notilloc

I know, this is really stupid and I hate these kind of threads but I miss going to the racetracks and I need to be at least somewhat competitive with my friend. I have searched online for days now and all I can find are threads about increasing horsepower and decreasing 1/4 mile times. I never would have considered a mustang gt until I test drove one a couple days ago and I started to see the potential and after lots of time reading, I can say I am pretty sold on the gt. I will probably be buying a 2005 gt m/t white with 72,000 miles in the next few days (pointers on things to look for?) and it will be my summer dd/ monthly track day/ auto x car. I like it because it's pretty cheap and I know the mustang has one of the biggest aftermarket parts lineup of almost any car out there. The problem is that my friend has a 2003 boxster s that is his summer dd and he has modded the car just a little bit. His car is pretty close to stock with the engine, with full exhaust and an underdrive pulley but he does have dot tires and adjustable shocks on the car and probably a few other things. I don't want to say I'm a great driver or anything because I am not but I used to race go karts (oval and shifter) and have at least basic skills behind the wheel and have also spent quite a bit of time in my friends boxster and now its time for me to get my own car. I would say I am a bit better driver than my friend but he can hold his own. I want to know if its possible to make the mustang gt a competive car with the boxster s. I am not looking to have a 500hp tire smoker i want to have a balanced car that I will be able to better my skills while having fun when I go to track days. I am looking to stiffen the car up and put better struts/shocks, get rid of most of the body roll and whatever else I need to do to make this car turn. My past track day cars have been front wheel drive and I battled the dreaded understeer constantly and dont want to have to do that anymore. Any help with brands and steps to take to make this a better car on track would be awesome. Also the track is the most important because I know auto x set ups are much different but I would just do it to improve my driving skills for the track. Thanks

Entaille

balance is definitely key, but don't ignore your cars strong point. you have a big torquey v8, and you're going to need to overcome a handling deficit with a little grunt. no avoiding that, he has the more agile car.

(IMO) - largest bang for your buck items on improving your handling:
-seat time / track time
-control arms
-sway bars
-either coilovers or springs/struts/shocks
-tires!

you don't even have the car yet, so don't get ahead of yourself. drive it as it lies for a bit, get to know the car, get a feel for what you want to improve, and go after area. too many people slap parts on the car without knowing what they are wanting or what they are doing. it's a waste of $$ and time if you can't identify the before and after improvements or negative consequences of a particular mod or configuration.

eolson

Springs, adjustable shocks, adjustable sway bars, Rear LCA's, Watts Link, --Stage 1

Adding to above: STB, G-trac bar, Shock Tower brace, rear triangulated chassis stiffening braces, front 4 point chassis stiffening brace, front sway bar braces. Adjustable caster/camber plates, wider wheels, wider better summer tires -- Stage 2

Adding to above: Front LCA re-location kit, X-5 ball joints, properly seated bump steer kit. Lose as much weight as possible in front 1/3 of car, -- Stage 3, Erik

notilloc

If I can agree with the dealership and they treat me well I will be picking up the mustang tomorrow. I have walked out on many car dealerships because of ignorant car salesmen. It's not so much the price of the car but more just how the sales person treats me. This car does have 72k but it looks absolutely perfect, I couldn't find a scratch or dent anywhere and it drives great and it has the red seats that I LOVE!!! I plan on starting out with driving the car for a month on nice days and getting to know the car a bit then slowly adding parts until I have a basic setup for the track by spring (Shocks-Koni sports, springs-not sure yet, sways-always liked whiteline?, panhard-not sure and front brakes-also not sure. How do the stock rear brakes hold up on a track?) After these upgrades I will look into what I want to work on from there. I'm sure I will get the bug to upgrade the motor eventually but for now it pulls pretty hard and I would much rather have a car that handles well then add power but that's just me.

I've noticed lots of people recommending the watts link as an early upgrade but then someone comes in and says to start with an upgraded panhard because you wont notice the improvement till later so does having a live axle that is close to irs make a big difference right off the bat or is it something to hold off on until you have more supporting mods for it?

notilloc

also are there any springs out there that are actually made for the track instead of just a big drop? I would prefer one with and inch or less drop, I haven't been able to find it.

notilloc

Oh, and my one performance mod that would be my first mod would be the sct tsx hooked up to my galaxy note 2 just because I think its so cool. haha

CMcNam

I'm doing the Watts Link and not the panhard on mine here soon because I don't want to pay twice. Why would I buy an adjustable panhard that is inferior to a Watts Link only to buy the Watts Link later? I'd rather save the $100+ and put it towards something else. Less work too. The Watts Link is significantly more expensive though. $600 - $1000 for the link versus $100-$200 for an adjustable panhard. Do a search to find out why the Watts Link is superior to the panhard and you'll probably just do the Watts Link too.

Flat out

The answer to all of your questions is here, it's what I did and your friends Boxter won't be a problem. It's not much more expensive than putting together a bunch of miss matched parts.
http://www.cortexracing.com/product-...ng-suspension/

notilloc

No one has any recommendations on springs? I just got back from the dealership and a very very long trip around the block and the car is mine. lol Now its time to order some parts. I am at a stand still on which parts I want. I already ordered a tuner and that will be my only go fast part for a while. I want to make this car feel locked down on the track but also drive-able on the the street. All the brands out there seem to want to drop the car as low as possible which just creates more problems than it fixes on the track. So far I've found H&R sports and the steeda ultra light and sport which all lower the car about 1 inch. Are there any others that lower about an inch and are a bit more sporty? I'm pretty set on the koni sports but are there any other shocks that I should look at before I buy the sports or are there any springs that match well with the koni sports. Like I said before I have always been a fan of whiteline sways but I have read some mediocre reviews on them here so what are all the racers and ax people using? Then I will need a panhard bar, I'm guessing they are all pretty much the same and haven't spent much time looking into them. That will be my first set of parts and I will figure out what I need from there. Any recommendations would be great.

notilloc

It seems like they sell mostly "coil over" stuff and it might be an option for me up front soon enough but unless I'm missing something I really dont see the point in having a coil over system in the rear with a live axle. Please tell me if I am wrong on this.