2018 GT Daily Track Driver

[txgt]

Track Day: February 26 & 27, 2022

Decided to try out Autocross for the first time! Spent a very cold and wet Saturday in a local high school parking lot with Texas Region SCCA learning the ins-and-outs of Autocross in preparation for their first Solo Event (their term for Autocross) the next day.

Part of the education and training was centered around the corner worker duties, as all drivers are required to work sometime during the event while others compete. Most importantly we learned all about the penalties for hitting cones (If your car causes a cone to fall over or get knocked completely out of its box, it's a 2-second penalty.)

The actual event on Sunday was held in a much larger parking lot located at Lone Star Park (horse track) at Grand Prairie. Track day prep was much easier than normal as I didn’t have to mess with my race brakes since I wouldn’t be hitting closed road course speeds.

Although I had a good time, I ultimately felt that Autocross isn’t for me. I really missed the high speed nature of my closed road course track days!

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[ice445]

Track Day: February 26 & 27, 2022

Decided to try out Autocross for the first time! Spent a very cold and wet Saturday in a local high school parking lot with Texas Region SCCA learning the ins-and-outs of Autocross in preparation for their first Solo Event (their term for Autocross) the next day.

Part of the education and training was centered around the corner worker duties, as all drivers are required to work sometime during the event while others compete. Most importantly we learned all about the penalties for hitting cones (If your car causes a cone to fall over or get knocked completely out of its box, it's a 2-second penalty.)

The actual event on Sunday was held in a much larger parking lot located at Lone Star Park (horse track) at Grand Prairie. Track day prep was much easier than normal as I didn’t have to mess with my race brakes since I wouldn’t be hitting closed road course speeds.

Although I had a good time, I ultimately felt that Autocross isn’t for me. I really missed the high speed nature of my closed road course track days!

I think autocross is fun, but it really feels restricting when you have a highly capable car like this, especially if you're used to track driving. Only major positive is you can learn how to smooth your inputs with low risk and low consumable wear.

 

[Jstang23]

This is awesome! I've gone through a lot of the same experiences you've had with my previous mustang. I'm definitely going to use this as a guide for my new GT and the start of its time off public roads

 

[txgt]

I think autocross is fun, but it really feels restricting when you have a highly capable car like this, especially if you're used to track driving. Only major positive is you can learn how to smooth your inputs with low risk and low consumable wear.

Totally agree on all points! I may take a look at Autocross as a summer alternative as it gets ridiculously hot down here in Tejas!

Would also give me a chance to really commit to Autocross for a 3-4 month period to get a better feel for it

 

[txgt]

This is awesome! I've gone through a lot of the same experiences you've had with my previous mustang. I'm definitely going to use this as a guide for my new GT and the start of its time off public roads

Love your green GT! What did you have before?

 

[Jstang23]

Love your green GT! What did you have before?

Thank you! I had a 2016 V6 is Guard Green Metallic. I guess I have a thing for cool green colors! The v6 was fbo with a tune, full suspension, full steeda chassis bracing, and a circle d torque converter. Was decently quick in the corners because it was 3300 pounds! But pretty average in the straights, lol. Loved that car but decided to upgrade to the GT.

 

[txgt]

Thank you! I had a 2016 V6 is Guard Green Metallic. I guess I have a thing for cool green colors! The v6 was fbo with a tune, full suspension, full steeda chassis bracing, and a circle d torque converter. Was decently quick in the corners because it was 3300 pounds! But pretty average in the straights, lol. Loved that car but decided to upgrade to the GT.

Nice! I’m assuming the ‘23 is pretty much stock right now? How does it handle compared to your modded ‘16?

 

[txgt]

Build Date: April 16-20, 2022

OK, now it’s time to get serious about my track days… Time to take this base GT suspension and take it up a notch. After a lot of research on these forums, I decided to go all in on the Ford Performance Track Handling Pack (M-FR3A-M8A). I made this decision based on feedback that it really firmed up the suspension without making it unbearable on the street. I also wanted a complete kit designed to work together without me having to figure out how to mix-and-match parts.

At this point, I’m still running with the stock GT 14” rotors with the 4-piston calipers, but I know that I’ll eventually bump up to the 15” rotors and the 6-piston Brembos. So, since I’m already working on the suspension, I decided to future proof with the Performance Pack Front Control Arm Kit (M-3075-F) with the brake air deflectors on the lower control arms.

Huge shout-out to @StrongFord for his Track Pack Toe Link Control Arm Bearing Install How-To - It can be done! thread. This was the absolute hardest part of the install and I was honestly thinking of giving up on this part or maybe having the car towed to a mechanic to have them install the spherical bearing. But, thanks to this amazing forum and its amazing members I was able to get it done!

The suspension drop gave her a drastically improved stance and I’ll later get a lot of complements on the handling from my HPDE instructors!

 

[Jstang23]

Nice! I’m assuming the ‘23 is pretty much stock right now? How does it handle compared to your modded ‘16?

Yes the '23 is bone stock. You definitely notice the extra weight! To be honest I was quite surprised how flat the GT stays in the corners. However the stock suspension is a little floaty at high speeds. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong but I have a ton of grip both front and rear. Might be the brand new MPS4s though The v6 was like a scalpel, I had to be precise and if I was it ran pretty good. The GT is closer to a hammer, I still have to be precise but I have so much power I can point and shoot. The 10 speed is definitely something to get used to. Its voodoo witchcraft how it makes this car so much faster. But sometimes feels like a video game downshifting 7 times just to get into 3rd gear!

The brakes are way more powerful, but notice they get hot pretty quick. I'm going to have to adjust my braking zones accordingly. I think the stock brakes are fine for what I'll be pushing on my daily driver. I still have to drive the car back home after the track days

 

[txgt]

Track Date: May 16, 2022

Monday Funday with The Edge Addicts out at MSR Cresson on the full 3.1 mile CCW course. This was a really great event as I got to have a couple of sessions with my very first HPDE instructor from my first event in 2021! She drives a green 2019 PP2 that you can partially see in the first photo. She was happy to see I was still driving and improving

This was the first track day with the new suspension and what a difference it made! The car felt much more planted in the flat And planted in the corners.

Another first for this event was using the Schroth QuickFit Pro four point harness. At 6’2” and 210 lbs I was getting tossed around a bit just using the factory seat belt (even with locking the seat belt retractor). The harness does a great job of securing me and keeping me from moving around

 

[txgt]

Track Date: May 21-22, 2022

This was a really fun 2 day HPDE event put on by The Drivers Edge at Eagles Canyon Raceway running counter clockwise. Even got to hang out with a couple Mach 1s. These two guys are retired friends that bought their cars to enjoy on the track. I really love meeting friendly people like this and it adds another level of enjoyment for track days

The only downside to the day was getting a SES dash light later in the day during one of the hotter sessions. Read the codes (P0300, P0305, P0306 Misfires), cleared them, took her back out for more.

 

[ice445]

I'm definitely curious to see what the codes ended up being caused by lol

 

[txgt]

I'm definitely curious to see what the codes ended up being caused by lol

Spoiler alert: Still a problem for hot sessions

 

[txgt]

Build date: May 27, 2022

Since the last track day was on a Sunday, I didn’t have time to swap back to the street setup immediately and so I drove to work for a week with the track rotors and pads…very embarrassing stopping with the brakes screeching

Friday morning I worked from home so was able to wake up early and go back to the street setup. Also gave her a good bath to get the track off of her 🫧

 

[ice445]

Spoiler alert: Still a problem for hot sessions

Hmm, I wonder if it's a crank sensor issue from the excessive engine/clutch heat from track use....

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