am going to have to agree big with this, my brother in law traded in his LS1 trans AM for a 5.0 last wednesday and we swapped cars, went on a few cruises, and even had some fun! I will say that the dam tranny in the 5.0 is butter...feels better than the 370z. both my bro in law and i came to the same conclusions after driving each other cars. The Z does handle substantially better. And the 5.0 is Faster...stop or roll...the 5.0 is amazing machine...Its almost impossible for me to say anything negative about this car, and if i did it would be a nit pick...the guages reminded me of an old watch for some reason.

The gauges always bothered me but for one reason or another I really like them now. And as gimicky as it is, MyColor is awesome.

So very true.

Z may be "a little bit better" in feel and handling, but it's not enough to offset the amount of power that the Mustang has. You can't say that the Z will be as fast as the Mustang on a track without saying that the Z will as fast as a E92 BMW M3 on a track...

There's no point for Nissan putting on a oil cooler now because what that will let mags do an objective comparison of the 370z vs. the 5.0 on a track and Nissan knows that the 370z will not be able to keep pace with the 5.0 on anything but an autox.

:facepalm:

thanks for sharing with what I assume SHOULD be your own personal experience with both vehicles...correct?! BTW no one is trying to downplay the 5.0 here....am having flash backs of driving it like a wild night of sex that I was to drunk to recollect...but wanna remember and experience moooaarr

Exactly. Not downplaying the 5.0 by any means. I am just saying, let's keep it real. The Stang is not a better handler. That is like saying the M3 handles better than a Cayman S. NOPE!

Power, yes, the 5.0 does have. And it is not a bad handler by any means. Just not with the Z.

And, the Z still needs an oil cooler.

I still don't think the difference is that great in handling. And I stand by my statement that the Mustang is better balanced. The Z has a lot of understeer from the factory... too much, IMO.

And I don't see how torque is going to be the key to the 2010 Mustang keeping up so well at VIR, a horsepower track. The 370Z is faster in a straight line than the 2010 Mustang GT and slightly better under braking than the track-pack 2010. It's all chassis that's keeping the Mustang close. Not torque. I've run there before and there's no point on that track where the 370Z isn't going to pull a 2010 Mustang (stock for stock).

Anyways, the Z needs an oil cooler but not from the factory. 9 out of 10 Z's that are sold will never see a situation that requires one, so it makes more sense to let the end user deal with it.

For those who haven't seen/read this it's a pretty good review. Pobst is a pretty respected driver. Looks like with a set of shocks, the Mustang would have been the clear winner Vs. a virtual tie... Be sure to watch the video!

M3 Vs the Pony: 2011 BMW M3 Coupe vs. 2011 Ford Mustang GT Comparison - Motor Trend

Agreed. Shocks and you're all set. :tup:

Pobst indicated that the Mustang was quite unstable at speed. That would be a thumbs-down in the course of a race. This is a comparison of stock vs stock. Aftermarket shocks would improve the M3 as well, no doubt. And the nose dive...

No one ever said it was an M3.

A lot is being said that it's as good as an M3. Perhaps, since the 5.0 is a Premium Package and not a stock Mustang, this should be the M3 comparison vehicle?

2011 BMW M3 Competition Package First Drive - Motor Trend

So Sync and leather seats make it go better?????????????

All we're saying is that the GT is a great package for $30K less than an M3. Pobst seems to agree ("God Bless America") , and a $500 set of shocks will make it even better and address (most) of his concerns.. The M3 is a great car, but so is the GT. I'll keep the $30K in my pocket thanks!

The M3 DOES handle better than the Cayman S. And the '11 Mustang GT has OUT HANDLED the Nissan 370z. The Mustang can even out handle the Cayman!! Oh boy You're just full of assumptions aren't you?

At VIR:
Cayman S 3:05.8
BMW M3 3:05.4

At Willow Springs
Cayman S 1:28
BMW M3 1:27
'11 Mustang GT 1:27
Nissan 370Z 1:28

At Laguna Seca
Cayman S 1:43
BMW M3 1:42

At Nordschleife:
Cayman S 8:06
BMW M3 8:05

At Autozeitung:
Cayman S 1:41
BMW M3 1:40