HR361 - 2017 GT350R - The Story

TDC said:

I am not well informed on the safety gear at this point. Same as you, don't want to switch out the seats at this point so looking for something to work with the sofas.

I think Firestarter2 may have posted a complete setup with factory seats. Trying to get ideas about what to use during the off season so could prepare for next spring where I plan on going to more HPDE's and I'm starting to go faster.

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I said enough is enough to the analysis paralysis, so today I pulled the trigger on the Schroth 4pt Profi II ASM for both driver and passenger as well as the SHR Flex HANS.

I spoke with Mark at Schroth this AM to finally settle my concerns over a harness to be used with factory front seats in conjunction with a Watson 4 pt roll cage. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I knew that I was unable to mount a 5 or 6 point harness to the factory seat correctly. It was brought to my attention that the 4 pt Profi II ASM could be adapted to a 5 or 6 pt in any instance should any particular track require it. Although not 100% correct, it is acceptable for any tech inspection.

There are two versions of the Profi II ASM, one is the competition model and the other is the street legal version.

The competition model as seen below is the one that I ordered. The differences are the release style and the clips as opposed to bolt in eyelets for the Profi II ASM FE.

The Profi II ASM that I ordered (mine was ordered in red)



The Profi II ASM FE (street legal version -note the push button release and bolt in belt eyelets)



The SHR Flex Hans style device


So I guess I have some more early Christmas presents inbound

good choice on the harness. The race car fabricator that built my cage recommended the same to me...it's a good set up.

Today was a good day.

I had been inquiring about windshield protection for quite some time. Last year at Daytona, my windscreen was sandblasted and pitted and I vowed that next year, I would protect my windscreen. I came across a windshield protection film company that specializes in track cars.

http://racetearoffs.com/

Carl, the owner of the southern division, was here in my local area today helping out some of the folks over at BGB. I stopped by the local shop where he was doing work to have my 2 layer windscreen protection installed. The two layers provide 8 mil protection and after the next track event, the outer layer will be peeled off and another outer layer put down.

It started with a good windshield cleaning


Then the bottom layer was cut to fit.


Then it was installed


And then a second layer (tear off layer) was installed


Pretty incredible stuff. NASCAR has been using the peel off windshield protection for quite some time. I know that after last year, and the damage the windscreen suffered, I decided that something like this was necessary.

Daytona is right around the corner.

Congrats on the R. It makes sense that the prices are coming down now, because soon we will be seeing the next better thing from Ford. Once that comes out, whether it's the GT500 or something else, then values will go down even more. Cars left on dealer lots at that point will be even more difficult for them to move. So patience can really pay off.

Wouldn't a good clear 3M window film do about the same thing? My window tint guy says he can do my windshield for $60. Once it gets damaged, he can strip the film and install a new one for the same.

Love what you've done to the TY R Tom, good stuff.

96cobra said:

Wouldn't a good clear 3M window film do about the same thing? My window tint guy says he can do my windshield for $60. Once it gets damaged, he can strip the film and install a new one for the same.

Love what you've done to the TY R Tom, good stuff.

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Eric,

Absolutely, the principle is the same. I guess the big difference is that this system is designed for track/race use. The tear away feature of the outer 4 mil layer provides a disposable layer while keeping the base 4 mil layer for absolute protection.

To give you an idea, I wrapped the entire front end in road wrap last year. I believe road wrap is 2.5 mil. The debris from the track, over three days, eventually left some damage. The windscreen had pitting all over it as well as a small spider crack. 2 layers and 8 mil of protection should eliminate any windscreen issues this year.

As for the paint protection, I ordered a roll of Trakk Tape a while back. The car is already PPF'd. I believe Xpel is 8 mil thick. The Trakk Tape gives another 5mil layer of protection. That in conjunction with the PPF, there should be no issues with sand blasting this year ;)



As for the rest of the projects for the car, all the needed parts are here or are inbound. The Watson 4 point roll cage will be here Monday. I found a set of sacrificial rear seat area trim panels off a parted out 2016 mustang yesterday and they are in the UPS system.

The drivers and passengers harnesses have arrived and will go in after the roll cage is installed.





Anyway, more to follow as the build progresses. Thanks for stopping by!

Tom, very cool pictures of the windshield protection film being applied along with all of the many other initiatives that your TY R is going through.

Obviously many other enthusiasts are learning a great deal from all of your many outstanding posts along with transparency on the different products that you are using.

I am sure that the team that is applying the windshield protection film are very meticulous when working on your car but as you know the drivers side wiper arm has a tendency of taking some paint off of the leading edge of the hood (when lifted up) and that even happens during the PDI process at the dealership level so hopefully all goes which an issue.

Looking forward to seeing all of the modifications done to your Track R car and your car getting out on the track real soon!

PP0001 said:

Tom, very cool pictures of the windshield protection film being applied along with all of the many other initiatives that your TY R is going through.

Obviously many other enthusiasts are learning a great deal from all of your many outstanding posts along with transparency on the different products that you are using.

I am sure that the team that is applying the windshield protection film are very meticulous when working on your car but as you know the drivers side wiper arm has a tendency of taking some paint off of the leading edge of the hood (when lifted up) and that even happens during the PDI process at the dealership level so hopefully all goes which an issue.

Looking forward to seeing all of your modifications done to your Track R car and your car getting out on the track real soon!

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Yes, the wiper was a concern. I wound up turning the wipers on to get them in the top position and then quickly turning the power off to set them in place. A lot easier than removing the wiper IMHO. When they were done, powered up the car and the wiper blades were guided down.

Tomster said:

Yes, the wiper was a concern. I wound up turning the wipers on to get them in the top position and then quickly turning the power off to set them in place. A lot easier than removing the wiper IMHO. When they were done, powered up the car and the wiper blades were guided down.

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Great thinking as many new enthusiasts of these GT350/R's may not be aware of this problem but as usual you were proactive regarding this potential issue.

You got a tentative timeline to get the TY R on the track?

:cheers:

PP0001 said:

Great thinking as many new enthusiasts of these GT350/R's may not be aware of this problem but as usual you were proactive regarding this potential issue.

You got a tentative timeline to get the TY R on the track?

:cheers:

Click to expand...

Daytona is December 1-3. So I've got some time. Once all the parts are here, I will get started. Ive got some time in November and I will be using my buddies shop and lift.

Nice build. Yellow is growing on me and I found an R for 5k over. I thought by now I would seethem for a discount LOL. I may buy.

Today, I finalized the installation of a Watson 4 point roll cage into HR361. The full install notes can be found here..... http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2046986#post2046986



The Good:

My initial impressions are that the car feels more rigid.

I feel the car is safer. I plan to install a 4 point harness and use a HANS for the track

The Bad:
The Car now weights 60 pounds more. That carbon fiber drive shaft is looking better and better. The cost of safety.......

I agree.... the cost of safety cannot be compromised. Come December, she’ll be cleared and ready for take off..... Very impressive work!

While I had the whole rear of the interior apart, I decided to replace the CRAP factory rear speakers with Harman infinity REF6522IX 180W reference speakers. The speakers pictured below in the box are for the doors, which will be another update down the road.....

All I can say is Wow! what a difference in the sound.



I first got the idea from reading a post by [MENTION=25907]torque124[/MENTION] http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80057 . All of his suggestions were spot on. Everything from the speakers, to the wiring adapters, to the housing adapters made the job a lot easier than without.

I had some adhesive neoprene laying around and decided to use it in lieu of the weather stripping that was provided with the speakers. I cut it to size to adhere to the adapter housing (4 hole industry standard speaker to a 3 hole ford proprietary mount).





The adapters are pretty decent quality. They appear to be very similar to the mount that the factory speaker sit upon from the OEM assembly



Who wants to mess around with cutting and splicing wires from factory harnesses to add aftermarket speakers? Metra (who also makes the housing adapters) makes a wiring harness adapter to simplify the installation



The result is a installation that was not only easy, but sounds excellent!





I couldn't believe the difference in the sound...... Yes, I know its a track car, but man oh man, if you are going to have the speakers installed with a stereo, why not improve the quality exponentially with just a very modest investment? Thanks again torque124 :cheers:

I couldn't believe the difference in the sound...... Yes, I know its a track car, but man oh man, if you are going to have the speakers installed with a stereo, why not improve the quality exponentially with just a very modest investment? Thanks again torque124 :cheers:[/QUOTE]

Nice! I think I might do the same, mine will be 90% mostly street anyway. Tracking my bike is much cheaper than my R, I am only guessing since I know how much bike and car tires are, you only have to buy 2