2019 Shelby GT350 Track Alignment / Adjustable Struts Settings

[David Yanez]

Hello! I have taken my Shelby to Sebring a couple of times and the car is so much fun to drive on the track! I am extremely surprised by its amazing capabilities! I have the handling package and I have not installed the adjustable strut plates yet. I wanted to feel the car on the track as is before I decided what to do, the car was extremely capable without them however I am trying to learn more about the advantages of installing them.

What is the advantage of installing these plates?
What is the process to adjust the suspension to track setting/street setting? do you need an alignment machine regardless of the adjustable struts?
Do I have to take the car to the dealer (or somewhere else) every time I want to go to the track to set up the track alignment and then back to the street alignment?

I am trying to learn more before I install them.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

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[oldbmwfan]

Caveat: I haven't played with the 2019+ GT350R adjustable camber plates, but the general approach for street/ track dual-use cars with adjustable camber/ caster plates is as follows:
0) Find a good alignment shop, preferably one with some track/ race car prep experience
1) Set street alignment (typically lower camber like -1.5 degrees or whatever stock spec is, and slight toe-in). Mark the plates.
2) Set track alignment (typically you're maximizing negative camber or close, depending on the plate range of adjustability, and increasing caster slightly).
3) Check toe in track alignment. With most MacPherson strut cars, you'll get minor shift toward toe-out as you increase camber & caster. If toe is acceptable for track use, mark the plates again. If not, adjust toe to where you want it for the track, then go back to the street camber setting and measure toe again. Repeat until you're at with some compromise that allows you to have good responsiveness on track and stability on the street.

At this point, you don't need to get an alignment every time you adjust the plates. At the track, adjust the plate to the track position (jack front of car, loosen strut mount nuts, adjust plate to marking, tighten strut mount nuts, lower car). When you're done at the track, return to street settings. You shouldn't need to mess with toe every time.

Depending on how many street miles you drive, you might find yourself just leaving the car on track settings. This all assumes, of course, that the factory camber plates give you enough adjustability to be useful on track. If not, buy aftermarket plates.

 

[David Yanez]

Caveat: I haven't played with the 2019+ GT350R adjustable camber plates, but the general approach for street/ track dual-use cars with adjustable camber/ caster plates is as follows:
0) Find a good alignment shop, preferably one with some track/ race car prep experience
1) Set street alignment (typically lower camber like -1.5 degrees or whatever stock spec is, and slight toe-in). Mark the plates.
2) Set track alignment (typically you're maximizing negative camber or close, depending on the plate range of adjustability, and increasing caster slightly).
3) Check toe in track alignment. With most MacPherson strut cars, you'll get minor shift toward toe-out as you increase camber & caster. If toe is acceptable for track use, mark the plates again. If not, adjust toe to where you want it for the track, then go back to the street camber setting and measure toe again. Repeat until you're at with some compromise that allows you to have good responsiveness on track and stability on the street.

At this point, you don't need to get an alignment every time you adjust the plates. At the track, adjust the plate to the track position (jack front of car, loosen strut mount nuts, adjust plate to marking, tighten strut mount nuts, lower car). When you're done at the track, return to street settings. You shouldn't need to mess with toe every time.

Depending on how many street miles you drive, you might find yourself just leaving the car on track settings. This all assumes, of course, that the factory camber plates give you enough adjustability to be useful on track. If not, buy aftermarket plates.

Thank you so much! This is very useful, I already had a conversation with a reputable shop about this and your guidance was extremely helpful!

 

[Tomster]

The OEM camber plates were installed on my CFTP at the factory and they are not good. They are very difficult to adjust and I would recommend an aftermarket camber plate over the OEM. In previous years, I have used Vorshlag and found them to be excellent.

The advantage of a camber plate is being able to add more negative camber. Some use camber bolts to get more camber, but I don't recommend. More negative camber gives you better grip in the turns and increases the cars ability to hold on to the pavement.

The process to install camber plates is to remove the strut, compress the spring, remove the old plates, and install the new ones.

Whether you do it yourself or have a shop do it will depend on your mechanical ability. Most guys who do it themselves, remove the strut, take it to a shop to get the spring compressed and have the old plates removed and new ones installed.

After the fact, you will need an alignment.

Again, if you are going to go through all the trouble, I would get a set of aftermarket plates like Vorshlag, MMR, or Steeda.

 

[oldbmwfan]

Vorshlag is the standard for these, and what I run on my (BMW) race car.

 

[David Yanez]

The OEM camber plates were installed on my CFTP at the factory and they are not good. They are very difficult to adjust and I would recommend an aftermarket camber plate over the OEM. In previous years, I have used Vorshlag and found them to be excellent.

The advantage of a camber plate is being able to add more negative camber. Some use camber bolts to get more camber, but I don't recommend. More negative camber gives you better grip in the turns and increases the cars ability to hold on to the pavement.

The process to install camber plates is to remove the strut, compress the spring, remove the old plates, and install the new ones.

Whether you do it yourself or have a shop do it will depend on your mechanical ability. Most guys who do it themselves, remove the strut, take it to a shop to get the spring compressed and have the old plates removed and new ones installed.

After the fact, you will need an alignment.

Again, if you are going to go through all the trouble, I would get a set of aftermarket plates like Vorshlag, MMR, or Steeda.

Thank you! I will check them out for sure!

 

[Mrhavasu]

Hello! I have taken my Shelby to Sebring a couple of times and the car is so much fun to drive on the track! I am extremely surprised by its amazing capabilities! I have the handling package and I have not installed the adjustable strut plates yet. I wanted to feel the car on the track as is before I decided what to do, the car was extremely capable without them however I am trying to learn more about the advantages of installing them.

What is the advantage of installing these plates?
What is the process to adjust the suspension to track setting/street setting? do you need an alignment machine regardless of the adjustable struts?
Do I have to take the car to the dealer (or somewhere else) every time I want to go to the track to set up the track alignment and then back to the street alignment?

I am trying to learn more before I install them.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

I did not notice a tow hook? I thought the tracks required one.

 

[David Yanez]

I did not notice a tow hook? I thought the tracks required one.

True. I have not installed one yet. I have a lot of motivation to stay inside the track
Do you have any suggestions on best solutions? I did not find a tow hook that comes with the car

 

[16Kobra]

Tow hook does not come with 350, I have the ZL1 on mine.

 

[SmokinAces]

hey David, will agree with all post above. Installed the Vorshlag on my PP2 and they were awesome. Was able to achieve 2.9 and 2.8 degrees max. I’m sure you have looked at them and see the Vorshlag have notches on the top plate. This way you can mark your positions, should you decide to run different alignment setups. As I’m sure you have been researching, adjusting camber while it can be easy with the Vorshlag. It will change your toe setting thou. My current GT350 have the factory installed camber plates not sure how much adjustment is available or how easy it will be to adjust Those. I also installed the ZL1 addons tow hook on my PP2. Nice thing about It, is that it can also double as a license plate holder. But you may have to remove the front bumper, not sure you want to do that.

 

[David Yanez]

hey David, will agree with all post above. Installed the Vorshlag on my PP2 and they were awesome. Was able to achieve 2.9 and 2.8 degrees max. I’m sure you have looked at them and see the Vorshlag have notches on the top plate. This way you can mark your positions, should you decide to run different alignment setups. As I’m sure you have been researching, adjusting camber while it can be easy with the Vorshlag. It will change your toe setting thou. My current GT350 have the factory installed camber plates not sure how much adjustment is available or how easy it will be to adjust Those. I also installed the ZL1 addons tow hook on my PP2. Nice thing about It, is that it can also double as a license plate holder. But you may have to remove the front bumper, not sure you want to do that.

Yes, I look at Vorshlag and they look pro pro pro, I am going to call them today. I appreciate the tip on the tow hook, I really don't want to remove the bumper, do you know of any other options that are easier to work with? Can't wait to go back to the track, the GT350 is amazing as is, I can only imagine how good can it be with the right settings, Sebring has a lot of fast turns and the car provides so much confidence on braking and cornering that you can keep exploring the limits under control.

 

[16Kobra]

@David Yanez there is a Central Florida Shelby group on Facebook. Many of us in the group track our GT350's between Sebring, PBIR, FIRM and Daytona.

If you have a FB account, look us up.

 

[David Yanez]

@David Yanez there is a Central Florida Shelby group on Facebook. Many of us in the group track our GT350's between Sebring, PBIR, FIRM and Daytona.

If you have a FB account, look us up.

thank you! I just signed up!

 

[oldbmwfan]

Yes, I look at Vorshlag and they look pro pro pro, I am going to call them today. I appreciate the tip on the tow hook, I really don't want to remove the bumper, do you know of any other options that are easier to work with? Can't wait to go back to the track, the GT350 is amazing as is, I can only imagine how good can it be with the right settings, Sebring has a lot of fast turns and the car provides so much confidence on braking and cornering that you can keep exploring the limits under control.

I installed the ZL1 tow hook without removing the bumper. It requires a bit of reaching, but it's doable. I did have to remove the splitter but that's not so hard.

 

[SmokinAces]

Oldbmwfan, thnx for that info. My tow hook hasn’t got here yet so now I feel confident i can get it done Without tearing things apart.

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