Deposit May 2014 and today I took delivery, oh my, what a...

Deposit May 2014 and today I took delivery, oh my, what a...

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bridgdav

4,805 posts

247 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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Gibbo...

Have you fitted your mud flaps yet..?
Are you getting any stone flicking up onto the paintwork with the spacers fitted.?

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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Just spotted this thread, that is ONE lovely car! OP did the purchase price include import tax etc - it just seems incredibly low priced against the European alternatives?

Centurion07

10,381 posts

246 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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rofl You do realise these are officially available in RHD in the UK, right?

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
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Hi there

Sorry for lack of updates here, as such here is what I've done in the past few weeks on the car:


Installed the RPI Stealth splash guards on Friday evening, very easy to do on the front as uses the OEM trim locators.

At the top they give you a clip but this causes a panel gap between splash guard and body work. So I ditched this and went with some number plate velcro I had, though double sided 3M tape would be a better solution but I used what I had, though the result is excellent.












They truly are Stealth simply because they are completely un-noticable and they lined up perfectly, a great product that will keep the paintwork protected. Not installed the rears yet as it is the fronts which are most needed. smile

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
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HI there

Not really done an update for a week, but I fitted the 23mm front spacers last week which not only transformed the look but also dialled out the additional understeer the fitting of the rear 15mm spacers induced. The only downside if it exist is the car is maybe a hairs whisker slower to respond to steering inputs, but the rest is all positives as the cars balance is now spot on as front-end grip has improved. Infact the grip levels this car has in the dry are nothing short of mind boggling even more surprising considering the Pzero tyres are nothing special.

So today I fitted the remainder of my handling modifications, the larger anti-roll bars from the Ford Racing track kit I purchased.

We started at the rear and this was very easy to do, took about 45 minutes:






Rear stock GT PP bar is 22.5mm
Rear FRPP Race bar is 25.2mm installed on softest setting.



Then moved to the front, three bolts are undone from the top and the one under the alternator on the passenger side is undone with spanners from underneath. You then have to wriggle the bar out but it came out easier than expected.






Front GT PP bar is 32mm
Front FRPP bar is 37mm set on softest setting.

The white stuff in the pictures is energy suspension lube, I like to use plenty.


Driving the car with these bars on have certainly eliminated body roll, car is now totally flat and my biggest worry was ride comfort, no fear as the ride comfort is un-changed. smile

So the car is flat, it changes direction better, they have certainly improved the already high grips levels even further and confidence level in the car is now much higher. The car is just so sure footed and the handling balance is spot on, get a little understeer, just add a little more lock and it will took in and the rear stays planted. Now on corner exit one has to try harder to break the rear loose and when it breaks away the car is hugely progressive and controllable, more so than the M3, its a joy. smile

I think on a smooth flowing track like Donnington the Mustang would be quicker than the 911 and even the M3, with the 911 only having it in the wet. I am rather shocked actually with the corner speeds this car can achieve and the grip it has in winter and on tyres I am not so fond off. Makes one wonder what the car will be truly capable off in warmer weather with wider better tyres.


So what is left?

Well when I lowered the car the springs dropped it a little to much in the back, though the addition of the spacers pretty much eliminated that look there was still a hint of reverse rake as the arch gap in the rear is marginally smaller than the front arch gap.

So I shall address this next week:




Ignore the springs, those are clutch assist springs, 35lb and I fitted one it fits perfect and clutch has all the feel of using no spring, but pedal effort is not as much and pedal returns right to the top.
More importantly is the two purple coloured disc, these are spring spacers and one something I learned from BMW E36 and E46 owners where BMW would sell the spring pad/isolator in 5mm, 10mm or 15mm to adjust the rear height. So I have got a pair of 8mm spring spacers, they will fit between the spring isolator pad and body. 8mm however does not translate into an 8mm increase in height because the spring is not on the shock in the Mustang, so there is a leverage ratio, so an 8mm pad should give me a 10-12mm height increase, just shy of 1/2 inch. This will give the car the rake look I want as rear arch gap will match or be greater than that of front. It wont impact ride and handling wise the impact would be that of rising rear ride height with coilover so better turn-in and more bias towards oversteer, but I probably won't be able to notice. smile


Then all is left handling wise, though its more for looks is the front splitter and Shelby or Steeda rear track wing, they will add downforce but most of all look really nice. Then of course some lighter, wider wheels with better tyres will have all handling and aesthetics completely. Time for power then! biggrin

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
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Some nice sounds! biggrin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfY66nW-kE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Lt05w_5qI


Took a visit to my buddy Mac today who has a yellow Mustang, V8 of course who has made some very nice modifications to his, though this is just the start for his car.






















Two absolute stunners, though I don't envy Mac, I get people winding their windows down, people going out of there way to take photos and kids screaming MUSTAAAAANG as I drive past, my car is subtle, Mac's is going to get a lot of attention especially when he has finished with it. biggrin

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
I also previously mentioned about the car having an appearance of reverse rake, due to the arch gap being larger in the front than rear. The fact was the car did have rake as was 4.75" from the ground at front and 6" in rear, but the arch gaps gave the impression of reverse rake. So doing a bit of research it turns out E36/E46 spring pads are of the correct overall diameter and you just need to enlarge the inner diameter to 3.25" for them to fit. I went with 8mm spring pads as the spring is not on the damper, as such there is a leverage ratio, so an 8mm pad gives around a 10-12mm height increase.


[size=5]NO SPRING PADS![/size]





[size=5]8mm SPRING PADS INSTALLED[/size]







I cannot tell you how thrilled I am at the results, the car now has the perfect stance, am absolutely over the moon with the looks and appearance of the car now. smile

So I am still working on locating longer M14 studs for the front so I can use in my view the safer type of spacer on the front.

Then the only visual changes that will happen to the car in the future will be some 19/20" wheels, still can't decide which but I've got a few months to decide. smile

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
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Hi there


OK so today the car had its first motorway experience as I drove down to Pumabuild Ltd in Birmingham for a rolling road run. I was expecting this car to hover around 25mpg on a run in the 60-80mph region, well reality is it is far better:




Really impressed with what it can return on a run, it really does the cruising thing superbly well and even though 6th is very tall geared, it will pull quite well from 60-80mph quite effortless for overtaking in 6th, drop to 5th and acceleration is superb.

The attention the car got on the motorway was surprising, people are all ages pulling alongside giving an approving nod or thumbs up, they might not be as rare as they once were but it still attracts huge amounts of positive reactions on the road. smile

So the car stock is 416PS which is 410BHP. I chose Pumabuild as they have a Maha MSR 500 dyno which has some pretty cool features, such as:
- Single contact patch rollers
- Motor in front roller so no need to disable traction systems or get ABS faults
- Can switch of front motor etc. giving good flexibility.

I like maha dyno's because they don't just use an operator set formulation to work out flywheel power, they do it quite accurately by calculating from coast down.

Car strapped down:




We did three runs, couple of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXkDfla3IrI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7PsZBqBAYU


The car should be run in 5th as closest 1:1 gear but we did first run in 4th as safer to check that nothing was at risk of getting too hot etc. Problem with running in 4th is you will get lower torque figure, the results were as follows:

Run 1 (4th gear): 410BHP / 360lb/ft
Run 2 (5th gear): 422BHP / 399lb/ft
Run 3 (5th grear): 415BHP / 403lb/ft


So the car is right on the money is ever so slightly over, very happy with results as car is making factory claimed figures or marginally better.






Got to love 160lb/ft at 1200rpm, more than many cars make peak, V8's for you.

Was also great and lucky that a guy who has spent a lot of time working on Mustangs in the US was there and gave me a lot of very good insight on super chargers and what to consider. He did let slip that Ford track key is coming for sure which should result in around 440BHP and maybe higher rev limit and carry a full Ford warranty. Also there is a limit of only 1400 UK Mustangs per year, which could help boost re-sale values as only half of those will be manuals of which around half will be V8's. Though V8's are still the more popular choice right now! smile

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Hi there


I took my decent camera into work as knew it was going to be sunny, unfortunately the clean car was not so clean due to salt from the road, but still I grabbed some photos of the car as it stands now. smile






































Quite a change yet subtle from the stock car, the Steeda front splitter, RTR side/rear splitters and Shelby 350 track pack spoiler will finish it off. Then just deciding on what wheels in coming months and maybe a de-chrome. smile

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Had this part for months, just held of fitting until I had my rear spoiler/wing sorted.

So here is the Steeda front splitter fitted:









I am really very happy with how this turned out, I do not like the APR carbon one because it sticks out a lot more and the carbon finish does not go with rest of the car and the rubber lip on the edge of the carbon looks wrong.

I like this Steeda part as its the same surface as the stock GT trim but a little darker so it does not hide the GT PP front valance lines, its come out great, subtle but aggressive.

Hopefully later this week I will get the RTR side skirts and rear splitters fitted and then just waiting for the Ford Shelby 350 track pack spoiler to arrive.

Plus Steve has pretty made my mind up and I shall no doubt be go with HRE FF15 in 20" which finishes the car off aesthetically. Next stop, WHIPPLE! biggrin

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Had the alignment double checked today at XJK Jaguar Specialist in Newcastle-under-Lyme after adding the spring spacers a couple of weeks ago as knew it would effect camber/toe which it had but nothing outrageous but still all corrected now:








Those are my alignment settings which are ideal for fast road, if your intending to track your car then of course go more aggressive with the camber both front and rear and a lot more aggressive if running semi slicks. smile







Also a few more pictures of the splitter and how the car sits with the spacers, wheels perfectly flush with zero poke or bulge. smile











Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
RTR side splitters and rear splats fitted, uses all OEM retainers, very easy to do. smile


















Compliments the Steeda front splitter very well, car looks seriously low and wheels look smaller now I think so 20" required but might just be me imagining it.

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Hi there


OK this is long overdue, so today I went to make a video on our industrial estate, unfortunately timing was not the best as people were leaving work even though there was a crowd of people waiting to see what was about to unfold. I was tempted to line lock, but as the road surface was a bit rough and on cold tyres I value my axles. So I just did a gentle pull away and then floored it, only managed to get upto around 6000rpm as I new the VW was going to pull out so had to factor in slowing down.

Still gives you a good idea how loud the Corsa Sport catback is, I am kind of glad I now went this route as its damn loud can hear the car easily from a very long distance if anything over half throttle. I was tempted by the Extreme version which is more exotic (raspy) and a further 10-12Db louder so glad I went sport route especially as it will be more track day friendly or just about on the limits. Plus if I ever fit manifolds (headers) this exhaust will become 5-8Db louder anyway and I prefer the deeper tone of the Sport system.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq-FK6PDrWg




Really impressed now weather is warming as on warm tyres the car can be floored in 1st gear and just go, or if you do get wheelspin you can keep your foot right in it and the car stays straight.

But as you can hear it is a lot louder past 4500rpm at full throttle compared to the videos I posted a few weeks ago. smile

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Hi there


So today I decided to take the car to one of my usual photography shots to get some better photos of the car. So excuse the large amount of photos but here goes:































































Really pleased with how the car is looking, but it is crying out for bigger wheels with a little less tyre to truly finish it off along with the Shelby GT 350 gloss black track spoiler, all of which are ordered and due around June which finishes the car off.

Then it just saving for the Whipple supercharger setup for around 750BHP! biggrin

Pommygranite

14,229 posts

215 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Nice write up and photos - thanks for sharing.

On poet I'm not sure I would have been keen for the side/rear/front splitters but damn it looks good.

Also love the adapter spacer fit.

Question - how hard to fit all the stuff (ie diy?) and how does the spacer affect the ride/handling?


Pommygranite

14,229 posts

215 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Nice write up and photos - thanks for sharing.

On poet I'm not sure I would have been keen for the side/rear/front splitters but damn it looks good.

Also love the adapter spacer fit.

Question - how hard to fit all the stuff (ie diy?) and how does the spacer affect the ride/handling?


Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Pommygranite said:
Nice write up and photos - thanks for sharing.

On poet I'm not sure I would have been keen for the side/rear/front splitters but damn it looks good.

Also love the adapter spacer fit.

Question - how hard to fit all the stuff (ie diy?) and how does the spacer affect the ride/handling?
Everything is DIY possible in your driveway, but I'd get a garage to do springs simply because the rear springs are an absolute bh to get out unless you decide to just drop the entire subframe down which could be an option.

Spacer have no real effect on ride quality and handling wise just little extra grip at the limits. My car handles lovely in the dry, huge amounts of grip but when it runs out it is very progressive and easy to hold a little sideways action. Wet conditions its a lot more lively, better than stock but the Pzero tyres means making progress in the wet is dangerous as they lack subjective and confidence in the wet and let go on the Pzero can be rather abrupt.

I shall be changing to MPSS in a couple of months by which time the rear Pzero shall be shot anyway as they do not last.

Pommygranite

14,229 posts

215 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Gibbo205 said:
Pommygranite said:
Nice write up and photos - thanks for sharing.

On poet I'm not sure I would have been keen for the side/rear/front splitters but damn it looks good.

Also love the adapter spacer fit.

Question - how hard to fit all the stuff (ie diy?) and how does the spacer affect the ride/handling?
Everything is DIY possible in your driveway, but I'd get a garage to do springs simply because the rear springs are an absolute bh to get out unless you decide to just drop the entire subframe down which could be an option.

Spacer have no real effect on ride quality and handling wise just little extra grip at the limits. My car handles lovely in the dry, huge amounts of grip but when it runs out it is very progressive and easy to hold a little sideways action. Wet conditions its a lot more lively, better than stock but the Pzero tyres means making progress in the wet is dangerous as they lack subjective and confidence in the wet and let go on the Pzero can be rather abrupt.

I shall be changing to MPSS in a couple of months by which time the rear Pzero shall be shot anyway as they do not last.
Good to know thanks

Look forward to seeing the 20's

DSLiverpool

14,673 posts

201 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
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The blacked out grill transforms the car - what did you do ? also the cut out stripes are very subtle.

Gibbo205

Original Poster:

3,528 posts

206 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
DSLiverpool said:
The blacked out grill transforms the car - what did you do ? also the cut out stripes are very subtle.
Changed the chrome pony for a black one, really that simple. smile