!                       Later guy!                    “MONGOOSE”       

[Don Johnston]

Considering all the warnings from the guys who developed, engineered and built the 5.2 Voodoo flat plane crank engine about the negatives of supercharging the engine and future engine failure, I would stay away from pushing those 900+ ponies.  If Ford Performance had figured superchaging the voodoo was a great idea, they would have used it for the new GT500 to save money. That engine is expensive to replace and not having the original in the GT350R is aprobably going to be a major value buster in the future.  But it is your toy to have fun with so here's hoping that you get in some hot laps safely for some time.  😎

[Poppadeizal]

The guys who supercharged it are a professional shop. They did all the Mods for SEMA to show off zone of there products. So....It could be about as good as it gets in quality.

But what you guys are all saying on the other side of the argument is what I was hoping to hear. 

The car is so unique, so cool. I just need to not focus on something else that's way out of my league to handle if something went wrong with it.

Really appreciate your input guys

[svtkeith]

13 hours ago, Poppadeizal said:

So, I bought a GT350R, 2017, 2700 miles a little over a year ago. I LOVE IT. 

Then I stumble across a GT350 that's been professionally supercharged, added tons of carbon fiber goodies and other upgrades.  975 hp at the crank. Meth...its insane. 

So, the R is unique. But this tuned 350 will smoke...anything? Well not a Bugatti or something else for a million plus, but ZR1, 911, hellcat...straight line or track doesnt matter...

What do you guys think. I'm really not sure.

 

Go with your heart....if you want the modded GT350 that bad go for it nothing anyone says here should matter it's your call...good luck

and enjoy either way.....

[SAI-Steven]

10 hours ago, 66GT350PS said:

Considering all the warnings from the guys who developed, engineered and built the 5.2 Voodoo flat plane crank engine about the negatives of supercharging the engine and future engine failure, I would stay away from pushing those 900+ ponies.  If Ford Performance had figured superchaging the voodoo was a great idea, they would have used it for the new GT500 to save money. That engine is expensive to replace and not having the original in the GT350R is aprobably going to be a major value buster in the future.  But it is your toy to have fun with so here's hoping that you get in some hot laps safely for some time.  😎

Yuppers to that and you also have to ask yourself, why didn't Shelby American supercharge the 2015-2020 GT350 ?

Yes there was a reason, a very big reason.

Steven

 

[twobjshelbys]

2 hours ago, Poppadeizal said:

The guys who supercharged it are a professional shop. They did all the Mods for SEMA to show off zone of there products. So....It could be about as good as it gets in quality

You've been warned by three people, including Shelby American, about the wisdom of modifying the Voodoo engine.  Ford never came out with a Ford Racing Parts sanctioned supercharger for the Voodoo.  Shelby American never took one of the units that your "professional" used and sanctioned it with their name.   In short, "professionals" can do some stupid things sometimes.  This is a gate with signs that say "There is a dog that will bite you" with  "But feel free to enter at your own risk" below. 

Good luck though.

Edited June 26, 2019 by twobjshelbys

[twobjshelbys]

11 hours ago, 66GT350PS said:

Considering all the warnings from the guys who developed, engineered and built the 5.2 Voodoo flat plane crank engine about the negatives of supercharging the engine and future engine failure, I would stay away from pushing those 900+ ponies.  If Ford Performance had figured superchaging the voodoo was a great idea, they would have used it for the new GT500 to save money. That engine is expensive to replace and not having the original in the GT350R is aprobably going to be a major value buster in the future.  But it is your toy to have fun with so here's hoping that you get in some hot laps safely for some time.  😎

The Voodoo will go down as a Ford failure.  The engine IS expensive to replace.  And if you look at the number of people on this and other forums that have had engines replace, and project into the entire population. the failure rate is above what a Six-Sigma part would predict or want.  There is a reason the engine hasn't been used anywhere else and it's not because it was a raving success.

[Poppadeizal]

Oh no....dont trash talk the voodoo, even if it's TRUE. It's the best thing about the car. I dont know the stats on engine failures so I wont challenge you there.

I just hope your wrong.

But really valid points on keeping it NA from all you guys.

But you guys have all seen procharged 350s on YouTube right? Are those just engines being stressed beyond what they should and waiting to blow? I'm just asking. Not an engineer. 

[Mongoose]

9 hours ago, Poppadeizal said:

Oh no....dont trash talk the voodoo, even if it's TRUE. It's the best thing about the car. I dont know the stats on engine failures so I wont challenge you there.

I just hope your wrong.

But really valid points on keeping it NA from all you guys.

But you guys have all seen procharged 350s on YouTube right? Are those just engines being stressed beyond what they should and waiting to blow? I'm just asking. Not an engineer. 

Hey bud, do your research on that engine, (VOODOO) and then judge for your self if that will convince you on what their all trying to tell you!       Good luck with what-ever way you decide to go!!    

[Bill_T]

Spoke with a guy last month at a cars and coffee. He had supercharged his GT 350,was putting out somewhere near 850 HP. After talking for a while he kind of regretted doing it. That much horse power is great for bragging,but he couldn't put it to the ground. He said it went from a superb handling car to one that spun the tires any time he hit the gas too hard.

 

[Mongoose]

8 hours ago, Bill_T said:

Spoke with a guy last month at a cars and coffee. He had supercharged his GT 350,was putting out somewhere near 850 HP. After talking for a while he kind of regretted doing it. That much horse power is great for bragging,but he couldn't put it to the ground. He said it went from a superb handling car to one that spun the tires any time he hit the gas too hard.

 

+1

[Secondo]

3 hours ago, Mongoose said:

+1

Hey troll,- "+1" so you talked to the same guy too?

If you're gonna add over 300HP to an already potent vehicle, you gotta install supporting mods like suspension, tires and most likely a driver mod. Can't just throw on a power adder and call it a day.

The GT350 is a highly balanced car as is. The only engine failures I've heard of were caused by the oil line leak which has a TSB, not a power adder. The car and its engine will be a LEGEND just like its predecessor!

Just finished a track day at a highly technical track with many high-dollar cars. Guess what the fastest car there was? A GT350

Depends what you are going to use the car for. Track- no power adder necessary. Dragstrip- power adder. Street & cruise- power adder. Road warrior for taking on the expensive Porsches, BMWs and other modded American Muscle cars. definitely get a power adder. You can never have too much power in this group.

If you're an occasional Sunday driver and car show participant, don't waste your money.

Don't listen to the trolls here with 315HP cars that belong to the latter group.

What group are you in?

Edited June 28, 2019 by Secondo

[mhr1961]

 The most satisfied buyers of the GT350 are the people who understand what the GT350 was intended for and who actually educated themselves about the car, and read their owners manuals and broke the engine in the proper way, and they are for the most part very pleased with the car and the engine.  What many people don’t understand is that Ford took quite a bit of marketing data and engineering data and then outlined a very specific plan when they developed and launched the 2015+ GT350. It was just as much a purpose built car as the Ford GT. Yet somehow people ignored very specific things about the GT350. Ford was very vocal up front and pulled no punches when they specifically announced that the GT350 and its Voodoo engine would be a track (road course) focused car that is “streetable”. Ford also clearly pointed out that the engine was designed to be normally aspirated and not supercharged from the very start of its development. Yet some people still went out and bought one and took it to their local drag strip and then bitched about it all over the internet for it not doing well at a drag strip, or that it didn’t have low end grunt for stop light to stop light runs. Well, it wasn’t designed for that. It was designed to perform well and/or dominate on twisty tracks and winding roads “at speed” in an rpm range of 3500 to 8200 rpm. If you look at the hp and torque curves, the power band of the car clearly shows such, and that is where the car and its engine excel because that is what it was purpose built for.

     Now in regard to supercharging. The Voodoo has a 12 to 1 compression ratio. If you read even basic documents about supercharging, you will quickly see it isn’t a wise choice to  super charge high compression production car engines………..they won’t last, and are more subject to detonation. So if you do decide to supercharge, then  for the engine to last, you had best run high octane race grade gasoline. Some people may pop up and say…….oh that’s BS, many high compression engines are super charged to run in such and such type racing. Well yeah, but those engines are only designed to last 2, 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours and they run on very high octane race fuel. In addition, you are adding mass to the engine and you are now trying to turn an engine and a supercharger and may find your engine doesn’t spool up as fast as before and your throttle response may be a bit slower…… it was originally intended for normal aspiration and lower rotational mass to respond to driver input quickly. Also, the Voodoo engine by its very design wasn’t designed to be a low end of rpm range torque monster. If you look at the hp/torque curves the car doesn’t come on strong until above 3500+ rpm, and a supercharger won’t cure that. Go look at some dyno sheets and it shows such. In addition, the aero of the car was not designed to dissipate heat beyond what the car was designed for, so if you add that supercharger, where is all the heat going to go?..........sure you may get a better stop light to stop light run, or one or two quick laps but then your car is going to fade due to heat soak, or go in to limp mode if you don’t extract all that heat.

     The point is,  if you want to supercharge a high compression Voodoo FPC engine then fine, but don’t expect Ford to come anywhere near to sticking  a warranty on it, .And again, Ford was very clear that in order to keep the engine weight down, keep it quick winding and high rpm capable and responsive, they therefor specifically developed the Voodoo to maximize its performance with natural aspiration. Sure, anybody can toss a blower on it, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I for one was glad SAI had the understanding and foresight to not go anywhere near trying to add a supercharger to a 2015+ GT350 Voodoo engine. Why?...... because it demonstrates that there are people working at SAI who know what they are doing….. and sometimes not doing something shows that you do know what you are doing.

 In addition, supercharging is also not just about the engine dynamics that change when you supercharge. Don’t forget you are altering the vehicle dynamics as well when you throw an additional 75+ pounds on the nose of the car. The suspension and magneride are tuned for a specific weight up front and out back and that “magneride also has contollers with a feedback loop in it that monitor and responds to the pitch and yaw of the vehicle. You are not only altering the front vs rear weight distribution of the vehicle, you are affecting the center of gravity and the polar moment of inertia of the vehicle which is going to affect your feedback loop and the suspension’s response ,  so unless you address the suspension issues as well……. you may well find yourself with a car that is not as “planted” as it was before and gets squirrely going in to or coming out of turns.  There are several anecdotal reports of people having trouble with the supercharged GT350 “plowing” in to turns once a supercharger is added.

 

Don’t listen to people who tell you to not to listen to anyone on here and go with your heart……….unless you want to be one of those people that are just an ill informed horsepower junkie that thinks horsepower is the answer to everything, or you are somebody who lights their cigars with C notes, and don’t care how much it will cost you now or later.  If you are concerned about the value of your car, or the “value” you think you  may get out of attempting supercharging a 2015+ GT350 , then listen to people who demonstrate that they actually have some technical knowledge of the engine or vehicle dynamics……if I were you, I would save my money and keep my GT350 “as is”. Your car is a finely tuned “system”, in fact, that is the approach that Ford took when designing the GT350, and the car is damn near perfect “as is” for the purpose it was built for. If you want a really high HP car that will handle well then look at the new 2020 GT500 with the track package, or an SAI built 2019+ Shelby GT with a supercharger, or an SAI built Shelby Supersnake.

[Don Johnston]

Extremely well said.😎

[Noisy Cricket]

JMO but you would be better off going with a GT PP2 and a Roush if HP is your thing. A Shelby is a Shelby...It's a crying shame to purchase one then change it.

[YBLEHS350R]

hmmmm - I have an 18 R with a 903 Tuned Whipple, upgraded oil pump and gear, flywheel/clutch upgrade, and have driven for 2 years without issues at all - it's just short of amazing by any standards at all - I also have a Blown Adrenalin and a RR SVR - all tuned and no issues

[2+2]

My opinion is. If you want a drag race car, you build a drag racer. If you want a hobby road coarse racer or autocross car, you buy a Shelby that is all ready setup for it. If you want a street racer, it is time to grow up. On the street, you just need to sound and look good going the speed limit.