MuscleTang mod project thread (1971 M-Mach 1)

[PoFoMoCo]

Those tires and 37F is a recipe for off-roading. You did good. Driving on a road course is the most fun you can have in a car, including the other thing. Chuck

I was thinking the exact same thing and I agree with Chuck, you and the car did well. I was curious if you checked tire temps before and after your sessions. Also, what tire pressure are you running and are you running nitrogen?

 

[tony-muscle]

I was thinking the exact same thing and I agree with Chuck, you and the car did well. I was curious if you checked tire temps before and after your sessions. Also, what tire pressure are you running and are you running nitrogen?

ha... I had the IR gun but it run out of batteries so I was not able to measure tire temp afterwards. Before hand it was very close to ambient. The one time I was able to start the IR gun I measured the discs at 280F, but this is after a 1/2 cool down lap, driving to my parking spot and parking so not real track temp. Having been so cold I don't think said disc temperature means much. Whatever it was, I am sure the tires never got to "ideal" temp.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

I love your car and tire setup! Man, I can’t wait to see how the car does when the track conditions are better.

 

[turtle5353]

Awesome!!! Car sounds great and looks like a blast.

 

[tony-muscle]

I finally got the rendering software to work so here is a "fun" one of when I spinned out last year on turn 3. It is obvious that I was being too happy too early with the gas pedal and paid the price. Luckily nothing happened besides a dirty undercarriage and wheels. PS: sorry for the video shakiness

View attachment RA-Lap 1 spin.mp4

 

[Sheriff41]

I finally got the rendering software to work so here is a "fun" one of when I spinned out last year on turn 3. It is obvious that I was being too happy too early with the gas pedal and paid the price. Luckily nothing happened besides a dirty undercarriage and wheels. PS: sorry for the video shakiness

View attachment 76045

From the tire marks on the track it looks like you weren't the only one to have an off there.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

I finally got the rendering software to work so here is a "fun" one of when I spinned out last year on turn 3. It is obvious that I was being too happy too early with the gas pedal and paid the price. Luckily nothing happened besides a dirty undercarriage and wheels. PS: sorry for the video shakiness

That is just spirited racing!

 

[Mjordan]

Finally got to track my car for the first time this year. It was a very cold day at Road America with temperatures in the high 30s. I went out for 4 different sessions for a total of about 150 miles and 30+ laps of track adrenaline. Here is the video of my fastest recorded lap. I only videoed one session because my phone died. This was the 7th lap of the 3rd session. The temps were about 37 at that time. I wanted to be sub 3 minutes and I can say I achieved it. As you see in the video I let go the gas a bit before the end of the lap because I saw the checkered flag, but technically I didn't need to slow down until after it. I was 0.4 seconds above 3 minutes. I also was slowed down a bit by a Corvertte and a M3, but it was cool to pass them. Looking at the video I definitely see areas of improvements where I need to reduce coasting. However, it is easy to see in the video, but not the same when you are in track going that fast. I need to be a bit more confident on the car and my abilities. I was also experiencing some front end vibration as I approached 125 mph that kept me in check. I added some underfloor covers attached to the front spoiler that I am almost sure was causing vibrations at high speed. I could see the fender vibrating, which is where one of the corners is attached to. I owe a post on my aero modifications!

Enjoy the video. Note: the speed is GPS based and it is a bit erratic and lagging!

View attachment 75991

Sounds awesome. Plenty of power and looks like the Maier suspension is doing its job

 

[Mjordan]

Here is a teaser on the new tires. The tires are Bridgestone RE-71RS 295/35R18 and 255/35R18. These are 200tw tires to be used mainly for track. I will swap between these and my street tires before/after each event. The wheels are American Muscle18x10 (6.44BS) for the rear and Rev 100s 18x9 (5BS) for the front - I use 1/4" spacers at front and rear.. They are close in looks with the main difference being the center caps. It was not possible to find the backspacing and size I wanted in one model for a decent price. And I had no choice in colors. So far these tires glue to the ground but I will have a better feedback after a few competition events.
With these wheels I had to use ET lug nuts so I can get enough thread engagement.

View attachment 75654
View attachment 75655View attachment 75656

How’s the clearances with them?

 

[tony-muscle]

How’s the clearances with them?

Perfect. No rubbing at all. Note that I am using 1/4" spacer in the rear and 0.20" at the front. I am sure a 1/4" at the front will work but this is the one I got from Wilwood with my brakes. I also have rolled fender lips to gain about 1/2". However, the car sits very low with this combo and I drive it carefully when in the city. I already scraped the headers once. My street combo raises the car about 1".

 

[tony-muscle]

Here is a video of my first AutoX event since the new RE-71RS tires and Panhard bar. The car fell awesome and under control the whole time. I ended up 14 out of 92, which is my best finish ever with this group. They don't have a CAM class so I am in the Racing class with two Corvettes that led the pack. I was definitely the oldest car of the top group. I know I left at least one second on the banked turn where I think I can go much faster so let's see how it goes in 3 weeks when I am at the track again.





View attachment MSW 2023-05-21.mp4

 

[td71mach1]

Congratulations and Nice Driving! The Stang really sticks to the track.
Very respectable time, only 1 sec less would have put you 8th place!
It's awesome to watch you handle that beast and carve those cones.
Good luck at you next event, and keep the video coming.

 

[Kilgon]

Awesome video and great driving. Glad to see the mods you made are working out for you. Need to post this on a 64 -70 site and show the little guys what a big pony car can do. lol.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Tony - DAMN that's fun stuff!! Thanks for another great ride along! A few questions if that's okay... if you're not into it, no worries I completely understand. But, I'm living my best race life vicariously through you now.

Does anyone have drone footage of your sessions? Do you guys run the same course regularly or do you have to learn the course at the beginning of each event? Do you test and tune or do you just show up, stage and run the course? How much down time between your runs each session? Did you log tire temps and what pressure are you running? Are you running regular compressed air or nitrogen?

Man, this type of driving can be brutal on brakes and tires, your car is very impressive, especially for it's age and it's "tech". I know you've beefed up mechanicals, and shed some weight, but IMO your at a disadvantage to some of the faster class cars just based on that alone.

 

[James Bond]

Thanks for sharing, felt like I was the copilot.

 

[tony-muscle]

Awesome video and great driving. Glad to see the mods you made are working out for you. Need to post this on a 64 -70 site and show the little guys what a big pony car do. lol.

I did post it in the Vintage Mustang Forum. I only hangout on the Track discussion.

 

[tony-muscle]

Tony - DAMN that's fun stuff!! Thanks for another great ride along! A few questions if that's okay... if you're not into it, no worries I completely understand. But, I'm living my best race life vicariously through you now.

Does anyone have drone footage of your sessions? Do you guys run the same course regularly or do you have to learn the course at the beginning of each event? Do you test and tune or do you just show up, stage and run the course? How much down time between your runs each session? Did you log tire temps and what pressure are you running? Are you running regular compressed air or nitrogen?

Man, this type of driving can be brutal on brakes and tires, your car is very impressive, especially for it's age and it's "tech". I know you've beefed up mechanicals, and shed some weight, but IMO your at a disadvantage to some of the faster class cars just based on that alone.

Does anyone have drone footage of your sessions?
Actually, there was a guy with a drone taking videos and he took on of my car that was awesome. He has not posted it yet but I will share as soon as he does.

Do you guys run the same course regularly or do you have to learn the course at the beginning of each event?
Each time the course changes even if it is at the same venue so you can't compare your times to last time. We switched between 3-4 venues.

Do you test and tune or do you just show up, stage and run the course?
I don't do tuning on course besides tire pressure.

How much down time between your runs each session?
There are two sessions of about 3-4 runs each. Typically about 20 minutes between runs.

Did you log tire temps and what pressure are you running?
I need to remember to take my IR gun so no tire temps yet. I eventually want to measure the temp across the width so that can help in setting up tire pressure. With these tires I was running 36 at the front and 33 at rear "cold". The ideal tire pressure will vary depending on the course, temperature and tire. The ideal for my previous tires was 39/34. I think for these it would be about 37/33. I mark the outer edges of the tire with chalk and then you increase/decrease pressure to get the contact patch as far to the edge as the tire allows. These tires have a mark that indicate how far your contact patch should go.

Are you running regular compressed air or nitrogen?
Just air so when you need to add/decrease you just measure pressure before and use that as base. The base will change depending on when you measure.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Thanks for the update Tony, can't wait to see the drone footage.

 

[tony-muscle]

As the driving/race season is coming to an end I am getting ready to write updates about my racing adventures and mods over the year.
First of all, I see I never posted the drone video of the Muscletang Autocrossing. So here it is. This shows a bunch of the club's cars, but mine is three times. The first appearance is at 28 seconds. Enjoy:


BTW, I was 14 out of 92 that day.

 

[tony-muscle]

.... and check my YouTube channel for a few videos of track and AutoX during the year:
https://www.youtube.com/@tonyr1921