Thinking About a GT500...

[Sharky]

Lately been missing having a high hp, stupid fast car in the garage. One that is fun on the street and also can take a light beating on the track (no competition, just HPDE type stuff). Familiar with all the fun adm, availability, finish out, etc stuff (been through the raptor & GT350R experience) - so all that aside just looking for some owner feedback on these cars. Bonus if anyone has spent any time at COTA in one!

When I'm at the track it is typically during a race weekend - haven't done an HPDE in a while so have not seen seen any GT500's on the track. Really have wanted to see one running around buy haven't found too many owners that have wanted to put one in wheel to wheel racing yet I am going to COTA this Friday though to get some testing on my race car done and also some night driving out there (ought to be freaking awesome) - hopefully will see some then.

Cooling - how do they handle the heat on track? Like I said I'm not expecting the car to be able to handle an hour at race pace in the middle of summer - but can they stand up to a normal HPDE session without having to do multiple cool down laps when pushing at a pretty decent pace on fairly sticky tires? If not are there aftermarket options available that work?

DCT - impressions on the shifting? I'm a DCT fan - very familiar with them on the BMW side (E9x M3 is my overall favorite platform). Is the oem cooler enough to keep it happy on track as well?

Packages - so from what I can tell the CFH & CFT packages are going to give you some increased aero bits, CF wheels, & adjustable camber plates - with the CFTP taking it a bit further. CFTP would not be an option purely based on the rear seat delete (my kiddos have to be able to ride in the car). The handling pack - I really have no use for the CF wheels (they would just go into storage). I see no reason why a catch can and camber plates cannot be added later via the aftermarket? I'm thinking the "base" level is right for me unless there is something I'm missing?

Brakes - assuming the standard swap to track pads & Castrol SRF - how do they hold up after that? Anyone seen any fade - particularly on slicks?

COTA - anyone run theirs out there? If so really interested to get your impressions of it. I have run COTA a pretty decent amount so would have a good point of reference to compare with. Also feel like it is a good track to test the durability of a car - rough on brakes & cooling. Curious what kind of times people are seeing in them as well & on what tires - kind of a point of reference to see what the car is capable of.

Thanks!!!

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[kilobravo]

Sharky: @The Chairman frequents COTA quite often as he's in SA. He checks in now and then so standby for his comments, of which I'm sure he will have some for ya.

 

[Sharky]

That would be awesome, thanks. Also from SA here

 

[The Chairman]

That’s a lot of questions! But we are all here to help.
Overview: I have run COTA about 1/2 dozen HPDE events in my GT500 (and double that in my GT350) and will be there this Friday for COTA after Dark. Have run that event every year Karen has set it up. Don’t have my garage number yet. But should in a few days.

My car is a Base with the Handling Pack. I have installed the CFTP springs and a 1” Steeda rear sway bar (plus their diff lock-out bushings, etc.). Other than than that, it‘s stock.
Handles great at COTA. No overheating problems, etc.
Here’s a pix of my temps from last summer when the ambient was 98*:

I haven’t touched the paddles. The DCT shifts perfectly.
Make sure you install an oil catch can before you drive a GT500 very much. The one that comes with the Handling Pack is perfect. If you don’t, once you get oil mist in the supercharger & intercooler, it will begin to gunk it up. It also lowers the effective octane rating and that’s even worse. We all learned these lessons with the earlier GT500’s. That’s why Ford created their separator for these cars.

The Handling Pack comes with some camber plates. But I installed Maximum Motorsports plates instead and am running CFTP Track Camber settings. Makes a big difference.

I’m still on my original tires & brake pads and they are exceptionally good. After this event, I might change the front pads and the brake fluid, but will stay with stock.

If you have other questions, let me know! See you Friday.

 

[Sharky]

That’s a lot of questions! But we are all here to help.
Overview: I have run COTA about 1/2 dozen HPDE events in my GT500 (and double that in my GT350) and will be there this Friday for COTA after Dark. Have run that event every year Karen has set it up. Don’t have my garage number yet. But should in a few days.

My car is a Base with the Handling Pack. I have installed the CFTP springs and a 1” Steeda rear sway bar (plus their diff lock-out bushings, etc.). Other than than that, it‘s stock.
Handles great at COTA. No overheating problems, etc.
Here’s a pix of my temps from last summer when the ambient was 98*:

I haven’t touched the paddles. The DCT shifts perfectly.
Make sure you install an oil catch can before you drive a GT500 very much. The one that comes with the Handling Pack is perfect. If you don’t, once you get oil mist in the supercharger & intercooler, it will begin to gunk it up. It also lowers the effective octane rating and that’s even worse. We all learned these lessons with the earlier GT500’s. That’s why Ford created their separator for these cars.

The Handling Pack comes with some camber plates. But I installed Maximum Motorsports plates instead and am running CFTP Track Camber settings. Makes a big difference.

I’m still on my original tires & brake pads and they are exceptionally good. After this event, I might change the front pads and the brake fluid, but will stay with stock.

If you have other questions, let me know! See you Friday.

Awesome - thanks for the response. That is great you haven't had to do anything to the cooling to manage temps. Do not come across many oem setups that can handle much time on the track without some cool down laps. Sounds like the base would be the best choice for me as well with those straight forward add ons being availalble.

That is good the oem brakes have held up for you out there with COTA being so tough on brakes. 11, 12, 15 combo can be brutal especially on the piggy class of cars. Curious what fluid Ford specs for these.

How would you compare the 350 vs 500 on track?

Really looking forward to COTA at night - should be awesome. Those daytime runs though - those are rough. Black BMW & green Porsche - will be in one of the garages too. Will be on the lookout for your car out there - which run group are you in?

 

[The Chairman]

I'm in the Yellow (Intermediate) run group. Too many cars with slicks in the advanced groups. Mixing with those guys can be dangerous....
Comparing the two cars is tough. The GT500 is definitely heavier. But the massive brakes and 250 more HP more than make up for it at COTA. On the other hand, the GT500 was a miserable drive at Harris Hill the other week. Won't do that again.
The previous GT500's needed bigger intercoolers to survive on track. But FP did their homework on this one as I can watch the air charge temp climb on the straights, but cool right back down in the next corner. Even in the TX heat.
The Ford spec brake fluid is the new Pentosin DOT4 LV (SAE J1704). Appears to hold up well.

Here’s a little teaser of COTA at night with Austin in the background:

 

[Richard Shannon]

I have 2 2020 GT500s. One has done 5 track days. 2 days at Gateway, 2 at heartland, and one at Homestead. I am VERY curious what the original Brake pad thickness is. Also what size is that TORX bolt holding the calipers on? I am thinking i may be due for front brakes.

That car is in the shop RIGHT NOW getting Vorshlag caster/camber plates (My handling package was missing adjustable plates on BOTH of my 2020 GT500s!) I also have a set of vorshlag plates for the other car, which will be done after this one. I told them to just set them to the CFTP spec as well (-2.25, 8.08) Glad to hear this improves handling! My tires were getting DESTROYED on the outer edges, and hardly TOUCHED on the inside edge!

 

[The Chairman]

Just measured a new OEM set of front brake pads and they are 16.4mm - 6.2mm (backing plate) = 10mm for the surface.
Most of us replaced that long torx head bolt with these:
https://caliperfexion.net/shop/ols/products/2020-gt500-17-4ph-stainless-stud-kit

 

[PUR_SPD]

Though not COTA related I thought I'd chime in with my few days of HPDE experience.

I've done 2 days at Gateway near St. Louis. Car is way too much for this track. Still fun but you can't really open it up. Brakes will last all day, heat not an issue, adding the -2 degrees of camber or so is really helpful to not rubbing the tires off in the oval.

I just finished 3 days at Road America. On my Boss 302 I'd go through a set of brake pads in those 3 days no problem. Even after my Gateway event AND the Road America event I still have 1/2 the pad left. The brakes are amazing. Even though I'm carrying more than 15 mph more into turn 1 I can brake probably 20-30 yards deeper and there's still plenty of room. The only thing that doesn't last in this car is the gas! 22 minutes of hard driving is all you'll get out of it. I did the math. 16 gallon tank, each lap is ~4 miles, 8 laps per session. That's 32 miles in a 20 minute session and you're about empty.

There were several GT350's of various kinds during my weekend at Road America and after my few practice/warm-up laps I was with them in every turn and obviously way past them in every straight away. Quite frankly the only cars that I couldn't really keep up with were the all on track cars. I think if I put harnesses in the GT500 I'd be better planted and able to run with or beyond them too. No one was faster in any of the straights (which is kinda cool).

Just for reference and it's not means as a bragging point (many are way faster than I am). Best lap ever in the Boss 302 with slicks and as hard as I could drive it was 2:38 at Road America. The GT500 was lap after lap of 2:38 without pushing hard.

 

[The Chairman]

Concur on the gas burn rate! No way to do two sessions at COTA on one tank. During the second session, only about 3 laps in and all the low fuel lights are flashing and the gauge shows empty.
As I have said other places, the new Cayman GT4 is a good match in lap times. However, they max out at about 133 mph, so you have to back off in the straights to not run over them.

 

[Tomster]

Sharky: @The Chairman frequents COTA quite often as he's in SA. He checks in now and then so standby for his comments, of which I'm sure he will have some for ya.

SA? San Antonio. I'm there tomorrow.

 

[The Chairman]

SA? San Antonio. I'm there tomorrow.

Welcome to SATX!

 

[Sharky]

I'm in the Yellow (Intermediate) run group. Too many cars with slicks in the advanced groups. Mixing with those guys can be dangerous....
Comparing the two cars is tough. The GT500 is definitely heavier. But the massive brakes and 250 more HP more than make up for it at COTA. On the other hand, the GT500 was a miserable drive at Harris Hill the other week. Won't do that again.
The previous GT500's needed bigger intercoolers to survive on track. But FP did their homework on this one as I can watch the air charge temp climb on the straights, but cool right back down in the next corner. Even in the TX heat.
The Ford spec brake fluid is the new Pentosin DOT4 LV (SAE J1704). Appears to hold up well.

Here’s a little teaser of COTA at night with Austin in the background:

Nice shot - been wanting some good night shots on the track - certainly the standard glowing rotors included.

I can definitely see the GT500 not being the perfect fit out at Harris Hill. I'm actually getting ready to head out there today for some testing with the M3. Fun little track but yeah definitely not much room to utilize power.

Though not COTA related I thought I'd chime in with my few days of HPDE experience.

I've done 2 days at Gateway near St. Louis. Car is way too much for this track. Still fun but you can't really open it up. Brakes will last all day, heat not an issue, adding the -2 degrees of camber or so is really helpful to not rubbing the tires off in the oval.

I just finished 3 days at Road America. On my Boss 302 I'd go through a set of brake pads in those 3 days no problem. Even after my Gateway event AND the Road America event I still have 1/2 the pad left. The brakes are amazing. Even though I'm carrying more than 15 mph more into turn 1 I can brake probably 20-30 yards deeper and there's still plenty of room. The only thing that doesn't last in this car is the gas! 22 minutes of hard driving is all you'll get out of it. I did the math. 16 gallon tank, each lap is ~4 miles, 8 laps per session. That's 32 miles in a 20 minute session and you're about empty.

There were several GT350's of various kinds during my weekend at Road America and after my few practice/warm-up laps I was with them in every turn and obviously way past them in every straight away. Quite frankly the only cars that I couldn't really keep up with were the all on track cars. I think if I put harnesses in the GT500 I'd be better planted and able to run with or beyond them too. No one was faster in any of the straights (which is kinda cool).

Just for reference and it's not means as a bragging point (many are way faster than I am). Best lap ever in the Boss 302 with slicks and as hard as I could drive it was 2:38 at Road America. The GT500 was lap after lap of 2:38 without pushing hard.

Awesome - thanks for your input. No issues with water/oil temps on those tracks as well? DCT temps/performance stay in check as well?

SA? San Antonio. I'm there tomorrow.

Welcome to SA

 

[Richard Shannon]

Though not COTA related I thought I'd chime in with my few days of HPDE experience.

I've done 2 days at Gateway near St. Louis. Car is way too much for this track. Still fun but you can't really open it up. Brakes will last all day, heat not an issue, adding the -2 degrees of camber or so is really helpful to not rubbing the tires off in the oval.

I just finished 3 days at Road America. On my Boss 302 I'd go through a set of brake pads in those 3 days no problem. Even after my Gateway event AND the Road America event I still have 1/2 the pad left. The brakes are amazing. Even though I'm carrying more than 15 mph more into turn 1 I can brake probably 20-30 yards deeper and there's still plenty of room. The only thing that doesn't last in this car is the gas! 22 minutes of hard driving is all you'll get out of it. I did the math. 16 gallon tank, each lap is ~4 miles, 8 laps per session. That's 32 miles in a 20 minute session and you're about empty.

There were several GT350's of various kinds during my weekend at Road America and after my few practice/warm-up laps I was with them in every turn and obviously way past them in every straight away. Quite frankly the only cars that I couldn't really keep up with were the all on track cars. I think if I put harnesses in the GT500 I'd be better planted and able to run with or beyond them too. No one was faster in any of the straights (which is kinda cool).

Just for reference and it's not means as a bragging point (many are way faster than I am). Best lap ever in the Boss 302 with slicks and as hard as I could drive it was 2:38 at Road America. The GT500 was lap after lap of 2:38 without pushing hard.

hey! You had a GT500 at NASA Gateway this spring!?!? I was there with mine as well! We were the ones with the dark red GT500, bright Red GT350, Yellow Cobra, orange Lamborghini, and the gray C7 Z07 corvette! I was there with 5 cars and all my kids! That was fun, and it DESTROYED my tires out there in the banking as my dealer “forgot” to install the front splitter (I did not realize it was Included Until I got another GT500 later that month for Heartland the Lamborghini is a little expensive to maintain for track days). Also the stock camber is HORRID on front tires on the track.

I need to get some caliper bolts before I pull the pads. I know people are recommending after market bolts, but I’d like to see some people that have had many track days on them successfully before I go away from a stock critical component.

Does anyone have the Ford part number for front and rear caliper mount bolts? The online parts diagram is absolute crap.

 

[Tomster]

hey! You had a GT500 at NASA Gateway this spring!?!? I was there with mine as well! We were the ones with the dark red GT500, bright Red GT350, Yellow Cobra, orange Lamborghini, and the gray C7 Z07 corvette! I was there with 5 cars and all my kids! That was fun, and it DESTROYED my tires out there in the banking as my dealer “forgot” to install the front splitter (I did not realize it was Included Until I got another GT500 later that month for Heartland the Lamborghini is a little expensive to maintain for track days). Also the stock camber is HORRID on front tires on the track.

I need to get some caliper bolts before I pull the pads. I know people are recommending after market bolts, but I’d like to see some people that have had many track days on them successfully before I go away from a stock critical component.

Does anyone have the Ford part number for front and rear caliper mount bolts? The online parts diagram is absolute crap.

Lots of people have lots of track days on the caliperfexion studs. Its a no brainer. Seriously.

They are so good that the ford performance racing school (and me) use them.

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