Gen2 Tracking upgrades for GT350

[armphoenix]

So I have a big upgrade with all necessary internals to make reliable 1000whp, driving as my daily. That is huge for straight line races.
Track performance is however a different story, obviously. The additional upgrades I have helping is lighter wheels (Signature wheel), wider tires (Toyo r888r 305/325) and aero (AR front splitter that dropped the clearance by about 1.5” and a rear diffuser). I see a lot of discussions on upgrading the suspension for better track performance but I wanted to approach this holistically and ask the community to help with a general question:

Given I have a budget of $30k, what upgrades should I make to improve track performance of the car and since I am not competent doing the upgrades, what businesses in Seattle area you recommend who could help with that?
I want to avoid making radical changes that would impact the comfort of daily driving, e.g. changing anything in the interior, weight reductions that would force me to compromise something else etc..

P.S. I know the biggest gains will come from me becoming a better driver

 

[biggsy]

Welcome!

Have you had an event with the car yet?

 

[armphoenix]

So I have a big upgrade with all necessary internals to make reliable 1000whp, driving as my daily. That is huge for straight line races.
Track performance is however a different story, obviously. The additional upgrades I have helping is lighter wheels (Signature wheel), wider tires (Toyo r888r 305/325) and aero (AR front splitter that dropped the clearance by about 1.5” and a rear diffuser). I see a lot of discussions on upgrading the suspension for better track performance but I wanted to approach this holistically and ask the community to help with a general question:

Given I have a budget of $30k, what upgrades should I make to improve track performance of the car and since I am not competent doing the upgrades, what businesses in Seattle area you recommend who could help with that?
I want to avoid making radical changes that would impact the comfort of daily driving, e.g. changing anything in the interior, weight reductions that would force me to compromise something else etc..

P.S. I know the biggest gains will come from me becoming a better driver

View attachment 97453

Welcome!

Have you had an event with the car yet?

Yeah, did one HPDE with Proformance and another PM lapping session with an instructor.

 

[biggsy]

Yeah, did one HPDE with Proformance and another PM lapping session with an instructor.

Did your car overheat? I mean with $30k you can do a lot to your car but if you are enjoying it as is and there are no issues then you could be fine. Especially being that you don’t want to touch the interior.

30k could get you a sequential…

Or a set of 3( or 4) way coilovers, AP brake set up and a proper wing for less than that but may not be necessary. Maybe hood venting to get the heat out.

But I guess the million dollar (some times literally lol)question is what is your goal for the car? Fun HPDE or time trials or wheel 2 wheel?

 

[armphoenix]

Did your car overheat? I mean with $30k you can do a lot to your car but if you are enjoying it as is and there are no issues then you could be fine. Especially being that you don’t want to touch the interior.

30k could get you a sequential…

Or a set of 3( or 4) way coilovers, AP brake set up and a proper wing for less than that but may not be necessary. Maybe hood venting to get the heat out.

But I guess the million dollar (some times literally lol)question is what is your goal for the car? Fun HPDE or time trials or wheel 2 wheel?

Great questions!

I didn’t have heating issues since Fathouse Performance had done all the proper upgrades on cooling I think.

I had two challenges:
1. The suspension felt too loos for turns with elevation, the rear danced too much and I had to slow down to let the car settle. Maybe my line was wrong or the speed was wrong, but the power the car could put on the ground was higher than the car’s (or driver’s, or both) handling could deal with SPECIFICALLY on turns with elevation. All other turns felt great.
2. I had engine light go off at maintenance speed 70mph-ish) in turn 2, not sure if it’s fuel pressure due to the fuel being pushed to the side or oil pressure because of the same or the MoTec 150 tune I got. It was accompanied by a big pop or two and gone after a few seconds. I didn’t get that at full RPM on straight lines. This one will be difficult to figure out until the logs get looked at I suppose.

 

[JAJ]

Great questions!

I didn’t have heating issues sincWhice Fathouse Performance had done all the proper upgrades on cooling I think.

I had two challenges:
1. The suspension felt too loos for turns with elevation, the rear danced too much and I had to slow down to let the car settle. Maybe my line was wrong or the speed was wrong, but the power the car could put on the ground was higher than the car’s (or driver’s, or both) handling could deal with SPECIFICALLY on turns with elevation. All other turns felt great.
2. I had engine light go off at maintenance speed 70mph-ish) in turn 2, not sure if it’s fuel pressure due to the fuel being pushed to the side or oil pressure because of the same or the MoTec 150 tune I got. It was accompanied by a big pop or two and gone after a few seconds. I didn’t get that at full RPM on straight lines. This one will be difficult to figure out until the logs get looked at I suppose.

Which track were you having the "loose" handling at? And what kind of elevation change? Going down through the corner or rising up?

Also, are you sure that there haven't been any changes in the suspension? New springs or bars?

 

[armphoenix]

Which track were you having the "loose" handling at? And what kind of elevation change? Going down through the corner or rising up?

Also, are you sure that there haven't been any changes in the suspension? New springs or bars?

Sorry should have mentioned that since I referenced a specific turn. It’s Pacific Raceways. Only rising up was the challenge.
The only change that I’ve done is I took the car to Cantell Motorsports to optimize the camber for aggressive turns. They adjusted the rear and told me the front on GT350s don’t have the adjustability that GT350Rs do, so basically did some alignment.

 

[biggsy]

I would definitely get camber plates if you dont have them already. Vorshlag makes quality camber plates and they sell a tool that will allow you to open up your strut tower (more camber)

Vorshlag S550 (2015-up) Mustang Camber/Caster Plates & OEM Perches

It took a nearly complete redesign of our existing S550 camber plates to make them have the same "stack-up height" as the OEM top mounts, but we managed to do it and not lose any of the features we are known for: radial bearing upper spring perch design, massive spherical bearing, and camber +...

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S550 Strut Tower Cutting Fixture (Tool)

Vorshlag has long promoted that you can never have too much camber in your McPherson strut suspension. For the S550 Mustang, which has 1000 pounds on each front corner, this is especially true. When customers are buying our 11" wide wheels we assume they are for track or competition use. These...

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[mavisky]

So you're still on fully stock suspension at this point in time? Since you're on a base 350 and not an R that's going to be a situation you're going to want to solve. With the available funds I'd start with a set of the GT350R/GT500 dampers to replace your current magneride setup and then I'd get the front and rear spring setup from AJ and ask him what sway bar setup he recommends to pair with them.

You also have a ton of front aero and not much rear aero to balance that out. The factory "Swing" that came on your car is an improvement over the earlier GT350 spoilers, but not close to enough to counteract that big splitter and dive planes. May be time to consider a wing. AJ can help you out there too or there are a number of other options. I use the Verus wing with the center block off plate from APR to cover the factory holes.

Then I'd look at tires. I know the Fathouse guys like the R888R tires, but for a track day I'd be looking at the Goodyear Supercar 3R's or similar as they're leagues better in terms of handling than the R888's are.

Unfortunately I don't know any shops that can help you directly with installing these parts, but I'm sure others can chime in.

 

[CobaltFilly]

So you're still on fully stock suspension at this point in time? Since you're on a base 350 and not an R that's going to be a situation you're going to want to solve. With the available funds I'd start with a set of the GT350R/GT500 dampers to replace your current magneride setup and then I'd get the front and rear spring setup from AJ and ask him what sway bar setup he recommends to pair with them.

You also have a ton of front aero and not much rear aero to balance that out. The factory "Swing" that came on your car is an improvement over the earlier GT350 spoilers, but not close to enough to counteract that big splitter and dive planes. May be time to consider a wing. AJ can help you out there too or there are a number of other options. I use the Verus wing with the center block off plate from APR to cover the factory holes.

Then I'd look at tires. I know the Fathouse guys like the R888R tires, but for a track day I'd be looking at the Goodyear Supercar 3R's or similar as they're leagues better in terms of handling than the R888's are.

Unfortunately I don't know any shops that can help you directly with installing these parts, but I'm sure others can chime in.

I second this.

 

[JAJ]

Sorry should have mentioned that since I referenced a specific turn. It’s Pacific Raceways. Only rising up was the challenge.
The only change that I’ve done is I took the car to Cantell Motorsports to optimize the camber for aggressive turns. They adjusted the rear and told me the front on GT350s don’t have the adjustability that GT350Rs do, so basically did some alignment.

So, if it's turns 5 and 6 at Pacific, they're relatively low speed so aero doesn't matter. A side note - I stopped going to Pacific more than a decade ago because of those corners - literally every time I was there at least one car came off the track on a flatbed with the roof smashed in from a problem in that complex. The Ridge is just a whole lot safer (and more fun).

The suspension would probably benefit from a bit of work - camber plates for the front and maybe some adjustable rear camber links like SPC. The factory rear links are adjustable but they don't have positive position retention so some people have experienced post-adjustment slippage under track loads. As for the settings, if you're running super light forged rims, you'll probably need a fair bit of negative camber up front - 3 to 3.5 degrees negative. Camber plates and a pair of camber bolts will do for what you're doing - cutting the strut openings is a bit extreme for a street car in my opinion. As for tires, other tires are better perhaps, but I'd focus on getting the handling balanced first. As for changing the shocks to GT350R/GT500 shocks, I don't know if that works or not. My 2016 had very different VDM programming for the R and non-R versions and just swapping parts without redoing the VDM programming wouldn't have been helpful.

As for who should do the work, Cantrell has a good reputation as I recall, so see what they say about doing the work. Others might know of other shops in the area.

 

[Tonymustang302]

Get rid of that archetype splitter and get an AJ one.

Camber plates
Eibach adjustable sway bars
Aj rear wing
Front and rear monoball solid bushings
Proper seat
Get rid of the trash signature rims that bend easy
Get forgeline or forged apex rims square with goodyear 3r’s
Pads (everyone has their choices)
Girodisc front and rear.

The 1000hp will be a huge hinderance to any progress

Seat time seat time seat time.

 

[CobaltFilly]

Did we mention seat time?

Seat time and more seat time.
Oh, and time behind the wheel.
But mainly seat time.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I'm gun shy about the Gt350 engine.. you said you have the components to go for 1K horses. I hope so. The general rule of thumb with the stock engine is to not mod it, don't tune it, don't mess with it, maybe even shave about a grand off the rpm limiter to make it last.

 

[mavisky]

I'm gun shy about the Gt350 engine.. you said you have the components to go for 1K horses. I hope so. The general rule of thumb with the stock engine is to not mod it, don't tune it, don't mess with it, maybe even shave about a grand off the rpm limiter to make it last.

To blacksheep's point, unless you got the forged engine package on your 1000R I wouldn't be pushing it that hard on a prolonged road course session.

I thought they only offered the 800R kit with the stock engine, but according to their current website you don't get the FFRE engine package until the 1200R.

Shelby GT350 1000R Twin Turbo Package

Introducing the awe-inspiring Fathouse Performance Shelby GT350 1000 Horsepower Twin Turbo Package. The Shelby GT350 1000R!

www.fathouseperformance.com

 

[Tonymustang302]

I'm gun shy about the Gt350 engine.. you said you have the components to go for 1K horses. I hope so. The general rule of thumb with the stock engine is to not mod it, don't tune it, don't mess with it, maybe even shave about a grand off the rpm limiter to make it last.

Thisssssss……My 350 motor is stone stock, stock tune, i shift at 7500, i use amsoil and change frequently. I have the oil balancing lines on the rear heads, wait til 180* to go out, plugs every season.

So far so good for 5 yrs

 

[CobaltFilly]

Thisssssss……My 350 motor is stone stock, stock tune, i shift at 7500, i use amsoil and change frequently. I have the oil balancing lines on the rear heads, wait til 180* to go out, plugs every season.

So far so good for 5 yrs

Thank you for this info...mentally chocking it in my brain for when I buy one of these beauts.

In however many years. My dream track car for sure.

 

[byronj]

I'd look in AJ Hartman for your aero. He has wind tested his stuff and tracks his GT350 to balance the car properly with suspension. Plus his customer service is way better than others. He will respond even if he is at the track. (when not driving or fixing something)

If you want to try a coil over set up I have a brand new set that Im willing to let go for 500 plus shipping. Its a GC system that you can still use the magride with. With my set up and skill I shaved 3 seconds off my time at Sonoma. And still don't have my camber dialed in.

Honestly that 1000 HP is going to be your biggest issue. Most track cars don's have that much power, nor do they need it.

We have people here with 306 RWHP and they are a lot faster than guys with 500 RWHP.

Best of luck.

OH and seat time and you have too much power for that suspension and unbalanced aero set up

 

[5.2 liters of democracy]

Did your car overheat? I mean with $30k you can do a lot to your car but if you are enjoying it as is and there are no issues then you could be fine. Especially being that you don’t want to touch the interior.

30k could get you a sequential…

Or a set of 3( or 4) way coilovers, AP brake set up and a proper wing for less than that but may not be necessary. Maybe hood venting to get the heat out.

But I guess the million dollar (some times literally lol)question is what is your goal for the car? Fun HPDE or time trials or wheel 2 wheel?

Definitely hood vents. I was amazed at how much they helped with understeer in long, fast sweepers. As @biggsy mentioned as well, getting that heat out will be critical to you keeping the car at a temperature with that much power.

Outside of those, swapping to AJ's splitter and grabbing one of his wings would also help. As someone who has blown a voodoo (and had issues with the second), perhaps keep some of that money set aside for some engine repairs. I would view it as a matter of when, not if, just to be safe.

 

[Tonymustang302]

Definitely hood vents. I was amazed at how much they helped with understeer in long, fast sweepers. As @biggsy mentioned as well, getting that heat out will be critical to you keeping the car at a temperature with that much power.

Outside of those, swapping to AJ's splitter and grabbing one of his wings would also help. As someone who has blown a voodoo (and had issues with the second), perhaps keep some of that money set aside for some engine repairs. I would view it as a matter of when, not if, just to be safe.

Uve def blown more than a voodoo