Hey everyone,

I’m considering my first HPDE at Road America (5th HPDE overall) in my 2016 GT Perf Pack and looking for aero advice.

• Car: stock PP front splitter, spoiler-delete trunk, 200TW tires
• Driver: novice/intermediate (experience is all on slower technical tracks)

At Road America speeds (deep into 5th gear on the straights), is adding a rear spoiler worth it for stability, or is the stock PP front with a bare trunk fine at my pace?

If you recommend one, what spoiler adds high-speed confidence without too much drag on the long straights or unbalancing the stock front end?

Thanks!

Your experience is going to weigh heavily on this. Is this your first ever HPDE, or just first one at Road America?

67GTA said:

Your experience is going to weigh heavily on this. Is this your first ever HPDE, or just first one at Road America?

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It will be my 5th HPDE. According to my instructors, I have been learning at an advanced pace, for whatever that is worth.

Although I didn’t follow this advice. Don’t change anything. Spend money of tires, pads and instruction. A day with a patient, knowledgeable instructor is likely what you need at this point. Also expect to run through brakes at Road America.

FYI. Instructor rule number one, always complement and encourage students, especially novice students. When I tech folks how to shoot I layer on the positives, then I give them a short list of things to work on. So take the instructors “Evaluation” with a grain of salt.

Dont put more rear aero in the car unless up balance out the front. Drive your car the way it is and grow into the car. If anything put more DF on the front before you add to the rear.

TMSBOSS said:

FYI. Instructor rule number one, always complement and encourage students, especially novice students. When I tech folks how to shoot I layer on the positives, then I give them a short list of things to work on. So take the instructors “Evaluation” with a grain of salt.

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That’s a good point. My statement is indeed based on their encouraging comments, and also on quickly being upgraded to solo driving and Intermediate class. I still have a LOT to learn.

Whilst in the learning phase, keep everything as consistent as possible. Bar any obvious, that is crap, issues. The less you change the car, the more you can feel your improvements. You aren't looking for speed yet, it will come with your driving naturally. My suggestions to friends is when you can lap consistently within about half a second then we know your driving isn't the limitation. Give or take.

When you do decide to do some aero stuff, don't go off the reservation, Ford has done all the wind tunnel work for you, just copy the Gt4 stuff. Oh, and BTW, copy all of it, and do it all at the same time, there's no
" partial" when it comes to aero balance..yes, it will be expensive so it should not even be on the radar at this point.

blacksheep-1 said:

When you do decide to do some aero stuff, don't go off the reservation, Ford has done all the wind tunnel work for you, just copy the Gt4 stuff. Oh, and BTW, copy all of it, and do it all at the same time, there's no
" partial" when it comes to aero balance..yes, it will be expensive so it should not even be on the radar at this point.

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Does Gt4 use fender vents?

Simple answer, do what the long time members are telling you, no real changes except fresh DOT4 fluid ( like Motul ), solid track pads, and check your car over. Road America is a fun but demanding track, concentrate on what your Instructors tell you and work to get all the nuances down that this legendary track offers. Keep in mind you won't figure out the track in a weekend, the tricks and demands of RA take some time, so just have fun and respect the Woodland Lady!

OX1 said:

Does Gt4 use fender vents?

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It's basically a GT350 nose, I'm sure someone is making knock off parts by now, the originals are $$

Bill Pemberton said:

Simple answer, do what the long time members are telling you, no real changes except fresh DOT4 fluid ( like Motul ), solid track pads, and check your car over. Road America is a fun but demanding track, concentrate on what your Instructors tell you and work to get all the nuances down that this legendary track offers. Keep in mind you won't figure out the track in a weekend, the tricks and demands of RA take some time, so just have fun and respect the Woodland Lady!

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HA! youre lucky if you learn a section in a weekend. Well speaking for myself.

You are modest Byron, I have heard you often learn 2 sections in a weekend, ha! Such a true statement, and realistic for many of us, since actually learning a new track takes quite a long time. Even after one gets comfortable it can be a surprise upon returning to a track that they find more areas to go faster , stop smoother, and drop their times. No different than going to a new golf course, it takes numerous returns and practice and driving a track numerous times is part of the joy, the learning process is all part of the challenge and it is why so many of us repeatedly tell others that "Seat Time " is your best mod.

Try Pitt Race, I actually pasted a map on the dash RIP with your God forsaken data center

RedStallion27 said:

Hey everyone,

I’m considering my first HPDE at Road America (5th HPDE overall) in my 2016 GT Perf Pack and looking for aero advice.

• Car: stock PP front splitter, spoiler-delete trunk, 200TW tires
• Driver: novice/intermediate (experience is all on slower technical tracks)

At Road America speeds (deep into 5th gear on the straights), is adding a rear spoiler worth it for stability, or is the stock PP front with a bare trunk fine at my pace?

If you recommend one, what spoiler adds high-speed confidence without too much drag on the long straights or unbalancing the stock front end?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

To do it correctly, you would have about a 6-8 inch NASCAR spoiler. I'm being completely serious. Drag really doesn't matter there because it balances out with cornering and braking improvements. At this point in your driving education, you"re best served with getting the maximum rear spoiler grip out of the car and getting the car to work by later braking and carrying more entry/mid corner-speed. Remember how much we can really challenge the front tires. Sometimes you just have to ask more of it.

byronj said:

Dont put more rear aero in the car unless up balance out the front. Drive your car the way it is and grow into the car. If anything put more DF on the front before you add to the rear.

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I agree with your statement to just drive it the way it is. No question. I'm not a fan of just adding front. You'll add front naturally as you add cooling, but I really think there's more time in getting the rear more nailed. The most common thing for a new driver to do is under-drive the entry and create exit understeer. The more confidence you give anyone up to a pro driver, the faster they'll go, even if the car has an imbalance, assuming they're driving it correctly and not making things worse with their feet.

It makes the car more stable in the brake zone and on entry, so we can carry more speed in and induce some rotation in the car. We'll never get enough grip that the rear will be completely tied down.