S550 SCCA CAM-C Ecoboost PP A10 Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

[Bidaci]

This is the Build Thread for SCCA DStreet. Reply below.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

What rubber will you be rocking ???? Bridgestone, BFG, Yokes or maybe the new Falken's? Keep us posted as always fun to hear what our Autocross friends are running , since many end up doing HPDEs or Time Trials. Have been Autocrossing since 1981 and road racing since 1999, and love both disciplines. The ecoboost PP I think is going to be a sleeper in D Stock , so keep us posted on your results --- whoops, D Street , the old verbiage for the class is a habit with the old Fartz still weaving through the cones.

Where do you guys run, as St. Augustine is one of our favorite cities in the US --- been there 3 times in the last 5 years!!!

Welcome and glad to have you on TMO, look forward to your pics, videos, and posts!

 

[Bidaci]

What rubber will you be rocking ???? Bridgestone, BFG, Yokes or maybe the new Falken's? Keep us posted as always fun to hear what our Autocross friends are running , since many end up doing HPDEs or Time Trials. Have been Autocrossing since 1981 and road racing since 1999, and love both disciplines. The ecoboost PP I think is going to be a sleeper in D Stock , so keep us posted on your results --- whoops, D Street , the old verbiage for the class is a habit with the old Fartz still weaving through the cones.

Where do you guys run, as St. Augustine is one of our favorite cities in the US --- been there 3 times in the last 5 years!!!

Right now I am running it as it came off the showroom floor with the crappy 255 Pzeros. I'm up in the air as to what tires I will end up on and what class. Smart money is on RE71R or Yoks but I may try a lesser tire to keep it more as a run what you bring type of car. If I go to Cam it opens up a lot of options on a wheel tire combo.

I'm trying to get a handle on how to drive a turbo car as it is my first one. So far it has done surprisingly well in DS and comparing to CAM times. I'm finding that the car is a lot smarter and quicker to respond then I.

Currently I run mostly with Jax Solo and occasionally with CFR. St Augustine is right between the 2.

I'll transfer my trials and tribulations to this forum to see if I can get better feedback.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Was one of the founders of the Salina Region SCCA ( Kansas ) and we held the Solo Nationals for years. Topeka did it for awhile after that and then the move to a bigger site ended up in Lincoln, Nebraska some years back -- worked well for my son and I as we moved to Nebraska in 94. Sent you my number ( PM ) as would be happy to give you any knowledge I can pass on tires or other autocross info , as may be running my son's EVO9 now , but have run everything from Miatas, RX7s, Firebirds, Vipers, 626 Turbo, Honda CRXs, Protege, Mustang Cobras, Corvettes, and more................heck even ran my Boss S in one event last year.

Was born in Tampa many years ago, and left when super young, but have spent a lot of time in the Sunshine State over the years and have customers in Ocala, Ponte Vedra Beach , Jacksonville, Deltona, Oviedo, Gainesville, St. Johns, to just name a few places near you.

All my best and you will have fun with the Eco Boost, I am sure.

 

[Bidaci]

Thanks for the offer to mentor. I just moved down here this past labor day. Got started late autocrossing (2012) with the NER up in MA, grew up drag racing.

Always ran All Motor, this boost is an interesting puppy to take.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Glad to help, though what I often mention to TMO members is that observation is the key to success. Being next door to the Solo Nationals, while still competing to a small degree, helps me suggest what might work best. Seeing what is working on a National Scale helps me suggest what might be the better choices for many. A lot of the tires work quite well for those tracking for fun or Time Trials , so TMO ends up being a great conservatory for a lot of data in the real world for racers, autocrossers and just for fun track rats!!

 

[drj2k1]

Great to see another D street competitor on here, I too am prepping a mustang for DS (albeit the wrong car 2011 V6 PP). I know the ecoboost was the hot ticket in DS a few years back and I'm very curious to see how the new eco PP w/handling pack stacks up against the king of the hill Type-R (especially with the stang's 9.5 inch wheel width advantage).

I ran against Josh Brockman from the New England Region in HS last year at multiple tour events and have met a few people from NER along the way, seems like a solid competitive group. Would like to get up to Devins at some point this year if/when the season reopens as I've heard its a great venue.

Looking forward to following your progress and hearing how the new ecoboost stacks up.

-J

 

[Bidaci]

Great to see another D street competitor on here, I too am prepping a mustang for DS (albeit the wrong car 2011 V6 PP). I know the ecoboost was the hot ticket in DS a few years back and I'm very curious to see how the new eco PP w/handling pack stacks up against the king of the hill Type-R (especially with the stang's 9.5 inch wheel width advantage).

I ran against Josh Brockman from the New England Region in HS last year at multiple tour events and have met a few people from NER along the way, seems like a solid competitive group. Would like to get up to Devins at some point this year if/when the season reopens as I've heard its a great venue.

Looking forward to following your progress and hearing how the new ecoboost stacks up.

-J

I know Josh quite well and yes the NER is a very serious group. You definitely should try to get up there sometime. It's a nice airstrip course typically 60+seconds.

I don't see the Mustang keeping up with the Type R or even an RS at least in DS trim. That being said it's a lot of fun trying. My thoughts in the Mustang platform is to work on handling and sneak up on the power. It pretty much has enough power in stock trim to overwhelm a stock setup.

Good luck in DS. I'll have to keep tabs on your progress

 

[Bidaci]

Looks like we are back on track and the next event is May 17th... Here's to hoping it doesn't get cancelled.

 

[Bidaci]

May 17th event is in the books. No changes to the car yet, it is still 100% stock. Tried sneaking up on the car this time as the last few events I had trouble keeping the back end behind the front.

• This time I ran higher than normal tire pressures. The sidewalls on the Pirelli must be pretty soft.
• Adjusted drive mode to track but did not turn off the advancetrac this time.
• Steering mode on comfort for the extra power assist
• Morning runs I let the A10 control the shifting
• Afternoon runs I manually shifted into 3rd quickly and just left it there.

For the most part the electronics in the car are way smarter then I am. The advancetrac only kicked in when the car was in bad shape anyway. The ABS takes a lot to trip up and the steering is borderline to easy I'm comfort but very easy to flick through the slaloms. The only part the car had problems with is shifting in such a tight course. While it hasn't been a problem in the past this event it did not like so the manual shifting was better.

Next event is not the middle of June to see if my changes are a keeper or anomaly.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Not sure if tight would be might first description , but definitely a bit busier than necessary on a small municipal or abandoned airfield. I have to say the main issue is just tires as those Flintstone Pirellis are tires in name only!!
Try turning every single thing off at an autocross , but you need rubber ---- luckily the TireRack link is right here on this page, ha.

Good job, you can congratulate yourself for doing as well as possible using tires that were middle to poor for an autocross when brand stinking new.

 

[drj2k1]

Car looks very composed in stock form. How'd you PAX overall?

As Bill said, 200tw tires will definitely be a game changer (as I'm sure you know from prior autox experience). I'm partial to the Re71R's with their stiffer sidewall in "street" class cars, but the overall grip of Rival 1.5S is flat out awesome. Yoko's are supposed to be the hot ticket, but I've heard mixed reviews about their durability (and softer sidewalls). How much tire do you think can be stuffed onto the stock rims on the new Ecoboost?

Definitely jealous that your region is up and running, things up in the Metro NY area are looking bleak and have been pushed out to early July from the updates I've seen. Not sure what's going to happen with National Tour events at this time (I know the updated schedule was released but everything seems up in the air still).

Looking forward to hearing some more updates on the build,
J

 

[Bidaci]

It was a soft opening. Limited to 60 members that have run with the group before. No novices, ride a long or spectators allowed. We sold out in 1 day which never happens. Things went extremely well and everyone gave each other plenty of distance as it was mostly the regulars.

I really can't say how much I really dislike the Pirelli tires. There is no feedback from them at all. You have grip and then nothing without warning. Low pressure trying to get grip kills responsiveness and hgher pressures kill grip. So you guess at the limits and when you feel a slide you correct. The RE71R (almost anything really) would be a huge improvement. However I figure I can learn all the bad habits of the car while killing these instead of something better.

Out of 60 drivers I paxed 27th and was 35th in raw time. I think Bill is correct in the busy vs tight description. The beginning of the course with cold tires was not fun at all.

So while my pax/raw positions weren't great, I did manage to sneak up on my comparison cars in this event. I was closer to them then I have ever been so that is a victory in my books.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

After 39 years on and off auto crossing I will admit I usually tell folks to use their stock tires to get the idea of autocrossing, but in your case I really think the ancient donuts are teaching you bad lessons. When tires are that shot , moving to a car with decent stiction causes the driver to doubt the car will stick and so one has trouble finding the edge. I stress this issue because even with new sticky rubber it takes a bit to get them dialed in. There is absolutely nothing to dial in with Flintstones except to throw then out with the rubble . Don't take things for granite and spend some bread, Fred , you need to move to the next plateau, get out of the quarry.

A052s -- super sticky but my guess is the shortest life
RE81Rs -- super sticky and likely a bit more life
BFG Rival S1.5s - super sticky , though maybe a tiny bit less than the other two, but longer life and they seem to last prior to the fall of Greece on a road course.

Sorry it's time for dinner and we are having hamburgers on puns.

 

[Bidaci]

Haha haha. You berry punny!

I know I should replace these tires. My dilemma is do I stay in DS and just our on some 275s on it or do I take a leap and squeeze some 305 or 315s on it, swap the springs, add a tune and start going down the rabbit hole of Cam?

I'm trying to stay sane and stay in DS but.....

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Honestly I would stay in the Street Class , because 305-315 wide would mean getting rims outside of the Street ( stock ) Class Parametere. CAM C Class would then rear it's ugly head and you would be under the gun with the Ecoboost, imho. Sure you could make it somewhat competitive, but that would mean spending large sums of green.

 

[Bidaci]

I finally decided to swap the tires out and got some Continental Extreme Contact Sport in a 275/35r19. Love the tires so far as a dual purpose. Unfortunately for me everything I thought I knew about the car with the Pirellis get thrown out the window. The ECS is such a better tire for my liking. Better traction, better for rain, audible feedback and easier to control. The downside, the need a lot of pressure and there turn in isn't as crisp. Not a deal breaker for me as I like the way they react. Just be forwarded, it won't be for everyone.

We had out last event at the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park. So not your typical autocross setup. In DS it was me and 3 of the twins. I ended up coming in 2nd after swapping back and forth with times for 1st.

This is my fastest run for the day. I had more time in it, but just before the slalom I dropped a tire into the dirt and got squirrelly and had to play catch up through the slalom.

I'm super pleased with how things felt and even the fact I came in second wasn't a buzz killer. Appears that I was beat by the one and only "Fast Phil" Currin.






2019 Ecoboost PP A10 w/Active Exhaust
SCCA DS autocrosser

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Dang youngster, there are some of us oldsters who know about Fast Phil, but if you just barely got second keep in mind you were likely at least 1-2 seconds off what a set of RE71rs , BFG Rival S1.5s or A052 Yokes would have accomplished. I agree that the Yokes likely make the least sense for you since local autocrossers are getting 25-30 runs on some vehicles.

Sounds like solid runs with the Extreme Contacts after running the No Contact Pee-Really Tirezz!

 

[Bidaci]

Yeah they certainly aren't top tier autox tires but they are far better then the others. I've come to the conclusion at this point in my life I want a daily that I can autocross and not an autocross car that I can daily. Of course in the back of my mind I'll always be thinking "I bet I gave up a good second there with these tires"

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Keep getting Second Place or grabbing a couple Firsts and you will be calling Cory at Apex for a set of rims, and then TireRack for some sticky rubber. I am not clairvoyant, just been there way too many times. You are trying to be practical and the racer in you will win out in the end and you will be friends with Visa, MC and Amex --- the three Musketeers. Actually there were 4 Musketeers in reality , so throw in your Discover Card, haha.