Autox novice 2018 Ecoboost.

[Cardude99]

Made it down to AMP today for auto x. I was supposed to go back in April but wasn't able to. This was my first time doing auto x and it was a blast. Other than the 100+ temps it was really a lot of fun. My car is the 2018 mustang Ecoboost with the A10, PP, and magneride suspension. All my runs were with advance track off and in track mode. First 3 runs with shifter in sport and last three with the shifter in drive. 6 runs total. Last three were my best runs.

Had no cones or dnf's. Progressed every run. Went from a 52.6 secs down to a 48.9 secs and there is a lot more too it. It was hot today, iat's were around 160 at the start of a run and about 135 at the end, so needless to say the engine was down a lot of power. Also this thing has an odd powerband I need to learn to take advantage of the paddles. I think it would help.


A base non pp 18 eco ran a 48.5 so my car should have a lot left on the table. With a driver mod I don't think a 46.9 to 47.3 is out of the question. The best time I saw was a 39.9 in an insane early 2000 BMW and a 40.3 by a 2017 viper acr. The worse time was just over a 66 secs. Given the spread I think I did pretty well.

I'm very happy with my runs. I have a lot of learning to do, but this car is a beast. I can only imagine how the GT would do. Gonna stay stock for a while to really learn the car. First mod will end up being tires when I burn through the pirellis. After that an intercooler and possibly suspension that will let me stay in my class. I'm not ready to move up with the vets quite yet lol.

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[kz]

First mod will end up being tires when I burn through the pirellis. After that an intercooler and possibly suspension that will let me stay in my class. I'm not ready to move up with the vets quite yet lol.

I assumme by class you mean DS - in that case any intercooler change will not let you stay in it and suspension changes are very limited - in this case you can only one sway bar (either front or rear) and shocks/struts which in your case would make zero sense. Seat time, seat time, seat time and get better tires before you burn Pirellis...

 

[Cardude99]

I assumme by class you mean DS - in that case any intercooler change will not let you stay in it and suspension changes are very limited - in this case you can only one sway bar (either front or rear) and shocks/struts which in your case would make zero sense. Seat time, seat time, seat time and get better tires before you burn Pirellis...

I'm still learning. IDK what is legal or not at this time. But I agree I'll be getting a lot of seat time going forward. Gonna keep the pirellis for now. Not looking to drop a grand on tires at the moment. Can't afford a set of track dedicated wheels at the moment so I am looking at continentals as a replacement tire when these bite the dust.

 

[NightmareMoon]

One swaybar and good adjustable shocks make a world of difference in handling.

No need to worry about autox-specific tires and wheels to put them on until you're doing more than a handful of events a year.

As you've found. The first hurdle is showing up. After that try not to worry about times. Focus on feeling, hearing, and seeing as much as you can and trying to identify places you can make driver adjustments to go faster. Ride alongs in faster drivers cars and plenty of advise from experienced passengers will help improve you the fastest. Nobody starts out fast (or almost nobody), your initial times dont matter much. We all need a ton of practice and instruction to get faster. What matters is how well you can adapt and learn your lessons to go faster.

 

[Brazos609]

One swaybar and good adjustable shocks make a world of difference in handling...

With his already having magneride, shocks/struts are not an option, so on which end would you recommend he install an adjustable sway bar?

 

[NightmareMoon]

With his already having magneride, shocks/struts are not an option, so on which end would you recommend he install an adjustable sway bar?

Well, its an Ecoboost w/ PP and magneride. I'd guess front swaybar might work best (like a BMR or Steeda 35mm front bar set on soft), but it depends if you prefer the car loose or tight. To be honest I'm not up to speed on the trick setup for Magneride cars, if there is one.

 

[kz]

Well, its an Ecoboost w/ PP and magneride. I'd guess front swaybar might work best (like a BMR or Steeda 35mm front bar set on soft), but it depends if you prefer the car loose or tight. To be honest I'm not up to speed on the trick setup for Magneride cars, if there is one.

I'm putting Strano's rear one for now on mine (it's a GT though). Couldn't make the car turn well enough on a local recently, but we had some real slow right corners.

 

[DickR]

Well, its an Ecoboost w/ PP and magneride. I'd guess front swaybar might work best (like a BMR or Steeda 35mm front bar set on soft), but it depends if you prefer the car loose or tight. To be honest I'm not up to speed on the trick setup for Magneride cars, if there is one.

My 18 GTPP with MagneRide and 10 speed feels better with a bigger front bar set full soft but remember that power oversteer is pretty easy to get with a GT and the front is pretty heavy compared to the Ecoboost so sharper turn-in with a bigger bar on the GT combined with less lean are pluses. Note that the Ecoboost in DS is at a major disadvantage against well driven smaller cars or exceptionally well driven turbo Camaro's. Given the OP is still on oem tires which will handle differently than autocross tires like the RE-71R my suggestion is to stay stock, enjoy the car, and then if he gets serious enough to get autocross tires figure out what it needs then. Also my car has the Street class legal camber mod resulting in about -2.2 deg front camber.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Cameros? You should be more concerned about that Civic Type R thats currently classed in DS . This years nationals was a bit of an asterisk with the weather, but those things are fast for DS.

 

[Cardude99]

Ya I looked at the times and I have some work to do. A mini beat me by like 5 secs. I'll get better then worry about mods in the future.

 

[destoups]

Sorry, hadn't seen this but I've had two performance package EBs, one a 2015 stick and the other an 18 w the 10A. The newer car doesn't have Magneride.

Agree absolutely about avoiding mods except tires for a bit! You cannot judge anything about this car by its performance on the Pirellis; after a few events on real tires you'll at least know the problem you would be trying to fix with a sway bar. The camber mod (slotting the front strut) greatly helps turn-in, and it's practically free.

I can't see a rear bar on the 2018. The 2015 car's biggest issue was that the nose rose as you exited corners on the gas, creating push. We used a rear bar to try to paper over that with exit oversteer. Once double-adjustable shocks went on the front to control lift, though, the rear bar just made it twitchy.

The single-adjustable Konis I put on the 2018 don't control the nose quite as well. Even so, it was within noise of the fastest DS Camaro in the country when we ran them back to back at Crow's. (We both drove both cars.)

 

[Cardude99]

Had another event recently. Ran 4 laps, best was a 47 flat, my class was in the 41 sec range so I have some work to do. Wish I could go run more laps between events, I need the practice. Once I get better at finding the proper line it should get my times down.

I am also really finding the pirellis limits. I found out how much they hate the wet, granted it doesn't rain here often, still in my last run it started to rain and it was like driving on a slip and slide. Really leaning toward contential extreme sport contacts (have to keep daily drivability in mind).

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