What was your ride before the DH? And how was it compared to the DH?

[Junkyard Dog]

I traded my 23 Black Label Aviator in for the 26 Dark Horse. For a big car, the Aviator was an Explorer ST on crack. Faster than My 24 F150 Raptor truck FWIW.

The 2023 Black Label Aviator is a half second slower in the quarter mile as compared to the Ford Explorer ST, unless you had the hybrid electric model.

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[OmegaDH]

The 2023 Black Label Aviator is a half second slower in the quarter mile as compared to the Ford Explorer ST, unless you had the hybrid electric model.

That's not an exact science. But if it were, I would say all that extra luxury weight slowed the Aviator down. There's no comparison between Lincoln and Ford when it comes to interior. But they do use each other's engines.

I would add that my Raptor interior is way more luxurious than the DH. But I kind of like that way.

 

[BuckeyeBOSS]

Well, I've had my TRX as a daily for almost 4 years now. I traded in both my 2013 Super Bee (392 HEMI) and ~700HP 2015 Camaro Z/28 for the TRX.

If I'm comparing my auto Dark Horse to the manual modified Z/28:
- The DH makes a lot less power and especially tq currently. I never owned the Z/28 when it was stock, I bought it modified. I plan on supercharging the DH this winter, so maybe a little better comparison then.
- The DH is way more comfortable with a lot more headroom. My head was right on the ceiling in the Z/28 and wearing a helmet SUCKED and I had to lean way back or tilt my head sideways.
- Visibility is way better in the DH.
- The LS7 in the Z/28 is maybe the best sounding modern engine (especially cammed), IMHO, but this 500HP Coyote sounds great, too.
-Besides the lack of headroom, I honestly didn't like having a high powered manual on the street nor the drag strip. While I appreciate road courses and taking turns quickly, I've just found that I prefer getting traction off the line even more.
- I haven't pushed my DH yet, it still only has ~600 miles on it.
- I'm hoping to mod this DH to be as good at both as possible, while preference will be getting traction on the street off the line over creating a better handling machine.

 

[OmegaDH]

I had a Focus RS MK3 and drove it round Scotland's NC500. Great car in the twisty roads, but just had to get the Dark Horse. (pic from Skyfall road as in James Bond )

Man those look fun to drive. I was close to getting my son one but opted for 2020 twin- turbo 330HP Nautilus reserve instead. I figured it being his first car, I'd let him get used to driving first.

My Omega no time to die watch says "hello"

 

[d4rkg04t]

'21 C8 Corvette (bone stock)
'20 Mustang GT (max effort NA, FBO)
'03 Terminator (FBO)

 

[fmscherer]

Before the DH, i had a BMW X3 M40; Comming from having several german cars, im used to their finishing and querks (the bmw has better interior and its more smooth). I drove the X3 daily here in Brazil, and loved the launch and stability. but the car was very had for our roads and i decided it had to go. I was going for another car when got the news that Ford had launched the Dark Horse here, i decided to check out. I tried to get a limited manual version a while ago but they sold too fast and who had mustang before had priority. Decided to take home the dh, 10 auto, as the manual wont come. I still im not fully at home inside it because its too different from all cars i had. I found the car a little slow to gain rev and feels slow when on normal mode, as the trans puts the higher gear it can. But then hammering down, the car feels alive, you have to take care on corners when on low gears, something that i love, its a pity i cant drive like i stole it everytime.. In the rain i found out that one must be careful because the car feels alive and wants to bite. the other day i was only at like 35 mi/h and i decided to give it a go (it was raining) and the car danced nervously on some puddles.. now i know why so many ppl loose their cars.. it struggles to find traction when wet.. the bimmers never did that, even the rwd ones. Anyway, this v8 is a treasure, and drinks like a king.. the weird thing is that it doesnt drink much more than my ex x3, may be it was tuned without i knew.. but if i drive the mustang daily i may became friends with the people at the gas station (here you dont fill yup youself, they have employees for that).

i dont like: low down rev torque, the steering wheel its not confortable,
the seat has not many settings to make better confort


i love: The looks, the engine, the sound, the fact that the wheels are not humongous like new euro cars (some audis and bmw comes with 22, 23 and tires get too fragile) and of course the attention it gets, everybody smiles, raise hands - you gotta know that 99% of people never see a v8 and drives 1.0L small cars here.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

of course the attention it gets, everybody smiles, raise hands - you gotta know that 99% of people never see a v8 and drives 1.0L small cars here.

With a median household annual income below $5000 (US), I imagine a lot of households in Brazil struggle even to afford a 1.0L small car.

Seeing a Mustang there must be more like seeing a McLaren or Ferrari here in the US.

 

[Ninjak]

Well, I came out of a 2021 GT500. Had some mods, was fun and fast, but the one thing I never liked was the transmission. Yes, the DTC is wonderful. Shifts faster than you can blink. But man, was it boring. Driving the car using my paddle shifters felt like I was playing a session of Gran Turismo. I have the seat and steering setup, with the peddles ect. With the 1/4 tracks closed down, and I did not get to road track it much, I made the decision to let it go.

Fast forward, I realized I miss a go-fast performance vehicle, and though my 68 Mustang is no slouch, it is still an automatic, and heh, it's from 68. It is fun to drive for sure, but it still will not compare to a modern Mustang. Also, driving my Bronco Raptor like I am in Baja mode is not advisable.

So enter the DH. Whippled, I have a ton of suspension parts, and I have MAN PEDAL!! Yes! Driving is fun again! This setup is every bit and more of what my GT500 was capable of and what my GT350 was. With my setup, I know it will easily outperform what was in the GT500, and with my Whipple, I am putting down just as much power. So its the sweet spot. Loving it.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

So enter the DH. Whippled, I have a ton of suspension parts, and I have MAN PEDAL!! Yes! Driving is fun again! This setup is every bit and more of what my GT500 was capable of and what my GT350 was. With my setup, I know it will easily outperform what was in the GT500, and with my Whipple, I am putting down just as much power. So its the sweet spot. Loving it.

Whoa, there. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Maybe we should stand by until you have some objective data from summertime lap times on the same circuits where you rant e GT500 before declaring the winner.

 

[Ninjak]

Whoa, there. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Maybe we should stand by until you have some objective data from summertime lap times on the same circuits where you rant e GT500 before declaring the winner.

I see what you are saying, but understand this. My GT500 was a handling pack, with the cambers. I did not add anything else to it. I had a TB from Kong, and a CAI from Kong Performance. I never used the TB from Kong. Suspension-wise, it was as it came. Tire size was the same with the P zeros. What was done was for more straight-line performance.

My Darkhorse also came as a handling pack, so it has everything that came with it, plus what I have done to improve upon the platform. My Darkhorse has been modified with a wider track out back; it has more oil capacity and cooling with the Ford Racing road race oil pan, and it runs two coolers. It has a catalog of Steeda suspension mods. It has a tuned Gen 6 Whipple, a 4-point cage, back seat delete, racing harnesses, and also has aero up front and in the back.

Yes, I have not taken this version of my DH to the track. But just driving the vehicle and learning it, I am quite confident it will outperform the GT500. I say this because it is modded and built to do it. My GT500 was not built out for that, and I was moving towards the 1/4 before the tracks shut down. Now, if I had built out my GT500 in the same manner, that would be a different story.

It will be very interesting and fun, but I again will state with confidence that the Warhorse will outperform Akira, honestly, as it should be. The only thing holding it back will be the guy in the seat, and well, yeah, I'm learning and will strive to improve.

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