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S197 2011 Mustang 3.7 Performance Package, Shooting my shot at CAM-C Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

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xr7

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817
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Autocross
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10-20 Years
Minnesota
End of June update:

Unfortunately we have not been racing as much as we hoped due to weather/scheduling up here in the NorthEast (weather cancellations, the whole Taylor Swift thing, and the NJ/NY State Fairs being in town). That being said, the couple of times we have been out with the car have been a mixed bag.

When the car is good, it's really good. Running with a local club (MSNE), the car was able to take 1st in class and 3rd in PAX. IT was a BLAST to drive. A photographer at the event was out taking some pictures and got some incredible shots of the car in actionView attachment 87274
View attachment 87275
Back at the beginning of June we were fortunate enough to run the NJ Prosolo. CAM was well populated, with the Peachey brothers and their Viper being the favorites heading into the event. Even with the freshly installed ported intake manifolds, we had the least HP in the field by far and knew that the drag-style starts would not be in our favor.

Getting the car ready for the event was a battle to say the least... 2 days beforehand one of the stock hydraulic control arm bushings decided to explode on my commute to work. I frantically swapped in a fresh set of Motorcraft control arms the night before the event and eyeballed the alignment. On the drive through NYC to the event our freshly bleed brakes/bleeders started weeping despite being torqued to spec... Finally we've been having trouble getting a good tune dialed in since the intake manifold change, this on top of cam position sensor issues has been a PITA that inconsistently throws the car into limp mode. Regardless, we got the car sorted the best we could and took our shot at the Prosolo with our silly multi-tire setup

Pleasant Surprises:
-Car ran pretty hard with more power up top
-We were able to consistently cut 2.1xx 60ft times
-Had .501 light on the right course
-Day 2 setup adjustments worked fairly well
Damn, picking the left front off the ground autocrossing in a parking lot! Looks good!
 
2023 Solo Nats update (DELAYED lol)

Well, we finally did it! After years of wanting to experience Solo Nationals, we made it and it certainly didn't disappoint. Simply put, the old man and I packed the little pony up to the gills with luggage, tools, spare parts and just pointed the thing West and hit the road. Drove 20+ hours over 2 days out to Lincoln from NYC, the car did pretty well averaging 28+mpg (with rear wing removed) and was surprisingly comfortable over the duration of the trip. When we were hungry, we ate. When the mustang was thirsty, we fueled up. When we were tired, we slept. Nothing fancy to report, just made it happen

For those who haven't been out to Lincoln... it is INSANE. It was truly unlike any other racing experience I've ever had between the cars, the venue, and most importantly the people. Shout out to @Bill Pemberton who went out of his way to help make sure we made the most of the experience!

Reflecting on the actual drive portion of the event:

I really underestimated the pressure/intensity of Nationals... My mental game simply wasn’t up to the task on day one. I had a decent time on run 1 with a late cone call, which sent me into a tailspin as I didn’t know which cone was hit even after reviewing the run on solostorm. I went out for run 2 and made a foolish decision to focus on laying down a clean run instead of continuing to push the car. Obviously hindsight being 20/20, this wasn't the right move and I put down the clean run but was way off my 1st run pace. Seeing how far back I had fallen, I panicked with one run left to put a fast time down… overdrove, made a major driver error and put down a slower time. Day one was disappointing for sure sitting 23rd when the car had more in it. Went out with the old man in downtown Lincoln that night, blew off some steam and prepared myself for a different approach the next day.

Day 2 and had a new strategy, make the most of the opportunity. We were finally at the big show, and I wasn't about to go down without a fight. The day 2 course was much more fun and rewarding to drive, got a good enough read to put down the 10th fastest time in cam-c on day 2.

Felt a lot better about the whole thing and fought back to get within 2 tenths or so of trophies. i finished 16th out of 48 and the old man ended up 38th out of 48. Without the cone on day 1, the car had the time to win a trophy at Solo Nationals. Coulda, woulda, shoulda trophied but didn’t… life goes on

Reflection:

After seeing Super Dave's Camaro, I’m not sure how much further I’m going to push the development of the slow pony for next year, I genuinely fear I’m getting towards the point of diminishing returns for modifications. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to throw a lot of money at a car that’s worth maybe 10k with boost or swaps. I still daily the car ever single day in NYC, now with a baby seat strapped in the rear... the car needs to stay reliable

As of right now, I think there are 2 glaring areas where the car needs help: front grip and low end grunt to help get out of slow dig corners

Our new tuning sponsor (Auto Mafia Racing), put together a great track tune for Nats (8000rpm!) and has been consulting on the engine/power department. We'll probably try a different rear gear ratio (3.55) and I'll possibly consider making an injector swap to run E85

As for front grip, I'm going to file the koni lower strut holes for a little more camber (at -3, would like to see -3.2) and adding some front aero with a DIY plywood splitter (@LIGISTX just told me about the new brackets from Nine Lives Racing for the S197, so that might be an option)

Lastly, I need some more seat time. The car is proven capable, but I could be better and more consistent in it

Anyway, for those of you who have been following this ill-conceived experiment from day 1. A s197 V6 mustang IS certainly outgunned in CAM-C, but it IS capable of keeping up with some of the best CAM-C cars in the country. We almost had the trophy to prove it

-J

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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,405
8,333
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Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Father and son had a great time and they definitely surprised a bunch of folks concerning what a V6 could do. The Nationals is such an extreme Event it is difficult to explain to folks why they need to go regardless of how well prepped their car is. It is fun, intense, exhilarating, shocking, and such a wonderful laboratory to find out what is really working well for drivers around the Country. It is an awakening for drivers to understand why tires are the single most important mod and it helps folks actually see what is working on their machine.

Pleasure meeting the NY Conekillers and next year they know where to hit some of the great parties that also pop up, ha.

Great meeting the Mustang Mafia Maniacs ----- see you in 24!!
 

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