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mattlqx's Dual-Duty Shelby GT350

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mattlqx

Mustangless
So, here goes. I've decided against the better advice of my wallet to dive into more track preparation of my car. It will still remain a daily (or at least a couple times a week) driver so the present goals of this build are to preserve the current driving characteristics of the vehicle as much as possible on the road: maintain reasonable NVH, stock powertrain for drivability and warranty concerns, and use as many parts in a non-permanent way to be able to swap between modes as much as feasible. It's a fine line to walk to be sure, but this build is not for wheel-to-wheel purposes (yet). I'll be running Time Attack with my local NASA region and Time Trial as well once I obtain a license. Once the machine has depreciated significant enough point, ST-class racing may be in the cards.

Experience-wise, I started with doing some light auto-crossing in 2006 and a few track events in the subsequent years, but really hit the track heavy when I moved up to NorCal in 2010. I frequented with Trackmasters and NASA and eventually did some coaching as well with Hooked On Driving and SpeedSF. During my time in NorCal, I completed over 20 races in 24 Hours of LeMons with my BMW E30 team and did arrive & drives with another 5 or 6 teams. In 2015, I returned back to Arizona and have driven as many events as I could squeeze in with NASA and ProAutoSports.

Now presently, my car is a '17 GT350 w/ Convenience package and 6400 miles on the clock. I've run it roughly 10.5 hours at my local Wild Horse Pass track, Chuckwalla, Sonoma and Thunderhill. It runs well, doesn't burn any oil and will soon be getting the oil line recall done prior to the next event at Arizona Motorsports Park in April.

Currently, the car has the following mods:
  • UPR Oil Catch Can System
  • APR Front Splitter
  • Steeda Clutch Assist Spring
  • Steeda Ultralite G-trac Brace
  • Maximum Motorsports Camber Plates
  • Ford Performance Tie Downs
  • ZL1 Addons Front Tow Hook
  • Custom Full Suede Steering Wheel
  • Redline Racing Hood Struts
  • Exhaust Resonator Delete
And that's it besides the front being coated with SunTek PPF which has paid for itself already in chip absorption.

Just a few things currently on-deck for install:
  • Sparco ProADV Seat w/ sliders
  • Rear Trunk Lid (for mounting a wing on and fitting with the easily replaceable goal)
  • Forgestar CF5V 19x11 ET50 Wheels (on-order)
  • 3" ARP Wheel Studs and Lugs
  • 25mm Spacers for the fronts
And the current plan is to order and install the following:
  • Watson Racing Roll Bar
  • Harnesses
  • Rear Seat Delete
  • Hoosier R7s on the track wheels (probably 295/35/19)
  • G-stream or APR Rear Wing
  • Ford Performance Rear Tow Hook
And then we'll take it from there. I hope to have everything done in time for NASA COTA on Memorial Day, which is just over 2 months away from now. If I see some positive reviews of that aftermarket Magneride calibration, I'd consider throwing that on the pile too. I'll be looking out for good bang for the buck handling modifications as well, but damn it, I hate working with suspension components.

IMG_0046.JPG

Godspeed to the good ship Grabber Blue.
 
Last edited:

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
6,518
8,154
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Pleasanton: 1/2 way between Sonoma and Laguna Seca
*Drool*
 
This should be fun to follow. My setup is very similar to yours short of the racing seat. The lighter wheels and tires make a noticeable difference on track.

Any thoughts on further modifications? I have a very SHORT list for my car:
1. CF driveshaft
2. Different springs
3. Different MR programming module

The last two and pretty unlikely but the DS may happen this year. Filip @cortexracing should have the programming module soon, if not already, and he seems pretty confident that it will improve a GT350's on track performance while not hurting the street ride.

As for turning your car into a full race car in a couple of years you might be able to find a used FR350S for sale at a significant savings over new and that might be a more time and cost effective way to go. Won't be as fun though. Good luck racing your GT350. BTW I really like the white stripes on the grabber blue. :cool:
 

mattlqx

Mustangless
I'd consider R springs, but I definitely don't want "lowering springs". The splitter is low enough as it is when I leave it on on the road. I'm not sure just how quantifiably better it would make it on the track. If the MR programming can get a comparable level of response without having to physically change anything or the ride height, then that'd be a no brainer.

I did an aluminum driveshaft on my Boss (which is now on @captdistraction's car actually). It was okay for daily duty. The only small annoyance was a slight ringing harmonic noise at 68-70mph. I don't think a CF shaft would be susceptible to that?

Going full race would all be about incremental costs. I don't think even a used FR350S would be incrementally absorbable in 3-5 years. The available 302S/R's out there are still more than a brand new GT350, though those are "well prepared" with spares and things. You get what you pay for.

I'm happy that I don't have the color of my car being a deterrent to full track running unlike my GHIG Boss was! GB and RR look good together on track. :)
 
Even though I'm on the FP lowering springs group buy I'm not sure I'm going to buy them because of how low my car is with the lower profile track tires. I'm not sure I'll be able to get my car onto my driveway without scraping and it scrapes now when driving up my Race Ramps. Having a lower CG on track wouldn't hurt though.

I think the CF DS is the way to go for NVH and safety but I'm looking for more feedback before I'm buying. QA1 might be the way to go but I don't believe they have a GT350 specific DS yet.
 

mattlqx

Mustangless
I did some livery day dreaming today. I want something to cover the fender area immediately behind the door because that's still unprotected and there's already some chips here and there on the driver side. I figure making some sort of design with vinyl would be better than just putting more PPF on and also gives a little bit of a canvas for identification. The number space is meant to be a copy of the GT4 but I don't think I want to fill in the area forward of the door because of the badge and also there's existing PPF there. Tis a work in progress.

Would I be supremely douchey driving on the road with this? I see a local NASA guy on my morning commute frequently with all the decals and orange track wheels. But that's a Honda.

GT350 Livery.jpg
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Would I be supremely douchey driving on the road with this? I see a local NASA guy on my morning commute frequently with all the decals and orange track wheels. But that's a Honda.

Perhaps I'm not the guy to ask, but I think it depends how you drive on the street. I've been generally *more* courteous since making my car easily identifiable. JMO, but 'douchey' is more about the person behind the wheel.
 

mattlqx

Mustangless
The above comments are fair. ^ I don't think I drive like a db, so I'm probably safe there.

I ordered the roll bar and seat delete from Watson yesterday.

I took my candidate trunk lid to a body shop this morning and they said it was toast just based on where some crinkles were so I'm back to square one there. My question now is can a carbon fiber trunk lid support the weight and flexing of an APR or G-Stream wing? Getting a CF lid and keeping it unpainted is roughly the same cost as it would take to get an OE lid and having it painted. But wing mounting is the biggest concern. I was going to pull the trigger on an APR wing today but the site I was going to go through had a 10% promo that ended yesterday apparently. Damn!
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
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Arizona, USA
The carbon lid would (likely) need supports on the underside (coming from the floor of the trunk) to deal with the wing.
If you ask Junior real nice, he might be able to come up with something that bolts in/out back there.
 

mattlqx

Mustangless
I don't know if I can ask Junior that nice...

On another note, is G-Stream out of business? g-stream.com has been dead for at least a week.
 
I purchased a new trunk lid for my R CF wing. It wasn't too bad and I had them install the wing and install the new trunk. I have the original stored and can reinstall it later. Obviously finding a used trunk lid the same color as yours would be ideal. I'm sure there's one out there you just need to find it. I haven't heard anything about G-Stream. Check with Kenny Brown to see what's up.

http://store.kennybrown.com/product...rbon-fiber-race-wing-mustang-or-universal-fit
 

mattlqx

Mustangless
This looks like a fun build.

Hey Matt, I believe I've asked you this before on fb but since you mentioned AMP; does the 350 meet the 96db noise requirement?

Definitely not without the resonators with valves open. I'm signed up for AMP with NASA next month and I'll be testing out my "cork-a-pipe 2000" devices. Ok, they're two high temp rubber stoppers that I'm going to plug the valves tail pipes with to get the effect of always-closed. I'll report back here with the results.
 

mattlqx

Mustangless
I purchased a new trunk lid for my R CF wing. It wasn't too bad and I had them install the wing and install the new trunk. I have the original stored and can reinstall it later. Obviously finding a used trunk lid the same color as yours would be ideal. I'm sure there's one out there you just need to find it. I haven't heard anything about G-Stream. Check with Kenny Brown to see what's up.

http://store.kennybrown.com/product...rbon-fiber-race-wing-mustang-or-universal-fit

Yeah, this is why I had hoped this salvage lid that I got for next to nothing would work out. Somebody would probably want to fix it, but this particular shop that I've had good paint experience in the past wouldn't.

That is going to add to the overall cost. I had hoped to be in the deck lid for $500-600 and $1500 for the spoiler. Now I'm looking at $900 for the lid and close to $2000 for a G-Stream. Looks like I can get an APR for a few hundred less at a few places. I'm seeing if the one shop will honor their promo code from the weekend. If so, I'll go with the APR.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Not sure what is up with G-Stream but I would have no qualms recommending the APR GT-250 airfoil that I use on my car.
It may not be the lowest drag unit available compared to G-Stream or AJ Hartman but it definitely works, and is noticeably less expensive than other options.
Even I doubt that I'd be able to utilize the increase in performance that (may) come from one of the "more advanced" airfoils.
 

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