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MD
Thanks. No, that's not my trailer. I drive it to the local tracks but am branching out with a uhaul trailer. No space to store a trailer of my own at the moment.

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MD
Are u having any Oil cooling issues?

Not that I am aware of but the car doesn't have any additional gauges or sensors to warn me. I use CHT to gauge oil and water temps; it hovers in the 210-225 range with peaks in the low 230s, but not for any extended period of time. The diff has temp stickers which show peak temps in the 280s.

My fluid service intervals, oil/trans/diff, are 8-10 hours of track time since the car does not have additional cooling (yet).
 
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Updating this thread to upload some pics and info from this past season as it's wrapping up for me on Friday, 11/13/2020.

10-10-2020 ran Summit Point's Shenandoah track and hit a new PB. Went a little faster in each of the 4 sessions but pushed it a little more in the last session, found my grip limit, and got a slightly better PB. Best time of the day was a 1:37:65 (1:37:76 in session 3 of 4) but that 0.11 second came at a cost. Car went 4 off through a 3ft tall cone which split the belly pan and knocked off the grille pony.


Some zip tie stitches and a large washer were in order to get the belly pan ready for VIR on 10-16-2020.

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10-16-2020 - VIR

Car was having some issues with the stability control flickering which was affecting ABS and the drive mode selection at Shenandoah the week before. This was my second time at VIR and my third day driving it so I am still trying working on my line. On session 2, I came into Oak Tree too fast and tracked out pretty wide, straddling the dirt and curb with the driver's side of the car; 2 off. From here, stability control began to interfere consistently by switching the drive mode selection out of track and into normal but allowing me to manually switch back. The ABS light would also flicker on and off during the session.

Driver's side rear brake pad broke half of the friction material off before Shenandoah on 10-10-2020 but I could not get replacement pads in time so I used some old powerstop track day pads to fill in. The rear at Shenandoah and at VIR were factory pad on the inside of the caliper and powerstop track day pads on the outside. Not ideal but I had few other options with the time constraints. Thinking the differing friction material may be causing the issue, I removed the rear rotors and pads, sanded them down and bled the brakes in between sessions then headed out for a 3rd session. On the 3rd session, the car lost ABS going into turn 1, locked up the front brakes, and we went 4 off. Ran a few seconds quicker than my first visit to VIR, old 2:12 and new 2:10, but it corded the 2 front tires and banged up the radiator. Surprisingly, the radiator did not leak and is/was still functional.

I put my street tires on and did some parade laps during lunch then used day 2 for more troubleshooting but it didn't feel safe or polite to limp it around track with other drivers so I packed it up and headed home.


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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I had to laugh ( with you not at you ) when I saw the zip tied under tray because you were just standing in line with a host of other Trackrats who have done exactly the same thing. Gotta admit the zip tie has proved that it is an equal substitute to duct tape in many a circumstance, ha. The grass in the front grill , the busted under tray , has been a sight that we occasionally see at the Mustang Roundup ( www.racemph.com ) in Hastings, Nebraska each year. If you go off in Hastings you run through the alfalfa, so I made up some decals stating F.A.R.T. ( Ford Alfalfa Racing Team ) to hand out to new agricultural racers. Just wanted you to know you have joined a long standing fraternity and glad you came out okay.

I will add, you use of different pads does have a good chance of causing your issues, and just think of how many differing pad compounds are with the same brand, and you were using two different companies --- who knows what each one's temperature range is? Plus the rotor likely already had the pad compounding bedded into the rotor and the different pad could be simply glazing over that side.On the back you would have been better ( imho ) just running to the closest NAPA, Advance Auto Parts, etc. and getting a stock pad for the rear --installing after cleaning pad residue off the rotors. I bring this up because you mentioned you also went off no longer after switching and over the years two of the biggest accidents I saw in recreational racing/HPDEs was with individuals mixing pads. Good luck next time around and check with KNS Brakes or Optimum Performance , site sponsors, for very professional thoughts on your concerns and advice on what to use ( of course they sell pads , but they do a lot with Mustangs ).
 
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Haha thanks, Bill. It's been suggested that I put John Deere stickers on it since it "often" spends time landscaping off track. There's a fresh set of rear pads in there now. The lesson learned is to have a spare set of front and rear pads.

It ended up being the wheel speed sensors on the driver's side that were causing the ABS related problems which then resulted in the the stability control and drive mode failures. The two recent off track events probably caused their failure. After the 4 off, the steering angle sensor was 5* off as well as the alignment. The wheel speed sensors were replaced and the alignment was corrected. Nothing bent or broken as a result of the 4 off except for the radiator.

Ordered a replacement radiator but received the wrong part. I was leaving for Daytona on 10-28-2020 and unfortunately did not have enough time to return or replace it with the correct part. There was one free day to work on the car and another new rad would not be in by then. While not the correct part, the radiator turned out to be the same size as the PP radiator but the difference was 64 finned tubes to 71 (PP). That aside, everything fit fine.

I bought 8 tires earlier in the year so 4 fresh tires when on for Daytona. Now I "need" 1-2 extra wheels for the 2 serviceable tires that remain.

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In May, I trailered the car to Pitt Race and had some trouble loading/unloading the car on/off a uhaul trailer because it is slightly lowered. The belly pan caught on the trailer and ripped the PS bumper tab when unloading the car. A friend had an extra set of factory shipping spacers from his 2015 z/28 camaro and they fit perfectly in my front springs. I now own a set and they allow me to clear the uhaul trailer without ramps or assistance. Took the opportunity to drill the bumper for push pin fasteners which expedites removal when/if necessary.

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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Welcome to the Low Buck Hobby of Road Racing, hehe! Spares are a very integral part of playing on track and I usually have everything I need except what breaks , and that is where TMO friends come in. Tymeslayer loaned me his nuts so I could finish a race in Pueblo , Colorado ----- get our mind out of the gutter, you know I meant lug nuts!!!
 
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Next track day was with Chin for a 3-day event in Daytona from 10-30-2020 - 11-01-2020. My plan was to take the Amtrak Autotrain which takes cars and passengers from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL. Lorton is less than an hour away from me and Sanford is less than an hour from Daytona. Turns out the car is too low for the train but it wasn't obvious until trying to load the car onto the train. Several attempts to move the weight around inside the cabin and even add spring spacers did not provide the necessary clearance. By 2:30pm, the train was loaded and I had a reservation for a uhual trailer for 5:15pm. Picked up the trailer, loaded the car, and slept until 2am. It was a 12hr/805mile drive but I made it in time for early check in on Thursday, 10-29-2020.

The radiator did not give me trouble but there was an engine oil over temp code. Car should be getting some coolers soon. The zip tied splitter also held up to consistent high speeds.


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Nice pics!!...I see you were following a trailed Vette there at Daytona..................

Yes, that vette and the red camaro in the other pic are part of a group of us that drove south for this event. 5 camaros (1x z/28, 2x SS 1LEs, and 2x ZL1 1LEs) and 2 vettes (1x GS and 1x z06). There was one other mustang in my garage, an orange GT500, the rest were Camaros. Camaros, vettes, and porsches dominated the event in attendance.
 
466
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Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
MD
Thanks. I'm in Montgomery County, MD. You?

Do you visit any of the local tracks? I'm finishing off the year at summit point on Friday and see a 2017 Mustang GT signed up.
Im in Hanover by BWI.

I just started going to the track this year. I did a couple Trackcross events at SP and Dominion and then decided I wanted more. I did my first and only HPDE at SP in August with Auto Interest. I closed shop for the year now that I know the direction I want to go and the the finances involved. Looking forward to catching you out there sometime!
 
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Finished the season off last Friday at Summit Point. New PB, 1:21:69, on the last lap of the day. There were 25+ cars in the group so clean laps without traffic were very hard to come by. The target was 1:20 and it's there with some cleaner driving.

 
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First day out since November and hit my 1:20 target at Summit Main twice. Once in session 3 and again in session 4.

It was 28* and I was driving in my ski jacket with the heat set at 80*. Tires took 10+ laps to come in but the track still wouldn't hold max effort. Didn't want to push further on the first day out and ball up the car.

Good news is that there's more time left on the table to chase once better weather arrives. Bring on the 1:1X "teens"..

1:20:63 (AiM Solo 2 DL) lap (#18) starts at 5:45


1:20:90 (AiM Solo 2 DL) lap (#14) starts at 8:25

 

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