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First Track time, first track weekend whoo-hoo!

gone_n_60

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For all of you that have been doing this yep another newbie shouting from the rooftops on how AWESOME going to the track and finally getting to drive that GT fast on a road course! Wow after two days with a fabulous instructor (shout out to our own PilotGore Jon) with perfect weather I can say yes, I'm hooked! Having almost hit 120mpg in the straightaway then braking super fast (but smoothly) going into the first turn at 75+mph life otherwise seems so.... pedestrian. LOL

Couple of interesting or curious things, started in Sport+ mode and the Collision avoidance lights kept coming on when I go too close to a slower car? When does that system stop or how can you disable it? Last half of the day was in Track mode.

My "smart" oil sensor told me before tracking I had 25% oil life used or 75% left, but on last lap the Change Oil soon came on and now the "smart" sensor says my oil is beat. It's slightly brown now...?
btw I had no mods, stock brakes. Pilot 4S's, no oil change, everything about like it was when I picked it up. No issues, tons of brake dust but no problems. fwiw those who fret over prep, if your rig is solid get up and go!

One really great feeling after this weekend is deeper respect for what the Mustang GT pp can do when put to it. It just makes my faith in it's abilities stronger.

Can't wait for another outing!
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tosha

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Track mode turns off all driver assist and collision avoidance. If you still want to drive it in some other mode, I beleive these systems can be turned off in the menus somewhere. Likely, they come back on after stop/start of the car. Obvoiusly, don't drive with these systems on while on track.

It's a good idea to change engine oil, and brake fluid should be flushed with something more track capable before next event.
 
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gone_n_60

gone_n_60

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Track mode turns off all driver assist and collision avoidance. If you still want to drive it in some other mode, I beleive these systems can be turned off in the menus somewhere. Likely, they come back on after stop/start of the car. Obvoiusly, don't drive with these systems on while on track.

It's a good idea to change engine oil, and brake fluid should be flushed with something more track capable before next event.
It seems in Sport+ mode the Driver Assist > Collision menu turns Active Braking on each restart. As I mentioned I finished the day in Track mode so now I'm learning to drive without the nannies. On fluids, my instructor and other Advanced drivers were less concerned about brake fluid but more about after tracking checking brake pad wear and being ready to add track type pads later. The standard Dot 4 is recommended for track. Maybe when I'm able to drive 7-8/10ths I'll need that upgrade. Mostly looking at how those Michelin 4S's hold up after a full weekend.
 

NightmareMoon

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Yeah donā€™t run out of brake pads, but fresh brake fluid still needs replacing if youā€™re tracking the car. Older fluid absorbs moisture and boils at lower temps. Maintenance and preparation are two of the keys to having a safe time.

Track mode is not entirely ā€˜nannies offā€™, it still leaves advancetrak stability control in place, although at a slightly higher yaw limit.

How do your tires look?
 
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gone_n_60

gone_n_60

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Tires are not too bad, looks like enough tread depth for another run or two. My next outing will be a one day turn looking at my options. On Track mode I've understood that some of the suspension management is still engaged, I have Magnaride so the mode changes retune the suspension with some controls in place. As a Novice I'm not pushing the GT as hard as it can go or so drivers at the Advanced level tell me. In the brake dept. I have my fluid bleeding kit, ceramic pads for street, next need some track pads and check the stocks before next outing. Still this has been total whoop dee do fun without all kinds of expensive mods (so far).
 

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tosha

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I did 4 HPDE weekends so far with my stock brembo pads and there is still some pad material left. In my personal opinion, you don't need track pads yet, unless you drive and brake like a madman and your stock pads are gone by now. you don't want to boil your brake fluid though, that's why I mentioned it :). Motul RBF600 is cheap enough to do frequent swaps and is super easy even with some basic bleeder set, and it is DOT4.
 
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gone_n_60

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I'm expecting my stock pads are still okay, on the fluid thing I get it. I keep reading folks say get that Dot 4 but in my Ford manual it states the GT 5.0 comes with Dot 4 fluid. Is this like change after heavy use thing? or upgrade to better Dot 4?
 

NightmareMoon

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I'm expecting my stock pads are still okay, on the fluid thing I get it. I keep reading folks say get that Dot 4 but in my Ford manual it states the GT 5.0 comes with Dot 4 fluid. Is this like change after heavy use thing? or upgrade to better Dot 4?
Not all Dot 4 fluids are created equal as far as track use goes. Most brake fuilds are hydroscopic, which means they absorb moisture from the air, over time.

Some Dot 4 fluids have higher and lower boiling dry and wet points than others. (dry being new fluid, and wet being old fluid that's had some time to absorb moisture). For track use we need to keep those boiling points high, and that means fresh fluid, and fluid that's got a high boiling point to start with. Here's a giant chart: https://www.lelandwest.com/brake-fluid-comparison-chart.cfm?startRow=1&SF=5&ST=2. Motorcraft PM20 is what Ford uses from the factory for our cars, and its dry boiling point is a good 100Ā°f lower than some of the track fluids we often use.

Once you start running the brakes at 9 or 10/10ths (and depending on how hard your local tracks are on brake use), you may need to go to a Dot4 with a higher dry boiling point.
 

tosha

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I'm expecting my stock pads are still okay, on the fluid thing I get it. I keep reading folks say get that Dot 4 but in my Ford manual it states the GT 5.0 comes with Dot 4 fluid. Is this like change after heavy use thing? or upgrade to better Dot 4?
Yes, you should not be going with dot3 or dot5, but as explained above, there is a lot of different options within dot4 type spec. Unless you want to go fancy on cost and specs, go with Motul RBF600. it seems to be a happy medium and very commonly used dot4 brake fluid for track duty. You can go with something more fancy once you understand what exactly you need and why.
 

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Track days are a blast, but repetitively stopping a nearly 2 ton car at higher speeds should not be taken too lightly. Lower friction brake pads result in longer braking zones and less instantaneous brake temperatures, but if you start to push the pads harder, the temps can exceed the operating range and result in brake fade. If the temps exceed the boiling point of the brake fluid, itā€™s similar to having air in the brake line. None of these scenarios are desired when entering a corner at high speeds.
I would recommend a bit more systemic approach, start your next track day with new pads, measure the pad material thickness, usually 10mm, and keep a log, inner and outer for all wheels. After your next track day, measure the pad materials and log the amount of track time. This will give you an idea of the pad wear rate. Replace pads if you think your pads will wear to less than 50% for your next track day as the pad material thickness helps reduce the heat transfer from the pad-rotor interface to the caliper-fluid.
Flushing the brake fluid with a higher boiling point is cheap insurance and is made easy with the Motive power bleeder. I also bleed the brakes before any track day. Check rotors for cracks.
 

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For all of you that have been doing this yep another newbie shouting from the rooftops on how AWESOME going to the track and finally getting to drive that GT fast on a road course! Wow after two days with a fabulous instructor (shout out to our own PilotGore Jon) with perfect weather I can say yes, I'm hooked! Having almost hit 120mpg in the straightaway then braking super fast (but smoothly) going into the first turn at 75+mph life otherwise seems so.... pedestrian. LOL

Couple of interesting or curious things, started in Sport+ mode and the Collision avoidance lights kept coming on when I go too close to a slower car? When does that system stop or how can you disable it? Last half of the day was in Track mode.

My "smart" oil sensor told me before tracking I had 25% oil life used or 75% left, but on last lap the Change Oil soon came on and now the "smart" sensor says my oil is beat. It's slightly brown now...?
btw I had no mods, stock brakes. Pilot 4S's, no oil change, everything about like it was when I picked it up. No issues, tons of brake dust but no problems. fwiw those who fret over prep, if your rig is solid get up and go!

One really great feeling after this weekend is deeper respect for what the Mustang GT pp can do when put to it. It just makes my faith in it's abilities stronger.

Can't wait for another outing!
Goof to hear you had a lot of fun!

So just an FYI for future reference, as others have said before going to the track it is recommended to check all fluid levels and when it comes to the motor oil, recommended to change it and also use proper viscosity for the track.

This comes right from your MY owners manual for a 2020 pertaining to the motor oil sections
0E2F11E2-ECC6-427F-90D6-814783D7E4AA.jpeg

434649D0-E683-44DD-9070-8240A7015675.jpeg


I'm sure others can add more about anything related to track time and oil - just passing the above along, because not many owners of ANY vehicle rarely read through their Owners Manual (me included).

---

Hereā€™s how the oil life monitor works, per the shop manual:

a83ab-38cb-4a6d-98aa-b37e496524fa-jpeg-jpg-jpg-jpg.jpg


The timer also counts down as the car sits OR how extreme:hard it's being used (ie: track time). So for those wondering why their Oil Life Monitor is saying you need an oil change after a track event OR when you have only driven 500 miles since last oil change BUT the car has been in the garage for 6 months consecutively... The above is the answer.

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After you go to a track once, you'll want to go more and more. Always do a pre-track checklist before going (by actual notes or in your head) so that you're prepared for anything while there. Bring any extra fluids, small tool box, etc. Check tire pressure when cold. Check all fluid levels. Check all safety systems, devices, have your gear etc.

One very important thing too:
If you value the vehicle and don't have the out of pocket cash to repair in the event of a wreck - sign up for the Track Insurance if it is offered. I've seen too many past threads on this site and many others where folks went to the track, had an unfortunate event where damages were excessive and did not opt in for the Track Insurance. In many instances, regular Auto Insurance will deny claims if the car was being used during a "timed event".

Just putting that out there, it's your choice, not getting all soap box either - but it's something to think about especially being new to track time.

---

Good luck with your future outings and keep us updated with your progression!
 
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gone_n_60

gone_n_60

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to Cobra Jet... I had Hagerty Track Insurance was decent price vs the others, called and got an agreed on price to "offset" possible loss. fwiw on the first Advanced session someone went off at the one spot you can hit bales and damaged both sides of their car so yeah it's handy.

I've had great experience with connecting with other local members here who run track and even instructors who have helped me prep and teach (yay). This post is about "what great fun it is and how much I learned about me and my car" plus "don't over think it, don't fuss about mods if you have a decent Mustang, Just Do It!"
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