S197 BOSS 302 Race Car Build Thread Build Thread

[ArizonaBOSS]

Will do

 

[Swiss Boss]

Does the Aluminator comes with billet oil pump? Or do you think you don't need them?

Also for your front LCA, Watson is selling everything you need to have threaded ball joint on your stock one. Might be cheaper than buying the whole arm if you don't have to.
I think my Steeda X11 are busted and was planning changing them with the Watson.

http://shop.watsonracing.com/HOWE-EXTENDED-BALL-JOINT-BALL-JOINT-ONLY-p/wr-22409.htm
http://shop.watsonracing.com/HOWE-BALL-JOINT-THREADED-COLLAR-ONLY-p/wr-22340f.htm
http://shop.watsonracing.com/product-p/wr-22399.htm

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

The Aluminator SHORT BLOCKs have the billet oil pump gears from the CJ--so I'm covered there. I have heard that the Aluminator full crate engines do not.

That might be a good option with the rehabilitating of the stock arms w/ the Watson parts. I am basically dreading removing the rear bushing on the stock arm, although I have seen a couple videos of people pushing them out with presses, and a couple other videos of people burning them off.

Not really sure on that yet. It would be EASIEST to just buy the pre-assembled part and be ready to go in my garage vs. driving around and paying labor for welding and pressing/etc. Still would probably be less expensive putting it all together locally like you suggested, though.

 

[Swiss Boss]

That good to know about the short block. I've also heard about the crate engine, that's why I asked.

I understand you concern about the labor involved in removing the stock bushing. That's why I went with the Steeda unit last year.
But it seems their X11 are not up to the task. I got about 10 tracks day, on street tire, and I think I got at least 1/4" of play in my wheel.

Also I got access to a press, will just need to find somebody to weld the collar in.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

That good to know about the short block. I've also heard about the crate engine, that's why I asked.

I understand you concern about the labor involved in removing the stock bushing. That's why I went with the Steeda unit last year.
But it seems their X11 are not up to the task. I got about 10 tracks day, on street tire, and I think I got at least 1/4" of play in my wheel.

Also I got access to a press, will just need to find somebody to weld the collar in.

That is not good news about the X11 balljoints. There are a few users here that will have to watch out for that.

 

[twistedneck]

One hell of a list, why are you going with the heavier pc680 battery from Vorshlag when you can find the lithium ion setup from Baschur racing for $600 out the door? its only 9lbs!

https://secure.buschurracing.com/ca...=1800&osCsid=be8d44371bb6e12f61ab3247d9893b50

What about the more economical re-designed BMR front lower control arm.. also comes with poly bushing in front and spherical bearings in the rear where it was formerly the hydra bush. That has to be a stiff ride but BMR also comes with the longer ball stud. its only $610 for everything vs. $1300 for arms and the bushing kit from Watson / Ford racing. And its saves about 5.5lbs / corner.


http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=978&superpro=0

Need to find out if the ball joints, bushings, and rod ends are replaceable first.

In addition, instead of installing a bump steer kit you can just get extended tie rod end links from KB for $250. Sounds a lot more robust than running a bump steer kit with its spacers.

http://store.kennybrown.com/product...rod-ends-2005-2014-mustang-boss-302-and-gt500

Would appreciate any feedback on these components too.. thanks!

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I'll address each of these and please don't take any offense to the succinct responses I'll offer--I do appreciate the suggestions.
I do want to drop weight off the car, but many of those weight reductions come with a price--so I have to pick and choose wisely with what will get me the best bang for the buck that I'm willing to part with.

One hell of a list, why are you going with the heavier pc680 battery from Vorshlag when you can find the lithium ion setup from Baschur racing for $600 out the door? its only 9lbs!

https://secure.buschurracing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1800&osCsid=be8d44371bb6e12f61ab3247d9893b50

1) Because the Vorshlag kit is $400 less and 2) I really like Vorshlag.

What about the more economical re-designed BMR front lower control arm.. also comes with poly bushing in front and spherical bearings in the rear where it was formerly the hydra bush. That has to be a stiff ride but BMR also comes with the longer ball stud. its only $610 for everything vs. $1300 for arms and the bushing kit from Watson / Ford racing. And its saves about 5.5lbs / corner.

http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=978&superpro=0

Need to find out if the ball joints, bushings, and rod ends are replaceable first.

I will not put any BMR components on my car, their component history indicates they do not know how to design components to withstand the stresses of road racing. They have had multiple control arm failures on their test cars. For that matter, pretty much everybody that has made an aftermarket Front LCA for these cars have had failures in a road racing environment--the only ones that are truly bulletproof are the Ford OEM/FRPP parts. I know BMR is working to get into the road racing market but they can do that on somebody else's car. You can talk to AI racer/renter Steve Poe about this in more detail.
Steeda makes an arm kit that uses the OEM arm w/ their longer ball joints for a lot less money, but we are already hearing reports that their ball joints are wearing out from members here (see Swiss Boss' post directly above in this thread!).
So, this is an area where I am willing to spend more money for truly proven parts that I won't have to worry about later.

In addition, instead of installing a bump steer kit you can just get extended tie rod end links from KB for $250. Sounds a lot more robust than running a bump steer kit with its spacers.

http://store.kennybrown.com/product/front-suspension/bump-steer-tie-rod-ends-2005-2014-mustang-boss-302-and-gt500

Would appreciate any feedback on these components too.. thanks!

I already have the Maximum Motorsports/FRPP bumpsteer kit installed

 

[twistedneck]

ArizonaBOSS i understand all of your concerns and responses.

I did confirm the BMR new design has a serviceable ball joint.

Also, for $20 more you can get the Kenny Brown road race specific front control arm with essentially the same features as the BMR part. However there is a lot more info regarding FEA and strength of part i assume to quell fears about these things fatigue fracturing under road race loading.

http://stang-aholics.com/ShowItem/111700 10-14 Mustang Kenny Brown Front Lower Control Arms.aspx

I also asked BMR to comment on the strength of their new design.. Still, nothing as strong as OEM i do agree.

And i also like Vorshlag - have their wheels, brake duct cooling kit, a few other items.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Kenny Brown has had failures on their arms as well.

 

[ufnavy06]

Since you're going around to all of these awesome tracks, which ones have you learned the most about the car, yourself and which ones did you flat out enjoy?

 

[Grant 302]

That is not good news about the X11 balljoints. There are a few users here that will have to watch out for that.

Both Chris and neema had failures with the X11s too. Earlier this year IIRC. I wouldn't even bother trying them at this point.

 

[twistedneck]

Kenny Brown has had failures on their arms as well.

I spoke with BMR about this and they admitted there were a lot of issues with the first couple iterations of their front a-arms on the s197. they simply were not meant for the beating of road course work. through in house R&D including more fails with guys on this board (and they admitted at the fault of BMR) they have finally come up w a robust design - i.e. thicker walls, larger gussets, more generous radii, no more holes, logo's etc.. the typical ways to decrease stress. I am not saying they are as strong as OEM - i know the Ford engineer who owns the OEM part and it is very low stress - but these new BMR parts are worth a try IMO.. i'll let you guys know as i'm buying a set! and i'll be on the lookout for cracks - break out the magnaglow!

FYI they use proforged ball joints.

Back to topic - those MMR parts are super nice.. i have the oil pump gears and they seem tough as hell so far. Would love to try the sprockets and chains.. probably already posted but what cams are you going with? There is a RR guy on SVTP that has fixed the vct and put a mega cam in it. pretty cool.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Since you're going around to all of these awesome tracks, which ones have you learned the most about the car, yourself and which ones did you flat out enjoy?

That's a tough question, but a good one!
I've learned more about the car on my smaller, local tracks like Bondurant West and Wild Horse Pass East as far as what the car can, will, and won't do. That's because I've got a billion laps on those tracks so it's easy to judge the results of changes vs. my latest known-good setup.
Miller and Laguna were both helpful to understand the effect of the rear wing.
Laguna is one of those "iconic" tracks that I just HAD to drive. I really enjoyed that.
While I haven't had a chance to drive it in my BOSS yet, the Thunderhill 5-mile track is really fast, fun, and challenging. Same for Sonoma.

Both Chris and neema had failures with the X11s too. Earlier this year IIRC. I wouldn't even bother trying them at this point.

That's not good news. I think we just installed them on Tucson302's car a couple months back--not sure what we put in.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I spoke with BMR about this and they admitted there were a lot of issues with the first couple iterations of their front a-arms on the s197. they simply were not meant for the beating of road course work. through in house R&D including more fails with guys on this board (and they admitted at the fault of BMR) they have finally come up w a robust design - i.e. thicker walls, larger gussets, more generous radii, no more holes, logo's etc.. the typical ways to decrease stress. I am not saying they are as strong as OEM - i know the Ford engineer who owns the OEM part and it is very low stress - but these new BMR parts are worth a try IMO.. i'll let you guys know as i'm buying a set! and i'll be on the lookout for cracks - break out the magnaglow!

FYI they use proforged ball joints.

Back to topic - those MMR parts are super nice.. i have the oil pump gears and they seem tough as hell so far. Would love to try the sprockets and chains.. probably already posted but what cams are you going with? There is a RR guy on SVTP that has fixed the vct and put a mega cam in it. pretty cool.

I hope those arms work for you--that's not a part I want to take a chance with as a failure at speed could leave you without a car or injured.

I am following Darren's build on SVTP as well, sounds like he's having some issues with his lockouts and cams.
Personally I have absolutely NO reason to eliminate the VCT--it generates great mid-range power and torque for the car that lets me use higher gears and avoid shifts.

Going to keep the stock cams.
This would be a PERFECT time to replace them, but it's another $1600 just for the cams, probably another $3K for the headers and CJ Intake setup required to support their flow. Just don't have the money right now. I just need to get the car back and operational again as it was before I roasted it--because it was already very competitive.

Given the choice between power and suspension I'll be focusing on the suspension first.
One thing I am wary of is increasing the power TOO much to the point where I can't use it. Another thing in wheel to wheel I need to be careful about keeping the power-to-weight ratio correct; less weight is more important than more power at this point.
But my secret wish list is for ARH longtubes and CJ intake setup. Dunno if I can really use those without going over my power-to-weight limits, though.

 

[Budget Boss]

Drew,

The ARH will increase your HP a little. Have you looked at the Vorshlag exhaust? When I had my off at TWS my exhaust was messed up bad and needed to be replaced from the cats back, so I went with the Vorshlag exhaust. I think Mark Smith runs the same exhaust on his Boss 302s. I left the cats and the manifold alone as I am making 380 HP and need to be 9.5:1 for ST3. With me in the car all dressed up the car weighs 3555lbs. I am hoping a CoolShirt system will add some weight and without that I will have to add some weight.

 

[twistedneck]

Drew,

The ARH will increase your HP a little. Have you looked at the Vorshlag exhaust? When I had my off at TWS my exhaust was messed up bad and needed to be replaced from the cats back, so I went with the Vorshlag exhaust. I think Mark Smith runs the same exhaust on his Boss 302s. I left the cats and the manifold alone as I am making 380 HP and need to be 9.5:1 for ST3. With me in the car all dressed up the car weighs 3555lbs. I am hoping a CoolShirt system will add some weight and without that I will have to add some weight.

Budget Boss.. that is a thing of beauty but w/o cats and with headers it would be ear melting, tooth shatteringly loud. In order to cap my car for noise i put on the Ford racing touring mufflers that are California legal. Does not sound good, but its quiet enough for the track. do you have any loudness issues at the track?

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Yeah that Vorshlag exhaust is super sexy...how much are they charging for it, out of curiosity? I've heard the sound clips from Mark's car and seen his videos, it sounds nice

I really love the way the car sounds now and it's pretty loud already as well with the Roush exhaust and no cats, not in a hurry to change that. The Roush mufflers alone save over 25lbs vs. the stock exhaust.

Another reason I'm not in a hurry to change the exhaust drastically is the ability to swap the stock mufflers back in for restricted sound events.
I plan to have some tip extensions with angled pipe put onto the factory mufflers, so I can route the sound up and away from any sound meter. My plan is to put a slot into the attachment bolts for these "custom" tips and have them able to rotate 90* and then locked down, so I can deal with sound meters on either side of the car depending on track. So far I've been lucky and managed to book "unlimited" sound track days at venues that are typically restricted (IE: Laguna).

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Also the cool shirt setup is not very heavy, whole deal including shirt/box/controller is probably under 10 lbs. But the ice and water, that is another story That's a good way to add USEFUL ballast.

At Laguna Seca I was 3530 in full gear w/ full cool shirt box and 3/8 tank of fuel. I'm aiming to get the car down to 3401 race weight and very confident I can do it.

Why 3401? 3401 is a break point in the NASA rules. At 3501 (my current minimum) I get a +0.3 credit in my power to weight calculation. Above 3401 I get a +0.2 credit, and don't have to exhaust my bank account to get there. Getting the car down to 3300ish will take a few grand in spending between carbon parts and bodywork/paint or wrap, and it shrinks the power to weight credit further. Diminishing returns vs. expenditures past 3400, IMO.

 

[Roadhouse]

Yeah that Vorshlag exhaust is super sexy...how much are they charging for it, out of curiosity? I've heard the sound clips from Mark's car and seen his videos, it sounds nice

Not sure how much they charge but I built my clone setup for around $150. Helps if you or a buddy can weld and cut/bend pipe. Love the sound.

 

[Roadhouse]

The Vorshlag setup is much prettier than mine, though :