Duane Black
Curbs go brrrppp
This is the Build Thread for Duanes 2013 V6 Hertz special. Reply below.
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S197 Duanes 2013 V6 Hertz special Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs
- Thread starterDuane Black
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- Thread starter
- #2
Duane Black
Curbs go brrrppp
So others are making these, a couple have mentioned wanting to know what all was done to my car... so here's my tale.
By 2013, I was definitely a car guy. I was working on the second year of my education career, had restored a 1968 Ford Torino, and was in the middle of restoring a 1975 Ford F-100 extended cab long bed truck. My 2003 Chevy was still working but I was itching for something else... and wanted a Mustang. I wanted a V8 4.6, but realized I could get a newer car with less miles and similar power if I got the 3.7L V6 along with some better economy. Please keep in mind at this point, I have no idea that autocross is a thing and that HPDE is something I could ever attain.
I was shopping deals. At that time, I needed a 2011 or newer car, and really liked the aesthetics of the 2013 better. I was searching dealers high and wide, and mysteriously found a used 2013 in November 2013 at Hertz Car Sales in Leasburg, VA, about a 4 hour drive or so from my home at that time in Oxford, NC. The car was listed for about $9,000 less than an equivalent car in the Raleigh area. I got it for $18,000 including taxes, and my dad and I made a day trip while I took a day off work (the first time I ever took a personal day in 18 months on the job!) to get the car on Thursday, November 21, 2013. I should dig around and find the original photo, I have it on a drive somewhere. A white V6, 17" wheels, and the Michelin Eco tires meant to run 60k miles! An automatic transmission, 2.73 highway gears, but it did have leather seats and the premium pack stuff like track apps. Otherwise, just a basic Muscrat!
Lets fast forward. I used to do charity laps in the '68 Torino at the NASCAR tracks in my area (had done Charlotte, Bristol, Martinsville, Darlington, Richmond, heck I even tackled VIR in the '68 Torino on charity laps!).
As the first couple of years go on the car, I focused finances towards getting a house and paying off the car. In the spirit of it being a rental car, every mod I put on it ended up being used. The louvers on the side window I got off eBay, but since I had an affinity for the 1968 Mustang fastback as my favorite car, I wanted a 1968 GT stripe on the car to resemble that look. The window louvers helped accomplish this too. I helped a friend swap his 3.27 rear gears in an 02 GT for 3.73's, and he gave me $100 plus his old gears as payment. The gears would go in my car a week later, replacing the factory 2.73 highway cruiser gears.I honestly forgot the type, but I bought a cold air intake and a strut brace around 2014 or 2015 off a friend in Chicago, brought it home in a Focus while visiting the now fiance's family in Chicagoland.
It was the 2015 Aero Car Reunion. Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Welborn residence and museum in Alexander City, AL, and Talladega Superspeedway for hte NASCAR race where we did a parade lap around Talladega and more spiritied laps at Atlanta the Thursday before.. I was buddies on social media with several of hte organizers through a Facebook group I ran at that time (now Grand National Stock Car Racing History until 1972 if anyone is there). It was a bunch of Superbirds, Charger Daytona's, a few Charger 500's, several Talladega Torino's, and... well, me.
I partnered up with a new friend in a '71 Charger since we were both complaining about how slow people were going at Atlanta (these dudes would slow down for the photographer at the finish line, guy is used to shooting dragsters, plus they were slow enough I had to turn right to stay on the banking at times.) We instantly became friends, and it turned out she was running a Miata in DE2 at that time in NASA Southeast region. She told me since I liked driving on race tracks, I should consider getting more aggressive.
Coincidentally a month later, I'm introduced to autocross.
Move up to May 2016. It's Carolina Motorsports Park. I've done my first couple of autocrosses plus a school on the rental car tires, but was strongly encouraged to do something better for HPDE. I put in Hawk HP+ brake pads, and came across a set of staggered 9 and 9.5" wheels for a S550 trackpack with the Pirelli tires on them. From that weekend on, I wanted to instruct in HPDE, but just had to get in the time, skills, and communication skills. Being a high school teacher by trade, it should just be another matter of teaching really, right? I would go on to do 2 more events at CMP that year, plus, I was introduced to VIR.
In 2016, Petty's Garage was steadily building Petty Mustangs, and putting their own wheels with Continental tires on the cars. This left, for the witty character, a place to pick up cheap take off wheels. I would go on to do 2 seasons of autocross and track on used Pirelli PZero 220 tw tires. The last set I used were the last set I could attain before replacing with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's on closeout, and that was better since they were square wheels anyway. FWIW, they are probably the worst thing in the category you can buy today.
The first mod would be obviouslyu necessary, and ti wasn't tires, it was that transmission. Ford's programming for the 6 speed auto is atrocious. IT has a weird safety feature. When you upshift, the car gives what feels like 4 seconds of the car saying "are you sure you want to do that? Okay fine, lets do that." One had to shift about 1000 rpm before red line or else the car would ride on the red line on the straightaway for a while before shifting. Most any tune fixes this, plus lets you downshift sooner. It turned out this was a blessing in disquise, because when I was a rookie, you couldn't convince me the lowest gear and WOT wasn't hte best way off any corner. My first off was CMP T1 doing this. I went off on the inside after the back end lost grip.
The second necessary mod was something to deal with the heat. It would get very hot on the water in any session. I bought a Boss 302 water/oil cooler and mounted it in the car with some modification, and found a used vented hood at an LKQ off eBay and it was in Louisville, KY. I took the hood off my car, drove to Kentucky, bolted it on in the parking lot, and it's been there ever since.
I was prioritizing autocross at that time, and got a cheap set ($99 each) 17x9 wheels, and hte Falken RT615K+ was new and very cheap at that time on that wheel size, so I ended up running a whole season of autocross on the 17x9. At the end of that year, I'd upgrade to 18x10 with RE71R. I'm working on selling those wheels now.
As far as mods to the car, nearly every thing I would put on the car was used. The car was also relatively untouched until early 2017 I was putting on take off or used wheels and tires for all of 2016 and 2017, even in early 2018 I was putting closeout tires. Koni shocks/struts (those were new, actually), but the rear shocks were too firm, even on softest settings, and I put the factory stock shocks back in mid 2017 after a 4 month experiment. It was summer 2017 when a guy in a 2014 GT was putting his car on the trailer and the driveshaft fell out on the trailer after loading it up. At that time I was doing 4 HPDE a year and about 10 autocrosses, so I prioritized an aluminum shaft.
Late 2018 and 2019 would be the year of modifications. Late in 2018 my clutch packs were dying. My used gears from the 2014 installation had about 170k miles on them and a lot of whine, so I put in a Torsen T2R and a set of 3:55 gears instead.
September 2018, the car with the mods listed above, got me through instructor clinic and into DE4 on Michelin 220TW tires. At VIR, 200TW tires were about to become self defense for DE4 though.... when I put on my RE71R just to burn up used autocross tires, I really realized how much I could control closing rates with those faster cars that were inevitably catching me, and I actually felt safer on track on faster tires with the faster "competition" of DE4, so 200TW tires would be a priority for tracking in the years to come.
Early 2019, in the spirit of its a used rental car, I'd pick up a used BMR K-member (the lowering kind too!), a set of used Strano sway bars, and a used Fays2 Watts. R-S4 became my tire of choice as I prioritized track. The R-S4 would get me about 8 autocrosses and 10 track days in 2019, and at that point were so heat cycled out that tracking on them wasn't evne funny anymore. 3 laps to get heat is a mess! By late 2019, with the Hankook's in need of replacement and showing as unavailable until March 2020, I needed tires, and whatdayaknow, a set of 18x10 EC7 ET43 wheels with R-S4 would show up in DC, and in that rental car spirit, I put on a set of wheels that were bought and tires mounted, yet would never even be bolted to the car for use. The tires are 4 years old for this year, but still have that new tire smell and the mold release isn't even off yet. Should be great!
On this forum I came across some used race brake pads, Boss 302 springs, and I got some calipers that will be going on for the 2020 season.
The "too long, didn't read" version of the mods is as follows, with the current set up listed below, noting if I bought the parts used or new.
Suspension
Koni front struts/factory rear struts (new)
Boss 302 springs (used)
Strano sway bars front AND rear, current setting preference at full stiff on each end, rain or shine, any track, or even autocross. (used)
Fays2 Watts Linkage (used)
Strut Brace (used)
BMR K-Member w/brace (used)
Brakes:
GT500 rear brake rotor adapter, ST43 pads. (new)
4 piston front setup w/ 14" blank rotors. (new) ST43/ST45/ST47 pads being hte choice since 2017. (new and used)
Front 3" brake ducts (new/custom
Engine/Transmission/Drivetrain - 3.7L V6 w/ 6 speed automatic
I once had a used CAI (bough ti off said friend in Chicago), but I got rid of it as it blocked the louvers to the hood.
LMR radiator (new)
Tuned (new)
aluminum driveshaft (new)
Torsen T2R w/3.55 gears! (new)
Boss 302 Oil Cooler (used)
Body/Aesthetics
C-Stripe (custom/new)
GT/Boss 302 hood w/vents (used)
Window Louvers (used)
Wheels/Tires (current setup)
19x9 square EcoBoost Performance Pack wheels, 255/40R19 Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires (wet track/autocross tires)
18x10 square Apex wheels w/ 285/35/R18 Hankook R-S4 tires (dry autocross/track.)
(previously) 18x10 LMR SVE Bullitt wheels with 285/30R18 RE71R (mainly autocross, a little track)
(previously) 17x9 American Muscle wheels with Falken RT615K+ tires (autocross only)
previously: 19x9/9.5 stagger Track Pack wheels w/255&275/40R19 Pirelli PZero, dry and wet track and autocross, 275/40/19 square Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (220TW), dry and wet track.
By 2013, I was definitely a car guy. I was working on the second year of my education career, had restored a 1968 Ford Torino, and was in the middle of restoring a 1975 Ford F-100 extended cab long bed truck. My 2003 Chevy was still working but I was itching for something else... and wanted a Mustang. I wanted a V8 4.6, but realized I could get a newer car with less miles and similar power if I got the 3.7L V6 along with some better economy. Please keep in mind at this point, I have no idea that autocross is a thing and that HPDE is something I could ever attain.
I was shopping deals. At that time, I needed a 2011 or newer car, and really liked the aesthetics of the 2013 better. I was searching dealers high and wide, and mysteriously found a used 2013 in November 2013 at Hertz Car Sales in Leasburg, VA, about a 4 hour drive or so from my home at that time in Oxford, NC. The car was listed for about $9,000 less than an equivalent car in the Raleigh area. I got it for $18,000 including taxes, and my dad and I made a day trip while I took a day off work (the first time I ever took a personal day in 18 months on the job!) to get the car on Thursday, November 21, 2013. I should dig around and find the original photo, I have it on a drive somewhere. A white V6, 17" wheels, and the Michelin Eco tires meant to run 60k miles! An automatic transmission, 2.73 highway gears, but it did have leather seats and the premium pack stuff like track apps. Otherwise, just a basic Muscrat!
Lets fast forward. I used to do charity laps in the '68 Torino at the NASCAR tracks in my area (had done Charlotte, Bristol, Martinsville, Darlington, Richmond, heck I even tackled VIR in the '68 Torino on charity laps!).
As the first couple of years go on the car, I focused finances towards getting a house and paying off the car. In the spirit of it being a rental car, every mod I put on it ended up being used. The louvers on the side window I got off eBay, but since I had an affinity for the 1968 Mustang fastback as my favorite car, I wanted a 1968 GT stripe on the car to resemble that look. The window louvers helped accomplish this too. I helped a friend swap his 3.27 rear gears in an 02 GT for 3.73's, and he gave me $100 plus his old gears as payment. The gears would go in my car a week later, replacing the factory 2.73 highway cruiser gears.I honestly forgot the type, but I bought a cold air intake and a strut brace around 2014 or 2015 off a friend in Chicago, brought it home in a Focus while visiting the now fiance's family in Chicagoland.
It was the 2015 Aero Car Reunion. Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Welborn residence and museum in Alexander City, AL, and Talladega Superspeedway for hte NASCAR race where we did a parade lap around Talladega and more spiritied laps at Atlanta the Thursday before.. I was buddies on social media with several of hte organizers through a Facebook group I ran at that time (now Grand National Stock Car Racing History until 1972 if anyone is there). It was a bunch of Superbirds, Charger Daytona's, a few Charger 500's, several Talladega Torino's, and... well, me.
I partnered up with a new friend in a '71 Charger since we were both complaining about how slow people were going at Atlanta (these dudes would slow down for the photographer at the finish line, guy is used to shooting dragsters, plus they were slow enough I had to turn right to stay on the banking at times.) We instantly became friends, and it turned out she was running a Miata in DE2 at that time in NASA Southeast region. She told me since I liked driving on race tracks, I should consider getting more aggressive.
Coincidentally a month later, I'm introduced to autocross.
Move up to May 2016. It's Carolina Motorsports Park. I've done my first couple of autocrosses plus a school on the rental car tires, but was strongly encouraged to do something better for HPDE. I put in Hawk HP+ brake pads, and came across a set of staggered 9 and 9.5" wheels for a S550 trackpack with the Pirelli tires on them. From that weekend on, I wanted to instruct in HPDE, but just had to get in the time, skills, and communication skills. Being a high school teacher by trade, it should just be another matter of teaching really, right? I would go on to do 2 more events at CMP that year, plus, I was introduced to VIR.
In 2016, Petty's Garage was steadily building Petty Mustangs, and putting their own wheels with Continental tires on the cars. This left, for the witty character, a place to pick up cheap take off wheels. I would go on to do 2 seasons of autocross and track on used Pirelli PZero 220 tw tires. The last set I used were the last set I could attain before replacing with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's on closeout, and that was better since they were square wheels anyway. FWIW, they are probably the worst thing in the category you can buy today.
The first mod would be obviouslyu necessary, and ti wasn't tires, it was that transmission. Ford's programming for the 6 speed auto is atrocious. IT has a weird safety feature. When you upshift, the car gives what feels like 4 seconds of the car saying "are you sure you want to do that? Okay fine, lets do that." One had to shift about 1000 rpm before red line or else the car would ride on the red line on the straightaway for a while before shifting. Most any tune fixes this, plus lets you downshift sooner. It turned out this was a blessing in disquise, because when I was a rookie, you couldn't convince me the lowest gear and WOT wasn't hte best way off any corner. My first off was CMP T1 doing this. I went off on the inside after the back end lost grip.
The second necessary mod was something to deal with the heat. It would get very hot on the water in any session. I bought a Boss 302 water/oil cooler and mounted it in the car with some modification, and found a used vented hood at an LKQ off eBay and it was in Louisville, KY. I took the hood off my car, drove to Kentucky, bolted it on in the parking lot, and it's been there ever since.
I was prioritizing autocross at that time, and got a cheap set ($99 each) 17x9 wheels, and hte Falken RT615K+ was new and very cheap at that time on that wheel size, so I ended up running a whole season of autocross on the 17x9. At the end of that year, I'd upgrade to 18x10 with RE71R. I'm working on selling those wheels now.
As far as mods to the car, nearly every thing I would put on the car was used. The car was also relatively untouched until early 2017 I was putting on take off or used wheels and tires for all of 2016 and 2017, even in early 2018 I was putting closeout tires. Koni shocks/struts (those were new, actually), but the rear shocks were too firm, even on softest settings, and I put the factory stock shocks back in mid 2017 after a 4 month experiment. It was summer 2017 when a guy in a 2014 GT was putting his car on the trailer and the driveshaft fell out on the trailer after loading it up. At that time I was doing 4 HPDE a year and about 10 autocrosses, so I prioritized an aluminum shaft.
Late 2018 and 2019 would be the year of modifications. Late in 2018 my clutch packs were dying. My used gears from the 2014 installation had about 170k miles on them and a lot of whine, so I put in a Torsen T2R and a set of 3:55 gears instead.
September 2018, the car with the mods listed above, got me through instructor clinic and into DE4 on Michelin 220TW tires. At VIR, 200TW tires were about to become self defense for DE4 though.... when I put on my RE71R just to burn up used autocross tires, I really realized how much I could control closing rates with those faster cars that were inevitably catching me, and I actually felt safer on track on faster tires with the faster "competition" of DE4, so 200TW tires would be a priority for tracking in the years to come.
Early 2019, in the spirit of its a used rental car, I'd pick up a used BMR K-member (the lowering kind too!), a set of used Strano sway bars, and a used Fays2 Watts. R-S4 became my tire of choice as I prioritized track. The R-S4 would get me about 8 autocrosses and 10 track days in 2019, and at that point were so heat cycled out that tracking on them wasn't evne funny anymore. 3 laps to get heat is a mess! By late 2019, with the Hankook's in need of replacement and showing as unavailable until March 2020, I needed tires, and whatdayaknow, a set of 18x10 EC7 ET43 wheels with R-S4 would show up in DC, and in that rental car spirit, I put on a set of wheels that were bought and tires mounted, yet would never even be bolted to the car for use. The tires are 4 years old for this year, but still have that new tire smell and the mold release isn't even off yet. Should be great!
On this forum I came across some used race brake pads, Boss 302 springs, and I got some calipers that will be going on for the 2020 season.
The "too long, didn't read" version of the mods is as follows, with the current set up listed below, noting if I bought the parts used or new.
Suspension
Koni front struts/factory rear struts (new)
Boss 302 springs (used)
Strano sway bars front AND rear, current setting preference at full stiff on each end, rain or shine, any track, or even autocross. (used)
Fays2 Watts Linkage (used)
Strut Brace (used)
BMR K-Member w/brace (used)
Brakes:
GT500 rear brake rotor adapter, ST43 pads. (new)
4 piston front setup w/ 14" blank rotors. (new) ST43/ST45/ST47 pads being hte choice since 2017. (new and used)
Front 3" brake ducts (new/custom
Engine/Transmission/Drivetrain - 3.7L V6 w/ 6 speed automatic
I once had a used CAI (bough ti off said friend in Chicago), but I got rid of it as it blocked the louvers to the hood.
LMR radiator (new)
Tuned (new)
aluminum driveshaft (new)
Torsen T2R w/3.55 gears! (new)
Boss 302 Oil Cooler (used)
Body/Aesthetics
C-Stripe (custom/new)
GT/Boss 302 hood w/vents (used)
Window Louvers (used)
Wheels/Tires (current setup)
19x9 square EcoBoost Performance Pack wheels, 255/40R19 Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires (wet track/autocross tires)
18x10 square Apex wheels w/ 285/35/R18 Hankook R-S4 tires (dry autocross/track.)
(previously) 18x10 LMR SVE Bullitt wheels with 285/30R18 RE71R (mainly autocross, a little track)
(previously) 17x9 American Muscle wheels with Falken RT615K+ tires (autocross only)
previously: 19x9/9.5 stagger Track Pack wheels w/255&275/40R19 Pirelli PZero, dry and wet track and autocross, 275/40/19 square Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (220TW), dry and wet track.
Boone
Professional Thread Killer
Duane, thanks for sharing your secret sauce recipe. It is a little crazy how well you throw that six banger around. Word of advice to those those come into contact with Duane... Don't ever underestimate the driver mod when it comes to this car.
- Thread starter
- #4
Duane Black
Curbs go brrrppp
Says the guy I've never quite beat in autocross (that I recall). I did hold on to you at that one HPDE but that's just because I have little concern for my well being when it comes to driving. 
- Thread starter
- #5
Duane Black
Curbs go brrrppp
Forgot I had this!
The konis went bad and made my car into a boat. I now run gt brembo factory struts i bought new.
275/40R18 hankook rs4 now wrap the wheels which give me better gearing and very similar grip. They are early 2017 build codes i got on discount
The konis went bad and made my car into a boat. I now run gt brembo factory struts i bought new.
275/40R18 hankook rs4 now wrap the wheels which give me better gearing and very similar grip. They are early 2017 build codes i got on discount
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