Hey, guys, Adam here with AmericanMuscle.com.
And on this episode of Hot Lap today, I have a very, very special friend I'm hanging out
with, the 2018 Mustang GT Premium in the absolutely gorgeous race red color.
This one actually comes equipped with the performance pack and a few new options in
the suspension and sound departments.
I'm gonna be taking you through the ins and outs of the car.
We'll talk about all of the new features and specs, of course.
We're gonna strap it down to the dyno and see what kind of power it's making.
And I definitely want to feel that for myself, so we'll be taking it for a spin as well.
Now, before we get into all of that, you're gonna want to subscribe to our YouTube channel
to stay up to date on everything 2018 Mustang as well as a bunch of other cool content,
because we have a lot in store for you.
So, without further ado, let's get to it.
Well, guys, it's about that time again, a new update for the Mustang family.
And the 2018, like many others, has a very polarizing styling.
For must of you, you've seen all the changes already all over the internet.
But for those of you who have been hiding under a rock for the past year, I'm gonna
walk you through it from head to toe in all of its glory.
Now, there's changes all over the place from the front to the rear with visual changes,
compression ratio, and fuel delivery changes to the five liter, now making more power than
ever before.
It's got integrated MagneRide suspension, now an option, which we have here, as well
as an active exhaust, not to mention the new digital and very customizable gauge cluster.
There's so much to talk about but why don't we just start with the obvious, the crazy
aggressive exterior appearance.
And why don't we start up front here?
Now, when we were first introduced to the new S550, in the 2015 model, the question
was really, "Does this really look like a Mustang?"
Some of you answered no, but for me personally, I think it was an absolute home run.
It paid homage to some parts in the older models both with classic pony cars and the
fastback and with the S197s, respectively.
And that does not change here.
There's a lot of familiar looks with the new 2018 redesign, but also a lot of notable changes.
I mean, taking a look at the front end here, the most notable change, I think, is right
here in the hood and headlight region.
The hood dips down 20mm lower than the recent years giving it an elongated look with better
aerodynamic characteristics, much like the undisputed, bad ass Shelby GT350 and GT350R
models.
Now, these follow in the footsteps of the 17 and, again, will not feature the indicator
lights being on the front end.
Now, with me being so short, I'm actually not complaining because I'm not gonna be seeing
them from the driver's side anyway.
Now, with that said, the headlights are now actually sunken into the body, which some
people are calling an eyebrow where the hood kind of dips over.
Now, previously, they were sitting pretty flush with the surface.
So, this being pushed in, gives it a lot more of an intimidating look.
Now, these lights change a bit as well.
They're now seven sided with a more angular design on the ends, which complements the
now bent end tribar LED running lights, which we will see again in the redesign tail lights
in the back.
Definitely more an intimidating look in my book.
Now, full LED lighting is also a standard across the board on the front-end with the
headlights, the running lights, and of course, the new fog lights.
Now, moving down, a little bit, to those fog lights, they are completely different as well.
Pre-refresh models, of course, have the fog lights mounted in the brake cooling duct here
underneath the isolated turn signal light.
Now, that duct went from a five-sided design to a more triangular look.
And the fog lights are now, actually integrated directly into the turn signal strip on the
inside.
Although, much smaller than before also with a standard LED.
Now, the turn signal indicators lose that bubbled look bulging from the top-end and
look a lot more aggressive with a much sleeker design than before.
Now, in the center, the all black gloss grill is another polarizing factor a lot of people
are talking about.
Now, Justin's first look, when he saw this at the New York auto show, he did tell us
he's not exactly a fan.
Personally, I think it goes really well with race red.
I don't think orange fury did it much justice at all.
It has a very aggressive, narrower design than the 2017's and prior S550's.
My one nitpick with this is the gloss black, I don't think, goes very well with the lower
grill and splitter here because they are a matte black, more ABS texture finish.
So, they don't exactly mesh well together.
I wish they were the same gloss black or the same ABS plastic look.
But overall, I do still think this has a very aggressive front-end design.
Keep in mind there is a lot of room for opportunities in the aftermarket world.
So a lot of guys will be switching these up.
Now, speaking of that front splitter at the bottom here, that also gets a new redesign
for the 2018 models with the performance pack, which we have.
Now, if you do have the performance pack, you'll be taking advantage of a fully functional
piece here.
Now, this one was actually designed and spent a lot of time in wind tunnels with actually
NASA aerodynamics specialists helping with the design.
That's pretty impressive just saying that out loud, but this is an extremely functional
piece putting down 24 pounds of downforce at the front-end at 80 mph.
Pretty impressive numbers I'd say, and very functional stuff to wrap up the front-end.
And finally, the new wheelbase is actually widened just a little bit more to accommodate
for that hood line.
But as far as the front-end goes, that is the most notable change here, so let's move
onto the side.
Moving on to the side profile of the 2018, not a whole lot has changed here as you can
see.
But starting with the wheels, we do get a slightly different configuration.
So, we're looking at the performance pack wheels, the same exact wheel design and spoke
design as the earlier S550's now just wrapped around Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires, sitting
at 255-40 in the front and 275-40 in the rear.
Those are 19 x 9 in the front, 19 x 9.5 in the rear.
But if you get the performance pack level two, which Ford is now releasing for the first
time in the new redesigned year, you'll actually get a slightly different wheel configuration.
Instead of 9.5s in the front and 10s in the back, you're getting 10.5s in the front and
11s in the rear for a 1.5 inch wider wheel on the level two's.
A lot of information to take in but they are a slightly different design there and they're
actually sitting on 305 tires in all four corners.
A huge thing to point out for performance pack level two owners.
You will notice that the Brembo big brake kit, a very popular six-piston brake kit,
has made its way back into the performance pack models for the 2018.
And they are wrapped around a larger diameter rotor.
The only other notable thing here is that, on your side mirrors, you are gonna retain
a turn signal indicator for the premium models as well as blind spot assists.
Overall, nothing too crazy happening for the sides unless you pick up performance pack
level two models.
So, we flip the car around to take a good look at the rear because there are a lot of
noticeable changes here, too.
Now, performance pack models will take full advantage of a brand new redesigned pedestal
style spoiler for the first time in Mustang's history off the factory line.
Now, we, unfortunately, did not get that.
We actually went with the spoiler delete which I'm kind of okay with because I'm not exactly
a fan of that design.
However, it is very functional.
Now, those NASA specialists of aerodynamics did help to design that as well, just like
the front-end splitter, only the rear end spoiler is gonna put down 60 pounds of downforce
at 80 mph, helping with rear end traction.
Pretty impressive, actually.
So, for those of you who got that on their 2018, you're gonna be able to take full advantage.
Now, directly under that, we are getting a slightly new redesigned tail light here, keeping
the same kind of traditional, iconic look that the S550's introduced to the Mustang
world.
Only now, you're getting a more angular top end and angular bottom, which goes perfectly
with the daytime running lights in the angular design of the new headlights.
Now, in between that, you're getting a slight change into the declad panel.
For the most part, it is the same.
You get a couple of creases on each side on either side of the badging.
Now, underneath that, you're bumper is getting a slight change with a hexagonal shape surrounding
your license plate.
Other than that, it stays, pretty much, the same.
The biggest change, I will say, comes in with your lower valance to accommodate the all-new
killer quad tip exhaust coming off the factory line as a standard on all 2018 Mustang models.
Now, the one we have on this car is actually the active exhaust, which I'm gonna put on
the lift here to get underneath to give you a better view.
So, we had to get this thing up in the air to do it any justice.
But those quad tips are being attached to a now active exhaust that we've previously
only seen on the 350 and 350R models.
This is now an option, a $900 option I should add, for any 2018 refresh model.
Now, 900 bucks, in my opinion, is not bad for what you're getting here at all.
The active exhaust has chambers inside these mufflers that you can actually on the dashboard
to four different sounds.
You'll get normal, quiet, sport and track.
Now, normal mode is exactly what you think of.
But once you switch it over to sport, you're actually changing things a lot.
You're gonna get a lot more rumble, a little more backfire, definitely some more noise.
But it's not too overbearing.
Track mode, at its highest rating, is gonna be all out race, exactly what it sounds like.
It's for the track.
That thing is pretty loud and we're gonna test that out on the street and see what that
sounds like in just a minute.
Now, with that track mode, I will say, it is at its highest quality setting with 80
decibels coming out of those quad tips.
Now, quiet mode is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum.
It's perfect for guys out there who are driving with some passengers, maybe a wife and kids,
who are looking to keep the volume noise down to a minimum to have an easy conversation
inside the cab with no drone.
You can actually schedule the quite mode exhaust to start with its new technology at, say,
6:00 a.m when you wake up and the neighbors are still sleeping, you're looking to keep
it down to a minimum.
You can have it start up at 72 decibels, which is very, very low.
For comparison, that's actually the same amount of noise an automatic Honda Fit makes while
going at 70 mph on the highway.
It's pretty crazy stuff.
Now, for anybody looking to have that adjustability on the fly, the active exhaust is exactly
where you want to go.
And 900 bucks, again, really isn't too bad in my opinion.
You'll probably end up spending around that range for a new catback, only this time, you
get it with the new technology and you can adjust it on the fly from behind the wheel.
Definitely a huge bonus in my book.
Now, while we're down here, let's talk about some of the suspension upgrades because they
are pretty massive as well.
Now, just like the active exhaust being previously only seen on the 350 and 350R models, the
new optional MagnaRide suspension is also the same case.
And we have it equipped here on our 2018 performance pack.
Now, the MagnaRide suspension, basically, is a magnetically controlled, adjustable dampening,
which is a lot to talk about.
Now, the MagnaRide is gonna be making adjustments at thousands of times per second to your suspension
dampers, trying to adjust to the different surfaces that you're getting on the road.
Every rock and every pebble, it's kinda making adjustments for inside the fluid.
Now, that fluid is actually containing magnets and being controlled by electricity, changing
the particles and the whole construction of inside those fluids, making those adjustments
happen on the fly.
Now, there's a lot of science I'm throwing at you with that but it, basically, in a nutshell,
is gonna make your steering a lot more responsive, make your ride a lot more comfortable, and
give you a huge upgrade in the handling performance when you're going around tight corners, keeping
your Mustang a lot more linear.
Now, with that, our performance pack model comes with a few extra upgrades on top of
that.
You get a stiffer spring in the front, a larger sway bar in the rear, a new k-member,
unique chassis tuning, and of course, you're getting a limited slip differential from Torsen,
as well as 373 gears in the rear axels.
Now, obviously, this is gonna be a huge upgrade as far as acceleration goes.
And if you're looking to not get the performance pack, there are a few other options.
MagnaRide also works hand in hand with your drag mode when you're on the track, obviously
helping to shift your weight transfer to the rear end for better traction.
Finally, if you're rocking the performance pack, you're gonna rock the 373 gears.
If you don't have the performance pack, however, GTs with the six-speed will see 355's.
And eco boosts and 10-speed automatics will get 315's.
Now, Ford let us know that, off the factory line, 460 horsepower, 420 foot-pounds of torque
at the crank were the numbers to be expected for the stock '18 GT.
Now, with that said, we strapped it down to the dyno and made 437 and 401 foot-pounds
of torque at the rear wheels at extremely impressive numbers.
You want to keep in mind that these new numbers are coming from the new dual fuel, high-pressure
direct injection and low-pressure port injection combination, as well as the higher compression
ration making these new power numbers.
Making it the fastest and most powerful GT ever produced by Ford.
A huge thumbs up in their direction for the new numbers here.
So, there's not a whole lot of difference inside here.
So, with our premium plus package, we have a nice premier trim package, nice leather-wrapped
ebony seats with white stitching accents.
It's really cool.
We were working with the standard touchscreen now with sync three, voice activated.
With this particular package, obviously, you've seen we have a 6-speed today, not the 10-speed
automatic.
One thing I do like, and it's just a small detail, like, the start and stop engine button
here is completely stainless steel.
The lettering kind of engraved in there with the red light shining through.
I love that.
It's just super clean detail.
Other things we have here are the modes, obviously the driving mode.
We have steering modes, traction control, all of that still the same.
The cool thing here is that the active exhaust, which we've talked about previously, is all
set up here in your gauge cluster.
That's where the biggest interior change comes into play.
We now have this 12 inch, fully customizable, fully digital LCD display, not previously
seen in any Mustang prior to this.
Very, very customizable and I'm gonna take you through that here.
Obviously, right off the bat, if you're in normal mode here, you're looking at two pretty
regular gauges.
Your tachometer's on the left, speedometer on the right.
You have gauges in the middle and you can use your arrow keys to flip through them,
very similar to the previous S550's.
You have a lot of, you know, coolant temps you can track here.
You have G-Force and things of that nature, all of which you can toggle through.
The biggest change here is, obviously, going to be coming into play with the actual tachometer,
speedometer kinda layout themselves and the gauge layout.
Now, the way you can actually change all of this is the new pony button located right
on your steering wheel.
You hit that, a new setting comes up here, a new menu.
You kinda navigate through here.
My mode is gonna, pretty much, save all the settings you have as a preset to make it easier
for you to toggle through.
Now, exhaust mode is gonna be, obviously, a huge one in working in conjunction with
your active exhaust.
You would click on the exhaust mode to flop through quite, normal, sport or track.
And you'll be able to select those, click out of your pony mode and have that go directly
into play, making the changes on the fly, even while you're driving, it could be even
mid-shift.
Now, if you want to go back and change that, obviously, exhaust mode, we can pop it back
and say normal.
Now, if you head over to track apps, you'll be given an acceleration timer, brake performance.
Line Lock's making its return.
Lap Timer's a great use for the track mode, I'll show you in a minute.
And, obviously, your start option.
So going back here, they'll be actually given a couple more options.
Performance shift indicator to help you with your shifting, launch control and gauges.
So, my opinion, a huge, huge bonus for guys getting a 2018.
This is definitely an option you want to add on because it is an option for any model,
essentially, not just a performance pack.
So, if you want to add this on, you can cough up the extra money and it's definitely worth
it in my opinion.
All right, so we're out here, 2018 Ford Mustang GT.
It feels great.
It feels really good actually.
We have the active mode exhaust on completely normal mode.
We'll be switching through that throughout the driving here.
But I wanted to start it off regular mode.
I don't want anything crazy going on.
I'll tell you, right off the bat, I have the steering in normal as well and it's still
just super responsive.
Listen to that, that's normal.
And it just sounds incredible.
It feels incredible.
I mean, the suspension here is kind of adapting as we go.
I can see little bumps and things on the road as we're coming along.
The little pot whole I just hit there.
The MagnaRide suspension option, which again, the MagnaRide's a $1600, $1700, $1800 option
to add on to your ride.
It's absolutely ridiculous.
With the performance pack, at least, you're getting stiffer springs.
You're getting the sway bar that MagnaRide set up, which works hand-in-hand with your
drag mode.
So, when you put it in drag mode, it's gonna kind of adjust the weight transfer ratio to
the rear.
The way that this car's technology works together hand-in-hand, it just makes your driving unlike
any other.
Now, what I want to do is I'm gonna switch up our mode here to sport.
I'm gonna change the exhaust mode to sport.
Wow, sport mode makes a difference.
I'm kind of actually blown away at how much of a difference that made right off the line.
You can hear the exhaust.
The exhaust is definitely... it opens up a little bit.
So that active exhaust is gonna have those chambers that open up and just sounds so good.
One thing we didn't talk about is one of the things that is new for 2018 in the transmission
area, is the twin disc clutch coming standard on these 2018 models.
Mustang's I've owned...
I've done a lot of S95 stuff.
I'm a big Cobra guy, so my 95 Cobra.
That's completely different as far as driving experience.
This is just so much more luxurious.
You're kinda relaxed back.
You're hugged by the seat.
Your arm gets to rest here.
Shifting is made effortless.
Your clutch is just, like, absolute butter.
So, we're in sport mode with our active exhaust, which of course, has the quiet, normal, sport
and track.
I've upgraded to track.
We're gonna open it up.
It's pretty much your full out, open style exhaust.
It's gonna make a huge difference.
So, on the highway I think we're going to have a lot of fun.
Hear that.
It sounds great.
I mean, there's not a lot of drone.
It doesn't sound bad.
It sounds pretty good.
As a matter of fact, I can feel like I can hear, like, the road noise and wind more than
I can hear the exhaust.
My verdict for the interior and the driving experience, 10 out of 10, solid home run from
Ford.
Huge home run with the cluster.
The different modes... it's just incredible.
I can't say anything better about it.
And all of that just kind of comes together in one 460 horsepower, and I believe, 420
torque beast.
So, let's take this back into the shop and get me out of here before I end up stealing
this thing.
Well, that pretty much wraps up my review of the 2018 GT Premium performance pack we
got here at AM.
Overall, it's pretty awesome.
I'm gonna have to get one for myself.
Maybe not race red, maybe oxford white.
But who knows, we'll see.
Now, before we get going, you want to make sure you drop a comment below and let us know
what you think of the new 2018 redesign.
Tell me what you want to see moded first because there's a lot of potential for aftermarket
parts.
You want to make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel as well to keep it up to date
with all 2018 Mustang news and builds in the future, as well as other cool content as well.
And you want to keep it locked right here at AmericanMuscle.com.