I recently bought a 2011 GTCS. This is a huge change of direction for me, I have been driving imports since 1992 and with the exception of my truck and a well used BMW they were all fwd. I had every intention of purchasing an Infinity G37 when I found a pretty good deal on this Mustang. I thought great, I'll get back into autocrossing but only searched for manufacturing defects before signing the papers. After reading the various autocross setup threads here I'm kind of bummed but those threads all seem to be geared toward competing at high level in SCCA. Although I would like to run every event in my local area I really don't have the time and I know I'm too slow in any car to be a Nationals winner.
Good base line for the post so far...
What I would like to know is how to prep this car to run well and reliably on street tires that fit the stock GTCS wheels. Class isn't important to me because in my mind I'm only competing against my own times not the other drivers. In 1998 B.C. (before children) I briefly ran a BMW 323i in Dmod (it was really a US 320 with swapped Euro 6 cyl). I never had a chance against the Lotus drivers but I always had fun.
I'd look at one of these 3 SCCA classes: F Street (F Stock on street tires, which will be what all of F Stock runs next year), STU or ESP. Or the best classing option for SCCA: "IDGAF", which is the "I don't give a ****" class, and for any SCCA racing that is the best attitude to take, in my opinion.
See, Mustangs aren't exactly classed very well outside of Stock class, and even the once sacred "pony car class" ESP class has been invaded by AWD boost buggies, because, you know.... they only have like 6 other competitive SCCA Solo classes to win, so why not give them 7?
Tires
I know I need better tires, the car came on Sumitomo HTR ZIIIs and so far I can't say I'm particularly impressed.
Considering 2 maybe 3 events a year what tires would make the best compromise for daily driver/event use? A 2Nd set of wheels might be an option later but not right now.
Yep, you guessed correctly - Sumitomo HTR tires are, unfortunately, some of the worst tires money can buy. Most Korean tires tend to be some of the worst options. Don't take that as criticism - you bought the car on these tires, and that's what people get when they want the cheapest tires available. The good news is: ANYTHING will be an upgrade to these.
I made a post about my recommendations for good street tires to compete on, earlier today. That was mostly geared toward track use but
the same brands and models work well for the F Street, STU or "IDGAF" classes. Post #19 in this thread:
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107532
Transmission
I have already experienced the shifting issues and plan to add a transmission mount insert on the “it's cheap so why not” philosophy. Assuming someone has them in stock.
The Whiteline KDT928 trans bushing insert looks like a Sci-Fi space ship. Pew! Pew! Pew!
Yep, this is a solid upgrade to shifting (avoid aftermarket short shifters if you can - they can cause a LOT of added shift effort and NVH, and some brands are much worse than others) but these Whiteline kits are out of stock in most places. We got two small shipments of these in the past 5 days but they are all going towards backorders, sorry. Could have more "any day."
Posted this picture titled "Shiftpocalypse!" earlier today on the Vorshlag Facebook page
Brakes
Currently all stock, so pads and fluid would be 3rd on my list of upgrades but what pads?
If I remember correctly the "CS" couldn't come with the 14" Brembos (as in - you couldn't even order them on a CS). For an autocross only car, this isn't a big deal. The 13" base GT brakes from '11-14 cars is not much of any lighter than the Brembos, but they
can work well enough in parking lots. BUT, if you
ever want to track the car, even casual HPDEs, then please UPGRADE TO THE BREMBOS.
http://www.vorshlag.com/product_info.php?cPath=141_142_280&products_id=598 -
Front S197 Brembo Kit
Our Brembo kit above (starting at $1135) is cheaper than the same $1600-2500 Brembo 14" brake upgrade kits from Ford, when ordered new. This is the best bang-per-buck brake upgrade there is. Our kit has optional brake pads (from Centric to Carbotech), optional Vorshlag stainless brake lines, better Centric premium rotors, all new Ford sourced mounting hardware, optional backing plates, and more. With aggressive track use front brake cooling is another great upgrade, after you've gone to the 14" Brembo bits.
Suspension
I really don't want to lower the car because it already scrapes backing out of my drive. Other than that I'm not opposed to changing anything here even if it means more NVH.
This is a MASSIVE subject, with tons of variables. We've had some good technical discussions of the Pros and Cons of coilovers vs Lowering springs + stock length struts in this Corner Carvers section this week.
If you never want to lower the car at all, there are some cost effective solutions. If you want to go lower but don't want to spend $3K+ on a full coilover monotube set-up, we have the Bilstein StreetPro set-up for $1500, all in. Then there are the AST, MCS and other high end coilovers... and for even semi-serious competition use (autocross, time trial, etc) that's the right place to start. But this is worth a phone call to talk about the exact variables that need to be known beforehand. Give us a call and ask for Jason or Terry - we will talk shocks with anyone.
FWIW the car came with Roush pipes and is LOUD hence “5LitersofLoud” but the stock mufflers are so heavy I just can't bear to put them back on.
Stock Mustang WOT 3rd gear sound test = 87 dB
There is not "quiet" aftermarket muffler option for these cars. At least, just not one I've found yet. And while they are heavy the OEM mufflers do a
superb job of keeping the decibels down and only rob a
few horsepower (less than 10). Some of that weight is needed to keep them quiet, too. Thinner walled casings on mufflers tend to be louder, among many other variables. Yet aftermarket mufflers ("axle backs") is one of THE most common mods... again, anything shiny or "make it louder!" is super popular for Mustangs.
And while I feel this should be one of the LAST things done but is usually the FIRST (and one of the most annoying) mods. We did several sound tests at WOT and 45 mph cruise with various parts we added to our 2011 GT.
Mustang with Steeda Cold Air Intake, WOT 3rd gear sound test = 87 dB
We first put ARH 1-7/8" full length headers + cats on our 2011 GT and kept the OEM rear exhaust, with several before and after sound tests.... the headers added 6 dB at WOT but ZERO extra noise at a 45 mph drive by, which was nice. No drone inside the car, either. But the headers added a boatload of power, from way down low all the way to redline (made 414 whp with the CAI, headers and a conservative tune over 378 whp stock).
Mustang with Steeda Cold Air Intake, ARH full lengths, WOT 3rd gear sound test = 93 dB
My advice: Don't change the mufflers from the OEM units unless you WANT it to make more noise. Eventually I relented, because I had trouble hearing the motor on track. A slightly louder exhaust note (we went from 93dB up to to 97 dB with a custom dual 3" rear exhaust and Series 44 Flowmaster mufflers) helped me tell the engine RPMs without looking at the tach, so it worked out better for my Time Trial set-up. If you daily drive the car a lot, prepare for droning and a LOT more noise at cruising speeds with aftermarket mufflers. Some folks love to set off car alarms in parking garages, though - if so, mufflers are the best way to do that.
So yeah. Read Terry's thread, my thread, Whiskey11's thread, SkyRender's thread.
But to answer the questions you posed:
Tires- how much do you drive, and, do you drive in winter? If you don't drive a lot, and don't drive in winter, I think you could swing doing double duty with Hankook RS3's, BFG Rivals, Bridgestone RE11's, something like that.
The transmission mount insert is GREAT don't let anybody tell you differently
Brakes- I run and like Carbotech AX6's, they are a bit noisy at low speeds once they get hot, but they're fantastic for autox.
Suspension- Don't want to lower??? hrmm.... If you're staying stock ride height, the Koni Sport (yellow) is probably a good bet.
In summary- you will probably want to try out F Street next year in SCCA. Your criteria listed here fit. Once you get everything done that you've listed, about the only thing left for you to do would be a swaybar. I would probably do the front bar.
^^ Great advice here, too! ^^
Cheers,
I am pretty sure the 1yo enjoys it too.
