ITS Ford Mustang(s) Build - Stripper Stang Part II

[Ron Earp]

I too think that 40 lbs isn't going to make or break a car. And I for sure as heck want those items on the list in the car.

I believe we're going to be racing at about 100 lbs heavier than an RX7. I don't think that is too bad from a power perspective as I think we'll have more peak power and area under the curve than those cars, but that remains to be seen.

But the weight on the stang is not good with respect to tire loading. We do not have nearly the balance of an RX7 but we're running the same size tire. My rough calculations show we'll be loading the front tires about 20-25% more than an RX7 thus ultimately we'll high a significantly higher load per square inch of tire.

A larger tire, like a 245, might help. But I just got off the phone with Rodney at App Tire and he says that size on a 7" wheel is problematic. He indicates they used to put them on the BMWs in ITS back in the day but the weird thing was they would not always seat properly on the wheel, sometimes they would seat off center and there was nothing that could be done to correct it. When that happened they were worse off than the 225s and had a wheel/tire that was basically unusable. He advised to not totally rule them out, but be forewarned if they don't mount properly there isn't anything that can be done. However, at only $8 a tire more than the 225s it might be worth looking into for the larger side to side and front to rear contact patch. I'd like to mount one up and chalk it at pressure and under load to measure the actual contact patch.

I asked him about 275s and he says they won't even mount those up for a customer. They're pinched too much on a 7" wheel and he claims the side width tire contact patch will be no better than a 225, although the front to rear contact patch might be larger than a 225. I told him Jeff Y has used them and liked them, but he wasn't sounding too convinced. So I suppose they're off the table for the stangs since they won't mount them anyhow.

Maybe my memory is failing me, but why can you remove the highlighted items?

Well.....

D.3.e. Air conditioning systems may be removed in whole or in part.

In my shop manual there is a picture of the air conditioning system and it is the entire manifold, with blower fan, flapper valves, evaporator, etc. I can remove it entirely, or in part. I chose to remove the evaporator but the leave the plastic manifold and blower motor so I'd have some defrost action.

Wiper motors, I've still got mine but I think there is some language coming, or recently put in, that allows removal of wiper blades and systems, including the old faithful washer bottle. Mine is staying, both of them. The washer bottle weighs <1 lb and can become my catch can.

[JeffYoung]

I think Rodney is the best tire guy in teh world, and App Tire one of the best companies I've ever dealt with.

I also think they are dead wrong about the 275 on the 7" rim. I had mine mounted up by NTB since App wouldn't do it. Clearly affected the grip balance of the car. At Roebling, I had so much rear grip I literally scrubbed brand new front 225s clean -- meaning no tread -- in 2 sessions. I had so much rear grip, I'd get on the throttle and work the fronts so hard it killed them. Car at Roebling was much faster and consistent with 225s all around.

BUT, at CMP where you work the rears so much harder on corner exit, particularly in the carousel, the 275s never built up crazy heat and stayed way more consistent on the rear there.

Only track I will run them is CMP but the work like a charm there, mainly in consistency rather than overall grip. I think they handle the heat better and "stay good" longer.

Sounds like you may have the same issue with your fronts. Go 245 or 275 and see what you get.

[Ron Earp]

Sounds like you may have the same issue with your fronts. Go 245 or 275 and see what you get.

I like App Tire too, but you know me, skeptical unless I do the testing myself. So of course we're going to mount some and chalk them loaded to see if we get a larger contact patch than a 225. If we do then we'll use them. I'd also like to do some rolling friction tests with the larger tires and see how that works out.

[JoshS]

Wiper motors, I've still got mine but I think there is some language coming, or recently put in, that allows removal of wiper blades and systems, including the old faithful washer bottle. Mine is staying, both of them. The washer bottle weighs <1 lb and can become my catch can.

Read carefully Ron ... all washer systems, but only a rear wiper system may be removed.

[Ron Earp]

Read carefully Ron ... all washer systems, but only a rear wiper system may be removed.

Don't worry fellows, we'll take that wiper motor off the list. As I wrote, mine is in the car and isn't going anywhere.

Whew, you fellows do read these build threads don't you - not so much for the build but for procedures, protocols, and rules. Eight pages of Mustang build and nary a peep, a mention of a contemplated rules violation and IT rule misquote - bang, five new posts in a day.

[lateapex911]

hey! I've been cheerleading right along!

[Ron Earp]

Oh I'm just giving folks a hard time. If someone else had a build thread I was following and mentioned something not quite right I'd call them out too.

Things are coming together though. If I wasn't headed to the beach for some R&R I could fire it up on Saturday, but that will need to wait a few days.

[Andy Bettencourt]

For those of us who have built cars, or scour the rules for competitive advantages, these things have all gone through our minds. It's interesting to hear new takes.

[Eagle7]

Whew, you fellows do read these build threads don't you - not so much for the build but for procedures, protocols, and rules. Eight pages of Mustang build and nary a peep, a mention of a contemplated rules violation and IT rule misquote - bang, five new posts in a day.

Guilty as charged

But I LOVE this thread. Very interesting and educational. Almost feel like I'm hanging out at your place watching you work. And very much appreciate your willingness to share.

[Ron Earp]

Wooo hoo!

Jeff and I did a bit of work on moving cars around and in-between primed the green car and fixed oil leaks. We had a couple of fitting leaks but all is good. Primed it, at high priming RPM pressure would head up to 75psi and then the bleeder would kick in and bleed the excess pressure off. All solid.

I think we're ready for a start up on Sunday.

I don't mind sharing on the internet or the paddock. If you want to crawl around the car, look at it, hell, I ain't shy about letting people I know drive my car - go to it.

[titanium]

The tow strap location on the front is fine.
My STO Mustang has blown-up on-track many times and the tow hook has worked fine.
They have even used it to get the car on the roll-back.

The only thing I added was drilling two small holes in the bumper cover above the strap and a zip-tie to keep the strap from blowing backwards towards the radiator.

Sure the zip-tie breaks whenever the strap is use, but they are pretty cheap.

http://www.titaniummotorsports.com/

[Ron Earp]

The only thing I added was drilling two small holes in the bumper cover above the strap and a zip-tie to keep the strap from blowing backwards towards the radiator.

We did exactly the same so the strap would stay in place. The Mustang isn't an easy car to tow and we've had a lot of discussion about how to best prep it for strapping down to the trailer. It isn't nearly as easily towed or strapped as my old Z was.

The tow strap location on the front is fine.
My STO Mustang has blown-up on-track many times and the tow hook has worked fine.

Now that doesn't sound good! We're hoping to avoid that blow up part.

speaking of which, where in the rules does it talk about something like the diamond plate floor? I'd like to do something like this too... Have a ghetto one in there now, in fact.

True that. It also doesn't say you can cut the floor, but, you ain't getting a modern race seat in a Mustang, level, unless you do something of that nature. You aren't gaining an advantage, unless that advantage is having a off-the-shelf seat and bracket. To me IT is about competing with your friends and your competitive items need to be legal - weight, engine, tranny, suspension, brakes, cage, etc - those things matter. I'm not discounting rules or advocating any such thing, heavens no, but frankly I couldn't care less if you want to delete your wipers, washer bottle, your wiring harness, and all that mess as long as you're legal with the primary things and over minimum weight. It is about power to weight and suspension, make sure that stuff is on the up and up. That said, our intentions are for these two cars to be 100% legal under anyone's definition.