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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
You mention you have some future mods along with track time coming in 2021 ( if things get a little back to normal ) and my suggestion would be to do the #1 thing to make your car quicker on track -- if you are running 255/40/19s those are bicycle tires on a Mustang. Plenty of time to check things out , but lightweight rims ( Apex ) in 18s or 19s, and some much wider tires will increase your grip, stopping distances and even acceleration on your Mustang. Just friendly advice, as many folks do all the other things first and this is the one thing that will improve your track time the most -- by a very large margin. My personal choice would be a set of 18x11 rims , squared , and either a competitive 200 TWR tire or even a DOT competition tire if you keep the tire/rim set up you have for the street. Looks like you have already done many other things and welcome again to TMO.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
What Bill said. The Ford Performance track suspension is very good, especially since its plug and play and lets you focus on the driver mod versus trying to play at being a suspension engineer, but it really needs a lot more tire to get the most out of it.
 
62
54
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Boone NC
Ditto above and in addition I would upgrade your pad to at least an R12 if you go with wider wheels. I'm running 18x10 with 295/40-18 200TW tires with R12s and feel I should upgrade to R16s.

Thanks for the input. Yes I definitely could have used more pad than the R8s at Road Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. The six piston Brembos were a huge step up from stock brakes, even with the Hawk pads I had used at VIR last year.

And for sure more than a 400tw tire! It's kind of good for me as I'm learning because the tires howl so bad as I'm reaching their max. But I'm ready for more...

My next plan is new wheels and tires for next season. (I'm already signed up for Road Atlanta with MCA in 2021.)

I'd like to go as wide as possible without having to roll fenders. I also have to clear the six piston Brembos. It seems like I'll have more tire choices in an 18. Any wheel suggestions? And I have looked at the Apex wheel guide- good info. Any other choices?
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Coz, I think you are spot on, I run 18s and I think the 12s are great for someone just starting, but with experience or if you are a late braker, or heavy on the brakes an R16 is solid. I run 10s in the rear as I found I even wear out 8s in the rear fairly quick , and will assess more in 21 if that balance in the rear is actually better -- worked well at my last race of 2020.
 
62
54
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Boone NC
My BFGs lasted approximately 14 minutes per session last weekend before turning greasy.

So I upgraded to the 285/35 Goodyear Supercar 3. We'll see how long they hold up at VIR this coming weekend...
If it's good enough for the 1LE it's got to be good enough for me. :)
 
1,163
2,121
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal
My BFGs lasted approximately 14 minutes per session last weekend before turning greasy.

So I upgraded to the 285/35 Goodyear Supercar 3. We'll see how long they hold up at VIR this coming weekend...
If it's good enough for the 1LE it's got to be good enough for me. :)

Which BFG’s & size?
 
62
54
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Boone NC
Which BFG’s & size?
They were 245/40 BFG Comp-2 all season 400tw tires. Good for what they are and fun if all you want to do is slide around after 3-4 laps! I hope the Supercars will be a better choice for now...
 

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