GT350R Important Mods/Maintenance

[Whopperman]

If your just street driving I would add the passenger side catch can from Ford performance. That pretty much is all you need.

If your tracking I added Vorschlag Caster/Camber plates and SPC rear adjustable control arms. Both are needed to be able to give the alignment adjustment desired. IMHO anything beyond that is a needless expense. To be clear, I'm referencing NEEDS and not WANTS

My Carbon Fiber wheels are reserved for Track. I have Shelby CS21's for street but there are several quality wheels available.

I'm still looking into different rims, but don't want to spend that much. I was thinking about getting a set of GT350 rims since I wouldn't have to wait long for them and they shouldn't be a lot of money

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[Whopperman]

If you want MUST have items, they involve protecting your investment.

1) Catch can. Passenger side minimum. Driver's side if you're just OCD. In all my years of forum surfing I've only encountered one guy who had oil in the driver's side and he was boosted. The driver's side valve cover has different baffling at the PCV port and it probably has something to do with the rotation direction of the chains/cams. Don't let home teamers fool you, catch cans nearly all work the same, they simply provide a media with a large surface area for suspended hydrocarbons to precipitate back into liquid and drain to a capture basin. The differences come down to price, fit/finish/look, how easy they are to access and drain, etc. Taster's choice.

2) Rock blockers. Either flaps or poly inserts. This will keep your lower door paint from getting murdered by rocks and debris that pass through the opening at the front of the side skirts.

3) Jacking rails. If you're going to be under the car as much as a lot of people or removing wheels for thorough cleaning and stuff, it protects your pinch welds and the underside of the car. You can get away with NOT having them if you're very careful, but the rails also allow you more options for jack points than the factory locations.

4) Some form of paint protection. Whether you enjoy applying wax infrequently or you want to install a graphene or ceramic that holds up for longer periods, you'll need something to protect the paint from normal dust/residue that collects and degrades the clear coat over time.

The rest of the modifications you can research and do yourself. Plenty of threads and discussions about performance improvements, ergonomic improvements (that help you to better operate or enjoy the car), aesthetic improvements, etc.

I forgot about the rock guards, I'll try to look for a set of plastic boomerangs so I don't have to worry about bottoming out. Any recommendations on that and catch can?

 

[Whopperman]

Definitely need Caster/Camber plates, they don't need to be Vorshlag but those ones give the most adjustability and I feel they're the best quality. The other brands are really good and cheaper, but their range of adjustability isn't as great. They'll be good enough for most, but if you get more into track days and want more, you might see yourself upgrading to Vorshlag eventually.

SPC rear adjustable control arms are not required to get the proper track alignment in the rear. I'm still stock back there and have been running -2.1 camber for the past 4 years with some more room to go more if needed. Aftermarket control arms might be better quality and more sturdy but they are not required.

I would say absolute musts are a passenger side catch can and jacking rails. Catch can brand can be whatever you want. The Ford Performance ones look the most "stock" but draining them can be annoying as hell since they don't really have a drain. You have to open them up and suck the oil out. I have them and they work great, but they're annoying to empty out.

Jacking rails will make your life so much easier anytime you need to work on your car if you don't have a lift. I can stick the floor jack anywhere along the side of the car, lift it up and plop a couple jack stands before moving to the other side. Probably one of the most useful mods I've done.

Another that hasn't been mentioned if you plan on swapping brake pads often for track use would be Caliperfexion brake caliper studs. They'll make brake maintenance SO MUCH easier and quicker. Get the studs and the extension sleeves. https://caliperfexion.net/

I was thinking about switching to low/no break dust pads on both my cars, but don't know what to go for, I saw there was a ceramic pad some people use, but want to make sure they work well cold and still have great stopping power in cold weather

 

[Whopperman]

tow hook and/or hooks…

I love the look of them, might see where it is on the bumper and if I can screw one in like the honda boys (Used to have an S2K so I'm allowed to trash them) I most likely will

 

[Whopperman]

Tell you what I did first few weeks of ownership. Do what you think is needed/best for you.
1. Full paint correction of the car done by me. If you have a DA polisher then just the cost of around $40 for all your supplies.
2. PPF Front, roof, side mirrors, rear wing and quarter panels. Probably the most expensive part. Forgot how much.
3. Ceramic Coating done by me.$120ish
4.Lower Rock Guards for the front.$70ish
5. Oil separators for both sides but passenger first.
6. Front Tow Hook.$250ish
7. Steeds jacking rails. $90ish
8. Felt a lot of wheel hop during LC so bought me some a rear BMR Cradle Lockout kit. Around $210
9. Ford performance Lowering Springs. Around $300
10. Finally Ceramic Tint for all the windows and windshield because I noticed it got really hot in the car here in Texas

Mind sharing which ones you got for Rock Guards, Oil Separator, and the Tow Hook? Also, how hard was it to ceramic coat the car because I want to try it.. watched a lot of videos about polishing and taking care of cars from a detailers perspective (AMMO NYC [Met him and he's super nice] and Chris Fix) and I'd like to take a shot at it

 

[Whopperman]

I did jacking rails, a FP passenger-side catch can, the Steeda clutch spring/perch, a blue airaid filter, Redline hood struts (hated the prop rod), window tint, ZL1addons rock guards, Weathertech floor liners, and a second set of OEM wheels w/ Michelin Pilot Alpine PA4s for the winter months (because no way am I parking my car for 5 months of the year).

Did you buy the rims from ford or a private seller? I'm leaning towards getting a set of 350 rims to keep the price down a bit (assuming they sell for under 2k) and negate a long waiting period/fitment issues

 

[br_an]

Did you buy the rims from ford or a private seller? I'm leaning towards getting a set of 350 rims to keep the price down a bit (assuming they sell for under 2k) and negate a long waiting period/fitment issues

I bought from The Wheel Exchange on ebay. At the time they were like $1200 for the set, and they were flawless. The Parts Farm guys sell wheels off wrecked 350s from time to time. I went OEM to avoid the fitment issues, plus I really like the look of the original wheels on the GT350.

 

[Johnnydarkgt350]

My improvements have been a Tow hook, Steeda larger gas pedal with rubber added for street height when brakes are cooler. Heel and toe is an accomplishment to me . Vorschlag camber plates, rock guards, jacking pads , right hand oil catch can . Your CF wheels add to your driving experience, but with potholes in your area I would increase the aspect ratios on the tires there as that would save them. Track day? Change back the lower profile tires . My splitter was scraped up underneath and I would have added the scraper buttons if it was nice when I got it.

 

[svttim]

I forgot about the rock guards, I'll try to look for a set of plastic boomerangs so I don't have to worry about bottoming out. Any recommendations on that and catch can?

Im using the JLT rocker blockers. Foam interference fit for the street and I can slide them out for track. Plus they are cheap

 

[Whopperman]

I bought from The Wheel Exchange on ebay. At the time they were like $1200 for the set, and they were flawless. The Parts Farm guys sell wheels off wrecked 350s from time to time. I went OEM to avoid the fitment issues, plus I really like the look of the original wheels on the GT350.

He had a wrecked R, but he was only selling 3 of the rims and they where SHOT so figured I'd hold off on buying 3 of them. I'm waiting for him to get a set and the carbon dash

 

[Whopperman]

My improvements have been a Tow hook, Steeda larger gas pedal with rubber added for street height when brakes are cooler. Heel and toe is an accomplishment to me . Vorschlag camber plates, rock guards, jacking pads , right hand oil catch can . Your CF wheels add to your driving experience, but with potholes in your area I would increase the aspect ratios on the tires there as that would save them. Track day? Change back the lower profile tires . My splitter was scraped up underneath and I would have added the scraper buttons if it was nice when I got it.

Not sure if I'll run the carbon rims yet, if I can get a second set for "Cheap" then I'll definitely use them for summer, but even in the nice weather the roads are still bad :/

 

[Whopperman]

Im using the JLT rocker blockers. Foam interference fit for the street and I can slide them out for track. Plus they are cheap

How well have they worked for you?

 

[CoRRupted_350]

Mind sharing which ones you got for Rock Guards, Oil Separator, and the Tow Hook? Also, how hard was it to ceramic coat the car because I want to try it.. watched a lot of videos about polishing and taking care of cars from a detailers perspective (AMMO NYC [Met him and he's super nice] and Chris Fix) and I'd like to take a shot at it

Well to start I got both the rock guards and tow hook form zl1 add ons, great figment and quality. I just went with the Ford performance separators, they are a bit pricey but I like to stick with the same company. If not JLT is not a bad option at all. And tbh the ceramic coating is the easiest part of the whole process. The hardest part is getting the paint to perfection and PPF. I had almost 5 days worth of work to get the paint to perfection. Not one scratch or swirl visible on any part of the car. It takes a lot of time and patients for that. Once it’s perfect tho the ceramic coating is as easy as putting a wax on a car and taking it off and then letting it sit for 2-3 weeks.

 

[Weather756]

How well have they worked for you?

Have been using the foam rock blockers for about 1 year 6200 miles. Work fine. I do not track the car.

 

[Demonic]

I’ve had the JLT catch can for years and would still recommend it. Looks good and easily unscrews to empty. Only minor minor thing was when I got it and opened it there was a fine metal shaving from the machining. If I hadn’t looked inside when it was new and dumped the oil back into the car I would have dumped that little metal shaving into the oil.

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