This past weekend was my 2nd HPDE with my 2006 Mustang GT. This event really highlighted some weak spots in my current setup and probably my own driving, but I'll post my fastest lap video later on for y'all to give feedback. Before getting into it all though, a big thank you to Track Club USA and SVT Cobra club for hosting another fantastic event.
Swapping over wheels/tires and adjusting the camber plates the day before
The last HPDE I did was in November at VIR. So I really enjoyed being able to come back to the same track two times in a row to really compare my mods, feel of the car, and most importantly; lap times! Since that last event in November, I spent all my Christmas money on racecar parts and ended up getting MM C/C plates, Steeda pro-action shocks/struts, Steeda front LCA with extended ball joints, and Steeda bump steer kit. Camber was set to -2.8 as that is what I could get out of the plates without cutting the strut tower. I will probably cut the tower for some more adjustment in the next few weeks but was too lazy to do it before the event. My toe was set to 0.
Steeda struts, bump steer kit, sway bar, and control arms
Session 1: The first session was chilly to say the least. I believe it was in the lower 40's at this time. My pit out lap consisted of me breaking the rear end loose around turn 1, allowing me to show my Tokyo drift side for a few seconds
. The rest of this session was otherwise not all that exciting. It was quite cold, and knowing that I had to drive the car home in the evening, I wasn't trying too hard to win the HPDE trophy for the day. The biggest thing that came from session 1 in my opinion was realizing that I had graduated from the brakes I was using going into the day. I bought Hawk HP+ pads for the last event. Before you say it, yes I know they aren't track pads; however, I had seen enough "sure they'll work" comments across the internet to buy them and save some money at the time. They worked well enough last event, and while I knew I was cooking them, I didn't ever run out of brakes or overheat them to the point of failure. Today, I did overheat them to failure and had to coast into brake zones and then brake before the markers even started to feel like I could safely slow down enough. Coming in from session 1, I knew I needed better brakes. I had about two hours before my next session, and the pro shop had one last set of Carbotech XP12's in stock that fit the 4pot brembos. I had them installed before lunch, bedded them during the parade laps, and had them cooled down and ready to go for session 2.
On the bright side, all of my suspension felt much better; considering I was on blown-out shocks and struts among other things for my first HPDE. Although, I was still disappointed in the amount of body roll I was dealing with. That, I attribute to my squishy Ford K springs. Rated at a whopping 228 lbs/in up front, and around 190 lbs/in in the rear.
Session 2: This was my first session with the new Carbotech pads. After a few warm-up laps, I dropped 2 seconds off of the fastest time I've ever had at VIR. Going from a 2.22.8 to a 2:20.9. Track Addict states my theoretical best is around 2:19.5, which I was really eager to hit, but just didn't get to it in the day. Not really sure if I would consider my time fast by any means, but it felt good to not be the slowest in the intermediate group with the vast majority of them being cars with much more power and parts than I had. I loved the new brakes, but could still tell they were getting really hot and losing some bite after really really getting into them. I also don't have any brake cooling, so kinda makes sense. That is on the list before next HPDE. Here is my fastest lap video with data overlay from Track Addict:
I won't try and go over sessions 3 and 4. They weren't all that memorable and nothing fast. Some more times in the 2:22's. Most of those sessions were spent wishing I had stiffer springs and listening to my tires scrub as the suspension compressed.
To-do list for next event:
- Springs: I am looking at the MM Track springs as they are significantly stiffer and I enjoy slowly upgrading and learning to out drive the upgrades I make. That, combined with budget, is why I'm not looking at coil overs yet. This video shows how bouncy it is on the K springs going through turn 3.
- Will probably add some more camber. I think -2.5 was pretty conservative and will probably go up to -3. Unfortunately, I didn't have an IR thermometer this time around to measure tire temps afterward, and with my body roll eating the shoulders of my tires, I couldn't tell how much tread I was using up or how well my camber was set.
- Will probably get a few other odds and ends figured out. I'm currently working on a DIY front splitter. Not really because I need the aero, but it's something to do in my free time, and without any undertray on my car currently, I'm sure I get a bunch of air up under the hood. This splitter will also get naca ducts built into it to guide air to brake cooling deflectors on the control arms. I'm aiming to make something similar to the Vorshlag style.
- Will also be getting Carbotech XP8's for the rear. Currently, I am rocking some AutoZone specials in the rear. I know, I know, not good.
Open to any advice on upgrades and directions to go, as well as driving advice based on the video shared. Thanks y'all
Swapping over wheels/tires and adjusting the camber plates the day before
The last HPDE I did was in November at VIR. So I really enjoyed being able to come back to the same track two times in a row to really compare my mods, feel of the car, and most importantly; lap times! Since that last event in November, I spent all my Christmas money on racecar parts and ended up getting MM C/C plates, Steeda pro-action shocks/struts, Steeda front LCA with extended ball joints, and Steeda bump steer kit. Camber was set to -2.8 as that is what I could get out of the plates without cutting the strut tower. I will probably cut the tower for some more adjustment in the next few weeks but was too lazy to do it before the event. My toe was set to 0.
Steeda struts, bump steer kit, sway bar, and control arms
Session 1: The first session was chilly to say the least. I believe it was in the lower 40's at this time. My pit out lap consisted of me breaking the rear end loose around turn 1, allowing me to show my Tokyo drift side for a few seconds
. The rest of this session was otherwise not all that exciting. It was quite cold, and knowing that I had to drive the car home in the evening, I wasn't trying too hard to win the HPDE trophy for the day. The biggest thing that came from session 1 in my opinion was realizing that I had graduated from the brakes I was using going into the day. I bought Hawk HP+ pads for the last event. Before you say it, yes I know they aren't track pads; however, I had seen enough "sure they'll work" comments across the internet to buy them and save some money at the time. They worked well enough last event, and while I knew I was cooking them, I didn't ever run out of brakes or overheat them to the point of failure. Today, I did overheat them to failure and had to coast into brake zones and then brake before the markers even started to feel like I could safely slow down enough. Coming in from session 1, I knew I needed better brakes. I had about two hours before my next session, and the pro shop had one last set of Carbotech XP12's in stock that fit the 4pot brembos. I had them installed before lunch, bedded them during the parade laps, and had them cooled down and ready to go for session 2.On the bright side, all of my suspension felt much better; considering I was on blown-out shocks and struts among other things for my first HPDE. Although, I was still disappointed in the amount of body roll I was dealing with. That, I attribute to my squishy Ford K springs. Rated at a whopping 228 lbs/in up front, and around 190 lbs/in in the rear.
Session 2: This was my first session with the new Carbotech pads. After a few warm-up laps, I dropped 2 seconds off of the fastest time I've ever had at VIR. Going from a 2.22.8 to a 2:20.9. Track Addict states my theoretical best is around 2:19.5, which I was really eager to hit, but just didn't get to it in the day. Not really sure if I would consider my time fast by any means, but it felt good to not be the slowest in the intermediate group with the vast majority of them being cars with much more power and parts than I had. I loved the new brakes, but could still tell they were getting really hot and losing some bite after really really getting into them. I also don't have any brake cooling, so kinda makes sense. That is on the list before next HPDE. Here is my fastest lap video with data overlay from Track Addict:
I won't try and go over sessions 3 and 4. They weren't all that memorable and nothing fast. Some more times in the 2:22's. Most of those sessions were spent wishing I had stiffer springs and listening to my tires scrub as the suspension compressed.
To-do list for next event:
- Springs: I am looking at the MM Track springs as they are significantly stiffer and I enjoy slowly upgrading and learning to out drive the upgrades I make. That, combined with budget, is why I'm not looking at coil overs yet. This video shows how bouncy it is on the K springs going through turn 3.
- Will probably add some more camber. I think -2.5 was pretty conservative and will probably go up to -3. Unfortunately, I didn't have an IR thermometer this time around to measure tire temps afterward, and with my body roll eating the shoulders of my tires, I couldn't tell how much tread I was using up or how well my camber was set.
- Will probably get a few other odds and ends figured out. I'm currently working on a DIY front splitter. Not really because I need the aero, but it's something to do in my free time, and without any undertray on my car currently, I'm sure I get a bunch of air up under the hood. This splitter will also get naca ducts built into it to guide air to brake cooling deflectors on the control arms. I'm aiming to make something similar to the Vorshlag style.
- Will also be getting Carbotech XP8's for the rear. Currently, I am rocking some AutoZone specials in the rear. I know, I know, not good.
Open to any advice on upgrades and directions to go, as well as driving advice based on the video shared. Thanks y'all
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