Tim.ocon said:

How do you find the CSM spec tire compared to other options?

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I haven't run the spec tire yet. Since I'm just starting out, I decided to go with Falken RT-615's since they are cheaper and I figured I would be burning though them while learning.

If you haven't purchased yet you might go with the 660+ instead.......easier tire to drive on for someone new as they telegraph much better and will be faster. Sure, they will wear faster but some drivers find the 615s to be rather uncommunicative.

Bill Pemberton said:

If you haven't purchased yet you might go with the 660+ instead.......easier tire to drive on for someone new as they telegraph much better and will be faster. Sure, they will wear faster but some drivers find the 615s to be rather uncommunicative.

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I already have the 615+. I considered the 660+, but they were more expensive. Another benefit to the 660+ that was pointed out to me by a friend, is that they can be flipped on the wheel to get a little more life out of them.

Once I wear out the 615+, I'll switch to the spec Goodyears.

This weekend I attended the driving school and guard rail club event at Motorsports Park Hastings. This was my first time on any track. The driving school was good as I would have been very far off line without the instruction. Saturday morning, my instructor from the previous day, let me ride along during one of the sessions. The ride along was very eye opening!! I wasn't pushing near hard enough!

The car did great all weekend. The only issue I had was getting hot a couple of times, but I was running the AC while I was waiting on grid and forgot to turn it off when I went out on track. I do think I will upgrade to a thicker core radiator at some point.

I am currently running Hawk HPS5.0 pads, and I don't have any complaints for autocross and street use, but I can tell they are not a track pad.

I also need to upgrade my seat. I bought a set of Schroth quick fit belts a while back and they are much better than the stock belts, but I'm still sliding all over on track.

By the end of the day on Friday I was doing 1:53 lap times. By noon on Saturday, I was down to 1:50, and by the end of the day, 1:47. It seems like 1:40-1:41 is a good time for S197's at MPH.

665.0coupe said:

This weekend I attended the driving school and guard rail club event at Motorsports Park Hastings. This was my first time on any track. The driving school was good as I would have been very far off line without the instruction. Saturday morning, my instructor from the previous day, let me ride along during one of the sessions. The ride along was very eye opening!! I wasn't pushing near hard enough!

The car did great all weekend. The only issue I had was getting hot a couple of times, but I was running the AC while I was waiting on grid and forgot to turn it off when I went out on track. I do think I will upgrade to a thicker core radiator at some point.

I am currently running Hawk HPS5.0 pads, and I don't have any complaints for autocross and street use, but I can tell they are not a track pad.

I also need to upgrade my seat. I bought a set of Schroth quick fit belts a while back and they are much better than the stock belts, but I'm still sliding all over on track.

By the end of the day on Friday I was doing 1:53 lap times. By noon on Saturday, I was down to 1:50, and by the end of the day, 1:47. It seems like 1:40-1:41 is a good time for S197's at MPH.

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For brake pads I have bought DTC60s for track duty and HP+ for the street and slalom. I have 1 piece front callipers so swapping pads back and worth is fairly simple and easy to do on the front and I just leave the HP+ on the back full time

That being said the DTC60s have been on the car for 1.5 months now cause I’m to lazy to swap them back even if it does only take 20 minutes

Make it to the Mustang Roundup in August and you will be able to pick a bunch of Mustang Maniacs brains. I hope to make it though I have a minor health issue that may cause me to miss, yet this is a " bucket list " event and it will help you figure out plenty with your car. I would look at a set of G-Locs for your car as they are easier on the rotors. Call Tim at OP Racing ( site sponsor ) and only buy these pads pre-bedded.

Tim.ocon said:

For brake pads I have bought DTC60s for track duty and HP+ for the street and slalom. I have 1 piece front callipers so swapping pads back and worth is fairly simple and easy to do on the front and I just leave the HP+ on the back full time

That being said the DTC60s have been on the car for 1.5 months now cause I’m to lazy to swap them back even if it does only take 20 minutes

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My HPS5.0 are about half worn off, so I think I'm going to get some G-Loc R12/R10's and swap back and forth for track days and street/autoX. I already have spare rotors, so I just need the pads.

Bill Pemberton said:

Make it to the Mustang Roundup in August and you will be able to pick a bunch of Mustang Maniacs brains. I hope to make it though I have a minor health issue that may cause me to miss, yet this is a " bucket list " event and it will help you figure out plenty with your car. I would look at a set of G-Locs for your car as they are easier on the rotors. Call Tim at OP Racing ( site sponsor ) and only buy these pads pre-bedded.

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I would like to make it to Mustang Roundup, but I have a multi-year tradition fly fishing trip to CO that weekend. I bought the seals to rebuild my GT500 Brembo's from Tim, so I will likely use him again.

This weekend I'm going to swap the worn out factory clutch limited slip for a tru-trac along with new wheel bearings/seals and ARP wheel studs. I also have a new rear upper control arm and Steeda spherical bearing to put on.

665.0coupe said:

My HPS5.0 are about half worn off, so I think I'm going to get some G-Loc R12/R10's and swap back and forth for track days and street/autoX. I already have spare rotors, so I just need the pads.


I would like to make it to Mustang Roundup, but I have a multi-year tradition fly fishing trip to CO that weekend. I bought the seals to rebuild my GT500 Brembo's from Tim, so I will likely use him again.

This weekend I'm going to swap the worn out factory clutch limited slip for a tru-trac along with new wheel bearings/seals and ARP wheel studs. I also have a new rear upper control arm and Steeda spherical bearing to put on.

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Make sure the Glock pads and the Hawk pads won’t interfere with eachother in terms of pad deposit on the rotors. I’m fairly sure that some deposit can gum up other pads

Tim.ocon said:

Make sure the Glock pads and the Hawk pads won’t interfere with eachother in terms of pad deposit on the rotors. I’m fairly sure that some deposit can gum up other pads

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I already have new rotors setting on the shelf, so I would have dedicated rotors for each set of pads.

I had been noticing my inside tire spinning on tight turn a round's at autocross events. When I got the car I thought I could get away with running the factory clutch limited slip until this winter, and then swap to the trutrac. The obviously worn out factory limited slip said other wise. This weekend I swap in a trutrac as well as new wheel bearings, seals, a new rear upper control arm, a Steeda third link spherical bearing, new Ford front hubs, and ARP wheel studs.

I went and ran an autocross today to shake down the new rear diff. Very noticeable difference.

665.0coupe said:

I had been noticing my inside tire spinning on tight turn a round's at autocross events. When I got the car I thought I could get away with running the factory clutch limited slip until this winter, and then swap to the trutrac. The obviously worn out factory limited slip said other wise. This weekend I swap in a trutrac as well as new wheel bearings, seals, a new rear upper control arm, a Steeda third link spherical bearing, new Ford front hubs, and ARP wheel studs.

I went and ran an autocross today to shake down the new rear diff. Very noticeable difference.

View attachment 111045

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I bought a T2 torsen for my car and hooooolly what a difference. Absolute night and day. Best thing I’ve done for the car. You will not be disappointed

Tim.ocon said:

I bought a T2 torsen for my car and hooooolly what a difference. Absolute night and day. Best thing I’ve done for the car. You will not be disappointed

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I looked like I was filming a new Ken Block Gymkhana video after I put it in!!

I went to Motorsport Hastings again this past weekend. Overall it was a good time, but now I have work to do.

First off, there were a couple cars there that I don't think are usually there. A new Mustang GTD and a Praga R1. I'd never heard of a Praga before, apparently is make in the Czech Republic, weighs 1400lbs, and makes 365hp.

Pretty much all weekend I felt like I was trying to relearn the track and get back to where I ended last time I was there. I'm sure this is just because this is my 2nd track day, and the first was back in July.

I did put new brakes on the car before this event. Before I was running Hawk HPS5.0 pads, and I switched to G-Loc R12/R10's. The Hawk pads were fine for the street and autocross, but during my first track day they felt lacking. It felt like I got to a point where if I pushed the pedal harder I didn't get more stopping power out of them. The G-Loc's are better, but I don't think I'm using them to their full potential. I know I'm braking to early and to much for how early I'm braking. Then I just coast through the corner.

I did have another big issue this time. The car would not stay cool. The ambient temp was the same as back in July (upper 90's to low 100's), and at that event I only had overheating issues when I went on track and forgot to turn off the AC. This time, I couldn't make more than 3-4 laps without maxing out the factory temp gauge. I talked to some other guys who have S197 mustangs up there and got different opinions on what to do.

The plan right now is to put in a 3 row radiator that is converted to triple pass and maybe put some holes in the fan shroud to allow more air flow. I also want to swap the grill to one that allows more air flow. I'm also going to convert to the later 07+ coolant crossover and put in a new Motorcraft water pump.

At MPH they are trying to get a spec mustang time trials series going. My car is pretty close to fitting their rules, but not quite. They have tried to get me into their group, and I probably will eventually, but I don't want to spend the money right now just to swap to different parts. Well this weekend the guy who is in charge of the series came up to me before their qualifying session, handed me a transponder, and said "put this in your door pocket and line up at the back of the field." I qualified last just like I knew I would. For there main event they did an "Australian Pursuit". Basically everyone lines up on the front straight slowest to fastest. Each car does a standing start and start time intervals are based on how much slower you are than the guy behind you multiplied by 5 laps. In other words, if my qualifying time was 2 seconds per lap slower than the next guy, I would have a 10 second head start over him. The idea is that at the beginning everyone is spaced out, but after the 5 lap "race" everyone is nose to tail. It was never really explained how you win, but apparently it was who ever has a 5 lap average time closest to their qualifying time. It was fun, but I make it 3 laps and had to pull of because I was over heating.