First trip to the track (Baytown, Texas) in a manual.

[OLD_GOAT]

Basically a newbie here.

Now you guys know I'm going to take Lil Pony to the track. Hell, we all know that.

Everything I've learned racing my 2005 A4 GTO, 09 A6 Vette, and 09 A6 G8 GXP goes down the drain racing my 2013 M6 Mustang GT.

What did I learn from my GM autos? A lot was learned about the whole scope of racing street cars. Yes, I learned well. Well enough that on two occasions my GTO was number 1 in the bolt on class with a 12.12, my Vette was at number 4 on the LS3 showroom stock category with a 12.15, and my G8 GXP is still the fastest bolt on G8 with an 11.91 and ran a bone stock 12.93. So, in this context, I know my way around the track with an auto. However that was then, tonight is now.

Will the car wheel hop, what do I launch at, do I dump or slip the clutch, will I shift properly shift or miss a shift, will I be able to get a good launch with 3.73 gears, will I shift at the right time and avoid hitting the rev limiter, etc. It's a whole new ballgame.

I set a goal with my GXP and it was a bone stock 12.9x, and I reached it on several occasions. So, my goal for Lil Pony will be a 12.8. It will probably take a night of good and negative DA to reach it. I have no doubts about Royal Purple Raceway and the track prep.

The only prep I will do is lowering the rear tires a bit and take out the spare tire and tools. After that, it's time to race.

In order to get the 12.8x timeslip, I have my work cut out for me. I do think the engine and car has the ability, but do I as a driver have the ability?

I'll let you guys know what happened.

I'm pretty nervous about this. It's like spending some 'very intimate' time with Beyonce instead of a blow up doll, a whole new ballgame.

 

[OLD_GOAT]

OK, here goes.

I've already set up this thread by stating I've never raced a manual before, and I also made a list of things I would have to consider.

Will the car wheel hop, what do I launch at, do I dump or slip the clutch, will I shift properly shift or miss a shift, will I be able to get a good launch with 3.73 gears, will I shift at the right time and avoid hitting the rev limiter, etc.

One thing I will do is tell the complete truth, whether it makes me look like an idiot or not.

Car, bone stock 2013 Mustang GT manual with the only option being 3.73 gears, non premium.

I always get to the track early and try to be the first car to get teched in, then get into the line to race. I can do what little prep I do right there. Tonight, I lowered the tire pressure on the rears to 27 pounds. I even had the spare tire and some tools in the back. Knowing how much my G8 GXP sucked up gas on the nights I was running her, I bought an extra $20 worth of 93 octane, which turned out to be a mistake. When I left the track, I still had almost a half tank.

I was beyond nervous before making the first run. On the way to the track I did a couple of 0-70 hard launches on the toll road just to try to get a feel for the car.

Race 1 To say that I was suffering from brain overload would be an understatement. I don't remember what RPM I launched at, but it was too high. Wheel hop all over the place, hit the rev. limiter on two occasions. Ugh. By the way, I left traction control on, which made things even worse, plus I got 'killed' by another 5.0.
14.662 @ 105.11.........2.624

Race 2 I turned right around and hot lapped the car. At this point in the night, I didn't feel the temp of the engine was as important as making a good pass. I raced the same 5.0, and this time I was the 'killer'.
13.481 @ 110.42..........2.408

Race 3 Using the same thoughts as race 2, I turned right around and made another pass. The lines at the track would grow to be long as the night went on, and I felt experience was more important than letting the car cool for a bit.
13.217 @ 111.48..........2.234 I was feeling a lot better by now, but there was no doubt in my mind the car was capable of far more, it was just me holding her back. All my launches from this point on were in the 2500 to 2800 range.

**************************************************
During the break I went up to another 5.0 buddy and was embarrassed to ask this question, however people learn by asking. How do I clean off the tires? With my autos, I could fry the drag radials, but this was completely different. Basically I just did a couple of hard launches to clean off my 235 stock 18" tires. I need to work on this. Also, I never dumped the clutch, I mostly eased into the run, or ease as best that I could do with no experience.
***************************************************


Race 4 After taking a 45 minute break it was time to saddle up the pony again and try to let her gallop, but there was too much wheel hop. Also, after the first two runs against a brother 5.0, I have no idea who I raced. I totally concentrated on my car and my time and didn't care who I 'killed' or who 'killed' me.
13.452 @ 109.68.....2.240

If you look at my 60' on run 4, it almost mirrored the 60' on run 3, however hitting the rev. limiter also limits your runs. Something to remember.

Race 5 Seat of the pants tells me it's a really good run. Like all the runs before this one, there was still a bit of wheel hop, but minimal as compared to runs 1 and 2. I didn't hit the rev limiter everything went very smooth.
13.029 @ 110.80..........2.116
Not only was this the best run, the reaction time was .034. Not bad for a fat old man who wears bifocals.

Race 6 I'm allowing the car to cool off as the lines have gotten ridiculously long, but the car is cooling off in line. Where the first three runs were back to back, the last ones were about an hour apart. Apparently we took a big step back with this race. Bad wheel hop and more rev limiter hits.......ugh.
13.129 @ 111.25......2.236

Race 7 It's right at 9:15 and one of my buddies tells me the DA is right at + 420 or somewhere close. As the lines have gotten even longer, it's time to make one last pass. Every thing seemed right on this pass. Still a bit of hop, but my eyes were glued on both the track and tach. Every shift was right at 6800, and the shifts were as good as could be expected with my lack of experience. I don't have a premium package, so there is no type of shift light to tell me when to shift. I think there's a variation of a shift light on the premium package. My reaction time (1.432) on this run was laughable as I was running a 10 second car and only cared about my time, not about the race. I wanted to launch and race when I was totally ready.
12.981 @ 110.66.......2.094 , first night out in a manual and I'm a new member of the 12 second club. It felt great to get that timeslip and to see the number 12.981 on the slip.

A couple of things to close with. Yes, these cars are capable of far better times than my PB of the night, but I must take things in context. If I make more passes and the DA is better, no way should I be happy with a 12.981, but for tonight I'll gladly take it.

I never missed a shift all night, except going from 4th to 5th after the line was crossed. With these stock tires and a 3.73 gear, I was crossing the line in 4th at about 6800 rpms.

It was a great night, and boy, did I learn a lot!

 

[Morris]

Nice job on making it to the 12's on the first time out. I sucked big time with my 2012 mustang gt the first time out. I think the best I got was a 13.3 with a best 60' of 2.2 or 2.3 at around 109 mph. My driving sucked, the track prep sucked and my car was set up wrong (in regards to the lower control arm relocation bracket). I spun the tires in every gear (even on the 4 to 5 shift). It was a very disappointing and humbling night. I lost a nice bottle of grey goose over it to boot.

I also have the 3.73 gears so we are basically running the same car. It will take very little to have you in the low 12's. I have been back twice since that first outing and have dropped my time to 12.21 with a 1.8 60'. I'm confident that all I would need is some taller stickier tires and I could be in the 11's. The trouble with the 3.73 is that you top out at 115 to 116 mph even with a tune before the line. IMO the 3.55 would have been the better gear or even the 3.31 if you add boost some day. How-ever with a 28" tall tire and the 3.73's we should be able to cross the line just before red line in 4th if you are tuned and run in the 11's with little trouble.

Any way did the car wheel hop on you at all? have you done any mods? It was a hell of a lot more fun than the auto wasn't it? Do you guys have a gear jammer class?

Oh and my last car was a g8 too, but only a gt. That car would do 12.8's again almost the same as what you ran. Do you still have the g8? I totaled mine a year ago and still miss it.

 

[OLD_GOAT]

Yes, I had wheel hop on all runs, a couple were pretty bad, while the others were minimal. My car is bone stock.

Yes, I sold my G8 GXP a few months back.

 

[wbt]

I remember you from the Grrrr8 forums. Glad to see you in a 5.0 vs. a 5th gen. Camaro. Nice job on the passes. The real fun begins when you get a good tune and tire under the car.

I'll be at NMRA Houston. If you attend, stop by and chat.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Old Goat, sounds like a good first race day in the new 5.0L. I, too, used to race a Pontiac - I had a '68 GTO for 9 years once upon a time. My last car was an '07 Mustang GT automatic (Vortech supercharged) that ran high 11's and was easy to race. My '11 5.0L started off life like yours (3.73 gears and basic cloth interior). Had to relearn drag racing a stick shift with the '11, so it was fun to read about your evening at the track. With just a tune & sticky tires, I went as quick as 12.15 in the 1/4 mile and as fast as 117.17 mph (on a different pass). I chased an 11.99 timeslip all season, but couldn't do it. Maybe next season for both of us....

 

[AJCrader]

I am hoping to head out to run next weekend, in my 2013 bone stock non-premium GT...I think mine has the 3.31 gears though...I love the OP...will help me out a ton as I have only made 3 other passes in a stick car, one of which was in a FWD car...Congrats on breaking into the 12s, and good luck in getting the 12.8 slip!

 

[Morris]

Old goat, I'm sure you have searched about the wheel hop but I thought it worth mentioning that I had good luck with the bmr arms. I did both the upper and lower at the same time and have never had wheel hop since.

 

[OLD_GOAT]

 

[HEMI LOL]

be careful with the wheel hop, its an axle bender on these cars. you got some good runs in, great write up!

 

[D98GT]

Old goat, glad to see that you made the transition over to the mustang. I have met you a few times out at the track and I'm sure I will meet you again since the weather is getting good

 

[Brn N Rubr]

Congrats! I too entered the bone stock 12-sec club last night. This was in Dallas with a DA of 2600'. 12.84@108. There was a pretty stiff (15-20mph) direct head wind down the track. That couldn't have helped MPH.

 

[Bad Intention]

Congrats on getting you 12 sec slip with car bone stock. Like anything else with more passes you will develope a routine each time you go up to the line. Be mindful of the wheel hop. A good set of Lower control ars should eliminate that problem.

 

[OLD_GOAT]

Since getting a good nights sleep after my night at the track, I've thought a lot about what mods I'm going to do.

My primary list was this:

MGW shifter
LCA

My secondary list was

Drag radials on 17" rims
Tune

I've made a change to my list. I made a comment in my write up that I could not clean off the tires using a manual vs. using an auto.

I'm still going MGW and LCA first, then I'm going to add a line lock. What good is having drag radials if I can't heat them up properly?

Since I'm not driving a premium, I don't have the lights that go off either when the rev limiter is hit or before, I thought about buying a shift light. I just don't see spending the money when I can concentrate and shift around 6800-7000 when I'm supposed to. On my last run, after launching, I was on top of things watching the tach and shifting at the proper time.

My amended primary list of mods:

Absolute mod:
MGW shifter (is being made or awaiting parts and my shifter should be started being built real soon)

Variable mod: By variable if anybody knows for sure that either of these could be a problem to my car, please post it, but I will get some brand of these mods.

LCA, most likely these:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-rearlower-arms-0511gt.html

Line lock, most likely this one:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/jpc-line-lock-kit.html

Secondary mods:

Drag radials on 17" rims. 100% sure

Tune. 100% sure

Exhaust cutouts, manual. hmmmmmmm maybe

With the secondary mods, I'll cross the bridge and make solid decisions after doing more homework.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

I had an SLP Line Lock on my '07 GT, but don't feel I need one on my '11 GT. I have 275/50/17 M&H Drag Radials, and simply do a quick burnout w/o braking to clean off the tires and they dead hook perfectly. My 60' times are in the 1.68 - 1.75 range with the 4.56 gears and that quick 1st gear burnout is plenty.

The MGW shifter is awesome! That really help me nail shifts quickly and easily in my '11. Lots of money, but well worth it.

Adjustable LCA's (or an upper control arm) will make the hop go away. Just be sure to get your pinion angle adjusted to about -1.5 to -2.0 degrees and you'll be good to go.

 

[OLD_GOAT]

I had an SLP Line Lock on my '07 GT, but don't feel I need one on my '11 GT. I have 275/50/17 M&H Drag Radials, and simply do a quick burnout w/o braking to clean off the tires and they dead hook perfectly. My 60' times are in the 1.68 - 1.75 range with the 4.56 gears and that quick 1st gear burnout is plenty.

The MGW shifter is awesome! That really help me nail shifts quickly and easily in my '11. Lots of money, but well worth it.

Adjustable LCA's (or an upper control arm) will make the hop go away. Just be sure to get your pinion angle adjusted to about -1.5 to -2.0 degrees and you'll be good to go.

I'm going to have a take a hard look at the M & H drag radials. With my G8 GXP, in order for the NT05R drag radials to hook properly, I had to do a John Force burnout. The GXP was just bolt on's (3200 stall, ARH 1 7/8 long tubes, Rotofab CAI, tune by Patrick G in Victoria, 408 RWHP) and a stock cam, but that was the only way to get a really good launch. Here is a quick vid of the burnouts I'm really wanting to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVqOLZ7xAg&list=UU71hebQCoZtMtAm6-7UJUAA&index=5&feature=plcp

It would be nice if the M & H would hook without the big burnout. Every day I'm learning something new, and I'm grateful for the help.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

I'm going to have a take a hard look at the M & H drag radials. With my G8 GXP, in order for the NT05R drag radials to hook properly, I had to do a John Force burnout. The GXP was just bolt on's (3200 stall, ARH 1 7/8 long tubes, Rotofab CAI, tune by Patrick G in Victoria, 408 RWHP) and a stock cam, but that was the only way to get a really good launch. Here is a quick vid of the burnouts I'm really wanting to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVqOLZ7xAg&list=UU71hebQCoZtMtAm6-7UJUAA&index=5&feature=plcp

It would be nice if the M & H would hook without the big burnout. Every day I'm learning something new, and I'm grateful for the help.

I used to run BFG D/R's and had to do John Force style burns out, too. The M&H's work awesome and last much longer since you don't have to cook them to make them work.

Here's a vid of my '07 GT (far lane) vs a friend's '11 GT (near lane) so you can see the John Force style burnouts I used to have to do with the BFG's before I learned about M&H Racemasters. You'll notice my friend's '11 didn't need much burnout (she runs Mickey Thompson ET Streets)...

http://s955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/RMRostad/TNT%20Pac%20Rcwy%20Oct%2016th/?action=view&current=Brians1179Rhondas1230.mp4

I don't have any vids yet of the M&H's in action, but I assure you they work great with very little heat. Plus, I run them at 25-30 psi so the car feels secure going down the track.

 

[Sharad]

Congrats! I too entered the bone stock 12-sec club last night. This was in Dallas with a DA of 2600'. 12.84@108. There was a pretty stiff (15-20mph) direct head wind down the track. That couldn't have helped MPH.

Congrats on the 12s guys!!

My amended primary list of mods:

Absolute mod:
MGW shifter (is being made or awaiting parts and my shifter should be started being built real soon)

Variable mod: By variable if anybody knows for sure that either of these could be a problem to my car, please post it, but I will get some brand of these mods.

LCA, most likely these:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-rearlower-arms-0511gt.html

Line lock, most likely this one:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/jpc-line-lock-kit.html

Secondary mods:

Drag radials on 17" rims. 100% sure

Tune. 100% sure

Exhaust cutouts, manual. hmmmmmmm maybe

With the secondary mods, I'll cross the bridge and make solid decisions after doing more homework.

I strongly suggest these LCAs:
http://www.uprproducts.com/mustang-chrome-moly-solid-lower-control-arms-urethane-bushing-05.html

They are just LIGHT YEARS ahead of the Ford arms. Our arms are much stronger, with tubular chrome-moly bodies. Also, our custom Energy Suspension bushings control axle movement MUCH better than the Ford bushings do. (Plus they're Made in America and they carry a Lifetime Guarantee)

Another helpful hint is that S197s tend to bounce on the launch and then rebound and unload the tires (causing tire spin). They just don't have enough dampening to handle a good drag launch. Thankfully, adjustable shocks are pretty inexpensive for our cars:
http://www.uprproducts.com/strange-mustang-adjustable-shock-05.html