jaRS

Hi All,

I've been reading through the GT4 section of Rennlist for some time now and am seriously considering trading in my GT350R for a GT4. I really would like to know for those who have owned or spent time in both, which excels in the areas of, daily driver, sound, handling, a special place to be, visceral feel.on both the street and track, consumables and the like
I do currently have an S260 which is extremely connected to the road and offers many smiles per mile.

What are the opinions of current GT4 owners.

Thanks

MarkG123

When owning a Ford, you need access to good dealer support. If not, move on.

vantage

Cool to see a fellow Lotus owner here, I have a 2005 Elise purchased new. GT4 is a good compliment to that car despite both being midengined sports cars.

A lot of folks here on Rennlist have/had GT350Rs, check out this huge thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/other-ma...030-gt350.html

Basically, in terms of raw speed, the GT350R is going to be faster, with probably a more exciting engine, and not that far off a GT3. GT4 is lighter, smaller feeling, higher quality / luxurious interior. Hard question to answer w/o knowing your priorities for the car.

BryanCO

jaRS

Thanks for the response to my fellow Lotus brother. The Lotus is a blast and the S260 Cup Weighing in at 1,850 lbs makes for a spirited driving experience and good power to weight ratio.

However, the Lotus is not the most suited for daily driving as it is more suited/fun as a point A to A car or on the track.

The GT350R I was lucky enough to purchase some time back without the crazy dealer markups and after hearing that intoxicating exhaust note was sold.

Again enter the Lotus, and each time I drive it being reminded just how fun a mid engine, rear wheel driver car is.

All this has had me thinking about the switch to the GT4 for sometime believing it's the better cross between driver excitment, quality, feeling more special on the interior, comfort and connected feel I am seeking. Hence asking for the opinions of others first.

RX2DO

just looking at the cars on paper the performance is very similar, which is impressive for the GT4 given the 140hp delta, both are 0-60 in about 4 seconds, mid to low 12 sec car with trap speed in the high one teens, 0-100 in about 8-9 seconds. But the feeling of how you get there is vastly different. Personally I don't care for the voodoo V8, sounds great but will shake your *** to death. I went and checked out a new GT 350 (not an R) at my local Ford dealer, test drive was OK, car felt huge, the hood went on for days, parking was not my favorite part of the drive. Also the interior material felt like a ford focus RS or a Cmax as far as the quality of the materials, switch gear and especially the "leather", but that is not a very fair comparison, I could literally buy two gt350's for what my GT4 cost, so I expect the interior materials to be much higher quality. Overall the GT350 is a very very nice car, looks great, but im not sure the cars compare favorably in terms of driving experience (other than the outright speed, which even that feels different despite the very similar performance). maybe wait for the new c8 vette, should be an animal

morjo02

jaRS

Great pic. Don't have the space so need to let one go.

RX2DO

morjo02, what are your thoughts regarding the performance between the two cars? Does the paper racing translate to real world at all, i suspect in real world the 350r will feel substantially faster.

thanks, J

Dr.Bill

Fixed it for you.

orclean1

Phokaioglaukos

Did the test drive at Pocono. Submitted to the after-drive video interview. Said "it was really HEAVY." I think they thought that a compliment, not a comment on mass.

tasman

I had both GT350 (non R) and GT4 at the same time. Both cars were stock. Daily driver I would say a toss up. Handling again a toss up. Sound, nothing I've had beats the flat plane sound on initial start up. Beyond that I would give a slight edge to the GT350 sound wise. The GT4 is more nimble. The GT350 is a big heavy car but drives much smaller than it is. As to which one feels faster the GT4 has a slight edge there. Interior of GT4 is nicer if that matters to you. If you need to scratch that itch I don't think you will be disappointed in the GT4. If I had more garage space I would have kept my GT350 but we downsized. GT4 traded in for 2018 GT3. As for specialness they both felt special but in different ways which is hard to quantify. Reliabiality wise I had no issues with either car. Tracked GT350 but only once in the GT4. Both IMHO are outstanding cars. Any thing else you want to know just ask. Good luck

67greengt

Having been a big mustang guy my whole while life and recently getting my first Porsch, a GT4, I can give my two cents...

I would say the Shelby is arguably the best looking Mustang recently produced, very aggressively style with some throwback to the Viper in some ways, one down side is I think Ford made too many of them which doesn't help the exclusivity in my mind. The suspension and handling of the car is much better than previous cars and while the motor is amazing in its own right, Ford has had a ton of problems with the flat plane (next time you check out cars for sale pay attention to how many have had engines replaced under warranty). A good friend of mine that works at Roush (did all the tuning for Ford) said Ford spent a ton of money to get a Ferrari sound with sub par results. They made good power but the longevity and vibration issues with the Flat Plane just seemed to plague the car. In terms of tracking the Shelby weight is what comes to mind for me... My old 13' Boss 302 would eat brake pads and rotors like Candy, and while the Shelby has much better brakes it still heavy.

The GT4 is a stunning car, and in my mind a better looking car than Shelby. What I really liked about it was the balance, how nimble and quick it turned in and most importantly the weight. At less than 3000lbs its the lightest production car I've driven and you can sure feel that it is so lightweight. I'm thinking the brake pad/rotor life on the GT4 should be 2:1 on the Mustang when it comes to tracking them which I plan on doing with my GT4. I've been converted to Porsche now and so my vote would go to the GT4, but in all reality both cars would be a blast on track.

Good luck!
Tom

911therapy

Agree with this - I had a GT350R and now a GT4. The power and sound of the GT350R was great, but it doesnt hold a candle to the GT4 as far as track driving experience. To be fair, I've swapped on for stiffer springs and done a few other mods to the GT4. But, I had also modded the GT350R. The GT4 laptimes beat the GT350R around most tracks that I frequent (Hallet and Barber) and is a lot more fun to drive. And is easier on tires and pads.....

All that being said, for $60-65k, the gt350r is a helluva track car.