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S550 GT350R Race Car Build Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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125
No. The GT4 uses a Holinger Sequential Gearbox and the clutch is only used for initial engagement.

Would love to go with the Holinger, but it's a lot of work, and I'd have to take a weight penalty for ST/TT2

I was more asking if that was the Gt4 Clutch setup, But more likely the FP350s
 
The Clutch/Flywheel is not from either.

The FP350S uses the (heavy) stock GT350 Dual Mass Flywheel and Clutch designed to deal with the FPC vibration modes, most likely as it was off the shelf and is compatible with the (unique) crank bolt/transmission spline combination. The GT4 doesn’t need a high duty clutch or slave as the Holinger does all the work.
 
741
1,075
TX
Nick - how many TOBs have you gone through? I think mine is on the way out. Really sucks replacing these. Are you aware of any better options available for the OEM 5.2 clutch assembly?
 
I’ve lost 2 over the course of over 10,000 track miles and replaced one as a preventative maintenance action.

I was running Castrol SRF initially and was told that it compounds seal degradation — which may be true as I also lost multiple slaves and a master cylinder on the Boss.

I’m now running Motorcraft DOT 5.1 which I believe will be OE on the GT500. Not aware of any Slave upgrades without a clutch change....
 
I upgraded the rear Camber links on the Race car to the Full Tilt Boogie pieces to aid more frequent camber adjustment.

Never had an issue with the OE links on the Red car, other than the higher difficulty of adjustment, .... until Road America, where the curbs are aggressive and need to be used to get optimum lines. The Red Car snapped under braking going into T1. Turned out that the RHS Camber link worked loose and as camber changed it also impacted rear Toe.

Turns out the Pros had the same issue running the R-C at RA.

So I've now upgraded the street car to use the BMR lockout together with Full Tilt Boogie links. LHS install is tight as the Magneride wiring runs alongside the subframe, but with this combo they'll be no movement:

fullsizeoutput_189b.jpeg

fullsizeoutput_189a.jpeg
 
1,246
1,243
In the V6L
I have a question for you about the rear alignment. In your post above, you indicate that the rear toe changes with rear camber, which is also what the service manual says. How about the other way around? If I adjust rear toe, will I need to reset rear camber too? I'm currently sitting with about 0.1 degree total toe-in at the rear and I'm thinking about bumping it up to the 0.3 degree spec number.

By the way, that leads me to another question about rear alignment - with the toe above and about -1.1 degrees camber, I had a miserable drive home from a track day on a very used set of 315/30 Ford MPSC2's in the rear. I had lightly used Ford 305/30's at the front and there was no serious tramlining at the front, but the rear end was all over the road - my arms were aching after 225 miles of hauling the car back into line. I seriously thought I had a broken suspension because it was so bad. It actually started on my last lap of the last session of the day when, at 120 mph when I was still accelerating near the end of a straight with a left-hand turn coming up, the whole car shifted itself about a car-width to the left with no steering input, other than what I had to do to counter-steer. I slowed down for the rest of the lap and wrapped up the day - I was done anyway - but it was very strange. Hence my sudden interest in adjusting the rear alignment. Have you experienced anything like this?
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
Moderator
4,008
1,924
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Cookeville TN
JAJ
What you are describing is exactly what Nick experienced at Road America. The bolts holding the camber eccentric comes loose, causing a massive camber and toe change, basically causing one wheel rear steering of the car. The parts he (and I) have added eliminate the eccentric bolts, lock the inboard pivot in place and allows camber adjustments through a threaded adjuster. I do advise adding blue lock tite to the jam nuts and also to check them at each tire change. BMR makes similar lock out parts for their adjustable toe arms that are also worthwhile.
Stebe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@JAJ Yes Toe adjustment impacts Camber.

As Steve says you are likely experiencing the same thing I did, a loose camber link.

Start by checking rear alignment. If it’s off, then jack the car up and check for any witness marks on the onboard ends of the camber and toe links to confirm which moved. In my experience the OE camber links are much more prone to movement than the Toe links.

If the alignment is good, raise the vehicle and check for wheel play from a loose link.

Let us know what you find.
 
@JDee Yes, those are the parts.

A couple of tips on installing the BMR lockouts:
1) You'll need to use the Inner bolt location for the camber arms.
2) Run a drill bit through the inner location to remove paint or the bolt will not fit
3) Install the vertical bolt just finger loose initially, then install the Camber link and finally torque the vertical bolt. If you torque the vertical bolt first you will not get the inner link bolt in.
4) I re-used the inner OE hardware -- it's just long enough and has a flange bolt, rather than the cap head design BMR provides.
 
1,246
1,243
In the V6L
JAJ
What you are describing is exactly what Nick experienced at Road America. The bolts holding the camber eccentric comes loose, causing a massive camber and toe change, basically causing one wheel rear steering of the car. The parts he (and I) have added eliminate the eccentric bolts, lock the inboard pivot in place and allows camber adjustments through a threaded adjuster. I do advise adding blue lock tite to the jam nuts and also to check them at each tire change. BMR makes similar lock out parts for their adjustable toe arms that are also worthwhile.
Stebe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@JAJ Yes Toe adjustment impacts Camber.

As Steve says you are likely experiencing the same thing I did, a loose camber link.

Start by checking rear alignment. If it’s off, then jack the car up and check for any witness marks on the onboard ends of the camber and toe links to confirm which moved. In my experience the OE camber links are much more prone to movement than the Toe links.

If the alignment is good, raise the vehicle and check for wheel play from a loose link.

Let us know what you find.
Gentlemen, thank you for this!

When it was happening, I was concerned that something had come loose because that's what it felt like. Before I drove home, I checked what I could with the car on the ground and re-torqued the wheels in case I had a wobbler, but everything was apparently fine.

The first thing I did the morning after was to set up my strings and check the front and rear alignment - they were exactly where they were supposed to be. The rear came from the factory with -1.1 camber and 0.1 degree toe-in and I've left it alone since new. Then I put it up on the lift and checked for loose stuff - rocking the wheels top and bottom and side to side feeling for any play - and everything was tight front and back. An inspection from below didn't reveal any movement or out-of-line witness marks and all the bushings and joints looked good. In short, I was left with the tires as the culprit. I've experienced the glory of new MPSC2's tramlining and it seems 315/30's at 32 heat cycles enjoy a return to their youthful behavior. Grip was great by the way - I set a PB that day on those tires - but the car was getting increasingly hard to drive in a straight line.

Anyway, now that Ford has published more realistic track alignment settings for the GT350 and R, I figure it's time to readjust the rear alignment. I'd looked at the BMR and FTBR camber links a while ago, and one or the other will be on the shopping list for spring. Any comments either way on which one is better? The clamp bolt setup on the BMR looks like a good anti-slip design, but the popular choice seems to be the FTBR product.

So, thanks again for your input and insight - I really appreciate it!
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
JAJ
What you are describing is exactly what Nick experienced at Road America. The bolts holding the camber eccentric comes loose, causing a massive camber and toe change, basically causing one wheel rear steering of the car. The parts he (and I) have added eliminate the eccentric bolts, lock the inboard pivot in place and allows camber adjustments through a threaded adjuster. I do advise adding blue lock tite to the jam nuts and also to check them at each tire change. BMR makes similar lock out parts for their adjustable toe arms that are also worthwhile.
Stebe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am wondering if this is what got Cloud9, as well. Considering how early in the GT350 run that was, we didn't have a great idea of what actually happened--but this seems to fit. @VoodooBoss
 
I am wondering if this is what got Cloud9, as well. Considering how early in the GT350 run that was, we didn't have a great idea of what actually happened--but this seems to fit. @VoodooBoss
Hard to say and that would be pure speculation. While the cause was undetermined it was most likely driver error. Because of those two accidents, which were both on R7's, I left my TC on and ran in track mode with my GT350 using SC2's. The driving modes on the GT350/S550 are significantly better than what came on the S197 cars.
 
Spent a very wet day at VIR today with Chin. Poured rain and standing water on the track in places until mid pm.

Conti wets were spectacular. Didn’t get passed until the final (dry) session when I should have changed to slicks.

Bittersweet, getting the garage spot between these two retired stablemates:

01E701BA-8FAD-43D7-9F77-B98CEEEB2D60.jpeg
F9D2E8A7-AB80-4E36-BF7D-851ED5CF15E1.jpeg
2347396C-9549-4E8A-A396-84C789DE8718.jpeg
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
OK so they are using heat as well as the lubricant. That wasn't mentioned in their instructions. Glad to see that. I may try another set of their product after the current (new) windshield is destroyed.
 
Yes. The process is:
1) Apply lubricant.
2) Use heat top and bottom to form to windshield, working from each side in.
3) Trim to fit avoiding any stickers/decals
4) Remove from windshield and remove backing
5) Add lubricant, place tear offs and squeegee.
 
207
328
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Scottsdale, AZ
@JDee Yes, those are the parts.

A couple of tips on installing the BMR lockouts:
1) You'll need to use the Inner bolt location for the camber arms.
2) Run a drill bit through the inner location to remove paint or the bolt will not fit
3) Install the vertical bolt just finger loose initially, then install the Camber link and finally torque the vertical bolt. If you torque the vertical bolt first you will not get the inner link bolt in.
4) I re-used the inner OE hardware -- it's just long enough and has a flange bolt, rather than the cap head design BMR provides.

You have to drop the cradle to torque the vertical bolt on the BMR lockouts correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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