S550 The Albuquerque Stripper - Mustang Nosegrind 720 Kickflip Champion Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

[PaddyPrix]

What you talkin' about Willis....?
When did Apex start making 18x12" mustang wheels?

OMG THIS IS SO LITERALLY LIKE LAST WEEK

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I have been bugging Cory about them for close to a year now, so I don't know if I was the driving factor or not, but I'll more than happily take the credit for doing so.

 

[Fabman]

OMG THIS IS SO LITERALLY LIKE LAST WEEK

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I have been bugging Cory about them for close to a year now, so I don't know if I was the driving factor or not, but I'll more than happily take the credit for doing so.

I've been on them for this for like 5 years....if you go to the s197 page on their website its a picture of my car....and no one told me about these wheels? I had to go to another manufacturer to get 12's....

 

[Fabman]

OMG THIS IS SO LITERALLY LIKE LAST WEEK

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I have been bugging Cory about them for close to a year now, so I don't know if I was the driving factor or not, but I'll more than happily take the credit for doing so.

this is for s197 or s550? The lug holes are bigger on s550 so Im not sure if they will cross over...

 

[PaddyPrix]

I've been on them for this for like 5 years....if you go to the s197 page on their website its a picture of my car....and no one told me about these wheels? I had to go to another manufacturer to get 12's....

Uhm. Well, that is quite a solid point, and I don't know.

this is for s197 or s550? The lug holes are bigger on s550 so Im not sure if they will cross over...

Maybe both? I could take some better depth/hole/thickness measurements if you'd like, but their page doesn't really speak to a body style, just 5x114.3 pattern / 70.5 center under the Mustang category heading.

 

[Fabman]

Uhm. Well, that is quite a solid point, and I don't know.

Maybe both? I could take some better depth/hole/thickness measurements if you'd like, but their page doesn't really speak to a body style, just 5x114.3 pattern / 70.5 center under the Mustang category heading.

I only see 18 x 11" wheels on the website....?
There is one 19 x 11.5 but that's all I see.

 

[PaddyPrix]

I only see 11' wheels on the website....?

Ah, they have a new model/part -- https://www.apexraceparts.com/our-wheels/forged-vs5rs.html/



I can't speak for them, but 18" looks to have the only 12" planned, but I think that's more or less fault of supply/demand with the tire manufacturers.


Ed - Also have https://www.apexraceparts.com/our-wheels/forged-ec7rs.html/ but I went away from EC-7 because I already have 2 sets and don't see myself as intelligent enough to separate out a 3rd set of the same size. Plus I think time was initially a factor, as I was able to get my hands on a set slightly faster in the new vs-5rs first.

 

[Fabman]

Ah, they have a new model/part -- https://www.apexraceparts.com/our-wheels/forged-vs5rs.html/

View attachment 71944

I can't speak for them, but 18" looks to have the only 12" planned, but I think that's more or less fault of supply/demand with the tire manufacturers.


Ed - Also have https://www.apexraceparts.com/our-wheels/forged-ec7rs.html/ but I went away from EC-7 because I already have 2 sets and don't see myself as intelligent enough to separate out a 3rd set of the same size. Plus I think time was initially a factor, as I was able to get my hands on a set slightly faster in the new vs-5rs first.

They are pricey....

 

[bnight]

If you are stockish power what is the benefit of 335 in the rear more tire and grip sure but isn't it to much grip for the car ?

 

[PaddyPrix]

If you are stockish power what is the benefit of 335 in the rear more tire and grip sure but isn't it to much grip for the car ?

That's a good point, but how/what is too much? The last Corvette ZR1 was 19x10.5 and 20x12 wheels, I believe the Viper runs a 355/30/19, so if we're in the same power/weight class and assuming we're similar drivers, similar aero, wouldn't those wider tires give them a slight advantage? For instance, I know the Viper ACR wing does something like 1600# of downforce at 170, that's a lot.

I think I'm decent in the turns, but I think being able to handle just that tiny bit more would be beneficial, and to me, worth the additional tire and wheel costs. Since the NASA modifier points only address smaller tires (below 282mm) I'm not penalized for going larger, and if I was, I'd think long and hard about it. With so much of it being mental, I'd wonder if it might be somewhat of a placebo effect, where that new confidence then has me going in deeper and harder without fearing the end as much leads to better overall lap times, that, or I just keep improving as a driver. I don't honestly know, as usual, I'm wondering out loud. I am excited to throw on those big boys though, although my first set are HPDE-quality slicks which aren't competitive with other slicks, so here's hoping that doesn't sour my experience.

They are pricey....

Well, that's certainly true, although I see the benefit in it. I'm not good enough that 12 pounds of rotational mass is going to win or lose me a race, but if you compare their classic EC-7 vs their newer EC-7rs, size for size, in 18x11 it's 23.3 vs 20 pounds. For the VS-5rs, in an 11, it's 19.2 and that extra inch in 12 is only 19.7, so it's nearly a 15# improvement on my 18x11 EC-7's, although I'd guess that advantage would be worn away by the larger tire.

 

[Fabman]

That's a good point, but how/what is too much? The last Corvette ZR1 was 19x10.5 and 20x12 wheels, I believe the Viper runs a 355/30/19, so if we're in the same power/weight class and assuming we're similar drivers, similar aero, wouldn't those wider tires give them a slight advantage? For instance, I know the Viper ACR wing does something like 1600# of downforce at 170, that's a lot.

I think I'm decent in the turns, but I think being able to handle just that tiny bit more would be beneficial, and to me, worth the additional tire and wheel costs. Since the NASA modifier points only address smaller tires (below 282mm) I'm not penalized for going larger, and if I was, I'd think long and hard about it. With so much of it being mental, I'd wonder if it might be somewhat of a placebo effect, where that new confidence then has me going in deeper and harder without fearing the end as much leads to better overall lap times, that, or I just keep improving as a driver. I don't honestly know, as usual, I'm wondering out loud. I am excited to throw on those big boys though, although my first set are HPDE-quality slicks which aren't competitive with other slicks, so here's hoping that doesn't sour my experience.



Well, that's certainly true, although I see the benefit in it. I'm not good enough that 12 pounds of rotational mass is going to win or lose me a race, but if you compare their classic EC-7 vs their newer EC-7rs, size for size, in 18x11 it's 23.3 vs 20 pounds. For the VS-5rs, in an 11, it's 19.2 and that extra inch in 12 is only 19.7, so it's nearly a 15# improvement on my 18x11 EC-7's, although I'd guess that advantage would be worn away by the larger tire.

They are awesome, and I'd love to have some.
(Apex wheels is only a block from my shop. I should be rocking their wheels)
However, I currently have 16) 18x12's that I wish were Apex anything.....flow formed is fine for me.
To replace them at 759.00 ea. would cost me $12,144.00 plus tax/shipping.
As a low buck racer I simply cannot afford to spend that kind of coin on wheels when I have wheels already. I was hoping a cheaper flow formed "racers wheel" would eventually come out in 12" but alas, it was not meant to be.

 

[bnight]

They are awesome, and I'd love to have some.
(Apex wheels is only a block from my shop. I should be rocking their wheels)
However, I currently have 16) 18x12's that I wish were Apex anything.....flow formed is fine for me.
To replace them at 759.00 ea. would cost me $12,144.00 plus tax/shipping.
As a low buck racer I simply cannot afford to spend that kind of coin on wheels when I have wheels already. I was hoping a cheaper flow formed "racers wheel" would eventually come out in 12" but alas, it was not meant to be.

I think Flow formed wheels are not strong enough for 12" wide. Apex is doing a lot of black magic to do 11" wide flow formed as light as they are. So I guess this is the reason and also the very limited range of tires/wheels.

@PaddyPrix Corvette and Viper are totally different cars with different suspension, centre of gravity etc compared to our fat pig not to mention both of them are racing in GT3 class and not in the GT4 class our Mustang is racing in. Why NASA is putting them in the same class as you is a totally different story but I doubt the 335 wide tires will make up the difference ether way let us know how this experiment will go as it sure is very interesting.

 

[Fabman]

I think Flow formed wheels are not strong enough for 12" wide. Apex is doing a lot of black magic to do 11" wide flow formed as light as they are. So I guess this is the reason and also the very limited range of tires/wheels.

@PaddyPrix Corvette and Viper are totally different cars with different suspension, centre of gravity etc compared to our fat pig not to mention both of them are racing in GT3 class and not in the GT4 class our Mustang is racing in. Why NASA is putting them in the same class as you is a totally different story but I doubt the 335 wide tires will make up the difference ether way let us know how this experiment will go as it sure is very interesting.

My current wheels are flow formed. been running them for years on end without issue.
I even had 2 different cars slam into them at the last race and while it curb rashed the snot out of them, they still held up so I'm not worried about that at all, but then, I'm not a wheel manufacturer so what do I know.

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

About time I finally did something about my rear

View attachment 71938


Perhaps it's what's on the inside that truly counts, and if you're one of those people, then you'll be happy to know that it's going to a Torsen and the 3.73's that came with it too.

View attachment 71939

Should be a nice change to things in the handling department as previously I felt as if I was skating on thin ice, either locking it up and understeering off of a turn, or if slightly too aggressive coming out, it'll just throw the end around. Been jealous of all you guys just laying it down and getting some rotation in your fancy cars, so I am hoping that you all embrace me in the semi-cool kids club. I don't expect much out of the 3.73's as obviously it does very little (if any) to address the MT82-D4's gearing being so wide, but here's hoping I can really nail turns and get some even higher exit speeds. Any non-obvious maintenance or driving tips to a torsen noob would be appreciated, since the first time I'm going to be driving it is going to be at/on the track.

View attachment 71941

Also going to make a sweetheart deal to a friend as I move on from the Cobra Jet. It's definitely the best for big power, but I don't have the cams, heads, or springs to fully unlock it's potential. At 3605/445 avg rwhp, it's pretty much right on for ST2 for +0 mod tires like the R7 which will probably do me better once I put on the finishing touches to pass tech get it to Super Touring. I could probably even kill off some more weight, but not sure how much I'd like to detune the thing, I am pretty happy to where it sits with just the e85 and longtubes, which allow me to slightly slack on the cooling mods.

Speaking of R7...

View attachment 71942View attachment 71943

Got my hands on the Apex 18x12's I'd been waiting on for far too long. Currently running a 27mm spacer up front which would just clear on 18x11's, but isn't on the 12's. It's also kissing the MCS on the rear but by just the tiniest amount. I've got some 5 and 7mm plates around here somewhere, but with 18's, the somewhat limited selection of tires drops even further when you go above 315. I've got some Conti G6000 slicks from the big close out from before, but thinking I can go 335 square in a bit. Since I'm no millionaire, might just save these for ST and use the 18x11 for TT and another set for HPDE things. Still playing with the idea of staggering 315 in the front with 335-345 in the rear, but I'd get hell from the internets for mismatching wheel colors and types, how dare I. I will also have to try my hands at fabbing soon, because while the rear looks great, they're a good inch or two clear of the fender on the front.

Curious about the gearing. Its still super long with 3.73's on the D4 trans. Is there a reason you're not going higher? I was doing some calcs last night and even with 4.56's 4th gear would be good for ~135mph depending on tire diameter.

 

[Fabman]

Curious about the gearing. Its still super long with 3.73's on the D4 trans. Is there a reason you're not going higher? I was doing some calcs last night and even with 4.56's 4th gear would be good for ~135mph depending on tire diameter.

4:56 is Lower than 3.73
Numerically high is mechanically low....confusing, I know, but accurate. That gets mixed up all the time.

 

[PaddyPrix]

Curious about the gearing. Its still super long with 3.73's on the D4 trans. Is there a reason you're not going higher? I was doing some calcs last night and even with 4.56's 4th gear would be good for ~135mph depending on tire diameter.

Just me being a dunce and trying to keep some sort of control in my car experimentation. Since I end up breaking something after every event, finding a consistent car baseline and then minor tweaks to dial it in just don't happen. I agree with you that going up is the right direction, I'd probably be happiest with either that or a 4.09. I definitely don't want 3.55 on there, that much I know. I'm up to 160 at ACS so I'd have to over rev in 5th with 4.56's and try to hold 7k on the bank for my targeted 145mph. It's doable, that's for sure, but with Laguna being the big target for this year, I'll have to build a sim rig and hit it up, it's been 3 years since I was there and totally forget what the speeds are like, plus this car is way more powerful than the 335hp s197 we had with Skip. That or I should look into some taller tires, but I'm really loving the accel of the tiny 25.4's.

I also don't have the luxury of driving it around the street, so I only really get a few secluded runs around the empty parts of the pits, and then hope for the best on the practice session. Occasionally I can line up a test n' tune day right before the event, but I only get so much PTO.

 

[Fabman]

Just me being a dunce and trying to keep some sort of control in my car experimentation. Since I end up breaking something after every event, finding a consistent car baseline and then minor tweaks to dial it in just don't happen. I agree with you that going up is the right direction, I'd probably be happiest with either that or a 4.09. I definitely don't want 3.55 on there, that much I know. I'm up to 160 at ACS so I'd have to over rev in 5th with 4.56's and try to hold 7k on the bank for my targeted 145mph. It's doable, that's for sure, but with Laguna being the big target for this year, I'll have to build a sim rig and hit it up, it's been 3 years since I was there and totally forget what the speeds are like, plus this car is way more powerful than the 335hp s197 we had with Skip. That or I should look into some taller tires, but I'm really loving the accel of the tiny 25.4's.

I also don't have the luxury of driving it around the street, so I only really get a few secluded runs around the empty parts of the pits, and then hope for the best on the practice session. Occasionally I can line up a test n' tune day right before the event, but I only get so much PTO.

Just as a reference, I run a 25.6 tall tire and 4:10 gears at Laguna and that puts me around 130 mph and 7000 rpm in 4th gear (1 to 1 for the magnum) at a 1:36.500 Your mileage may vary.

 

[PaddyPrix]

Just as a reference, I run a 25.6 tall tire and 4:10 gears at Laguna and that puts me around 130 mph and 7000 rpm in 4th gear (1 to 1 for the magnum) at a 136:500 Your mileage may vary.

Funny as you wrote that, I just finished watching one of your qualy's at Laguna. With exception of 2A+B, Corkscrew, and Rainey, most turns are about 70mph, which with 3.73 have me sitting right on where I start making power in 3rd. Now I just have to focus on not exploding the motor for the next 9 months.

 

[PaddyPrix]

once again, playing catch-up
I usually try to take the day, or half day before since I'm usually 4-7 hours away from the tracks, and work just wouldn't let up on Friday. I had switched phone carriers in the week, and while in San Diego, reception was great, making my way further north, caught traffic and had it re-route me, which was fine. Then it dropped connection once over the mountains and pretty much gave up on the mapping functions once I was down my new path, leading me far off course.

Google Fi was a bad call. I guess they use the worst possible combination of T-Mobile and US Cellular MVNO, which has them on an even lesser priority than the already less-than-stellar service T-Mobile provides. To be fair to TMO, they're great with 5G in Metro areas. Really wish that 2G and 3G wouldn't have been torn down, but not going down that rabbit hole. So, got in late, missed the Friday tech, and missed out on turning some test n' tune laps as I hadn't ever driven a Torsen above 8mph before.

I think I was 4th in line for morning tech, and they went to the other lines first, so I somehow was penalized by going out early -- go figure. I did make tech, got the annual ticket, but spent more time playing with other people's cars than my own and then late to get in line at the morning warm-ups, per usual, really. Guess I'll have to set a reminder to be first for the next event, it kinda sucks. That said, the difference between the rears is tremendous, in a great way, it's as if I can just get to my speed, and just hold it down to get the rotation exactly as I want it... simply amazing, so much more confidence inspiring, to me at least. Spend the rest of the weekend playing with it and the new gearing which took a touch to get used to. It's not much, but a few mph here and there add up, me going off of sound and tach turned out some lousier laps than usual. It didn't help that the rear diff was spewing fluid on just about every session, so now I know that the Torsen requires 1/4" less fluid than the standard unit, and it's probably not helping matters out too much in the long run.

I often find myself on the heels of a TT1 car, did for much of last year, and apparently will continue to find that for this year.


Pretty certain that they'd see me in their mirror at some point in the lap. His submitted sheet has him 125rwhp up and 200# down, so I guess I'll try flashing lights on a straight, because the fact that he's not looking in his mirrors or hearing me coasting and pulling throttle in the turns means that he will claim I'm dive bombing when I'm really executing a proper pass and intercepting the line just right, and he's just situationally unaware. Since it's on me to make a clean pass, I guess I'm the bigger man for it. I don't think I would have been able to catch Ale with his sticker A7's to my falling A052's, especially now that I'm 40ish pounds heavier with the Torsen, which came as a shock. I used to be about 3680 with a full tank, and when they said 3715, I turned the engine off and asked them to double check. That's a huge biznitch! I guess the good news is that I can run that much more power, trying to close the gap to my other TT2 competitors, or the smarter thing which would be to continue dropping weight to close the gap to the ST2 competitors who are 2800-3000, I don't know how good I am at this driving thing, but mathematically, 20% heavier just doesn't seem like it can be faster on every track.

Talking about biznitch, my streak of breaking parts continues once again, as I lost 2nd in the new transmission, which was a huge kick in the balls -- I've got 20 laps in that f***ing thing. I understand that 2nd gear isn't necessary on just about every track out here, and I kept my old busted 3-4 shift fork one to later rebuild and swap in, I just didn't think I was going to be doing it this quickly. I've been quiet for a bit, trying to learn fiberglassing so I can make bigger fenders to hide the massive 18x12's, but I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't just flip them because I doubt an extra 20-30mm is going to do anything more than burn a bigger hole in my non existent wallet. There's just a few s550 GT's racing, and even less that'd find value in it, especially since all the other s550's are GT350s which have the older 15-17 headlight/hood/fender combo, so it's not like it'd make any business sense anyhow. I dunno have the power kill switch that I'll try to play with this weekend, and after that, it's pretty much the suit, and perhaps making the switch to ST2 like I've wanted to might be what I needed. Looking at last year's race, and what I know I can do, I'd be a solid 2nd of what would have been 7, so that would have gotten me a free tire. The weekend wasn't a total loss, ended up 3rd on both days, on the heels of some exceptionally fast people.

... but I mean if it came down to it, $2000 in gas/tires or coke/hookers for a weekend? I guess it'd have to depend on the track, huh?

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

Really sorry to hear about the second trans. It’s just really hard to stomach $7-10k and add 75+lbs with a magnum xl.

 

[Hye Power]

once again, playing catch-up
I usually try to take the day, or half day before since I'm usually 4-7 hours away from the tracks, and work just wouldn't let up on Friday. I had switched phone carriers in the week, and while in San Diego, reception was great, making my way further north, caught traffic and had it re-route me, which was fine. Then it dropped connection once over the mountains and pretty much gave up on the mapping functions once I was down my new path, leading me far off course.

Google Fi was a bad call. I guess they use the worst possible combination of T-Mobile and US Cellular MVNO, which has them on an even lesser priority than the already less-than-stellar service T-Mobile provides. To be fair to TMO, they're great with 5G in Metro areas. Really wish that 2G and 3G wouldn't have been torn down, but not going down that rabbit hole. So, got in late, missed the Friday tech, and missed out on turning some test n' tune laps as I hadn't ever driven a Torsen above 8mph before.

I think I was 4th in line for morning tech, and they went to the other lines first, so I somehow was penalized by going out early -- go figure. I did make tech, got the annual ticket, but spent more time playing with other people's cars than my own and then late to get in line at the morning warm-ups, per usual, really. Guess I'll have to set a reminder to be first for the next event, it kinda sucks. That said, the difference between the rears is tremendous, in a great way, it's as if I can just get to my speed, and just hold it down to get the rotation exactly as I want it... simply amazing, so much more confidence inspiring, to me at least. Spend the rest of the weekend playing with it and the new gearing which took a touch to get used to. It's not much, but a few mph here and there add up, me going off of sound and tach turned out some lousier laps than usual. It didn't help that the rear diff was spewing fluid on just about every session, so now I know that the Torsen requires 1/4" less fluid than the standard unit, and it's probably not helping matters out too much in the long run.

I often find myself on the heels of a TT1 car, did for much of last year, and apparently will continue to find that for this year.
View attachment 72631

Pretty certain that they'd see me in their mirror at some point in the lap. His submitted sheet has him 125rwhp up and 200# down, so I guess I'll try flashing lights on a straight, because the fact that he's not looking in his mirrors or hearing me coasting and pulling throttle in the turns means that he will claim I'm dive bombing when I'm really executing a proper pass and intercepting the line just right, and he's just situationally unaware. Since it's on me to make a clean pass, I guess I'm the bigger man for it. I don't think I would have been able to catch Ale with his sticker A7's to my falling A052's, especially now that I'm 40ish pounds heavier with the Torsen, which came as a shock. I used to be about 3680 with a full tank, and when they said 3715, I turned the engine off and asked them to double check. That's a huge biznitch! I guess the good news is that I can run that much more power, trying to close the gap to my other TT2 competitors, or the smarter thing which would be to continue dropping weight to close the gap to the ST2 competitors who are 2800-3000, I don't know how good I am at this driving thing, but mathematically, 20% heavier just doesn't seem like it can be faster on every track.

Talking about biznitch, my streak of breaking parts continues once again, as I lost 2nd in the new transmission, which was a huge kick in the balls -- I've got 20 laps in that f***ing thing. I understand that 2nd gear isn't necessary on just about every track out here, and I kept my old busted 3-4 shift fork one to later rebuild and swap in, I just didn't think I was going to be doing it this quickly. I've been quiet for a bit, trying to learn fiberglassing so I can make bigger fenders to hide the massive 18x12's, but I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't just flip them because I doubt an extra 20-30mm is going to do anything more than burn a bigger hole in my non existent wallet. There's just a few s550 GT's racing, and even less that'd find value in it, especially since all the other s550's are GT350s which have the older 15-17 headlight/hood/fender combo, so it's not like it'd make any business sense anyhow. I dunno have the power kill switch that I'll try to play with this weekend, and after that, it's pretty much the suit, and perhaps making the switch to ST2 like I've wanted to might be what I needed. Looking at last year's race, and what I know I can do, I'd be a solid 2nd of what would have been 7, so that would have gotten me a free tire. The weekend wasn't a total loss, ended up 3rd on both days, on the heels of some exceptionally fast people.

... but I mean if it came down to it, $2000 in gas/tires or coke/hookers for a weekend? I guess it'd have to depend on the track, huh?

You think anything with the new shifter has to do with the trans issues? Did the fork break again? Are there stops on that shifter that maybe arent at the right spot causing to push past the stop hence causing the breakage? Just seems odd this is now what 2nd event in a row since getting new shifter this has happened?