Need to buy some upgrades, but what to get?

[ARDrummond25]

It sounds like your next natural progression is a truck, trailer and a racecar.

I'm not a professional racecar driver, but the best thing I've done to improve my driving was to put away the GT350 and do some seat time in a Miata. There's just something about lack of horsepower that really makes you focus on braking, corner entry and exit. I understand it's a leap for the ego to go from 526hp to <200hp, but it's so worth it. Even an FT86 would help you learn, I remember when the FT86 came out in 2012 that Randy said it was the best car to learn to be fast in, it had the perfect wheelbase.

I was able to probe some racecar drivers a few weeks ago and I asked about karting, if it's worthwhile for an adult to dedicate time in karting to improve track driving. The general consensus was that sticking to a street/racecar would be better, unless I was a child.

Yes I agree with your points but I flat out don’t fit in a Miata. I’ve tried, I’m too tall to get in even a regular Miata with a helmet on and pass a broomstick test sitting in any reasonable position. Let alone a spec Miata (again, I’ve tried).

I think something open and or built to spec would be good which is why I was mentioning the Atom or SLC. I rented a C8 a couple weeks ago and I really didn’t fit in that either in terms of height once I had a helmet on. I’ll need to order a convertible or replace the seat just to make it work. All this is why I liked the Shelby, it’s like the lazy boy of sports car seats. I actually fit. This is a real problem. LOL.

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[dem00n]

Yes I agree with your points but I flat out don’t fit in a Miata. I’ve tried, I’m too tall to get in even a regular Miata with a helmet on and pass a broomstick test sitting in any reasonable position. Let alone a spec Miata (again, I’ve tried).

I think something open and or built to spec would be good which is why I was mentioning the Atom or SLC. I rented a C8 a couple weeks ago and I really didn’t fit in that either in terms of height once I had a helmet on. I’ll need to order a convertible or replace the seat just to make it work. All this is why I liked the Shelby, it’s like the lazy boy of sports car seats. I actually fit. This is a real problem. LOL.

Have you sat in Miata with the floor pan dropped? I've seen some big guys fit in those, hard to find one with the floor pan modified, although the labor itself isn't too bad.

 

[ARDrummond25]

Have you sat in Miata with the floor pan dropped? I've seen some big guys fit in those, hard to find one with the floor pan modified, although the labor itself isn't too bad.

Not sure. Sat in one that was completely stripped for spec racing. The cage was problematic. My issue is that I’m tall AND fat. I should have taken up flying instead of driving but too late now.

 

[guzie]

yeah I have a second set of wheels that I keep all season tires on and do most of the street driving on. The problem is the bigger R spec wheels/tires don’t fit inside the mustang along with my other track kit. I’d need a tire trailer or something.

Tires will fit. I carried (4) 305 square setup track tires mounted in the back seat. Stand them up side by side and they all fit behind the front seats and within the inner trim panels

 

[ARDrummond25]

Tires will fit. I carried (4) 305 square setup track tires mounted in the back seat. Stand them up side by side and they all fit behind the front seats and within the inner trim panels

ill try again.

 

[shogun32]

if it's worthwhile for an adult to dedicate time in karting to improve track driving.

a 250cc 2-stroke shifter cart is wicked fast. but the problem seems many carts rely/encourage skid-steering which doesn't translate to 3700lb behemoth GT cars. It was Randy's contention that karting is BAD for you since if you grow up driving them you think that's how a full size vehicle should behave and it makes for an evil handling car trying to duplicate the experience.

 

[NGOT8R]

How about getting 2-3 track tunes (changing the rev limiter only in each tune to limit the amount of power at your disposal)? Start out with the lower rev limiter and after you’ve gotten comfortable with that, step up to the next tune and finally the next.

I did this with my son when I gave him my ‘04 Mach 1. Had my tuner lower the rev limiter to 4K. That kept him out of trouble for a few years.

 

[guzie]

How about getting 2-3 track tunes (changing the rev limiter only in each tune to limit the amount of power at your disposal)? Start out with the lower rev limiter and after you’ve gotten comfortable with that, step up to the next tune and finally the next.

I did this with my son when I gave him my ‘04 Mach 1. Had my tuner lower the rev limiter to 4K. That kept him out of trouble for a few years.

I don't see the benefit with this in the GT350. Why would you limit the power? The ECU will pull things back for you if you get too hairy and the GT350 is pretty good at putting down the power it has without things getting too crazy. You can later on turn off the track nannies completely with a simple underwood plug pull when you want to leave the ECU out of it.

 

[NGOT8R]

I don't see the benefit with this in the GT350. Why would you limit the power? The ECU will pull things back for you if you get too hairy and the GT350 is pretty good at putting down the power it has without things getting too crazy. You can later on turn off the track nannies completely with a simple underwood plug pull when you want to leave the ECU out of it.

I hear what you’re saying; I just can’t help bit imagine that by the time the nannies kicked in to straighten things out, it could be too late. I saw this video of a guy in a GT350 sliding around and the car got away from him before he had a chance to make any corrections.

 

[shogun32]

I just can’t help bit imagine that by the time the nannies kicked in to straighten things out, it could be too late. I saw this video of a guy in a GT350 sliding around and the car got away from him

right, some fool collects a booby-prize. You could make a case the nanny intervention is what led to the inability to finish the 'cool spin bro' and led to curb hopping. If you're relying on Nannies to save your ass you're doing it wrong because they won't.

Folks turn of Nannies not because they are just awesome drivers (which may be true) but because the nannies are crude and not above doing the wrong intervention at the wrong time and actually making things worse.

 

[ARDrummond25]

I hear what you’re saying; I just can’t help bit imagine that by the time the nannies kicked in to straighten things out, it could be too late. I saw this video of a guy in a GT350 sliding around and the car got away from him before he had a chance to make any corrections.

this car is really easy (for an adult) to control. Pretty much anything that you can see coming can pretty much be corrected for in my experience.

 

[guzie]

I hear what you’re saying; I just can’t help bit imagine that by the time the nannies kicked in to straighten things out, it could be too late. I saw this video of a guy in a GT350 sliding around and the car got away from him before he had a chance to make any corrections.

From what I was understanding the OP already has a good handle on his car and is just working to improve the experience and shorten lap times. The ECU is very quick to adjust things but there still is driver responsibility to do the right thing. That comes with more seat time which should be there already if said person is already moving fast/hard enough to set off the ECU corrections in "Track" mode. The OP should work on skills while in "sport" mode on track until he gets to that point where he is regularly fighting the ECU. Switch then to "track" mode and continue to push harder as the ECU allows. Eventually you get to the point where the ECU even pulls back when in "track" mode. That is when you find yourself unplugging the under hood connector to shut down the correction. It was only after that when I found myself going off on a corner and into the grass after trying to shave tenths off my current time. Driver progression is the best thing to invest in. Seat time/ training is the best bang for the buck improvement actually.

 

[ARDrummond25]

From what I was understanding the OP already has a good handle on his car and is just working to improve the experience and shorten lap times. The ECU is very quick to adjust things but there still is driver responsibility to do the right thing. That comes with more seat time which should be there already if said person is already moving fast/hard enough to set off the ECU corrections in "Track" mode. The OP should work on skills while in "sport" mode on track until he gets to that point where he is regularly fighting the ECU. Switch then to "track" mode and continue to push harder as the ECU allows. Eventually you get to the point where the ECU even pulls back when in "track" mode. That is when you find yourself unplugging the under hood connector to shut down the correction. It was only after that when I found myself going off on a corner and into the grass after trying to shave tenths off my current time. Driver progression is the best thing to invest in. Seat time/ training is the best bang for the buck improvement actually.

You’re not wrong but I’m already leaking off track (in a controlled manner) because I’m pushing the edges of what I can do. Emphasis on what I can do, not the car. I don’t want to give the wrong impression, I’ve had two off track adventures in probably 500 laps. Both totally under control, just ran out of track. All that said, more seat time isn’t an option. Believe me, I would love more seat time. As is I spend 10-15 hours per week on the sim and turn maybe 30 laps a month In real life. I don’t have the bandwidth for more.

 

[shogun32]

You’re not wrong but I’m already leaking off track (in a controlled manner) because I’m pushing the edges of what I can do. Emphasis on what I can do, not the car. I don’t want to give the wrong impression, I’ve had two off track adventures in probably 500 laps. Both totally under control, just ran out of track. All that said, more seat time isn’t an option. Believe me, I would love more seat time. As is I spend 10-15 hours per week on the sim and turn maybe 30 laps a month In real life. I don’t have the bandwidth for more.

HOw good is the Sim? I wonder if it's helping or hurting. Plus a sim doesn't impart G-forces nor allow you to develop 'feel' for developing slip angles and sudden mini loss of traction.

 

[ARDrummond25]

HOw good is the Sim? I wonder if it's helping or hurting. Plus a sim doesn't impart G-forces nor allow you to develop 'feel' for developing slip angles and sudden mini loss of traction.

it’s amazing. When I first started using it, I shaved 2 seconds off my laps without any real life track time. Absolutely translates.

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