S550MG
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
So I just pulled the trigger on my first track day!!! The Santa Run at Barber's December 17th. I'm super stoked right now. I have never done anything like this and I'm beyond excited!! December 17th can't get here soon enough.
So I'll start off by giving ya'll a little background about me and my car and then I'll open it up for suggestions. While I'm new to the track day scene I've had some decently fast cars through the years and I'm "decent" when it comes to spirited driving on the streets. My main focus of the track day is to learn better car control and be able to drive my car safer at higher speeds. That being said, I'll be driving my 16' Mustang GT with PP and few bolt on mods. I've only had the car for a couple months but I've put 3k miles on it so far.
Here's the mod list, nothing special.
Eibach Sportline springs
25mm spacers all around
Gibson Racing catback
BBK CAI
Wheels and tires, still undecided...
BG trans fluid
Like I said, my main focus is too learn to drive better/faster and learn better car control. So a buddy of mine who races SCCA suggested that I do a couple things before hitting the track for the first time. Primarily he suggests getting some racing gloves and boots. What do ya'll think? I wouldn't think these things would be 100% necessary but would it be worth getting some cheap entry level stuff? I would love to be able to heel/toe before the event but as it stands right now I can't really do that at all. I'm still trying to perfect rev matching on regular downshifts, lol. I'm a pretty big dude and with my big feet I can't seem to find a comfortable way to try to hee/toe. Can ya'll offer some suggestions on learning this skill? Gloves and boots worth it for a first timer?
Next question is about wheels and tires. I was already planning on upgrading my wheels and tires due to the fact that I don't love the PP wheels and they have crap tires on them, P Zero's up front with 18k on them and new Lexani's on the back, lol. Don't hate, ya'll know you want to run Lexani's. The previous owner just installed before I bought the car. At first I was considering going with 20's but I decided to stick with 19's for better tire selection and bigger sidewalls. So far I've narrowed my wheel choice down to the SVE S350 because of the low weight and low cost. I can't seem to find a comparable set in that price range. Does anyone have suggestions here. My plan was to do a 19x10 square setup and run 285's or 295's. I'm trying to decide on what tires to get.
Here's what's made the list so far.
Michelin PS4S 295/30 or 285/35
Hankook Ventus V12 295/30 or 285/30
Firehawk Indy 500 285/30 or 285/35
All the reviews, research, and questions I've asked point to the Michelins being the best and I wouldn't argue that. My questions is will the better grip be enough for a novice to justify the extra cost of the Michelins? I could pay for a couple more track days for the difference in price of the tires. I'm also interested in street longevity since this is my daily and I'll put about 15-20k on it per year. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect these tires to last me 50k or even half that. I would like to get 15-20k per set though if that's possible, including 2-3 track days per year. Next question, what size tires would yall recommend? Better tires or more seat time?
Last questions pertains to harnesses. Is this something I should be thinking about or worry about it later?
Thanks in advance for your opinions and help.
So I'll start off by giving ya'll a little background about me and my car and then I'll open it up for suggestions. While I'm new to the track day scene I've had some decently fast cars through the years and I'm "decent" when it comes to spirited driving on the streets. My main focus of the track day is to learn better car control and be able to drive my car safer at higher speeds. That being said, I'll be driving my 16' Mustang GT with PP and few bolt on mods. I've only had the car for a couple months but I've put 3k miles on it so far.
Here's the mod list, nothing special.
Eibach Sportline springs
25mm spacers all around
Gibson Racing catback
BBK CAI
Wheels and tires, still undecided...
BG trans fluid
Like I said, my main focus is too learn to drive better/faster and learn better car control. So a buddy of mine who races SCCA suggested that I do a couple things before hitting the track for the first time. Primarily he suggests getting some racing gloves and boots. What do ya'll think? I wouldn't think these things would be 100% necessary but would it be worth getting some cheap entry level stuff? I would love to be able to heel/toe before the event but as it stands right now I can't really do that at all. I'm still trying to perfect rev matching on regular downshifts, lol. I'm a pretty big dude and with my big feet I can't seem to find a comfortable way to try to hee/toe. Can ya'll offer some suggestions on learning this skill? Gloves and boots worth it for a first timer?
Next question is about wheels and tires. I was already planning on upgrading my wheels and tires due to the fact that I don't love the PP wheels and they have crap tires on them, P Zero's up front with 18k on them and new Lexani's on the back, lol. Don't hate, ya'll know you want to run Lexani's. The previous owner just installed before I bought the car. At first I was considering going with 20's but I decided to stick with 19's for better tire selection and bigger sidewalls. So far I've narrowed my wheel choice down to the SVE S350 because of the low weight and low cost. I can't seem to find a comparable set in that price range. Does anyone have suggestions here. My plan was to do a 19x10 square setup and run 285's or 295's. I'm trying to decide on what tires to get.
Here's what's made the list so far.
Michelin PS4S 295/30 or 285/35
Hankook Ventus V12 295/30 or 285/30
Firehawk Indy 500 285/30 or 285/35
All the reviews, research, and questions I've asked point to the Michelins being the best and I wouldn't argue that. My questions is will the better grip be enough for a novice to justify the extra cost of the Michelins? I could pay for a couple more track days for the difference in price of the tires. I'm also interested in street longevity since this is my daily and I'll put about 15-20k on it per year. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect these tires to last me 50k or even half that. I would like to get 15-20k per set though if that's possible, including 2-3 track days per year. Next question, what size tires would yall recommend? Better tires or more seat time?
Last questions pertains to harnesses. Is this something I should be thinking about or worry about it later?
Thanks in advance for your opinions and help.
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