Boss 302 opinion

[39Mustang]

I am shocked at how many Boss 302's I see For Sale on the regular sites especially after the new GT350's came out. In my opinion these Boss 302's are 1 of the best 10 Mustangs ever. With so many For Sale and prices coming down I may buy one and question for you current owners...

Is the car perfect AS IS or it needs a little something else like more power?

Anything you don't like?

 

[burke985]

I love the car, only issues I see with it are the factory clutch. If they had put a clutch in the car that could handle the stock Rev limiter it would be perfect imo. As far as power just depends on what you wanna use the car for, yeah more power is always better and the boss came nicely overbuilt from the factory for us so 800whp is attainable on stock motor if u desire.

 

[IamRacerX]

Agree with above post. Most think the issue is the transmission, and it is the weak link if you add power, but the stock clutch is what causes most of the high rpm shifting issues which vary car to car. Mine is not to bad. Other than that, the car is pretty well rounded. Imo it makes the perfect amount of power stock. It is enough to have a blast on the street without overwhelming the chassis in the way the GT500s do.
I ran 11.83 at 116 100% stock on drag radials.... Still haven't seen a stock GT350 run that ET btw....
From a handling stand point, the car handles pretty good overall. I've added lower control arms and lowering springs and the car stays flat in the turns. Can it hang with the latest bunch of track cars on the track? Not unless you go with some track tires. But the car is an over balanced machine that is not just about its horsepower. And btw, it makes the most of every 444hp it has. It's an overachiever!

 

[bosscj]

I loved my boss in stock form but after doing a couple of suspension mods and staying n/a is did a full cobra jet setup with the monoblade, and I'm fixing to do kooks long tubes, but as the car sits now I feel that with the cj setup this is how ford should have made the boss. Don't get me wrong in stock form it's a great car, but now it's an absolute BEAST!!! Very mild mannered driving around town but lean on it and you better be hanging on. Things happen much faster now!! I agree with you it's one of the best mustangs ford has produced. I'm planning on getting a white 13 to match my 12 I have

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[RUgoinup?]

Perfect is different for everyone. The clutch lockout issue as mentioned was expected, although my last GT didn't have an issue. My GT before that one did. Clutch solved that.

My car hauls butt! Only current power mod is a Magnaflow catback. Other must have for me was stickier tires and a Barton short throw shifter (no bracket needed). Brakes are perfect. Suspension is perfect. No wheel hop. I've added a lot of parts to prepare for my blower that gets install this week. I would've been content with a CJ setup like bosscj, but my wife offered to pay a large portion towards a blower, so it was a no brainer.

I'd go for a LS if you don't need the back seat. A black one would be sweet!

 

[bosscj]

Man I wish my wife would've pony'd up for a blower!!!! LUCKY!!! Congrats on that!! Centri or pd?

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[RUgoinup?]

Thanks! Red Stage 3 Whipple.

 

[Recon]

Love the Boss. Maybe one day I'll get one. Already have a build planned if that day came.


Sent from somewhere in the Twilight Zone.

 

[bosscj]

Thanks! Red Stage 3 Whipple.

Oooooo!!!! Me likey a lot!! That's gonna be a sweet setup

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[RUgoinup?]

Thank you sir! A lot of the excitement has worn off due to a lengthy wait (about 10 weeks). I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the NFL draft tomorrow or dropping it off for the Whipple lol.

 

[Red Turtle]

I loved mine and was an absolute beast with the AED tune. Clutch was a bitch and hated high rpms. I do miss the sound of the open side pipes, resonator delete, and GT500 quads.

 

[Swine]

Not perfect for these reasons
1) Clutch lock out. My Boss OEM clutch has terrible clutch out, worse then my two other coyote mustangs by a massive factor.
2)Shocks. All OEM Mustang shocks suck, the regular Boss is no different. They are a step in the right direction over GT shocks but a set of Bilstein monotubes will ride and handle much better. Koni yellows will also as well but are limited by their twin tube design. The OEM Boss Tokicos are ok for street duty but to soft for motorsports and people who know what good chassis setup feels like.
3) Rear ride height. Purely cosmetic reasons. Front is not bad. I went with the Ford racing springs that have a more aggressive rear drop then front. fr .3 and rr 1.3. No roll center or panhard needed with that spring as well.
4) Speakers/Sound system sucks. Im not even a sound system guy but im pondering an amp and some nicer speakers when im in the mood for tunes on highway.


Alternate 5) Brake pedal feel- all s197 brembo cars feel like poopoo compared to other performance braking systems. Gonna try S550 6 pots i think as the S550 has much improved pedal feel, but that could just be in the booster.

 

[chris_302]

Not perfect for these reasons
1) Clutch lock out. My Boss OEM clutch has terrible clutch out, worse then my two other coyote mustangs by a massive factor.
2)Shocks. All OEM Mustang shocks suck, the regular Boss is no different. They are a step in the right direction over GT shocks but a set of Bilstein monotubes will ride and handle much better. Koni yellows will also as well but are limited by their twin tube design. The OEM Boss Tokicos are ok for street duty but to soft for motorsports and people who know what good chassis setup feels like.
3) Rear ride height. Purely cosmetic reasons. Front is not bad. I went with the Ford racing springs that have a more aggressive rear drop then front. fr .3 and rr 1.3. No roll center or panhard needed with that spring as well.
4) Speakers/Sound system sucks. Im not even a sound system guy but im pondering an amp and some nicer speakers when im in the mood for tunes on highway.


Alternate 5) Brake pedal feel- all s197 brembo cars feel like poopoo compared to other performance braking systems. Gonna try S550 6 pots i think as the S550 has much improved pedal feel, but that could just be in the booster.

+1 on this. To me, the brakes are the #1 problem with our platform. I'm also looking to do the s550 TP brake conversion, if you're interested head over to TMO for the conversion thread.

Koni yellows are for track use, the STR are more of a friendly design, but i will rule Koni over Bilstein any day.

At the end of the day it all depends on what you use your boss for.

 

[Swine]

Koni yellows are for track use, the STR are more of a friendly design, but i will rule Koni over Bilstein any day.

Interesting, why do you say this? The Koni yellows ive felt have either handled well and rode poor or rode well and handled decent depending on settings. Have you driven Bilsteins on a S197?

 

[chris_302]

Adjustable vs Non adjustable. For my use, I prefer adjustable. I've been on board with (2) different s197 platforms at ACS. One having a vorshalg(bilstein shortened inverted monotube) setup and the other having a Koni Yellow setup. Both very similiar but MY personal feel was towards the Koni's. Ride quality versus performance.

 

[B7BlownSnake]

Adjustable vs Non adjustable. For my use, I prefer adjustable. I've been on board with (2) different s197 platforms at ACS. One having a vorshalg(bilstein shortened inverted monotube) setup and the other having a Koni Yellow setup. Both very similiar but MY personal feel was towards the Koni's. Ride quality versus performance.

Sorry to hijack the thread OP, but chris, do you mean the Bilsteins had a better ride and the Konis had better performance?

 

[ZYBORG]

Cheap Chinese transmission kill the car. IMO.

 

[chris_302]

Sorry to hijack the thread OP, but chris, do you mean the Bilsteins had a better ride and the Konis had better performance?

Correct, I apologize I should've been more clear on it.

 

[GNBRETT]

1000 hp motor but will need clutch upgrade if u actually drive it like a man but then again that can said for just about any stick shift Mustang making decent power.

a clutch upgrade is easy. A motor upgrade not so much.... great platform to begin from if ur lookn to boost ur car down the road. them motors are stout!

 

[IamRacerX]

Cheap Chinese transmission kill the car. IMO.

Put a good dual disc clutch in the car and the trans blocking issues go bye bye... The clutch is the problem. True the trans is not as strong as the Tremecs for those wanting to add boost. But for Na use the tighter gear ratios are better suited the Roadrunner powerband.