Your sig is sick. What mods do you have done to the GT?

No. From what I hear, that is the total package, the best bang for the buck for under 100k.

steeda CAI, kooks long tube headers, corsa exhaust, dyno tuned.

Steve,
As one who lived the "heyday" of the muscle car era, I can assure you the Mustang big-blocks (particularly the 428 Super Cobra Jet and Boss 429) were muscle cars.
The only GTOs that were relevant muscle cars "on the street" were the 1964-1966 tri-power (three 2-barrel carbs) models.
Truly the "hot" street cars were the Chevys with solid lifter "Rat" motors (396/427/454) and Mopars with the 440 Six Pack (again, three 2 barrel carbs) and 426 Hemi motors.

lol last and best sports under 100k...M3...fuggeeddouubbooddiit

Details... details... :icon17:

I agree with you about the big block Mustangs. Those were definitely muscle. :)

I looked at the mustang before getting my Z. My only beef with the mustang, which applies to almost all of the sports cars in this price range other than the Z, is the huge range of models. The most common mustangs on the road have v6 engines, single-tip exhaust, etc. When you see another Z on the road, the driver is most likely a car enthusiast. When you see a mustang on the road, the driver is most likely a woman.

But still, on its own, the new GT seems like a great car.

Yeah, I see many more v6 "little dinky" stangs on the road than billy bad-azz GT's.

thats when that 5.0 badge comes in handy

but i agree, when you see a 370, hell a Z car in general more than likely they are an enthusiast. I will miss that...

I think that really depends on where you live. Around here Z's are quite common like the Mustangs are, especially the 350s.

Yeah, but they're all generally enthusiast drivers. You have to be. It's a two-seater with a powerful V6 strapped to it. Not every Mustang driver is an enthusiast. It's an affordable 4-seat coupe that has a performance image. Granted, the new stang's v6 trim pops out 300 hp, but it's still seen more as a sporty coupe than a sports car.

I don't know, I have seen some clueless chicks driving around in 370s. I doubt "Daddy, get me that one!" counts as "enthusiast." :bowrofl:

I have seen, hell I'm related to, a few v6 mustang drivers for that exact reason! "Daddy buy me" :roflpuke2:

Funny story... I was trying to negotiate a deal on a 2004 Audi TT 3.2L for the GF a year or two ago.... at the same time, a Daddy and his 16 year old princess were also fighting for the car. There was no way I could win that battle, and the dealership loved it... :bowrofl:

The princess did your girlfriend a favor! :p

lol for real. If daddy was smart, he'd have her pick one out, then drive her home, then come back and negotiate.

Ahhhh yes...with the "air grabber" lever in the cockpit....Those were the days...:driving:

I was at the drag strip 2 weeks ago and a guy hads a shelby cobra mustang there with drag radials and skinneys/ The motor is huge and the sipercharger is unbelivable.
It dynoed out at 726 rwhp.
what a car.

The mustang betters or equals the 370Z in every performance category.

Either you like this, and the mustang's styling, or the Z's styling, etc. is enough to overcome this for you.

At least, that's how I see it.

Dinky they may be, but they would still be a driver's race for other 6-bangers like the 370Z.

I think the Z still has better cornering and feel in the corners, but that advantage is very small. The Stang corners pretty much just as well but blows it out of the water in acceleration.

But the Z looks a lot smexier and is still great performance-wise. I'd still take the Z every day of the week. Performance is not a direct correlation to fun for me. They're related, but it's not everything.

It'd still be a driver's race for a Z vs. a GT. The driver makes the biggest difference in any race.

You can argue that it would be a driver's race against a Viper, too, if you like, but the point remains that the 370Z NISMO only made it around VIR 1/2 second quicker than a V6 mustang that bounced off the rev-limiter at 114mph all down the straights.

With even a semi-competent driver, the GT is going to walk the 370Z. Sure, anyone can blow a launch, but assuming noone messes it up too bad...

In one C&D test where they ended up crashing and totaling the vehicle after only getting in a few decent laps.

Seriously, people put too much into mag times, and for that matter, too much into performance numbers. It's a sports car. We're not all running VIR every week. :rolleyes:

That's a big assumption, and it's not just the launch, it's shifting, it's keeping it straight, it's weather conditions, tire conditions, etc, etc.

The cars aren't that far apart.

Edit: lol I gotta stop posting. This thread is old, these arguments are old. Both cars are great, buy what you love.

You have to stop posting before you get an aneurysm, Al. :icon17:

Since I've had both I will say stock-for-stock, if traction is not a problem, the 370 isn't even close to the 5.0 in a straight line run. But traction is a huge problem with the 5.0, so it makes it a driver's race in that if the 5.0 driver is not on his game a properly driven 370 could easily get a good enough jump that the 5.0 couldn't overcome in 1/8 or 1/4 mile.

The 5.0 is basically a very low 12 second car running on high 12 second tires. :icon17:

It's fun sometimes on the Mustang forums because every now and then you'll get a guy who thinks a 370 is a "sure thing," but then I have to educate them on jnaut, z eliminator, b1ades, etc. The Z can get into the 12s (and probably the high 11s on slicks) with bolt-ons and great driving. That's enough to serve some humble pie to a driver of any car who thinks he's hot stuff behind the wheel but doesn't have the skill to back it up.

Thank you. I know the Stang's faster from stock, and if you mod for performance, the Stang can get much faster for much cheaper. But the Z can "get lucky" and catch a GT, just as surely as a v6 Stang can "get lucky" and catch a Z. Maybe the difference is less between the v6 and the Z, but whatevs. If you're buying a Stang and have a pair of testicles, get the v8.

I think the V6 Mustangs are the cars that people really need to look out for in terms of "cars that are really much faster than I thought they would be." A lot of people dismiss them but they are already in the 12s on bolt ons and they are coming out with supercharger kits for them putting down 400+ whp.

Bottom line is on the street, anything can happen. On the track you might get lucky every now and then (but then again, who is actually racing at a Test & Tune event?)

How many folks are racing their sports cars period? And how often? Because they are the ones who should be concerned with performance numbers. The rest are buying mostly on reputation and cruising from point A to point B quickly and in style. If that's what you're buying for, then a Z or Mustang of any trim can do that without argument.

Eggsackitalley.

I'm a huge fan of the Mustang, and that is pretty well-documented I think. There's a good chance either the Subaru or the Z will be traded in for a 5.0 at some point, but I have to side with Al on some points here.

A lot has been said about how the Mustang handles as well in the corners as the Z, and I really don't think that is true. I know the 'stang will beat a Z on most road courses, but I think that is mostly a function of the massive increase in power. VIR full course is also notorious as a "power course", which is going to further the lead even further. C&D's Nismo times are also not even from actual hot laps-- several members on here have datalogs showing faster speeds and times than C&D was logging (cossie being the one that comes to mind).
For most of the driving that my car gets put through, the Z makes more than enough power. Granted, I probably drive more conservatively than the rest of you guys, but the Z has more than enough power to get going was faster than you need to on the straights in between turns. I know I'd be out of my league with the 5.0 on a track, simply because I don't have the skills to brake late coming in that hot. I think most of us would probably be over our heads even in something much slower.

On the street the power difference is negligible. The feel is quite different though (massive torque in the 5.0 vs. the 370) but you still get from point a to point b in either car.

I've said it time and time again, but the 5.0 is the harder car to drive. It's a lot harder to drive than the 370Z at speed. In the right hands it will put a beat down on a lot of stuff that you probably wouldn't think it should.

I felt a lot more secure with the 370... it's an easier car to drive, period. It's got a lot built in understeer thanks to the staggered tire setup and soft sway bars. You can really push it hard and it won't bite you as long as you are not an idiot with the loud pedal. It seems like the guys that are wrecking the 370 with VDC off don't know how to handle a car when the back end starts to lose grip under power. They mash the gas, don't expect the back end to lose grip, and they lose control and crash.

With the Mustang you have to be comfortable driving "loose" all the time. Stiff bars, non-staggered setup on a fairly narrow tire for its weight and power, and a just about perfect 50-50 balance this car does not drive anything like the Z. It's a lot more neutral and is always wanting to rotate... which is good if you can handle it. You just have to get used to that four-wheel drift feeling at all times when you are really pushing it. It's a dynamite car, but it really makes you work.

If I had the cash there would be a 370Z Roadster sitting next to my 5.0 right now. That is how much I love both of these cars.

F*** the haters! On both sides! These are two freaking sweet cars.

ford is already running incentives on it. 27k for a new gt

This 5.0 is crazy!!!! I haven't even thought about my Z since I traded it!

Yeah, you can get good deals now. It's definitely a tough time still for any sports car.

I still run the 370Z club here, so I think about them a lot. I'm passionate about my Z cars. :tup:

:ugh2:

This is also true. :yum:

:iagree:

I can't wait to :gtfi: the 5.0, sounds like it's going to be fun :)

totally agree!:tup:

the Z feels like its on rails when you corner and its really easy to drive! The Mustang handles really well but you have to be more skilled, i'll tell you i was not ready for the body flexing at first! I though i was drifting losing control at first...i got freaked out. But i have been taking the same turns at the same speed with no problems in the 5.0 now. the way it feels with the mustang is, turn, body flex, then grip, accel out...i was used to the first 3 bieng all in one in the Z then just accel out. I still the Z a slight, SLIGHT advantage in handling because of this...around a really tight autoX is where the Z would take it. But add some springs/drop, better tires, and its anyones game