Trackaholic's GT350 Experience

Do you know what your cold tire pressures were?Your tire looked very good for a weekend at the track.I have not run my new car ,'15 Track Pak GT 350 ,and was somewhat concerned about starting with cold tires at 28 psi as Ford recommends.Sounds like you had a great time at a great track.

Txclyde1 said:

Do you know what your cold tire pressures were?Your tire looked very good for a weekend at the track.I have not run my new car ,'15 Track Pak GT 350 ,and was somewhat concerned about starting with cold tires at 28 psi as Ford recommends.Sounds like you had a great time at a great track.

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I was also a bit concerned about starting @ 28, so I initially went down to 31 (this was with the tires warm, after driving to the event) from ~37 (the pressure when I arrived) where the dealer had originally filled them. The tires reached 37-38 at their peak, so I let out one more PSI.

This morning when I started the car the tires were ~29-30, so I ended up pretty close to what Ford recommended, but got there in stages over a session or two.

-T

Nothing wrong with 28psi cold. I wouldn't be concerned.

Trackaholic said:

Regarding sound, two of my friends have the right-angle exhaust attachments, and a racer guy said those are good for about a 5 db reduction. Then, if you track out and come back across to the inside of the track, you might gain another 2 db due to increasing the distance to the mic. I haven't yet figured out a good way to mount an exhaust adapter, but that might be something to look into. There was a 911 race car that had an awesome setup, with two pipes leaving the muffler, and in each pipe were two straight mufflers. So he had a total of four mufflers on an external mount to make the car pass. It was an impressively designed piece. I've also heard of some people rigging up their exhaust valves to a GPS system, so they would close only when in the vicinity of the sound booth and remain open on the rest of the track. That's a bit more than I am willing to do.

-T

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I've been out for a drive today trying to get a sense for noise and how to keep it down...as I'm headed to LS on thurs and I suspect that, given I have an R, I'll have even more difficulty.

So I was playing with different pulls on the freeway in 3rd and 4th st speeds that would approximate and exit of 6 with the exhaust in 'normal' (sport setting, then turn the exhaust down) and I was finding that I could get on it pretty good in 4th without forcing the flaps open...not so much in 3rd. I'd typically be using 3rd coming out of 5 but I'm thinking that leaving in in 4th and pedaling it a bit up the hill will keep the flaps closed and me out of trouble. How were you driving it?

fuhrius said:

I've been out for a drive today trying to get a sense for noise and how to keep it down...as I'm headed to LS on thurs and I suspect that, given I have an R, I'll have even more difficulty.

So I was playing with different pulls on the freeway in 3rd and 4th st speeds that would approximate and exit of 6 with the exhaust in 'normal' (sport setting, then turn the exhaust down) and I was finding that I could get on it pretty good in 4th without forcing the flaps open...not so much in 3rd. I'd typically be using 3rd coming out of 5 but I'm thinking that leaving in in 4th and pedaling it a bit up the hill will keep the flaps closed and me out of trouble. How were you driving it?

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I was probably in third, given the gearing and speed exiting that corner. Will be interested to hear if you had found a noticeable difference between 3rd and 4th.

-T

Had a track day @ Sonoma last Wednesday the 16th with Hooked on Driving. I've only been at Sonoma (which I habitually want to call Sears Point) once before, a couple years ago, in my Z. On that occasions my power steering pump gave out, so I drove a couple of sessions in a spec Miata.

This time, no power steering pump issues (once of the benefits of an electric unit)! And what an amazing track! The elevation changes make many of the corners blind, which means learning the track well is a huge benefit. I ended up hitting my stride in the second session, and not really improving from there, but I did get some pointers from a friend in the last session, so I am really looking forward to going back out again.

Being able to put the car in track mode and really get on it, without worrying about sound, was a great feeling. The car is really well balanced, especially under braking. I'm still very shy about letting the rear end get loose, so I am not very good about getting the car rotated and then getting back on the gas quickly. Instead I tend to carve through the corner at a relatively constant radius, which means I am usually a bit late getting on the gas because I have the wheel cranked through most of the turn. Clearly I'll need to keep hitting the track for more practice!

The day was just about perfect, with temps in the mid 60's and 70's, sunny, with a relatively small number of cars in my group (maybe about 10 or so). I was there with a co-worker who has an ACR, a friend with a 911 Turbo S, and met several other cool folks as well (which is pretty much a given at any track day).

Only downside was getting hit by a rock on the windshield on the way to the track, which caused a long crack by the end of the day (you can see it in the videos). So, it looks like I'll be needing to get a new windshield. Other than that, the car was flawless.

Here are parts of my first three sessions. I tried a new phone mount, but I'm still not happy with the results. I think I have enough components from various mounts to just make my own with some stiffer pieces, so we'll see if I can rig something up that will get me the results I'm looking for. In the meantime, try not to get seasick:
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And some photos from the day (track photos by gotbluemilk.com).
1. Parked next to an S197 Super Snake. I know that Shelby's current reputation isn't the greatest, and many believe they just add a standard kit and a big upcharge, but the work on this car was pretty amazing. All the engine components were beautifully machined hogouts (valve covers, coolant caps, etc), so the craftsmanship was definitely there.
2. Cortex Racing's great looking car.
3. My co-worker's ACR, wing extended (it's got active aero, dontcha know) ;-)
4. A couple of beautiful GT3XX vehicles (GT3 RS, and GT350). The GT3 RS owner had driven down from Canada the day before. That's dedication!
5. Here is one of my front tires at the end of the day
6. The window crack.
7. On track. Not sure which turn this is.
8. Crossing the finish line. I win!
9. Look at those inside tires...barely touching the ground!

-T

Excellent write-up ... we have the same exact car. Will be tracking mine here on the East Coast once she is properly broken in. Any thoughts about running lighter oil?

Looks like a great day. I look forward to getting with the guys from Hooked on Driving also

Rainier42 said:

Excellent write-up ... we have the same exact car. Will be tracking mine here on the East Coast once she is properly broken in. Any thoughts about running lighter oil?

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I think about going to a 0-40 for street use, but in the end Ford recommends a 5-50, so that's what I am sticking with. I just be sure to go easy on the car for the first several minutes, in order to let things warm up.

-T

Got my gift from Ford today! Pretty cool package. I was surprised at how large the piece was. My wife (who just got a Volvo XC90) was a bit jealous since Volvo didn't send her anything. Funny how a $50 gift pack makes you feel so special.

-T

911 that's awesome. Shout out to our guys!

Question ... how many miles on yours before you took her to your first track day?

If you don't have racing suit or shoes, pick the right clothing and foot wear.
It is important for many reasons, comfort, coolness and safety.

Rainier42 said:

Question ... how many miles on yours before you took her to your first track day?

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Car had around 2500 miles I think. About to hit 5500 now.

-T

Hood flutter

Myshelby3425 said:

Hood struts will fix that flutter? The hood has been lifting on all GT350s at high speed. Pretty scary if it were to fly open.


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Not all GT350's suffer from "hood flutter". I've had mine to 145 mph several times with zero flutter effect. It could be related to bad splitter install. Many, if not most, are installed incorrectly by the dealers. I had to provide the install video from Ford to my dealer to get the correct installation done. Hood struts won't do jack for the flutter issue, but I've ordered some from Redline anyway because the "stick" absolutely blows IMHO.