It's a good thing

[1 old racer]

I have been married for 32 years and have two wonderful grown daughters. Throughout the years my wife and girls have never shared my track habit. I think the last time my wife actually went to the track with me was in the early 2000's. That is the back story. Now let me talk about the "now". I have a 2018 gt that will become a dedicated track car in 1 year and 10 month, ( the time I retire and no longer need a back up car). So over the past 4 years I have very slowly been adding and subtraction things to move the car toward good HPDE /TT car. Today my wife threw me a fast one. She wants to try to run "Solo" events. She has a friend of her's that her and her husband run a mid 90's mustang in National Solo. What a problem to have, right? Does anyone here run their Mustang in HPDE and Solo events? If so what is the recipe for a successful setup? She stated she has no desire to "go out on the big track". The start of a dual purpose track car may be in the works.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Dear 1 Old Racer, this is Old Ford Auto Racing Terror (F.A.R.T. ) and I am pleased to hear of your predicament because I can tell you retirement will be even more wonderful and fun for you two. There are quite a few folks on here who do both HPDEs and Autocross and I would probably work on the Class you want to run autocrossing , and it will likely work just fine for HPDEs too. Auteaux runs some HPDEs and Timed Events with his Black Mustang , and he and his wife also autocross -- in fact that is where they met. I think you will find that many of the things you will do to Autocross will translate over and just gear yourself to tires that will do dual purpose. For example a set of A052 Yokohamas are super fast on the cone trail, but they wear quickly and will do so even faster with two drivers ( and some HPDEs). Therefore something like the Falken RT660 or a BFG Rival S1.5 , which are both solid autocross tires , also have longer life and seem to wear a lot better on a road course. Sounds like a fun time ahead and I am sure you will get alot more advice , but frankly when the spouse jumps in the expenses towards your car will likely go up, but she will support every single one of them.

Congrats on the best years of your marriage and coming retirement, ha!!

 

[1 old racer]

thanks Bill. I am indeed a blessed man.

 

[trackdao]

Will, I think you need to buy her a dedicated Solo car and get it set up for her......so you can focus on yours for a 100% track setup

 

[Steve68Cougar]

I like the color of your car. I might be partial, too. Anyway, I run a couple of HPDEs per year and pretty much a full slate of autocrosses. My suspension damping isn't adjustable, so the only difference I have between autocross and HPDE is tire pressures. On my 08 Bullitt I run full hard on the front struts for both autocross and HPDE, whereas I soften up the rear shocks somewhat during autocrosses. I don't know if that would translate to the S550 architecture or not. With the mods you've done to your car, it would definitely make the most sense to run in CAM-C. If you want to run a different Mustang in a stock class, the PP2, GT350 and Mach 1 (with handling package) are now FS legal and will stand the best chance of being competitive. Bill is on point with the tires. I've got 19x11 Apex wheels and 305/30-19 Falken RT660s on mine (with Vorshlag camber plates, extended lugs and 25mm spacers). Running as big of tires as possible is definitely recommended. With the automatic, you could probably run 18" rims and save the $. I didn't want to lose the top end speed with the shorter tires with my 6-speed, so I stuck with 19s. I'm still a notch below the fast guys, but other than seat time the tires make the most difference. I would venture to say that your current setup will be competitive at just about any autocross you show up to, especially if you get autocross tires.

 

[JP X]

I have been married for 32 years and have two wonderful grown daughters. Throughout the years my wife and girls have never shared my track habit. I think the last time my wife actually went to the track with me was in the early 2000's. That is the back story. Now let me talk about the "now". I have a 2018 gt that will become a dedicated track car in 1 year and 10 month, ( the time I retire and no longer need a back up car). So over the past 4 years I have very slowly been adding and subtraction things to move the car toward good HPDE /TT car. Today my wife threw me a fast one. She wants to try to run "Solo" events. She has a friend of her's that her and her husband run a mid 90's mustang in National Solo. What a problem to have, right? Does anyone here run their Mustang in HPDE and Solo events? If so what is the recipe for a successful setup? She stated she has no desire to "go out on the big track". The start of a dual purpose track car may be in the works.

Can your wife talk to my wife?

 

[1 old racer]

After taking my wife out for a drive thru the local mountains, with her at the wheel, of my Mustang she wants to try her first autocross will be on April 1st and 2nd with CalClub Solo2 at the Cal. Speedway. She wants to try it in our daily driver Volkswagen CC before she jumps into the fire with a modified mustang. Thanks for the advise and I will keep you posted, because I am almost as excited about her going out as I am when I hit the tracks.