markboris
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2019
- Threads
- 26
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- 2,739
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- Location
- Sonora, CA
- Vehicles
- _______ '20 Shelby GT500 FPB '21 Mach-E GTPE IS
- Occupation
- Retired
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- #1
In several other threads here these past few months, I have mentioned my 3 reasons for wanting to switch from a Premium to a GT/PE (seats, magneride suspension and different front end) but decided to make a thread now that I actually have both.
I've been asked to check if the OEM premium wheels fit on the GT/PE, yes they do with just under 1/4" clearance and if the rotors and calipers are different between the Premium and GT/PE and yes they are (both larger).
Also been asked differences in the ride and that is a tricky one since I replaced the springs and shocks (with non-magneride obviously) on my Premium with the GT version a couple of months back. This firmed up the ride, eliminated a good amount of the bounce the car had and made it handle better. The GT/PE with the magneride shocks make the car ride even smoother but as far as the firmness, my Premium felt like the GT/PE in Engage mode. Whisper seems softer and Unbridled firmer than my premium. Magneride shocks are a big reason I got this car because I like to tune shocks the way I want them. In two days and a little over 200 miles, I can say that in whisper mode, I would like it a bit softer and unbridled mode a lot more firm. In my Focus RS and my GT500, I purchased a DSC Sport controller and adjusted the shocks to my liking. On the RS, I softened up the way to stiff track mode and on the GT500 made a wider difference between normal and sport. I have contacted DSC Sport and they will be coming out with a module for the Mach-E just as soon as they get their hands on a car to test.
Several have asked about the differences in the seats and that is also a tough one because everyones body is unique and people have all different requirements for their seating. This was another reason I wanted the GT/PE. I wanted a more sporty seat with better bolstering. I am use to having Recaro's in several other cars I have owned (and currently own) and prefer that style of seat. The GT/PE has a seat similar but definitely a bit more forgiving than Recaro's. That said, I can tell you the seats in the premium are one of the most comfortable seats I have ever had in a car. I know they don't look like much but they were very comfortable, at least for me.
I have taken several 3 hour, non-stop trips in the premium and not one issue with my back or legs. I cannot say this was true with my first drive in the GT/PE seats. The dealer I purchase my vehicles from is 3 hours away (even though I have a Ford dealer literally 5 minutes from my house) so when I went to pick up my car, the first thing I did was drive 3 hours non-stop home. Two things happened I was not expecting. One, my lower back began to ache and two, the under part of my legs where the seat ends felt like they might go to sleep. I never had any of these issues with the Premium seats and realized that the GT/PE seat are much more firm everywhere (like Recaro's) and you need to really adjust the seat to your body. After adjusting the back lumbar support and brining the seat up a bit which relieves pressure under the legs (because of the way it tilts) things got better. The seats are also not as easy to get in and out of with the higher bolsters but I am use to this with Recaro's which are much worse. It sounds like I'm not happy with the seats but I am actually very happy with them. I prefer a seat that hugs you and also one with cloth material in the seating area rather than vinyl. Like Recaro's it took me a few days to get them adjusted just right and now they feel great and doubt I will have issues on long drives again.
Here are some things I noticed right away when driving home:
I immediately heard wind noise after going about 40 mph right above my head. I knew exactly what it was since I had the same noise in my premium which I took care of with a strip of round rubber gasket I placed in the gap between the windshield and glass roof. Obviously I will have to do the same thing with this one.
My iPhone 12 Pro does not constantly charge in the Premium on the charging pad. It usually stops after about a few minutes and have to move it around to get it to charge then it stops again. I am not interested in connecting to a USB cord so I came up with this alternate method of wireless charging, #9 . In the GT/PE, my iPhone 12 Pro charged more consistent. Not sure if they updated some software or hardware but was surprised to see this.
I really like the fact Ford updated Sync 4a to display Apple CarPlay in its portrait mode. Ford also added the turn by turn of Apple Maps in the dash display however it did not work very well on my drive home. While I rarely need to use navigation, I normally do always use it when taking trips to make sure I am on the best route in case there is road work, accidents or just heavy traffic that Maps will alert me about. Maps worked just fine in the main display but the turn by turn in the dash display kept freezing up on and off during the drive. Sometimes it would not work at all for 30 minutes then it would update itself. Not sure what is up with that but hope they come out with a fix for it.
Ford Pass on my phone for the GT/PE only shows four buttons. Unlock, Start, Lock and Horn. I had thought it would have at least shown windows up and down and trunk like my premium does. I know it should also show a front trunk button. I deleted the GT/PE from the Ford Pass app, then re-added it and still no change.
Edit:
After owning the GT/PE for 3 months I no longer have any issues with the seats like I did the first few days. As I said earlier I needed to adjust them properly as they are not as forgiving because they are firmer seats.
I am extremely happy with the magneride suspension. The car really does ride smoother than my previous Premium 4X with no bounce at all. I'm still not happy with the softness of the suspension in the Unbridled setting and still looking forward to DSC Sport coming out with a module for this car.
I got the extra buttons to show up in Ford Pass on my phone. Apparently I did not have PAAK set up properly or something did not activate when I did set it up but after re-activating, all my buttons are there including the "frunk" button.
After upgrading to an iPhone 13 Pro, I have zero issues with the phone wirelessly charging. I had come to find out the issue was more with the iPhone 12 and not the wireless charger in the car.
Overall I was extremely happy with the Premium and even happier with the GT/PE. All I really want is a firmer ride in Unbridled. I have quite a few very windy mountainous roads around here especially too and from Yosemite and Mariposa. It bothers me when I can't keep up with other sporty cars (it's not my driving). I will be installing the Steeda rear sway bar next week and still looking forward to DSC Sport coming out with module for the magneride shocks so I can tune them how I want to.
I've been asked to check if the OEM premium wheels fit on the GT/PE, yes they do with just under 1/4" clearance and if the rotors and calipers are different between the Premium and GT/PE and yes they are (both larger).
Also been asked differences in the ride and that is a tricky one since I replaced the springs and shocks (with non-magneride obviously) on my Premium with the GT version a couple of months back. This firmed up the ride, eliminated a good amount of the bounce the car had and made it handle better. The GT/PE with the magneride shocks make the car ride even smoother but as far as the firmness, my Premium felt like the GT/PE in Engage mode. Whisper seems softer and Unbridled firmer than my premium. Magneride shocks are a big reason I got this car because I like to tune shocks the way I want them. In two days and a little over 200 miles, I can say that in whisper mode, I would like it a bit softer and unbridled mode a lot more firm. In my Focus RS and my GT500, I purchased a DSC Sport controller and adjusted the shocks to my liking. On the RS, I softened up the way to stiff track mode and on the GT500 made a wider difference between normal and sport. I have contacted DSC Sport and they will be coming out with a module for the Mach-E just as soon as they get their hands on a car to test.
Several have asked about the differences in the seats and that is also a tough one because everyones body is unique and people have all different requirements for their seating. This was another reason I wanted the GT/PE. I wanted a more sporty seat with better bolstering. I am use to having Recaro's in several other cars I have owned (and currently own) and prefer that style of seat. The GT/PE has a seat similar but definitely a bit more forgiving than Recaro's. That said, I can tell you the seats in the premium are one of the most comfortable seats I have ever had in a car. I know they don't look like much but they were very comfortable, at least for me.
I have taken several 3 hour, non-stop trips in the premium and not one issue with my back or legs. I cannot say this was true with my first drive in the GT/PE seats. The dealer I purchase my vehicles from is 3 hours away (even though I have a Ford dealer literally 5 minutes from my house) so when I went to pick up my car, the first thing I did was drive 3 hours non-stop home. Two things happened I was not expecting. One, my lower back began to ache and two, the under part of my legs where the seat ends felt like they might go to sleep. I never had any of these issues with the Premium seats and realized that the GT/PE seat are much more firm everywhere (like Recaro's) and you need to really adjust the seat to your body. After adjusting the back lumbar support and brining the seat up a bit which relieves pressure under the legs (because of the way it tilts) things got better. The seats are also not as easy to get in and out of with the higher bolsters but I am use to this with Recaro's which are much worse. It sounds like I'm not happy with the seats but I am actually very happy with them. I prefer a seat that hugs you and also one with cloth material in the seating area rather than vinyl. Like Recaro's it took me a few days to get them adjusted just right and now they feel great and doubt I will have issues on long drives again.
Here are some things I noticed right away when driving home:
I immediately heard wind noise after going about 40 mph right above my head. I knew exactly what it was since I had the same noise in my premium which I took care of with a strip of round rubber gasket I placed in the gap between the windshield and glass roof. Obviously I will have to do the same thing with this one.
My iPhone 12 Pro does not constantly charge in the Premium on the charging pad. It usually stops after about a few minutes and have to move it around to get it to charge then it stops again. I am not interested in connecting to a USB cord so I came up with this alternate method of wireless charging, #9 . In the GT/PE, my iPhone 12 Pro charged more consistent. Not sure if they updated some software or hardware but was surprised to see this.
I really like the fact Ford updated Sync 4a to display Apple CarPlay in its portrait mode. Ford also added the turn by turn of Apple Maps in the dash display however it did not work very well on my drive home. While I rarely need to use navigation, I normally do always use it when taking trips to make sure I am on the best route in case there is road work, accidents or just heavy traffic that Maps will alert me about. Maps worked just fine in the main display but the turn by turn in the dash display kept freezing up on and off during the drive. Sometimes it would not work at all for 30 minutes then it would update itself. Not sure what is up with that but hope they come out with a fix for it.
Ford Pass on my phone for the GT/PE only shows four buttons. Unlock, Start, Lock and Horn. I had thought it would have at least shown windows up and down and trunk like my premium does. I know it should also show a front trunk button. I deleted the GT/PE from the Ford Pass app, then re-added it and still no change.
Edit:
After owning the GT/PE for 3 months I no longer have any issues with the seats like I did the first few days. As I said earlier I needed to adjust them properly as they are not as forgiving because they are firmer seats.
I am extremely happy with the magneride suspension. The car really does ride smoother than my previous Premium 4X with no bounce at all. I'm still not happy with the softness of the suspension in the Unbridled setting and still looking forward to DSC Sport coming out with a module for this car.
I got the extra buttons to show up in Ford Pass on my phone. Apparently I did not have PAAK set up properly or something did not activate when I did set it up but after re-activating, all my buttons are there including the "frunk" button.
After upgrading to an iPhone 13 Pro, I have zero issues with the phone wirelessly charging. I had come to find out the issue was more with the iPhone 12 and not the wireless charger in the car.
Overall I was extremely happy with the Premium and even happier with the GT/PE. All I really want is a firmer ride in Unbridled. I have quite a few very windy mountainous roads around here especially too and from Yosemite and Mariposa. It bothers me when I can't keep up with other sporty cars (it's not my driving). I will be installing the Steeda rear sway bar next week and still looking forward to DSC Sport coming out with module for the magneride shocks so I can tune them how I want to.
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