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Help me figure out "life after the V6 Mustang" - BRZ, another S197, a Corvette, keep or sell my V6 S197 as a fun DE car???

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Duane Black

Curbs go brrrppp
567
401
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Durham, NC
Hey gang! I couldn't decide if this should go here or "the Paddock" - I didn't put much thought into it and since it involves my decisions concerning the future of my Mustang... well... here we are...



My 2013 V6 auto has 130,000 miles on it now. My long term plans when I bought it involved keeping it until 2023 and... well, we're getting closer.... close enough to think about this sort of thing....

I think I've "topped out" in my driving career - I'm going to be a top level DE driver and an instructor for the foreseeable future. I can run 8-10 events a year at this rate on a good year, and racing would mean going back to 4 events a year I think, which is where I was before free entry fees were a thing for me. While I respect that a dedicated track car is the proper way, I can't really justify it, more on that next.

So I currently live in a 2 car garage in an HOA. Basically, I don't see a trailer, a truck, and all that in my future - I've considered it - and I think the extra costs associated iwth that aren't worth it to just keep driivng my car to the track and if it breaks or I crash it, then I deal with that with rentals that are ultimately cheaper to rent once and deal with a problem than own the solution to a problem I may not even have.


Here's what I'm ruling out.

An S550 - in any form - the Gt is expensive - my job allows me to drive a fast car, or drive a slow car fast. The 4 cyl turbos have too many heat soak issues to me and I'd rather keep the V6. Also, they're heavy. For brakes, tires, and other wear, I'm thinking an S197 is the heaviest thing I want.

Here's what I'm considering.

Option 1 - But Another S197/sell my V6 - I could buy a lower mile coyote - say, a 2013-2014 ~50k mile car for ~$25k. Faster of course - and I have a lot of mods for it I could theoretically transfer from my V6. K members, sway bars, wheels, spacers, my brembo brake kit if necessary, my radiator, my Torsen T2R.... probably some stuff I'm forgetting can move over and I could sell my car as a street car. This would help me keep my cars down to two cars while essentially "trading up" to a better condition car... I'd hope.

Option 2 - Buy a new BRZ/GT86 - a lighter car, the new engine coming looks like hte power to weight is going to be very, very similar to the V6 Mustang I drive now. Being a BRAND NEW car, I don't think I'd want to to start tracking it immediatley - I'm thinking this becomes my autocross car (which I'd run 5-15 events a year easily), and my daily driver until the warranty runs out, and I'd keep my Mustang. The Mustang would possibly then be stripped of excess weight - things like seats, carpet, air conditioning, radio, all that nonsense could start to go and it could become a stripped yet street legal HPDE machine that would continue serving as a track car for a few years. The disadvantages of this option is me cramming 3 cars into my 2 car garage scenario.

Option 3 - Buy a Corvette - probably the wildest of the options. Sell my Mustang, sell my parts, and for roughly what a brand new BRZ costs, I buy a 2010-ish Corvette with 50-80k miles for the same price. The Car becomes a daily driver/track car since it's out of warranty. It's lighter than a Mustang, it has a lot of power, but I also hear base models having oil starve issues and some things that basically make a Z06 or GS your only trackable options. I know the expendables on Mustangs are high, and I'm sure they're higher on a Corvette. But I also hear pound for pound, a Corvette is pretty tough to beat, and theres a few "buy it once and cry" options like the track brakes and cooling - after that, you're pretty golden in terms of dealing with expendables as they become much cheaper going forward.


In any events, what do you see the value of a V6 Mustang being, with various HPDE things to make it a good trackable car? Do you foresee it having any value, having an automatic, to be an easy car to learn in? It has a good power to weight ratio, I've fixed a lot of the engine and brake cooling issues, it's fun and easy to drive, and if I gut it, it gets a little better yet in terms of speed, brake wear, and tire wear.... ideally. However, that would be hte "no turning back" option and it's a track car for life at some point.



So I'm now looking for the wisdom of my elders to tell me what to do. ;)
 
1
0
Exp. Type
Drag Strip
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
London, Ontario
Is there an option to sell what you have and buy a Monte Carlo?

Hi Duane! You can't lose the Mustang yet. I was just getting caught up...
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Your assumption that the S550 is heavy is kinda not totally correct. You just have to get the right car. My 2016 PP1 was a base with only 2 options, PP1 and Recaros (the Recaros in hindsight were a bad deal). I traded in a 2011 S197 that was loaded with everything luxury (including the "brake performance package" which I found kind of bizarre) and that car was a barge, the '16 felt way lighter and more nimble when I first drove it. Absolutely the best cheapest foundation is a base S550 with PP1 to get the good diff and brakes, better chassis stiffening and get no other options. The IRS on the S550 just makes it a different animal altogether, forget about that stick axle making the thing tail happy. Find a base PP1 S550 and go for it, going to be a cheap buy since no one wants that kind of car.

My GF has an '11 base 'Vette only got about 30K Kms on it. I drive it a fair bit, it's a nice highway car except for the exhaust drone which is just horrendous at some commonly used speeds. Stock exhaust on it. Absolutely no way I would even think about taking that car on a track, it's an automatic but that's just one of the reasons it's not a track car. A ton of go fast in a straight line, sketchy as hell brakes and nowhere near enough grip. Everything needing service is difficult with it due to the way it's built, even just jacking the thing up can end up costing you a pile of money if you do it wrong. And if you think a S550 would be expensive to maintain you ain't seen nothin' yet, 'vette is GM's 'milk the money out of the old guys' platform.

I live in a HOA too, no RVs or boats allowed for more than 48 hours at a time. I just keep my motorhome and trailer over in an RV storage yard, costs $800 a year and solves a lot of problems.

This isn't wisdom, if I had any of that I wouldn't be doing this track car stuff at all, it's just my experience, good, bad, and ugly.
 
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As JDee mentioned, your Corvette option would be the least desirable of the three............Option two might be your best bet...My Son had a 2013 Scion FRS 6 spd that he loved and it was very quick and agile.He'd probably still have it if it didn't get rear ended one nite by a Ford Explorer while he was stopped at a red lite. There's no discounting an older Mustang GT with a 5.0..al tho a 4.6 ain't bad either....decisions.......decisions...........................
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
One thing in favor of Option 2 is that the bolt pattern is the same as Ford and I think some of the smaller size wheel/tire combos might be usable on both. It was a while ago that I considered something similar.

Brake consumables might be another to look into. My friend’s WRX (which I drive) has some of the same Brembo hardware. Not sure if that’s true on the FRS/BRZ, but might be worth checking.

But I think the coyote/S197 route probably makes more sense.
 
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364
sfo
I see things differently coming from racing C5Z06. I would go back to that in a heartbeat. I have had nothing but pain and big expense from my purchased new 2019 GT gutted into a racecar. This is the worst car I have ever owned from a working on it standpoint and I have worked on cars for 45 years. It is the worst car from an eating consumables standpoint. The vette consumes like a 4 cyl economy car compared to the S550 tire eater. The s550 eats race tires twice as fast as the vette!
 
6,363
8,188
I see things differently coming from racing C5Z06. I would go back to that in a heartbeat. I have had nothing but pain and big expense from my purchased new 2019 GT gutted into a racecar. This is the worst car I have ever owned from a working on it standpoint and I have worked on cars for 45 years. It is the worst car from an eating consumables standpoint. The vette consumes like a 4 cyl economy car compared to the S550 tire eater. The s550 eats race tires twice as fast as the vette!

Really,
The C5 isn't too bad, but after that one, if you'd ever have to change a clutch in one of those with headers, you have to drop the transaxle, the exhaust, the torque tube, then the front suspension, the k member, the headers, then the freaking clutch, then when you finally get it back together you have to scale it because you've disassembled everything in the car except the rearview mirror.
I'll take the mustang any day.
 
531
364
sfo
Really,
The C5 isn't too bad, but after that one, if you'd ever have to change a clutch in one of those with headers, you have to drop the transaxle, the exhaust, the torque tube, then the front suspension, the k member, the headers, then the freaking clutch, then when you finally get it back together you have to scale it because you've disassembled everything in the car except the rearview mirror.
I'll take the mustang any day.

The vette is easy.

Who comes up with bonded swaybar bushings and prevailing torque fasteners everywhere? Ford! Who need crazy swivel joints just to get to an exhaust bolt? Ford! Who puts acute angles on the end of factoryperformance swaybar ends nullifying the free movement of adjustable endlinks? Ford! The hits keep coming just when I think I am gaining ground. I admit it I'm just a lowly chevy guy. My new mustang is for sale now. My plan race it until sold or wrecked. I'm even considering dropping it 1000/week until sold. I do not know which is a worse beating.
20171119_164601.jpg
 
531
364
sfo
I love the FP rear bar. How about even sort of designing the bar ends to jive with the control arm end like the OE bar?
I better stop now before I start getting hate mail.
20210307_105036.jpg
 

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