First open track event in the Shelby

[jtfx6552]

My car was a blast on a road course. I can't wait for the warm weather to arrive again so I can get back out there.

 

[Lethalchem]

Lethalchem I'm happy that you enjoyed Hallett. Great track. Raced there back in 2009 and they aren't kidding about turn two.

"don't brake until you see God!"

I always enjoy it there, but I have yet to find my groove on the final turn that exits onto the start/finish straight that I like. It's the one corner I find myself the least consistent. Oh well, having a good exit onto the main straight is NEVER important to a lap time anyway...:lol1:

 

[SteveWK]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/helk4v78zpph2xl/MPSS%20Chunking_opt.jpg Picture of shredded tire.

Lethal - I had a great time there until you pointed out my tire situation I'm glad you did since I didn't notice it. Maybe I should put the Goodyears back on for open track events? It looks like you had much better traction than I did. I was pushing like a snow plow through most of the turns. That was the 5th open track day those tires had seen, and I'm betting they were not optimal anymore.

Thanks for taking those videos. I wish I could have taken some of you, but as you know, my tires had other ideas.

Great write up and I'll be sure to keep you in the loop on future events.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I always enjoy it there, but I have yet to find my groove on the final turn that exits onto the start/finish straight that I like. It's the one corner I find myself the least consistent. Oh well, having a good exit onto the main straight is NEVER important to a lap time anyway...:lol1:

I tried a lot of lines at Hallett on the last turn.

One that worked for me was to go in deep on the turn and late apex where most guys are doing a double apex on that turn.

Give it a shot the next time out. I picked up a few MPH before entering turn 1 brake zone.

When I instructed out there I took turn 1 in a Ford Explorer at 80 MPH.

The following day I had students with Super Snakes going in at 60 MPH.

Me: "Hey man, you can go through here a lot faster"
Student: "That's all she's got"
Me: "Pit out next lap and let me drive and I'll show you the line"
Student after driver swap: "AAAAHHHHHHHH, NOOOOOOO, HEEELLLLPPPP"

LOL

Glad you enjoyed it. If you see someone out there with a big beard and a couple of Mustangs and his son racing a Miata ask him to go with you and give you some pointers. You can't miss him. Terlinqua Mustang (NASTY BIG ENGINE) or Grabber Blue Boss Mustang he's 6.5 and a big red beard. Goes by the name Mike. He'll show you how to get around turn 10.

 

[Lethalchem]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/helk4v78zpph2xl/MPSS%20Chunking_opt.jpg Picture of shredded tire.

Lethal - I had a great time there until you pointed out my tire situation I'm glad you did since I didn't notice it. Maybe I should put the Goodyears back on for open track events? It looks like you had much better traction than I did. I was pushing like a snow plow through most of the turns. That was the 5th open track day those tires had seen, and I'm betting they were not optimal anymore.

Thanks for taking those videos. I wish I could have taken some of you, but as you know, my tires had other ideas.

Great write up and I'll be sure to keep you in the loop on future events.

Yeah, it sucks your day was cut short like that. If you still have your stock rubber I would highly suggest using them up at Hallett. I think they performed well there. I'd be happy to join you guys again in the Spring some time for sure. :beer:

I tried a lot of lines at Hallett on the last turn.

One that worked for me was to go in deep on the turn and late apex where most guys are doing a double apex on that turn.

Give it a shot the next time out. I picked up a few MPH before entering turn 1 brake zone.

Yeah, going deep was what I was experimenting with but I never got a good visual on a braking point I liked. I always felt I was going to come in too hot and have the track fall away in front of me, only to realize I'd left speed on the table. Hallett has so many blind corners it takes many laps (in my opinion) to get a feel for where you can push the limits. I think I only ran about 30 laps total.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I watched some of the video. The only critique that I would give to you if I was instructing is to not ride with your hand on the shifter. Once you make a shift get your hand back on the wheel. If for some reason you have some oversteer or other condition that makes you have to get into a defensive driving mode it is best to have both hands on the wheel. That's the reasoning.

Your elbow rake looks good from what I can tell. It's always a better driving position to have a good amount of angle between the shoulder, elbow and hands so it requires less input from your arms and hands to counter oversteer etc.

Otherwise looks like a lot of fun. Hallett is a great track with a lot of history.

 

[Lethalchem]

I watched some of the video. The only critique that I would give to you if I was instructing is to not ride with your hand on the shifter. Once you make a shift get your hand back on the wheel. If for some reason you have some oversteer or other condition that makes you have to get into a defensive driving mode it is best to have both hands on the wheel. That's the reasoning.

Your elbow rake looks good from what I can tell. It's always a better driving position to have a good amount of angle between the shoulder, elbow and hands so it requires less input from your arms and hands to counter oversteer etc.

Otherwise looks like a lot of fun. Hallett is a great track with a lot of history.

Thanks, I'm always open to instruction and ma eager to learn something new. If you're looking at my in car video you may not have read that those laps were "half-throttle" efforts. You can hear me do a lot of coasting and short shifting so we were both in casual mode. I don't think I was being unsafe, but we certainly weren't balls to the wall either. I'll keep your comments in mind for next time though, perhaps it would be a better habit for me to drive the same way regardless of how hard we're pushing. That's something for me to think about. :beer:

I always heard to try and sit forward toward the steering wheel as much as you can comfortably tolerate when racing. I definitely moved the seat back and reclined it a bit for the drive home.:lol:

 

[cobraboss]

:beer:

We all buy vehicles for different reasons. Our motives for a purchase are about as varied as our opinions on any given topic on any given day. It is no different for our beloved '13/'14 GT500's. We've seen people buy this car because of the horsepower numbers, or the top speed, or because of brand loyalty, and yes we also see people buy it and sell it 1000miles later because they're only interested in the "flavor of the month". While I don't think any of us have the right to say another person's reasons are "wrong", I just wanted to share an experience that only served to solidify and deepen my affection for this car.

Last weekend I rounded out my typical battery of automotive events by participating in an open track event put on by a Porsche Club. At some point during ownership I always try to put my new car through it's paces in 3 main arenas of activity: Drag Racing, Autocrossing, and Road Racing. Many of you have heard me mention my feelings about the car when I first got it, so this post will sort of be a small summary now that I've tried her out properly. My car is stock as far as power is concerned and the only performance mods to speak of are FRPP springs and BMR's rear kit. As some of you have pointed out, I've been known to bemoan the way the car performs on the street. For this much power, I was expecting something more aggressive. I've found the GT500 to feel highly composed, controllable, and refined. In a word, I've always called it "Civilized". While this sounds like a compliment, it's never been a term I've ever attached to a Mustang, nor was it one I really wanted to. After this weekend's activities in the GT500 I can honestly say the venue in which I've enjoyed driving it most is on the road course. I know it may be a bit counterintuitive to think the Shelby is better on an open track than a drag strip, but for ME, it is. Obviously all 3 events are different enough to make a true comparison unfair, but what I'm actually talking about is how the car handles the event in stock form.

1. When drag racing, I found myself annoyed by the stock programming which pulled power and caused bog in one of two ways: Through Traction Control detecting wheelspin when in one of the launch modes, or through the Electronic Clutch Protection detecting clutch slip when all modes are turned off. Without changing the car from stock form (wider/stickier tires, aftermarket tune, etc) the fun factor of the car at the strip is somewhat limited.

2. When auto crossing, I felt the car surpassed my expectations. Typically the formula: Big Horsepower + Big, Heavy car + Small tires + Small parking lot = A less than stellar showing. Instead, I found myself impressed with how well the car gathered itself up if it started to lose control. I was impressed at how it tucked it's rear in behind you and allowed you to navigate a decreasing radius turn with amazing agility. In fact, I was impressed with the grip of the tires too, as long as you could get them warmed up. The problem with autocrossing for me around here is you typically leave it in 1st gear and engage in an intricate dance between your foot and the gas pedal, with the thought of flooring it being a pipe dream.

3. When road racing…change out your brake fluid, and go drive your ass off! That's it! In stock form, this car has everything you need to have one of the best driving experiences of your life. The car put on a stellar performance for me. Yes, of course modding it would make it even better, but this is one event you can really push the car without really needing to touch a thing! I finally felt like the car had found it's niche where it was happiest (again, I'm taking about in stock form).

The tires performed flawlessly. I couldn't have asked for anything more from a street tire from the factory. The brakes were always there for me when I needed them and the tires stuck like champs. Accellerating, cornering, or braking, the tires were well up to the task. I know everyone else on here hates them so I'll be MORE than happy to take your stockers off your hands for cheap since they suck so much. :rolling:

Anyway, I'll ramble on forever if I'm not careful so I'll move on to the actual event vids. I met up with another SVT member in Tulsa and we cruised to the track Thursday morning. We arrived a little after 8am and the temps outside were in the low 40's at best. I looked at the dash temp when we were pulling out of the hotel parking lot and it read 37 degrees outside. Our first run session was spent taking it easy. We were going to have more track time than anyone could ever want so there was no point in pushing it too hard at the beginning when the track was cold.

In this first video the purpose was for me to film him as we went around the track. We wern't racing each other or trying to set a new personal best or anything. It was still cold out so we were just having fun and blowing the cobwebs out. I hadn't driven this track since 2005 so I was happy to get a feel for the track during the morning sessions anyway.

Hallett - 11/7/13 - Morning Session 2 on Vimeo

I wanted to include this second video because I liked the camera angle so much. The owner of the red GT500 told me about his experience putting the camera on the bumper in front of one of the headlights. It sounded cool so I wanted to give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion Steve, I love it!! :beer: I really like how easy it is to see the difference in speed between the slow first outlap and the full speed ones that follow. I typically run the first lap at about 60% to get everything up and running, then I'll push it up to about 90% for the second lap. By the 3rd or 4th lap I usually feel like the car is good to go and I'll push it harder. Sorry for the watermark in the middle of the screen on this one. I was using a trial version of some conversion software to see if I liked it before I purchased it.

Hallett - 11/7/13 - 2013 Shelby GT500 Bumper cam at Hallett Raceway on Vimeo

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Thanks, I'm always open to instruction and ma eager to learn something new. If you're looking at my in car video you may not have read that those laps were "half-throttle" efforts. You can hear me do a lot of coasting and short shifting so we were both in casual mode. I don't think I was being unsafe, but we certainly weren't balls to the wall either. I'll keep your comments in mind for next time though, perhaps it would be a better habit for me to drive the same way regardless of how hard we're pushing. That's something for me to think about. :beer:

I always heard to try and sit forward toward the steering wheel as much as you can comfortably tolerate when racing. I definitely moved the seat back and reclined it a bit for the drive home.:lol:

Getting both hands on the wheel even during a warm up or warm down lap is just good solid practice. Even when I'm doing Standing Mile WOT runs or shakedown passes or tracking my car at any road course I always get my hands on the wheel.

I recommend a great book for learning the dynamics of open track driving. It's called 'Going Faster' and it's from the Skip Barber School with a forward by Danny Sullivan. When I instruct privately and I have time before the event I'll send a copy to the student and have them read the first 10 chapters. Just give you a good solid foundation for what you are doing.

:beer: I'm always trying to learn more as well. Keep it up!!

 

[tomshep]

Hallett is a blast! I have run there many times. That is also one of the hardest courses I have ever encountered on brakes.

I think most track dawgs are ex-drag racers. 20+ minutes is sooo much more fun than a few seconds. I tell people it is like drag racing connected with corners.

The last turn is a very late apex. Stay way right and you almost start turning in when the track is starting to fall away. Then turn in pretty sharp as you are finishing braking, then feed the wheel out so you can accelerate past the apex. It allows you to accelerate earlier out of the corner.

Pay close attention to the track and debris on it in this corner. Most people turn earlier than you should so that causes the track to accumulate marbles out further where the line is faster. Sometimes, you have to turn in a little early to avoid the marbles.

Tom

 

[Slowponycar]

:beer:Lethal, that looked like tons of fun:rockon:. Cant wait to get mine out on the track. Are you going to Daytona? Just ordered my R6s for it :banana:

 

[Lethalchem]

:beer:Lethal, that looked like tons of fun:rockon:. Cant wait to get mine out on the track. Are you going to Daytona? Just ordered my R6s for it :banana:

It is always a ton of fun. You will love yours on the track. Here's a more recent upload of the afternoon session where the temps warmed up and I was able to push the car harder. These laps were 6-8 seconds faster than the ones in my original vids at the beginning of this thread.

Hallett 11-7-13 - Afternoon session on Vimeo

Nope, I'm not going to Daytona. The car is pretty much put away for the winter. We don't get a ton of bad weather during the winter here, but I don't enjoy washing a car when it's cold out, and I won't let it sit dirty. Have fun. It will be amazing with those tires on it, I have no doubt! :beer: