So, I feel I can't realize the true potential (read fun) of my 2013 GT on the street. Was thinking of doing the Friday At The Track events and Summit Point or VIR. I have been to a ton of driving schools including Bondurant and I see that the "street" cars they use hold up fairly well.

Since my Mustang is my daily driver too, would doing this once a month, dog it out too much? Some say "that is what it is built for." Would there be any warranty issues with doing this? Has anyone done "heel-toe downshifting" with this car? I can't seem to make it work with the gas pedal/brake pedal configuration.

 

I don't see why it would "Dog" anything out if it's not every week. Do you have the base GT or the Track Pack? I can't wait to get back so I can make the trip to VIR.

 

Track it! Have fun

 

Go for it, you don't have to dog it on the track to still have fun with it. And on the topic of heel toe downshifts, I was given some good advice by the advanced groups instructor at Summit. He said that if you are braking at the limit then you can easily heel toe because your foot is all the way on the brakes and you are easily able to blip the gas. It's kind of hard to do right on the street because your not braking 100%.

 

I say track it, but insure it. If its your DD and you need it to get to work, you don't want to be screwed because of your mistake or someone else's. Both can happen.

 

Tracking it is fantastically fun but you need to be prepped to chew through tires and brakes. You'll want to buy HPDE insurance, like this: http://locktonmotorsports.com/product/track-insurance/. That doesn't apply to wheel to wheel events though, for which there's no insurance I know of.

You won't automatically void your warranty by tracking it but if you have a problem with almost anything on the car, it can be blamed on the track and your claim denied.

Because of the much smaller chance of messing up the car, autocrossing may be a far better choice for you. You'll still chew up the brakes and tires and have a blast but you're much less likely to do something serious.

As far as heel and toeing, I find I can do it absolutely perfect with this car - I'm 6'1" and have size 13 shoes.

 

I tracked my car a few times when it was stock and was able to achieve a 12.789 1/4 but i just wanted to see what it was capable of. Although its a very fun hobby i dont do it very often in my new car. It is my DD and ive seen alot of things go wrong to good people. My buddy blew his radiator in an 04 gto on a run and then the next run a bel-air went into the wall.... We suspect the employees at the track were neglecting it after every pass becase im sure there was coolant left over. It is alot of fun but personally i don't do it very much any more just for my own reasons.

 

Autocross is tons of fun. And at most you will hit some cones. I always just put a ton of painters tape on all the likely impact areas and never have a problem. Events are cheap and everywhere. The season should just be starting. I would check out www.scca.com for more info. The rules and stuff are all on there. If you are running what you have the competition is great in the stock classes. It's all driver skill at that point. In SCCA Solo you will run in the F stock class. Being that my car has the track package on it they might bump me up to the same class as the Boss ( Non-LS) but I doubt it because it specifically lists the Boss in a different category and my car is stock. Just installing lowering springs on your car will up the class you are in. There are a ton of rules but once you get into it and learn the ropes there are a ton of great people who will help you out. Car control is the key. I'm going to get my sons into it when they are old enough.

 

I agree with this. I'd suggest trying autocross runs before you go to a road course. Less risky because the speeds are lower and you won't put as much stress on the braking system and tires. You'll learn the basic principles on your daily driver without having to worry about going off track because the venues are generally different - wide, open parking lots vs. a track with obstacles.

The basic driving principles translate from autocross to road racing, although there are of course differences because of the size of the actual driving areas.

 

Tracking or Auto-Crossing can be fun, but if you don't have the funds to backup a potential repair in lieu of the warranty coverage, then you might want to proceed with caution.

As always, if the needed repair is related to racing activities and the Ford repair center suspects racing as the cause, then at Ford's discretion, the dealership can deny the warranty claim/repair and force you to foot the bill.

If you really want to compete in track events, I would consider picking up an older Mustang or Mazda Miata to have cheap safe fun with without the worry surrounding warranty stuff. The repairs and parts will be cheaper on the older cars as well.

You cannot assume Auto-Crossing is inherently safer either. I saw a youtube video of a guy auto-crossing a new Corvette in a parking lot, and one of the turns/lanes they had coned closely to a long straight curb. The guy got a little hot coming out of the corner power drifting pretty hard and slammed both passenger side wheels into the curb. Not only were the wheels/tires damaged, but the entire right side suspension was toast. I can only imagine there was some frame alignment issues as well.

 

I agree that autocross is inherently safer because you are out there on the course alone, so you don't have the risk of collision. The one post is correct though, some autocross courses are setup in areas where you get uncomfortably close to curbs or even concrete walls. Autocross will be a lot easier on brakes and tires because you are only running one lap on a very short course and then off to cool. There is also no issue with heel and toe because you typically accelerate and shift into second and never get into any other gear.

 

As with any type of racing proceed with caution.

 

just remember insurance won't cover you at the track :-(

 

Unless you get track insurance.