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FoxBody 89STANG Build Thread Profile - Fox Body Mustangs
- Thread starterjchady
- Start date
1989 Ford Mustang GT
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- Thread starter
- #63
Shortly before I had to give a point by to an SUV. Lol.
- Thread starter
- #64
Had a great day driving in the rain today. Terrible traction but it allowed me to really learn some car control and test my reflexes. Just as it was starting to warm up and dry, the alternator pulley came loose and lost its nut. So I was done with 3 sessions to go.
- Thread starter
- #66
Heading back to Blackhawk tonight for another TrackNight in America. Finally a warm, dry day. Now I get to really test the brakes.
- Thread starter
- #67
The trailer came in handy again today. Go to 14:45 to play Guess that Noise!
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- #69
Looks a little blue.
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- #70
Funny thing was the entire ride to the track I kept running through my head that I tightened everything and double checked it.
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- #71
I think I found the problem.
- Thread starter
- #73
Rebuilt it last year, only replaced syncros and 2nd gear though. 2nd had some chips in it, all other gears looked good. I will be replacing all of them this time.
First off, sorry to see the damage. Most long time, hard core track junkies have been there (raise both hands).
Second - excellent thought process on getting off the track, onto an exit road. Very considerate of your fellow track mates.
Third - in nearly all cases, don't set the e-brake after a track session. In this case, I can see why you would have, as you likely surmised a gear or two had left the chat and the car could roll.
Hope you get it repaired soon, and are able to enjoy the rest of the summer at various track events.
Second - excellent thought process on getting off the track, onto an exit road. Very considerate of your fellow track mates.
Third - in nearly all cases, don't set the e-brake after a track session. In this case, I can see why you would have, as you likely surmised a gear or two had left the chat and the car could roll.
Hope you get it repaired soon, and are able to enjoy the rest of the summer at various track events.
- Thread starter
- #76
Transmission is rebuilt and in the car. Maiden voyage today and it seems all good. But the alternator took a sh*t. Probably from when I lost the pulley two track days ago. New alternator on order.
- Thread starter
- #77
Managed to get back to Blackhawk Farms last night. The trip started terrible as we left late and then the hauler front brake seized. Luckily we were less than a mile from the shop so I ran back and dumped the car and drove it in instead. Now I had to make sure I could drive it home. The car performed flawlessly. The first couple sessions were me just getting back to comfortable with it and trusting that everything was working. I was trying some new brake points and slightly different lines. The final session of the night I made sure to grid early so I could have a clear track. I managed to put out my smoothest 5 laps including my fastest of the night before catching traffic. Best lap was a 1.25:090, only 2 tenths off my personal best . But the best part was that it felt easy. I wasn't oversteering or having to legpress the brakes to get the car to stop.
Tomorrow I go back to Jefferson Speedway for a Track Attack.
Tomorrow I go back to Jefferson Speedway for a Track Attack.
- Thread starter
- #78
Dave_W
Cones - not just for ice cream
I'm an autocrosser with only a few track days, and haven't driven this track, and I read you're struggling with brake capacity, so take this all with a big grain of salt.
After watching your first couple of hot laps, I noticed that often the nose was coming up rapidly right about the time you turn in, especially for heavier-braking corners, and you're getting onto the throttle well before the apex on several turns. That makes me think of the newbie mantra "brake in a straight line, then turn" and also indicates you're probably overslowing for corners. When the nose pops up at turn-in, you're unweighting the front tires just when you're asking them for the most grip, creating understeer.
My recommendation would be to work on trailbraking - get most of the braking done in a straight line, but then gently ease up on the brakes as you turn in (one smooth coordinated motion of foot and hands) but don't come completely off the brakes. The more you turn the wheel, the more you ease up on the brakes. You completely release the brakes as you reach the maximum steering angle. And then it's another smooth coordinated motion of unwinding the wheel as you apply the throttle, until you are at full throttle (ideally just as the steering wheel centers).
The line you want to make is a parabola, not a constant-radius arc. As a car slows while turning, the lateral g-force reduces, allowing for more turning angle for the same tire grip (with high-downforce cars, aero load reduces with slowing, so grip reduces as well). As a multi-time national Solo champ told me, "Turn, then turn some more." This can mean your turn-in point becomes a little later, as you'll be turning harder in the middle of the corner.
If you're getting on the throttle early because it feels like you need the weight shift of acceleration to keep the back from coming around when you turn in, that's a balance problem that should be addressed with sway bars and possibly roll-steer on the axle (and/or aero if it's only at high speed, but the video didn't seem like it).
After watching your first couple of hot laps, I noticed that often the nose was coming up rapidly right about the time you turn in, especially for heavier-braking corners, and you're getting onto the throttle well before the apex on several turns. That makes me think of the newbie mantra "brake in a straight line, then turn" and also indicates you're probably overslowing for corners. When the nose pops up at turn-in, you're unweighting the front tires just when you're asking them for the most grip, creating understeer.
My recommendation would be to work on trailbraking - get most of the braking done in a straight line, but then gently ease up on the brakes as you turn in (one smooth coordinated motion of foot and hands) but don't come completely off the brakes. The more you turn the wheel, the more you ease up on the brakes. You completely release the brakes as you reach the maximum steering angle. And then it's another smooth coordinated motion of unwinding the wheel as you apply the throttle, until you are at full throttle (ideally just as the steering wheel centers).
The line you want to make is a parabola, not a constant-radius arc. As a car slows while turning, the lateral g-force reduces, allowing for more turning angle for the same tire grip (with high-downforce cars, aero load reduces with slowing, so grip reduces as well). As a multi-time national Solo champ told me, "Turn, then turn some more." This can mean your turn-in point becomes a little later, as you'll be turning harder in the middle of the corner.
If you're getting on the throttle early because it feels like you need the weight shift of acceleration to keep the back from coming around when you turn in, that's a balance problem that should be addressed with sway bars and possibly roll-steer on the axle (and/or aero if it's only at high speed, but the video didn't seem like it).
Dave_W
Cones - not just for ice cream
Then again, from the GPS trace it look like you're taking the rallycross line, so all bets are off. 
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