New 2007 GT500 in the family-- TRACTION: who has it and where can I get some?

mrgtx

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My father picked up a 2007 GT500 back in the summer and he has been driving the heck out of it. It's 100% stock (aside from the OEM KR catback and the Ford Motorsports shifter). He just rolled 7k miles...and I hope he keeps laying down the miles, per Mr. Shelby's instructions.

So I have driven it back to back with my 2011 GT/Brembo car with 3.55s, 285 RE-11 tires, exhaust/tune/suspension stuff done and the two cars offer strikingly different experiences from behind the wheel. The GT500 is unmistakably heavier but it also has what feels like a TON more torque. It pulls a lot harder than my car and is almost certainly going to put down better 1/4 mile times. The GT is way more nimble and tossable...who ever would have applied those adjectives to a 3600lb car with a solid rear axle? It's relative, I guess!

Anyway, that GT500 is a really, really neat car...way more special feeling all around than my plain old GT. :)


So he's aware of the clutch/balancer issue. That's happening soon...

The biggest problem that he has had so far is putting the power down.

First, it's on the stock tires. What do you guys recommend for the stock wheels? Would you run the 285s all around (to reduce understeer)?

Alternatively, what wheels/tires have you guys had good luck with? I gather that he's leaning towards "subtle" for the wheels...OEM or at least not chrome. No 20"s for him...

Second: wheelhop!! My 2011 was cured by going with Eibach Pro/Bilsteins/Steeda UCA but I'm not sure which part of that formula did the trick. How did you guys cure yours?

Is there a preferred source for the CAI/tune mods? I think a pulley swap may be in his future too... I went with BAMA for my GT and while the tunes have been pretty good, I have nobody to compare them to.

Any opinions or tips would be very welcome!
-Mike
 
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Gabe

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For the girlfriend's '08, we did Steeda billet lower control arms (I'd actually recommend these or the BMR's, probably lean toward BMR next), CHE lower control arm relocation brackets, CHE axle brace, and Steeda upper control arm.
The parts that stopped the hop? The control arms and relocation brackets.

Tires, yes the Goodyears suck.
So much so that I consider the car unsafe with those horrible tires on there.
Get some drag radials, 305/40/18 Nitto NT555R's work great on the street.
 

skwerl

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Talk with Kelly or Dylan at BMR for your wheel hop concerns. Kelly is the traction expert and surprisingly unbiased in his recommendations. He definitely knows what works.

If you want more power, Justin and/or BJ at VMP are the guys you need to speak with next. Even a basic canned tune will be a huge improvement over stock, and Justins tunes are very streetable right out of the box. They can sell you as much power as you can afford. BJ's GT500 puts down over 800hp.
 

Pentalab

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For the girlfriend's '08, we did Steeda billet lower control arms (I'd actually recommend these or the BMR's, probably lean toward BMR next), CHE lower control arm relocation brackets, CHE axle brace, and Steeda upper control arm.
The parts that stopped the hop? The control arms and relocation brackets.

Tires, yes the Goodyears suck.
So much so that I consider the car unsafe with those horrible tires on there.
Get some drag radials, 305/40/18 Nitto NT555R's work great on the street.

I'd use BMR lca relocate brackets / adj UCA / and LCA's. I'd also add a watts link, like either the Whiteline, or the new BMR. It could also use a real differential, like either a Torsen, or an Eaton Tru-trac. The tru-trac comes in either the standard 3 pinion version ( for oem 31 spline axles) or the 4 pinion version ( made for 33 spline axles).

Those front + rear 9.5" wide GT-500 rims are just barely wide enough for a 285-40-18. And IMO, they are stretched too wide for the oem 255-45-18 on the fronts. A Nitto NT-555R in a 305-40-18 wants to see a 11" rim..and will just work on a 10" rim. The nitto NT-555R in the 305-45-18 wants to see a 10" rim.

With that kind of tq and from the past experiences of GT-500 owners here in town, trying to keep it in a straight line, much less get any traction...with oem suspension + tires is a tall order.

Ideally, you would want a 11" rim on the rear, and a 10" rim on the front. And a 305 (or 315) on the rear....and a 285 /295 on the front. And that's b4 you start cranking up the hp /tq. You don't want excess stagger between fronts and rears either...or too much understeer will result. Loads of tq is great, but at least make the car safe. Several local GT-500 owners here in town have had their cars get away on them. Bone stock, they are a handful as is. You want the LCA's a little lower at the axle end, otherwise, kiss traction goodbye. The oem differential is junk..and ditto with the lca's.

The oem HE for the blower is way too small. b4 you even think about a smaller pulley, the HE needs to be upgraded to something a lot bigger, like the HE used on the 13 / 14 GT-500. Use the IC pump from the 13/14 GT-500. The oem De-gas is on the small side, but that's not a major issue.

What condition are the brakes / pads / rotors /brake fluid ? If it was mine, I'd install SS brake lines, some decent street pads, and half decent brake fluid, like perhaps Wilwood 570 or ATE-200, or Motul-600. That's a heavy car to slow down from any speed....like 3950 lbs, without the driver.
 
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mrt2you

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for the wheel hop problem , BMR upper and lower control arms. if he takes it to the drags adjustable ones wouldn't be a bad idea.
the tires run some Michelin pilot super sports for a little better wear, or possibly Nitto 555R.

run the 13 and up heat exchanger and pump for a for a low $$$ upgrade. more $$$ a afco TRIPPLE pass heat exchanger with fans and a turbo intercooler pump would be a solid upgrade if more power mods are planed in the future.

for more power run a 13 and up supercharger , larger cold air intake, larger throttle body, and a aftermarket overdrive dampener. adding a boost a pump and larger injectors wouldn't be a bad idea. with these mods and a tune you will be at over 650 RWHP on pump 93 octane and be emission test legal.

as stated above stainless brake lines with good pads is a good idea.
 
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Gabe

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The 305/40/18 Nitto 555R drag radials on the 18x9.5 SVT rims on my GF's car:

2014-05-05_DRs3_zpsb53a65fc.jpg



Yes, they bulge out a bit, but there are lots of guys running them on the stock SVT rims, and we've even autocrossed the car and they weren't rolling over, they did great

I use the same size tires on a different set of 18x9.5 SVT wheels on my '13 GT:

2014-09-21_Canobie4_zps8cf70420.jpg


2014-08-29_b_zpscf515b01.jpg


2014-06-23_DRs3_zpsc68e3f81.jpg
 

RED09GT

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If you want to keep the stock wheels, why not run the 285/40 18 NT05R's out back and 275/40 NT05's in the front?
I was cutting high 1.7's with my turbo car on the little 275/40 17" NT05R's so despite not being that wide, the compound makes up for it. On the street, they could hold everything except for a clutch dump.
 

joe_momma

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The stock tires were junk to begin with, and now that they're 9 years old, they've likely gone hard. I had a similar issue on my '06GT, picked it up with 6300 miles on it 3.5 years ago still with the stock BFG. They wouldn't stick for anything, switched out to some Michelin AS/3 all-seasons and they work like magic, even for an AS. Lots of good suggestions in here for tires.
 

mrgtx

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Wow!!
You guys absolutely rock. Thank you all for the insight and info.

When I talk to him this morning, I will pass along the info about the BMR relocation brackets and LCAs. That sounds like a great place to start.

Do the relocation brackets require welding? Has anyone here ever broken one on a hard launch, etc?

Funny thing about "keeping it straight"-- that has been a problem! My father is a pretty competent driver. He's been driving muscle cars since early 70s and the days of big block cars with drum brakes on bias ply street tires. To this day, he shifts faster than anyone I know and at the very least, never outdrives his abilities or the car's limits...usually! Despite plenty of caution and familiarity with the laws of physics, he has gotten the Shelby bent out of shape on holeshots a couple times now and while he laughed about it (and kept it on the road), I was sweating bullets. The guy knows how to drive...but it's pretty clear that the GT500 can get wild in a hurry.
 
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stkjock

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if the car is stock ride height, the relocation brackets are not a must do, the LCAs/UCAs should be
 

mrgtx

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if the car is stock ride height, the relocation brackets are not a must do, the LCAs/UCAs should be

Ha... yes. That makes sense.
My father actually pointed that out to me when I passed along the links this morning. :)

He's picking out LCAs first.
 

Fullboogie

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If you go with DR's, don't do the 285/40's - they are shorter than the factory tires. I know, I have them on mine right now. I used to have the 305's as mentioned above, and I loved them. I really regret stepping down in size.

And nothing is going to give you traction. The suspension pieces will certainly help, and it will handle better, but the car has so much torque so early that it's a losing battle. Just enjoy it.
 

Gabe

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Koni yellow (Sport) shocks/struts, Ford Racing "L" rear springs, BMR rear lower control arms and LCA relo brackets

He'll be surprised how much the package above will change the car.

That's the set-up we have on the GF's Shelby, and this was the difference in rear height, stock VS modded:

2014-01-13_susp-13_zps6cd53598.jpg


2014-01-13_susp-11_zpsc2a77614.jpg


2014-01-13_susp-12_zps32de79d0.jpg
 

46Tbird

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I wouldn't be so sure a stock '07 GT500 will outrun your coyote. I'd say it's a driver's race and the car with the most traction will almost certainly take it.
 

BruceH

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My father picked up a 2007 GT500 back in the summer and he has been driving the heck out of it. It's 100% stock (aside from the OEM KR catback and the Ford Motorsports shifter). He just rolled 7k miles...and I hope he keeps laying down the miles, per Mr. Shelby's instructions.

So I have driven it back to back with my 2011 GT/Brembo car with 3.55s, 285 RE-11 tires, exhaust/tune/suspension stuff done and the two cars offer strikingly different experiences from behind the wheel. The GT500 is unmistakably heavier but it also has what feels like a TON more torque. It pulls a lot harder than my car and is almost certainly going to put down better 1/4 mile times. The GT is way more nimble and tossable...who ever would have applied those adjectives to a 3600lb car with a solid rear axle? It's relative, I guess!

Anyway, that GT500 is a really, really neat car...way more special feeling all around than my plain old GT. :)


So he's aware of the clutch/balancer issue. That's happening soon...

The biggest problem that he has had so far is putting the power down.

First, it's on the stock tires. What do you guys recommend for the stock wheels? Would you run the 285s all around (to reduce understeer)?

Alternatively, what wheels/tires have you guys had good luck with? I gather that he's leaning towards "subtle" for the wheels...OEM or at least not chrome. No 20"s for him...

Second: wheelhop!! My 2011 was cured by going with Eibach Pro/Bilsteins/Steeda UCA but I'm not sure which part of that formula did the trick. How did you guys cure yours?

Is there a preferred source for the CAI/tune mods? I think a pulley swap may be in his future too... I went with BAMA for my GT and while the tunes have been pretty good, I have nobody to compare them to.

Any opinions or tips would be very welcome!
-Mike


Upper and lower control arms will stop the hop. Better tires will help with traction. Depending on location and weather a set of Nitto NT05R in 305/45/18 will give lots of traction but they aren't so good in the cold. For a non drag radial Nitto 555 in 295/45/18 is a good choice. Both will work with the stock wheels. The tall sidewall allows for a 305 tire to safely mount on the 9.5" wide wheels.
 

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