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S550 Velocity Blue Manual GT V8 in Spain Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
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Time Attack
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20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
So cool to hear from a Mustang Maniac in Espana, and please tell us a bit more about where you have raced your GT? Have you had your Mustang on tracks in both Spain and Portugal or maybe even France? We would love to hear about your experiences and thanks for posting on Track Mustangs Online .

Welcome!!
 
45
36
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Spain
So cool to hear from a Mustang Maniac in Espana, and please tell us a bit more about where you have raced your GT? Have you had your Mustang on tracks in both Spain and Portugal or maybe even France? We would love to hear about your experiences and thanks for posting on Track Mustangs Online .

Welcome!!

Thank you for the welcome. I've only had my Mustang on one track (https://www.guadixcircuit.com/track), which has been a great experience so far with the organisation and level of drivers (most coming with their track team and cars on trailers, so I feel lucky as total newbie to be allowed to join), though I had a one-hour private track session with the owner before I was allowed on my first trackday. He seems to love cars too, and has experience with older Mustangs from before, but said he was very impressed with my S550-generation Mustang. Seemed to think it has improved a lot compared to the older Mustangs.

There is another track closer to me, but the price of a yearly membership there is something like half the cost of my car ;-), so I thought I would not get to experience that. Now it looks like an amateur club has made some agreement with them for trackdays, so I might get an opportunity after all.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
That looks like a really fun and challenging track and your concern is similar to those of us who track our cars in the United States. Many of the Circuits have Memberships and they are quite expensive , but there are Amateur Clubs ( NASA and SCCA are good examples here ) or Track Event Companies who rent the track for drivers to come and have safe and fun track time. You should look into the amateur club possibilities because you may find there are many different ones that allow you to go to different tracks in Spain , Portugal, France, etc. Thanks for the note and it sounds like you are starting the hobby we all love and you can always ask Track Mustangs Online ( TMO ) members questions about car preparation prior to going to various circuits.

The track in Granada looks fabulous and hopefully it is quite close to your home?
 

Ludachris

Chris
Staff member
Moderator
1,658
1,962
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5-10 Years
Newcastle, CA
Looks like you're in the part of Spain my wife is dying to visit - she'd actually like to move there. I'd like to go visit too. Good to know there are tracks nearby. :)
 
45
36
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Spain
That looks like a really fun and challenging track and your concern is similar to those of us who track our cars in the United States. Many of the Circuits have Memberships and they are quite expensive , but there are Amateur Clubs ( NASA and SCCA are good examples here ) or Track Event Companies who rent the track for drivers to come and have safe and fun track time. You should look into the amateur club possibilities because you may find there are many different ones that allow you to go to different tracks in Spain , Portugal, France, etc. Thanks for the note and it sounds like you are starting the hobby we all love and you can always ask Track Mustangs Online ( TMO ) members questions about car preparation prior to going to various circuits.

The track in Granada looks fabulous and hopefully it is quite close to your home?

Thanks. It's really beautiful, organisation seems to be top-notch, and owner, who is usually managing track securtity, is a friendly retired racer/team-manager who does not seem to mind shouting somebody off the track if they misbehave. It's just 200 km from home, so I can drive up in the morning on quite good roads.

I've found one club that has recently started to arrange trackdays that I plan to join, if only to be able to try the closer, very expensive, track that I'd otherwise would not be able to try. They plan to hold a trackday there in a couple of weeks, but I'm guessing it will be cancelled due to the new covid-19 restrictions recently introduced.

Owner of the track I've been going to so far (Circuito Mike G Guadix) felt he should warn me about the trackdays organised by the big Spanish clubs though. It sounded like there are usually a lot drivers there who do not care much if they bump into somebody on the track, and I don't want anyone to bump into my blue beauty. ;-) My trackdays so far have fortunately only been populated by good, or at least polite, drivers in cars who look like they would not like to bump into anyone, and I think the owner wants to keep it that way. ;-)

Really good luck for me I think. Now I just wish this covid-19 problem would fade away. My fourth trackday was supposed ot be a few weeks ago, but new covid-19 restrictions forced them to cancel it.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Feel free to post from your dash cam, as you will have the fastest time on the Mike G Guadix track ever posted on Track Mustangs Online, haha. Can not blame you for wanting to run with drivers who are polite and respectful, even in the wheel to wheel racing class I run with there is little toleration for dangerous or inconsiderate drivers.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
I have my dash cam, but I'm to embarrassed to post clips from it yet I think. ;-)

Posting your videos here is a great way to improve your lap times. It certainly helped me!! My first laps were pretty horrible but I only got constructive criticism from TMO. People here are decent and are eager to help.
 
45
36
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Spain
Posting your videos here is a great way to improve your lap times. It certainly helped me!! My first laps were pretty horrible but I only got constructive criticism from TMO. People here are decent and are eager to help.

Haha, ok.

Some sudden relaxing of the covid19-restrictions here in Spain allowed the organisers to arrange a trackday on a few days notice, with about 12-13 cars attending.

20201220_134130_01.jpg

I installed an app called Track Addict I've seen other use, to record my sessions. I wanted to include part of the steering wheel in the picture, as I've seen others ask for that when commenting on driving, but after reviewing things later, I see I mounted or angled my phone at a rather stupid place. One can see the steering wheel, but the track itself is really hard to see with the way I angled the camera.

Can't do anything about that now of course, but will try to find a better place to mount my phone next time.

For this trackday, I for the first time also installed some dedicated racing pads on the front brakes. I used Ferodo DS1.11, to replace the Ferodo DS2500 that come with the car stock and which I use for my daily driving.

For reference, all Mustang GTs in Europe come with the PP1 six-piston Brembo brakes (though not most other PP1 stuff). As a novice, I have a feeling the brakes are pretty good relative to my driving level.

I'm still too novice to notice the difference from the DS2500, except there was some noise when braking with the DS1.11, which I did not have with the DS2500. I wanted some dedicated racing pads as I'm hoping they will, if nothing else, last considerably longer than the DS2500 pads on track, so I can save money by not replacing them so frequently.

Please also correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm thinking that I do not need to do any specific cleaning of the rotor when interchanging the DS2500 and DS1.111 brake pads, as they're from the same manufacturer, and presumably of a similar material compound.

The track video referenced is what is my best lap according to the app. Not sure if it's possible to suggest any improvements based on how poorly I had mounted my camera/phone?

Screenshot_20201221-112439_TrackAddict.jpg

20201220_171140.jpg
I will add a trackaddict analysis of the lap in my next post, as it seems I can only add one one video per post.

There are some things I'm already aware of:
- I should brake much later.

I almost always end up braking a bit too early, and then coasting for some tenths of seconds, before doing the turn, or sometimes, even braking again after coasting a little.

I feel I can step on the brakes much harder and later without problems, but I'm scared about ending up at the turn with a speed faster than I can handle.

I've raced motorbikes on the track, so I'm not so much worried about injury (compared to on the bike, sitting in my Mustang feels really safe), but it's my daily driver too, and if I were to follow the old adage of not tracking anything you can't afford to wreck, I'd not be bringing my Mustang anywhere near a track.
Yesterday I unfortunately went off track twice during the morning sessions. They warned us that due to the rain that had been there earlier in the morning, the track would be really slippery, and that we should choose different lines, trying to stay of the existing lines that had rubber from countless other sessions on them, but I still spun out twice. No other harm than some not-yet-inspected stone chips, but I want my car to keep looking beautiful. ;-)

- Not sure if I should shift into first gear sometimes too? As one can see from the video, I'm almost always in second or third gear. I think I was never in first gear (tried it a few times on my second track day I think, but did not work well for me at the time), and only a few times in fourth gear.

- Other things, like how and where to enter the turn, are not obvious to me yet, except I'm sure I'm doing them in a sub-optimal way.

That lap was 1m46s for me. For reference, there's national champion driving on this track too, in a Porsche GT3 RS. Believe he also placed third in Europe a few years ago. His times are around 1m16s.
 
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45
36
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Spain
At the end of the day, as a Christmas/end of year special, they also had what they called a "Speed Attack": "Fastest terminal speed over 700m, 1 car at a time, multiple runs." For this we started about 100 meters before the right turn you can see at the bottom of the map in the video. Winner is the one that manages to have the highest speed at the end of the long straight following the turn.

I've never tried anything like that before and thought it was an interesting way to do things, as rather than just a straight line drag race like seems to be so popular in the USA, you have a turn to do first. This of course means you cannot push the pedal to the floor from start to finish, but must take the turn as fast as you can, but not faster, before flooring the gas pedal after the turn and to the end.


Coming in third here, I managed to win an exquisite Spanish cheese. Winner was an BMW M4, clocked at around 177 km/h I think. Second was a Seat (Spanish brand, now owned by Volkswagen) racing car, and third my Mustang GT, clocked at around 165 km/h if I remember right.

I could have taken the turn faster if I'd been better, and perhaps also shifted faster, but could be have been worse, though that would have required there to be more than three participants. I'm sure one of the Porsche GT Cup cars on the track that day would have won had they joined, but for some reason, the drivers of those did not bother to join. So cheese for me. ;-)
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,530
5,247
Exp. Type
HPDE
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10-20 Years
Illinois
Nice videos.
The two things which will help your times the most are tires and track time. If you can arrange for an instructor during your track time, even better. A set of 19x11” wheel and sticky rubber will likely yield better times. What tires are available there??
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Fantastic videos and write up of your experience. Actually since you are just beginning, this video is a good reference for you ( and those watching at TMO ) to look at improvements in the future. Much of your personal analysis seems quite correct and as you get comfortable you will be able to brake later and later. One question you have that is easily answered is whether you should go to first and that answer is easy --- No!! You are likely going through a corner too slow , but as you increase your speed you will find second pulling stronger. One item that will help is to take the car close to redline in each gear. You are driving quite smoothly , but I feel you need to carry more rpms in each gear -- now worries the Mustang will take it and you do have a rev limiter anyway.

Also , a big congratulations on getting an artisan style Spanish Cheese , that sounds alot better than the little plastic trophies many of us got for a third place finish. Of course , I may be biased as I absolutely place cheese in one of my top 5 food groups. Now if you ate it later with a fine Tempranillo, I would say that is a perfect end to a perfect track day, ha!!

Feliz Navidad!
 
45
36
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Spain
Nice videos.
The two things which will help your times the most are tires and track time. If you can arrange for an instructor during your track time, even better. A set of 19x11” wheel and sticky rubber will likely yield better times. What tires are available there??

Thank you. I had a session with the track owner (retired racing team manager and previous racer himself I think) once, before being allowed to join my first track day after he became aware I had not tracked a car before. I hope to repeat it again as he was nice and knowledgeable, though much of what he said went over my head at the time, but at the moment it seems he prefers to keep his distance due to covid19 issues. Will see if it's possible to repeat in the next year, perhaps after vaccines are out.

I have been considering getting a set of dedicated track wheels for a while now, though that was partially for economic reasons, to not ruin my expensive Michelin PS4S tires on the track. A problem is of course cost. E.g., the EC-7 at 19x11 costs about USD 1,800 for a set from steeda.com in the US, which would be a stretch in self, but the same from steeda.eu here in Europe is almost double, USD 3300-3400. At that point, I'd rather pay for shipping from some other shop in the US myself, rather than to support what looks like very extravagant fees from steeda, though I've been hoping some alternative/local-ish second hand wheels would turn up.

I'm not sure if something like the below wheel would fit over the Brembo brakes?

"
This rim can be drilled from 5x100-120.
Cushastam Drilling Cost is 10 euro per wheel.
Indicate the model and year of the vehicle for the shipment of centering devices. Multi-anchor rims require specific hardware.
Features:
Diameter: 19 "
Width: 11 "
Anchors available: 5x118 5x110 5x108 5x114.3 5x105 5x120 5x112 5x100 5x115
Available ET: 40
Color: Machined Face Silver
Hub Diameter: 74.1"
"

JapanRacing said their ET40 wheels will fit, but I'd have to order from a reseller, and if what JapanRacing turned out to be wrong, I'm sure the reseller would not care much, so I'm wary of getting stuck with wheels I cannot use. Or is the worst that can happen that I will have to use some wheel spacers?

If they fit, they would be about half the price of ordering a "Mustang" wheel from steeda.eu.

Regarding tires, I'm not sure. https://tinyurl.com/ybnkf9dt
From that site it looks like there is not all that much choice, but I'm not sure if it really is that limited here compared to what you have over there.
 
45
36
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Spain
One question you have that is easily answered is whether you should go to first and that answer is easy --- No!! You are likely going through a corner too slow , but as you increase your speed you will find second pulling stronger.

Thank you, I suspected as much, that the reason I sometimes wonder if I should be in first gear rather than second is indeed that I'm going through the corner too slow.

One item that will help is to take the car close to redline in each gear. You are driving quite smoothly , but I feel you need to carry more rpms in each gear -- now worries the Mustang will take it and you do have a rev limiter anyway.

Thank you, I will remember that for next time. This track day (my fourth) is also the first time I started to keep track of my times (using the lap timer from the "Track Apps" menu that comes with the digital display on my car).

Also , a big congratulations on getting an artisan style Spanish Cheese , that sounds alot better than the little plastic trophies many of us got for a third place finish. Of course , I may be biased as I absolutely place cheese in one of my top 5 food groups. Now if you ate it later with a fine Tempranillo, I would say that is a perfect end to a perfect track day, ha!!

Feliz Navidad!

Hehe. Yes, it was indeed a nice surprise. First price was a bottle of wine, second some sort of sausage. Also met a Scottish bloke there that happens to be living on the same street as me. He races his expensive Ducati bike mostly, but this Sunday he brought with him a pristine looking 1967 Ford Escort which he's been working on restoring. It was the only car I could pass, and he later complained his engine, the original 1967 engine, was too weak. ;-)
 

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