GT Not-PP on track?

[Budwise]

All the other things that come with the PP and the gears are a deal breaker? lol

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[robb]

You get so much with the PP for the price. The only drawback is no auto tranny.

- Strut-tower Brace
- Larger Radiator
- Unique Chassis Tuning
- Larger Front and Rear Sway Bars
- Heavier Front Springs
- K-Brace
- Brembo Front Brakes
- Staggerd Wheels (19x9 and 19x9.5)
- Unique Stability Control Tuning
- Torsen Helical Differential
- 3.73 Gears
- Gauge Pack
- Spoiler Delete
- Engine Turn Dash
- Monotube Shocks w/ Special Dampening
- Unique Underbelly Pan (channels air to brakes)
- 15" Front Brake Rotors
- 255/40R19 Front and 275/40R19 Rear Pirelli P Zero Summer Compound Performance Tires
- From AutoWeek review: "The Performance Pack gets a bunch of bolt-on structure pieces to stiffen the chassis further: stiffer front strut mounts, and the front lateral link instead of a bushing gets a cross axis joint to stiffen up front lateral link significantly."

 

[15GTBEN]

All the other things that come with the PP and the gears are a deal breaker? lol

The PP is a great value but for me yes since I would never track my car and I hate 3.73's that much for multiple reasons. Below is the main reason:

I had gears swapped from 3.31's to 3.73's in my 12' brembo 5.0.
First the dealer did the swap and it was noisy (whine on decal louder than radio)and they weren't willing to replace again without charging me for another swap. I then took it to a reputable performance shop in Maryland for another set of 3.73's; it was still noisy (different sounding whine but still very intrusive)and the rear leaked (of course not covered under warranty) At that point the fix was a new axle assembly!
BTW my car went a little slower in the 1/4 mile with the 3.73's than the 3.31's (mph and time) at the same track in similar air.
All said and done, the whole gear swap fiasco ended up costing me about $3k and in the end I missed having the 3.31's :headbonk:
So yeah for me 3.73's would be a deal breaker.

 

[robb]

The PP is a great value but for me yes since I would never track my car and I hate 3.73's that much for multiple reasons. Below is the main reason:

I had gears swapped from 3.31's to 3.73's in my 12' brembo 5.0.
First the dealer did the swap and it was noisy (whine on decal louder than radio)and they weren't willing to replace again without charging me for another swap. I then took it to a reputable performance shop in Maryland for another set of 3.73's; it was still noisy (different sounding whine but still very intrusive)and the rear leaked (of course not covered under warranty) At that point the fix was a new axle assembly!
BTW my car went a little slower in the 1/4 mile with the 3.73's than the 3.31's (mph and time) at the same track in similar air.
All said and done, the whole gear swap fiasco ended up costing me about $3k and in the end I missed having the 3.31's :headbonk:
So yeah for me 3.73's would be a deal breaker.

If it was making noise it wasn't done right...PERIOD. This is a common noise when they are not installed properly. Mine are quiet as a mouse. The 373's do make you shift a little more around town but I like them.

 

[15GTBEN]

If it was making noise it wasn't done right...PERIOD. This is a common noise when they are not installed properly. Mine are quiet as a mouse. The 373's do make you shift a little more around town but I like them.

Yeah I got that. Both installs were crap and they weren't willing to work with me. Once installed wrong that is it. For me getting the gears swapped were like opening a can of worms and will never do again.

Probably the best way to ensure a noise and problem free gear swap is to pay extra and install a whole new rear end assembly with the the gears of your choice and then sell the factory rear assembly that came with your car to get a lot of that money back rather than risk paying for a bad install.

I'm sure and would hope your factory 3.73's are quiet from the factory. My 15' GT factory 3.31's are quiet as well and will stay quiet because I won't be messing with them.

 

[Trackaholic]

I visit those same tracks (only been to Sears Point once, but have been to Laguna Seca and Thunderhill maybe 20 times each).

I think you ask a very interesting question, and what works best for you will depend quite a bit on how much you want to mod your car after you track it a few times.

There is an enormous difference in thermal management requirements between the street and track, and I don't know how much headroom the non-PP car has in terms of both water temps and oil temps. My Z has held up well at THill even in 100+ ambient, although I do see coolant temps start to increase in those conditions, and will need to throw in a cooldown lap occasionally to keep temps in a range I am comfortable with. I know a few people with 370Z's, and those cars seem to have a much harder time managing oil temps than mine, so engine oil cooling can be an issue on some cars.

As far as brakes go, I bought a Stoptech BBK after maybe my 5th trackday. I wanted the increased confidence that a purpose built kit provides, with well designed cooling vanes, calipers that make it very easy to swap pads, and two piece rotors that help minimize weight while making it less expensive to replace the iron when that is required.

The OEM Brembo brakes can be good, but they are still based on OEM requirements and may not be as good as an aftermarket BBK that is geared more towards the track. For example, the brakes rotors on the C7 Z51 seem to be a pretty poor design, and the calipers are relatively large and heavy compared to what you could get on an aftermarket setup. Those are the upgraded versions compared to the non-Z51 car, and they are still pretty poor for track work.

On my Z I've also done some suspension mods, swapping out the stock viscous LSD for a Quaife unit (very similar to the Torsen), changed to Koni Yellow shocks, aftermarket adjustable sway bars, and aftermarket control arms to get more negative camber on the front and rear.

So, in the end I've probably changed out much of what you would get as part of the PP on the Mustang. But it has been an expensive journey. The Stoptech kit alone was $2500 for example, and that was a 13" front only kit purchased 10 years ago.

So, to get to the point:
1. The track is much more severe than the street, so OEMs rarely have cars that can handle the thermal requirements in extreme ambient temps.
2. If you think you will be tracking the car often, and don't want to mod it, then the PP is an excellent deal because it addresses cooling, braking, and balance - all of which are of high importance.
3. If you think you will be tracking the car often, and also think you might want to mod it, the non-PP might be a good choice because chances are you will mod many of the things you would paid extra if you had purchased the the PP. You'll pay a lot more going this route, and you'll end up with something that is probably better on the track than a GT/PP, but also very likely worse on the street.

Overall, IMO the PP provides some great track oriented features that may be difficult or annoying to add later (cooling for example, and the additional gauges on the interior). It may also save you from spending much more on aftermarket stuff in the future. I would therefore spend the extra on the PP (and overall it is still quite inexpensive for what you get). My only concern is not knowing how robust the PP actually is for track use. The rotors for example are still one piece. Are they uni-directional to optimize airflow, or are they bi-directional to ease the manufacturing process? Are there provisions to easily mount cooling ducts? Is there a larger engine oil cooler? Does the diff need a cooler as well? Etc.

My hope is to get the GT350 and then not touch a thing. Even on that car Ford offers a track package with increased cooling capacity, which I would definitely be getting.

Sorry for the rambling nature of the post, but I think it helped me sort out my own thoughts, so hopefully it helps someone else too.

-T

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