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

[Ron Earp]

Thanks fellows, Jeff G and I do appreciate the comments. The cars did draw a lot of attention over the weekend, especially from corner workers and folks who spend a lot of time watching racing. More than a few told us they were really pleased to see something new on track. I'm happy that the cars made it through the weekend and were reasonably competitive on their first outing. There is much work to do now with development, but as Steve says at least they didn't hit the trailer on day one. Thanks for Central Carolina's Region for hosting one of the best race weekends of the year, the Memorial Monster. Lots of racing, good folks, and a real pleasure to attend.

Jeff and I both ran the test day on Friday and we learned much useful information about the cars. We were testing many different things although you might not know it from first inspection. While the cars are similar, there are differences and when driving the cars back to back you can definitely feel them. Among the things we experimented with were rear gear ratio, roll centers, shock settings, tire types/sizes, exhaust system, and of course all the usual suspects like pressures and bar settings.

We had to solve a few gremlins on the red car during the test day, but Sleestak ran without incident and simply behaved like a big Miata - insert gas, turn key and drive. By the end of the day the red car was doing the same thing, therefore, that was a win for the team all around that was celebrated with some grilling and beer.

The Good:
*Brakes - man o man, whoever told me these cars wouldn't stop couldn't be more wrong. Single piston calipers can get it done.
*Rear end - In short, this stick axle works like a champ.
*Predictable - no vices, snaps, or bites. The car is very honest and lets you know a bit ahead of time what is going to happen. You decide if you want it to happen or not.
*Midrange power - lots of it. The red car has more top end than Sleestak and we know what needs to be done there. Both motors run at 190F, oil pressure around 70psi, and keep doing their thing lap after lap (except for that missed shift Jeff G had on Sunday).
*Stability - the platform is big with a longer than average wheelbase, a bit heavy, but that lends itself to being stable. This thing loves itself some curbs.


The Bad:
*Front suspension tuning - We have lots of learn about setting up the front and getting it to do what we want. I think Jeff is a bit generous when he says they "handle great" - they handle decently, but great, well, that might be a stretch. We think the basic pieces are there to improve them, but we'll need to spend a lot of time tuning in order to learn to get the maximal effectiveness out of it. Welcome to race car development.
*Oink - The minimum weight on this car is akin to the main chorus in that old En Vogue song, You Ain't Never Gonna Get it.
*Size - These cars are large and they do feel that way. Heavy might be the wrong word, but large is more of a proper fit. Jeff said I eclipsed the Miata in one section of the track, the Miata disappeared, just like a magic trick.

The Ugly
*Nothing really ugly about the cars, just that we've got a lot of work to do to be in the hunt at places like RRR, VIR, Daytona and probably RA, although the latter I've never been to. CMP might be the best track for the car but we'll see how it goes. We know we have engine development to do, but more importantly at this stage is chassis tuning. It basically turns and stops, but we want it to turn and stop well.

I don't do so well in writing up race details and Jeff can comment on his experiences in the CCPS. Basically the car ran well and was competitive, although not at the top tier ITS level where Steve, Jeff Y, Steve P, Chuck, and others play. On Saturday I qualified in 2nd place for ITS and finished second. Chuck Hines and I had some good battling going on in that race and everything was clean and smooth. Good racing with Chuck being glued to me for most of the race around the track. He got around me twice and I was able to get back around him and take second place, far behind Steve E in the extremely well-driven and prepared RX7. Jeff G kept his Mustang in the race but wasn't able to keep it in the top three, however, he's never driven CMP so I think he was doing exceptionally fine.

Jeff Y and Ron M ran the CCPS on Saturday and did well with it. They were on the pole for ITS and finished first in class, down only a place to the overall leaders of the race. Sleestak got a little metal on plastic love though in T11 with a slower Miata, but the damage was minimal and didn't hamper the car from returning to the track.

For the Sunday SARRC I didn't qualify to potential. I wasn't driving on my marks and was slower than Saturday. Steve E and Chuck H did well though, with Chuck picking up a couple of seconds over his times on Saturday and Kent T also improving, so those three fellows had spots 1-3, while the two Mustangs started fourth and fifth. I followed the leaders for many laps until eventually Chuck and Kent's battling for second allowed me to catch up to them. I couldn't get around Chuck, but, patience prevailed and I was able to get around him when he made a mistake, but there was no way I could catch him or Kent. I didn't drive well and know it, late on throttle, early on braking, too much lifting, so if you watch the video keep your comments to yourself! :-) Finished third and was very happy to even be in the hunt for wood. Jeff G had to retire the red car due to a money shift, but we don't know how much money that cost - yet.

Here are some pictures from Rob Bodle and in car from the race on Sunday. I'll try and get part two from Sunday up and maybe some from Saturday too. But these damn Traqmate conversions and uploads to Youtube take some time.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IId9...ature=youtu.be



Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZWm9...ature=youtu.be