Hangin' on at the race track.

[jlisle01]

I took the car to Hallet this weekend for some road racing and found out three things. 1) My cars ability exceeds the skill of its driver. 2) 115 degree asphalt + BFG KDW tires + 4000 lb car at limit of lateral traction for 15 min straight = big melted tread blocks that look like they were first melted with a blow torch and then not so gently rubbed with a cheese grader. 3) At these kinds of lateral G forces my fat butt is hard to hold in a mostly unbolstered seat. Does anyone know where I can get a harness bar? I tried Sparco but they only list one for the 99 to 04's. I've GOT to get some better seats and a 6 point harness.

 

[PDXStangDude]

I'm wondering how well the seats will do when I go to PIR in September for a driving course. I also have a feeling my Stang will drive better than I can drive it!

 

[SinCityVogel]

Nice to see some one else doing some road racing.
1. How did the brakes hold up?
2. Do you have anything else done to the suspension other than springs, bars and lower arms?

 

[V8JamesGT]

4000 lbs? How did your car get to be so heavy?

 

[jlisle01]

4000 lbs? How did your car get to be so heavy?

Some of it's the mods, some of it's the full tank of gas, some of it's my fat ass.

 

[jlisle01]

Nice to see some one else doing some road racing.
1. How did the brakes hold up?
2. Do you have anything else done to the suspension other than springs, bars and lower arms?

I upgraded the brakes to powerslot rotors and hawk HPS pads along with a DOT4 fluid the weekend before going to the track. The brakes held up OK but I did have some fade toward the end of each session. There was one other guy there in a '05 GT with stock pads and rotors who said he could barely make it through the sessions; the last lap usually had him pushing the brake pedal up against the floor. I don't know if the difference was the brakes or the 20 second faster lap times he was doing though. If I had to do it again I'd go with the Stoptech Stage 2 upgrade from Brenspeed. The stainless steel lines would really help the feel and the two piece rotors would be much better than my powerslots which turned out to just be slotted OEM parts.

 

[toolttime]

I have the roush suspension on mine and same thing on track was trying to stay in the seat. Is there anything you can attach to stock seats when road racing to keeo you in place so you can concentrate more on the driving

 

[jlisle01]

I'm looking for what's called a harness bar. It's basicly a heavy steel bar that attaches to the stock upper seat belt mounts and runs across the passenger compartment just behind the seats. It's a great attachment point for a 6 point shoulder harness as well as cameras, fire extignuishers, ect. That's what I started the thread looking for. Sparco makes them for a whole splew of cars including the '99 to '04 Mustang but I can't find a single one for the S197.

 

[06tungstenstang]

Which stoptech rotors would you get ,the drilled or slotted.i emailed stoptech directly today and asked them the very same question.They told me that on a car that races frequently they would not recommend using the drilled rotors,but for a daily driver that is running heavy 20" shelby wheels(my car),they will perform fine with no worries of cracking.would you guys agree with that statement?i know everyone says slotted are the way to go,but damn the drilled ones look good.

car looks good going down the track!

 

[jlisle01]

I'd go slotted, damn what they look like, Iwant 'em to work!

 

[Saleen-wana-be]

yeah even brembo says not to use the drilled rotors for track use. Think about it, have you ever seen a race car with drilled rotors? 2 piece drilled is the way to go. And bigger is always better.

 

[krang00]

Very cool to see you guys actually driving the stang like it's supposed to! I'm waiting on SS brake lines from Earl's / Summit Racing but they keep getting backordered and pushed back. I really hope this improves the brake feel, they kind of scare me from the factory.

 

[cyanmauve]

Howdy,

I have a 06 GT (stock except for wheels and tires but not for long…). I agree that the brakes could feel better, and though I have yet to open track my car, I would suggest high-performance pads and stainless lines before going with an potentially unecessary and expensive brake disc and caliper upgrade.

Prior to my GT, I had a very highly modified 1991 Taurus SHO with 11.6in discs, dual piston PBR calipers (same as those they used to use on Vettes), Performance Friction Carbon-metallic Z pads, and stainless steel lines. This set up was up to the challenge of open track. I wouldn't try an enduro race on such a set up, but it was VERY cost effective and actually performed quite well.

Surprisingly, the SHO and my 06 GT weigh about the same. The GT has 12in+ rotors stock, and calipers that are actually stiffer than those that I upgraded to on my SHO. The stock discs plus some high performance pads and lines will work wonders, I promise. At least try this before laying out really, really big cash on a full break upgrade. If you want to step it up a notch, you could add a proportioning valve so that you could dial some additional brake bias to the rear, allowing that all four tires are doing their part in stopping the car. Although the stock discs are not slotted, you can achieve cooling effects with some ducting and a little work to direct air at the center of the discs.

You should be able to find pads and lines for at most $300.

 

[jlisle01]

I've thought about doing some kind of air ducting to the front rotors. It seems to me that some 4" silicon hose and some sheet metal is all you'd need to fab some brake ducting, but I've taken on this kind of thing before thinking it should be easy and been sorry I started it before it was done. Besides, if I'm going to go that far I might as well get those side scoops, grab my hole saw and get to making them functional for a change.

 

[cyanmauve]

The brake ducting would probably be effective, and $20 worth of clamps, flexible tubing and sheetmetal is probably worth the experiment. Just make sure that he air gets directed toward the center of the rotor. You also might want to place some mesh screen at the opening of the ducting to prevent anything too big from being thrown up toward the rotor.

I suspect that pads that operate in a higher heat range and stainless lines will produce a much more measurable difference in fade resistance and stopping distances.

 

[bigcat]

i saw a kit on ebay that was for this exact application. it has been a while, and i dont surf ebay often, so i dont know if it is still listed or not.

 

[Saleen-wana-be]

i saw that same kit and the idea crossed my mind. If anyone gets it make sure you post about it.

 

[jlisle01]

I did a search on ebay and came up with nada. Maybe it was a kit for '99 to '04's? Seems like I've seen one for the older cars somewhere.

 

[bigcat]

it was for s197s. i remember seeing it, and thought t was a good idea, but a little pricey for me. keep an eye out, as it may be relisted sometime in the future.