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Another victory for the GT350R

Voodooo

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Ford Shelby GT350R

The Ford Shelby GT350R is about as meat-and-potatoes as supercars go: clutch, stick, a whopping 5.2-liter V8, and not much else. That brute force approach to performance doesn’t mean it’s all muscle and no brains, though. Aerodynamic design and a host of lightweight materials such as all-carbon-fiber wheels compliment the meticulous engineering found throughout the chassis. Make no mistake, this car isn’t out there to make you look like a rock star. If you want to get the most out of this Mustang, you’ll have to tame it first.

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Ford Shelby GT350R

When it came down to our performance cars, we all agreed that the Lamborghini was the most exciting and the Mercedes AMG GT S was the most fun to toss around the track, but the Ford Shelby GT350R was the most satisfying around the circuit. It didn’t have much in the way of amenities, and it wasn’t the most comfortable on long journeys, but the mighty Mustang stunned us with just how capable it was when it was finally free to cut loose.

The engine delivered amazing, raw power that was perfectly balanced with its performance-tuned suspension. Throughout our testing, the car adhered to the track like it was glued to it, never giving us a sense that we were pushing its limits. With a six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, and tons of horsepower on offer, the car’s purist setup wasn’t there to complement the driver. Instead, those behind the wheel had to demonstrate a certain skill level, which the car magnified, making you feel amazing after track maneuvers. After all, you earned it.


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GT_Dave

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Good to see the GT350R get accolades for overall car performance and in the best engine category. Just more confirmation of what we already know!!
 
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Zitrosounds

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BluByeU

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More kudos for the GT350R! Car def punches above its weight class - job well done :ford:
 

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danhuberty

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GT350 at Road America

The following comment couldn't be more true when driving the GT350 at Road America this past fall: "the car’s purist setup wasn’t there to complement the driver. Instead, those behind the wheel had to demonstrate a certain skill level, which the car magnified, making you feel amazing after track maneuvers."

At Road America (RA) with the stability control off the GT350 lets you "drive" the car, where the Porsche keeps a little in reserve to keep you from embarrassing yourself. With the GT350 at RA you better have some driving skill with stability control disabled in order to drive it into T1, T7, The Kink, and T13 at greater than 9/10th's effort. If you have the skill you're going to have a really fast lap passing many Porsche's and BMW's along the way and smiling ear-to-ear pulling into the paddock. :D Thank you Ford for making and bringing a "drivers" car to market for all the BMW and Porsche drivers that can no longer can feel the road in their cars. :hail: :ford: And as a long time BMW owner and racing both BMW and Porsche's for years I am thoroughly impressed every time I take a lap around the track in this car. It is hands down the best street/track car that I have ever driven. And as soon as Performance Friction comes out with a race pad for the GT350 it is going be spectacular in braking!;) Now when does the Shelby GT4 race car go into production? :headbang:
 

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danhuberty

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All the more reason I want a GT350 R !
Aside from the rarity of the GT350R, which will undoubtedly continue, I always struggle to understand why people want a GT350R for $40K more in change to take to the track. The lap time difference can't be more than .2 to .3 a second. When it comes to the track you can make some small modifications to the GT350 and it will be faster than a stock GT350R with about $30K change in your pocket, and nobody will notice the difference between the cars unless they look at the logos: red versus silver.

Some small changes to start with:
- Camber plates up front - See attached picture from Road America at T6. Car is fairly flat but needs some camber dialed into it to compensate for the roll to get the most out of the tires. The wear pattern on my front tires indicates the same.
- Race pads (and not Raybestos pads as they are horrible) This is the one area that you can make up a lot of lap time.
- Frozen Rotors - http://www.frozenrotors.com/ - Cryo treating the rotors helps with heat reduction and friction. The GT350 is a lot of car to stop...
- Hoosier R7's or similar sticky rubber.
- Forgeline wheels or similar in weight
- Rear IRS sub frame brace and alignment kit to stiffen the chassis and keep it squared up.
- Front chassis brace
- Schroth Quickfit Pro belts - Being strapped in improves driveability
- Seat time and depending on skill level some instruction time at Miller Motorsports to understand the dynamics of the GT350 to get the most out of it when tracking it. The biggest loss of lap time is not understanding the dynamics of a car and how to capitalize on it at the right time.

The above is worth at least .5 a second if not 1 second of lap time. And when your car is sitting in the paddock 90% of the people will still ask you if it is a an "R" or not, especially if you have 6G R Spec wheels on the car.

Anyway, just a few ideas to go faster for less money. :)
BMW62071 (Copy).JPG
 
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Voodooo

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I know my car will smoke a R. But that's not the point. But if you modded both a GT350 and a GT350R with the same mods, they would be equal.
 

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I assume you mean if both the GT350 & R had the same tires? Even then, the R has a lot more downforce than the GT350 (and twice that of the Porsche GT3), lighter wheels, and is lighter. With the same PSC2 tires, the R would still be >1 second faster than a 350. Stock for Stock, the R is a few seconds faster than the 350.
 
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Voodooo

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I assume you mean if both the GT350 & R had the same tires? Even then, the R has a lot more downforce than the GT350 (and twice that of the Porsche GT3), lighter wheels, and is lighter. With the same PSC2 tires, the R would still be >1 second faster than a 350. Stock for Stock, the R is a few seconds faster than the 350.
I'm saying if all the suspension, tires, wheels, aero were the same. My point is the engine and drivetrain are the same.

By the way, have you seen any blade anti roll bars for the S550 chassis?
 

danhuberty

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I assume you mean if both the GT350 & R had the same tires? Even then, the R has a lot more downforce than the GT350 (and twice that of the Porsche GT3), lighter wheels, and is lighter. With the same PSC2 tires, the R would still be >1 second faster than a 350. Stock for Stock, the R is a few seconds faster than the 350.
Sticking to the original hypothesis the tires are not equal because Hoosier R7's would stickier than the stock "R" PSC2 tires. And while the R does have more down-force than the GT350 due to the rear wing, that down-force is only good on turns exceeding speeds of 60 MPH as the R's rear wing advantage really only comes into play on higher speed turns. It is actually a negative on long straight away's like Road America, Road Atlanta, VIR, and a few other courses.

At Road America a 2015 Porsche GT3 was about 1.5 seconds faster than my GT350, which was struggling with brake pad issues from the crappy Raybestos race pads. And the Porsche driver was no slouch by any means. The point is that I can see the R being a second faster than a stock GT350, but not a few seconds. A few seconds of lap time is an eternity and the cars are not that different to warrant that kind of gap. Again if I put $10K into a GT350 and run it against a stock R on the track I am pretty confident the GT350 with upgrades will outpace it. Certainly I don't have the data in hand, but I have years of racing and tracking BMW's and Porsche's that provides the leading indicator that it is highly likely. And for $30K in change I can take some of VooDoo's engine mods and improve straight line speed and have a fighting change to outpace the Porsche GT3 if I can get in front of it exiting a turn with decent exit speed and with a long enough run to the next turn. We'll see this year at Road America. :thumbsup:
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