Stablemate Question

[amg211]

any thoughts b/w the following cars in terms of: perfromance/safety, beauty and l/t value? any comments on driving impressions much appreciated. also, hear on some GT's the suspension and half-shafts are sometimes an issue? thanks.

*Aston Martin Vanquish S
*SL 65 AMG
*Ford GT

 

[GTNJ]

Do you reallly expect a non bais answer on this site ? :willy





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[Kingman]

Do you reallly expect a non bais answer on this site ? :willy





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:ack

+1

 

[amg211]

Do you reallly expect a non bais answer on this site ? :willy





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had hoped to. think the owner's community forum is somewhat important too-guess trying to gauge that, as well. any insight, if possible, would be appreciated. if a non-partisan view is mitigated by passion, then that's understandable and valid. any thoughts then on suspension and/or half-shaft issues with the F-GT, if any? not so focused on straight-line brute force, as my RENNtech stage 4 /e55 is probably as fast, or faster, than any of these as stock in the 1/4 (certainly the AM-V/S). thanks again, everyone.

 

[REDEEMED]

additional cars

I can think of at least 18 world class/classic autos to enhance your already excellent fleet. I think the plan should be to get one....... of each! Just to get the ball rolling... ACR, GT3, Veyron, ZR1, Buick GNX, S7, Mosler, F430, a late 60's 426 Hemi, GT2.

Let the opinions begin!

REDEEMED

 

[amg211]

I can think of at least 18 world class/classic autos to enhance your already excellent fleet. I think the plan should be to get one....... of each! Just to get the ball rolling... ACR, GT3, Veyron, ZR1, Buick GNX, S7, Mosler, F430, a late 60's 426 Hemi, GT2.

Let the opinions begin!

REDEEMED

hear you. may as well add the Ascari A10, to the mix.:wink

 

[ChipBeck]

Search.

AMG,

Rather than reinvent the wheel here, I suggest you use the search feature as all of the cars you mentioned have been previously discussed. You will find a wealth of information to answer all of your questions by searching old threads.

Chip

 

[amg211]

AMG,

Rather than reinvent the wheel here, I suggest you use the search feature as all of the cars you mentioned have been previously discussed. You will find a wealth of information to answer all of your questions by searching old threads.

Chip

understood. thought would shoot for the cliff-note vs book read. appreciate.

 

[shelbyelite]

I do not know of any suspension issues with GTs. The halfshaft bolts are the recall you speak of and it is a simple simple fix if the particular car you end up with has not already had the upgraded bolts installed. Once the updated halfshaft bolts are in, then you have no worries. The FORD GT is the most inexpensive exotic to own. I deal in all sorts of exotic cars and the GTs are just EASY! Oil serivces are realitivly cheap (approx $250 to $350 depending on shop doing it) and there are no MAJOR services to speak of for the GT. As everyone has said, all this stuff is already posted on this forum in other threads. I can appreciate a person not wanting to search through countless threads, but there is a wealth of knowledge available within these forum walls. Best of luck with your search!

 

[Shadowman]

any thoughts b/w the following cars in terms of: perfromance/safety, beauty and l/t value? any comments on driving impressions much appreciated. also, hear on some GT's the suspension and half-shafts are sometimes an issue? thanks.

*Aston Martin Vanquish S
*SL 65 AMG
*Ford GT

Huum

First of all there are no hardware issues with the Ford GT; yes the half shaft bolts caused a few issues early on as such most folks upgraded them to the Accufab offering as created by ARP with no failures as such I put that concern to bed.

Now as for the other choices; each has her own character and very different from the other.

I like the Vanquish S very much; a wonderful road car and as typical of the marquee very refined feeling once inside and somehow when behind the wheel I feel a bit like James Bond. The service on them remains high and if an automatic the factory offered a free 6 speed conversion because of all the automatic transmission issues.

The Mercedes; a nice gal albeit a bit dry on the inside and IMO even the exterior albeit update still looks dated to me. Performance is good and typically the service needs are low.

Now as for the Ford GT; it is not only a unique gal to look at but once behind the wheel she is a gal that will make you smile whether sitting at a stop light or at speed on an open stretch of highway. They are in the truest sense a modern day version of days gone past; a race car for the streets with only one significant draw back; there is NO storage area within them as such traveling FedEx will become your friend. The Ford GT even though typically not can be driven every day and the resulting service required will remain minimal at best.

So if considering for my stable and I was only able to selected one it would be the Ford GT unless I was traveling a lot with luggage in which case I would choice the Vanquish; the Mercedes is not even on my radar.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[Kayvan]

Cliff notes/harsh reality

As you know, 3 cars are wildly different.

>The Vanquish is the used market about $80-100K. Looks great from front; but is essentially a luxo-GT 2+2 with 2 extra seats. The scale is off in rear; with a large over-hang/bulbous lower valence underbite. Interior is aso very dated with large dash-slabs, and generic guages. Unless you get the last 100 Black series or Works 6-speed conversion, I view it as not optimal. Values are down as well. See rear pics, with GT nearby. http://www.ecarlist.com/showroom/1127/photos/122545#17.jpg

>The SL-AMG, technologically is very advanced, with massive price depreciation from $180K for free; and looks like a florida-geezer on steroids. Mercedes is clearly struggling with the SL's styling; and has botoxed its early 1990s bodywork. You are better off selling off your other cars, and getting the discounted SLR McLaren, if your heart is set on MB.


>The GT is hands down the Exotic with the most power, presence, and pedigree.

-Cars with <100mi, or even on-MSO new w. warranty can be found
-LeMans Heritage
-Limited: 4038
-Styling: blows away all exotics, period.
-State of the art components: Lotus chassis, Ricardo gearbox, Saleen engineering, bullet-proof ford F-series V-8
-Ferocious, brutual, tarmac-shattering power AND delivery
-Value: GTs have done well; comparable vintage F-360/Lambo Gallarados have lost half value in same time

Rolling up with a GT requires no introduction.

 

[dbk]

Just a side note, the entire episode with the control arm recall was caused when a GT was jacked up improperly using the arm as a jacking point. When it cracked, they decided it wasn't worth the risk and chose to change all of them. It caused them a lot of headache to replace them, but as someone who's car has seen significant time over 180+ mph, I would say that I would have driven the car with complete confidence on the original suspension componentry.

Otherwise, the GT is in another performance league than the other.

 

[amg211]

thanks for all of your feedback. insightful and very appreciated. do most, or a good portion, of the members here mod the F-GT? if so, any insight on what makes the most sense to maintain some civility, in an otherwise production beast? seems like the GT will increasingly become one of those most highly valued collector's cars as the yrs go, so wasn't sure if many members here just leave stock, given production output. last, probably a naive question, but w/ MB an AMG tech takes care of my 55, so as far as service goes, can just any Ford dealer work on GT, given special nature of car, or are cert. techs to be sought out, depending on area dealer?

 

[t32b]

I've tried to list the most basic and frequent mods that keep the car closest to stock but adding safety, comfort, performance and reliability. They are readily removed to return the car to complete stock (please note that this is my personal list):
Transmission cooler
Air plenum stiffener
Interior armrest pads/console tray
Smaller diameter supercharger pulley and tune
Clear plastic protectant - for leading-edges/areas
Integrated battery charger - if your gal sits and waits for you for long periods
Short shift kit
After this, many other options are available to take the car wherever you want to.
Finally, I'll see and raise the comments of Shadowman and others. The FGT is simply playing in a different league - of historic value, mission-focused performance, exclusivity, likely appreciation, astonishing performance, visual aura and reliability (at least when compared to any other exotic). It's like comparing a fish and a bicycle. Where do you start??

thanks for all of your feedback. insightful and very appreciated. do most, or a good portion, of the members here mod the F-GT? if so, any insight on what makes the most sense to maintain some civility, in an otherwise production beast? seems like the GT will increasingly become one of those most highly valued collector's cars as the yrs go, so wasn't sure if many members here just leave stock, given production output. last, probably a naive question, but w/ MB an AMG tech takes care of my 55, so as far as service goes, can just any Ford dealer work on GT, given special nature of car, or are cert. techs to be sought out, depending on area dealer?

 

[Shadowman]

I've tried to list the most basic and frequent mods that keep the car closest to stock but adding safety, comfort, performance and reliability. They are readily removed to return the car to complete stock (please note that this is my personal list):
Transmission cooler
Air plenum stiffener
Interior armrest pads/console tray
Smaller diameter supercharger pulley and tune
Clear plastic protectant - for leading-edges/areas
Integrated battery charger - if your gal sits and waits for you for long periods
Short shift kit
After this, many other options are available to take the car wherever you want to.
Finally, I'll see and raise the comments of Shadowman and others. The FGT is simply playing in a different league - of historic value, mission-focused performance, exclusivity, likely appreciation, astonishing performance, visual aura and reliability (at least when compared to any other exotic). It's like comparing a fish and a bicycle. Where do you start??

Well said

All the best

Shadowman

 

[t32b]

You too sir. Good to hear from you. Been a while (mea culpa).

Oh and should add that virtually every mod that required more expertise than 'peel and stick' was done by Mr. Shadowman. Perfectly I might add.

Well said

All the best

Shadowman

 

[Shadowman]

You too sir. Good to hear from you. Been a while (mea culpa).

Oh and should add that virtually every mod that required more expertise than 'peel and stick' was done by Mr. Shadowman. Perfectly I might add.

I wear that hat as well

Happy Easter

Shadowman