I don't get the Dark Horse vs GT

[DarthMalice]

Just cut and paste the conversation from GT vs. Mach 1 from Mustang 6G and do a find and replace for Mach 1 to Dark Horse. Lol. On a more serious note, Ford did do DH owner's a solid by upgrading the brakes a bit more on DH vs. GT. I always wondered why the Mach 1 didn't get the GT350 brake package. I think the cost of the DH is a bit more excessive for what you get, but I don't track my car and certainly paid to have the name/heritage in addition to the upgrades.

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[roket]

Just cut and paste the conversation from GT vs. Mach 1 from Mustang 6G and do a find and replace for Mach 1 to Dark Horse. Lol. On a more serious note, Ford did do DH owner's a solid by upgrading the brakes a bit more on DH vs. GT. I always wondered why the Mach 1 didn't get the GT350 brake package. I think the cost of the DH is a bit more excessive for what you get, but I don't track my car and certainly paid to have the name/heritage in addition to the upgrades.

i dread the day that i need to replace my rotors. the GT PP ones are $152 each, the DH ones are $624 each. i dont know how making them non-serviceable two-piece rotors adds $472, but it apparently does

 

[Renntech]

Here's your differences. These lap times are all set by Thomas Holland of Throttle House, who is actually a very talented driver.

It's worth noting the S650 PP is noticeably slower than even the S550 PP. The performance pack options that came on the last generation Mustang are more aggressive than the 2024+. The S650 Dark Horse can hang with a BMW M5CS (around this track, at least) which is a notoriously capable performance sedan.

For all of us 'normies' that probably will never track their car, the 2024 GT is great when compared to the DH. The only real difference would be the preference of MagnaRide, exterior styling, and most definitely the better 6MT if you opt for that route. You can also quite easily modify the S650 suspension, wheels, & tires to slightly close the gap.

 

[Farmer Fran]

Here's your differences. These lap times are all set by Thomas Holland of Throttle House, who is actually a very talented driver.

It's worth noting the S650 PP is noticeably slower than even the S550 PP. The performance pack options that came on the last generation Mustang are more aggressive than the 2024+. The S650 Dark Horse can hang with a BMW M5CS (around this track, at least) which is a notoriously capable performance sedan.

For all of us 'normies' that probably will never track their car, the 2024 GT is great when compared to the DH. The only real difference would be the preference of MagnaRide, exterior styling, and most definitely the better 6MT if you opt for that route. You can also quite easily modify the S650 suspension, wheels, & tires to slightly close the gap.

How does the DH compare on a track like Laguna Seca

 

[DevilDog]

Because of the color? I know I'm guilty of thinking 'Dark Horse' the second I see vapor blue.

I had a guy pull up next to me at a stoplight this morning and tell me my car was "sick." I thought to myself that it seemed to be running fine. Still not sure what's wrong with it. Youngins' today.

 

[krisk]

Here's your differences. These lap times are all set by Thomas Holland of Throttle House, who is actually a very talented driver.

It's worth noting the S650 PP is noticeably slower than even the S550 PP. The performance pack options that came on the last generation Mustang are more aggressive than the 2024+. The S650 Dark Horse can hang with a BMW M5CS (around this track, at least) which is a notoriously capable performance sedan.

For all of us 'normies' that probably will never track their car, the 2024 GT is great when compared to the DH. The only real difference would be the preference of MagnaRide, exterior styling, and most definitely the better 6MT if you opt for that route. You can also quite easily modify the S650 suspension, wheels, & tires to slightly close the gap.

I’m not sure I’d say the S650 is noticeably slower than the S550 PP. That looks to be a PP2 S550. The PP on the S650 is essentially a PP1 S550, which would explain a slower time than the PP2.

I considered buying the Dark Horse, and compared with the GT I was considering, it was right at $9k more than the GT. That is a fully equipped GT PP including Magneride compared to a handling pack Dark Horse. I may have gone with the Dark Horse except I didn’t like the look of the front end versus the GT and I preferred the seats in the GT. I didn’t plan on tracking at the time so it didn’t make sense to pay extra for the Dark Horse. Now that I’ve started tracking my GT, the only thing I wish I would have had was the differential cooler. The GT PP runs great on the track, but the axle overheats. I added a cooler to fix it, but it would have been nice if it came from the factory with the cooler. Overall I’m very happy with my GT.

 

[roadpilot]

I had a guy pull up next to me at a stoplight this morning and tell me my car was "sick." I thought to myself that it seemed to be running fine. Still not sure what's wrong with it. Youngins' today.

ROTF!

 

[roadpilot]

Ordered the GT PP, no idea how long it would be.
Found a DH on the assembly line @ FRAP a couple weeks later.
The GT optioned out like the DH was $63,035 MSRP. AZ Plan was $57,531.
The DH Premium was $68,020 MSRP.
Bought the DH; paid MSRP.

 

[Renntech]

I’m not sure I’d say the S650 is noticeably slower than the S550 PP. That looks to be a PP2 S550. The PP on the S650 is essentially a PP1 S550, which would explain a slower time than the PP2.

Absolutely, this is what I meant. The PP on the S650 is not as aggressive as the PP2 offered on the the S550. The throttle house guys mentioned this in their video.

I also think PZeroes are such an inferior tire to PS4S. I wish Ford put Michelins on the PP S650 because I think even just that change alone would be big.

 

[krisk]

Absolutely, this is what I meant. The PP on the S650 is not as aggressive as the PP2 offered on the the S550. The throttle house guys mentioned this in their video.

I also think PZeroes are such an inferior tire to PS4S. I wish Ford put Michelins on the PP S650 because I think even just that change alone would be big.

I’ve heard lots of gripes about the PZeros in the past, but I was actually pretty happy with the performance of the PZ4s which come on the 24 GT PP. I understand they are a different tire than the old Pirellis. I’m definitely not a tire or driving expert, but I don’t feel much difference from the Michelin PS4S to the Pirelli PZ4.

 

[Sofa King]

Never been a fan of P zeros... but I can't badmouth the PZ4 P zeros... After a little spirited twisties driving it sounded like driving on gravel... the tires warmed up enough to pick up everything on the road (and possibly some of the chip seal road itself), and stuck like glue. Not the P zeros of old that's for sure.

 

[Paul's stable]

Suspension is tuned slightly better for track purposes, magneride is standard (big difference IMO), brembo brakes are standard. The biggest thing really is that the engine is a little stronger with some forged internals ported over from the GT500. This will make boosting the car an easier decision for those who want to. It also has a bunch of coolers that help for those who worry about oil temperatures.

That internals made the choice for me. As I pre ordered my whipple the same time I bought my Dark Horse. Now that it's on the car I'm real happy.

 

[135Hoser]

I'm new to owning a mustang. I got the DH because of the stronger connecting rods from factory, and it had the 3 option packs I wanted as standard, and none of the dealers in town for the month or so I was shopping, had those options (B&O, Magneride, Active Exhaust)

I am less than happy with the steering feel in the S650, also the car pitches weird when I load it up in a corner or when braking at high speed. Car doesn't have the underbody strakes installed so I hope that fixes it.

The P-Zero's I had were not my favourite tire, and felt greasy a lot of the time. I switched to Michelin PS4S and am a lot happier with them so far.

 

[YamenGT650]

Bottomline is, if you care about your hard earned money being well spent… get a GT or GT premium. Not enough benefits to justify the DH over GT premium.

 

[seanpublic]

Here's your differences. These lap times are all set by Thomas Holland of Throttle House, who is actually a very talented driver.

It's worth noting the S650 PP is noticeably slower than even the S550 PP. The performance pack options that came on the last generation Mustang are more aggressive than the 2024+. The S650 Dark Horse can hang with a BMW M5CS (around this track, at least) which is a notoriously capable performance sedan.

For all of us 'normies' that probably will never track their car, the 2024 GT is great when compared to the DH. The only real difference would be the preference of MagnaRide, exterior styling, and most definitely the better 6MT if you opt for that route. You can also quite easily modify the S650 suspension, wheels, & tires to slightly close the gap.

That S550 PP2 time was from a track battle with the SS 1LE where they put both cars on Cup 2 tires to equalize any OEM tire differences. Most of their laptimes are from cars running OEM tires or at least from non trackday tires. They had a note about the tire choice on their laptimes chart like they have next to the SS 1LE, but looks like they lost that note. I don't believe the S550 PP2 is that far off the S650 PP.

BTW, here's the video where they got the time for reference:

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