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2016 Mustang GT Profile
HPDE/Track 

2016 Mustang
GT HPDE/Track -  (2016 PP1 track day car)

2016 PP1 track day car

Specs & Mods

Ownership Status
Currently Own
Year
2016
S550 Model
GT
Transmission
Manual
Mods - Handling
Ford MFR3AM8A track suspension kit, all suspension/diff/cradle/motor mount/trans mount rubber bushings replaced with solids, sphericals or locked out, 1 piece aluminum DSS driveshaft, 19X11 wheels square, 20mm spacers on front, 305/30/19's, rear seat delete, SS brakes lines, Motul RBF 600 fluid, Vorshlag camber plates, Vorshlag deflectors being fed by the PP splitter and the remains of the 3" air tubes, Steeda H pipe resonator delete, Corbeau race seats and 6 point harnesses, Watson racing 4 point bar.

Best laps - Mosport 1:33.3, Shannonville 2:00.8, Mont Tremblant 1:58.3 on Vredestein Vorti R 220 TW tires - have seen numerous laps at Mosport predicted in high 1.32's but never completed due to traffic in last 3 corners.

Planned for 2020 - softer tires turned out to be Nankang AR-1 track tires, much good reviews read on these tires so a test is happening. Vorshlag brake deflectors installed, had 3" air ducts which usually ended up 1.5" air ducts due to getting crushed all the time, cut them back to the fender liner and aimed at the deflectors. Vorshlag caster-camber plate, opened up strut towers for more front camber, -3.5 camber now. These units replaced the maxed out at 2.1 MM camber plates which were troublesome pieces to install and I don't recommend them due to low quality hardware supplied with them. Splitter - thinking about making one, but not yet.

Winter work was gutting the car of as much weight as possible. Install Watson Racing 4 point bar, Corbeau race seats and 6 point harnesses, that project is finished. Seats/harnesses made a big improvement over the Recaros/Schroth QuickFit Pro.

Unplanned for 2020 - problem with 3-4 shift, after 3 laps would lock out. Advice from Ben Calimer Trans indicated it would be best to change the stock clutch out before looking inside the gearbox as this is a common problem with the clutches on these cars when they get hot. Installing an Exedy Hyper Single. Also installing a Moroso baffled oil pan, the added grip from 100TW tires caused a pressure drop to 25 psi for a second in a corner, that was enough to decide on a better pan. Clutch solved the shift problem, until the trans failed completely at the last track day of the year, clearly the syncros on 3 and 5 were beat and other signs of problems were evident.

Nankang tires were initially less than impressive, I was never able to better any lap times that were set with the Vreds with them and they make weird howling noises due to the tread pattern. Lasted better than I expected, though with the problems I had with the car driveline they really didn't get a great workout and I am sure there's more than I got. Still have lots of tread left and will try them again in 2021 season for as long as they last.
Update, the Nankangs wore very well, ran full season in 2022 on them on top of a few days in '21, will run them for the first couple of track days then replace with a new set.

Updates for 2021 - Transmission seriously shiznit the bed by fall. Syncros on 3rd and 5th toast, lots of gear crunching and sounds that one should not hear from a transmission. As of March 2021 trans is in final stages of rebuild with Syncrotech carbon syncros and other internals. Most syncros were toast, 3rd and 6th gears showed a lot of wear and are being replaced as well, bearings were all OK. Also going to use a lighter trans fluid that meets Ford specs, the OEM fluid is the Dual Clutch trans fluid. Trans rebuilder said the fluid I was using (BG Syncro Shift) likely contributed to the problems as it is too thick and would interfere with the syncros doing their job. Might try Amsoil as they make a DCT fluid that meets the Ford spec. Update, put a fluid cooler on the trans right after the rebuild and used Motul DCT fluid, worked well though I think I'll be lucky to get another year out of this trans before it needs another rebuild.

Possible stuff for another year: Gut doors or replace with glass ones. Lexan windows, available from at least 2 shops in Britain at fairly reasonable cost. Optic Armour windshield/rear window. All this is on hold until the trans issues are solved.

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Mods - Power
Ford Power Pack 2 kit and tune, JLT oil catch can on both sides. GT350 valve cover on driver side for better oil control. PP2 tune with no lift shift feature is a real PITA, constant stutter on upshifts unless you are extremely precise and very fast with clutch release, with a light or removed clutch spring the stutter will not go away, with the stiff stock spring it is still there but not as bad. Very poor feature for road course work. I got enough wheelspin to get sideways at over 100 mph on the 4/5 shift due to how violently the power comes back on and it can't be disabled per Ford Performance who told me they have no intention of releasing an updated tune without that feature in it. Tuners also tell me they can't work with the GT350 throttle body, so to get rid of this tune have to revert to the stock TB. I do not recommend buying the Power Pack kits because of the inability to shut off the NLS feature.

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Mods - Exterior
Race Louvers center hood vent, Verus side hood vents, AeroCatch hood pins.
No rear aero as yet still working on getting rid of push.

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Mods - Interior
Watson 4 point bar, Corbeau race seats, 6 point harnesses. Interior mostly gutted.
Background & Plans
Bought it as a distraction to get me through a very rough period of time in my personal life thanks to the Big C deciding to find a home in my spouse. Lost that war. Got bit by the go fast bug again and here we are. Still focused mainly on losing weight, content with the amount of power the car has. Upgrade driveline components. Likely going to attack the doors next, possibly CF doors/Lexan windows/Optic Armor windshield. Lot of weight to be lost there.
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