What A Ford GT Was Made For!
- Thread starter Ed Sims
- Start date
FlorIdaho Chris
Yeah, I've got one.
Triheart7
GT Owner
Nice pictures Ed. I was with at the track on Friday with Ed and wanted to show off a few pictures too. Ho do you do that in a reply?
I am a novice on the track, but find that with the GT very close to stock you can have a great time. I do have a Transaxle cooler, and tuned supercharger. I have standard shocks, tires as well as standard seat belts. I had the drivers seat lowered so I could place my helmet on. After two sessions on the track my breaks are doing well, I will need to replace my back tires soon.
I am hoping soon I can get into the C group and try to catch up with Ed!
I am a novice on the track, but find that with the GT very close to stock you can have a great time. I do have a Transaxle cooler, and tuned supercharger. I have standard shocks, tires as well as standard seat belts. I had the drivers seat lowered so I could place my helmet on. After two sessions on the track my breaks are doing well, I will need to replace my back tires soon.
I am hoping soon I can get into the C group and try to catch up with Ed!
Thunderhill, Buttonwillow & Nurburging
Triheart 7 - HOD at T-hill Friday June 29? Let's do it. I'll also be at Buttonwillow Raceway on Saturday June 23 for a NCRC open track with the GT. It's only a 600 mile round trip drive on I-5. The more time you spend on the track the faster you go!
Desi - Lassen Sie uns GTs nehmen Nurburging!
Ed
Triheart 7 - HOD at T-hill Friday June 29? Let's do it. I'll also be at Buttonwillow Raceway on Saturday June 23 for a NCRC open track with the GT. It's only a 600 mile round trip drive on I-5. The more time you spend on the track the faster you go!
Desi - Lassen Sie uns GTs nehmen Nurburging!
Ed
tire size, heat soak, photos
Trackmeister - I was told by Jeff, the main customer tech, at Hoosier that the GT front tire size works better at 245/40. He states it is the size used by Ford during testing. It seemed to work great on the track. Ask Jeff about it at 574-784-3152. He has a lot of great info on pressures/temps for the GT Hoosiers.
Triheart 7 - I forgot to answer your question regarding attaching photos to a post. Black Ice told me how to do it. Below the "Submit Reply - Preview Post" line click on "Manage Attachments". Click on "Browse". Find your image (it must be the proper size or downsized) & click on "Open". Click on "Upload" & you're done! There is a limit also on the total file size per post but, I believe, also overall for the Forum under your user name.
Florida Chris - I didn't have any heat soak S-charger problems on the track. The weather was sunny & in the 70s. I've never had the GT overheat - on the track or in traffic (no stock muffler & trans oil cooler help).
Desi - When do I get that Bier? Berlin ist die Stadt!
Ed
Trackmeister - I was told by Jeff, the main customer tech, at Hoosier that the GT front tire size works better at 245/40. He states it is the size used by Ford during testing. It seemed to work great on the track. Ask Jeff about it at 574-784-3152. He has a lot of great info on pressures/temps for the GT Hoosiers.
Triheart 7 - I forgot to answer your question regarding attaching photos to a post. Black Ice told me how to do it. Below the "Submit Reply - Preview Post" line click on "Manage Attachments". Click on "Browse". Find your image (it must be the proper size or downsized) & click on "Open". Click on "Upload" & you're done! There is a limit also on the total file size per post but, I believe, also overall for the Forum under your user name.
Florida Chris - I didn't have any heat soak S-charger problems on the track. The weather was sunny & in the 70s. I've never had the GT overheat - on the track or in traffic (no stock muffler & trans oil cooler help).
Desi - When do I get that Bier? Berlin ist die Stadt!
Ed
cobrar1339
GT Owner
Have you run Buttonwillow before?. Do you know what config they are running?. What is NCRC?, Where can I sign up?.
I love that track, one of my all-time favorites in clockwise config. With or without dog leg, but without you will surely be able to stretch her legs a bit.
Hoping to get my feet wet at Big Willow in mid May.
I love that track, one of my all-time favorites in clockwise config. With or without dog leg, but without you will surely be able to stretch her legs a bit.
Hoping to get my feet wet at Big Willow in mid May.
NCRC, TMR, HOD, etc - Open Track Organizations
NCRC is NorCal Racing http://www.ncracing.org
TMR is Track Masters Racing http://www.trackmasters-racing.com
HOD is Hooked On Driving http://www.hookedondriving.com
None of these groups really race but organize open track events at CA road courses. I hope to see you there!
Ed
NCRC is NorCal Racing http://www.ncracing.org
TMR is Track Masters Racing http://www.trackmasters-racing.com
HOD is Hooked On Driving http://www.hookedondriving.com
None of these groups really race but organize open track events at CA road courses. I hope to see you there!
Ed
Buttonwillow
Cobra R 1339 - No, I haven't driven at Buttonwillow; although, I crewed for a friend at a SCCA race lthere ast year. It looks fun so I am excited to try it out. The closest tracks to me are Thunderhill (90 miles away), Sears Point (80 miles away), Reno-Fernley (150 miles) & Laguna Seca (175 miles). I've also driven at Portland, OR & numerous ex-airports (Tonapah, NV, Crow's Landing, CA & more). I'l like to do as many different tracks as possible. I may drive the GT out to Miller Motorsports near Salt Lake City this year. Any one is welcome to join me!
Ed
Cobra R 1339 - No, I haven't driven at Buttonwillow; although, I crewed for a friend at a SCCA race lthere ast year. It looks fun so I am excited to try it out. The closest tracks to me are Thunderhill (90 miles away), Sears Point (80 miles away), Reno-Fernley (150 miles) & Laguna Seca (175 miles). I've also driven at Portland, OR & numerous ex-airports (Tonapah, NV, Crow's Landing, CA & more). I'l like to do as many different tracks as possible. I may drive the GT out to Miller Motorsports near Salt Lake City this year. Any one is welcome to join me!
Ed
cobrar1339
GT Owner
I hope to see you there. The front straight is not quite wide enough for a 1,2,3 finish, but we can certainly pull off a 1,2.
Tip: Call early and reserve a garage about $100 for two days. has air and elect. You will be able to lock her up safely overnight. I normally split it with a friend, fits two cars easily.
I don't like to run counter clockwise here. You can stuff it into the wall that way. I have seen this done 3 times and it ain't purdy. Clockwise presents no issues or stuff to run into. Good run off areas as well.
To me Magic Mtn down to Star Mazda is a hoot. Star Mazda sucks, but the run through the Esses is about the most fun you can have with your pants on. The C5 Z will go through this flat out with Nittos on it. The last one takes bigger huevos to keep the hammer down ( Day
s of Thunder Quote " It will hold"). The GT May be a different story, we will see.
The turn right after that, leads into the short front it's a PITA to get right. Lots of folks go off here. So many, that is is well groomed and rock free these days. Late apex this one.
The only other trickey turn is the one that leads to the back straight. It's slower than it looks. Off camber and just kinda goofy. You see it as you come down a rise so it's kinda hard to nice the off camber bank at first. Check it out on your warm up laps. But if you go off, another well groomed area.
In clockwise I run 1:56.42 ( personal recorded best, Nitto R2's) - 2:00 here in a C5 Z06 with just "Tires, Shocks, Bars, LT headers and a Tune". This is an addictive track, but a bit hard on brakes if you run full out. Anything around 2:06 is a good safe fast lap here. BTW the 1:56 came after a 2 hour stint in a 90 5.0 I ran in an enduro. That loose rear for two hours made me a more confident driver for the time trial laps in the Z.
Tip: Call early and reserve a garage about $100 for two days. has air and elect. You will be able to lock her up safely overnight. I normally split it with a friend, fits two cars easily.
I don't like to run counter clockwise here. You can stuff it into the wall that way. I have seen this done 3 times and it ain't purdy. Clockwise presents no issues or stuff to run into. Good run off areas as well.
To me Magic Mtn down to Star Mazda is a hoot. Star Mazda sucks, but the run through the Esses is about the most fun you can have with your pants on. The C5 Z will go through this flat out with Nittos on it. The last one takes bigger huevos to keep the hammer down ( Day
s of Thunder Quote " It will hold"). The GT May be a different story, we will see.
The turn right after that, leads into the short front it's a PITA to get right. Lots of folks go off here. So many, that is is well groomed and rock free these days. Late apex this one.
The only other trickey turn is the one that leads to the back straight. It's slower than it looks. Off camber and just kinda goofy. You see it as you come down a rise so it's kinda hard to nice the off camber bank at first. Check it out on your warm up laps. But if you go off, another well groomed area.
In clockwise I run 1:56.42 ( personal recorded best, Nitto R2's) - 2:00 here in a C5 Z06 with just "Tires, Shocks, Bars, LT headers and a Tune". This is an addictive track, but a bit hard on brakes if you run full out. Anything around 2:06 is a good safe fast lap here. BTW the 1:56 came after a 2 hour stint in a 90 5.0 I ran in an enduro. That loose rear for two hours made me a more confident driver for the time trial laps in the Z.
cobrar1339
GT Owner
ED... Video just in from my partners race at ButtonWillow this weekend.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4574772625368571535e
You will like this one, great way to go to school. This was the T1 race at a double national. Oli one the Saturday race. Sunday he tried to qualify on GSCS tires in the damp. This is the first time this season he was not on the pole. This is his first SCCA season, but he is a good aggressive driver, too much so at times, but still learning.
We ran opentrack together for a long time, I used to be the fast one, now he is. The Ferrari works good at this track, but the Z is right up there. Data cam highlights all you need to know.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4574772625368571535e
You will like this one, great way to go to school. This was the T1 race at a double national. Oli one the Saturday race. Sunday he tried to qualify on GSCS tires in the damp. This is the first time this season he was not on the pole. This is his first SCCA season, but he is a good aggressive driver, too much so at times, but still learning.
We ran opentrack together for a long time, I used to be the fast one, now he is. The Ferrari works good at this track, but the Z is right up there. Data cam highlights all you need to know.
cobrar1339
GT Owner
One more time.. Sorry, hope this one works
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4574772625368571535
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4574772625368571535
FlorIdaho Chris
Yeah, I've got one.
KJD
GT Owner
Great video - shows better than most that while power is necessary and fun, braking ability is paramount! Thanks for posting!
OCPETE
GT Owner
Nice...shows the finesse of Ferrari over Z06 brute...Glad to have a Z beater to screw around with, maybe have the balls of Ed one day to track the GT :thumbsup
cobrar1339
GT Owner
For the So. Cal Local guys.
If you are on the fence about taking the GT out for a track day.
I may be able to put something together with a club that will have a GT only run group. with cars spaced in such a way that you could have a little fun and feel the car out.
The thought of rock chips and off roading in my GT is what would keep many off the track.
The rock chip issue is solved by spacing the cars so the lead cars tires will not kick up rocks on your paint. Now if you are just feeling the car out there is no need to go off road.
We may be able to do this by say October given the track bookings already. If you have some interest in this please post up and I will see what I can do. I may be able to line up 4-5 instructors as well. I am thinking we will need 5-6 cars to do a low dollar intro type drivers school.
If we keep it sane and at a school level the only safety equip required would be a snell 2000 helmet and gloves. We can get rental helmets for way cheap with new head socks if some do not have them
Again, a no race, no pressure environment, keeping it to your comfort levels. About the best I think I can pull off without a total private rental would be 2-3 run groups in a day including an extened session at our lunch break. This would keep costs in the $250 range for a weekend event or about $200ish for a one day. About 1 1/2 hours of on track time. Figure about 100-130 miles, depending on the track selected. The local track choices are Buttonwillow near Bakersfield, Willow Springs near Lancaster or California Speedway in Fontana.
Downsides to this restriced type event are, lower straight away speeds than would normally be considered fun. The twisty part of the track would have some challenge for the novice, boring for the hard core experienced. But if you have never been to a road course I can assure you it will be a great experience with classroom time, ride alongs if you want to go out in other groups with an instructor in their car and a typical race track lunch.
Of we can just go nuts and teach some drifting:banana
If I see some interest I will due some homework and start an start official thread.
If you are on the fence about taking the GT out for a track day.
I may be able to put something together with a club that will have a GT only run group. with cars spaced in such a way that you could have a little fun and feel the car out.
The thought of rock chips and off roading in my GT is what would keep many off the track.
The rock chip issue is solved by spacing the cars so the lead cars tires will not kick up rocks on your paint. Now if you are just feeling the car out there is no need to go off road.
We may be able to do this by say October given the track bookings already. If you have some interest in this please post up and I will see what I can do. I may be able to line up 4-5 instructors as well. I am thinking we will need 5-6 cars to do a low dollar intro type drivers school.
If we keep it sane and at a school level the only safety equip required would be a snell 2000 helmet and gloves. We can get rental helmets for way cheap with new head socks if some do not have them
Again, a no race, no pressure environment, keeping it to your comfort levels. About the best I think I can pull off without a total private rental would be 2-3 run groups in a day including an extened session at our lunch break. This would keep costs in the $250 range for a weekend event or about $200ish for a one day. About 1 1/2 hours of on track time. Figure about 100-130 miles, depending on the track selected. The local track choices are Buttonwillow near Bakersfield, Willow Springs near Lancaster or California Speedway in Fontana.
Downsides to this restriced type event are, lower straight away speeds than would normally be considered fun. The twisty part of the track would have some challenge for the novice, boring for the hard core experienced. But if you have never been to a road course I can assure you it will be a great experience with classroom time, ride alongs if you want to go out in other groups with an instructor in their car and a typical race track lunch.
Of we can just go nuts and teach some drifting:banana
If I see some interest I will due some homework and start an start official thread.
Gulf GT
GT Owner
I have given this track stuff a fair amount of thought recently. In fact, I’m putting the Hoosiers on in a couple weeks, along with harnesses, and fire extinguishers (hand held & engine bay design). I’ve already got the helmet, upgraded brakes, Whipple, and on and on. In a cart, racing friends no problem, if I wreck, I can throw it away. In my FGT, forget it. So you may be right, at least in my case. I can certainly understand those that buy an FGT and really don’t care about dents and dings (or far worse), it’s all about the racing experience in a great car for them, but for me personally that’s just not what owning an FGT is all about. My data bank is stocked with enough stories for the grandchildren. With that in mind, I have recently been thinking about exactly how I would like to track the car for fun without destroying the car or spending my retirement disabled. Your idea seems great. All of my racing experience is from my younger days in the South East (I’m originally from Texas), so I know very little about the tracks out here. In choosing the track, for me California Speedway is by far and away the easiest track to get to (1 hour away vs. 4 hours plus). The logistics for me are quite different between the three locations. So the question is, are the other tracks so "great" that I should consider them. Also, in watching the on board videos of various tracks, Buttonwillow and Willow Springs also look like they have a fair amount of new pavement mixed with the old making it fairly difficult for the novice to find a “good line”, whereas California Speedway does not. However, California Speedway’s road coarse at a glance doesn’t look awe inspiring. Just my novice’s quick glance at the tracks. Basically I have been thinking of hiring an instructor and renting time on a track, maybe 3 sessions 20 minutes or so each??? Price doesn’t really matter much, $200-$2000 whatever, it’s the right situation where I feel comfortable and don’t have to worry about being in someone else’s way. So, for me, I plan on doing it on my own if the right circumstances aren’t presented in a group. Just my ideas on the subject and your plans don’t necessarily need to include me. Anyway, rambling a bit, but I think you get the “drift”.
Kingman
GT Owner