Front Splitter & Gurney Flap combo question

[MAGS1]

I’m looking to finally do some track days this fall since I’m now done coaching baseball. I’ve got the Ford Performance GT500 Swing with gurney flap. Gurney flap is currently not on the car but I’d like to use it since I have it. Question is, do I need more than the base GT front splitter to balance it out? PP1 front splitter (which is slightly bigger)? PP2? Something like the ZL1 Addons splitter they make for the base car?

I’ve only got a handful of times out under my belt so not fast by any means but also want to do it right if I’m going to put the gurney flap on. Not opposed to leaving the flap off until I get better too, but as I said, since I have it I’d like to start using it. Thanks

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[CR151S]

That’s exciting.

Interested in the responses, but my uneducated guess is you can run it without too much penalty. My RTR gurney doesn’t keep me from any speeds that you’re likely to exceed.

 

[NightmareMoon]

The balance probably won't be that far off without any splitter chance, since lip spoilers aren't crazy downforce.

95% of the time the best advice is to go drive the car on track, THEN decide if YOU think it needs a change. If you can't deduce that it needs something then why spend the money??

If you go track a few times and it feels to you like its understeering too much then you can go play with splitter changes.

 

[MAGS1]

The balance probably won't be that far off without any splitter chance, since lip spoilers aren't crazy downforce.

95% of the time the best advice is to go drive the car on track, THEN decide if YOU think it needs a change. If you can't deduce that it needs something then why spend the money??

If you go track a few times and it feels to you like its understeering too much then you can go play with splitter changes.

Thanks, yeah I don’t want to change too much without driving a it few times (I have not taken this car to the track at all yet) but also want to make sure I’m smart about it. Not opposed to spending the money but if I don’t need to that’s all good too.

 

[slowdown]

I think you can take the rain tray off and vent the hood and that gives you some DF. I don’t think a gurney would unbalance the car. My experience is adding a splitter and venting the hood of an S550 brings the need for rear DF to the car and some suspension stiffness changes as the apparent travel will decrease.

I would run the car without the rain tray and without the gurney then put the gurney on and see how it feels (all of this of course after you have some seat time in the car).

Most of the guys I see at the track with GT 500s have the OEM track pack wing on the car and no other aero mods.

 

[MrBD1348]

Don’t worry about that yet tbh. If you have the base 4 piston brakes then that should be the first and most important thing to address. That’s more for a safety concern as you could cook the fluid and lose the brakes.

my first instructor told me just to drive the car as is and modify when I got faster and knew the car and any flaws. I thought that was solid advice (It was too late for me)

 

[Hack]

The nice thing about extra downforce at the rear of the car is it makes the car safe at high speeds. Nobody wants oversteer at 140 mph. I don't want my car to be too well balanced at high speed, because I don't think it would be safe for me with the small amount of track driving I have the time and money to do. Letting off the gas and having the rear come around at that speed is not my idea of fun.

I have the swing/gurney flap, but my car has hood ventilation as well. I didn't run the car on track with one and not the other.

I agree with the idea of waiting to do mods, but I've been at the track a couple times and had my car get hot (both with my C5 Z06 and my GT350). To me I would rather wait and do at least the cooling mods before tracking the car, because I feel like I'm destroying the car and wasting money if I go and the car gets hot. It's especially frustrating when the car gets hot right away in the morning when you are planning a full day at the track. It's a lot of money to waste. Some people don't mind taking it easy and just running out the day, but I really hate that. I think I'm too competitive or something.

 

[MAGS1]

Don’t worry about that yet tbh. If you have the base 4 piston brakes then that should be the first and most important thing to address. That’s more for a safety concern as you could cook the fluid and lose the brakes.

my first instructor told me just to drive the car as is and modify when I got faster and knew the car and any flaws. I thought that was solid advice (It was too late for me)

Thanks. Brake fluid will get changed to Motul 660. I‘ve done track days on stock pads (new) before, albeit at a slower pace. Might try the same to see how they hold but am also reading through all the various threads about different pads to use.

 

[MAGS1]

The nice thing about extra downforce at the rear of the car is it makes the car safe at high speeds. Nobody wants oversteer at 140 mph. I don't want my car to be too well balanced at high speed, because I don't think it would be safe for me with the small amount of track driving I have the time and money to do. Letting off the gas and having the rear come around at that speed is not my idea of fun.

I have the swing/gurney flap, but my car has hood ventilation as well. I didn't run the car on track with one and not the other.

I agree with the idea of waiting to do mods, but I've been at the track a couple times and had my car get hot (both with my C5 Z06 and my GT350). To me I would rather wait and do at least the cooling mods before tracking the car, because I feel like I'm destroying the car and wasting money if I go and the car gets hot. It's especially frustrating when the car gets hot right away in the morning when you are planning a full day at the track. It's a lot of money to waste. Some people don't mind taking it easy and just running out the day, but I really hate that. I think I'm too competitive or something.

I hear you, I’m hyper competitive as well. I did learn at one of the track days I did to keep that in check after I watched someone push harder than they were capable of and went off track and lost their front bumper (not sure what other damage they sustained) because of it. So, I’ve learned to put that competitiveness aside until my skills improve. It’s not easy though!

 

[MrBD1348]

Thanks. Brake fluid will get changed to Motul 660. I‘ve done track days on stock pads (new) before, albeit at a slower pace. Might try the same to see how they hold but am also reading through all the various threads about different pads to use.

sept 8th at autobahn if you can make it! I’ll be there

 

[MAGS1]

sept 8th at autobahn if you can make it! I’ll be there

Cool I’ll see if I can make that one. There’s a Track Night at Blackhawk a week or two after that too I believe.

 

[TeeLew]

Run everything you can get on the rear to start. If you just can't get the car to turn in the high-speed stuff, you can take it off, but that's not going to be an issue until you're very comfortable.

 

[Bluemustang]

Thanks. Brake fluid will get changed to Motul 660. I‘ve done track days on stock pads (new) before, albeit at a slower pace. Might try the same to see how they hold but am also reading through all the various threads about different pads to use.

Be careful if you have the base GT 4 pistons. The big problem with that setup is the rotors don't cool properly. If it was me I'd upgrade to the 6 piston Brembos and PP brake pads. Don't skimp on safety if you're going to be tracking the car.

 

[rocsteady]

Just my two cents, the owner's manual for my GT350 says that unless you are at a track that has high speed corners, not to run the Gurney flap. Point being, if you're not running for racecar-like laptimes AND 80 mph+ sweepers, you (and me) won't notice nor need the extra downforce. Also, one of the great things about good handling, decent-powered cars is that you can run what feels slow, but do it smoothly and before you know it, you'll be turning respectable lap times without stressing you, your instructor (if you have one), or the car.

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