mattlqx's Dual-Duty Shelby GT350

[mattlqx]

If you don't mind me asking, what do the caliper studs do, or what are they for?

Good time for a plug! http://caliperfexion.com

The stock bolts that radially mount the caliper are large, ridiculous T-60 heads and tend to remove some of the knuckle material every time you change the pads. The calipers are monoblocks, you have to remove the caliper to change the pads. So with lots of track activity, you'll be doing this very often.

 

[ford20]

I see now; that is pretty cool!!

 

[kart125]

Yes Caliperfexion studs are a real piece of art. Get some stud extensions while you're at it to make pad changes even easier!

 

[mattlqx]

The downside of dual duty is that you care when your track car is dirty.

She got a full service today. Wash, R3 rubber remover, quick detailer, spray wax. Hell, I even cleaned the track wheels.

On top of an oil and air filter change. Happy Sunday ya'll! COTA is in less than 3 weeks!

 

[mattlqx]

Got some TrackDaySolutions decals in the mail today. And I have reaffirmed another thing I should not quit my day job for. It looks fine from 10 feet away, but I did end up getting some runs here and there on most of the large pieces. I used gobs of water too. Just need a lot more practice I guess. They were relatively inexpensive so I'll probably try again at some point.

GT4 inspired. I'm planning to put classing and some "sponsor" stickers on the rear piece. Maybe my name and 'merican flag on top of the number.

 

[CSL]

This is a great thread.....thanks for all the detail and sharing of info. It takes a lot of time to share all that you've done after you take all the time to do it. I especially
appreciate the details on the muffler corks.....great stuff! The car looks great and I hope you have a blast at COTA.

 

[mattlqx]

Thank you! Loading up today and heading out tomorrow. Event is next weekend but I have biznass in Austin next week.

I put the decklid stripe on yesterday. Another passable job. I'll take a snap before I put it in the trailer.

 

[barstowpo]

Did you use decal application solution?

 

[mattlqx]

My solution was 100% H20 spray. Now everyone is saying use a little soap in it too. I'm sure there will be a next time.

Two deck lids, one car!






In the trailer now, ready to head for Texas tomorrow. Conference next week and then head over to COTA for a weekend of fun.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Yeah put a couple drops of dish soap in your spray bottle and shake it up a little. Decals will go on super easy. The ones on your rear quarters will still be tough with those complex shapes in the panel. Haven't mastered that stuff yet--heat required IMO.

 

[The_Dead_Cow]

The downside of dual duty is that you care when your track car is dirty.

She got a full service today. Wash, R3 rubber remover, quick detailer, spray wax. Hell, I even cleaned the track wheels.

On top of an oil and air filter change. Happy Sunday ya'll! COTA is in less than 3 weeks!

View attachment 667

Gonna have to try this, got some hard to remove black spots on the paint after the last track day. Thanks for posting. Once again, love the build and looking forward to seeing it in person.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Gonna have to try this, got some hard to remove black spots on the paint after the last track day. Thanks for posting. Once again, love the build and looking forward to seeing it in person.

R3 is great. Spray it on, let it sit for 30 seconds, wipe gently away. Very simple.

 

[mattlqx]

Got back from my long Austin trip last night. Whew, it was a long drive and it was unseasonably very humid over there. It made for a very sticky time (on the skin that is). COTA is an amazingly large facility. It's the first time I've been to an Formula tier track, let alone driven on one. The cost per day was proportionally steep, but I can check this track off my bucket list and for that it was worth it.

I will say COTA for me was a difficult track to improve at. I think this is probably due to the size. I kept experimenting with lines in different sections but had a hard time executing the best one for every section in a single lap. My best times were in the 2:37s on the first day. On the second day in the morning, I was able to hit my virtual best for a lap at 2:35.1 and was on track to hit a 2:34 subsequently when they threw the checker on the back straight. The afternoon heat (near the high 90s) made improvements beyond the morning sessions not possible for me. It's kind of a meh time (fast TT guys in prepped GTs were running 2:28-2:30), but there's still a whole lot of newness to the track and the car setup.

The next time I come back to COTA, I'd be interested in running an A/B test of running a day with the APR spoiler and splitter and removing them for the next day to compare times and speeds. Running down the back straight, I was able to hit 135mph according to GPS. (The speedo indicated around 145mph, but my drive wheels are running different size tires than stock and I didn't update the cluster for the change.) I was running my spoiler near as flat as I could judge, but still I'd expect it and the splitter probably created enough drag to prevent hitting 150mph. That expectation is just based on what I've heard a Mustang GT can run down the back.

I hope to have a few nice action photos in the next week from some professional photog friends that were there. In the meantime, here's some silly potato photos and a hot lap video.



https://www.instagram.com/p/BUkChrwDels/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUnCgL-j98z/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUuRG7pDom2/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUuRG7pDom2/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUqTq4cg0ff/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUuRG7pDom2/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUrgAoCgV2U/

 

[VoodooBoss]

Very cool. How did the R7's work for you and the stock brake pads with those tires?

 

[mattlqx]

They were great the first session but as the day warmed up, they noticeably fell off after about the 4th lap each time. Started the event with 5 cycles, ended with 12.

The stock pads were basically toast after the equivalent of both days COTA. In reality, they started with about 85% life and I changed them before the last session so that the car is basically prepared for this weekend's event at Wild Horse Pass.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Looks like a blast. Everyone I know that went out there had a good time. I think next year I'll plan on attending.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Did you get a chance to go into town for nightlife/bbq?

 

[mattlqx]

Did you get a chance to go into town for nightlife/bbq?

The conference I attended during the week was downtown, so yeah, I got the opportunity to hit a few places. The conference also hosted a wrap-party with some live music at Stubb's. I got to introduce some people from the track to Cooper's BBQ which I thought to be quite good. We couldn't hit up any of the other more famous BBQs since they all tended to be closed by late afternoon. I look forward to more exploration next time.

 

[Etchhead]

Should be here tomorrow. I got a barely used set of R7s for $1000 shipped off of a guy.

What size R7s did you go with?

 

[mattlqx]

For some reason the guy went with different ratios.... front is 295/35/19, rear is 315/30/19. The fronts are obviously a bit stretched on 19x11", the rears are great. I'll probably try and run 315/30/19 all around, but if I get a deal on 295/30/19s, I'd run them too. The 35 ratio is too much in the front.