Hey gang. I purchased my first Shelby GT500 on Saturday and love it! I traded in my second Mustang GT for it (new car is performance white with red stripes). On Sunday, I took a friend for a little ride and when I hit second gear from 3k rpm's in first, I gassed it a little (not really on it at all) and the back end started to come around on me. Fortunately, I saved it by letting off of it. Are these cars really so powerful that you have to watch every move or focus on every little thing when driving? It is possible that the road was a bit wet as it had been spitting a very small bit of rain on Sunday. Also, is the default for traction control "on" when you get in the car? Maybe mine was off? I consider myself a pretty good driver and am not careless behind the wheel. I just want to make sure I know what to expect when behind the wheel of this monster!
Congrats on the car! Default for TC is on everytime you start your car. You can lose the back end in any gear with it on. Please be careful until you get the hang of it, that car will bite you if you're not.
The 2007, 08 and 09 Shelby GT 500 cars are very unstable under full acceleration. My 07 was quite unpredictable until I installed a Roush upper control arm. I think the Ford traction control got confused transferring from left to right rear wheels during wheel hop. The Roush control arm solved it. A $219 plus 2 hours well spent. Dave
The only thing the T/C is good for IMO is eating up the back brakes...I ALWAYS turn it off at start up...I dyno'ed 547 rwhp and without the T/C on it smokes the tires nicely in a straight line...but get on it when turning even slightly and be prepared for a nice spinout...
I usually turn mine off as well. http://forums.themustangsource.com/f669/traction-control-auto-off-mod-462075/ I was thinking about turning mine off as well. This person posted how to do it in a way that allows you to turn it back on too. I haven't done it yet though. Hope this helps.
I leave TC on but I have done this supercharger bypass valve change. It really makes the car more drivable. http://www.shelbyforums.com/forums/2007-2011-shelby-mustangs/13080-tame-torque.html
I have to say after modding my Snake and getting 547 rwhp... I much more enjoy running closer to the "undrivable side"...just me though...LOL
Thanks for your input. I am becoming more comfortable with the snake and think the big problem was the coolness of the day (around 55 degrees) combined with a bit of light moisture on the road. Of course, operator error probably played a factor as well! I think I am going to leave traction control on for quite some time until I get used to the 550 hp.