keilhauer
06-30-2005, 10:19 PM
I had the great fortune to drive a new 2005 Mustang GT at Mosport International Raceway - the famed 2.5 mile permanent roadcourse. I've talked about this track many times before. If you ever get the opportunity to come up and drive Mosport, do it!
Anyway, I drove an AUTOMATIC :thud: for the first time on the track (not counting some laps last year in a Lightning - a customers vehicle with him in it, so I wasn't pushing), and have to say that I am TOTALLY IMPRESSED with the 5-speed auto that Ford put in the Mustang. It shifted great when done manually, and didn't lock up under severe braking/downshifting. However, I did find myself hitting the rev-limiter on three different areas (entering Turn 1, 2 and 4), and could have used another 500-700 rpm for those areas. Didn't want to shift up as I was running 3rd gear at those points, and 4th would not have given enough throttle control for my tastes.
As it was, I managed a best of 1:52, which compares very favourably with the 1:49's I did last year with an '04 Cobra.
My impressions on the car? I found the brakes on the '05 very easy to work with and experienced little to no fade after 3 aggressive 20-minute runs on this high-speed track (a couple 160kph to 100kph braking zones (100mph to 60mph for the metrically challenged) plus one 200kph+ to 140 (120+mph to 75mph) at the end of the Andretti Straight (1-mile long - all up-hill), throttle control through the corners very precise and handling extremely surprising. Steering assist is a bit on the light side, but I don't have a problem with it as I won't get worn out after a day at the track. It was stable with little squat or nose-dive compared to the '94 GT I used to own and ran there. Tire wear after 3 sessions was minimal - the Pirelli's held up amazingly well. I used 39psi front and 36psi rear, and still had about 1/4 to 1/2 inch available tread before the tire rolled over, based on the wear pattern after each run. Very little feathering compared to what a set of Goodyears used to show after a day on the track. I got good wear out of the rears too, so the car was very balanced and did not abuse the fronts like the older Fox-4 cars.
Having raced Formula V1600 at Mosport, and driven a variety of manual-transmission street cars there, I have to say that this new Mustang is a gem of a car and as much as I hate to admit - I could actually live with the auto-trans as a daily driver/occassional track car. I have no reservations as to the capabilities of the new 5-speed auto. :D
If you are concerned about attending an On-Track because you don't drive manual, and have an auto-trans '05 GT, don't worry. It is a kick to drive! :bna
Anyway, I drove an AUTOMATIC :thud: for the first time on the track (not counting some laps last year in a Lightning - a customers vehicle with him in it, so I wasn't pushing), and have to say that I am TOTALLY IMPRESSED with the 5-speed auto that Ford put in the Mustang. It shifted great when done manually, and didn't lock up under severe braking/downshifting. However, I did find myself hitting the rev-limiter on three different areas (entering Turn 1, 2 and 4), and could have used another 500-700 rpm for those areas. Didn't want to shift up as I was running 3rd gear at those points, and 4th would not have given enough throttle control for my tastes.
As it was, I managed a best of 1:52, which compares very favourably with the 1:49's I did last year with an '04 Cobra.
My impressions on the car? I found the brakes on the '05 very easy to work with and experienced little to no fade after 3 aggressive 20-minute runs on this high-speed track (a couple 160kph to 100kph braking zones (100mph to 60mph for the metrically challenged) plus one 200kph+ to 140 (120+mph to 75mph) at the end of the Andretti Straight (1-mile long - all up-hill), throttle control through the corners very precise and handling extremely surprising. Steering assist is a bit on the light side, but I don't have a problem with it as I won't get worn out after a day at the track. It was stable with little squat or nose-dive compared to the '94 GT I used to own and ran there. Tire wear after 3 sessions was minimal - the Pirelli's held up amazingly well. I used 39psi front and 36psi rear, and still had about 1/4 to 1/2 inch available tread before the tire rolled over, based on the wear pattern after each run. Very little feathering compared to what a set of Goodyears used to show after a day on the track. I got good wear out of the rears too, so the car was very balanced and did not abuse the fronts like the older Fox-4 cars.
Having raced Formula V1600 at Mosport, and driven a variety of manual-transmission street cars there, I have to say that this new Mustang is a gem of a car and as much as I hate to admit - I could actually live with the auto-trans as a daily driver/occassional track car. I have no reservations as to the capabilities of the new 5-speed auto. :D
If you are concerned about attending an On-Track because you don't drive manual, and have an auto-trans '05 GT, don't worry. It is a kick to drive! :bna