Apples to Asian Apples? G35 vs S197 Mustang

So I'm casually looking for a nice '06-07 G35 coupe. I had a sedan, I liked it, and now I want a Coupe.

On paper, a G35 coupe is pretty similar to a S197 Mustang GT. About 3500 lbs, 300 hp, etc. Both have large aftermarket, Mustang A/M is HUGE. I've never driven one, and only recently even thought of comparing the two. The Mustangs are likely $5k cheaper for a given year. I'm not a Ford guy.

Either car would remain bone stock with the exception of Wheels/tires, shocks/sways, and exhaust. Would be daily driven with maybe 3-5 autocrosses per year. Mixed highway/city on my daily commute.

Any comments on these thoughts? How's the build quality on these Ponys? Can they handle nicely without being stupid stiff? Are the drivetrains sturdy?

drivetrain is stupid strudy..... handling it will be rougher than the g... the g will out handle it stock versus modified most of the time.

I may be wrong but the Ford has a solid rear and the G has independent, right? Thats a huge difference in comfort and performance.

you are correct... unless he is looking at a cobra in which case whole different ball game and the g isnt even in the conversation.

KATYB wrote: you are correct... unless he is looking at a cobra in which case whole different ball game and the g isnt even in the conversation.

He's looking at S197 Mustangs (the retro looking ones), so there is no Cobra in the conversation either. The Shelby GT500, which replaced the Cobra as the high end Mustang, has a solid rear axle and (it does have Cobra badges on it, it's just not called that). The Cobra had IRS only from 1999 to 2004 I'm pretty sure.

Bob

Bob, you're correct, IRS was only in the '99-'04 Cobras.

Don't discount the S197's live axle for handling/comfort. Drive one first.

G35 will outhandle it out of the box, though, and probably be a nicer car to live with. The Mustang will be stupid-cheap to fix should anything ever happen to it, and you're much, much, much more likely to find parts in a junkyard.

I'm trying to arrange a test drive of a '07 GT this afternoon. Honestly, I really liked my G35, but the clutch and shifter kind of suck. Clutch takeup zone is very short and abrupt, and the shifters have lots of NVH transmitted through them. Nothing I couldn't live with as I really like the other dynamics of the car, but combined with the aggressive e-throttle it makes the G pretty tricky to drive smoothly without REALLY thinking about it.

I'm imagining the Ford may be better in that respect, and definitely more torquey down low.

I'm keeping an open mind for now. They both sound great, but in very different ways.

Thghte G is a plusher car but the Mustang is WAY more entertaining to drive on a daily basis. I bought an '05 GT about 6 months ago and it is a very comfortable, fun car to drive.

idk if all mustangs of that era are like this but every single one I've driven has had a very heavy clutch
I'd go with an 03 or 04 cobra though, fwiw, even though it's not in your equation right now. I love those cars lol

In reply to corytate:

I've driven a couple Fox chassis cars. I hate the way they bump steer even when stock, and the way the rear end does a little hula dance every time you hit anything larger than a pebble with one side of the car. They feel like complete crap to me. MHO of course...

Hmmm. Must drive S197. I just spent a couple hours on the intarweb getting completely lost in the totally massive maze of aftermarket stuff for them. Reasonably priced mostly, and they appear to be pretty easy to work on.
Hopefully they're not a big disappointment to drive...Doesn't sound like it so far.

Honestly.. I never considered the G35 to be anything but a fast and civilised GT (in the truest sense of the word)

I like the earlier G's better than the later ones, because they gained some significant weight through the years. My friend went from a 2003 Base 350Z to a 2004 G Coupe with the 6MT, Brembos, etc. and didn't give up much (if anything) in performance between the two. The addition of the two rear seats (there's actually some decent room back there) and the longer wheelbase made it a much more practical car for him. His car eats up the miles like no other...

He has some subtle mods which really sharpened the car, and can get you to the straight line performance of the later models (or faster) without adding the weight. Things like a Cobb AP, Intake, Plenum Spacer, Lightweight Flywheel, all really added up to transform the car, and it extended the effective RPM range significantly.

Here's the link to his car:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/4831/

Take what others say here with a grain of salt regarding handling. I present the following information:

In SCCA Solo, G35 and S197 Mustang are both in F-Stock. Everyone runs the Mustang for a reason - it's faster. I've never even heard of a competitive G35.

Darwin - is that because of geometry, or because the Mustang can fit more rubber on the stock wheels?

Faster around an AX course is only one way of defining handling.

The newer S197 Mustangs don't give up a lot of handling to IRS cars because they're running a 3rd link from the factory, and Ford has done a better job designing the rear suspension in general (bushings, etc.). Many of the criticisms of a live axle aren't as valid today as they were with the Fox Mustangs.

I've never run a stock or equally modded G35 and lost - be it straightline or autocross. The interior nicer in the G, the suspension is a little more plush, but the aftermarket is pitiful compared to the mustang.

Honestly, I think anyone that complains about the live axle probably hasn't driven an s197 body stang. The clutch is a lot lighter than past iterations, and the car has been bulletproof in 80k of DD and autox duty - wait, I did replace the alternator, they do have issues with that. The up side is that I have NEVER had a car that was easier to work on. Everything's as easy to get to as it was on my 1970 Impala, but it all fits as tightly as my Honda did. It's really amazing.

The Stang is by far the best car I've ever owned.

There are lot's of fast auto-x cars that suck in the real world.
OP said 3-5 auto-x's a year: If so, I'd suggest picking the car that you prefer driving on the street, and live with whatever performance you get on the course.

Schmidlap wrote:

KATYB wrote: you are correct... unless he is looking at a cobra in which case whole different ball game and the g isnt even in the conversation.

He's looking at S197 Mustangs (the retro looking ones), so there is no Cobra in the conversation either. The Shelby GT500, which replaced the Cobra as the high end Mustang, has a solid rear axle and (it does have Cobra badges on it, it's just not called that). The Cobra had IRS only from 1999 to 2004 I'm pretty sure. Bob

totally didnt think of the year.... but its 96 to 04 were the irs mustangs.

ultraclyde wrote: I've never run a stock or equally modded G35 and lost - be it straightline or autocross. The interior nicer in the G, the suspension is a little more plush, but the aftermarket is pitiful compared to the mustang. Honestly, I think anyone that complains about the live axle probably hasn't driven an s197 body stang. The clutch is a lot lighter than past iterations, and the car has been bulletproof in 80k of DD and autox duty - wait, I did replace the alternator, they do have issues with that. The up side is that I have NEVER had a car that was easier to work on. Everything's as easy to get to as it was on my 1970 Impala, but it all fits as tightly as my Honda did. It's really amazing. The Stang is by far the best car I've ever owned.

wait untill your try to replace the exhaust manifolds.

ReverendDexter wrote: Darwin - is that because of geometry, or because the Mustang can fit more rubber on the stock wheels? Faster around an AX course is only one way of defining handling.

Don't know. Its just some more info to take into account. At least its somewhat objective instead of others just hypothesizing "oh the G will totally outhandle it because it has IRS".

First off, the only IRS Mustangs were 99, 01, 03-04 Cobras, the rest are solid axles.

The only real advantage to the G35 over the Mustang is it's a slightly more comfortable daily. If you can live with the Mustang, then it's a no-brainer.

I like the G35. I think it is a much nicer car at least to sit in then a Mustang but I have never driven a Mustang so I can't really comment on the driving experience.

KATYB wrote: totally didnt think of the year.... but its 96 to 04 were the irs mustangs.

Nope. IRS was introduced on the Cobras in '99. '96-'98 cars still used an SRA.

So I'll bump this thread to add some comments and observations.

I've now driven a 2007 Mustang GT Coupe, and a 2006. The 2007 was bone stock, the 2006 had Magnaflow cat-back, an intake of some sort, and a tune from a handheld programmer. Both were manual trans cars, as I certainly wouldn't buy one with an automatic...

As a former G35 owner, I'm going to list a brief comparison of the two cars and "score" them to see which comes out on top.

--Price: Mustang

--Exterior styling: Stock, G35, but with a few minor tweaks, Mustang

--Interior: G35, different league really, but the Stang is pleasant enough

--Engine: Mustang - about the same power, but more potential and better sound

--Clutch: Mustang, not as grabby as the G35

--Shifter: Mustang

--Comfort, front seats: Mustang - has room for me in a helmet

--Comfort, rear seats: Tie - G35 has more leg room, Mustang has more head room

--Cargo space: tie

--Fuel economy: G35 (estimated, but it's likely a small advantage)

--Aftermarket: Mustang - huge aftermarket!

--Durability: G35's have some clutch and trans issues, Mustangs apparently are pretty robust

--Repair cost: I'm assuming Mustang wins here

--Parts availability: Mustang

--Handling: G35, but Mustang felt fun too, especially with a few tweaks

--Hooligan factor: Mustang!

--Ease of finding a used one close by: Mustang

--Sound: from outside, they're both awesome, inside the cabin, the Mustang is straight cool old-school muscle car

So there you have my opinions. The S197's I drove completely erased the old quivering, bump steering fox bodies from my memory. I think I've changed my mind about what I'll shop for, although I'm not really going to be serious about shopping until next spring.