dsm_mikey
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Okay folks, I was extremely surprised after driving both at Road America. I am not a professional driver. I have driven roughly 30 HPDE events at Road America over 6 years. I have 1000's of miles driving experience at Road America. I am an average driver at best.
The GT350R (My car)
-Stock except:
-Camber plates with alignment set to Ford's recommended Track specs
-28psi Cold on all 4 tires
-Castrol SRF Brake Fluid
-Aftermarket Brake Pads
The GT350 Tech Pack (My brother's car)
-Stock except:
-Camber plates with alignment set to Ford's recommended Track specs
-28psi Cold on all 4 tires
-Castrol SRF Brake Fluid
-STOCK BRAKE PADS
The event: Road America w Northwoods Shelby Club
I did not time my runs in the cars. This review is only based upon actual driving experience feel.
I was extremely surprised!! I had more fun driving the Tech Pack GT350 than I did my R! This was due mainly to the poor brake performance of the R with aftermarket pads.
BRAKING: TECH Pack GT350 with stock brake pads is MUCH more confidence inspiring than my R with the aftermarket pads.
-I believe much of this is to my choice to change from the stock pads to aftermarket pads. Although there was 0 fade with the aftermarket pads, they never stopped the car as good as the stockers! The car felt much heavier and much more brake pedal pressure was needed to slow the car with the aftermarket pads versus the stockers on the tech pack. I was told by the aftermarket brake manufacturer that the stock pad material is not compatible with aftermarket pads and may be why i was having such poor brake performance. SO...IF you are replacing your stock pads with those from the aftermarket, make sure you either start with new rotors or clean all of the old material off first. My GT350 R had approximately 1100 miles of street only driving with the stock pads before I switched to the aftermarket brake pads for the track. Pads purchased were PRE-Bedded from the manufacturer and I did the bed in procedure required.
So...Stock pads are pretty damn good! Maybe a touch of fade after 3 laps (Limp Mode), but still better than the aftermarket pads.
Aftermarket Pads suck if not compatible with the stock pads. This really took a lot of fun out of tracking the R. Shitty brake feel and response is never fun.
-TIRES...Okay, this is going to sound odd, but with the regular Michelin Super Sports, the tech pack was more fun to drive...it moved around a little near the limit and talked to you to tell you are getting close. With the R and the Cup2's there is definitely more grip, but the car definitely moves around less. These tires stick, however, they get used up quick compared to the super sports. Definitely grippier, but less fun-better for times though. I think I will try more negative camber on the R as the outsides of the Cup2's are getting tore up pretty quickly...
So...Ultimate grip Cup 2's no doubt.
-Super Sports...More fun at the limit, better tire wear (Not even close...the Cup2's wear much faster!)
-SOUND: R, no question
-SUSPENSION...both feel closer than I thought. R is better, but it is not a huge gap. I thought I needed an R to be happy on the track, but after driving both back to back, there is not a huge difference between the 2 cars in the driving experience. The R seems stiffer and better hunkered down, but again, not a huge gap here.
-STEERING: It sure feels like there is a difference in the steering feel. I know the ratio is the same, but the feel was different between the 2 cars, maybe they were set in different modes...not sure here, just wanted to mention it.
Overall, these cars are both fantastic. I can't wait to put the stock pads back on the R and give it another go in a couple weeks. It will be much more fun when it stops as good as the Tech pack I drove with the stock pads.
LIMP MODE...On a side note, the Tech pack did go into limp mode after 3 1/2 laps (Roughly 14 miles). I was able to use higher gears and still accelerate and finish the session. I just dialed everything back. It did not come on abruptly or upset the car when it did go into limp mode. It was Mid-High 80's at the track.
BOTTOM LINE: You do not need an R to have an absolute blast with these cars at the track. I am still happy I got an R at $9K over, but I do not see the large gap between the cars I thought existed. I think there will be a several second difference between the 2 cars at a large track like Road America due to tires, wheels, and suspension. Next time out I will put a lap timer on them. As far as fun factor...a tie. Both are great cars at the track and are clearly bread for this environment! The tech pack LIMP MODE sucks, but other than that it ROCKS!!!
The GT350R (My car)
-Stock except:
-Camber plates with alignment set to Ford's recommended Track specs
-28psi Cold on all 4 tires
-Castrol SRF Brake Fluid
-Aftermarket Brake Pads
The GT350 Tech Pack (My brother's car)
-Stock except:
-Camber plates with alignment set to Ford's recommended Track specs
-28psi Cold on all 4 tires
-Castrol SRF Brake Fluid
-STOCK BRAKE PADS
The event: Road America w Northwoods Shelby Club
I did not time my runs in the cars. This review is only based upon actual driving experience feel.
I was extremely surprised!! I had more fun driving the Tech Pack GT350 than I did my R! This was due mainly to the poor brake performance of the R with aftermarket pads.
BRAKING: TECH Pack GT350 with stock brake pads is MUCH more confidence inspiring than my R with the aftermarket pads.
-I believe much of this is to my choice to change from the stock pads to aftermarket pads. Although there was 0 fade with the aftermarket pads, they never stopped the car as good as the stockers! The car felt much heavier and much more brake pedal pressure was needed to slow the car with the aftermarket pads versus the stockers on the tech pack. I was told by the aftermarket brake manufacturer that the stock pad material is not compatible with aftermarket pads and may be why i was having such poor brake performance. SO...IF you are replacing your stock pads with those from the aftermarket, make sure you either start with new rotors or clean all of the old material off first. My GT350 R had approximately 1100 miles of street only driving with the stock pads before I switched to the aftermarket brake pads for the track. Pads purchased were PRE-Bedded from the manufacturer and I did the bed in procedure required.
So...Stock pads are pretty damn good! Maybe a touch of fade after 3 laps (Limp Mode), but still better than the aftermarket pads.
Aftermarket Pads suck if not compatible with the stock pads. This really took a lot of fun out of tracking the R. Shitty brake feel and response is never fun.
-TIRES...Okay, this is going to sound odd, but with the regular Michelin Super Sports, the tech pack was more fun to drive...it moved around a little near the limit and talked to you to tell you are getting close. With the R and the Cup2's there is definitely more grip, but the car definitely moves around less. These tires stick, however, they get used up quick compared to the super sports. Definitely grippier, but less fun-better for times though. I think I will try more negative camber on the R as the outsides of the Cup2's are getting tore up pretty quickly...
So...Ultimate grip Cup 2's no doubt.
-Super Sports...More fun at the limit, better tire wear (Not even close...the Cup2's wear much faster!)
-SOUND: R, no question
-SUSPENSION...both feel closer than I thought. R is better, but it is not a huge gap. I thought I needed an R to be happy on the track, but after driving both back to back, there is not a huge difference between the 2 cars in the driving experience. The R seems stiffer and better hunkered down, but again, not a huge gap here.
-STEERING: It sure feels like there is a difference in the steering feel. I know the ratio is the same, but the feel was different between the 2 cars, maybe they were set in different modes...not sure here, just wanted to mention it.
Overall, these cars are both fantastic. I can't wait to put the stock pads back on the R and give it another go in a couple weeks. It will be much more fun when it stops as good as the Tech pack I drove with the stock pads.
LIMP MODE...On a side note, the Tech pack did go into limp mode after 3 1/2 laps (Roughly 14 miles). I was able to use higher gears and still accelerate and finish the session. I just dialed everything back. It did not come on abruptly or upset the car when it did go into limp mode. It was Mid-High 80's at the track.
BOTTOM LINE: You do not need an R to have an absolute blast with these cars at the track. I am still happy I got an R at $9K over, but I do not see the large gap between the cars I thought existed. I think there will be a several second difference between the 2 cars at a large track like Road America due to tires, wheels, and suspension. Next time out I will put a lap timer on them. As far as fun factor...a tie. Both are great cars at the track and are clearly bread for this environment! The tech pack LIMP MODE sucks, but other than that it ROCKS!!!
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