Purchasing my first SHO ~ Help

[Nyah_Chan]

22 mile non highway trip on a warm start. Ambient temp 83° (real feel 92°… if real feel applies to cars too? Lol)

View attachment 85116

Wow that pretty cool… definitely gonna do the coolant swap… also want that waterpump to last as long as possible

 

[GHNorth]

Is that so? Man I gotta know if this is legit cuz that would change my choice... Was gonna go with PP cuz thought it be better for tuning

It has been stated in this forum that for quarter mile racing the PP will want to shift just before reaching the lights, so you lose that last few feet of acceleration. YMMV.
I have a non-PP 2013, with adaptive cruise not available with the PP option. My 2013 also has the multi-contour seats (heated/cooled/massage), which was not available in the last couple years of production. However, the later years have the better Sync 3 system. It all depends on your intended use and priorities.

 

[SHOdded]

generally isn't a best year. most of the published recalls TSBs etc pertain to the 1st model year of the generation, so 2010 and 2013 in this case. if you want a true PP, you have to go 2013+ - upgraded brakes + ptu cooling for instance. i have also found that the PTU and RDU are MORE likely to fail as the years progress in 2013+ so you have to keep on top of fluid maintenance.

 

[Ta2dResqr]

What is your end goal? Daily Driver? All out performance? 1/4 mile warrior? This will make a huge difference in the suggested packages. Personally, a daily sleeper is what I wanted. I have my second 2015 non-pp. If you do not mind doing the upgrade to Sync 3, I would go 2015 as you can save a little bit of money and you can be late enough to avoid the early year problems. If you don't want to mess with having to do the Sync 3 upgrade, I would get a 2016. Either way, I would go with a non-pp with the 401a, Driver's Assistance, and Active Motion front seats. This will give you all the bells and whistles (Lane Keeping, Forward Collision, Park Assist, massaging seats, etc). Using ForScan and wrenches, you can add a lot of the pp features (steering ratio/feel, suspension, brake pads, alcantara steering wheel, extra cooling, etc.). The hardest feature to add would be the 3.16:1 final drive ratio. For me, that is a downgrade. As it was mentioned, if you go to the track, this will add one shift point in your run and from a Daily standpoint, the 2.77:1 ratio is better for fuel mileage (very little difference and definitely not a selling point on this car but every little bit helps with this brick). If you are looking more at performance and less at comforts, removing some of these options will both lighten the car and allow you more options on the market. I traveled about 90 minutes to get my first car and 3 hours to get my second car and it took a couple weeks of searching to find all of the options, mileage, and condition that I wanted at a decent price.

As far as the set your wallet on fire comment, another way to look at it is, you won't need a wallet (it would be empty anyways). The mods are addicting and most of them are not cheap. Unfortunately, unlike the Mustang, there is not a huge aftermarket for this car. That leads to low supply, low vendor options, and premium prices. Adding factory options (like trans cooler, thicker radiator, PP brake pads, etc) isn't to bad. Things like an intercooler, turbos, etc. become more limited. Tuners, there are only a couple good options. After that, it is all a matter of how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. Meth? Weight reduction? Full motor build?

 

[FiveLeeter918]

Is that so? Man I gotta know if this is legit cuz that would change my choice... Was gonna go with PP cuz thought it be better for tuning

The PP gears will 60' faster, but will display slower times on 0-60 because the car will shift at 50 mph instead of holding out to 65 like the non-PP does. This can be tweaked with higher shift rpm, but you have to be careful to not lose acceleration in that higher RPM. Overall in the 1/4 mile though it's pretty negligible from my experience.

 

[COMpulse]

2016+ for sync 3 unless you want to swap and reprogram a head unit (apim module).

 

[Ta2dResqr]

2016+ for sync 3 unless you want to swap and reprogram a head unit (apim module).

If you get an APIM with the same options, you do not have to reprogram. I got an assembly (screen and APIM) from a 2019 with Driver's Assistance, Active Motion Seats, and 401a. I just plugged it into my 2015 and it worked. Only issue I have is the cheap GPS antenna I got is flaky. I rarely use the factory navigation though so it is not a issue that I have bothered to fix.

 

[ridered74]

Is that so? Man I gotta know if this is legit cuz that would change my choice... Was gonna go with PP cuz thought it be better for tuning

PP will be quicker off the line and have a better 60', non PP will have higher trap speed at the end due to gearing. Also will get better highway mileage with the non PP.

Here's a pretty good visual representation. Non camera car is a PP, camera car is a non PP. Exact same mods and tune.

 

[SM105K]

If I am buying newer, I wont buy anything more than 5 years old. So I would be looking for a lower mileage 17. I have found it is easier to spend more in the beginning (esp with a lower interest rate) then take a risk with a older car for less up front. That is just me though.

 

[SeanDev]

Oil pump relatively reachable when doing the water pump?

Unsure, but since it's getting built, figured changing out all wear items and not have built engine with some parts having 60,000 miles of wear and tear. For me it was just for peace of mind.

 

[SeanDev]

Are you replacing the water pump preemptively, or out of necessity? I’m around the same mileage so just curious.

Preventative. Pump itself is not an expensive part, for me I'm basically getting a new engine when it's built, I personally wanted any wear items replaced, putting engine basically back to new.

 

[SeanDev]

From what I've read in this forum, 2015+ is what you want. Also, I've seen people state that if you are planning to tune it, the gear ratio on the PP ends working against you on the quarter mile run.
Anyone with a different opinion, feel free to jump in.

Benefit to is as you move up in years , they did multiple revisions to the water pump which in turn should and hopefully have left least possibilities of failure with the later models.