Newbie advice

[Bill Pemberton]

I know what you mean, as I have friends who feel the same way about PPIR and in fact that is part of the reason I have not bothered to make the trip. Seems like Roval tracks often have a wall of doom that folks seem to collect like a pension. Gateway in St. Louis is like that and I have heard Charlotte ( where Ford moved their Performance School ) is pretty similar coming off the banking. Personal opinion is the move from the super , super safe track at Utah Motorsports Campus was an error. Running crazy into the dirt is a bit less traumatic than a using a concrete wall to stop instead of your brakes!

 

[funksouljon]

Hey a fellow COS guy. Who has a background in 2 wheeled fun.

I like Pueblo, but agree it has some tight/sketchy aspects. The speed ripple coming onto the front straight is very..... attention gathering.

Whats Oct 15?

 

[bhf]

Hey a fellow COS guy. Who has a background in 2 wheeled fun.

I like Pueblo, but agree it has some tight/sketchy aspects. The speed ripple coming onto the front straight is very..... attention gathering.

Whats Oct 15?

Oct 15 is an open track day at High Plains Raceway. I believe the 8th also but the 9th and 10th is a Porsche weekend so lots of them will be there on the 8th. After the 15th is motorcycles so it probably won’t be as crowded.
Yes coming onto the front straight at PMI is fun. A bit bumpy and the metal plate that covers where the xmas tree goes plus the drag strip guard rails make me a bit timid in that corner.
My best save ever was in the “keyhole” there. On a supermoto bike I over cooked it coming into the 180 lefthander and lowsided. I’m sliding on my left side completely down. Picked the bike up a little and the tires stuck, got back up on two wheels and kept going. It was awesome!

 

[bhf]

Decisions decisions.
I made a few with lots of help.
Parts ordered:
Vorshlag brake cooling deflector
KNS rotors
Corbotech xp8 and xp10 pads
Racequip tow strap
If it all comes in as expected I’ll be ready for the 15th at High Plains. Sub 2 minute lap times no problem. (Actually I’ll be happy with 2:30s first time out and hope to be 2:15ish with some seat time.)

 

[bhf]

“Corbotech xp8 and xp10 pads”
I considered going with 10-12 but after taking with a guy at KNS I went with 8-10 until I get stickier tires. With the tires I have less initial bite from the brakes would probably be better.
I’m only going to run one last track day this year and then go through the car over the winter. I’ll admit to being a little apprehensive about it but I’m sure if I start slow and don’t worry about lap times I’ll get comfortable. As with anything I’ve run I’ll just focus on getting the line right and smooth transitions and the lap times will be there.

 

[bhf]

Put the new rotors and pads from KNS on yesterday. Bedded them early this morning at dawn before the straight stretch of road I used got busy. All I can say is “Holy crap!” “She now has brakes!” Much much much better than what I had.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Exactly. You are running their softer pads. As you progress, go more aggressive with the pads. The braking will continue to improve.
welcome to the hobby.

 

[bhf]

Exactly. You are running their softer pads. As you progress, go more aggressive with the pads. The braking will continue to improve.
welcome to the hobby.

Fine line between hobby and addiction.

 

[Stangra]

Fine line between hobby and addiction.

Ohhhhh ! ... ... all this time I thought they were the same!

 

[bhf]

Ohhhhh ! ... ... all this time I thought they were the same!

Stamp collecting is a hobby. Spending to much money to go faster is an adrenaline addiction.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Fine line between hobby and addiction.

The problem is that you cross the line at such speed, you don’t even notice it.
Two cars, 28’ trailer, shop full of tools, truck to pull trailer…..all extremely necessary.

Still a hobby……right??

 

[bhf]

The problem is that you cross the line at such speed, you don’t even notice it.
Two cars, 28’ trailer, shop full of tools, truck to pull trailer…..all extremely necessary.

Still a hobby……right??

That line was definitely crossed a while ago.

 

[bhf]

F Type was the first 4 wheel vehicle for me to take to a road course. To nice to track a lot so it was followed by the mustang. Seriously addicted.

 

[bhf]

I’m sure you all have been through this where every time you upgrade one part it revealed the next weakest link. So after improving the brakes I realized the suspension was a bit soft when I was bedding the new pads. The front end will get a little squirrelly with heavy braking. I looked at the adjusters on the front and they no longer work and the rears are leaking. So I looked at shock and struts threads here, plus consulted my car friends and then ordered a set of Koni Yellows. That and the Ford Performance bumper/tow hook and my track car budget is pretty much shot.
Now hoping to make the 22nd open lap day.

 

[Stangra]

...my track car budget is pretty much shot.

How many times have I told myself this?
...ummm

 

[bhf]

She’s heavy but she can dance.

Took the Boss 302 to High Plains Raceway today. Took me a while to get her there mechanically. We did brake pads and rotors, struts, shocks and springs. Changed the oil and changed the brake fluid to dot 5.1 Seeing as I haven’t wrenched in a long while I was a bit slower than I used to be but we finally made it.

I was more than a bit nervous to drive her. More hp, unknown car and a 6 speed. This was all new. Drove to the track, signed in, did a once over on the car, slapped my helmet on, buckled up and headed for the track entrance.

First lap was a warm up. The few after that we felt each other out. Eight laps down I was feeling better and more comfortable. After a cool down lap we exited and parked. No heat issues with either the motor and more importantly the brakes. Checked the lap times and I was in the 2:30 range with a best of 2:27. Not stellar but acceptable.

Next session I pushed harder. Her weight showed more. Push harder and everything works harder. The crap tires showed their stuff by getting greasy. Getting harder on the brakes made her dance more, and on the gas she tries to step her tail out. I was pretty sloppy as well. I was pushing and not being as smooth. A few corners that I never can get quite right I came in wrong and pushed to the outside edge. The left hand hairpin that I can usually do pretty well I tossed her in badly and slid way wide. The right hand off camber uphill I hung on the edge between drifting the tail and totally spinning out. But I was faster. A lot faster. 7-10 seconds. I was consistently in the 2:20 point something range. That’s more like it, but I realized that pushing and sloppy doesn’t work very well and if I continued I’d lose it. Exit session two.

By session three I was getting tired. Tired means you lose concentration. Lose concentration and mistakes will take you off the track. So I planned to just try to be smooth and get the line right. Smooth and right equals fast too. Sloppy scrubs speed off. So the lap times mostly only dropped a little to 2:23-2:24 with a couple still at 2:20 and change. I was pretty happy with that and called it a day before I got even more tired and screwed something up.

So where are we at with my chubby mustang? I’m comfortable with her mostly. The manual trans is no big deal. I got used to that quickly. The brakes still need improvement. The soft pads I used got a little grabby at times. The tires have got to go, but I knew that going in. Suspension wise she is ok for my skill level. Stock Recaro seat is ok and with a harness to further hold me in would be fine. I definitely need work on my driving skills. Just getting smoother, on the brakes later and on the gas sooner and with better tires, she and I have got at least 2:15s in us.

All in all I had a great day. This switch from motorcycles to the mustang is going to give me a few more years of racing. The car is far less physically demanding than the bike. Fast less demanding on my courage as well. 3300 pounds vs 330 pounds is a bit of a change but the extra two wheels is nice. I had so many more ways to fall down and get hurt on just two.

 

[bhf]

Most important thing I forgot in my last post was to say thank you for all the help with advice and pointers from this group.
It got me where I needed to be without the trial and error of figuring it out on my own.
Thank you

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Glad we could all contribute and this site makes many of us TMOs -- Thankful Mustang Owners. I may be biased , but I honestly believe there is not a more helpful Forum for Mustangs anywhere!!

 

[bhf]

I had a chance to look over the lap video. I learned a lot from it. I ran in the “slow” group. I was out breaking almost everyone. Even the small light cars. I attribute that to the motorcycle racing. Less fear of going in deep. I could out accelerate most. Where almost everyone was pulling me was on corner exits. I need to get on the gas sooner and get far more drive coming out. I also can see where my line can improve. Overall I was hitting the apexes but there were a few I consistently got wrong. Next time I’ll be faster!
In the off season I’ll go back through the car and make sure she is solid. Then next spring we go for 2:15s or less. No obsession here.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Next year when you go back you will learn to love the curbing. Unlike your bike you will flat run over those guys all over Hi Plains. Bet you can take 5 seconds off right away with this short cut method, ha!!