2014 Mustang Track Pack vs. 2015 1SS 1LE

[IRISHMB20]

I have learned so much from reading this forum and all of you have awesome looking cars. So here is my story and will attempt to keep it short. In August I purchased a 2014 Mustang GT Track Pack as I have always been a Ford guy, having owned several early 90 5.0's and a 67 Fairlane for 20 years . At the time of my Mustang purchase I knew nothing about the Camaro 1LE. I do like the Mustang for the most part, but there are things I do not like, such as the transmission MT-82, the shifter is totally useless, the car feels really floaty even with the track pack, it sits like a 4 x4 and yes I can lower it and put Koni's all around to help that. Because Ford likes multiple cams, a cam swap is upwards of $1500 just for the cams and really they do not pick up that much HP on that motor. Ford's solution is getting their Ford racing tune which changes the fuel curve and provides a "cammed idle". Yea, I am still old school, If I want the choppy idle, I want it done with good old lift, duration, and overlap. Quite frankly after seeing all of your 1LE's especailly in Black and Hot Red, and hearing those who have cammed theirs (wicked sounding BTW), my Stang feels underwhelming and is not nearly as nasty looking even in black. I don't see a ton of SS Camaros, mostly 6 cylinders, around here so I never realized just how bad ass they look. Look my situation is totally my fault, I should have at least driven the Camaro before making such a large purchase. My 12 year old son wanted me to go check one out, but I was bullheaded because all I have ever known are Fords. That is water under the bridge. So would I be totally off my rocker to go actually test drive a 1LE (not that any dealer around here has one currently) and suppose I really like it which based on every review and video I have watched I no doubt will (pushrod motor, single changeable cam, Tremec trans, Alcantara wheel, awesome suspension, 4 wheel Bembos, the list goes on). At that point do I take the financial bath to get into the 1LE? The way I look at it I am in for at least 4-5k worth of suspension, wheels/tires, real shifter (MGW) and a tune for the Mustang to get it the way I want it. I am wondering if that 5k would be better spent on trying to get into a 1LE. I bought the Mustang for the right money which will help a little on the beating I will take by trading it and I do have it paid off. I think in my mind, the max I could justify in my mind and maybe, just maybe, my wallet would be a 8-10k addition plus my car. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I just saw the awesome deal that Chevy is having on 2014 leftovers but I do not think there is single leftover 1LE in the country so it will have to be a 2015. Thanks again for your opinion and keep up the great work on this forum and your awesome rides!!

[Stock Boy]

Hey Irish... Financially it all depends on your situation. There are people that trade in cars every year (sometimes less) and don't mind taking the hit. Then there are people that would just not put up with any loss of a trade in.
You wouldn't be off your rocker for a test drive... it's just that, IMO, that the 1LE will be a little underwhelming on a test drive. Yeah, you'll get a feel for it, but where I think this car comes into it's own is when pushed and driven hard, real hard. It may be difficult to do that on a test drive. The mustang is a great car and there is tons of aftermarket to upgrade components. I'm not going to tell you "Sell that 'Stang and get a 1LE!" because it's a personal decision. If you did the swap, nobody would fault you for it and if you kept the Mustang you still have a great car.

[cdb95z28]

Welcome to the forums, maybe you can stay a while!

I'd say go test drive one, but don't just take it somewhere like the highway. Before you go plan your test drive route (if the salesman will let you ), go find some nice twisty roads!

Like Stock Boy mentioned, it's a pus sycat when just lollygagging it, driving it like a "normal" person would. You gotta let it stretch its legs to really enjoy its attributes. It will ask you to push harder! It is a pure joy on twisty road and on the race track. If you want a car that as bone stock will run with some damn nice, more expensive, European rides, the 1LE is a great choice.

Good Luck!

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by IRISHMB20

I have learned so much from reading this forum and all of you have awesome looking cars. So here is my story and will attempt to keep it short. In August I purchased a 2014 Mustang GT Track Pack as I have always been a Ford guy, having owned several early 90 5.0's and a 67 Fairlane for 20 years . At the time of my Mustang purchase I knew nothing about the Camaro 1LE. I do like the Mustang for the most part, but there are things I do not like, such as the transmission MT-82, the shifter is totally useless, the car feels really floaty even with the track pack, it sits like a 4 x4 and yes I can lower it and put Koni's all around to help that. Because Ford likes multiple cams, a cam swap is upwards of $1500 just for the cams and really they do not pick up that much HP on that motor. Ford's solution is getting their Ford racing tune which changes the fuel curve and provides a "cammed idle". Yea, I am still old school, If I want the choppy idle, I want it done with good old lift, duration, and overlap. Quite frankly after seeing all of your 1LE's especailly in Black and Hot Red, and hearing those who have cammed theirs (wicked sounding BTW), my Stang feels underwhelming and is not nearly as nasty looking even in black. I don't see a ton of SS Camaros, mostly 6 cylinders, around here so I never realized just how bad ass they look. Look my situation is totally my fault, I should have at least driven the Camaro before making such a large purchase. My 12 year old son wanted me to go check one out, but I was bullheaded because all I have ever known are Fords. That is water under the bridge. So would I be totally off my rocker to go actually test drive a 1LE (not that any dealer around here has one currently) and suppose I really like it which based on every review and video I have watched I no doubt will (pushrod motor, single changeable cam, Tremec trans, Alcantara wheel, awesome suspension, 4 wheel Bembos, the list goes on). At that point do I take the financial bath to get into the 1LE? The way I look at it I am in for at least 4-5k worth of suspension, wheels/tires, real shifter (MGW) and a tune for the Mustang to get it the way I want it. I am wondering if that 5k would be better spent on trying to get into a 1LE. I bought the Mustang for the right money which will help a little on the beating I will take by trading it and I do have it paid off. I think in my mind, the max I could justify in my mind and maybe, just maybe, my wallet would be a 8-10k addition plus my car. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I just saw the awesome deal that Chevy is having on 2014 leftovers but I do not think there is single leftover 1LE in the country so it will have to be a 2015. Thanks again for your opinion and keep up the great work on this forum and your awesome rides!!

Hmmm, I would hold on to your ride for a few more years. Your Mustang is not too shabby! See what the GT 350 and new Camaro bring to the table. We know about the GT350 now, 500+ (550?) and 8,000 rpm! And the base 2016 SS is supposed to perform much like the current ZL1 according to Chevy.

As an aside my friends 2014 5.0 is running 10s with only a supercharger @ 8 pounds, a tune and DRs. But it is an auto. 5.0s are fast!

I do not think you will be sorry if you wait. I would get the shifter, a CAI, and DRs to have some fun at the drag strip while you wait. Yours is a mid 12 second car easy. And it will do just fine at a track day without all the mods.

[ZYBORG]

Op,

I had the same dilemma as you currently have back when I purchased mine. Either a 14 5.0 or a 14 1LE. I went with the 1LE.

Sometimes I still question my decision but in the end, I am very happy. The main thing that the 1LE offers over the stang is that is a little bit more rare and that it handles amazing.

The 5.0 is a little bit quicker in a straight line and with the right mods can be made to handle extremely well.

Overall, I would suggest that as long as you dont roll over any negative equity from the stang into the maro loan, then go for it!

[Ragnar]

OP, I really appreciate your compliments about the Camaro. Your Mustang is a nice looking ride also. Stockboy made some nice points. How much winter driving do you do? Most 1LE's tend to hibernate up there. My car didn't seem to come alive until it had a couple of thousand miles on it, so a test drive may not impress you with the power. Here's a kicker for you, almost at least once a month, I get compliments like,' I like your yellow Mustang'. I just grin and say thank you! So if you end up with a Camaro, some people will still think that you have a Mustang! Good luck with your decision!

[IRISHMB20]

Thank you all for your input, I really do appreciate it. I live in Southern, New Jersey, so I understand fully about the car being in storage for 3 months out of the year due to summer only tires and cold weather. I think the bottom line is, I owe it to myself to drive a 1LE once some dealers around me have one. I am not going to do anything that is financially stupid, but also realize I have to pay the price for stupidity and possibly making the wrong choice with the Mustang should I want to go all in on the Camaro. I priced out a 1SS RS 1LE with Recaro's, Dual Mode Exhaust, and Boston Radio and it came out to be around 43k. Maybe Chevrolet will offer some rebates early next year that could help the cause..lol. The mileage on the Mustang will stay low as winter is upon us and maybe I will see what happens around Presidents Day with rebates and such. I will keep you posted and will certainly be lurking about, checking out your guys rides and posts. Who knows maybe I will be posting up my 15 1LE in the future and really become a part of this forum. Hope everyone has a great holiday. Thanks again.

[TxBandit911]

I paid $42k for my 2SS/RS 1LE with recaro seats, npp, and nav. I personally think its an amazing car for the price. However, if all you wanna do is drag race, there is no reason to get a 1LE.

I would wait for the 2016 Camaro, or the GT350, its right around the corner. I dont have much faith in the GT350 to be honest, Ford says 500hp and blah blah blah, but I just see it falling short somehow. The Ford guys were all "the new mustang is gonna out perform a Z/28, cause now it has IRS"....well, then the real testing was done and yes, the 5.0 with the track and IRS got bested by a 5yr old Camaro platform.

People are already talking like the GT350 is going to perform like a '15 ZO6...sorry, just don't see it happening. I like Mustangs, dont get me wrong, I think the new one is ugly, but the Boss and the older '93-'94 Mach1 were great IMHO, they just didn't fit into what my intended purpose was

Enjoy your car now and lets see what Ford and Chevy has coming in a year or so.

[Jc's1LE]

I owned nothing but imports but once you drive one of these you will understand where we all are coming from. If you do get a 1le make sure you get the NPP exhaust and the Recaros a MUST ! good luck hope everything works out for ya

[joelster]

You're going to have to wait until spring to drive one. No point in taking one out until the roads are warmer. One of my local dealers has a Red Hot 1LE with RS. Not sure if it has Recaro's though. Probably 7-8 hours from you.

[TxBandit911]

Call Becky at Rogers, they have several and I hear nothing but good things from them.

[Chris1SS1LE]

I was simular, I sold my built 1989 Mustang GT only thing original was chassis and glass. Rest of it was a Cobra R on steriods. Also sold my 2001 Daily Cobra with a built IRS. I have not always been ford, I had a '02 SS SLP too. I was getting tired of sometimes having two cars with a problem, spent past couple years not attending to many outings. So I too couldn't find a 1LE and if I did the dealer was douche and acted like it was a Ferrari to test drive. So I watched all the reviews, came here like you, watched alot of vids. I know how the new 5.0 runs, I got to help a friend go pick one up three states away and on one end of the Dragon in Tennessee. I started looking for a Boss 302 New and Laguna Seca used. But not finding anything around $38k. So I sold all my fords and ordered a 1LE without ever driving one. Everyone thought I was nuts, but a rare car is hard to find. I had to try the recaro's in a ZL1 at another no test drive dealer. After I bought my 1LE , I got a chance to drive a Boss 302. Whew glad I made the right choice. I just love the Low End Torque, its much more useable on the street, where the boss you had to really wind it up. So I tell my ford buddy's that LS3 is closer to pushrod 5.0 then a new 5.0 is.

[1leNPP]

Been there done that . I had a 2011 300A Brembo dis. PKG , MT-82 , 3:73 gear GT . Stock weight in at 3580 lb. Did the Koni ,3 set of lowering spring .500 , 1.0 , 1.25 lower than stock, I ran a P275 SQ. tire set up , relocation brackets ,Ford Racing torsen differential . The more you do to get it to handle better the NVH goes up ride quality goes down . The MT-82 trans at best is just ok and it has NO trans cooler on top of that . I never buy a car with a MT-82 trans again .( I put 60k miles on my mustang with it MT-82 trans and it sucks) .

When GM came out with the 1LE in 2013 I was ready for a change .When I told the guys on the ford forum that I was changing over to a 1LE Camaro the Fanboys gave me a ton of crap and they all told me how the 2015 GT was going to kick the 1LE A$$ well we seen how that turn out ( sorry but I was laughing my A$$ off when Motor Trend did that head to head with the 2015 GT mustang vs 1LE Camaro ) . I got 36k on my 1LE as of now and it one the best car I have own . It is just a great all round car .

Now with it so close to the new Camaro coming out and the GT-350 I think I take a wait and see at this point . Now my self I think the new GT-350 is going to be the new 1LE ( a car that dose it all at a good price point) as long as the Ford dealers dose not screw you over on mark up ( like that not going to happen). One of the best part of getting my 1LE the dealer did not mess with me at all on the price of the car when I order it. ( the dealer had no idea what it was . To him it just a Camaro and the dealer still dose not know what it is today) when I go to get my oil change the guys at the dealer still ask what kind of rims did I put on my car or did I plaint my hood or is that a carbon fiber hood .

Good luck with what ever you do on you new car choice .

[IRISHMB20]

Well I have found two 2015 1LE's within a reasonable distance, one in CT and one much closer in PA. So here is where they are at currently. The car in PA is a 2015 2SS 1LE with Recaro's, non RS, single tip exhaust, with Nav, and Back up Camera, for $41,700. Right now they are willing to give me 26k for my '14 Mustang sight unseen, which is still not quite enough for me to be able to do the deal, but may be worth a visit to see if we can get closer to 30k for my car. My other choice is a 2015 1SS 1LE, cloth seats, RS, Nav, Boston Sound and Dual mode exhaust. They are offering it for $37,379 but still waiting to hear back what they will want to give me for my Mustang I really wanted the dual mode after watching countless videos, but that 2SS with the Recaro's is so nice and would make for a super nice DD. Do they seem like good prices for the cars and do you think there is any more room for negotiation on the price of them or are they pretty good deals based on your experience? So what is your guys feeling on which is the "better" deal. Also a quick question. Is ambient lighting standard on the 2SS or is that an option on top of the 2SS? As always, thanks for your input and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.