S550 2017 Grabber Blue Mustang GT Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

[bnight]

Days in the Shop

On my Dracon event on 20.08.2025 we noticed that my brake fluid cap is spitting brake fluid out of it. As well as my OLM was complaining of needing new oil. So I booked a visit to my dealership (11.09.2025) for new 5W20 Motorcraft oil, new Castrol SRF (I had some stocked in the garage) and finally to install the rear Unitesta 2 piece rotors that needed some help to fit. I have a knock when I press the car on the left rear that is very easy to demonstrate so I asked my dealer to check it turned out the balljoints on the steeda toe-links have play in them (not sure if this is a concern or just an annoyance) I will need to look for a solution.



After the 20.08 event I knew my tires were done both front tires were corded on the inside:



so I ordered a new set:


So on 16.09.2025 I went to my tires shop to mount the new tires and do a brand new alignment we get the toe settings in spec -0.25 toe out front, +0.23. I was ready for Ford Fest 2025 (27.09-28.09).

Ford Fest 2025

Ford Fest 2025 was supposed to be two days this year in the end of September the first day 27.09 was planned as an expo day and the second as a competitions and time attack day. I obviously wanted again to take part in the time attack day as we know the Time Attack part is what I was interested in. It turned out I have to work on 27.09 and it was a long work day on Saturday. On Friday the program for the event got released and the Time attack part was only 2 hours between 14:00 and 16:00. The weather forcast was not great as there were chances of rain. My plan was to travel in the morning get on time for Signup before 10:00. Prep the car and talk with people on the track till the TA start.

A friend of mine who owns a 2019 Ecoboost Mustang asked me on Saturday if he can come with me so I said yes we agreed to meet at the gas station at 7:20 as I needed to fill the car and travel to Dracon. When I got to the station it started drizzling which is not great on brand new Semi slicks (I didn't have time to do a proper heat cycle on the A052's). Ether way I put the wet mode on turned on the Country Mix i have on Spotify and enjoyed a lovely yet rainy trip. I usually fill the car when I get to the track but this time knowing that we will at most have 2 or max 3 sessions I decided 3/4 full would do after all Dracon is a flat track.

We arrived the lot was empty so I parked close to the track exit and went to register. The weather was dry but cold. A lot of friends were on the line waiting to get registered including Yasen with the Focus RS that is my usual closest rival and friend. He was asking if I plan to go to Serres I said sure when you want I'm always ready so there might be a Serres trip in October who knows.

The registration was done I emptied the car from anything not needed installed the transponder and was ready to go see others and the Drag event 1/8 mile racing on the long straight. During that event I was talking with a friend from my hometown who just bought a Fiesta 1.6i and we were discussing how rare and cool this cars are. There is a track championship with such Fiesta's in UK. It was a cool drag event that lasted till 13:30.

At that time one of the track marshals who is a friend asked me to talk with a girl that want to do her first outings on track if I could instruct her since I have track experience with the new layout. He introduced me and the girl turned out to drive exactly a Fiesta 1.6i. So after the TA safety briefing I jumped into her car for the first session of the TA in her class. She showed good driving though as a novice in the center of the track not using the whole of it and being not overly aggressive with the brakes but she showed good driving skills and great traffic awareness She did 2:10 lap time in that first session.

Once I popped out of the fiesta was time to go to the track for my first session. I promised my friend that I will give him a ride in the Mustang in that first session as I still needed to get tires up to temp. The tires were still brand new and with only a 1 hour and a half drive they still were not heat cycled properly and sitting on the sun the fronts were at like 33 PSI and by the end of first session all tires were up to 36 psi. This year again there was an over/under 5.0l (which to be fair technically should be 4.0l) Mustang class in my class there were a brand new S650 Mustang GT, A Mach 1 on 305 AR1 tires but stock suspension and 0 camber on a FBO motor and Me. The Mach 1 best lap on the new layout prior to this event was 1:34 but he was now on AR1's.
Obviously with the tires brand new and PSI that high the car was sliding and understeering a lot most notably end of top straight. The brakes were also acting up with ether the pedal been hard in brake zones or exiting the track been super soft.
So I only manage to do a best lap of 1:31.6 (still enough for Fastest Mustang on Dracon) and the Mach 1 did a 1:34.00. Yasen with the RS only did 1:35.5 So I was ahead from anyone by a solid distance.
I exited the track super fast as I wanted to catch the tires while still hot to get the PSI down to 30 while tires still hot. And to drop my passenger.
Once I popped the hood I immediately noticed that the brake fluid was all over the master cylinder spilling from the cap. We opened the cap and found the garment out of it completely we installed it correctly but by that point my brand new Castrol SRF was obviously boiling and I had air in the system. I debated should I go out or not but decided to go out for the next session.

The next session was in like 1 hour iso that give time to brake fluid and all other things to cool down a bit. By that point the car was down to a bit over 1/2 a tank. Since I didn't have a passenger this time the car was lighter but what was immediate noticeable was the grip from the tires it was insane. You know that feeling where the car is setup great for the track and it's just sticking that was this feeling. The brakes were a bit long so not perfect still. Straight out of the gate the car did 1:29.337 but in the long left exiting the long straight the engine was misfiring because fuel slosh which lead me to instinctively switching to 5th on the straight and my top speed was at 196 km/h down from 206 km/h from previous session I lost time there. I also lost a lot of time in the last 2 corners. I tried to do a second flyer but I I lost time somewhere 1:30.6 then I cooled off the car and tried for a 3rd flyer (sessions are 10 minutes) but catched the Mach 1 on a cooldown lap at the other straight (the only lap I had on video was that one) and I only manage to do 1:29.6. You will hear me cursing the fact that I will catch the Mach 1 exiting the long straight. The video is not great but I hope it will give you an idea of the new layout of the track.

The Mach 1 managed to improve it's time to 1:32.928. And Yasen give his RS for the second session to his son Kaloyan who manage to do 1:35.060 take the win in the Over 2.0 European ford's class from his Father this was the 3rd fastest overall time on the event. There were no more sessions the girl I was instructing previously managed to drop 17 seconds in the next 2 sessions and got down to 1:53.591. While the S650 GT did only a 1:43.613.

So for 4th year in a row (last year there was a ford fest without time attack as the track was rebuilding) I'm the fastest Ford and a Mustang on Dracon and 1:29.337 is my new Personal best.



And here is photo of the podium for Mustang over 5.0l class

It took us a while to get everything back into the car and setup the coilovers back to street setting and I didn't have time to fill the tires back with air though I probably should have (one of the TPMS's lighted yellow on the way back). We stopped for food at the McDonald's on the highway with my friend which was a dinner (we actually didn't manage to eat lunch because of the timing of the TA event). Filled the car on the Shell next to it and ejoyed a lovely night drive on the highway listening to country. Was back at home at 22:00 marking a very long but super fun and emotional day.


What is next:

1. Brake fluid cap (I just realised this is my original 2017 brake fluid cap) I replaced the master cylinder in 2023 but it come without a cap so we reused the original one I guess that cap was having problems even back then. And that made be the reason why I don't have consistent brakes. I hope a new brake cap will solve that. Obviously will need another brakes bleed.

2. I still need to install the Whiteline endlinks hopefully will manage to do it soon.

3. I plan to do Serres in October if the weather stabilise it just started raining for a week which is good as we didn't get rain for like 3 months and my home town is having water supply issues.

 

[bnight]

Changes after Ford Fest
During the Ford fest I experienced what I can only describe as a lot of brake issues. The first session the A052's were brand new and not scrubbed in and the brake pedal was getting hard (ABS Ice Mode) during the first lap out. According to ChatGPT who I use as a race engineer this days when new tires are not scrubbed in the Ice Mode could be triggered more often because the 4 tires have different levels of grip.

After the session we found brake fluid over the brakes reservoir. When we opened the reservoir cap we found the rubber garment to stay on the reservoir and not the cap. I guess the cap was gone. So I ordered a new one. But the braking performance was actually puzzeling me. I installed new Gloc R16/R12 brakes but somehow I felt that my braking was worst than before. That triggered something that I didn't expected I decided to dig through my data and measure actual stopping times. So I picked the end straight of Dracon and decided to measure 180-100 km/h stop times with the different brake pads here is the data from Dracon I only used best lap times:

And Serres where the times are for 180-120 km/h because the apex speed in 1st corner is higher than 100 km/h:



What is painfully obvious from that data is that with less tire grip and OEM Brake Pads (Ferodo DS2500) my stopping times were actually lower even though my lap times were slower. I think the R12/R8 time on Serres is actually me doing something wrong or more Ice mode but ether way it was actually higher than anything.

With all of that data and the knowledge that the OEM ABS in this cars has some limitations over 1.2G of braking I decided to switch pads I actually bought a set of Ferodo DSUno last year prior to Dracon closing for resurface but didn't manage to put them on the car so decided to give them a while with oem DS2500 rear pads.

So new brake fluid cap, fresh Castrol SRF and brand new pads went on the car on 28.10.2025.

Free Day - Serres - 03.11.2025
I wanted to go to Serres on more favourable conditions ever since my drive in March which resulted in a 1:28.78 lap time (Fastest for a Mustang on Serres). But October was really rainy. Then one friend mentioned in a group chat that he is planning to go to Serres on 03.11 with a group of people and I decided it's time to join that group and go. So on 02.11 I loaded the car (forgot my helmet) and drove to Greece (around 3 hours drive) and stayed in a lovely hotel that I always use for such trips. Ones I arrived at the hotel decided to check the brake reservoir for leaks and noticed again some fluid on the edge of the reservoir but not on the cap which was looking dry. I investigated more and looks like whatever is joining the top and bottom part of the reservoir on that edge is leaking fluid out. According to Google AI and ChatGPT this is a common issue with Ford brake reservoirs and usually point to a master cylinder failure which probably explains most of my issues. I was really disappointed as I wanted to drive so bad on Serres. Decided to do that anyway.

My friend and others were actually going to drive early morning at 6:30 AM and they will arrive at 9:00 AM when the track open. Since I was already in Serres I managed to get to the track and 8:45 AM and by 9:00 AM I was registered. On the weekend prior to that Monday there was a two day event for Motors which was 120 motors laying rubber for 2 days.

So on Monday there were still a lot of motors over 30 left wanting to drive on the track. Cars were a lot less probably 15 or so. So the motors were given 30 minutes of track time every hour and cars were given the other 30 minutes. First session for cars was 9:30 AM my plan was to catch that session. After that the cars were gonna be split on fast/slow cars and the first Fast session for cars was 10:15 AM.

My friends arrived around 9:00 but with all the registration etc. I already registered started to prep the car aka take everything out and set coilovers to a more track friendly setup (-6/-6 clicks from full firm) I didn't do the tire pressures because I prefer to do it after first session. At 9:30 AM I was first at the gate ready for track time I asked the guy on the gate what needs to happen for me to be in the fast group and he looked the Mustang asked me is it my first time on track I said no and that this is the fastest Mustang on Serres and he give me the sticker for fast cars.

The first session with the high tire pressures and the new not very well beeded brake pads was ok the track was having insane amounts of grip but left rear started screaming with 37 psi pressures. My best lap was number 4 (I do out lap, 2 fast laps, cooldown and another fast lap) - 1:29.86 this is the fastest time I posted in a first session ever usually my first session is around the 1:31 mark.

I quickly exited the track got the tires down to 30 PSI hot I was chatting with a friend whom I invited and said that if today that car didn't do a 1:27 I will simple sell it the next day.

At 10:15 AM I was again first to the gate for the Fast Cars group. First flying lap I was down to 1:28.9 (0.2 sec off my March PB) on the second flyer I dropped down to 1:28.4 but I was feeling I was making mistakes. Cooled down the car and decided to do 1 more lap:

I managed to do a 1:27 lap but barely 1:27.86. This saved the car from a sale. And also this is a new Fastest time for a Mustang on Serres:

Serres Racing Circuit lap times - FastestLaps.com

List of fastest lap times for Serres Racing Circuit. Updated May 2026.

fastestlaps.com

I recorded a 180-120 km/h brake time of 1.53 seconds which was actually the fastest that this car ever braked on that track (my DSUno/DS2500 combo worked) which was actually slowed me down to 92.7 km/h while in March I did a 101.3 km/h this added to a 0.5 seconds loss of time over the March lap. In other words the brakes worked better than expected but I will need some time to adjust to them. After this session the Air temps got up to 68F and the traffic on track got heavier with more cars coming in so the chance for a clean lap was not in my favour and with 3 hours drive back home same afternoon I decided to save the car.

This is how front left looked after the 3rd session:



Around 13:00 I started packing putting the tires back to street pressures and the coilovers back to -14/-14 which is my new street setting. We got to do a lunch on the track and enjoy the motors doing a lovely dance on track. At Around 15:00 We decided it's time for us to hit the road. We stopped here and there and at around 19:00 I was back in Sofia.

Next day I checked oil usage which seams minimal considering how many times I hit the 7500 RPM rev limiter and there was again some brake fluid on the edge of the brake reservoir. My brakes pedal was actually really soft as well. I took the car for a well deserved car wash and managed to get most of the rubber marks off the paint. I really should invest in a good Tar removal spray. But overall every track days is great when it finish with a new Record and a lot of good emotions.

What is next:

I actually have another track day planned for Dracon on 29.12 to finish the year in style but it's very weather dependent as the winter is starting in Bulgaria.

I plan to buy a new brakes master come spring time and install it with the yearly service of the car in March 2026.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Another great post and always fun to read your exploits. I was wondering how much the new addition at Dracon added to the length? Good luck with the weather and hopefully we will get a short story from you on your run in December.

 

[bnight]

Another great post and always fun to read your exploits. I was wondering how much the new addition at Dracon added to the length? Good luck with the weather and hopefully we will get a short story from you on your run in December.

They added additional km to the track so now it's 2900 meters while Serres is 3100. Next year this marvel will open only 40 minutes drive from Sofia:

a 4 km fully build to Fia Grade 2 standards track called Lara racing Circuit. I think this will make next season even better. Especially if I figure out everything going on with the brakes.

 

[JDee]

Well, it sure is flat. I think elevation changes really enhance a circuit.

In my province we have Mosport, er, CTMP which has massive elevation changes and is blazing fast. Then there is Le Circuite Mont Tremblant in Quebec, also with elevation changes and pretty fast. Two really challenging tracks.

There's the GP circuit in Montreal which is pretty flat and not terribly challenging to non- F1 cars.

Then we have Shannonville, flat as a pancake. It's a good beginner track but not very exciting. Then Calabogie, mostly flat but with some minor elevation changes. People new to racing are encouraged to go to Shannonville or Calabogie to learn the basics, then go to Mosport or LeCircuit when they have some experience.

The average racer would only run Montreal in a supporting event for the GP, and he would likely find it not all that great. It is largely 5 or so moderate length straights each of which ends in a fairly slow corner or chicane. They have made changes to it over the years, but it still is not that great for the cars we mortals can afford. Your new track reminds me of Montreal.

I have run all these tracks since the 1980s and can say for sure you just can't beat the challenge of the big elevation changes and the high speeds at Mosport, those two features enhance the entire driving experience far beyond what flat tracks offer.

You definitely want to get those brakes happy, that new track looks like it's going to be hard on brakes!

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I have run plenty of relatively flat tracks and overall many are just as difficult as those with rolling terrain, as sight lines are often obscured. I am excited for you as the track does appear quite safe with good runoff areas and having run both flat and tracks with plenty of elevation I find one often has favorites of both types. For example I really love Road Atlanta, but then the full course at Utah Motorsports Campus is fantastic. With three tracks within reasonable distances we will look forward to reports in 2026 and we expect you to be the faster Mustang at the new Lara Racing Circuit.

 

[GAR944]

Days in the Shop

On my Dracon event on 20.08.2025 we noticed that my brake fluid cap is spitting brake fluid out of it. As well as my OLM was complaining of needing new oil. So I booked a visit to my dealership (11.09.2025) for new 5W20 Motorcraft oil, new Castrol SRF (I had some stocked in the garage) and finally to install the rear Unitesta 2 piece rotors that needed some help to fit. I have a knock when I press the car on the left rear that is very easy to demonstrate so I asked my dealer to check it turned out the balljoints on the steeda toe-links have play in them (not sure if this is a concern or just an annoyance) I will need to look for a solution.

View attachment 106129

After the 20.08 event I knew my tires were done both front tires were corded on the inside:

View attachment 106130

so I ordered a new set:
View attachment 106131

So on 16.09.2025 I went to my tires shop to mount the new tires and do a brand new alignment we get the toe settings in spec -0.25 toe out front, +0.23. I was ready for Ford Fest 2025 (27.09-28.09).

Ford Fest 2025

Ford Fest 2025 was supposed to be two days this year in the end of September the first day 27.09 was planned as an expo day and the second as a competitions and time attack day. I obviously wanted again to take part in the time attack day as we know the Time Attack part is what I was interested in. It turned out I have to work on 27.09 and it was a long work day on Saturday. On Friday the program for the event got released and the Time attack part was only 2 hours between 14:00 and 16:00. The weather forcast was not great as there were chances of rain. My plan was to travel in the morning get on time for Signup before 10:00. Prep the car and talk with people on the track till the TA start.

A friend of mine who owns a 2019 Ecoboost Mustang asked me on Saturday if he can come with me so I said yes we agreed to meet at the gas station at 7:20 as I needed to fill the car and travel to Dracon. When I got to the station it started drizzling which is not great on brand new Semi slicks (I didn't have time to do a proper heat cycle on the A052's). Ether way I put the wet mode on turned on the Country Mix i have on Spotify and enjoyed a lovely yet rainy trip. I usually fill the car when I get to the track but this time knowing that we will at most have 2 or max 3 sessions I decided 3/4 full would do after all Dracon is a flat track.

We arrived the lot was empty so I parked close to the track exit and went to register. The weather was dry but cold. A lot of friends were on the line waiting to get registered including Yasen with the Focus RS that is my usual closest rival and friend. He was asking if I plan to go to Serres I said sure when you want I'm always ready so there might be a Serres trip in October who knows.

The registration was done I emptied the car from anything not needed installed the transponder and was ready to go see others and the Drag event 1/8 mile racing on the long straight. During that event I was talking with a friend from my hometown who just bought a Fiesta 1.6i and we were discussing how rare and cool this cars are. There is a track championship with such Fiesta's in UK. It was a cool drag event that lasted till 13:30.

At that time one of the track marshals who is a friend asked me to talk with a girl that want to do her first outings on track if I could instruct her since I have track experience with the new layout. He introduced me and the girl turned out to drive exactly a Fiesta 1.6i. So after the TA safety briefing I jumped into her car for the first session of the TA in her class. She showed good driving though as a novice in the center of the track not using the whole of it and being not overly aggressive with the brakes but she showed good driving skills and great traffic awareness She did 2:10 lap time in that first session.

Once I popped out of the fiesta was time to go to the track for my first session. I promised my friend that I will give him a ride in the Mustang in that first session as I still needed to get tires up to temp. The tires were still brand new and with only a 1 hour and a half drive they still were not heat cycled properly and sitting on the sun the fronts were at like 33 PSI and by the end of first session all tires were up to 36 psi. This year again there was an over/under 5.0l (which to be fair technically should be 4.0l) Mustang class in my class there were a brand new S650 Mustang GT, A Mach 1 on 305 AR1 tires but stock suspension and 0 camber on a FBO motor and Me. The Mach 1 best lap on the new layout prior to this event was 1:34 but he was now on AR1's.
Obviously with the tires brand new and PSI that high the car was sliding and understeering a lot most notably end of top straight. The brakes were also acting up with ether the pedal been hard in brake zones or exiting the track been super soft.
So I only manage to do a best lap of 1:31.6 (still enough for Fastest Mustang on Dracon) and the Mach 1 did a 1:34.00. Yasen with the RS only did 1:35.5 So I was ahead from anyone by a solid distance.
I exited the track super fast as I wanted to catch the tires while still hot to get the PSI down to 30 while tires still hot. And to drop my passenger.
Once I popped the hood I immediately noticed that the brake fluid was all over the master cylinder spilling from the cap. We opened the cap and found the garment out of it completely we installed it correctly but by that point my brand new Castrol SRF was obviously boiling and I had air in the system. I debated should I go out or not but decided to go out for the next session.

The next session was in like 1 hour iso that give time to brake fluid and all other things to cool down a bit. By that point the car was down to a bit over 1/2 a tank. Since I didn't have a passenger this time the car was lighter but what was immediate noticeable was the grip from the tires it was insane. You know that feeling where the car is setup great for the track and it's just sticking that was this feeling. The brakes were a bit long so not perfect still. Straight out of the gate the car did 1:29.337 but in the long left exiting the long straight the engine was misfiring because fuel slosh which lead me to instinctively switching to 5th on the straight and my top speed was at 196 km/h down from 206 km/h from previous session I lost time there. I also lost a lot of time in the last 2 corners. I tried to do a second flyer but I I lost time somewhere 1:30.6 then I cooled off the car and tried for a 3rd flyer (sessions are 10 minutes) but catched the Mach 1 on a cooldown lap at the other straight (the only lap I had on video was that one) and I only manage to do 1:29.6. You will hear me cursing the fact that I will catch the Mach 1 exiting the long straight. The video is not great but I hope it will give you an idea of the new layout of the track.

The Mach 1 managed to improve it's time to 1:32.928. And Yasen give his RS for the second session to his son Kaloyan who manage to do 1:35.060 take the win in the Over 2.0 European ford's class from his Father this was the 3rd fastest overall time on the event. There were no more sessions the girl I was instructing previously managed to drop 17 seconds in the next 2 sessions and got down to 1:53.591. While the S650 GT did only a 1:43.613.

So for 4th year in a row (last year there was a ford fest without time attack as the track was rebuilding) I'm the fastest Ford and a Mustang on Dracon and 1:29.337 is my new Personal best.

View attachment 106132

And here is photo of the podium for Mustang over 5.0l classView attachment 106133

It took us a while to get everything back into the car and setup the coilovers back to street setting and I didn't have time to fill the tires back with air though I probably should have (one of the TPMS's lighted yellow on the way back). We stopped for food at the McDonald's on the highway with my friend which was a dinner (we actually didn't manage to eat lunch because of the timing of the TA event). Filled the car on the Shell next to it and ejoyed a lovely night drive on the highway listening to country. Was back at home at 22:00 marking a very long but super fun and emotional day.


What is next:

1. Brake fluid cap (I just realised this is my original 2017 brake fluid cap) I replaced the master cylinder in 2023 but it come without a cap so we reused the original one I guess that cap was having problems even back then. And that made be the reason why I don't have consistent brakes. I hope a new brake cap will solve that. Obviously will need another brakes bleed.

2. I still need to install the Whiteline endlinks hopefully will manage to do it soon.

3. I plan to do Serres in October if the weather stabilise it just started raining for a week which is good as we didn't get rain for like 3 months and my home town is having water supply issues.

With regard to your knock in the rear end, took me a while to find this one. The toe link on one side was looser than the other so would rotate and hit the bearing in the aluminum arm whilst driving. Hit a pot hole and clunk from the loose strut bolt (knew where that one was) and the another from the rear of the car. A quick and simple fix was a medium sized cable tie with some polytube. Slide the tube onto the cable tie and warm the tube slightly on the cable tie and wedge it between the toe link and arm and wrap the cable tie up and around the bolt. It becomes a bump stop and stops the clunk. A month of cursing and thinking i had something in the chassis rail before i found the source.

Sorry for the crap photos, car is on the ground when i went out to grab some shots.

 

[bnight]

With regard to your knock in the rear end, took me a while to find this one. The toe link on one side was looser than the other so would rotate and hit the bearing in the aluminum arm whilst driving. Hit a pot hole and clunk from the loose strut bolt (knew where that one was) and the another from the rear of the car. A quick and simple fix was a medium sized cable tie with some polytube. Slide the tube onto the cable tie and warm the tube slightly on the cable tie and wedge it between the toe link and arm and wrap the cable tie up and around the bolt. It becomes a bump stop and stops the clunk. A month of cursing and thinking i had something in the chassis rail before i found the source.
View attachment 106652 View attachment 106653
Sorry for the crap photos, car is on the ground when i went out to grab some shots.

You are 100% correct it's from my toe links but I run steeda ones that the bearings in them are shot I guess. Still thinking in what direction to go for a fix on this one.

 

[GAR944]

You are 100% correct it's from my toe links but I run steeda ones that the bearings in them are shot I guess. Still thinking in what direction to go for a fix on this one.

These are basically brand new and one side is way looser so allows the arm to rotate freely where the other side requires force. There is no play in the joints themselves. If you jack a corner up and pull/push on the bottom of the wheel and get a clunk then i'd agree the joint is worn out. Otherwise twist the arm and see if it hits the hub like mine. Fingers crossed you don't need to replace them. Hate having clunks that i don't know what is causing it. Have got very familiar with my left front strut nut coming loose.

 

[bnight]

These are basically brand new and one side is way looser so allows the arm to rotate freely where the other side requires force. There is no play in the joints themselves. If you jack a corner up and pull/push on the bottom of the wheel and get a clunk then i'd agree the joint is worn out. Otherwise twist the arm and see if it hits the hub like mine. Fingers crossed you don't need to replace them. Hate having clunks that i don't know what is causing it. Have got very familiar with my left front strut nut coming loose.

When I press down on the car I got the clunk and it's the left side that is doing it more than the right side. My dealer said that it's the joint that is causing the issue they say it's not a safety issue and it's part of the game. So I'm leaving with it. But yeah overall will probably order OEM ones new as I have the same noise with my originals so it is what it is but I will check the bolts as that's a great shout the Steeda ones use nuts to get them tight so that might be an issue.

 

[bnight]

Free Day - Dracon - 22.11.2025

I was so happy with my drive at Serres last time out. I was planning to go sub 1:28 since March fighting with all the issues in the March event (Oil leaks, torn diff bushings and the catback hitting the rear bumper) but eventually most of this issues are behind me and I did what looked like a perfect drive.

At the beginning of this season something else happened Dracon opened with a new configuration in April. I was fighting my issues when the American Fest on Dracon happened on 31.05. The fastest lap time there was a C6 Z06 with a lap time of 1:28.389 and the Fastest Mustang on that event was an 800 hp Mustang GT A10 with a lap time of 1:31.448. As you know I managed to win Ford Fest 25 in the end of September with a lap time of 1:29.30 on a set of brand new A052's.

On Friday (14.11.2025) one of my friends said that he is going to finally drive on Dracon with his G80 M3 Competition on Monday (17.11.2025). I have ton of work lately so I said that I can't join him. He is driving on Slicks and the car is a sub 6 seconds 100-200 km/h car so he managed to post a lap time of 1:21 for comparison his Serres times are around 1:25.1.

Next day Dracon announced an open track day weekend for 22.11-23.11 so naturally I was curious to see if I can make it. However the weather this week was very unstable (raining a lot) and with F1 been in the States (6 AM start times in Sofia) going to the track on a Saturday sounded like a huge ask. I was fallowing the forecast for Dracon though and there was a good chance that it could be sunny on Saturday. On Friday the 800 hp Mustang asked me if I planned to go to Dracon on Saturday so I said I don't know it depends on how I will feel after qualifying. Ether way I decided to load the car for a track day on Friday evening just in case (aka put my helmet in the car for a change) which I did. I texted him that I plan to go but he said that already made other plans I texted my friend with M3 as well but he also had made other plans.


I went to bed at around 12:30 and wakeup at 5:30 to watch the F1 Qualifying at 6:00 Vegas at the rain was fun and interesting to watch. Around 7:30 I managed to get into the car, fuel it up and start the 1 and a half drive to Dracon. Stopped for fuel and managed to get on the track around 9:30. Took me a while to register and prep the car so I missed a session and there were also bikes on the track which often makes things tricky. They were doing 1 session (15 minutes) bikes, 1 session cars. Which later in the day when more cars arrived become 2 sessions bikes and 2 sessions cars.

My First session was at 10:05 and I used it mostly to see the track which was wet on some parts (Parabolica corner and longest straight and the braking for the Hairpin). The car was exactly the same as the Serres free day so literally 0 prep the difference from the Ford Fest was that I switched to Ferodo DSUno/DS2500 brake pads and got a new cap for the Brakes reservoir. First session I posted a lap time of 1:30.9 which was fine and the brakes showed huge potential. However I'm still seeing traces of brake fluid on the edge of the reservoir (I guess a new Master Cylinder is needed). After that I set my tire temps better and started waiting for the next session.

A lot of friends and other cars arrived in mean time and the weather got better with a lovely sun and some wind that helped in drying the track. With Sessions for Bikes and the cars now split in two groups Slow (lap times over 1:35) and fast. My Second session started in 11:25 by that time the air was up to 17C (62.5F) First flying lap I did 1:29.16 and the next lap I did 1:28.13 that lap had a 1:27.7 in it but I got excited in the last two corners and destroyed it. Cooled down the car and went for another flyer where the prediction was showing 1:27.4 at some point but again lost it all on the end of the track to do a 1:28.38. I was hoping that I would manage to get another lap in that session as I knew the weather will get hotter after that so I cooled down the car again (cold temps+everything done to the engine helps with getting CHT down to 97C(206F)) and decided to just drive the first two sectors (for some reason dracon is split in 4 sectors instead of 3) and just focus on the final two sectors which I didn't manage to do the lap 2 final two sectors were better.

This was the lap. I'm experimenting with the new format that Racebox provides for Video Overlay but I managed to do a lap of 1:27.740 which is the fastest lap an American car did on the new Dracon Layout. I was so excited that with so minimal prep the car dropped 1.6 seconds compared to Ford Fest 25.


And with a Theoretical best in this Session of 1:27.4 I know a 1:26 should be on the cards in the feature.

After the session I again noticed brake fluid on the edge of the brakes reservoir which is really annoying. Something that I forgot to mention is that I'm getting a whine from the rear right that start around 120 km/h (75 mph) that is very noticeable on the highway drive (I think ether wheel hub or a halfshaft and need to inspect it). Ether way I spend the next hour or so talking with people in the paddock. Something everyone was buzzing about was the fact that Porsche Club Bulgaria were actually having the first Ever Track day at the new LARA Racing Circuit and the talks of another project for a race track near Sofia. So exciting to hear that people were able to try out the new track (actually had friends there so waiting for feedback) and that more venues are planned.

My next session was at 12:49 I decided there is no point of pushing the car as by that time the Air temp was already 23C (73F) and I don't think I could improve my lap times. I wanted to learn the track a bit however the car started again fuel cutting on the fast left corner (I was at a bit under 3/4 on the tank) and the car was feeling down on power. I only did 1:29.08 that session and when I got to the box the car was running ruff and vibrating. Decided to check codes and I got P0345 error:



First time I got this error was back in March of 2024 when I money shifted the car to 10 000 rpm. I have seen it since then a few times but as we see from times the car is running fine. However I wonder what is going on. Something to mention I guess is that when I started the car in the morning the Sync was displaying a message of Shutting down to preserve battery so I wonder could this be a sign of an alternator issues. Need to check.

I restarted the engine cleaned the code and the car started running good again. However I guess my fuel level was low enough to continue running the car so I decided to start packing and drive home. In mean time a few more friends arrived and we started chatting while I was packing. This took a lot of time I actually left the track at 5:30 or so. The weather was lovely for second half of November and the track was full with people which was making it so fun.

I finally got back in Sofia around 19:30 or so after a lovely night drive on the highway chilling with country. Sometimes driving at night in a Mustang is so therapeutic. What a lovely day.

What is next:

I have booked a track day on Dracon for 29.12 hopefully the weather will not be cold.

There is a Serres event on 13-14 of December that also look cool Misha Charoudin (Aka the King of the Nurburgring) will be coming to Serres for Track-Speed Track Day which may be a great option to give him the Mustang for a spin. Waiting on weather forecast to decide if I will go.

Over the winter I need to address a few things:
- new Brakes Master Cylinder to hopefully solve the fluid leak issue.
- Motorsport ABS maybe Looks like Ford have FP350s unit - M-2353-D not sure that my Traction Control will work with it though @Fair you have experience with this I think ?
- Address somehow the P0345 errors (new Alternator, chains maybe, camshaft sensors) @biggsy I think you went through that.
- figure out what is whining in the right rear and replace it (halfshaft, wheel hub) at that point I think new wheel hubs are surely a good insurance last time I changed one of this was in 2021 !

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Wow, you keep going faster and sorry to hear you are having a few issues, but I am always impressed at how much you work on maintenance for the track. Your attention to detail is definitely part of your success and it is cool you get help and advice from folks in Australia, the US and more from TMO. Of course there are many folks who have gotten solid advice from the Bulgarian Blue Beast also, ha! Congrats and another great write up , and I know I am only one member who always enjoys your track adventures.

 

[biggsy]

However I'm still seeing traces of brake fluid on the edge of the reservoir (I guess a new Master Cylinder is needed).

Did you do the brake pad change yourself? Is it leaking at the seam of the reservoir?

When retracting the caliper pistons, I would suggest opening the reservoir cap. When retracting the caliper pistons, it pushes the fluid and air back to the reservoir and if the cap is closed then obviously the pressure will build up in the reservoir and could cause the seam to start to crack and allow fluid through. I made this mistake and realized as I was doing a pad change that fluid was coming out of the cap and the seam. This is my suggestion and could be wrong but it’s the best suggestion I got

 

[bnight]

Did you do the brake pad change yourself? Is it leaking at the seam of the reservoir?

When retracting the caliper pistons, I would suggest opening the reservoir cap. When retracting the caliper pistons, it pushes the fluid and air back to the reservoir and if the cap is closed then obviously the pressure will build up in the reservoir and could cause the seam to start to crack and allow fluid through. I made this mistake and realized as I was doing a pad change that fluid was coming out of the cap and the seam. This is my suggestion and could be wrong but it’s the best suggestion I got

No I always let the dealer do all my services I literally have two left hands it's leaking at the seam of the reservoir yes. I guess a new master needs to be ordered this will be my 3rd one. But nice point for the retracing of the callipers will have it in mind. Any experience with the P0345 error according to ChatGPT it might be time I give up on the 5W20 and move to something like 5W40 at least preferably 5W50.

 

[JDee]

After the 1st rebuild of the 'yote my engine builder strongly suggested using the best quality full synthetic 15W50 I could get. Had no engine problems after that. It wasn't being daily driven and it was kept in a warm garage so there were no cold starts either. Everyone has their own secret sauce, this one worked for me.

 

[bnight]

After the 1st rebuild of the 'yote my engine builder strongly suggested using the best quality full synthetic 15W50 I could get. Had no engine problems after that. It wasn't being daily driven and it was kept in a warm garage so there were no cold starts either. Everyone has their own secret sauce, this one worked for me.

yeah will switch to 5W50 I guess Revenol support the GT3 program in the NLS so should be a good starting point I guess or you can never go wrong with a Motul.

 

[biggsy]

No I always let the dealer do all my services I literally have two left hands it's leaking at the seam of the reservoir yes. I guess a new master needs to be ordered this will be my 3rd one. But nice point for the retracing of the callipers will have it in mind. Any experience with the P0345 error according to ChatGPT it might be time I give up on the 5W20 and move to something like 5W40 at least preferably 5W50.

No sir. no experience with p0345

 

[bnight]

No sir. no experience with p0345

will try switching the oil to 5W50 and we will see next season.

 

[bnight]

Day in the Shop

With the Christmas vacation in full swing. I finally managed to ask a friend to help me out with installing this:


I bought them back in June but never got to install them. So on 19.12 we gather in my garage and got the car for first time on the jack stands (I bought them in April with the idea to work on the car). As you guys know I'm totally not mechanically inclined but my friend is a wizard so he helped a lot. It took as a lovely 2 and half hours with all the measurements but we finally got the final product.



I specifically went after the Whiteline because of the gold colour which matched great with the Ohlins colours.

The reason I decided to install this was because another Ydri Track Day was coming. My German friend with the S13 Nissan host this track days when he is in Bulgaria which is usually Summer and Winter. This year the event was planned for 29.12.2025 which in Bulgaria is usually a full blown winter. Me and my German friend were discussing this event for like 2 months as we reserved the track back in October. And he was determined to be faster than the Mustang he actually was so determined that he got a new set of Nankang CRS tires and Pagid RS-29 pads. I was in my hometown during Christmas went there on 20.12 and was planning to got back on 28.12 to load the car and prep it for the next day. During Christmas there was snow in my hometown.



This was the first snow of the season so naturally I was wondering if the weather will be fine for a track day. My hometown is north in Bulgaria while Kaloyanovo where Dracon is Located is South so while there was snow in the north part of the country there was only rain in the south part. Ether way all the extreme weather was supposed to stop by 26th and to be dry in the next days leading up to 29th. So I was hoping the track will dry.

On 26th a lovely video from the track was posted there was a white swan on the very wet Dracon Race Track that was super strange but I take it as a sign we will be good for a track day.

On 28th a warning for an extreme gusts was reported across the whole country with winds up to 62 mph (I know for you guys this is just a minor breeze but in Bulgaria was a big deal). Ether way in that extreme weather I traveled to Sofia with the Fiesta it was more like flying than driving though as that small car was pushed in all directions by this winds. I got to the Mustang loaded the helmet this time. And after finishing the 3 Strange Things Episodes I went to sleep.

Ydri Track Day - Dracon - 29.12.2025

I woke up at 6:30 AM and the sounds from outside were still for very strong winds. The weather app said it's cold. I dressed very warm and got out at around 7:15 AM we were supposed to meet at a gas station near the City exit to group travel to the track.
It was a cold morning 0C (32F) and I was on my Yokohama A052 tires so I was driving very carefully as this was the first time I'm driving this tires in such cold weather Yokohama say that this tires are no good at bellow 7C we all know that but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. We met at the gas station there was my BMW G87 M2 friend and at around 8:00 AM we drove off to the track.

Something that was very obvious when I took that drive was that a lot of the rattles over bumps were gone I guess the Endlinks were the issue that I was chasing for so long ... I wish I changed them sooner.

This made for an amazing drive it was a bright sunny winter morning with blue skies I was driving careful because of the cold temps and was chilling on some country music. What a lovely drive. Just when I parked to the petrol station next to the track to fuel up my friend S13 parked as well. We fuelled up talked a bit about who will be faster and got to the track.

On the track was dry but there ware strong winds the track is after all a formal airport so the strong winds were still present and the 3C (37.4F) air temperature was feeling more like -10C (14F) which made for extreme unloading and track setting up. My BMW M2 friend joked that he come to beat me by 2 seconds and go home. The track day plan was we do a competition till 13:00 and then free driving till track closing. Since the track was so cold I didn't have to play with tire pressures at all. We were facing huge issues warming up tires.

First session of the day was cut short just when I was bringing up my tires up to temps because a car stopped in the grass and we were unable to get it out for like an solid hour. However my friend with the S13 managed to do a lap of 1:28.4 which was a very strong time considering the track was so cold I only did 1:33 but I only did 2 warm up laps prior to the red flag.

Next session my friend dropped into the 1:27 while I only managed to do 1:28.88 because I was held up by traffic at the end of the lap I had a theoretical best of 1:28.3 or so still far from the times of my last track day.

In the next session I decided to give it my all and managed to do a new PB of 1:27.35 mean time the Nissan was at like 1:26.9 or so so still close but yet so far. The Mustang is faster on the straights but the S13 is better in the corners as it has some mild aero and is way lighter. The M2 only did 1:28.4 but was on a PS4s tires his PB is 1:26 with this tires and now was with new software and more power.

At that point I was down to 3/4 of a tank while the S13 was trying to fuel up the car with 5L of fuel enough for a few laps because of the wind most of that 5L were on the ground instead in the fuel tank and we both went out for a final session for the official time attack part of the event. On my first fast lap the car fuel cut in the long left corner so the S13 won but he still managed to do a new PB of 1:25.9 which is faster than the M2. My friend with the M2 couldn't improve though.

As well as bunch of the other guys though some were posting new PB's like my friend who helped me install the Endlinks he is driving a E46 330i StationWagon which is well prepped on coilovers and Nankang tires and managed to do a PB of 1:29.8 There was a C6 Z06 Corvette that blow a hydralic line in the first session that still did a good time (managed to improve it to 1:29.78 as well during afternoon sessions) and he was running my old A052 tires.

So I finish 2nd in Class and Overall the Time Attack part of the day just behind that S13 and my friend was very happy as I now own him some Beer because we had a bet.

Here is the video from the lap:

I want to the gas station to get gas but on the way out I heard a strange hissing sounds when pressing the brakes from the engine bay. This was at low speed. I guess my brakes booster as well as the pump are going out so I plan to replace them come spring time.

In the afternoon I give rides to friends. One of the people actually has a lovely 2018+ Roush RS3 Mustang but he didn't bring it to the track so he asked me to give him a ride. He was insanely impressed with how my Mustang is putting power down and cornering which is something that his car can't do he had it on the Summer track day. And then we were discussing about what parts he can trow on his car. I give a ride to my friend who helped me install the endlinks and he was impressed as well. And finally I give the car to my S13 friend who managed to do a 1:27.21 with a 1:26.96 theoretical lap while I was in the car as well so I guess the Mustang has a solid mid 1:26 in it probably even a 1:25.

My BMW M2 friend was complaining after the awards ceremony that he the track is slow and I pointed out that each and every one of us did a new PB today besides him so he continue driving and with the track getting wormer and with more tire and less traffic on it he managed to do a lovely 1:25.9 lap as well getting a new PB.

At around 16:00 we were all packed and went to the near town for a lovely dinner and some chat about cars on a warm place we were all stone cold by then because of the cold winds.

I started the drive back home at around 18:00 at what point it was a lovely full of stars dark sky.

During the drive the whine from the right rear was more pronounced and it's happening between 80 km/h and 130 km/h and winding down at 140 km/h so I guess it's a wheel hub that needs replacement as this sounds very consistent with a wheel hub going out behaviour.

Overall I was very happy with the drive home and the whole day.

When I uploaded the video from the lap on facebook a friend of mine (the one that won last year Dracon Cup infront of me) pointed out that my car is really unstable on braking which I also noticed and he think is front control arms bushings going bad. That is actually one of the parts on my list but I guess now is the time to fix it the question is should I go to Cortex Bearings front/rear or just get bushings instead. Ether way this needs fixing soon.

What is next:

- new Brakes Master Cylinder and booster to hopefully solve the fluid leak issue.
- Fix whatever is making annoying sounds at the back probably right rear wheel hub but will replace both hubs.
- Replace control arms bushings with Cortex Bearings.
- Switch to 5W50 Oil.
- Address the P0345 errors (GT4 timing chains :?)

Overall Season Recap

What a season this was it started very frustrating with a new PB in March on Serres 1:28.7 but tons of issues on the car P0345 errors, Oil consumption issues, diff bushings torn, torn exhaust bushings and unhooked rear bumper and rear rotors that don't fit as well as tons of braking related issues. All of this got fixed by June which took half of my season off. But after that my lap times started to improve thanks to brand new A052 rubber and all the fixes. I did over 100 laps this season which is not a lot but around my usual mark for the season.
I won the 2025 Ford Fest, got back my Serres record and improved it to 1:27.86. Managed to drop my lap time on the new Dracon Layout to 1:27.35 with a tons of potential in the car for even a 1:25 lap.
I hope the Season 2026 is at least that good.

I wish you guys a Happy New 2026 Year/Season !

 

[Bill Pemberton]

What a great way to end the year, and I can't think of a better present to give yourself. Many of us will only be thinking of track time come Spring as the weather in much of the US is not just chilly it is friggin cold! There are many of us envious of you burning up some tires yesterday but as always thanks for the great write up so we could go along for the ride with you.

Happy New Year