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

[xr7]

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!

 

[drj2k1]

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

 

[mavisky]

Nice runs. That V6 probably makes about as much torque to the rear wheels as my Voodoo does out of the slow corners, so I definitely feel you there.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

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!!

 

[drj2k1]

Welp, been a minute but this car is still alive and kicking, looking to put some more development into it this offseason to finish what we started in CAM-C.

The slow pony is still pulling triple duty up here in NYC: year round daily, part time family car, and occasional local autocross use. Haven't done much touring since the birth of my son in 2023, but we have been making a family pilgrimage up to the Finger Lakes Champ tour events for the past two years (Took 2nd in CAM-C in 2024 and 3rd in 2025). Definitely rusty from the lack of seat time, but looking to get some more race use out of the car with Dad planning on retiring in the spring and before child #2 arrives in August.

The plan is to keep things fairly simple, maximize the current setup and get as much local seat time as possible.

1) Increase rear spring rate to help with mid corner understeer. Currently has 225lb springs with Viking double adjustable shocks. Have a set of 275lb springs on the shelf from the old CSP car that I'm going to test out.

2) Better braking setup. Currently running 4 piston brembos with GloC R8 pads with KNS rotors and Castrol SRF fluid. They have been fine but I'd really like some more initial bite/overall braking power. Picked up a set of lightly used GLOC R10s. Stumbled across a set of Full-tilt boogie 2 piece fully floating front rotors and rear 13 inch 2 piece rotors with brackets for a deal on marketplace while on vacation. Might try to use the front fully floating rotors with the Gloc R10s. Not sure if I want to use the bigger rear brakes or sell them off at this point

3) More front grip/Balance the aero package with front aero! Been running the homebuilt rear wing setup for a few years using a modified lexan cup car spoiler which has helped keep the rear planted. Going to try to increase front grip/balance the car out with a CAM legal splitter setup. Snagged the ninelivesracing splitter kit on their black friday sale. I got the DIY kit with the sturdy boi mounts/quick release kit. Going to try to make a 2 piece plywood splitter that I can detach and store in trunk for street use. Probably a project for spring when the weather is better

4) Local tires to maximize seat time. With a young family I've been trying to find the balance of seat time vs time away on the weekends... difficult. Factor in the immense cost of CAM sized tires and growing event costs (an event with NNJR SCCA is upwards of $100 for 7 runs), seat time has taken a backseat to the rest of life's growing demands. Well my fix for this is to lower the bar and run more local events on Long Island with smaller/poor quality lots. The local porsche/bmw/scca regularly have events with 10+ runs, no tolls, less traffic, and a shorter day overall. To maximize seat time I'm going to try out the Federal 595RS-Pro tires for local use. 285/35/18's are less than $800 for a set and some local guys have run back to back test where they had comparable autocross times to the original RE71RS. I figure if I can get 100 runs out of them locally, they are worth a shot. For SCCA tour/metlife events I have 18x11 apex wheels with 295 stones up front and 295 yoks out back

5) Gear ratio (Maybe). Over the years, the lack of torque from the 3.7 neuters the car on slow corner exits. ~280lbft of tq (above 4000rpm)and 3.31 gears doesn't make for a lot of oomph when digging out of corners. If the car proves to be semi-competitive at tour events, I might consider the expense of regearing it or finding a junkyard rear with better ratios. 3.55 seems like a good balance, but 3.73's might be the hot ticket with a 8000rppm rev limiter (should be ~63mph in 2nd gear).


For good measure, here's a quick pic of the car ripping the front wheel off the ground on the Jones Beach concrete this season

Hoping y'all are doing well and looking forward to seeing some of you at tour events in 2026

Best,
-J