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Track Day Advice for 2009 GT500.

Richard Shannon

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Backstory:
I own a 2020 GT500, 2017 Corvette Z06, 2009 GT500, 2008 Ferrari F430, 2007 Lamborgini Gallardo, and a 2005 Cobra replica. My family and i did a track day in 2019 at Gateway in St. Louis, very simple, no instructors, this was a need4speed event. We brought the Gallardo, F360, 2009 GT500, and the cobra. We all drove very slow i found out later. I have 5 "kids" All are over 20. They all REALLY enjoyed this simple track day! They shared the Gallardo, 09' GT500, and the CObra. I drove the F430.
For my next track event, i shipped the Gallardo to my FL home. Last year my wife and I did 2 track events at Miami/homestead with Chin Track days and PDG. These events had instructors and we learned how to really drive the car! The first day out I also boiled the brakes, several times. I then replaced the rotors with Giro discs, Pagid racing pads, and Motul 660. After this upgrade, i still boiled the brakes when pushing hard! I then bought a 2020 GT500 last march. After driving this car from Fl to Missouri, i found that i felt like this car could seriously get away from me on the track! (also became my favorite car!). Last month i again shipped the Gallardo to FL and did another Chin track day with the Gallardo at Miami/homestead and was solo qualified for the intermediate group. I found that the EPS traction control was frying the brakes and once I learned better throttle control i could go MUCH faster and have better brake longevity. I also installed Castrol SRF and decided to buy a 2017 Corvette Z06 w/ Z07 package for my wife. I installed Castrol SRF as soon as i received the car. We are trying it out this weekend at a PDG event at Homestead/Miami.

Now, i have 2 track events coming up while in Missouri this spring. I have a NASA event at Gateway and a NASA event at Heartland Park. ALL of my kids want to come! I have the 2020 GT500 for me, the Z06 for my wife, the Gallardo for my sons. BUT I have 3 daughters with husbands who would also like to attend. I am NOT letting anyone drive my F430. So that leaves the Cobra and the 09' GT500. After i realize the real stress and "on the edge" driving required for track days, that my Cobra Replica needs some SERIOUS upgrades. I am having a new rear end, brakes, wheels and tires installed.

The question is, what needs to be done to my 2009 GT500 for track use? It has been to Shelby in Las Vegas (when new) and upgraded/signed by carol Shelby himself. It appears to have a Shelby installed CF intake, Pulley, and exhaust. It has Brembo brakes, but i think those were standard on the GT500. I bought the car with 500 miles on it in 2009. Carl Edwards was the previous owner and had it upgraded at Shelby. What Wheels, rotors, brakes are recommended for track use? I already plan on doing a castrol SRF flush. Is there anything else suggested to run an 2009 GT500 on the track?
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Norm Peterson

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Backstory:
I own a 2020 GT500, 2017 Corvette Z06, 2009 GT500, 2008 Ferrari F430, 2007 Lamborgini Gallardo, and a 2005 Cobra replica. My family and i did a track day in 2019 at Gateway in St. Louis, very simple, no instructors, this was a need4speed event. We brought the Gallardo, F360, 2009 GT500, and the cobra. We all drove very slow i found out later. I have 5 "kids" All are over 20. They all REALLY enjoyed this simple track day! They shared the Gallardo, 09' GT500, and the CObra. I drove the F430.
<snip>
What Wheels, rotors, brakes are recommended for track use? I already plan on doing a castrol SRF flush. Is there anything else suggested to run an 2009 GT500 on the track?
I'm assuming that you're the only driver who is solo-qualified or intermediate by anybody's standards.

So I'm going to strongly recommend staying on the GT500's OE wheels (as far as I know, they were 18x9.5 unless Shelby changed those). With good street tires for the more progressive warning.

Plain-faced rotors. Rotors are wear items in track use, and all those cross-drilled holes on the showy kind tend to become places for cracks to start (it's a stress concentration/cyclic fatigue thing). You'll want track-rated pads, and some supplemental cooling for the front brakes (look in the lower grille opening directly under the fog lights in my sig picture).

I'd be strongly tempted to swap blower pulleys for a set that doesn't spin the blower quite as fast. Less heat buildup, and less likely to be more than your younger drivers are ready to have on tap out nearer the limits of the car than street driving or only a slightly-faster-than-parade-laps pace on track call for. Whether that would call for a revised tune is outside my wheelhouse but it would be something more than worth looking into.


One other thing . . . welcome to the addiction.


Norm
 
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Richard Shannon

Richard Shannon

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I hate to mess with the pulley as i don't know how Shelby did the tune. It is easy enough to tell the kids to shift at lower RPMs.

I swapped the wheels for 19x9 and 19x10 Boss 302 (as shown). I was going to go with some Sport Cup 2 tires. BUT, Can I get by with 265 in the front with the standard boss 302 offsets?

I don't THINK the rotors are drilled on that car, but I will check. I was looking at this brake kit: Ford Racing M-2300-T Mustang Front and Rear Disc Brake 15"/13.8" Kit 2005-2014 (cjponyparts.com)
What do you think?

Do you have a recommended duct kit for this car?

Thank you for the response.
 

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You can run the same setup you had on your Gallardo.

Pads: Pagid, Raybestos, or G-Loc are all solid brands
Rotors: Girodisc. There are other good brands too but you are already familiar with their performance.
Fluid: SRf is great. Motul 660 is also fine
Wheels: Highly recommend Apex wheels. Great customer service as well. You can run 18x11 or 19x11 square. Will require extended studs on the front and a spacer. Mustangs like the most tire under them that you can fit.
Tires: I like to recommend GY Supercar 3 to learn on, then you can jump to their 3R which are really fast. Then when you're ready, you can move to Hoosiers or takeoff slicks.
 

meterman

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I don't THINK the rotors are drilled on that car, but I will check. I was looking at this brake kit: Ford Racing M-2300-T Mustang Front and Rear Disc Brake 15"/13.8" Kit 2005-2014 (cjponyparts.com)
What do you think?

Do you have a recommended duct kit for this car?

Thank you for the response.
I had a highly modified 07 GT500. One of the best mods I added was the brake cooling duct. I was experiencing brake fade and it totally went away after adding the duct kit. It’s a must do for this car.
 

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Richard Shannon

Richard Shannon

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MY idea was to upgrade to the ford performance kit listed above as it comes with 6 piston Brembo front calipers and 15" brakes and 14" rear brakes. (Only $2200) I then thought i could buy some girodisc rotors for THAT kit. (SAME AS oem 2013 GT500) Well... Girodisc makes front rotors for the 13' GT500 but no rears. THEN i found that Pagid only makes front pads for ANY year mustang less than 2015.... So, back to the drawing board...

Edit: Pagid 8113 is the pad number for the rear of the mustang I found out. I don't know why this is not in Pagid's chart on the website, but it does show that it is for the mustang if you look at that particular size on pagid's sight.

Edit 2: so i think i will get the Ford performance kit to get the front Brembo 6 piston calipers. I will NOT use the rear brake parts from the kit ( i dont see a way to get these front Brembo 6 piston calipers any cheaper than the $2165 for the kit) Then get A set of 2013 GT500 front girodisc rotors and 2009 GT500 rear girodisc rotors. And G-loc R10 pads for front and rear. I am also purchasing the JLT brake cooling duct kit.

My other option is after installing the front ford performance parts, get the EBC rotor/pad kit with Blue stuff pads, 2013 front rotors and 2009 rear rotors.

I find it hard to find rear brake rotors and pads for the 13-14 GT500. Also, i don't know if it's worth pulling the rear axles to install the rear 14" rotors. I would just buy wilwood front and back kit, but i don't know if they are really race gear. I also LOVE the Brembo stuff, but unable to find the rear Brembos.
 
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Vettel-ish

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Could be a really cool build. Did they make a GT4 version of that car? Might be worth looking into that and pluck some parts off it. Thats how I am looking at my build. Why not share what the real race team is doing.

Nice collection btw.
 

meterman

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MY idea was to upgrade to the ford performance kit listed above as it comes with 6 piston Brembo front calipers and 15" brakes and 14" rear brakes. (Only $2200) I then thought i could buy some girodisc rotors for THAT kit. (SAME AS oem 2013 GT500) Well... Girodisc makes front rotors for the 13' GT500 but no rears. THEN i found that Pagid only makes front pads for ANY year mustang less than 2015.... So, back to the drawing board...

Edit: Pagid 8113 is the pad number for the rear of the mustang I found out. I don't know why this is not in Pagid's chart on the website, but it does show that it is for the mustang if you look at that particular size on pagid's sight.

Edit 2: so i think i will get the Ford performance kit to get the front Brembo 6 piston calipers. I will NOT use the rear brake parts from the kit ( i dont see a way to get these front Brembo 6 piston calipers any cheaper than the $2165 for the kit) Then get A set of 2013 GT500 front girodisc rotors and 2009 GT500 rear girodisc rotors. And G-loc R10 pads for front and rear. I am also purchasing the JLT brake cooling duct kit.

My other option is after installing the front ford performance parts, get the EBC rotor/pad kit with Blue stuff pads, 2013 front rotors and 2009 rear rotors.

I find it hard to find rear brake rotors and pads for the 13-14 GT500. Also, i don't know if it's worth pulling the rear axles to install the rear 14" rotors. I would just buy wilwood front and back kit, but i don't know if they are really race gear. I also LOVE the Brembo stuff, but unable to find the rear Brembos.
I really don't think you will need the rear brakes anyhow. I'd go through 2-3 sets of fronts before I went through a set of the rears. You'd be better off going with a toque arm and watts link and improve your handling IMO.

Just to give you an idea what I did to mine:
VMP GEN II-R TVS 2.3L supercharger w2.6 pulley
VMP twin jet 67mm throttle body
FRPP 56 lb/hr fuel injectors
Mcleod Shelby GT500 RXT Street Twin Disc Clutch Kit (Lightened Steel Flywheel) Part # MCL-6918-07
JLT big air intake kit
JLT Oil Separator Passenger side only
MGW 2 GT500 Short Throw Shifter w Cobra Logo Shift Knob w/ Deluxe Jam Nut & Wrench
VMP dual fan triple pass heat exchanger
C&R Shelby GT500 high capacity radiator
Roush Intercooler Reservoir 3x Capacity
Cortex Xtreme-grip torque arm system
Cortex Xtreme-grip LCA system
Cortex Xtreme-grip watts link system, track
Cortex Racing large wheel fitment kit
Girodisc front 2pc floating rotors with 355 x 32mm rotors
DSS aluminum drive shaft
JBA 1795SX Off Road X Pipe, 2.5" stainless steel exhaust
FRPP KR500 Mufflers
BMR-SP009 – lowering springs
BMR- SB022 – front sway bar kit hollow 35mm, 3-hole adjustable
BMR-SB023 – rear swaybar kit w/ billet end links solid 22mm
BMR-ELK010 End link kit for sway bars
Tokico D-Spec DSP-12
FRPP Brake Cooling Kit w/ JLT Bezels
Ford Performance Parts m-5025-mbr - manual transmission cooler air scoop
FORD RACING BOSS 302 Torsen differential -- M-4204-MB
2013-14 Ford Racing Cooling Fan Item # FRPP 50487
NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs TR7IX # 3690
Ford Performance Ti-VCT Roller Pilot Bearing Part # M-7600-B
Corbeau Harness, 5-Point, Pull Down, Nylon, Red, 3 in. Width, Camlock, Wraparound/Bolt-in, Each (Mfr. #: 53007B)
Corbeau Seat Belt Bars, 05-14 Mustang Harness Bar (Mfr. #: HB0508M)
Stifflers 05-2014 Mustang High Volume Clutch Line Part # STF-CLK-MUST-0514
Goodridge G-stop Stainless Steel Brake Line Kit
2009 Crankshaft Balancer Pulley (reduce unspun weight by 10 lbs.)
Redline Tuning Bolt-in QuickLIFT PLUS System for hood

As you can see I didn't do much at all LOL
 
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Richard Shannon

Richard Shannon

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:crackup: Yeah, nothing! I dont think ill be going that far. Before i spend that much ill buy a car built for the track. I just want to make it safer for the kids. From my very limited experience brakes and are the biggest asset. I cannot imagine needing more than 600 RWHP. The Gallardo has 550hp (Not at the wheels) and can more than keep up with most things on the straits. I do think sway bars would help though, i may do that as well.

How important are the extra transmission, intercooler, and radiators if you don't max the RPMs?

Do you run any special transmission or differential oil?
 

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:crackup: Yeah, nothing! I dont think ill be going that far. Before i spend that much ill buy a car built for the track. I just want to make it safer for the kids. From my very limited experience brakes and are the biggest asset. I cannot imagine needing more than 600 RWHP. The Gallardo has 550hp (Not at the wheels) and can more than keep up with most things on the straits. I do think sway bars would help though, i may do that as well.

How important are the extra transmission, intercooler, and radiators if you don't max the RPMs?

Do you run any special transmission or differential oil?
I understand your point and don't disagree. Mobil One Synthetic for Trans and Amsoil for everything else. I ran Amsoil in the trans and was told that Mobil was the oil of choice for the Tremec. It would shift smoother and perform better so I went that route. I'm not sure it made a noticeable difference.

Overheating is going to be your biggest challenge and I know you said you will have the kids shift at lower RPM's but let's be real, they are kids and little by little the RPM's will be climbing until closing in on hitting redline. I sure as hell know I would start to push it as I became more comfortable LOL... It's great you can do this for the family, be safe and have fun.
 

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Richard Shannon

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what weight gear lube do you use for track?
 
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Richard Shannon

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OK, after MUCH MUCH MUCH research and buying a shitload of parts i now have to send back, i find that my convertible is NOT allowed in any NASA event without the addition of a roll bar that will SERIOUSLY affect the looks and resell ability of the car. So, I decided I'm better off with this which i just purchased tonight:

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