As a followup after my first track session at Cresson Motorsports Ranch, I can certainly say I'm glad I did the Boss Oil Cooler. During a hard session the temps would get up to the "L" iirc on the display (around 85% of the way before it gets to the yellow). Engine temps however stayed at a normal range, no different than highway driving.
That is weird. MSR-C last weekend - it was COLD, and if the weather there was anything like Eagles Canyon an hour or so away where we were, it was also raining. And your oil was running warm? That shouldn't happen. I hate to say this, as people often get pretty defensive about their parts upgrades, but I've heard nothing but bad things about the Boss 302 oil cooler. Many of the Boss302 guys that track their cars have been fighting cooling problems since day one... they seem to quickly move up to the 302-S radiator, then the Tiger Racing hood, then the 302-S grill, and on and on in a never-ending quest to cool their cars. But oddly enough, the
non-Boss 5.0 cars (GTs) don't seem to have
any cooling problems.
We've been tracking the piss out of our 2011 Mustang GT since we bought it in August 2010. With 2 drivers often driving the car on the same day, dozens of track days a year in Texas heat, and running lap times usually 2+ seconds faster than the American Iron lap records, we have racked up 17K trouble-free miles with a
bone stock Mustang GT cooling system. The oil we use is Mobil1 synthetic 10W40, and changed often, but has never smells burned.
Go to the Boss302 forums... you will see thread after thread talking about overheating. What do these cars have different from the base GT? The Boss302 oil cooler. Or as I call it, the oil heater. The only reason GT owners seem to buy this kit is 1) "it comes on the Boss302" and 2) the internet is a terrible place for goading people into buying often worse parts than stock. Seriously, over half the stuff sold for Mustangs is worthless frou frou, even a
small percentage of the parts that make it into the FRPP catalog.
Sorry, but you should always doubt EVERYTHING you read on forums from people you don't know/haven't seen personally at the track a LOT/don't know if they are actually fast. This isn't a message people that read the internets a lot want to hear, but it is true. A lot of people in the aftermarket just want to sell you something, anything, and a lot of "bolt on billy's" want you to buy the same crap parts they did to justify their purchase. This probably sounds crazy from an actual vendor on this very forum, too, but it is something I've been saying for 25 years.
It was pretty chilly (40's and 50's) so in the summer it may be a different story.
If it is running warm now as cold as it is, it will only get worse as ambient temps rise.
Breaks were OKish. Definitely need some better pads i think.
The stock brake pads won't last very long, and tend to fade quickly when pushed moderately hard.
Don't take this the wrong way, but how new to tracking are you? What were your lap times on the MSR-C 1.7, if you took any?
We all start somewhere, and I was brand new to track events once, just like everyone. What you will see is when you get enough track experience under your belt to start wringing some fast lap times out of a stock Mustang, when you are really pushing it, the stock brake pads become a
major hindrance. At the NASA race weekend on March 16-17th of this month I drove our 2011 GT to a TT3 class win and set a new track record on the 3.1 mile course (joins the 1.3 and 1.7 course) using the Brembo brakes and aftermarket pads/cooling (picture above).
That same weekend I also
drove a stock 2011 Mustang GT on the 1.7 mile course (shown above). It was a customer's car that had the stock suspension, optional 14" Brembos and stock brake pads. Been a little while since I drove one this stock, and she was riding along to have me show her how hard you can push these cars (and what happens when you do). I drove it fairly hard (8/10ths) and we noticed
massive brake dive and the pads were giving up after 2 hot laps. At least it had good brake fluid, so it didn't boil and turn to mush. The Brembos are awesome and a must-have option on any 2011+ GT. But the stock pads are a compromise, made for quiet, dust-free street use, and work great ice cold but lose a lot of friction when they get hot. I love them for street pads, but for track use they are outmatched by just about anything from the aftermarket.
With Carbotech pads in the typical track-HPDE Mustangs, we are seeing good results from XP10-XP12 pads up front and XP8-XP10 out back. We've moved up to XP20 front and XP12 rear on our Time Trial car, which has front brake ducting (BIG improvement in cooling) and is carrying a lot of ballast to meet the class power-to-weight numer (3812 pounds that weekend!). But even with some of the most aggressive/hardest race pads available we still go through brake pads and rotors at a pretty good clip. These are big, heavy cars with a good bit of power stock... add more power and more weight (which we have done to stay in this class) and this is what our brakes look like after 3 weekends on the pads and about 5 weekends on rotors:
It is just part of the cost of tracking/racing a big, heavy, powerful car.
And running track pads on the street sucks, as they make a lot of noise, dust and wear rotors faster. Luckily, switching pads on these cars is relatively easy - and something track drivers get used to doing before and after track weekends.
Breakdive was noticeable but manageable. Body roll didnt bother me at all.
Hmmm... yea, when you are pushing it harder you will notice the stock suspension will dish out loads of brake dive and bodyroll. And the loss of camber in the front suspension front will shred the outside shoulders of your front tires. But you might not be there yet, so just have fun and rack up more seat time.
Planned mods before next event: Shocks/struts/Springs, break pads, 285's in the rear.
I'd do a few more events before throwing a new suspension on it. Seriously, if this was your first or even your 5th track day, you are jumping the gun on upgrades. Keep getting seat time before upgrading the suspension. Upping rear tire size and not the front will only make the car push (understeer) worse. And adding power will only make the car harder to drive and likely slower.
Left: Adjustable camber plates pay for themselves quickly in front tire wear savings. Right: Stock power in my 2013 GT was 377 whp
And power mods? Way too soon for that. On a 2011-2013 5.0 GT, power mods should be done AFTER these other upgrades: 1) brake pad/brake cooling upgrades, 2) tire/wheel upgrades, 3) camber adjustment up front, 4) strut/spring/bar upgrades, and 5) harness/seat upgrades. These cars make
375-380 whp bone stock, but the suspension and other bits are not even up to that level. Adding more power will only amplify how overtaxed the suspension, tires and brake pads are. Be strong - resist the urge to throw power and mods at your car until you are running at least under ~1:35 laps at MSR-C (CCW) in a stock GT.
Cheers,
