Thinking about picking up an s550 Mustang, but questioning their reliability.

AkhiMertail

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I'm wondering if you guys are able to tell me about your experience owning an s550 Mustang, such as overall driving feel, maintenance, and reliability. To be honest, reliability is my number one concern. I have had a 1990 Nissan 240sx for about 6 years, and while I love the car dearly it has been on jack stands being worked on probably more than I've been able to drive and enjoy it. I recently swapped a 1jz with a 6 speed from a 350z into it hoping that the rock-solid reliability of the two would give me years of driving with little to no issue, but reverse in the trans recently went out and I'm tired of dumping money into the car.

I'd like to get something decently quick and, primarily, reliable. I use the 240 for spirited weekend drives, but don't drift or otherwise put the car through a whole lot of abuse. I've had my sights set on the 2015+ Mustangs for a while, and would treat it about the same, but reading into it I see all sorts of concerns with them, mainly centered around the mt82 trans. As I'm dealing with transmission issues already, this is the last headache I want to experience.

Can someone chime in with your thoughts and experiences with the car? I'd love to hear from someone who's owned one for a few years and has put a decent amount of miles on.
 

07gts197

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I’ve had my 17 gt since January of 19. The only real issue I’ve had was the passenger side window motor intermittently short dropping but that’s a long story. Other than that it’s been great. It’s a performance pack car with the base sync system. The 3.73s are awesome and I’ve have zero issues with my mt82 even with how heavy footed I can be sometimes. These cars do have a clutch assist spring that can make slipping the clutch annoying but you’ll get used to it. I don’t know if it makes a difference or not but I’m running the stock shifter too and have never missed a shift or had any grinding.

I’ve had good luck with my car overall.


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I heard they have a tick but really 460 horsepower and 480 for the Bullitt and Mach 1 that's hard to beat.
 

07gts197

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Yeah the gen 3 does but I’d opt for a 15-17. Theyre not as desirable because the small difference in horsepower and they don’t have the 10 speed. Everyone is bandwagoning the 18+. I love my 17.


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Iceman62

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Son's '16 GT has been reliable. Only noted issue was w/ a/c dampener & I forced dealer to fix under warranty (after a small bitch fest).
 

LarryJM

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I guess the Gen IIIs have a problem of pealing sprayed cylinder bores or pistons.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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I guess the Gen IIIs have a problem of pealing sprayed cylinder bores or pistons.

PTWA spray bore liner peeling has only been an issue in some boosted applications due to the extra thermal stress. N/A no problem. That said, the only reason Ford went for plasma transferred wire arc in Gen 3 blocks was to maximize the cylinder bore size (84cc more displacement) by avoiding the use of steel liners. If the cylinders should ever need a rebore though, you'd have a bit of a problem 'cause your only option then would be to sleeve the cylinders and rehone, and that isn't cheap. With a Gen 1 or 2 block, that isn't an issue. The Coyote blocks are very strong but each generation has a flaw:

Gen 1: Lack of cylinder wall support in water jackets can cause them to crack under high boost or when subjected to detonation. On the intake side of the cylinders, pistons have been known to burn up particularly in cylinders 5-8.

Gen 2: Corrected the flaw from Gen 1 but substituted another one by using shorter cylinder head bolts that could crack the valley of the block near the knock sensor. Again, this is only really a potential issue in boosted applications.

Gen 3: Corrected the flaws from Gen 1 & 2 but went with PTWA spray bore lining. A Gen 3 block with steel cylinder liners would be the hot ticket for big boost.

As far as S550 transmissions go, the MT82 6-speed manual has a reputation for breaking its aluminum shift forks ('18+) under hard use but the '15-'17 MT82 has been mostly problem free. The 6R80 6-speed automatic in the '15-'17 is strong and reliable. The 10R80 10-speed automatic is the hot ticket in the '18-'21 S550 for 1/4 mile drag strip performance and most have been problem free but if it ever does go wrong, you might as well just replace it altogether as repairing it is a complex and expensive exercise.
 

Jack F

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The 6R80 is THE Ford drag tansmission of choice, not the 10R80. Watch this:

 

JEWC_Motorsports

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Lots of NA S550's with the 10r80 running 9's, not so many 6r80's out there running 9's NA.
 

Wobblin-Goblin

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This will sound a little weird, but after getting back into the Mustang game again with a '14 S-197 GT, I think I'm interested in getting another GT, this time an S-550 with the Perf Pack and manual. Generally looking at later S-550s like '18+. I love my '14 and consider it "The One," but wouldn't mind another Mustang that is even more powerful and advanced. There is a road course track not ten miles from me, but I don't think I'd ever beat on the cars like that. I'm more interested in cruising around and occasionally getting on it a little bit.

Got my eye on a gray 2020 with Perf Pack and MT82 with 20k miles....
 

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