Hi all!
Long-time reader, first-time poster here. I wanted to share my experience with one season of track use (14 Intermediate/Advanced events) with my Dark Horse Handling Package in case anyone might find it helpful. Before this, I drove a base S550 GT, which I modified for autocross and beginner/intermediate lapping.
Mods so far:
I started with Falken RT660 tires, then went to the OEM Pirelli Trofeo RS tires, then back to RT660 after the Trofeos corded. The RT660 felt like a big downgrade after the Trofeos.
For the alignment, I followed what is recommended in the track owner’s manual but maxed out front negative camber (about -2.7). This was not enough and I had uneven tire wear.
First impressions of the car:
It is a phenomenal car and really a track weapon- far more capable than I am at this point! My lap times at my local track were massively quicker than my GT, quicker than a Mach 1 with a comparably experienced driver, and on par with a modified GT350.
Now onto the issues…
I have the 10R80. I initially had no problems during my first two events but I was not very comfortable in the car and not pushing it. On the third event, I had a transmission overheat light come on and the car went into limp mode on lap 5ish of Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit (for those who aren’t familiar, it is 19 corners with a lot of shifting).
At the beginning of June, I had the transmission temp warning light come on during lap 4 at VIMC. I attempted to do a cooldown lap but the temp kept climbing to about 266F. Fluid was vented out of the trans case and caused quite a smoke show out the back of my car (my friend behind me thought I was on fire).
I took the car to the dealer where I had purchased it from and they didn’t know what to do and couldn’t diagnose anything. As a fluke, they did find a bent bracket at the front of the trans case that had been damaged from the factory. This bracket assembly (PR3Z7R081G if anyone is curious) included the thermal bypass valve. The thermal bypass valve used to be located in the valve body and I believe they changed it from this design in 2022 or 2023.
I had a case opened with Ford Canada and they told me that tracking the car was “abuse and misuse” of the vehicle. I was also told by the dealer that “mustang’s aren’t track cars” and “the marketing is just a gimmick”. The lack of support that I received from Ford was really surprising.
Of note, I had heard from a few others that they didn’t have the same issue with their 10R80 Mach 1. I looked into it further and this Mach 1 has a secondary transmission cooler located in the bottom passenger-side grille. Interestingly, with the Dark Horse, they removed this and closed off the grille so that they could fit the PCM there instead as it couldn’t fit in the engine bay anymore due to the dual throttle bodies.
What’s next?
After the thermal bypass valve was replaced, I was able to do a couple of hot laps followed by a cooldown and stay out for the whole session.
Since this car is not fully a dedicated track car, I am planning to start conservatively with the cooling mods and I’ve purchased a PPE transmission pan as well as a Mishimoto trans cooler to replace the OEM parts. The Mishimoto is for the S550 but can fit and does provide a larger cooling capacity.
Planning to do around the same number of events this year across tracks in BC, Washington, and possibly further South as well.
Hope someone finds this interesting and/or helpful!
Long-time reader, first-time poster here. I wanted to share my experience with one season of track use (14 Intermediate/Advanced events) with my Dark Horse Handling Package in case anyone might find it helpful. Before this, I drove a base S550 GT, which I modified for autocross and beginner/intermediate lapping.
Mods so far:
- UPR passenger side catch can
- GLoc R12/R10 brake pads
- Motul 600 brake fluid (planning to upgrade this for 2025).
I started with Falken RT660 tires, then went to the OEM Pirelli Trofeo RS tires, then back to RT660 after the Trofeos corded. The RT660 felt like a big downgrade after the Trofeos.
For the alignment, I followed what is recommended in the track owner’s manual but maxed out front negative camber (about -2.7). This was not enough and I had uneven tire wear.
First impressions of the car:
It is a phenomenal car and really a track weapon- far more capable than I am at this point! My lap times at my local track were massively quicker than my GT, quicker than a Mach 1 with a comparably experienced driver, and on par with a modified GT350.
Now onto the issues…
I have the 10R80. I initially had no problems during my first two events but I was not very comfortable in the car and not pushing it. On the third event, I had a transmission overheat light come on and the car went into limp mode on lap 5ish of Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit (for those who aren’t familiar, it is 19 corners with a lot of shifting).
At the beginning of June, I had the transmission temp warning light come on during lap 4 at VIMC. I attempted to do a cooldown lap but the temp kept climbing to about 266F. Fluid was vented out of the trans case and caused quite a smoke show out the back of my car (my friend behind me thought I was on fire).
I took the car to the dealer where I had purchased it from and they didn’t know what to do and couldn’t diagnose anything. As a fluke, they did find a bent bracket at the front of the trans case that had been damaged from the factory. This bracket assembly (PR3Z7R081G if anyone is curious) included the thermal bypass valve. The thermal bypass valve used to be located in the valve body and I believe they changed it from this design in 2022 or 2023.
I had a case opened with Ford Canada and they told me that tracking the car was “abuse and misuse” of the vehicle. I was also told by the dealer that “mustang’s aren’t track cars” and “the marketing is just a gimmick”. The lack of support that I received from Ford was really surprising.
Of note, I had heard from a few others that they didn’t have the same issue with their 10R80 Mach 1. I looked into it further and this Mach 1 has a secondary transmission cooler located in the bottom passenger-side grille. Interestingly, with the Dark Horse, they removed this and closed off the grille so that they could fit the PCM there instead as it couldn’t fit in the engine bay anymore due to the dual throttle bodies.
What’s next?
After the thermal bypass valve was replaced, I was able to do a couple of hot laps followed by a cooldown and stay out for the whole session.
Since this car is not fully a dedicated track car, I am planning to start conservatively with the cooling mods and I’ve purchased a PPE transmission pan as well as a Mishimoto trans cooler to replace the OEM parts. The Mishimoto is for the S550 but can fit and does provide a larger cooling capacity.
Planning to do around the same number of events this year across tracks in BC, Washington, and possibly further South as well.
Hope someone finds this interesting and/or helpful!
