Serious question for guys who actually drive these cars a lot


centerpunch

ex-GT owner x2
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 16, 2005
952
OH/NC
So, for the few guys here who actually put a lot of miles on your cars...............

How do you do that? Serious question.

With the inconvenient doors, zero luggage space, and extreme width of the car, so you have any tips?

I suspect the first two tips are:

#1 It's just a car
#2 Don't be a wuss

But wondering if there are other non-obvious tips for making this impractical car experience a bit more practical.
 

Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,081
MA
You owned one, surprised your asking this? Im far from a lot (16k miles). When are the doors an issue as you will park the thing out in the middle of no where, to not get doored? That is when and if you really leave it unattended?

And yes, its just a car, and drives like a normal car. Visibility is fine. Width? Our Raptor is wider...

Only long travel we have made with it, is in a trailer. Plenty of storage in the tow vehicle, and trailer. Many have shipped their luggage, or used duffles behind seats, and under passengers legs. Suction cup hook on rear bulkhead glass for hanging shirts / dresses.

Practical? How is a FGT ever considered "practical"? Why would you want it to be? Buy a vette if you want room for golf clubs.
 

AJB

GT
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jun 28, 2006
2,943
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
2006 FGT----I have 13,000 miles on the 2006 Midnight Blue GT. I really do not use it for shopping trips or short jaunts. Most miles were put on at FGT Rallies 1 thru Rally 12 in various states and highways. I also did the road trip Detroit to Road Atlanta and back last year.
2017 NFGT----the 2017 Ford GT has 6000 on the ODO but has spent some added time in service. My goal was 10,000 by 2020 but I did not achieve. I did one road trip Detroit to Road Atlanta and back in 2018 and a road trip to Norwalk Ohio Drag Races and several trips to Kalamazoo Michigan, Gilmore Museum etc.
I also spend some time / trips in the evening to Woodward Avenue just for fun in the summer..
I never really worry about the width or door opening. I just find open-areas to park.
I avoid shopping malls, grocery runs and typically keep the vehicle 'insight' most all the time or check on it occasionally.
I look for special opportunities to do longer trips.
ajb (andy)
 

Kingman

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 11, 2006
4,072
Surf City, USA
Cruisin' for babes!
 

Gene Cassone

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Dec 3, 2005
1,002
way upstate NY
Use 2 soft suit carriers and place behind the seats. Works well, plus whatever you can put in small front compartment.
I swapped out my large subwoofer years ago and can put small bag b/n seats
If wife bringing shoes; ship the rest ahead!!
 
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centerpunch

ex-GT owner x2
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 16, 2005
952
OH/NC
You owned one, surprised your asking this? Im far from a lot (16k miles). When are the doors an issue as you will park the thing out in the middle of no where, to not get doored? That is when and if you really leave it unattended?

And yes, its just a car, and drives like a normal car. Visibility is fine. Width? Our Raptor is wider...

Only long travel we have made with it, is in a trailer. Plenty of storage in the tow vehicle, and trailer. Many have shipped their luggage, or used duffles behind seats, and under passengers legs. Suction cup hook on rear bulkhead glass for hanging shirts / dresses.

Practical? How is a FGT ever considered "practical"? Why would you want it to be? Buy a vette if you want room for golf clubs.

Well, based on the mileage of most GTs that are listed for sale, I'd say your 16K miles IS a lot, although some guys certainly have a lot more.

When I had my new '06 blue-no-stripes, we were in an old Tudor house with an inaccessible 2-car tandem garage under the house, so my GT was 15 minutes away at a buddy's shop.

To take it out for a drive was an ordeal: drive 15 minutes to shop, turn off alarm system, move 2 or 3 cars out, lower GT from lift, get GT out, move 2 or 3 cars back in, set alarm. Then do that again after the drive. A 1-hour hamburger run took 3 hours.

Now we're out in the 'burbs with the world's smallest 3-car garage- 20x28. Wish it was bigger, but it is (just barely) big enough. And after 37 years, my wife knows that all our daily drivers stay outside in the rain and snow, and the garage is reserved for fun cars and/or motorcycles.

I already park all my cars- even my Prius wagon- out in the middle of nowhere so they don't get door dings.

I also sold my tow vehicle and trailer a few years ago when I sold my track car and mostly retired from occasional track events, so I'm just thinking whether I'd get those again, or just drive the car.

Anyway, just thought the guys with a lot of miles might have a few non-obvious tips or tricks.
 

Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,081
MA
Well you have to buy one 1st to face these issues.
 

centerpunch

ex-GT owner x2
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 16, 2005
952
OH/NC
Well you have to buy one 1st to face these issues.

Well........ I actually have agreed to buy one- pending a quick once-over by Mr. Brooks and I this week.

I'll have to change my avatar!
 

Shark01

GT Owner
Jul 22, 2012
575
Houston Texas
Well........ I actually have agreed to buy one- pending a quick once-over by Mr. Brooks and I this week.

I'll have to change my avatar!

Congrats! Any details you can share?
 

centerpunch

ex-GT owner x2
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 16, 2005
952
OH/NC
Congrats! Any details you can share?

Don't wanna jinx it- I'll post after the inspection.
 

ENZO BTR

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Sep 11, 2005
1,048
Southern California
I put 31,000 miles on mine in 13 years, including two trips from LA to Monterey (got to run Laguna on one of those), a trip to Vegas, a trip to Santa Barbara, a trip Palo Alto, a trip to Salt Lake City (was pretty cool showing up for the 2017 Ford GT press launch in my own GT...) and a trip to Denver and back for the 20-year high school reunion (driven non-stop, both ways).

The reason you should drive the 2005-2006 Ford GTs as much as possible is because YOU CAN drive them as much as possible. They have a truck engine, a stout transmission and an extremely well engineered chassis. If the annoying Auto Meter gauges hadn’t been an issue the 2005-2006 GTs would rightfully have a reputation for ZERO issues. And in the world of over-priced exotic cars, losing the occasional gauge is a pretty minor problem. Certainly not cause for a flatbed, like so many other issues in the exotic car world.

I’ll never forget the epiphany I had on my drive back from Denver. About 4 miles before the I70/I15 interchange (which for people who don’t know the area is in the middle of nowhere) a light rain started to fall. I remember reaching for the wiper switch while thinking ”Hmm...I don’t believe I’ve ever used these before...” Of course they came on, worked fine, and I kept driving. It was, you know, almost as if the car was a real car or something.

And then I actually got angry. It occurred to me that there are literally thousands of these cars sitting in various states of bubble wrap all over the planet instead of being driven. What an insult to the very capable engineers who built (and stress tested) these vehicles to be used as REAL CARS, not garage furniture. BTW, when I drove to the 2017 Ford GT intro, just north of this same freeway interchange in Utah, a light (couscous-sized) hail fell on my GT for a few minutes. And, as always, everything was fine.

In my 13 years/31,000 miles the car stranded me exactly...ZERO times. Though I should state for the record it stranded Doug DeMuro (the car’s current owner) within a few months of buying it from me, requiring a flatbed. The cause? Negative battery cable connection — a somewhat common problem that, had he or I known, could have been fixed in a few minutes by the side of the road. I’d never experienced it so when he called me I couldn’t help, but as soon as he called Mr. Brooks (after the car was at a shop) it was identified and fixed in minutes, and he was driving.

Anyway, as for tips on enjoying these cars as they’re meant to be enjoyed:
1. Watch out for the cold tires. You probably know this, but it can’t be overstated. Even with my experience I unintentionally spun 90 degrees, twice, in my car, both within 5 minutes of starting to drive it (no damage either time, but both times I couldn’t believe I forgot the cold tire rule). And that was with the Bridgestones. If you’re still using the original F1 tires...well...just don’t.
2. There is more space in the car than most people realize. Creative packing/placing of items makes all the difference. My GT’s interior was lined with items behind the seats, in the passenger footwell and in the small cargo area on the drive back from Denver (with my wife). But the total volume of cargo we were carrying would have surprised most GT owners. As others have stated, the key is soft, malleable luggage and/or simply placing individual items (like shoes) where they fit, not in a bag. If you can move either (or both) seats forward from their furthest back position you can fit a lot of tall items behind them.
3. Park on end spaces or away from others. I very commonly was backed into a space with greenery or nothing on my driver’s side. You can always pull the car forward to let your passenger in, as long as you can get in the driver’s door.
4. And tell every passenger, about 10 times, to “watch your head” on the doors. Five times during entry and five times during exit should do it. Like the cold tires, there’s no such thing as focusing on this item too much. People forget, even after they say “Oh yeah, I got it” and it’s completely counter-intuitive to think there’s a door/roof hovering out there, away from the car. The physical reminder is painful at best and could cause serious injury at worst (one of the Motor Trend writers had to get stitches...).
5. WRAP YOU CAR — I never wrapped my 2005 GT because I didn’t trust the technology back then. My car’s paint held up surprisingly well given the odometer reading, but get close and the pits along the leading edge, and the lower rocker panels, are depressing. I’m a huge fan of this tech today. It’s really gotten good. Of course the shop applying it is critical too. Centerpunch, I think you’re relatively close to Columbus, Ohio. If you can get your car to Esoteric Detailing it’s worth the trip. And the cost.
6. Fuel range can vary from 180 to 250 miles. It’s really all in how it’s driven. During my Denver run I got 280 out of one tank because at a constant 75 mph the tach is reading around 1,600 rpm. But when going between Grand Junction and Denver it’s easy to drain the tank over those passes if you shift and gas it a lot. Actually, I distinctly remember leaving it in 6th gear on the run up to Eisenhower tunnel from Denver, without dropping below 70 mph. With the stage one upgrades the car makes great torque, even below 2,000 rpm.
7. Put a Battery Tender quick-release fitting on the battery, and run it up past the cargo liner for easy access. This isn’t a quick process because the original battery tie-down bolts are a pain in the ass, but it’s worth the one-time PITA process to make it easy to hook up.
8. Be willing to deal with attention...but it’s good attention. People universally love this car. I’ve driven nearly every type of exotic car, and people DO NOT universally love most exotics. Some people openly dislike them. I was sitting at a red light in the passenger seat of a convertible Lamborghini last year during the press launch, in Newport Beach, and as the cross-traffic was making its left turn in front of us a guy yelled out “Asshole” as he drove by. Pretty funny when it’s not even your car. But the GT never get’s that type of attitude. People love it. Be friendly and they’ll love you too.
9. Make sure you use good fuel. There’s no knock sensor on these cars, which I didn’t know until I heard it pinging a few years ago and asked Rich Brooks how that was possible. Turns out I had bad gas from a bad gas station, and I’ve avoided that brand ever since (and never had another problem). As bad as pre-detonation is on any engine, it’s really bad on forced-induction engines, so don’t skimp on gas quality and use a stabilizer if it’s going to sit for awhile. I like the Sea Foam additive.
10. As stated above, watch out for the negative battery ground issue. Not sure you can call it “common” but it happens enough that every GT owner should know about it. If you know the battery is fine and you get zero power when you turn the key on, this is very likely your issue.
11. If you can still find them, get the Ford Performance short shifter, trans cooler and exhaust system. All of them make the car better. No downside to any of them.
12. Be prepared for gauge failure. Unless your small gauges have all been upgraded to newer Auto Meter gauges, it’s going to happen at some point. And even with the upgraded small gauges the larger (tach and speedo) gauges haven’t been re-designed by Auto Meter, so they’ll likely fail at some point. BTW, in the spirit of “DRIVE YOUR GT“ I’ll note that, from my personal experience to everything I’ve seen, I genuinely believe corrosion causes the gauges to fail, and the corrosion happens from sitting too much. None of my gauges failed for the first 7 years of ownership. Then, for various reasons not of my design, my GT went into semi-hibernation around 2012. At one point it had sat for months before I went to start it, and that’s when the oil pressure gauge was dead. I’ve lost the tach and vacuum gauge since then, and I’m convinced it was the sitting around that caused them to fail. Most of these cars sit too much so I think everyone just assumes it’s a universal problem, but my experience of driving the car regularly for 7 years, and then not driving it much for a couple years, suggests otherwise...

These cars really should be driven and enjoyed. Not many exotic cars look as good as the 2005-2006 Ford GT. Combine that with their rock-solid dependability/durability and they are easily the best real-world exotic ever made.
 
Last edited:

centerpunch

ex-GT owner x2
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 16, 2005
952
OH/NC
I put 31,000 miles on mine in 13 years, including two trips from LA to Monterey (got to run Laguna on one of those), a trip to Vegas, a trip to Santa Barbara, a trip Palo Alto, a trip to Salt Lake City (was pretty cool showing up for the 2017 Ford GT press launch in my own GT...) and a trip to Denver and back for the 20-year high school reunion (driven non-stop, both ways).

The reason you should drive the 2005-2006 Ford GTs as much as possible is because YOU CAN drive them as much as possible. They have a truck engine, a stout transmission and an extremely well engineered chassis. If the annoying Auto Meter gauges hadn’t been an issue the 2005-2006 GTs would rightfully have a reputation for ZERO issues. And in the world of over-priced exotic cars, losing the occasional gauge is a pretty minor problem. Certainly not cause for a flatbed, like so many other issues in the exotic car world.

These cars really should be driven and enjoyed. Not many exotic cars look as good as the 2005-2006 Ford GT. Combine that with their rock-solid dependability/durability and they are easily the best real-world exotic ever made.

Karl, thanks so much for taking the time to post this- just the kind of details and enthusiasm this second-time owner (to be) needed!
 

JOEA2

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 16, 2007
352
STATEN ISLAND,NY/SEA GIRT,NJ
I have 25,000 miles on my 2006. I used to use it as my daily driver from April through November. The only problem I had was the half shaft bolts. As far as travelling, the only thing that fits in the Trunk is a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. It will be nice and hot when you get there.

Joe
 
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Shark01

GT Owner
Jul 22, 2012
575
Houston Texas
Karl, thanks so much for taking the time to post this- just the kind of details and enthusiasm this second-time owner (to be) needed!

And prospective first owner to be....

Although I have never had any negative attention in the Diablo Roadster either......I guess it comes off as old and cheap (LOL). I'm hoping a red GT blends more than a pearl yellow no-top Lamborghini.
 
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PL510*Jeff

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Nov 3, 2005
4,876
Renton, Washington
I've never had difficulties taking my GT just about anywhere. Usually I'm the only occupant so the soft bags fill up the passenger seat area. And a ons for us short folks the area behind the seats can hold a pretty large quanity of the misc stuff. If I have. clothes on hangers, i put them a garment bag and. using a suction cup hanger on the window behind the passenger seat. Other misc items can go in the "trunk" being careful not to put things that can be damaged by heat.
I haven't had difficulties or damage in parking the GT. A few, well more than a few, tight squeezes getting in the car. Yes to finding a spot that has room to open the doors. Many nights of portico parking at hotels I've stayed at. Added bonus is the desk folks keep an eye on it all night.

This has worked for me for 14 years of ownership. 8 cross country trips, visited all 48 states, 6 Canadian Provinces and met many really nice people along the way. And answered the same 6 questions about the GT hundreds of times. And have had hundreds of young ones, and not so young ones, sit in the GT and helped them make keepsake photographs. Remember that 95% of the people hae never seen a GT in person. So taking a bit of my time gives them a "wow moment". They feel good that someone let the see, photograph and sit in a GT. I feel good doing it too.

Looking forward to the next 150,000 miles.

Drive them often and far. Truly a masterpiece vehicle.
 

centerpunch

ex-GT owner x2
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 16, 2005
952
OH/NC
And answered the same 6 questions about the GT hundreds of times.

Drive them often and far. Truly a masterpiece vehicle.

Great post, thanks!

So, what are the six questions? I can maybe guess the first three:

What is it?
How fast does it go?
How much did it cost?
 

PL510*Jeff

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Nov 3, 2005
4,876
Renton, Washington
What is it?.......................Ford GT.
How fast does it go?..............not any faster than the car in front of me
How much did it cost?.........list price was $149,000
Is it really a Ford?..................Yes it is. They made 3,000 GT's.
Is it a kit car?..........No.
How many tickets?............ 2-both in Montana! 1 warning in Texas.
Is that car a Pantera?.......No
 

fjpikul

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jan 4, 2006
11,475
Belleville, IL
38,000 miles here on my RED GT. Driven to most rallies and tracked numerous times. I also usually travel by myself, so a small suitcase and duffel work just fine. Helmet takes up a lot of room. Usually travel with a small folding chair and a few tools in the trunk. Great gas mileage 21-23 mpg). I have so few miles because I have not lived at home since I bought it (always working out of town). Never failed me. Four gauges have gone out (fuel, temp, tach, speedo). It is a fabulous highway cruiser. Drive 10-14 hours/day get out feeling fine. Best comment from police(Missouri): "The plane couldn't clock you so they sent me out after you." I always enjoyed traveling with the Midwest guys (IndyGT, Big Inch Blake, Grey ghost, Lightning, DBTGT), The Texas guys (Silverbullitt, Spirit, ByeEnzo, Texas Mongrel) and Ralphie, Jeff Larson and always Hilo Dave. Dave drove from California to Tulsa without AC on our way to VIR. We have a lot of GOOD stories. I love driving that car. The new GT is just as good on a long drive, just less trunk space. Part of it is traveling as a group. You NEVER worried about trouble because we all help each other out. I also love the Mac for travel. Good cruising tunes sound great.
 

texas mongrel

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 3, 2009
1,661
Houston Texas
It’s amazing how much luggage you can take in the car; one ski boot-type bag behind each seat, one bag under your passenger’s legs and one bag in the frunk. After the Utah rally we did a 5,000 mile two week tour through ten states with no issues. Now the NGT is another problem- we’ve found that a Project 100 bag we got at Le Mans is a perfect fit in the boot with another one under the passenger’s legs, but that’s all you’ll get to fit - good for a long weekend away at best.
 

Joe Dozzo

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 22, 2006
763
Canon City, CO
A little over 32000 on my 05 white / blue stripe including three 2000+ mile jaunts across the States and once up the AlCan highway from CO to Anchorage AK.

Enzo Btr knocked it out of the park with that thoroughly comprehensive post! Maybe pack and ship a bag to the destination? Some do, I've not...

Pack light and in several small soft sided bags and you're off for great adventures in a car that's as reliable as anything out there and more fun to drive than 99.9% of them.