Autocross; so what Mustang is best suited for it?

[eddiejay]

I have a question and I am hoping for some insight. I am not sure what mustang is best suited for autocross racing?

- The Ecoboost Mustang closer to a 50/50 weight distribution ratio, lighter and is cheap

-The Mustang GT has good performance and more aftermarket support

So, what do you guys think?

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[Andy13186]

Mach one with handling package

 

[eddiejay]

The Mach 1 is definitely a great track car, but in a short track course with a lot of turns it seems that you might not get the opportunity to use the full power of the Mach 1. On the other hand it would need very little modification since it is already very track capable.

 

[WD Pro]

I will suggest an alternative (if you are prepared to mod a little).

I think a EB with suspension, wheel and tyre mods would rule for autocross, even against a stock M1 HP.

It has some inherent advantages that will shine on a short twisty course, that would also be very difficult to obtain / equal with a M1 HP.

Lighter.
Better weight distribution.

But you know you want the V8 …

WD

 

[eddiejay]

It is always hard to say no to a V8, but I do enjoy hearing a turbo whooshing sound too.

 

[eddiejay]

Wish I had enough money to buy every mustang version

 

[Weyland-Yutani]

It's been a while since I've autocrossed, but it seems like it would matter what class? What mods? and so on.

 

[Dana Pants]

with equal levels of prep and driver, the V8 Mustang will walk all over the ecoboost at autocross. You are of course, always welcome to mod the hell out of the eco boost to prove a point. The lack of power with the 4 cylinder is significant. And even the naturally aspirated V8 has serious heat soak issues.
This can be confirmed by looking at SCCA classing, PAX, and national event results.

Plus, the V8 noises are intoxicating:



If money is no issue, a Mach 1 performance package would be my first choice. Followed by a PP1 GT with lots of mods.

 

[WItoTX]

"The Best" is subjective. I've met guys fast in an EB. But the Camaro 4cyl turbo is a better set up IMO too. If it's strictly autoX, I want the car with no coolers, nothing, just to save weight. The downfall is if/when you decide to take it to a roadcourse.

80% of AutoX is driver. 20% is the car IMO. The S550 really is too large for AutoX.

 

[991GT]

This could be a super long answer...but here are a few quick observations.
This depends a lot on if you want/plan to do any modifications to the car.
Also if you care about competition and want to stay in a particular class (e.g. SCCA FS) then rules will dictate what car you should aim to get. If you are just wanting to have fun then whatever you have will do.

If you want to stay in SCCA FS then the Mach1 HP is the best car to have, probably followed by a PP2 GT. Both of these cars have the wide 305 tires which is a big deal, they also have better suspension tuning. Anything else you will be limited to a smaller tire. Rules prevent you from taking a base GT or PP1 and throwing wider wheels on to get the wider tire sizes.
If you want to run in SCCA CAM class or don't care about being competitive then a PP1 car is probably best and you can build it to your personal preferences.

My son has a 20 EB high output with the handling package. It may be lighter and "better balanced" but it is still heavy, tire limited, and the gearing is a little short. It's not competitive in SCCA DS. He loves the car and enjoys autocrossing it but he's relatively new and not competitive so it's limitations aren't hindering his learning and experience.

 

[Jstang23]

I know people will hate this but the 2015-2017 V6 model is actually very good at autocross! I had one that I ran for a while, until I blew it up, and I never lost to a V8 model. Granted it had wider wheels and sticky tires and I have 12 years of autocross experience, but it served me well. 50/50 weight distribution and the lightest of the s550 mustangs. Plenty of power for autocross.

 

[robvas]

If you want to stay in SCCA FS then the Mach1 HP is the best car to have, probably followed by a PP2 GT. Both of these cars have the wide 305 tires which is a big deal, they also have better suspension tuning. Anything else you will be limited to a smaller tire. Rules prevent you from taking a base GT or PP1 and throwing wider wheels on to get the wider tire sizes.
If you want to run in SCCA CAM class or don't care about being competitive then a PP1 car is probably best and you can build it to your personal preferences.

My son has a 20 EB high output with the handling package. It may be lighter and "better balanced" but it is still heavy, tire limited, and the gearing is a little short. It's not competitive in SCCA DS. He loves the car and enjoys autocrossing it but he's relatively new and not competitive so it's limitations aren't hindering his learning and experience.

Do you know how the EB compares to the GT when it comes to autocross times?

I always see phrases like "it handles better" etc when people talk about the EB but I was wondering what the real-world results are. I know the cars are in different classes (T2/T3 for example) but wasn't sure how much of a difference there was.

 

[CobaltFilly]

I will suggest an alternative (if you are prepared to mod a little).

I think a EB with suspension, wheel and tyre mods would rule for autocross, even against a stock M1 HP.

It has some inherent advantages that will shine on a short twisty course, that would also be very difficult to obtain / equal with a M1 HP.

Lighter.
Better weight distribution.

But you know you want the V8 …

WD

V8 all day for the sound.
V6 over Ecoboost for Autocross, in my humble opinion, due to reliability and gas mileage if you Daily Drive it.
If *only* Autocrossing...maybe Ecoboost? I would still pick the N/A option.

 

[CobaltFilly]

I know people will hate this but the 2015-2017 V6 model is actually very good at autocross! I had one that I ran for a while, until I blew it up, and I never lost to a V8 model. Granted it had wider wheels and sticky tires and I have 12 years of autocross experience, but it served me well. 50/50 weight distribution and the lightest of the s550 mustangs. Plenty of power for autocross.

This is why we chose one for our test model and entry Autocross build! If you have any solid tips for us, as we are new to mustangs, please shoot me a pm!
-D

 

[Cobra Jet]

Is the question “stock for stock”, or are we talking about taking an S550 and modifying it for auto cross or road racing?

If stock for stock, As Built, my order would be:
GT350
Mach 1
GT PP2
GT PP1
EB HP PP
EB PP

If you’re talking about taking any one of the As Built platforms above and modifying, then the sky is the limit as far as what mods you throw at it…. because you could essentially modify each of those As Built platforms with:
- the same suspension components
- same safety components
- same interior components
- same cooling components
- same braking components
- same rear diff components
- same exterior body and/or aero mods
- same wheel/tire combos
with the absolute only difference aside from those components being engine and transmissions.

Check this sub-forum here for excellent info to what others are doing:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/forums/road-course-track-autocross-hpde.197/

And then scoot over to TMO and check the forum there, which has a TON of beneficial info for anyone who is in or is first starting out in auto cross/road racing:
https://trackmustangsonline.com/forums/

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