2006 Mustang GT

[NHstang]

I've got about 1000 miles on my new Mustang GT. It's a terrific car to drive, fit and finish is nice, it's got a great engine and exhaust note, and a very, very addictive gas pedal.

 

My only pet peeve: The road noise coming from the back wheel wells. I think this is one area where Ford was a little scimpy with the sound insulation (there isn't any). I love to hear the exhaust, but you can hear every little grain of sand come off the tire and hit the underside of the wheel wells, and it's especially noisy when it's raining. I had a 1989 Dodge Omni that didn't have any where near this much noise in the back, and that car was a real cheap POS. I think this is a little rediculous in a car that otherwise has a great, comfortable interior.

 

Just my 2 cents. If there were something I'd want Ford to change for future Mustangs, it would be to put some sound insulation around the rear wheel wells. I'll be doing my own next spring with dynamat. Maybe some around the transmission tunnel as well. That's a lot more noisy than past generations as well.

 

Great car otherwise though, as your sales certainly show. The most comfortable Mustang ever. Also the best looking car Ford's made in many years. Keep up the good work.

[ford4v429]

I've got about 1000 miles on my new Mustang GT. It's a terrific car to drive, fit and finish is nice, it's got a great engine and exhaust note, and a very, very addictive gas pedal.

 

My only pet peeve: The road noise coming from the back wheel wells. I think this is one area where Ford was a little scimpy with the sound insulation (there isn't any). I love to hear the exhaust, but you can hear every little grain of sand come off the tire and hit the underside of the wheel wells, and it's especially noisy when it's raining. I had a 1989 Dodge Omni that didn't have any where near this much noise in the back, and that car was a real cheap POS. I think this is a little rediculous in a car that otherwise has a great, comfortable interior.

 

Just my 2 cents. If there were something I'd want Ford to change for future Mustangs, it would be to put some sound insulation around the rear wheel wells. I'll be doing my own next spring with dynamat. Maybe some around the transmission tunnel as well. That's a lot more noisy than past generations as well.

 

Great car otherwise though, as your sales certainly show. The most comfortable Mustang ever. Also the best looking car Ford's made in many years. Keep up the good work.

 

Ditto, ditto, ditto...this is one awesome car!

you might want to look underneath at the seamsealed areas- mine had a lot of missed spots, mostly drivers side, and about a 4"x10" triangle area right above the passenger rear tire with no sound deadener- I still got it up in the air, lots of sealing/painting to do, so havent driven yet to see if any quieter, but I wouldnt doubt the little gaps might be letting in some of the road noise- but dunno how many if any go into passenger compartment...pretty sure the trunk floor gaps went up in though. I put some pics here:

http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=888

 

I do think a couple things could be improved- first, sealed areas shouldnt be missed, second, why does undercoat stop on outer wheelhouse? this area really concerns me due to the crimped seam- a few stone chips could lead to a tough repair...I think the 'paint only' outer 1/3 of the wheelhouse is the reason for most of the gravel noise- but mine was always louder on passenger side- figured due to crap along sides of the road, but mighta been the missed area above that tire?

 

I'm going over mine with 3m fast-n-firm body seam sealer, and 'roll on bedliner', thinking about doing entire under carriage, but I cant stand not driving it- so will probably just coat 'abrasion areas' in rear wheelhouses and behind front tires. Also adding mudflaps(yuck) to save the paint, found fronts could be attached with the rocker pegs- nice and tight, in the rear also cut up some 'truck' sized flaps to put behind the mudflaps- this allows screwing into the black plastic 'bumper' support, extra thickness brings out flush to painted bumper cover, inside flap extensions should even further prevent rock chips from gas filler-rear wheelhouse areas- and the 'wide open' area behind them will still get flushed easily at the carwash...cut inner flaps so they dont touch anywhere to prevent rubbing thru anything...hopefully in 15-20 years if I'm still around the car will be too I'd sealed my 85 camaro up as best I could when it was brand new, and the inner wheelhouses still look great- and it was driven yearround first ten years I had it...just gotta keep the salt rinsed off and limit 'entry points' as much as possible without blocking drainage...just got rid of it to get the mustang...no more GMs here-5 fords.

[Disco]

I can add a bit to this thread, I just picked up our new 06 GT Tungsten Gray with a 5 speed and all we can say after 250 miles of pure bliss is.. STUNNING in every way shape and form.. I have never been in a vechicle for that price that turns heads the way this new stang does.. It is quick (relatively speaking) and smooth, I also understand that this is a Mustang and road noise is part of the game that is what makes a Mustang a Mustang! No disrepect to anyone but if this car did not have alittle extra road noise or exhust tone it would have been called a Fusion!!! I can't get the wifes a$$ out of the dam car and she just loves the bruttish sound and feel that the new and greatly improved GT offers and this is coming for a girl who has had 4 New stangs in the last 3yrs.. 2 machs, 1 GT Vert and an 04 Mystichrome Cobra and not even that compares with the GT minus the tad bit of H.P I got under the hood.. Hell I would sell the Cobra in a second to get another 06 GT..

 

So to honor the Mustang's before us let there be noise, believe me when I say this. This car is 100% quieter than the Cobra I got sitting right next to it, if it was any quieter I would have to trade it.. So go easy on the new stang they stayed true to what they are a real american pony car!!!

[ford4v429]

I can add a bit to this thread, I just picked up our new 06 GT Tungsten Gray with a 5 speed and all we can say after 250 miles of pure bliss is.. STUNNING in every way shape and form.. I have never been in a vechicle for that price that turns heads the way this new stang does.. It is quick (relatively speaking) and smooth, I also understand that this is a Mustang and road noise is part of the game that is what makes a Mustang a Mustang! No disrepect to anyone but if this car did not have alittle extra road noise or exhust tone it would have been called a Fusion!!! I can't get the wifes a$$ out of the dam car and she just loves the bruttish sound and feel that the new and greatly improved GT offers and this is coming for a girl who has had 4 New stangs in the last 3yrs.. 2 machs, 1 GT Vert and an 04 Mystichrome Cobra and not even that compares with the GT minus the tad bit of H.P I got under the hood.. Hell I would sell the Cobra in a second to get another 06 GT..

 

So to honor the Mustang's before us let there be noise, believe me when I say this. This car is 100% quieter than the Cobra I got sitting right next to it, if it was any quieter I would have to trade it.. So go easy on the new stang they stayed true to what they are a real american pony car!!!

 

I agree all about the car/the feel/the sound... the sound that I dont care to hear is all the little 'tink' noises of small rocks bouncing off sheelmetal- it may not change the way it drives, but in salt country its scary as a rod knock to me. Ive had to deal with too much rust before, and its no fun at all - and dont really ever want to think of this car rusting...I think the noise in my car was mostly due to an obviously missed area above/behind passenger tire. the gaps in my sealer on drivers side probably didnt add much noise, but I'm glad I saw them before spring. This car is the absolute/by far/bar none/most fun Ive ever had behind the wheel I just want it to last forever- or at least as long as I can drive I gotta get back out to the garage...hoping to have it back on the ground by midweek at the latest. I woulndt think of adding dynamat or such to the car- the sounds it makes are music...except for the 'stones chipping away at the underside' sound.

[NHstang]

I agree all about the car/the feel/the sound... the sound that I dont care to hear is all the little 'tink' noises of small rocks bouncing off sheelmetal- it may not change the way it drives, but in salt country its scary as a rod knock to me.

 

This is exactly what I was talking about. Just about everyone who rides in the car asks me what that noise is! I've never heard this noise in a vehicle before, and I've had some mighty crappy cars. I wouldn't want to supress the music of the engine or exhaust (just put on flowmasters), but to me the lack of sound damping around the rear wheel wells is not "muscle car" noise, it's just where Ford was too cheap. The car would be even more fun to listen to if I didn't have to hear every grain of sand I run over.

 

This is really the only thing I don't like about an otherwise fantastic car. That's why it bugs me so much.

 

Ford4v429, Thanks for the tips about the missed areas of undercoating, from your description I'm sure that there's some missing on my car as well. I'll take a closer look this spring.

[NickF1011]

One little note to add:

 

I'm sure it could use a bit more insulation, so I'm not defending the quality of the sound deadening, but another thing to consider is the tires. Yes, the tires.

 

Mustangs come with a higher performance tire with a softer compound than most cars on the road. Because of this, they pick up a LOT more pebbles/stones/sand than a normal touring/all-season radial would. That alone in itself could be responsible for at least some of it. I sure as heck noticed it a LOT more noise from the wheelwells in my Cobra when I switched to an even softer compound tire.

[ford4v429]

One little note to add:

 

I'm sure it could use a bit more insulation, so I'm not defending the quality of the sound deadening, but another thing to consider is the tires. Yes, the tires.

 

Mustangs come with a higher performance tire with a softer compound than most cars on the road. Because of this, they pick up a LOT more pebbles/stones/sand than a normal touring/all-season radial would. That alone in itself could be responsible for at least some of it. I sure as heck noticed it a LOT more noise from the wheelwells in my Cobra when I switched to an even softer compound tire.

 

mines got the standard pirelli pzero/neros, and you are right- they really pick up a lot of rocks...I got the wheels off mine and noticed literally dozens of pcs of gravel in the treads- the wide water grooves along with soft compound makes them stone collectors. Ive vever driven on gravel road/driveway either...just cleaned up the streets I guess...I got a set of goodyears on my 65 gal that are even worse at picking up stones...ya get that clicking from the tires almost constantly...pick them out, good for a week maybe. this is another reason for mudflaps- at highway speed those stones will fly out, then its a bit louder than a 'tink' noise...paint chippers for sure. My favorite tire is the old white lettered T/A radials, but they dont make them for this car(yet). Ive owned about ten sets and have never had any trouble, or had to pick rocks out of the tread blocks...I'd always thought related more to tread design, but I'm sure youre right about soft compound, probably even more so than the tread design.

[smsfordman]

I have to agree with everyone regarding the unacceptable nuisance sound levels coming from the rear wheel wells. I have gone to the extent at trying to insulate all these areas and it has not helped much yet . I believe that a inner insulated splash shield at the rear wheels would help considerably. Just check out the new Fushion and you will see they have them installed. As far as the tires being softer compound and picking up stones well here it is the dead of winter and cold and the dont tend to pick up anymore than any other tire I have in my Garage but it's only the Mustang that you here the tiny ticky ticks in the rear wheels. There is no sound transmitted from the front tire wheel wells. As far as the sound levels from the transmission tunnel , this has been taken care of with extra sound deadening insulation added carefully under the console and the sides of the tunnel but most importantly on top of the tunnel behind the radio all the way forward to the firewall. In this area there is portions where there is nothing in places and only bare painted. steel. I hope that they can do a better job on sound proffing this car.

[NHstang]

I'm actually thinking of taking the car to the place I got my truck's spray-on bedliner done, and having them spray the rear wheel wells. That stuff's bullet proof.

[Mr. KABC]

Here in CA we don't have to salt the roads - I'm worried less about the rear wheel wells than I am about the noise from the tranny tunnel!!!

 

When I first got this car I thought something was wrong! (due to the amount of tranny noise). After seeing a couple of other S197s in action I realized it was normal for the car but still LOUD LOUD LOUD...

 

I'll be looking into some Dynamat also for my tranny tunnel. I'd rather hear my flowmasters than tranny whine any day! :P

[NHstang]

Here in CA we don't have to salt the roads - I'm worried less about the rear wheel wells than I am about the noise from the tranny tunnel!!!

 

When I first got this car I thought something was wrong! (due to the amount of tranny noise). After seeing a couple of other S197s in action I realized it was normal for the car but still LOUD LOUD LOUD...

 

I'll be looking into some Dynamat also for my tranny tunnel. I'd rather hear my flowmasters than tranny whine any day! :P

Yeah that bugged me too at first. It is way, way louder than the previous generation stang. That's actually the first thing I noticed driving home from the dealer. Overall there just seems to be way less sound insulation in key areas of the car than other things I've driven, including other fords. That was fine for a 68 mustang, but in these days of competing with more refined sports cars it just makes the car seem cheaply-built.