For a potencial 24 hour race......

[Mad Hatter]

I have the posters on hand will mail you a couple Are you sure you want them botched with my scrawl?

 

[Bill Pemberton]

You have an email !

 

[TMSBOSS]

Plus super easy to get around , not necessary to stay 30-50 miles away in a Hotel/Motel, because the city or State demand a track not be anywhere near normal civilization.

Hotels, Dealership (Yes, they stock axle seals and lube) and restaurants all within 5 miles. "Normal Civilization....No Comment?

Overall, ,especially at Hastings, the camaraderie is great , and it is easy to get to know other participants because the track , the town , etc. are very supportive of the drivers.

George runs his track more like a club. If they can help, they do. No race gas in the area, he bought a pallet and sells is cheaper than you can buy it by the can. Although the owner of the nearest gas station chain is also at the round up and is working to put in a 100 octane pump.

If you can make it up. I am sure we can find a car for you for a session or two.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Amended to read, " Normal Small Town America Civilization, " and after a few samples of " Uplifted Spirits, " some kind soul brought, many thought the event and night was a shining example of what elevated Civilization could be?!

 

[Grant 302]

LOL....Nice to see your practicing your spanish!!! Yes the Wine is great.... I am jealous of your tracks so I don't know what you would think about our little tracks at this end of the world!

I like short, technical tracks. Easier for me psychologically to take risks at lower speeds in a POV street car. That's one reason why my go-to track is Streets of Willow. Top of 4th is fast enough for me in any 'stang. And I'd prefer needing 2nd over 5th.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Both the tracks near me are surprisingly fast, though not like Willow Springs full track ,or Road America, Road Atlanta , VIR, or Watkins Glen. The straight on one is 2222 ft long , so one can hit right at 140 mph , yet there are quite a few other areas where over 100 mph is accomplished. It is almost the same length as Mid Ohio and surprisingly the times are fairly similar, though initially one would not believe it was that quick. Ironically , the track in Hastings often posts a quicker average time , even though one usually will only reach around 130 mph in one spot. It is a bit more of a momentum track and folks who like technical courses with some speed , usually leave the little village of Hastings, America , with a new appreciation of how fun a flat road course can be? Most like the fact that errors usually just include one becoming a member of the Alfalfa Racing Team --- yes , we all become true ART critics, ha.

 

[Mad Hatter]

I like short, technical tracks. Easier for me psychologically to take risks at lower speeds in a POV street car. That's one reason why my go-to track is Streets of Willow. Top of 4th is fast enough for me in any 'stang. And I'd prefer needing 2nd over 5th.

totally agree with that..... Once you start going over 140mph a whole new set of parameters comes into play!

 

[Mad Hatter]

About the project.... Looking at the possibilty of a Body in White, though I do not know if Ford would ship one to Chile (can you buy them of the shelf). Then again maybe a Factory Five coupe with a Aluminator etc.....


Getting the pencil sharpner out!

 

[Eric62]

How about a 6 speed auto?? 6R80 is pretty robust, a known quantity and externally cooled in Mustangs so a bigger oil cooler is an easy fit. Lockup convertors prevent most slip and heat. A baffle can and should be added to the pan to keep the pickup covered.

Lighter and smaller than a 10 speed. It does consume more HP than a manual but you won't break it. Manual shift from paddles is possible and desired.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Too true,, the 6R80 is pretty robust.. My buddy raced with one for a couple of seasons before changing to manual. Its much heavier then a MT82 though.... Does anyone have the weight of the 10 spd?

 

[Grant 302]

About the project.... Looking at the possibilty of a Body in White, though I do not know if Ford would ship one to Chile (can you buy them of the shelf). Then again maybe a Factory Five coupe with a Aluminator etc.....

Getting the pencil sharpner out!

Might be hard to get one there for May. Especially if you have it seam welded. I wouldn't be surprised if you need to use a freight forwarder to get it to Chile. I'd give them a call. Maybe they do have them in stock or a short production lead time.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Looks like we have lots of time!! I have to use a freight forwarder for just about anything, so have become a pretty efficient shipper over the years!

 

[Coz]

Manual shift from paddles is possible and desired.

I run with a 6R80 in my 14 and have recently added an auxillary cooler in series with the factory external cooler. That was a PITA. I use the select shift on the shifter and besides a homemade set up using either BMW or Mercedes paddle shifters, Ι have not seen anything more elegant for the S197s. Are you aware of something new?

There is a shift lag, especially on the downshifts. Actually, it is more like it ignores a command to downshift until the car slows to a certain speed - even though when I decide to downshift I'm pretty sure it would still be well under redline once in the lower gear. Therefore, when I'm braking hard at the end of a straight, I have to wait until I'm just starting to turn before the downshift will "take". If I don't time it just right, I have to ride it out in the higher gear until I'm past the apex. A little late to downshift at that point.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Sent out some feelers for you Mad, cuz you know it's Chilly here in Nebraska, so need to escape cabin fever by helping with a Chile I can warm up to?

 

[Eric62]

I run with a 6R80 in my 14 and have recently added an auxillary cooler in series with the factory external cooler. That was a PITA. I use the select shift on the shifter and besides a homemade set up using either BMW or Mercedes paddle shifters, Ι have not seen anything more elegant for the S197s. Are you aware of something new?

There is a shift lag, especially on the downshifts. Actually, it is more like it ignores a command to downshift until the car slows to a certain speed - even though when I decide to downshift I'm pretty sure it would still be well under redline once in the lower gear. Therefore, when I'm braking hard at the end of a straight, I have to wait until I'm just starting to turn before the downshift will "take". If I don't time it just right, I have to ride it out in the higher gear until I'm past the apex. A little late to downshift at that point.

I have not had any fluid temp problems running track days with the 6R80 in my '13. If I did, I wouldn't piggyback a 2nd cooler, just use a bigger one. I haven't found a decent paddle shift kit for the car so I use the tiny button on the shifter. I've seen the hack that uses a set of Mercedes paddles and un-used pair wires in the clock spring. Pretty pricey tho - Mercedes part$! I am considering making an external shifter with a pair of contact switches exiting from the console to make shifting easier.

I also find you cannot shift down too early - the ECU won't let you - so I shift right at the end of my braking zone much as you do. That does remove any engine braking from the entry so I added the 13.9 inch diameter Shelby rotors to the rear with my 14 inch 4 piston Brembo fronts. Normally, for the manual trans crowd, that would be too much rear brake but for the automatic driver (me), it works.

 

[Mad Hatter]

We found that just moving the automatics cooler from behind the bumber to in front of the rad made a big difference in the 6R80 cars.... Ford Chile did not sell manual S197 here in Chile so we have lots of tracked autos. Most have a variety of shifter paddles from ebay.... aviod the ones that are battery operated. At least they do have manuals in the S550, though not very many.

 

[Mad Hatter]

PS... the 6r80's down here do overheat after 15min on track... thats on days over 28 degC

 

[Eric62]

PS... the 6r80's down here do overheat after 15min on track... thats on days over 28 degC

Interesting! And very good to know!

I live in a hot part of the US where typical track days are 28C to 35C. I watch the trans temp off the OBD2 and usually don't see anything over 108 C. But then these are track days, not race days so a little shorter sessions - 25 min - and less aggressive driving.

I'll do some looking on Ebay for shifters withOUT batteries. I saw that Bluetooth model and figured I'd rather run a coiled-wire than rely on that.