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driving the Bullitt: first impressions

2K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  wabirch 
#1 ·
Hello there,
I have done about 2,000 Km on the Bullitt since I bought it, including one highway round trip of about 800 Km. I would like to share my first ownership/driving impressions. A disclaimer that this is the first Mustang I own, and I am not saying it is better or worse than this or that - just personal comments.

What I like:
- stance
- looks
- color
- THE SOUND... I love the growl!
- more than enough power and torque for what that chassis can handle
- decent highway mileage for the engine and horsepower available.

What I would improve (if I could...)
- driveshaft backlash: this is after all, the 21st century, tolerances could be a lot better
- road/tire noise at highway speeds: in town I have the window down to hear the exhaust, but on the highway with windows up I can hear a lot of tire/road noise, especially from the rear. I don't know if it is magnified by the hard compound stock tires, but would expect better sound insulation inside the cabin.
- suspension feels firm, but it has a lot of roll and nose dive: maybe I am spoiled for having driven German cars before the Bullitt...
-T3650: that first time I shift 2nd-3rd it often grinds. Would expect better synchronizers from Tremec, that don't need to be "warmed up" every day...

Overall, I love the car. Definitely a keeper...
Cheers,
 
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#2 ·
I read about this driveshaft backlash but honestly have none in my car. I came from the P-cars (Boxsters (3),356s, and 914s) and a 350Z. Maybe I'm lucky.

Road noise is very tire dependent. I also hear others complain of 1 to 2 grind but my trans and shifter are very smooth and without crunch. I've held onto this car longer than any of the Boxsters and my 350 Z. I just get a good feeling in it and it is complimented more often than any of my P-cars.......except the 356.

Maybe I like it bare bones feel.
 
#3 ·
Ron, welcome to the crowd. I can see you are a driver, 2000 already. Those are good impressions. As for fixing them, Most all of us have improved on the basic car. Its all in what you want out of it.
As for road noise...what insulation??
Lot of guys are putting insolation in themselve. I used a spray, "boom max". did the trunk area and it helped quite alot. You will gather much info on this site. Cam's build up on the "mod" sections shows him installing the insolation. Good luck and enjoy the ride.
 
#5 ·
Hello, Ron. You made a great choice with the Bullitt.

Depending on how much you want to spend, here are some suggestions: 1) replace the stock shocks and struts with Koni adjustables. I just bought a set for my 2011 for 590 including shipping from TunerSports. 2) Tires. I have had many and quite honestly was surprised how quiet the Pirelli 245/40s were. I have the M+S all season and can nail my 373 2011 gt without wheelspin. Very quiet and good in rain. 3) Definitely change the transmission fluid with synthetic. Many discussions on this. I'm using Royal Purple, but other full synthetics are good too. The Bullitt has non-synthetic in the trans from Ford. It is generally agreed upon that one of the best shifters is the MGW shifter. I have had stock, Hurst and MGW. I have never missed a shift with the MGW. There are other good ones out there as well.

I look at it this way. I put 3,000 into the suspension/driveshaft/shifter, etc and have a car that can run circles around the 2011 GT I bought. Another 6K if you want a 500HP+ engine. Comparing this to a BMW, the BMW still costs more, is less dependable, makes less HP and does not handle as good. As others have said, you just have to put some aftermarket parts on. As far as the chassis, My B has 488 at the wheels and handles like it's on rails. I really don't notice any body flex.

So you have a good starting point, but it will take some moderate amount of cash to make it comparable to a European sports sedan.

This green car grows on us.
 
#6 ·
Hi Mate, I know what your saying about the Bullitt. I am a recent owner myself and also notice the noise level too. I sold my 2004 Lexus and then bought my car #1PP04. "It's No Lexus" as far as sound level but, I am enjoying this car. It puts the fun back in driving. I stuffed some old pillows in the spare tire well , not sure if it made much difference ? I am going to get some new tires soon and that should quiet it some.
Great Car!
:grin::grin::grin:
 
#7 ·
If the noise is really aproblem, try the Dynamat. a lot of guys went that way.
 
#8 ·
I used 27 lb of dynamat,everthing was covered except front fenders,and top. The rear shocks are a conduit for noise.the cover tubes come into ye trunk to mount.there is one small pc instulation under thu cap. I put 2 layers of dynamat under the cap,and two on top,then wraped thu shock tubes. A full size spare tire helps uh lot,good tight fit. After that all i could hear were thu borolas touring,and thu whipple.
 
#9 ·
Ron, that issue with the Transmission grind when cold is a well known issue. Here is a link to a discussion of it.

Transmission TSB

Ford has a TSB to address the issue. Hopefully you have a ford extented warranty when you purchased your Bullitt.
 
#10 ·
Welcome aboard, Ron. I bought my '09 new. Keeping it stock. Not because I'm against mods, just too cheap to want to spend more money on a car that's already lost so much in depreciation.

My impressions go pretty much along with yours, except for stance. Too much air in the wheelwells to suit my sense of aesthetics. Once I found out that lowering the car the right way involves much more than just springs, I decided to live with it. I will upgrade shocks when it's time. I don't know why, but Detroit bean counters seem to insist on going cheap when it comes to shocks.

The car definitely has shortcomings, but once I got it though my head that it's only a Ford, I've pretty much decided I can live with it until I drive my money out of it or it starts nickel and diming me to death.

Overall, I consider it a well balanced driver, a good highway car. Something I can take a on a long drive without feeling beaten to death when I arrive at my destination.
 
#11 ·
Thank you all for the feedback.
On the tranny grind issue, the car was a private sale, not from a dealer, so after 6 years it is not under warranty anymore.
I suspect it would cost me quite a lot of money to do the TSB repairs, so I guess I will just live with it... I just can't believe Tremec needed 7 years to decide to use better synchronizers and make the problem go away... How much has this costed Ford in warranty repair work???
 
#12 ·
I had my tranny serviced under the TSB a few years ago, but it still had a slight crunch when cold on the 2-3 shift and it also had what sounded like a bearing noise at low speed in 5th gear. I recently changed tranny oil to the redline MTL, a slightly heavier oil over the ATF suggested for the car. I'm very happy w/ the change. The shifts are much smoother and the 5th gear bearing noise is all but gone. I'd suggest this as a first move, this is also the cheapest route to start with. Take 3qts to do the swap.
 
#17 ·
Transmission grind has been significantly remedied today with new tranny oil. The difference in feel is night and day... Makes for a much improved driving experience.
Now the last thing on the Bullitt 6 year service/birthday list is the coolant replacement.
 
#22 ·
It is a stroll down memory lane to catch your post Ron. You will get used to some of the noise but get the big ones checked out. Glad you are getting some seat time finally. Been too long of a winter and spring hasn't been full of warm days yet. Hope you meet up with others and head to Detroit for Nationals. This year's event is simply awesome. Good luck to you getting things quieter.
 
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