Hello Fellow 5.0 Appreciators,

I currently own a Mustang GT 10 speed with performance package. Loved the car but it’s done the typical American car thing of having a bunch of dumb chicken **** issues. To be fair to s550s mine a bit of an outlier but it’s still made me nervous. I a weighing getting a Mach 1 or an RCF. If I did go the RCF rout what would you guys recomend as much have features. Also is there a major difference between the ‘19 refresh cars and early cars? Thanks in advance. I am gonna be looking up this info independently too but I wanted to hear suggestions from owners. Thanks in advance.

 

Hey man,

All great choices. Cannot go wrong with either Mach 1 or the RCF. Is there a specific year and model you are interested in since RCFs have quite a few variants?

I guess, the differences are very small between 2015 and 2020+ models. There are trim levels that have more of a difference such as, a standard RCF with LSD and then RCF with performance package that comes with TVD/carbon fiber and then the track edition RCF (from 2020+). Then, there are other option packages like premium package etc. I personally have all of the options and I can tell the only ones that are useful (in my opinion) are cross traffic alerts, triple LED lights, parking sensors/reverse camera and I really enjoy the TVD with the carbon fiber roof and spoiler as well. There was a refresh in 2020+ models where the exterior was refreshed and some small changes were made to the bushings. The final driver is slightly shorter in the 2020+ RCFs. The power was slightly up to 472 HP.

The 2015 - 2016 RCFs came with fixed dampers so the suspension will be stiff all the time especially if you have aggressive tires on the car (I switched to more aggressive tires and the suspension damping really gets noticed a lot more with the added dampening from the tires) while the 2017+ RCF came with adaptive variable suspension that only stiffens up in SPORT+ and is adapting in all of the lower modes. 2017 RCF was the first year with the AVS so they had some initial bugs where 2017 have been notorious for damper oil leak so the 2017 is the one to avoid. 2018 onwards don't have any issues with AVS.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

Had a 5.0 stand before I got my RC-F and I can tell you it was a major upgrade in terms or reliability.
Not to mention my F rides so much smoother than the stand did. The cars do weigh quite a bit, but it's worth it.

If you haven't already, I'd definitely test drive a couple and see how you like the feel to them.
I find the seat positioning a lot more comfortable too as I no longer have trouble getting in or out my F.

 

RCF weighs roughly the same as the GT 10 speed and is quite a bit smaller than the Mustang in size so it is packaged in a more compact dimensions

 

Makes sense. What year of 5.0 did you have and what were your issues?

 

While not must have, I do enjoy playing with the TVD. I like the looks with the carbon roof and pop up spoiler...could do without the skirt. Be aware that you don't get a spare (tire). I miss having a sunroof, but can't have that with carbon roof. Also be aware that parking in sun with carbon roof means it is VERY hot inside when you come back from shopping and there isn't a max ac button. I would consider the larger display a must have. The funky display, trackpad and electronics are so much worse on Lexus RCF than you are used to with SYNC, you can get used to it, but you would think the Japanese would do better than Americans with electronics.

I will say that the transmission on the RCF is magnificent. You can downshift a bunch to engine slow (especially in S+). I've never driven anything with auto transmission that came anywhere close. Most others beep at you telling you can't do that to me, this transmission is willing, nay, eager to please.

 

Just buy the RCF already. The main difference will be build quality, reliability, and the fact that you will feel different when you're driving it because it is different and marches to its own beat. Between all years, the one thing that matters the most is unchanged, the glorious 2UR-GSE so I always recommend going for the best deal you find regardless of year. Don't be afraid to look at higher milage ones either. The only known niggle is a leaky valley plate and even that hasn't been recorded as badly as it was for the ISF so maybe it won't be an issue after all. The car care nut just posted a video this week covering the RCF. Worth a watch.
Honestly, between the facelift and available options the only thing I would say is a must have is the Mark Levinson audio, It is among the best audio available in a sports luxury car and leaves most GTR and Lambo owners wishing they had it too. Other than that the car has always been supremely built and continues to be. I have a 2015 and while I wish the info screen was full width and I had apple car play I don't even notice at all when in the car because I only use "hey Siri" while driving.

 

Man you couldn’t have said this anymore perfectly.

 

Buy the newest one you can afford. CarPlay is mandatory. Sunroofs are way overrated. Get the ‘Premium Package’.

 

Mark Levinson sound is a MUST. Carbon fiber roof over sunroof. TVD could go either way, both can be fun in their own ways.

 

For me, TVD was more important than carbon package and discontinued in 2023. The owner's manual says to beware about running vehicles w/ external carbon pieces through auto car washes. Also, the Fuji track edition has a special blue matte paint that has special care instructions...you can't buff it out if there are scratches in the clearcoat. 2020+ vehicles have better looking headlights if you get the triple beam LED, which are integrated with the lightning-shaped LED DRLs. In the 2019 or earlier, the DRL's are part of the bumper cover. Two-toned seats are also nice vs. all black. When I was looking last year, virtually all the RCF's in the western US had solid black seats, no TVD, no weather package either.

 

@05RollaXRS This explains a few Carfax reports I have seen with shock replacements on relatively low-mileage 2017's. Is there a good thread here discussing year-to-year OEM shock part number differences and/or AVS performance more generally?

 

Hey man,

There is no thread for it per se, but if you are looking at specific years then we can narrow it down a bit. There were subtle changes through out the years so it is hard to list them all out.