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S197 The Blue Marlin Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

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42
23
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Texas
Yeah, Fido needs to get a job to help pay for all this.

Appreciate the enthusiasm. I am screwing around on vacation through next week. When I get back I'll post up some current and better pics. This sadly the best I have on this PC. I had some time and was just toying with my profile before I realized it launched the build thread. But, I've been meaning to post up the journey and chronicle what I'm figuring out. So stay tuned and hopefully it will be interesting.

Meanwhile: Dog for hire. Holes dug. Children supervised. Squirrels & cats chased. Chairs & couches kept cozy warm while you step away. Preferred payment is chicken.

20210602_172917.jpg

20210717_111601.jpg
 
42
23
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Texas
I'll get back to business soon. Life and all. Next posts will be questions about cooling upgrades as I try to determine what parts to go with for Oversized radiator, hood venting + ducting, oil cooler addition. More to come......
 
Dog for hire. Holes dug. Children supervised. Squirrels & cats chased. Chairs & couches kept cozy warm while you step away. Preferred payment is chicken.
I like a deep blue colored car!!!...My Son's Pitt Bulls keep the mailman honest, also and very afraid.....I had a cousin move out to TX 10 yrs ago...folks gotta wish for what they are lookin for......................He's not lookin for anything anymore...............................not TX's fault...................................
 
42
23
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Texas
Instead of starting yet another Cooling Mods thread in the S197 Tech forum, probably best to lay it out here. I'm gonna have a ton of questions however.

I need to get this thing cooled off and prepped to run full HPDE sessions this coming summer, here on the surface of Mercury known as Central Texas. Let me explain what I have, what I'm thinking, and what my questions are. I'm ready to break the plastic out and order a bunch of stuff, but I'm looking for some input on parts conflicts, known fitment challenges, and expected results.

What I have:
-Just a base '14 GT, with a close to bone stock powerplant. Only mods are CAI and Muffler delete.
-Not planning on adding much to powertrain, but we all know how that goes. I'm sure at some point later I'll be wanting to help it breathe and looking to throw a manifold and headers and a tune, etc. on it. So hoping to build for that.
-Grill is 3/8" mesh in upper & lower, Tracspec louvers on the 2 stock side vent locations.
-Not much of a splitter. Needs improvement but not on the urgent list.
-Enough budget that I don't have to cut corners. I'd rather $pend now rather than redo later.

What I want to add:
-Kenny Brown (or similar) 3x-pass 3-core radiator
-Setrab 9xx series oil cooler
-Sandwich plate with thermorstat and sensor port for oil temp
-?FRPP Oil to Water Cooler? (this is my 1st big Q. Should I do this or no?)
-Proper boxing of the front end air flow.
-?A big hood louver behind the radiator or a Tiger Racing hood?
(I'd really like to leave the hood alone at this point for a number of reasons, but not sure how realistic that is)

Questions:
1. The FRPP oil/water cooler. Necessary? Will it fit easily with an oil cooler thermo plate?
2. Do we think that w/proper boxing in the front, is it 'possible' to get enough flow with the current TracSpec vents, and not cutting the hood up?
3. Fan shroud and fan?? GT500 fan and shroud? No Shroud? Electric fan?? Better aftermarket solutions????
4. Where's best place to put oil and coolant temp sensors?
5. Should I just start up (yet another Cooling Mods) thread in the S197 Tech forum????

Btw...the car is know as the "Blue Marlin" and the "Plus Sized 1 car garage" gets referred to as "The Aquarium". SMH, I don't name this stuff, I've just got buddies that drink & philosophize more than they turn wrenches.
TIA!!
 
42
23
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Texas
I haven't updated in a while. Will soon post of summary of what I did and where we are at.

Meanwhile, it took some idiot on a Reddit post to tell me, just Google your VIN, and pics of the damage before you got it are probably online. So, yeah, never thought to try anything that obvious. So, like asking a new girlfriend for her 'history', and regretting you asked.... I couldn't resist, I did.

No regrets actually. I was curious to see it and to have some insight into why I will NEVER be able to get her perfectly aligned. Here's B & F, just for grins.

Before
2014 FORD MUSTANG GT, 1ZVBP8CF7E5274581 photos - Poctra.com

After
020-049 - D Gillen Photography
020-049 - D Gillen Photography
 
42
23
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Texas
Ran the afternoon/night event at COTA w/Edge Addicts Friday night.

(The link here shows the 1st pic in a burst. Click fwd a few for a couple cooler pics)

Ambient temps were 100+ in the afternoon. I am not sure what it was after dark, but that 10-15 degrees or so made huge difference in the efficiency of keeping it cool. I ran Royal Purple 5w-40, and straight water with and estimated max dose of VP Cool Down additive. I also pulled the thermostat from the Mishimoto oil cooler plate in an attempt to minimize any oil flow restriction.

Observations: During the blazing afternoon heat, even babying it on the long straights and trying to cool it couldn't really prevent the heat soak, only slow it. We were over my arbitrary peaks and blinking like an xmas tree after the 3rd lap.
Saw coolant temps peak at 240. Oil getting to 275+, peaking at 280. However, it (oil temp) did this at ECR as well in significantly cooler ambients. Trans temp approached 260, Diff temp peaked around 240.

After dark, ran pretty close to within the range I want. Coolant never exceeded 220. Oil temp peaked and held around 270. Still too high, but better. On the dusk and night sessions, I switched to a 1.3 bar radiator cap (from the stock 1.1 bar) in anticipation of extreme coolant temps, and I ran the heater full blast the entire session. Not sure what the tangible effects of each of those were, other than making me sweat. But that's some empirical data to apply to the equation.

Looks like it's time to cut the center out of the hood and get busy mocking up airflow blocks in the front end. I do, however, want to try one thing. Those fans always kick on at a coolant temp of 200. I'm going to wire up a switch so I can turn them to on/off/auto and try keeping them off during hot laps. I suspect the spinning fans are impeding airflow at speed rather than increasing it.

Open to any suggestions. Hopefully this data helps someone in the S197 crowd.
Cheers!
 
Last edited:
42
23
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Texas

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