S197 3V Boone's BBB '05 GT Optima & CAM Build Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

[Boone]

I'm using the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge and SCCA CAM rules as the basis for my build. I know that I'm never going to tour the country in the OUSCC, but I like the concept of getting all I can get on track while maintaining all the creature comforts afforded in a modern car. My car was named Fiona by my kids, and the name stuck.

Engine - 323 cu. in. (5.3L) - 519whp @ 6680; 501wtq @ 4340
FRPP 3.720 bore iron alloy block (BOSS50)
Livernois 3V stroker crank by Kellogg (3.75" stroke)
Livernois H beam stroker rods (by Manley)
Diamond 3.720 stroker pistons w/ 22cc dish (9.5:1 compression) w/ Total Seal stainless steel rings
JDM Engineering cams w/ custom grind
FoMoSport Stage 3 heads w/ over sized valves (50cc combustion chamber) w/ FRPP etched valve covers
Cometic head gaskets
Phase locks
ARP head studs
Kenne Belle Stage 2 - 2.6L supercharger w/ 3 3/4" pulley for a max of 8.12 pounds of boost
8-rib overdrive serpentine belt system with DOB Frankentensioner
FRPP dual 62mm throttle body
JBA long tube headers 1 5/8" primaries w/ 3" collectors, gutted JBA shorty H-pipe, Roush Extreme Performance pipes, MBRP SS mufflers
Fore Innovations dual pump (TI 90000274 primary and TI 90000285 secondary) w/ 8AN lines
Advanced Fuel Dynamics Pro Commander adaptive flex fuel system
BBK high flow aluminum fuel rail kit w/ ID1000 injectors flowing E85 or pump gas
Meziere electric water pump
Mishomoto high capacity performance radiator w/ FoMoCo GT500 fan and schroud
Mishomoto oil cooler w/ thermostatic sandwich plate
Livernois billet oil pump gear-rotor in FRPP hi pressure oil pump
2013 GT500 8-quart cast aluminum oil pan
Pro-Dyno tune by Dan Desio

Driveline
Barton short shifter (2005BM-3)
Stock 3650
McLeod RXT twin disc clutch
McLeod lightened steel flywheel
FRPP stainless steel clutch line
Aluminium one-piece driveshaft
FRPP 3.55 ring and pinion
Eaton TrueTrac differential
HRE FF15 wheels 19x10 ET40 w/ Pirelli DH 295-680-19 (track)
Apex SM-10 19x10 ET40 w/ Bridgestone RE-71R 285/35/19 (auto-x and street)
RTR 19x9.5 ET33 w/ any 275/35/19 wet weather tire I can get my hands on

Front Suspension
H&R Street Performance coilovers and dampers
Eibach front sway bar - adjustable
MM caster/camber plates
MM bumpsteer kit

Rear Suspension
H&R Street Performance springs and dampers (adjustable spring perch)
MM adjustable panhard bar
Eibach rear sway bar
MM rear control arms
BMR adjustable upper control arm
JLT rear diff catch can

Brakes - Road Course
F - Brembo 14" 4P, KNS by DBA rotors, Carbotech XP-20 race pads, and Boss 302 brake ducts
R - Stock calipers, KNS by DBA rotors, and Carbotech XP-12 race pads
Brakes - Autocross and cruise
F - Brembo 14" 4P, Centric rotors, stock '07 GT500 pads, and Boss 302 brake ducts
R - Stock calipers, Centric rotors, and stock '07 GT500 pads

Safety
MM 6-point roll bar w/ removable harness bar and door bars (Mm5RB-24.5)
Schroth 4-point ASM harnesses (driver and passenger)
OMP HTE-R XL halo seats (driver and passenger)
NRG removable steering wheel and hub

Aero, Appearance, and Stuff
No aero, but it's in the planning stages
Kaenen 3" cowl hood w/ Carter's Customs hood vent w/ wicker bill
Foglight delete and black billet grill
Roush rocker kit
Roush fuel door
Ford Racing by AutoMeter gauges (water temp, oil temp, fuel pressure)

If you're reading this still, you are passionate or patient, not sure which.

 

[50Deep]

Sounds like all the ingredients for a bad ass car and an empty bank account. look forward to what comes next and some pics

 

[ChrisM]

Getting all I can while maintaining creature comforts sounds like me! I really enjoyed my Optima event.

Amazing build you've got here. Sounds like you've got a serious passion for it.

 

[Boone]

Getting all I can while maintaining creature comforts sounds like me!

This is why I jumped all over your introduction. Like minds.

Sounds like all the ingredients for a bad ass car and an empty bank account

Both are true. My objective is now to put the ingredients together to optimize my current setup and improve it where possible. I'm an engineer, but not a mechanic (working to improve my wrenching skills). I don't have a good baseline on the suspension geometry for my car, and I hope to learn more and obtain that knowledge with assistance from TMO forum members or other sources (not afraid to read). I want to know how and why my car works, and how and why it doesn't.

 

[ChrisM]

Optima has weird aero rules that can make things tricky from what I've seen. No rear wings is kind of a pain for balancing the car properly. I've read over this year's rules and have some questions about them, but I may go direct with them. Do you have any ideas for what you want to do there?

 

[Boone]

Ahhhh... you're hitting a point that I have been researching.

Making a decision on rear aero requires looking at front aero. The front splitter limitation of not being able to extend past the original body for SCCA CAM rules limits the front downforce available. With this handicap, I believe the most effective way to eliminate lift (not even gain downforce) on the front end is hood venting and extensive ducting.

With no appreciable downforce on the front of the car, the installation of a rear spoiler looses its luster, and an effective wing would negatively effect high speed balance. I don't know of anything available in the mass market that would conform to the rules and provide any real downforce. I'm looking at a few pieces for inspiration, and I'm trying to stay away from swiss cheesing my rear deck. I was considering fabricating a spoiler out of plexiglass and aluminum mounts and use the same mounts as the stock rear "wing" on my car.

We get so spoiled (pun intended) in the Mustang community that everything should be a bolt on from the aftermarket. I'm glaringly guilty myself. If I can manage to get some downforce on the front of the car, I'll look further into the time, effort, and expense of custom fabricating a rear spoiler. I may end up going with an aftermarket spoiler that is not as aero effective, but at least won't upset the balance of the car.

 

[ChrisM]

The only aftermarket affair that I could find is the GT500-type from American Muscle. It is the maximum allowable four inches. Whether or not it does anything, I have no idea. Installed it anyways.

I have plans for a front undertray that fills in the gaps just to reduce some of the drag, that's about it. Maybe a custom rear diffuser.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

You could easily do a vented hood using TrackSpec rivet-in louvers or a 2010 GT500 vent, and compliment that with a rear diffuser (but would require flat-bottoming the car to work well).

In for updates!

 

[Gab]

If you're reading this still, you are passionate or patient, not sure which.

I'm both. Subscribing because this build looks like it's going to be great!

 

[VoodooBoss]

The only aftermarket affair that I could find is the GT500-type from American Muscle. It is the maximum allowable four inches. Whether or not it does anything, I have no idea. Installed it anyways.

I was told by a Ford engineer that the GT500 rear spoiler is functional but I do not know the amount of downforce it provides.

 

[ChrisM]

I was told by a Ford engineer that the GT500 rear spoiler is functional but I do not know the amount of downforce it provides.

The American Muscle version of it is 4" vs the stock GT500 spoiler at 3" and it has a steeper rake. I can't make any educated statement on if it's an improvement in downforce. I have both and only bought it because it is the maximum height allowed for Optima that is off the shelf. The only other option for @Boone for Optima is to build your own I think.

 

[Boone]

TrackSpec is sending me some templates so I can try out some different shapes for hood venting. The Kaenen hood makes the standard Mustang stuff irrelevant. We'll see what I end up with.

Tell me how you'd interpret this excerpt from the 2017 SCCA rulebook for CAM:

• Front splitter, air dam, and/or spoiler may be added below the bumper, but must not extend past the perimeter of the original body excluding non-integral bumpers except OE or equivalent for the body style.
• Rear spoiler may be added, but may extend no more than 8” from the original body nor past the perimeter of the body. No rear wings may be added except OE or equivalent.

And this from the 2017 Optima rulebook:

AERO – participant vehicles are allowed to have any factory installed aero packages available on their specific vehicle platform. In other words, if it came from the production factory that way, regardless of size, it’s legal. If it looks suspect, be prepared to show proof of factory installation. No modification of existing factory aero is allowed if it already exceeds published guidelines.

GT class – any spoiler or wing configuration with a maximum of 6” tall from its highest mounting point or a maximum height of 4” above the lowest point of the rear window, whichever is less. The maximum width of the spoiler/wing must be no wider than the original panels of the car and must not extend more than 6 inches past the furthest point of the rear of the car. No wing may exceed 8 inches in chord length (front to back) at any point.

Does this mean I can put a splitter and wing from the FR500S on my car? This would be downforce Nirvana compared to the limitations I've been considering.

 

[ChrisM]

I don't think so. They weren't street legal. It can't hurt to ask the organizers though, they seem pretty responsive to inquiries.

 

[Boone]

Autocross this past weekend in Winston Salem, NC. Please forgive the drifting as it wasn't intentional, but once it's going on... may as well roll with it. This was my best recorded time of the day that went for P2.

And this is the lap that could have been... 0.8 seconds faster at the exit gate of the sweeper. I was a little too hot into the "lane change", and it didn't end well. No damage to speak of.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Looks like you had a good time.

 

[Boone]

 

[ChrisM]

I might inquire about the APR wing that the Roush 427R uses.

I also interpreted the rules you quoted to mean no splitters unless they come that way from the factory? I guess that's the same question as you asked about wings. I think I'll fire off an email or something about rule clarification and post the results here.

 

[Boone]

When combining the SCCA and Optima rules, I interpret the rules for splitters as "stay within the extents of the body of the car unless your body style was available with a splitter. If a splitter was available, it can be used no matter what the dimensions, but not modified." Same interpretation for wings, but if your body style was not offered with a wing, follow the rear spoiler guidelines.

It would be wonderful if we had real rulings from the governing bodies before dropping $3K. The price tag may make me go another direction anyway, but I'd still like to know what the actual ruling is.

 

[Boone]

And now for something totally different... I went to the drag strip last night to see what kind of times I could put up. Results as follows:
2.2183 - 60ft
5.8545 - 330ft
8.7007 - 1/8 ET
87.06 - 1/8 MPH

I know the 60ft time is trash, but I was pleased with the trap speed, especially since my 2nd gear tops out at 84mph (verified since I stayed in 2nd twice at the 7200 rpm redline through the finish). The shift to third came right before the 1/8 mile line. No more shifts would be required for the 1/4 mile, and calculators put me right around a 13 second 1/4 mile at 110 mph or so. It's hard to be sure because my 60ft time is so bad it throws everything out of whack.

In other good news, I never missed a shift. I was rowing the gears at 7000 rpm, and the 3650 with a Barton shifter never hesitated, and I was hitting 2nd gear hard. I was getting a little loose after the shift to 2nd even with the tall 3.55's, RE-71R tires, and sticky drag track.

I'll post a video once I do some editing. Good clean fun other than the demise of a white S550 GT last night. Driver was OK.

 

[Boone]

Video as promised. It is incredible how fast purpose built drag car eat up pavement. Check out the car ahead of me running a 4.18 in the 1/8 mile.