S197 Cheap Thrill Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

[Sahlt]

This is the Build Thread for Cheap Thrill. Reply below.

 

[Sahlt]

Hi Everyone,

I started lurking two years ago, soaking up all the knowledge on how to build up the S197 properly.

Despite my car being a V6 - This is, what I think is, the culmination of everything I have read here on how to build a solid budget track beater that you can still drive home in at the end of the day, and in my opinion it shows. Last summer I took the dive, bought all the parts, and got the car built in my garage in a couple of weeks. Once I was done I set out and attended three open track days at Waterford Hills.

This car performs really well on the track. It is fun, controllable, and predictable - what more can I ask for?? This build was a ton of fun, and I want to thank everyone here for contributing to this immense knowledge pool over the years. You all helped me with picking parts and determining a baseline setup. You all got me very close to where I want the car to be right away, and now I get to fine tune it, and continue to improve my track driving skills.


I did stray from your advice with the wheel and tire setup (and not having a V8...). I know these cars love tire, but I decided to go with 18x10s on 275s, because I'm not making as much power to justify a wider rear tire, and I wanted to save a few bucks. Up front I am running -2.2 degrees of camber, 7.5 deg of caster, and as close to 0 toe as possible (for tire preservation). The camber is maxed out, hitting the top of the strut tower, but I want to drill them out to get closer to -3 degrees of camber.

I am excited to go out this year with the new 275s on the car. I am hoping to break into the 1:20s this year at Waterford (last year I ran in the 1:26s on Indy 500 235 width tires). I also have an outing scheduled to Mid Ohio this summer.

I don't have too many more plans for this build. I want to be able to drive it to work when the weather is nice, and I feel like if I take it too much further I might lose that. My driver side front lower control arm is making thunking / clunking noises when I back out of my driveway, so I will replace those.

I love how the S197 platform feels on track, how easy it is to work on, and the abundance of aftermarket performance parts! Thanks again to all of you. I hope you have enjoyed my attempt at putting my last year of thoughts into a couple of paragraphs.

I'm hooked.

 

[Sahlt]

On the new wheels and tires.

Apex 18x10 EC-7 Race Silver
Hankook RS4 275/35/18

 

[Bill Pemberton]

You little Black Beauty looks great and you will find we have quite a few V6 Tracksters on here who love to surprise folks on tracks and autocrosses with their sexy sixes! Next time around you might try bumping up to a 285 for tires as even the 6 popper needs more rubber on the ground. I know guys who have wedged a 295 on a 10 inch but you have to do your due diligence since some rubber runs wide, while others run narrow.

 

[Sahlt]

You little Black Beauty looks great and you will find we have quite a few V6 Tracksters on here who love to surprise folks on tracks and autocrosses with their sexy sixes! Next time around you might try bumping up to a 285 for tires as even the 6 popper needs more rubber on the ground. I know guys who have wedged a 295 on a 10 inch but you have to do your due diligence since some rubber runs wide, while others run narrow.

I was going back and forth on what I wanted to do with the car. I came across a couple of the build threads from the V6 guys here, I loved the idea, and the rest is history. I like to imagine the surprise of the GT drivers that have had to point me by as they hear my little V6 rev!

Hankook does make a 285 and a 295 RS4. Definitely something for me to think about down the road if I think I'm ready for a bit more tire. I am very excited to see how the 275s do coming from 235s. Even from just heat cycling the tires once on the road the difference in grip is VERY noticeable.

I love seeing everything you have had to say, Bill. You're an amazing resource for the community. Thanks for stopping by to check me out.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

When you wear them out there are some vastly superior tires out there now and you will have quite a few choices. No worries , the RS-4s do wear well , but another fun future mod for you and many of us love to give you ideas to spend " Your Money" ha!

 

[CobaltFilly]

When you wear them out there are some vastly superior tires out there now and you will have quite a few choices. No worries , the RS-4s do wear well , but another fun future mod for you and many of us love to give you ideas to spend " Your Money" ha!

This. I went a little too big with 19x11 305s, and will be backing down to 18x11 or 18x12 295s. Give me a ring if you ever need help spending your money I am one of those aforementioned “sexy sixers” trying to be crazy and build my skills and a NASA TT4 car in my garage. Glad to talk anytime

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Do keep post on your TT4 conversion and I would sure think an 18x11 set up would be a good idea -- tires are where you need and advantage in that Class and both wheels and tires in 18 would be less unsprung weight.

 

[CobaltFilly]

Do keep post on your TT4 conversion and I would sure think an 18x11 set up would be a good idea -- tires are where you need and advantage in that Class and both wheels and tires in 18 would be less unsprung weight.

Will do. May start a gofundme to help pay for interior safety
I think I @d you in my thread on “registering a track only stang” and have a question for you there if you don’t mind.

 

[Boss4Me]

On the new wheels and tires.

Apex 18x10 EC-7 Race Silver
Hankook RS4 275/35/18

View attachment 101802

Apex EC-7 looks great! WHRR is an awesome short track and your V6 will do well there as you have it set up.

 

[GJarrett]

On the new wheels and tires.

Apex 18x10 EC-7 Race Silver
Hankook RS4 275/35/18

View attachment 101802

I'm very interested in seeing how those 275 RS4 tires pinch or stretch on 10" rims. Could you provide a photo of one of them from the front or a front angle that shows the fitment?

 

[302BOB]

Cheap Thrill caught my attention...........Hon, We're only Mustang forum. here................Sahit, Your Stang looks Majestic in that pic!!!!!!!!!!!........Enjoy whatever you do..............

 

[Sahlt]

I'm very interested in seeing how those 275 RS4 tires pinch or stretch on 10" rims. Could you provide a photo of one of them from the front or a front angle that shows the fitment?

Sure thing. Here are a couple pictures of the old wheel and tire compared to the new one, and fitment pics from the side and dead on.
The new tires are lower profile than the factory spec, so even though I'm lowered I still have "monster truck" fitment. It's better now than it was in these pictures, but still pretty tall.
No stretch from what I can see...

 

[Sahlt]

Apex EC-7 looks great! WHRR is an awesome short track and your V6 will do well there as you have it set up.

Thank you! It cooks around Waterford man. I'm not sure how adding videos works here, but I have a link below with one of my hotlaps.
I'm excited to see how much I can cut down my time with the new wheels and tires. I tuned most of it out with the swaybars, but it was still a bit understeery on the 235s.

- I have a lot to learn as a driver. I really need to practice downshifting while braking on the back straight.

 

[GJarrett]

Sure thing. Here are a couple pictures of the old wheel and tire compared to the new one, and fitment pics from the side and dead on.
The new tires are lower profile than the factory spec, so even though I'm lowered I still have "monster truck" fitment. It's better now than it was in these pictures, but still pretty tall.
No stretch from what I can see...

View attachment 101812

View attachment 101813

View attachment 101814

Thank you so much! The reason I asked is that I am going to buy another set of EC-7s during their current sale and am planning to upgrade to 295 RS4s and was wondering if I could get by with buying 18"x10" or need to go up to 18"x11".... your photos confirm I'll have to get 11" wide rims because those 275s look to fit perfect on the 10" ones- 295s would really be pinched big time in those rims. Thanks again those photos are a really big help.

I was hoping to cheap out by just getting 10" rims, but now that I know I'll have to go 11", that means ponying up more cash for extended studs, spacers, and open lug nuts.....

 

[Boss4Me]

Thank you! It cooks around Waterford man. I'm not sure how adding videos works here, but I have a link below with one of my hotlaps.
I'm excited to see how much I can cut down my time with the new wheels and tires. I tuned most of it out with the swaybars, but it was still a bit understeery on the 235s.

- I have a lot to learn as a driver. I really need to practice downshifting while braking on the back straight.

I ran lots of laps at Waterford on 275’s. Based on the video with 235’s you should be able to use more of the track confidently with wider grippier rubber. One thing that helped me due to this short track which keeps you real busy was reducing the number of shifts, but that was in the Boss. Upshift 3-4 after the suspension settles coming over Hill turn then back down to 3rd at end of straight (T6 I think). And 3-4 when tracing out to curbing after first Apex in swamp then back to 3rd entering T1. Simplifying shifting helped me with braking zones, turn ins.

 

[Sahlt]

I ran lots of laps at Waterford on 275’s. Based on the video with 235’s you should be able to use more of the track confidently with wider grippier rubber. One thing that helped me due to this short track which keeps you real busy was reducing the number of shifts, but that was in the Boss. Upshift 3-4 after the suspension settles coming over Hill turn then back down to 3rd at end of straight (T6 I think). And 3-4 when tracing out to curbing after first Apex in swamp then back to 3rd entering T1. Simplifying shifting helped me with braking zones, turn ins.

Just ran again at Waterford this weekend. The 275s really let me push the car further. I cut down my time by over 5 seconds from 1:25.9 to 1:20.5!! The high for the day was 55 degrees, so I think with a slightly warmer day and with a better final sector I could eek that last bit out and get sub 1:20 seconds. Very happy with the new wheel and tire setup though.

I left the car in third throughout all four sessions I did. I get to the top of third on the back straight, and I don't think it would make sense to downshift to second, because I'm in second's range for very short windows. Leaving it one gear for the entire lap really helps me focus on my braking and steering inputs while keeping my speed up. I would like to reincorporate shifting in again in the future.

I will work on uploading an updated video this evening. Still over working the power steering and having fluid overflow from the reservoir...

 

[Sahlt]

Thank you so much! The reason I asked is that I am going to buy another set of EC-7s during their current sale and am planning to upgrade to 295 RS4s and was wondering if I could get by with buying 18"x10" or need to go up to 18"x11".... your photos confirm I'll have to get 11" wide rims because those 275s look to fit perfect on the 10" ones- 295s would really be pinched big time in those rims. Thanks again those photos are a really big help.

I was hoping to cheap out by just getting 10" rims, but now that I know I'll have to go 11", that means ponying up more cash for extended studs, spacers, and open lug nuts.....

I agree. The 275s fit just about perfect on the 10 inch wheel. Give the 295s a shot! You'll appreciate having as much tire as possible.

 

[Sahlt]

You little Black Beauty looks great and you will find we have quite a few V6 Tracksters on here who love to surprise folks on tracks and autocrosses with their sexy sixes! Next time around you might try bumping up to a 285 for tires as even the 6 popper needs more rubber on the ground. I know guys who have wedged a 295 on a 10 inch but you have to do your due diligence since some rubber runs wide, while others run narrow.

You were right! The 275s are a huge improvement over the 235s, but an even wider tire would be even better. The car performed great this weekend, but I will definitely go wider next time around.