New guy with some noob questions

whitey09

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Hi all. I have a 2008 mustang gt with 49k miles that i bought new and has mostly just been sitting in my garage for the last 5 years. As of right now it is still 100% stock. I have decided to dig it out, put the insurance back on it and start using it more and am looking to maybe dip my toe in some local autox events this year and potentially do an hpde group 1 weekend with nasaproracing at autobahn.

As part of the process of getting the car back up to speed i took it to the dealer to go through it and see whats worn and needs attention. Amazingly, the only 2 things they think need to be replaced are the front sway bar end links and rear trailing arm bushings. For sitting for so long i was prepared for a much bigger list.

My question is, since i will be delving into auto x is this a good time to upgrade either of these areas or any other areas for that matter or since i am not looking for a hardcore build or anything should i leave it all original until down the road when i develop a more focused plan regarding intentions with the car.

I learned a hard lesson in my early 20's by throwing random parts at my 94 trans am paycheck to paycheck with no organized plan and it turned out as i am sure you all know, terrible. Nothing worked together and i had an ultra stiff, ultra loud brick of a car that was barely any faster than it was when i started but unbearable to drive. I want to be much more intelligent and deliberate with the mustangs evolution.

Sorry for my noobness. Yes i have used the search function extensively, just was looking for direct input and thank you for your time. I look through this thread a lot and am very impressed by the knowledge of everyone here.
 

Sky Render

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Welcome!

First of all, don't do ANYTHING to your car other than some decent tires. Seat time is more important. Once you get more seat time, you'll start to know what things need to be upgraded to suit your driving style and fix the shortcomings of the chassis.

There are a couple of good build threads in this section for you to peruse, also.

EDIT: What wheels/tires do you currently have?
 

ddd4114

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I agree, use the wheels you have now and just replace any worn parts you find. For starting in autocross, as Sky Render said, just invest in seat time otherwise. It sounds like you've already learned your lesson with throwing mods at a car and making it worse (as have many of us), so it's good to hear that you're taking a more careful and responsible approach.

For HPDE use, your tires will be fine as long as the tread depth is still decent (since you might drive in the rain), but I would also get a set of track-oriented brake pads and fresh brake fluid (ATE Super Blue/Amber at a minimum). Otherwise, I wouldn't change anything until you drive a couple events and are convinced that you want to keep doing it.

If you do attend any of the Autobahn events, feel free to track me down if you have any other questions. I have a Red Mustang #411 that I'm hopefully running in TT3 both events there this year.
 

whitey09

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Thanks for the replies guys i really appreciate it. Down the road my ideal situation would be to get to a point where i can TT the car through scca or nasa and have fun on a budget but for right now i just want to get started and get involved so thats why i am a bit hesitant and unsure.

Ive heard to get track dedicated pads and brake fluid too but any time i find a thread on the racing forums that addresses it there are so many conflicting opinions i end up more confused by the end. The joys of internet forums i guess. I plan on making at least one of the autobahn events this year so you bet i will be tracking down every mustang i see and asking many questions of the guys who are already doing what i want to do.

I am very grateful to have found this site and this sub forum as it is difficult to find this kind of specific discussion regarding mustangs. Most forums ive seen are strictly about dyno #'s and straight line speed. I see a lot of american muscle specials where people just throw a ton of random "upgrades" at a car that never sees the track and i have these flashbacks to my doomed trans am debacle. As long as they're happy i guess but i am looking to do this car right when it gets done so for now it shall remain as it was when drove it home almost 10 years ago.

One question maybe you guys can solve for now though is i was quoted over $300 each for new rear lower control arms but i have seen what is called "mustang rear lower control arm upgrade kit" part # M-5538-A which is the pair with hardware for $154. Whats that about? I must be missing something.
 

whitey09

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Yeah the local ford quoted me 300 a piece for the stock replacements and then another ford dealer by me that deals in ford performance parts showed me the "upgrade" ones and something doesn't compute
 

Sky Render

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Is it just the lower control arms? Pick up the poly bushing BMR ones for $90 shipped. You can easily install those yourself.
 

whitey09

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Yeah actually just my bushings have worn out but since they arent serviceable on the factory piece i have to change the whole arms out which is frustrating. I see that aftermarket arms are cheap even the ford upgrade is cheap. I am astonished at the price of the factory stamped pos arms. How can they justify that? I was going to keep it all showroom stock for now but is looking like my hand is forced on the lca's i guess.
 

SoundGuyDave

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Ive heard to get track dedicated pads and brake fluid too but any time i find a thread on the racing forums that addresses it there are so many conflicting opinions i end up more confused by the end. The joys of internet forums i guess. I plan on making at least one of the autobahn events this year so you bet i will be tracking down every mustang i see and asking many questions of the guys who are already doing what i want to do.

Ahem... Go the the main "corner carver racing tech discussion" page, and look at the stickies. #2 is "Track brake tech," by your truly, which outlines the physics of the situation as well as my experiences. If you have questions, either post 'em up, or PM me! Short form is that if you're going to drive in anger on a track (this is NOT autocross-specific!) you need to upgrade your pads, even for the first event, if you want to see the last session of the weekend. If you've got a weekend or two under your belt, you're into fluids for sure, and brake ducts should be on your short list of things to do, right before "put helmet in trunk, drive to track."


One question maybe you guys can solve for now though is i was quoted over $300 each for new rear lower control arms but i have seen what is called "mustang rear lower control arm upgrade kit" part # M-5538-A which is the pair with hardware for $154. Whats that about? I must be missing something.
You're not missing a thing. It's not uncommon to find OE pieces in a Ford Racing box for cheaper than the dealership (stealership??) will sell them to you. IIRC, those are the OE GT500 rear lower control arms, and will be fine for your situation. If you think you're going to get hard-core down the road, this might be time to wander over to the Maximum Motorsports website, rather than American Muscle... Replacement poly bushings for the stock arms for $58, all the way up through STEEL rod-end control arm assemblies...
 

whitey09

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A lot of great information thank you soundguy! I have signed up for scca chicago and am registered and the season has started but i am not showing up until i get all of the basics sorted out and taken care of.

I have a relatively new helmet, suit and gloves, shoes etc from running some 24 hours of lemons events at gingerman and autobahn recently. I just need to get the brakes ready and am going to get my sway bar end links and lcas fixed so that my car is in good shape and free of the rattle and squeaks that it has right now. I feel like from the responses here i have a good idea of what to do now and where to look for additional info. Definitely feeling better about it all now thanks again.
 

SoundGuyDave

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That's what we're here for... Since you have some track time under your belt, particularly at ABCC, I would plan for GOOD pads and a fluid flush with something like Motul RBF600. You've already learned enough to cook the stock stuff before the weekend is over, and bleeding between sessions sucks. Trust me on that. If you can get a second set of rotors that you'll dedicate to use with the track pads. I like Hawk DTC-60 front and HT-10 rear or Carbotech XP-12/XP10 with the 13" brakes. If you think you'll be tracking your car fairly regularly, then I would also just bit the bullet and work up some brake ducts to help keep them cool.

Since you're looking at replacing the endlinks anyway, I would just pony up for the UMI adjustable endlinks. Yes, they're rod-ended, but don't let that scare you. They're silent (enough) for street duty, and very, very beefy. I've got five seasons of racing on mine, and not a hint of slop to them.

And yes, I COMPLETELY support your plan of keeping it stock until you know what the "issues" are. Just don't spend more on dealer parts than you would a solid aftermarket option. If in doubt, ask here, we're REALLY good at helping to spend your money! ;-)
 

Norm Peterson

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Another vote for the UMI endlinks. Separate from the track time, mine have almost 7 years street duty on mine so far, including winter driving, and they're still quiet. A couple of times a year I do shoot each rod end with a little WD-40 and wipe off the excess so it doesn't attract any more dirt than can be avoided (easy enough to do when bleeding the front calipers prior to a track event).

Ditto for the XP pads (or the G-loc equivalents). Up through XP12 is even reasonably streetable as long as dust and occasional squeaking doesn't bother you.

And for first trying to identify the things that you see as needing improvement before blindly trying to "fix" anything.


Norm
 

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