GT500 track/street build

[TORQR]

Hello fellow track hounds. I decided to log my journey to build a combo street/track day balancing act with my 2011 GT500 on this forum. I started a thread on another forum, but this one seems to have more RR enthusiasts for input.

So far here is what I've changed on the car.

Brakes are stock 14" front and 13" rear (2013 GT500). Front has cooling ducts with bilge pumps.
Current pads are Raybestos ST43's all around which are great.

Suspension setup:
Whiteline adj LCAs
Kenny Brown LCA lowering brackets
KB rod-ended lowered/adj PHB
Whiteline adj front swaybar
Stock rear swaybar
MCS TT2 double adj shocks with 550f and 250r springs (being installed this week)

Wheels are Forgeline F14's 18x11 all around with Toyo R888's.

Drivetrain:
Ken Bell 2.8LC stage 3 with 3" pulley.
VMP triple pass heat exchanger with large reservoir.
Bobs Autosport oil catch can and axle reservoir.

I live in Tucson, so I normally run Inde Motorsports Park and the tracks at Wildehorse Pass near Phoenix. I am planning a trip to CA soon to run T-Hill and Sonoma though.

 

[SlowJim]

Welcome! Sounds like you have quite a track beast on your hands! With the high temps out there have you considered a radiator upgrade or oil cooler? Any weight reduction?

Looking forward to pics

 

[csamsh]

....bilge pumps???

 

[Macman45]

Hello fellow track hounds. I decided to log my journey to build a combo street/track day balancing act with my 2011 GT500 on this forum. I started a thread on another forum, but this one seems to have more RR enthusiasts for input.

So far here is what I've changed on the car.

Brakes are stock 14" front and 13" rear (2013 GT500). Front has cooling ducts with bilge pumps.
Current pads are Raybestos ST43's all around which are great.

Suspension setup:
Whiteline adj LCAs
Kenny Brown LCA lowering brackets
KB rod-ended lowered/adj PHB
Whiteline adj front swaybar
Stock rear swaybar
MCS TT2 double adj shocks with 550f and 250r springs (being installed this week)

Wheels are Forgeline F14's 18x11 all around with Toyo R888's.

Drivetrain:
Ken Bell 2.8LC stage 3 with 3" pulley.
VMP triple pass heat exchanger with large reservoir.
Bobs Autosport oil catch can and axle reservoir.

I live in Tucson, so I normally run Inde Motorsports Park and the tracks at Wildehorse Pass near Phoenix. I am planning a trip to CA soon to run T-Hill and Sonoma though.

Lemme know when you come up to Sonoma, I'll head out. We drag every Wednesday night.

 

[Mike Rousch]

Hello fellow track hounds. I decided to log my journey to build a combo street/track day balancing act with my 2011 GT500 on this forum. I started a thread on another forum, but this one seems to have more RR enthusiasts for input.

So far here is what I've changed on the car.

Brakes are stock 14" front and 13" rear (2013 GT500). Front has cooling ducts with bilge pumps.
Current pads are Raybestos ST43's all around which are great.

Suspension setup:
Whiteline adj LCAs
Kenny Brown LCA lowering brackets
KB rod-ended lowered/adj PHB
Whiteline adj front swaybar
Stock rear swaybar
MCS TT2 double adj shocks with 550f and 250r springs (being installed this week)

Wheels are Forgeline F14's 18x11 all around with Toyo R888's.

Drivetrain:
Ken Bell 2.8LC stage 3 with 3" pulley.
VMP triple pass heat exchanger with large reservoir.
Bobs Autosport oil catch can and axle reservoir.

I live in Tucson, so I normally run Inde Motorsports Park and the tracks at Wildehorse Pass near Phoenix. I am planning a trip to CA soon to run T-Hill and Sonoma though.

Welcome! I am not sure what pad compound that is but for track pads only you would need DTC70's or Carbotech XP20's up front if you plan on driving aggressive. Also some good brake fluid, Motul 660 at a minimum but castrol SRF would be better. The biggest draw back to these cars are brakes, your going to chew them up. Get as much weight out of it as possible to.

That pulley set up should be around 18psi, If your running 93 i would drop that back a bit, If you can put that thing on e85 you would be much better off. Heat soak is going to horrible with that much boost. Also plan on eventually going with a different set of tires, a few hard laps on those and they will turn into balls of grease (nitto nt01s seem to be better).

Not sure of your prior experience or skill level, But when you do start to drive that car hard all the above will become a problem. Either way they are fun cars to beat up on, Just have a good tire and brake budget and have fun!

....bilge pumps???

^this!

 

[Sky Render]

....bilge pumps???

Arrrrrr, matey. She be takin' on water! But seriously, what the H-E-double-nine-iron are bilge pumps on a car?

I agree about lowering the boost. Since you're not living your life a quarter mile at a time like most GT500 owners, your IATs are going to be your biggest enemy. I'd run stock boost levels and either run E85 (if practical) or dump a few gallons of 100 octane in when you're hot lapping.

 

[TORQR]

Hey folks. I appreciate the input. For some history, I've been a part time track day enthusiast for over ten years and ran a Masdaspeed Miata, 4th gen Camaro and now the Mustang. Re the bilge pumps, they run inline of the 3"ducts and help maintain air flow even in slow corners and post hot laps to keep cooling. So far they have worked outstanding. As a testament, I picked up the car last year with the original 2011 rotors and 7,000 miles. I now have 11,000 miles and have done at least 8 track days and the rotors still do not have any visible stress cracks. Note that I'm also using Ti heat guards behind the pads which helps.

 

[TORQR]

Lemme know when you come up to Sonoma, I'll head out. We drag every Wednesday night.

I'll be joining Hooked on Driving at Sonoma on April 22nd (wed). Hope to see you!

 

[Vorshlag-Fair]

I've seen the "bilge pumps" (aka: inline air blower fans) used on a number of Shelby built Mustangs. They are... interesting. We have a customer with a Shelby Super Snake coming in this week that uses these. Problem is if you forget to turn them off they BLOCK the air, and then you cook the brakes.

I dunno, I guess its just a Shelby thing...

 

[TORQR]

I've seen the "bilge pumps" (aka: inline air blower fans) used on a number of Shelby built Mustangs. They are... interesting. We have a customer with a Shelby Super Snake coming in this week that uses these. Problem is if you forget to turn them off they BLOCK the air, and then you cook the brakes.

I dunno, I guess its just a Shelby thing...

It's a Shelby thing. You wouldn't understand.

 

[TORQR]

Does anyone here have experience with the MCS TT2 shocks? Any advice on initial bump and rebound settings?

 

[TORQR]

First street impressions of the new MCS TT2 shock/springs and CC plates both from Vorschlag was quite good. It was worth the wait. Much smoother on the street than I expected with the 250# springs in the rear. From the lowest setting, I set initial rebound and compression at 4 in the front and rear. Right away I felt the rear compression was too much for the street so I dialed it back to 2 clicks from the bottom. After that the rise was much smoother. I'm sure I will dial it up on the track, but for now it's good.

 

[B2B]

I made the same mistake with my TT1. First time on the track with them, I dialed in 10 clicks in the rear just because I'm used to cranking up my Koni Yellows... That was *way* too much rebound for the 175# rear springs and I was ice skating out there... Ended up with either 4 or 5 clicks in the rear and 6 in the front. Still need more track time to find the right settings.

 

[TORQR]

Hey B2B, I imagine I'll want different settings for the street vs. the track. I was hoping someone here had experience with my particular set up to get me in the ballpark. Maybe Terry Fair will weigh in.

 

[csamsh]

Hey B2B, I imagine I'll want different settings for the street vs. the track. I was hoping someone here had experience with my particular set up to get me in the ballpark. Maybe Terry Fair will weigh in.

I ran the TT1's for an autocross event, and have run the similar AST4150's for a couple years. Settings depend on what you're doing. I'd start at 25% firm in the back and 50% firm in the front and adjust as needed.

Also, I'm a big believer now in big front springs, like 800#, and a softer front bar. Worked GREAT on the car before I decided to sell it.

 

[TORQR]

I may eventually go with the higher spring rates later, but for now 550's will have to do. For the shocks, plan to start on softer settings and slowly bump up both rebound and compression until I feel I'm losing ground. For my trip to CA, I need to make it as comfy as possible for the wife who's riding along however.

 

[TORQR]

Ran with NASA N. Cal yesterday at Thunderhill. I was in the HPDE group 4 which is open passing. We ran both directions (not at the same time, ha) which was cool. The blind hill-cresting corners were a little intimidating in the reverse/clockwise direction. I had run this direction a long time ago, but only once so I was in relearning mode. The new MCS shocks worked very well. I need to adjust my thresholds as I get used to the changes from the stock shocks/springs. One area I'd like input is mid-sweeper push. Thinking about increasing rear compression and/or softening the front sway bar. Thanks for any advice. I can test it out Wed at Sonoma.

 

[SlowJim]

What are your bars currently set to?

 

[TORQR]

My Whiteline front bar is on the second softest and no rear bar.

 

[Sky Render]

My Whiteline front bar is on the second softest and no rear bar.

D'oh.

Put a rear Whiteline bar on it. Tighten the front bar to full stiffness. Better yet, replace it with an even better, stifferer bar.

You have to remember that we have McP strut front suspensions. Adding front bar stiffness can actually decrease understeer to a point, because it prevents the car from rolling out of its camber curve. BMR noticed that just about everyone who was corner carving was running their aftermarket front bars on full stiffness, so they made that bar I linked to be even stiffer than the stiffest aftermarket bar.