Tires will help with the grip situation. An FRPP suspension is nice but it comes at the expense of a firmer ride that you may or may not find acceptable if you daily drive your car.


I would love to hear other people's opinions on the Watts linkage for a road racer. I have thought about doing this to my daily driver to settle the rear end over bumpy surfaces in my daily driving. I have wondered about its merits on road courses, where the surfaces are generally smooth.

I like the Watts linkage!

 

well first things first i am going to buy a helmet, i will look around for one, but i am liking the Diamondback from Simpson, i see this as a long term investment

 

If it's an auto, add a trans cooler. Autos don't like spending much time on track. They don't get enough sustained speed to cool effectively with the stock cooler.

 

what cooler do you recommend, i was looking into the B&M trans cooler

 

ANYTHING is better than nothing. The B&M should be fine. Heat is an auto tranny's worst enemy.

 

Agree. These S197s are very good on a road coarse in stock dress (brake pads excluded) and can outperform or at least hang in with earlier Mustang models already using a multitude of braking and suspension mods/upgrades and even engine/power upgrades! Upgrades to our cars in suspension (springs/ struts/ shocks) will make the car feel better on the track but, until you move up to better tires, the gains of an upgraded suspension will be hard to realize in quicker track times.

In short, you can spend as much or as little $ as you want. Your only necessary spends will be on helmet, track fees (highly recommended to consider including time with an instructor which may be included in certain events) and brake pads (whether you use multiple stock replacement pads or upgrade to a pad capable of handling track usage). BTW, if you experience brake fade, you boiled probably also your fluid and should re-bleed the brakes to gain the pedal feel back before going back out ont the track. So maybe add the expense of a bottle or two of brake fluid for bleeding

Unfortunately, after the first experience, you will be smitten and will have the urge to spend more time and money preparing yourself and your car for future events.

Enjoy!

 

As someone who has been doing road course track events for about 7 years, I can agree with this post. NASA has a great program for beginners. The HPDE (high performance driving event) program is ideal for someone like you. Don't start upgrading the car. It's best to learn with a nearly stock car. You DO NOT need ANY brake kit for your car until you have several events under your belt. You DO NEED to have a helmet (SNELL SA-2000 or newer) and be able to pass a typical state safety inspection. Make sure you bleed the brakes and have at least 50% of the pads left for any event like this.
There's all kinds of info (plus the forums) at www.nasaproracing.com on the HDPE program.
I race my 96 Cobra in NASA's American Iron program after running HPDE events for about 5 years. It's a blast! SCCA is cool too, but no one runs events like NASA and the rules (for Mustangs, at least) are way to strict in SCCA compared to NASA. Another reason to NOT modify your car...if you start racing or Time Trials or Solo (auto crossing) you can get bumped up to a class where you can't run competitively for too many mods.

 

Well to get started i ordered a Simpson Voyager helmet, and that should be in soon. As soon as my next pay check comes in i will be ordering some Hawk HPS pads, also i will be adding some Earl SS braided brakelines (unless there is something better) and some Granatelli rotors and i will leave the car at that till i have a few events under my belt. Still need to find out what my local auto stores have for brake fluid, going to need alot if i am going to flush the system

 

You're gonna be addicted!

Its fun.
All Ive done is HPs brake pads, stainless lines, better brake fluid.
Better tires. Few other mods, but I didnt do them for road course events.
Best thing is get a ride with an instructer, you will learn ALOT!

I have some videos of this years event. It rained all freakin day, made for some good fish tails.
3,4 have more sliding.


In car camera
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2RGOuVDndY
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91K5YdjergM
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjVhqHazCtM
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BclKOxUSChQ
Outside cam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxLVXC7wNgs

 

dang man, love seeing that thing go down the track, what brake lines did you use, i want to go with Earls but only becuase of the cost but i know the idea of "you get what you paid for" i was also thinking about Russell brake lines

 

Everyone is on the money suggesting the brake upgrades. If you plan on participating heavily in various road coarse events I would suggest a big brake kit. However, if the pocket book doesn’t permit such a purchase then upgrade the rotors, pads, lines and fluid. For rotors I would go with DBA 4000 series (most durable 1-piece rotor available), Hawk or Pagid brake pads, Goodridge lines, and Motul RBF600 fluid. Also a duct kit will help to regulate brake temps.

Have fun!!!!!!!!

 

I prefer HP+ pads and not HPS pads. Hp+ pads are a bit more agressive and won't fade as easily if you get them hot. If you are handy with tools, swap out the HP+ pads and put your stock ones back in for the street.
HP+ pads are noisy and will get your wheels dirty on the street but do well for track duty. Plus the HP+ pads will last longer if you don't use them for the street. It takes a very short time to swap them, once you get the hang of it.
You can buy the caliper tool you'll need for cheap from Harbor freight.
Link: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40732

 

YES, the track in my vid is Road America. NorthWest Shelby club has an annual August Track Day and you're invited. Let me know when you'll be in WI and I'll set you up with the contacts and the agenda for everything.

I have corporate room rates available for hotels in the area. I have all my tools and I'm willing to assist anyone who wants to join in the fun.

I will spectate this year as I just ran out of finances for summer fun. We had a great time doing the Power Tour and other events this year, but next year I'm back to the track.

Later,

Shaun

 

well i should have the brakes upgraded and my helmet in, what day in august, i am not worried about hotels since my girls parents live in cascade. How much was it for the event, so i can have an idea for my budget.i am planning on being up there for towards the end of july but if the event is more towards the middle of august i will pull back the trip a bit.

 

Save some money and don't get the rotors. They won't do anything noticable for your braking performance.

 

Fastduo, when you're swapping your brake pads back and forth like that, do you need to re-bed them each time?

 

Just went down to the Homestead event yesturday (wish I could have made today as well). Everyone is spot on here. You are getting your helmet and once you have it go to the track and learn first. Look around at the other cars there as well, you will see full blown cars with cages to stock rides like the Chrysler 300 that looked like it just rolled off the showroom I watched yesturday.

And be careful, if you thought drag racing was addicting, you are about to be a full blown addict. I have the itch again...badly!

 

i had the idea, then i read somewhere that the rotors help with pad wear since it keeps the pad temp lower then if i kept the stock rotors, but for sure i know i am going to flush the brake fluid and add something better, also add SS brakelines, and Hawk HPS (only reason is because i do not want to deal with dust and having to swap them out before i go home, once i buy some cheap black wheels and have learned a bit more i will more than likely swap to HP+ but for now i need my fanblads fairly clean since this car sees alot of car shows and soon SOME track time {{i hate that we only have a seasonal track run}} )

Also anyone know a site that sells good brake fluid like motul-600 or something better, alot of the shops down here do not carry it, also what are your recommendations for SS brakelines, i was looking at earls but i have seen the russell and goodrich at a fair price and wondering what i should go with. I also like the stoptech ones but the front lines alone cost as much as the russell KIT. Brenspeed has a good deal on the stoptech lines, Motul fluid, and pads but i would like hawk pads and i do not know if the three bottles of fluid are enough to flush the whole system.

 

Hehe, you have no choice but to deal with the dust

pic taken after road course event on HPS pads.
Brenspeed use to include the Hawk pads I thought. Hmm.
I got everything from different suppliers, Stoptech lines, brake fluid, brake pads. Dont have links to where I got them tho. Nor remember. It was a panic to get all the stuff before the event.




Dont worry, they clean up well.
But expect to clean them after 2 days of ordinary driving around town if you want to keep them spotless.

 

that is ok because i have a pressure washer at home but i know the HP+ will look ALOT worse, my friend uses the REAL road race pads (the ones used just for road racing and not meant for DD use) that he ordered from Hawk on his T/A and he had some cheap silver wheels and when he was done i could have sworn he got them powdercoated black sometime in the middle of the day. Brenspeed used to sell Hawk pads but they swapped to a different company, hopefully RotorPro still sells Hawk pads for the price they gave me