First time at the track with the GT350

[Spart]

I had a hell of a time doing the SCCA Track Night in America at Heartland Park.

The car did fabulous considering the temps were near triple digits. The oil temps and coolant temps stayed where I want them and based off my oil pressure on the long ride home vs. on the way there, the oil hasn't sheared down as a result of being on track. There were quite a few automatic and boosted cars that were going down due to the heat. I was cooking inside the car, but I didn't care - was having too much fun.

I also burned through an entire tank of gas and almost ran out on my last session.

One thing that I think I need to take care of is the brake fluid. The pedal doesn't feel as firm now as it did before, and I'd be open to suggestions on a fluid change. My one restraint is that the car is stored in an unheated garage in the winter where it can get down to -20°F once in a blue moon, and I try to drive it in the winter on the odd day it hits at least 45°F out, just to get the fluids moving.

If I go again, I think I also want to get a dedicated track wheel/tire setup. I'm thinking about finding a set of used take-off OEM GT350 wheels and putting the 2019+ Sport Cup 2's (the non-R spec) on them. Has anyone else done this that can speak to the difference on a track between the OEM PSC2's and the OEM MPSS?

I made sure to bring a good camera and mic setup with me, so you guys are going to get treated to that. I used an external mic hanging out the back (wired through the trunk opening) with a decent dead cat on it to beat the wind and record a good exhaust note and tire squeals. The camera is a Sony ZV-1.



Also, shout out to @honeybadger for giving me advice before I headed out. It helped!

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[Bullitt40]

Nice job!

 

[key01]

Nice! Where is everybody?

 

[DrumReaper]

Personally, if I were going to a dedicated track wheel/tire combo, I’d drop a lot of Unsprung weight and go for a forged wheel... you’ll lose at least 9-10 pounds per corner, IIRC, as the stock wheels are heavy. That adds up to about 40 pounds off the car which will make a noticeable difference in handling and response.

If @honeybadger has been guiding you, that’s who I’d ask for help.

 

[Epiphany]

What mic did you use?

 

[Tom14ct14]

I use stock Brake fluid with no issues. How many miles/how long has the brake fluid been in the car? I did change the fluid well before it needed it this year.

I have been thinking about the same thing with cup 2's. From what others have said, you will notice significant increase in grip with the cup 2's.

 

[Spart]

Nice! Where is everybody?

This was the only lap I did out of probably 20 where I didn't have to deal with traffic. Right before this I got a point by from a gentleman in a C5 who seemed a bit overwhelmed. If you look at the beginning of the video where I had just crested the hill at the end of the main straight, in the distance there's a red car about 20 seconds ahead of me. I caught up to him about 3/4 of a lap after the video ends.

Personally, if I were going to a dedicated track wheel/tire combo, I’d drop a lot of Unsprung weight and go for a forged wheel... you’ll lose at least 9-10 pounds per corner, IIRC, as the stock wheels are heavy. That adds up to about 40 pounds off the car which will make a noticeable difference in handling and response.

If @honeybadger has been guiding you, that’s who I’d ask for help.

I had been discussing that exact thing with another guy I know who had an S550 that he tracked a whole bunch. Here's the thing: I want to keep my expenses low so I'm more likely to do this more often, and I'm honestly fine with the handling/response of the car stock. So if I can get OEM wheels for cheap, so be it. I'd like to do 2-4 of these events per year.

What mic did you use?

I used a Sony ECM-DS70P with a nice "dead cat" wind muff on it. With a beefy 3.5mm extension cable to hang it out the back through the trunk. If you decide to get one of these watch out though, because fakes abound. I've had it for an age and I believe they are discontinued. Avoid eBay and Amazon third party sellers like the plague, you can get a used one from B&H here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/225510

Also, it didn't pair perfectly with the ZV-1 in this application. I had previously used my fancy Tascam audio recorder to get this video, which has much better audio quality with less clipping. I think you could get the same thing with the ZV-1 if you could attenuate the signal somehow. Perhaps routing it through a Tascam or something similar and then syncing the A/V in post is the way to go, however I didn't want to deal with all of that at the track my first time out. Remembering my carefully chosen aperture/shutter speed/focus settings for the ZV-1 was enough to deal with!

I use stock Brake fluid with no issues. How many miles/how long has the brake fluid been in the car? I did change the fluid well before it needed it this year.

I have been thinking about the same thing with cup 2's. From what others have said, you will notice significant increase in grip with the cup 2's.

It's the original fluid from the factory, car is a 2017 and has a bit over 6000 miles. I don't use the brakes a whole lot on the street. I prefer to heel-toe all the time and let the engine do most of the work while making great voodoo noises, so I'd never given a thought to changing the brake fluid. I had the wheels off early this year and the pads looked like they had full meat.

 

[Tom14ct14]

It's the original fluid from the factory, car is a 2017 and has a bit over 6000 miles. I don't use the brakes a whole lot on the street. I prefer to heel-toe all the time and let the engine do most of the work while making great voodoo noises, so I'd never given a thought to changing the brake fluid. I had the wheels off early this year and the pads looked like they had full meat.

If you want to stay with OEM, I would try a fluid change just because of the age of the fluid. However, if you are changing fluid and not changing it on short notice, I would probably switch to Castorl SRF, double check might not be remembering correctly. This has the best wet boiling point that I found data on. When I changed it a month ago everywhere was sold out and on back order around here so I went with OEM. Ended up buying 2, so I will just change with more frequently which is another option.

 

[Spart]

If you want to stay with OEM, I would try a fluid change just because of the age of the fluid. However, if you are changing fluid and not changing it on short notice, I would probably switch to Castorl SRF, double check might not be remembering correctly. This has the best wet boiling point that I found data on. When I changed it a month ago everywhere was sold out and on back order around here so I went with OEM. Ended up buying 2, so I will just change with more frequently which is another option.

That's the second recommendation I've gotten for SRF. I need some advice on doing a complete fluid swap though. Going from a clear fluid to another clear fluid, how will I know it's flushed if I don't use a dyed fluid as an intermediary?

 

[Tom14ct14]

That's the second recommendation I've gotten for SRF. I need some advice on doing a complete fluid swap though. Going from a clear fluid to another clear fluid, how will I know it's flushed if I don't use a dyed fluid as an intermediary?

I am no pro, so others might have better ideas or are more OCD. But when I did it you could tell the difference of clear enough that I was confident I had new fluid. Changing early makes me not as worried if a little old fluid was left in. I pushed the I highly recommend https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OAE576/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 it made the job very easy and clean. I pushed the whole container through the 4 corners. I am debating next time filling the reservoir with the fluid (after sucking as much as you can get out first) vs filling the container and pumping it in. My buddy had this idea so that way you don't have to clean the container.

SRF is the best out there, but the price is sky high. There are a few threads that go into different types of brake fluid. I also looked up their boiling points, And if you plan to change frequently then I personally would stick with stock (Pentosin DOT 4 LV from my research). If you plan to not switch often then SRF is best and Motul 600 is very good too.

 

[JAJ]

The brakes got soft because of three-year-old brake fluid. Fresh factory fluid is likely all you need. I run factory fluid and titanium shims, and it's fine in the GT350. Those massive calipers just don't get very hot - maybe invest in a set of Alcon strips to see how hot your calipers are running, then pick a fluid that can handle it.

If you do decide to go to a race fluid, keep in mind that SRF isn't more expensive on a long-term basis than any other fluid. It has a really high wet boiling point, so you can run it longer - a full year in most cases - and it'll still perform at a high level. Other fluids like Motul absorb water like crazy, and they have to be changed more often to keep them "current". SRF costs more per bottle, but it's about the same cost per year, if you get my drift.

 

[meterman]

Those massive calipers just don't get very hot - maybe invest in a set of Alcon strips to see how hot your calipers are running, then pick a fluid that can handle it.

I’m not sure what you consider hot but the whole reason the GT350R Carbon Fiber wheels have the ceramic coating is because they can get up to 1600 degrees, I’d say that’s hot.

Here’s some info from this article https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-ca...rbon-fiber-gt350r-wheels-use-nasa-technology/

Ford says the GT350R's front brake rotors can reach temperatures over 1652 degrees F (900 C), presenting a thermal challenge to the integrity of the wheels. The solution? An aerospace-derived ceramic spray coating that's nearly as hard as diamond and was first developed for engine turbine blades for the original Space Shuttle. Applied to the inside of the front wheel barrels and the backs of the spokes, the coating, which is also used in open-wheel racing, reduces maximum wheel temperatures to prolong service life in the crucible of the racetrack.

 

[JAJ]

It's kind of comparing apples and oranges to talk about rotor temps in a discussion of caliper temps. The calipers are separated from the rotors by a layer of insulation - the brake pad. Air blows through the assembly and keeps the caliper cool even when the rotor is glowing. The reason a massive (ie - it's heavy) caliper is better is because it takes longer to heat up, so it reaches a lower maximum temp than a lighter caliper, even if the average temperature over a lap is the same. That's why Ford did it that way - they knew they had to deal with 900C rotor temps, so they picked a caliper that could handle it with DOT 4LV fluid and rubber dust boots.

 

[Spart]

I am no pro, so others might have better ideas or are more OCD. But when I did it you could tell the difference of clear enough that I was confident I had new fluid. Changing early makes me not as worried if a little old fluid was left in. I pushed the I highly recommend https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OAE576/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 it made the job very easy and clean. I pushed the whole container through the 4 corners. I am debating next time filling the reservoir with the fluid (after sucking as much as you can get out first) vs filling the container and pumping it in. My buddy had this idea so that way you don't have to clean the container.

SRF is the best out there, but the price is sky high. There are a few threads that go into different types of brake fluid. I also looked up their boiling points, And if you plan to change frequently then I personally would stick with stock (Pentosin DOT 4 LV from my research). If you plan to not switch often then SRF is best and Motul 600 is very good too.

How much do I need? One quart, two quarts?

 

[Tank]

Best sounding GT350 track video I've heard.

I believe it takes just a bit over a quart of brake fluid - kinda of a waste but...

Also, nice looking shift knob

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