S550 Honey Badger GT350 Build Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

[GAR944]

I need that transmission.

Can we organize a group buy and get a really big discount

 

[Fabman]

Can we organize a group buy and get a really big discount

Too late for me….hoping to make the last 3 races of the season and then the car goes bye bye.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

.....won't be surprised if someone on TMO wouldn't be interested in acquiring Frankenstang, since the car is monstrously fast!

I imagine a " Son of Frankenstang " could be in the cards in a few more years, ha!

 

[Fabman]

.....won't be surprised if someone on TMO wouldn't be interested in acquiring Frankenstang, since the car is monstrously fast!

I imagine a " Son of Frankenstang " could be in the cards in a few more years, ha!

I’ll give them first shot at it….I have several people interested already so it’s going to be the highest bidder….

 

[KazarS197]

Still waiting on the photos, but wanted to share now since I'm too excited ha

She's spittin' fireballs on the upshifts now

I have been watch the build since the beginning. I'm so happy for you that it's all has workung out! Freaking awesome ! The audio would make the best ringtone! If you want PM me an email. I'll could send you the full 12 second and maybe a 7- 8 second cut version.

 

[dragoon]

Shifts in milliseconds & burping fire

 

[Fabman]

In all seriousness, and I mean this from the heart, you have done an awesome job building and documenting this project and you do us all proud here at TMO and beyond.
Now go out and win us some races!

 

[honeybadger]

COTA After Dark - Debrief

This one of my favorite events of the year - driving around COTA in the dark is pretty especially and feels like a real privilege. I keep waiting for the insurance companies to wisen up and put a stop to it - but ironically, it's one of the safest events all year (statistically at least).

Anyways, we start the day at 3pm in the blistering texas heat - this year was mid 90s with track temps well north of 120. Given the temps and only having a handful of days between this event and our trip back from Road America, I didn't have high expectations. I just wanted to get some real data at COTA that I could use to prep for the fall when things cool down a bit.

I didn't actually get out on track until 520 pm because of instruction duties - so temps were at their highest and the track was uber greasy. First session, the car through the serpentine belt. I had an warning with the low battery voltage at the end of Road America and assumed it was just my 5 year old AG battery needing to be replaced. But the issue persisted during my first session - which I think was the belt slipping. A couple laps into the session, it finally gave up and parts of it went flying through the hood vent. We also had one of the A7s I was get super unpredictable, so came in. Turns out that we had no belt and the driver rear was flat. I knew I should have gotten my TPMS system working.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a spare serpentine belt - completely forgot to buy a spare when I found the correct belt. Fortunately, Manny ran to the auto parts store for us and picked up a couple. Got the new belt on and the wheels swapped out and we were good to go.

Okay- by the time my second instructor session rolled around, I had already been on track in student's cars 5 times and I was pretty tired. But I really wanted to get a proper session in, so I headed back out with a little less enthusiasm and a bit more grit. Slowly worked the lap times down to mid 20s - although non of them were clean. A couple things became clear this session - I still have work to do on brake cooling. I added my deflectors to the front tension rods. I still don't have the factory brake ducts that come from the grill to the wheel liner - so the only air getting to the deflectors a is a bit from the under floor.

Needless to say, this wasn't enough. We had some issues blowing some brake zones. Second, I'm way over-slowing a lot of corners now. Part of it is just trust in the car and part of it is the fact that the brakes are a bit inconsistent in the high speed areas. And when you mix that with the sequential liking lower gears, I overslow quite a bit. Lots of room for improvement here.

On a side note, I had a good bit of fun with a Viper ACR in this session and it was fun to see how HB stacked up on the straights. this car really builds momentum quickly now. its a weapon

Finally, it was time for the night sessions. Unfortunately, I was simply too tired to get a gopro setup and the Smartycam didn't adjust to the low light super well, so the video isn't optimal. But I was happy with how my laps turned out considering I was taking it fairly easy still.

Plus, the images were pretty good

 

[honeybadger]

I need that transmission.

Outside of good tires, I think it's the single most effective thing a mustang owner can do to improve performance (and engine longevity). You can lower RPMs and still be faster. And having the right gear all the time makes such a difference.

I have been watch the build since the beginning. I'm so happy for you that it's all has workung out! Freaking awesome ! The audio would make the best ringtone! If you want PM me an email. I'll could send you the full 12 second and maybe a 7- 8 second cut version.

Thanks! do you want internal or external audio?

Shifts in milliseconds & burping fire

The fire balls are so childish and I love it. I passed a buddy on the back straight and he said it shot fire at him

In all seriousness, and I mean this from the heart, you have done an awesome job building and documenting this project and you do us all proud here at TMO and beyond.
Now go out and win us some races!

Thanks, Sal! We're getting there!

 

[CobaltFilly]

The Honeybadger build has got to be my favorite piece of media to read and watch. Keep it up brother!!! Gotta get me one of those transmissions...street car be damned!

 

[Fabman]

COTA After Dark - Debrief

This one of my favorite events of the year - driving around COTA in the dark is pretty especially and feels like a real privilege. I keep waiting for the insurance companies to wisen up and put a stop to it - but ironically, it's one of the safest events all year (statistically at least).

Anyways, we start the day at 3pm in the blistering texas heat - this year was mid 90s with track temps well north of 120. Given the temps and only having a handful of days between this event and our trip back from Road America, I didn't have high expectations. I just wanted to get some real data at COTA that I could use to prep for the fall when things cool down a bit.

I didn't actually get out on track until 520 pm because of instruction duties - so temps were at their highest and the track was uber greasy. First session, the car through the serpentine belt. I had an warning with the low battery voltage at the end of Road America and assumed it was just my 5 year old AG battery needing to be replaced. But the issue persisted during my first session - which I think was the belt slipping. A couple laps into the session, it finally gave up and parts of it went flying through the hood vent. We also had one of the A7s I was get super unpredictable, so came in. Turns out that we had no belt and the driver rear was flat. I knew I should have gotten my TPMS system working.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a spare serpentine belt - completely forgot to buy a spare when I found the correct belt. Fortunately, Manny ran to the auto parts store for us and picked up a couple. Got the new belt on and the wheels swapped out and we were good to go.

Okay- by the time my second instructor session rolled around, I had already been on track in student's cars 5 times and I was pretty tired. But I really wanted to get a proper session in, so I headed back out with a little less enthusiasm and a bit more grit. Slowly worked the lap times down to mid 20s - although non of them were clean. A couple things became clear this session - I still have work to do on brake cooling. I added my deflectors to the front tension rods. I still don't have the factory brake ducts that come from the grill to the wheel liner - so the only air getting to the deflectors a is a bit from the under floor.

Needless to say, this wasn't enough. We had some issues blowing some brake zones. Second, I'm way over-slowing a lot of corners now. Part of it is just trust in the car and part of it is the fact that the brakes are a bit inconsistent in the high speed areas. And when you mix that with the sequential liking lower gears, I overslow quite a bit. Lots of room for improvement here.

On a side note, I had a good bit of fun with a Viper ACR in this session and it was fun to see how HB stacked up on the straights. this car really builds momentum quickly now. its a weapon

Finally, it was time for the night sessions. Unfortunately, I was simply too tired to get a gopro setup and the Smartycam didn't adjust to the low light super well, so the video isn't optimal. But I was happy with how my laps turned out considering I was taking it fairly easy still.

Plus, the images were pretty good

View attachment 97128
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two things I noticed, you aren't using the twin air intake and the car appears to be right hand drive....somebody flip the pics? (Edit) your dark helmet and face shield reflects in some pics and looks like an empty seat.
(I'll watch the vids tonight)

 

[GAR944]

two things I noticed, you aren't using the twin air intake and the car appears to be right hand drive....somebody flip the pics? (Edit) your dark helmet and face shield reflects in some pics and looks like an empty seat.
(I'll watch the vids tonight)

The right hand drive version is the one he is building and testing for me.
I wish.......
Living vicariously through others will have to do for the time being.

 

[honeybadger]

Welp, found my first major teething problem. I've been battling a driveshaft vibration and I've been rotating the shaft on the differential flange to see if I could find a position that eliminated it. I was making progress, but unfortunately the last position I tried resulted in the most vibration and there was enough movement to hit the exhaust. The clearance was too tight and I had it on my list to fix - but I was procrastinating as it would require some Ti welding to fix. Unfortunately, I waited too long and the driveshaft rubbed on my v-band clamp.



Unfortunately, this means its trashed. I reached out to DSS and they're helping me with a new one in a time crunch - their CS has been great. We're reducing the DS diameter and removing one of the adjustable CVs - this should give us more clearance and reduce the chances of vibration.

I'm using the opportunity to re-do the exhaust. I must be growing up because I'm increasing the size of the mufflers. Car is so loud its pretty fatiguing and not ideal of typical track days. Even Major is excited about the new mufflers


This means we have another opportunity for me to tackle a project I probably shouldn't - welding the Ti exhaust components. I was practicing some Tig on some AL last night for a spare tire mount for a trailer tire and feeling better about it. Going to prioritize a few more AL projects and then the re-work of the stainless sections of the exhaust (where I can work on implementing @Fabman's stainless welding tips) before I tackle the Ti portions, but feeling confident enough to give it a go.



It's a good thing that Ti isn't known for being super sensitive to heat and catastrophically failing when it cracks

 

[GAR944]

Welp, found my first major teething problem. I've been battling a driveshaft vibration and I've been rotating the shaft on the differential flange to see if I could find a position that eliminated it. I was making progress, but unfortunately the last position I tried resulted in the most vibration and there was enough movement to hit the exhaust. The clearance was too tight and I had it on my list to fix - but I was procrastinating as it would require some Ti welding to fix. Unfortunately, I waited too long and the driveshaft rubbed on my v-band clamp.

View attachment 97202

Unfortunately, this means its trashed. I reached out to DSS and they're helping me with a new one in a time crunch - their CS has been great. We're reducing the DS diameter and removing one of the adjustable CVs - this should give us more clearance and reduce the chances of vibration.

I'm using the opportunity to re-do the exhaust. I must be growing up because I'm increasing the size of the mufflers. Car is so loud its pretty fatiguing and not ideal of typical track days. Even Major is excited about the new mufflers
View attachment 97203

This means we have another opportunity for me to tackle a project I probably shouldn't - welding the Ti exhaust components. I was practicing some Tig on some AL last night for a spare tire mount for a trailer tire and feeling better about it. Going to prioritize a few more AL projects and then the re-work of the stainless sections of the exhaust (where I can work on implementing @Fabman's stainless welding tips) before I tackle the Ti portions, but feeling confident enough to give it a go.

View attachment 97201

It's a good thing that Ti isn't known for being super sensitive to heat and catastrophically failing when it cracks

1st up, bugger that sucks.
2nd, got to live up to that overconfident mechanic part of your signature.
I'm sure all of us agree, you got this. This is season 2 of the honey badger series for the rest of us. Just keep @Fabman on speed dial.

 

[honeybadger]

I have a lot of catching up to do, but going to wait until I get home and can get the car on the lift to walkthrough the changes. In the meantime, here are some POV laps from my trip to VIR. Car ran great. Ran a 1:59 Friday afternoon, but with traffic being pretty thick, it was hard to get clean laps. The good news is I got tons of run time - I burned 140 gallons of e85 and logged over 9 hours on track. Only issues with the car are some brake bias teething issues (working with Tilton to figure out what's going on) and my exhaust mount bending from the Gs and the larger muffler. Car is starting to get properly quick and it's an absolute riot to drive.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Under 2 minutes is booking!!!

 

[Badger]

The shifts sounds so darn satisfying! Just the cherry on top.

 

[TYancy]

JFC dude! That car rips! Great driving as well.

 

[stevbd]

Your arm must get tired from all the waving lol. Congrats on an amazing build and nice driving.

 

[honeybadger]

Under 2 minutes is booking!!!

Yeah - car felt so good on the first day with the decent grip. it really got my hopes up, but then just fell off every session, ha. No worries. I'll have to come back when the car is fully sorted and use up some fresh tires to see what it can do. Data says a 57 is pretty doable once I get the brakes dialed.

The shifts sounds so darn satisfying! Just the cherry on top.

Not sure how clear it is on camera to those who haven't heard it in person, but it makes the most heavenly flames and "bangs" on every up shift. It's so savage and it's really hard not to just overshift the car for the fun of it.

JFC dude! That car rips! Great driving as well.

yeah - it really builds speed fast out of corners and through technical sections. and I'm finally getting truly comfortable. still has no TC, so I'm being careful. no need to lose the rear end in the climbing esses at 140+ ha

Your arm must get tired from all the waving lol. Congrats on an amazing build and nice driving.

Ha. i seriously felt bad for a lot of those other drivers. Some of them mustve given me 25+ point bys over the weekend. Car was super quick and the closing speeds with street cars is pretty intense. I only gave one point by all weekend and it was to a 900whp ZL1 1LE on slicks - but he could only do 1 lap at a time