Track prep for beginner

[Mustang_Eh]

Hey all,

Looking for some input and suggestions regarding what I should do to prep my car for tracking (lapping) in 2017 season.

A bit of a background:

- Daily racecar
- I drive agressively
- Been lapping once ever
- Trying to get into lapping, but hesitant to buy lots of things in case I don't get into it (it's not cheap for a day of lapping)

So far I plan to:

- Upgrade my brake pads to something track and road friendly
- Get 18x10 Enkei RPF1 and 285/40/18 tires (Tires are TBD)

On the fence about:

- Upgrading my brake fluid to something with a higher boiling point
- Getting 19x9.5 wheels (~21lb each)

Probably won't happen at least until I know I want to continue tracking:

- Buy GT takeoff front brakes (rotors+calipers)
- Buy sway bars (and some sort of rods that connect to them - the name escapes me)
- Big wang


What are some other minor things that I should look to upgrade as it will help both on the street and on the track.

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[robertwsimpson]

big wang?

 

[Mustang_Eh]

big wang?

Big rear spoiler. Was a joke

 

[strengthrehab]

Brake pads
Brake fluid

I'd stay with the 18x10 wheels. No need for 19's at all.

 

[Mustang_Eh]

Brake pads
Brake fluid

I'd stay with the 18x10 wheels. No need for 19's at all.

Thanks.

19's is mostly a compromise between function and aesthetics, and given the weight of 21lb it's something I considered. I'm not a fan of 18s but at this point I'm settling for them to keep the weight down.

 

[strengthrehab]

Thanks.

19's is mostly a compromise between function and aesthetics, and given the weight of 21lb it's something I considered. I'm not a fan of 18s but at this point I'm settling for them to keep the weight down.

Ok. If that is the case then definitely keep the width to 10" or more if possible. These cars like wider wheels and corresponding rubber. Especially for the track.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Brake pads - get a second set for track-only. Dual duty is a bit of a unicorn. Run the atock pads for daily street use.
Do fluid too, and flush it often.

Pick your tires before settling on wheels, in case you want a tire that only comes in 19". Gp 10" wide at the narrowest.

Look into camber plates so your new expensive tires last longer, and get a performance alignment. I got mild rear swaybar which helped neutralize the stock understeer.

The next thing I found I wanted/needed badly were harnesses to keep me in my seat and not sliding around.

 

[Mustang_Eh]

Thanks for the input.

I have my eyes on a set of new Firehawk Indy 500s (285/40/18).

I just bumped into a set of wedsSport wheels, so might actually get the 18s.

I never considered camber plates. What camber do you guys run in the front and rear?

I just snagged a good deal on PP Recaros so hopefully they hold me lol.

 

[Norm Peterson]

As already mentioned but worth repeating - brake pads and fluid. Especially because it is a V6.


With 3.15 axle gears, don't be afraid of running a shorter tire unless you're close to having a ground clearance problem already . . . something like 285/35-18's should work as well on an S550 V6 as they do on my '08 GT. Even on wheels that are only 10" wide, that size (at least in MPSS) should still be good for better than 1.1g in the corners once the rest of the car and its driver are up to it.

Speaking of which, seat time/the driver mod tops everything else. After that comes wheels and tires, and finally you get to what suspension & the rest of any mod list does for you.


Norm

 

[Mustang_Eh]

As already mentioned but worth repeating - brake pads and fluid. Especially because it is a V6.


With 3.15 axle gears, don't be afraid of running a shorter tire unless you're close to having a ground clearance problem already . . . something like 285/35-18's should work as well on an S550 V6 as they do on my '08 GT. Even on wheels that are only 10" wide, that size (at least in MPSS) should still be good for better than 1.1g in the corners once the rest of the car and its driver are up to it.

Speaking of which, seat time/the driver mod tops everything else. After that comes wheels and tires, and finally you get to what suspension & the rest of any mod list does for you.


Norm

Thank you for the info.

A friend of mine is using 285/40 on his 18x10 Enkei RPF1's and it's the closest thing to stock size and fills the wheel well nicely. Hopefully the amount of sidewall won't affect cornering.

Ground clearance is generally not an issue as my springs only give me a 1" drop (1.15" in the front).

My biggest fear when I go to the track are the brakes, but I'm hesitant on spending money on GT take offs because I'm kind of in limbo about getting a GT and don't want to spend more money on the car.

 

[higdominator]

My biggest fear when I go to the track are the brakes, but I'm hesitant on spending money on GT take offs because I'm kind of in limbo about getting a GT and don't want to spend more money on the car.

That is a logical fear, especially in a heavy car capable of decent speed with tiny front brakes from the factory.

I completely destroyed a set of the 2 piston base brakes on a very small road course in an Ecoboost. The stock pads grooved the rotors so bad they had to be tossed. I ended up tossing all of it and putting Brembos on the car.

A proper pad would likely save you the issue of destroying the stock rotors. I would highly recommend a good pad (if you can find it for those brakes?) and a good fluid, as it will get hot, it's just simple physics with those small brakes.

Seeing as GT take offs are in the $300-$400 range, that's a pretty good deal IMO.

 

[Mustang_Eh]

That is a logical fear, especially in a heavy car capable of decent speed with tiny front brakes from the factory.

I completely destroyed a set of the 2 piston base brakes on a very small road course in an Ecoboost. The stock pads grooved the rotors so bad they had to be tossed. I ended up tossing all of it and putting Brembos on the car.

A proper pad would likely save you the issue of destroying the stock rotors. I would highly recommend a good pad (if you can find it for those brakes?) and a good fluid, as it will get hot, it's just simple physics with those small brakes.

Seeing as GT take offs are in the $300-$400 range, that's a pretty good deal IMO.

Dumb question, but should I bother getting both front and rear or just buy a set of HPS fronts and keep rear stock?

HAWK or Power Stop is basically what I can pick from
http://www.cjponyparts.com/mustang-brake-pads/c/60030060/
http://www.powerstop.com/products/#y=2016&mk=FORD&mo=MUSTANG&ss=V6 Models

GT take offs are $400-550 CAD :\

 

[F0J]

This question comes up way too often. We should sticky some kind of plan that describes the usual steps to get track ready for all levels of driving.

Tires, brake fluid and brake pads is what I've gathered from the other threads.

I don't think wheels, aero and rotors+calipers are necessary until you really beat on the car. Brake failure is scary though. There's some front aero (canards?) available from a couple vendors to match the rear. There's a couple options (AP Racing, "real" Brembos, etc.) for brakes both front and rear. Potenza RE71Rs are a popular tire (I personally have 265/45/18 on APEX 18x9s). Otherwise, you should keep an eye on cooking the diff fluid as it overheats. Long left turns can lead to fuel starvation. Consider upgrading the oil system (oil, cooling, pump) if you live somewhere where it gets very hot. Get to know your chassis as some people report bolts getting loose after very hard driving (>1g cornering?). Have fun and drive tons!

 

[wildcatgoal]

Honestly - I'd take it out AS IS with whatever tires you have right now for one track day and make sure you are even capable of hitting its current limits. It is worth, for that day, at least upgrading your brake fluid. You could do better brake pads, too, but I'm almost leaning toward saving your money there for now until you get a bigger brake kit.

After getting through at least one more track day with instruction on the base car, I suggest you sit down with your self in a quiet room and think about what you want your car to do better. Make a checklist of parts that are suited to solving that. And, if you are going to commit to track days/HPDE on the regular, also commit to adding those parts in a logical progression, not all at once. You don't want to go too far, too fast.

This is what I would do to a V6 in Year 1 of my track experiences.
- Upgrade to the GT non-Brembo brake it and use the stock pads
- Install this: http://www.cjponyparts.com/steeda-handling-package-performance-gt-2015-2017/p/SUSK32/
- And install this: https://www.steeda.com/steeda-pro-action-shocks-and-struts-for-s550-non-adjustable-en.html
- And install this: https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-rear-irs-subframe-brace-2015-coupe-555-5754.html

Regarding the ladder brace, you may also opt for the BMR CB005.

 

[Mustang_Eh]

Honestly - I'd take it out AS IS with whatever tires you have right now for one track day and make sure you are even capable of hitting its current limits. It is worth, for that day, at least upgrading your brake fluid. You could do better brake pads, too, but I'm almost leaning toward saving your money there for now until you get a bigger brake kit.

After getting through at least one more track day with instruction on the base car, I suggest you sit down with your self in a quiet room and think about what you want your car to do better. Make a checklist of parts that are suited to solving that. And, if you are going to commit to track days/HPDE on the regular, also commit to adding those parts in a logical progression, not all at once. You don't want to go too far, too fast.

This is what I would do to a V6 in Year 1 of my track experiences.
- Upgrade to the GT non-Brembo brake it and use the stock pads
- Install this: http://www.cjponyparts.com/steeda-handling-package-performance-gt-2015-2017/p/SUSK32/
- And install this: https://www.steeda.com/steeda-pro-action-shocks-and-struts-for-s550-non-adjustable-en.html
- And install this: https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-mustang-rear-irs-subframe-brace-2015-coupe-555-5754.html

Regarding the later brace, you may also opt for the BMR CB005.

Thank you for the post!

As I have mentioned, I went lapping once last year. I did 3-4 laps at a time in fear on brake fade. Ironically, I coasted on my brakes instead of braking later and harder, thus generating more heat. I think I can do 4-6 laps at a time without severe brake fade.

I think I need to go at least 1-2 times this year to understand what I am missing in terms of aftermarket parts.

Out of all the parts you kindly listed, I can't use the tower brace since no one makes them for a V6. I used a GT one with spacers before, but it was sketchy and introduced A LOT of vibration so I got rid of it.

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