Our drining team really has a track addiction problem !!
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NASA, PBOC, PCA and CHIN instructor www.bekkersracing.com Ford Mustang GT Cobra engine 340HP on wheels Ford Mustang GT 249HP on wheels FOR SALE Ford F350 Dooly to tow the Mustangs
NASA, PBOC, PCA and CHIN instructor www.bekkersracing.com Ford Mustang GT Cobra engine 340HP on wheels Ford Mustang GT 249HP on wheels FOR SALE Ford F350 Dooly to tow the Mustangs
Posts: 80
Joined: 3/8/2008 From: Douglasville, GA Status: offline
I'm sure that stock Stangs are capable in the corners, not quite as capable as say . . .a 5 series (which I used to race ) but capable nonetheless.
I'm going to bring it out to the autocrosses for a non-points event one day just to see how it does . . .for now, however, she'll remain my daily driver and drifter.
Talking about 5 series.. At Road Atlanta I was behind a white 535I the 80's model, seriously quick, about 2 seconds a lap better than I could do..
Good driver, lightweight, he had lexan windows no interior etc. etc. It was just cool to see a 4 door sedan go fast.
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NASA, PBOC, PCA and CHIN instructor www.bekkersracing.com Ford Mustang GT Cobra engine 340HP on wheels Ford Mustang GT 249HP on wheels FOR SALE Ford F350 Dooly to tow the Mustangs
Posts: 80
Joined: 3/8/2008 From: Douglasville, GA Status: offline
I love em, I had an E34 (1989 535i) white, it was pretty gutsy going through the cones, I never tracked her though, wish I had, I know it had to be capable because it would destroy at autocross events, got tail happy though, LOL!
Closest I've got so far is auto-X. Can't really afford to wad anything up. But hey, if you've got a one-minute egg timer, that'd be almost good enough to measure my reaction time.
Posts: 111
Joined: 11/21/2007 From: Bakersfield, CA Status: offline
well there is at least one more that like road courses. i live near buttonwillow and am working on a 90 LX notch. i've kept adding / changing peices 'til now i have a set of coil overs and a torque arm. engine still almost stock. i will need more practice before i worry about power. brakes are good and i finally got some good DOT sticky tires. i just started last year, and only have 4 outings. once with an outfit called speed ventures, once with NASA (HPDE), once with SCCA (driving instruction day) and the last time was an open test day. me and 2 other cars were street legal. the others were race machines. that was different. i really like road track outings. will do this till i can't get out of the car. may not be too long. i'm now 66. looking for an autoX event that i can try. that should help me learn to drive my car better, right? how / when can i step up from HPDE 1 to 2 or 3? by the way, i like the drags too.
I definately am an addict. I will be at Thunderhill this weekend. My buddy will be doing some shakedown on his new toy. A 1991 Mustang Trans-Am race car. 650HP, 2200lbs, 15in brakes and 14in wide slicks. Should be very fun. I will be there with our Bondurant School Mustang. My first event for the year! I also crew for a vintage race team. Original Cobra race car, Lotus 19B, 66 GT350 B-Production racer and an original Boss 302 Trans Am car. Fun stuff.
Team MF Member #007 Posts: 9928
Joined: 1/5/2004 From: My moms uterus Status: offline
I love me some road racing as well. I just don't have anything to road race. I should have gone that route with my Fox. Alas, shes set up for drag racing, and is down right scary on an off ramp.
I got my taste of it at Bondurant. Now, all I want to do is fly around corners in everything I have.
Team MF Member #013 Posts: 1994
Joined: 12/27/2005 From: Okla. Status: offline
I do quite a bit at Hallett here in Oklahoma. I need another car to take out.. sold my last few that I have used. I have my Highspeed Touring License for their track and if I ever decide to keep a car for more than a year I'll eventually get into their comma point system.
Check out my car domain, I have some pics on it of the vert going around the track and plenty of videos on my youtube.
Hallett is a great track. I have only driven there once and it was in 2006 with NASA.
I had a brake line break on me going into "StopSign" during a race. The bad part was that I was going to make a late-brake pass on the inside when this happened. I swerved to the right and missed another car by 1 inch. Below is the link to the video.
Man, Micheal - I had not seen that video of you before..!! That was close ! (was that Al you nearly clippeed?) I am hoping to run with you guys at Hallet this June...if not for sure at Eagles Canyon in October....just depends on work schedule.
It was actually Daron driving Adam's car. Luckily everything worked out great as I don't think you could have fit a piece of paper b/w us.
If you can make Hallett that would be great. We will hopefully have a 35+ car field if all of the Colorado guys show up. That many cars on a 1.8 mile track should be awesome!!!
NASA, PBOC, PCA and CHIN instructor www.bekkersracing.com Ford Mustang GT Cobra engine 340HP on wheels Ford Mustang GT 249HP on wheels FOR SALE Ford F350 Dooly to tow the Mustangs
Posts: 992
Joined: 9/9/2004 From: Amsterdam, New York Status: offline
im getting into track racing now and it sucks!! so damn expensive haha but i do love it. I just need some help . .what would be a good first couple of mods to start off with to eliminate some body roll so its safe for me to run on slicks.?
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1996 Mustang GT 5 speed manual transmission BBK cold air intake SLP loudmouth 1 catback system Steeda UDP's 3.73's
Posts: 80
Joined: 3/8/2008 From: Douglasville, GA Status: offline
The Mustangs, like most domestics, weren't designed with cornering in mind, that said, a good set of struts/springs will help you out. Unlike drag racing and street racing, the focus isn't power, it's handling and braking.
Struts Springs Brake Upgrade (Slotted or Big Brake) Bigger Sway Bars Panhard bar, 5-Link or IRS setup in the rear High Performance Tires Chassis Bracing
Like I said, your focus should be handling and control. Focus on that, once you get that going properly, get some BOOST UNDER THE BONNET!!!!
First off, is this your daily driver, street / track car, or dedicated track car? If you still drive your car on the street you don't want to go so crazy that it feels like crap on the road.
I would first get a good set of brakes. How much is your car going to weigh with you in it? 3500 lbs, 3300, 3100? The last thing you need to do when starting out is go spend the money to get 4 piston calipers and fancy slotted or drilled rotors. FWIW, my car weighs 3150-3200 w/ me in it. I have stock Cobra dual-piston calipers w/ 12" factory Crown Vic. rotors and PFC01 pads. Unless your car is a pig this will be plenty to stop your car. It will also be very wise to put some sort of brake duct cooling on the car as well as stainless steel brake lines (from Maximum Motorsports) and a proportioning valve. Starting out you can leave your stock rear disc as is.
Suspension - Get a set of subframe connectors. H&R sells great entry-level springs. I would go with either the "Race" or "Super Race" springs. The super race spring is going to be stiffer than the race. Again, are you going to still drive the car on the street? A good set of shocks is a must. I prefer either Koni or Bilstein. The Koni's will be adjustable and the Bilsteins will not. I have run Bilsteins "race valve" shocks from MM for the last three years and they have done great. I plan on changing to Koni DA's for more adjustability. With sway bars don't always think that bigger is better. It's not always bad for a car to roll a little so it will transfer weight to the outside tires. The different stock bars will give you a good amount of adjustability to start tuning your car. You can even try running w/o a rear bar on your car. I took my rear bar off over a year ago and loved it, haven't run one since. Also play with the tightness on your front end links. The factory rear suspension on a Mustang sucks. There is so much bind with the 4-link it is crazy. Start with a set of lower control arms from Maximum Motorsports. You can run a panhard bar with a factory 4-link but you might not like the way it feels. The panhard bar creates more bind in the rear and could cause more snap oversteer. Later on down the line I would look into a panhard bar but not starting out.
Also, wheel spacers can be your best friend. Start with a set of 1/4" and 1/2" and try them front and rear and use them to tune accordingly.
Mustangs were not meant to turn corners but with a little work they get suprisingly good.
Printable Version
No drag racing! Any other road race track addicts here.. - 
I should have gone that route with my Fox. Alas, shes set up for drag racing, and is down right scary on an off ramp. 
