cloud9
Gary
OK, I just got back from a fantastic track weekend at MPH (Motorsports Park Hastings) in Hastings, NE. MPH is a private club that hosts several different events from karting, club racing, autox and drag racing. It's a 2.1 mile very technical track. This was my first visit. First off, I have to say the hospitality was overwhelming. You got the white glove treatment from the time you got there until you left. The track is very new having opened in 2006. It is the most well maintained track I have ever run. I washed the car last night and had very few rubber marks to clean and I ran well over 200 track miles in two days.
I had the opportunity to run with a Boss 302 Laguna Seca in addition to Z06s, a variety of Porsches, a Superformance Cobra, Mustangs, Camaros and a variety of other cars.
On Saturday, I started out running in the high 1:47s and 1:48s. By the last session of the day I logged a couple 1:44s and a high 1:43. The track president commented how he was really impressed with the lap times for a Mustang and said that car was really set up well by Ford. I asked him for some benchmarking and he said Mustangs typically run in the 1:53 to 54 range and as high as 58 to 59. He said a Z06 on street tires would be around 1:42.
Sunday was interesting. There weren't any cars signed up to run, but I had driven 5 hours to get there and was hoping to run at least two days. The track president said they would be open from 10-3 regardless since they had some SCCA cars to tech and those times were member hours to come and go if they chose. Turned out I was the only car on track for most of the day. It was like going to Disneyland and being the only kid there with free run of all the rides ;D I told him I felt bad the corner workers had to be there and he said they were actually having a lot of fun watching the Boss run. They started radioing in the times and holding up a board each time by the tower with my previous lap time. I started out Sunday running consistent 1:44s. By the second sesssion I ran a 1:43.5. In the next session I ran two 1:42s including a 1:42.221 which was my best lap time of the day. Toward the end of the day the other Boss came out. We chased around a bit and then they gave me the checkered and I pulled into the hot pits. The owner was standing by his Laguna Seca and told me to park my Boss. He said hop in so you can experience the difference. I was really humbled and can't say enough about how cool that was. I ran about 6 laps. The car did feel more stable in the sweepers and I sensed a little less body roll. However, I also noticed quickly the stock brakes and wheels/tires. While the Pzero Corsas were sticky, they were over an inch narrower than the Nittos I was running. The stock pads worked well, but didn't have the bite of the DTC 60s/70s so my braking points were very different. Also, I had -1.7 negative camber on my car so there was a noticable difference in turn-in. I also felt the fronts rolling over on some of the early turns because I was trying to drive it like I had driven my own car for two straight days on the same track.
My lap times were in the 1:46s and 47s for those 6 laps. Granted I also had a passenger and limited time with that setup. I would have certainly adjusted my line after realizing the differences in braking and turn-in. I learned that the wheel/tire combo I am running and the brake pad/rotor combo is perfect for my car.
Here's a link to some photos and short videos on the front straight: http://www.racemph.com/Track-Day-5-7-2011.htm
All I can say is Thank You Ford for building an amazing car! IMO, I wouldn't TOUCH the suspension on this car. Play around with wheels/tires and brake pads that work for you, but leave the rest of it alone. The engineers nailed it.
I had the opportunity to run with a Boss 302 Laguna Seca in addition to Z06s, a variety of Porsches, a Superformance Cobra, Mustangs, Camaros and a variety of other cars.
On Saturday, I started out running in the high 1:47s and 1:48s. By the last session of the day I logged a couple 1:44s and a high 1:43. The track president commented how he was really impressed with the lap times for a Mustang and said that car was really set up well by Ford. I asked him for some benchmarking and he said Mustangs typically run in the 1:53 to 54 range and as high as 58 to 59. He said a Z06 on street tires would be around 1:42.
Sunday was interesting. There weren't any cars signed up to run, but I had driven 5 hours to get there and was hoping to run at least two days. The track president said they would be open from 10-3 regardless since they had some SCCA cars to tech and those times were member hours to come and go if they chose. Turned out I was the only car on track for most of the day. It was like going to Disneyland and being the only kid there with free run of all the rides ;D I told him I felt bad the corner workers had to be there and he said they were actually having a lot of fun watching the Boss run. They started radioing in the times and holding up a board each time by the tower with my previous lap time. I started out Sunday running consistent 1:44s. By the second sesssion I ran a 1:43.5. In the next session I ran two 1:42s including a 1:42.221 which was my best lap time of the day. Toward the end of the day the other Boss came out. We chased around a bit and then they gave me the checkered and I pulled into the hot pits. The owner was standing by his Laguna Seca and told me to park my Boss. He said hop in so you can experience the difference. I was really humbled and can't say enough about how cool that was. I ran about 6 laps. The car did feel more stable in the sweepers and I sensed a little less body roll. However, I also noticed quickly the stock brakes and wheels/tires. While the Pzero Corsas were sticky, they were over an inch narrower than the Nittos I was running. The stock pads worked well, but didn't have the bite of the DTC 60s/70s so my braking points were very different. Also, I had -1.7 negative camber on my car so there was a noticable difference in turn-in. I also felt the fronts rolling over on some of the early turns because I was trying to drive it like I had driven my own car for two straight days on the same track.
My lap times were in the 1:46s and 47s for those 6 laps. Granted I also had a passenger and limited time with that setup. I would have certainly adjusted my line after realizing the differences in braking and turn-in. I learned that the wheel/tire combo I am running and the brake pad/rotor combo is perfect for my car.
Here's a link to some photos and short videos on the front straight: http://www.racemph.com/Track-Day-5-7-2011.htm
All I can say is Thank You Ford for building an amazing car! IMO, I wouldn't TOUCH the suspension on this car. Play around with wheels/tires and brake pads that work for you, but leave the rest of it alone. The engineers nailed it.
