TireSmoke.org

Well, I think I'm done for awhile. Having to commit to a car for a few years is not easy, but I decided that a newer body Mustang would do the trick. So here it is:




32V spent another fun day with me car shopping. This time, it was only one stop, but it basically took most of the day...

It's a 2012 base Mustang with 11k miles. It's basically a plain jane Mustang with the only options being a spoiler and redundant steering wheel controls. It was previously a rental car that was licensed in Virginia but sold through NY. It's a nice piece with a V6 (305hp) and a 6spd auto. These cars came stock with true duals and a limited slip auto. So far the MPG is getting better and is almost to 26mpg already. I expect day to day to be around 28mpg.

The V6 is real strong. 100mph is really no big deal, and it's real comfortable to just set the cruise at 68 and just cruise along at 1600 rpms. It rides well, not harsh. It should be a fun, reliable daily driver for the next few years. It came with a Ford Certified PreOwned extended warranty, so the drivetrain is good to 100k miles and the bumper -bumper is good to 48k.

I plan to do nothing but drive and maintain it, all year long (maybe a K&N (yeah K&N!)). I will look for a separate set of wheels and snow tires between now and winter. The stock rims are 17", and since my tire machine will only do 17" or smaller, my second set of rims won't be any larger.

Since I have a payment now, I'll have this one for some time.

Oh, I almost forgot. I do plan to pull the "mustang" stripes off the bottom of the car. My mother likes them, my wife doesn't, and I really don't like them. IMO, it makes the car look taller than it really is and I'm going to pull them off with a heat gun.

-BP

Arlene and I vote to keep the strips. Anyway it was another truly fun day.
If they don't drive at 68mph, whoever gets that Caddy will have a great ride.
It's hard to believe the Mustang is a v6 when you get on it. If you didn't look at
the tach, you couldn't tell it's running. Serious sweetness with or without the strips.

Here's some specs:

http://media.ford.com/images/10031/2012 ... _Specs.pdf

Looks like a 3.31 gear and 31 mpg's freeway.

-BP

Great lookin' little hotrod, BP!
IMO, the stripes break up the broad image of the side of the car and make it look shorter (contrary to popular opinion). But beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Have at it.
Based on my own experience, it adds a lot to the ownership experience when the wife likes the car.

Rachel said you are not allowed to sell this car... ever.

I have been stuck at 35 cars since early 2011 so the deficit is not likely to increase much.

That is a mint rocketship. Congrats.

Very nice!! Looking forward to some ETs.

Dude, that's sweet! Looking forward to getting a ride in that! Sorry I couldnt make it to breakfast this morning.

-Dave

Looks good!

I'm glad I have the approval of the group.

I was going to look at the Chevy Sonic RS, but think I made the right decision.

I found out the top speed is 113 mph (gov limited). For now, that will be fine. If it was 108 or lower, I might have been inclined to fix that. It's fine until the first time the power gets cut out...

Since the dealer I bought it from was a big Roush dealer, I thought I'd like to hear what the Roush exhaust sounds like for this car... yuck! There's several videos on YouTube and man is it loud. The flowmaster pipes are quieter, but I'm convinced I'll never want to hear that noise all the time. Since it's already true duals, and the "exhaust" is really only a pair of mufflers, I'm not convinced that there's any performance gain anyway. For obvious reasons, this car sounds like a 370Z with the aftermarket exhaust.

I like intake noise though, since it's quiet all the time until you're on it.

-BP

Very, very nice ride!

If I get a vote, I say pull the stripes off. I think they detract from the otherwise clean lines of the car.

I think we need to find a reason to meet up when I have Jenn's '11 V6 Camaro.

While I'm sure you won't do anything until the warrany is up, have you found a supercharger you like....that will probably get put on the day after the warranty expires?

Basement Paul wrote:
I found out the top speed is 113 mph (gov limited). For now, that will be fine. If it was 108 or lower, I might have been inclined to fix that. It's fine until the first time the power gets cut out...

-BP

At the latest, I predict that will happen on the next trip to Carlisle.

-Dave

I smell a customer for my HP Tuner program

Since I've got it, I hit just over 100 right when 32v and I hit the freeway after we left the dealership, and I haven't been over 75 since... I'm over 26mpg and climbing.

I like driving it more every day. I'm going to try to wash / wax it this weekend, along with trying to finally get the Caddy put back together. Got the intake and heads cleaned up last night, but no time tonight.

I may end up just buying a tuner if the mph bugs me. That way, if I need to retune it to stock for any return trips to the dealer, I'll be able to do it easily.

It also seems that I really have a 2.73 gear, not the 3.31 as shown in the spec sheet I listed before. No problem though. The 1600 rpms at 68mph is just fine with me, and it's perfect for passing at freeway speeds.

-BP

Last weekend I got a good coat of wax on it, and pulled the stripes off. I'm very happy with the results:









So, I think it looks better without the strips, what's the rest of the group think?

-BP