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S550 S16 Mustang Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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Ran Sonoma for the first time this past Saturday. Such a fun track, my favorite of the tracks I’ve run in California so far. Got another day there next month, looking forward to it.

We are in the middle of tuning the new turbo so was not running full boost yet though plenty of fun none the less. Looking forward to going back at full boost and seeing the difference.

I’m just going to keep getting as much seat time and coaching as I can as there’s a lot of driver mod still to be done.

Best time 2:01

9597C987-DD4C-4193-A543-7D0FD066D845.jpeg4CC7E9E7-3682-485B-B634-18C0F43CA2AA.jpeg9749445D-A2A7-4FD1-BF04-2AA476E4E79C.jpeg
 
466
438
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
MD
How did you like the NT01? It seems like that is the best option for DE in 18s while everything else is a TT/AutoX purpose tire
 
Don’t have them on yet, Apex says the wheels will be here in March so hoping to try them out as soon as I get them. The guys I run with are all into the Nankang AR1’s but many came from the NT01’s. The consensus is that for a grippy long lasting tire that’s consistent to the chords NT01 Is the best. There are many faster tires though. I just want some more grip and consistency so I can focus on learning to drive faster.
 
539
687
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
SoCal
I originally wanted NT01s but they are so much more expensive in 19" size. I ended up going with Supercar 3 (not R). They have tremendous grip for a decent price. I did find that they get greasy after a few hot laps though. Perhaps not the most consistent lapping tire but still a great learner tire
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
I ran the Nankang AR1 last (abbreviated) summer. Was 1.5 sec a lap off what I got previously with a 200TW full treaded tire in past years, this with the car weight down by 125-150 lbs. They wore pretty quickly but have a couple more track days left in them. Doubt that I would run them again.
 
466
438
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
MD
Don’t have them on yet, Apex says the wheels will be here in March so hoping to try them out as soon as I get them. The guys I run with are all into the Nankang AR1’s but many came from the NT01’s. The consensus is that for a grippy long lasting tire that’s consistent to the chords NT01 Is the best. There are many faster tires though. I just want some more grip and consistency so I can focus on learning to drive faster.
Same here. I am just starting off and dont care for the fastest tire but would like one that I could get the best out of my money. I believe I will be going the same route as you and continue to improve my skills on the NT01
 
Scored a used set of MCS 2-ways on here a few weeks back so put those on. 450/550 rates.

621889EE-2815-4AB1-AE30-C3BD9049A23F.jpeg

Also took the opportunity to swap out my Steeda subframe support braces and collars for a BMR CB005. Support braces are 10lbs and want to be losing weight not gaining it.

I also picked up a set of bump steer adjustable tie rod ends from Cortex. FK rod ends like SPL but $100/set cheaper. So I built a bump steer gauge and Fiddled with the shims till I was happy. Was amazed how much of a difference only 0.030” makes. Ended up with only 0.090” spacers above the rod end. Curious to see how it feels on track.

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Also the OEM rear endlinks hit the coilover spring since it’s inverted. @bob (thank you) helped out and I flipped the endlinks outboard to get more space. Plenty of room now.

E4779635-7632-48D6-AC0D-8EF9449AF1E2.jpeg

Also went back to the PP rear bar from the GT350R oem bar as I’ve been feeling like it may have been too stiff for me. Once again we’ll see.

Lastly I liked my fire extinguisher placement so got some longer spacers from McMaster and mounted it with the plastic trim.

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Got another day at Sonoma on March 13th and will try and get a feel for these coilovers then and hopefully get them set to my liking.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Yes, stronger than rubber less likely to get taken out by debris. Also you'll get a firmer pedal as they do not have any expansion issues when you're hard on the brakes. Lastly, there's a huge amount of heat down there and they tolerate it much better than rubber. They were standard on race cars when I started in racing way back in the 80s and still are today AFAIK, they were one of the first things I put on my car when I got back into this hobby.
 
Racebred S2000 V2. They fit great save for the nut backing plate that goes in the frame rail. But once you grind down the backing plates they fit perfectly. Height wise the trailing edge of the splitter can be run up against the bottom of the subframe down to ~1.5" lower. Due to the upward angle of the stock belly pan (depending on which one you have) this means probably 1-2.5" lower leading edge than the stock front lip.

49B47EE0-386B-4D1D-A893-FB1467B24F23.jpeg
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
So is your final product wood painted black or is that a composite? How thick did you go?
Looks really good and nice find on those brackets, that's got to be the best looking home build I've seen yet. Even a klutz like me might be able to make that work!
 

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