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The cars are queued up and we are ready to start driving. We would have both Tyler McQuarrie and Michel Essa drive, then switch cars. We would count the data only after the runs stabilized when each driver had gotten used to the particular car they were driving.
The stock Mustang was pretty horrible, the front suspension would nearly bottom out and the back of the car would almost rise off the ground like the car was doing a stoppie. The ABS and stability control were getting a workout because the straightaways at Irwindale are banked. If the car didn’t have ABS and stability control, the driver would have had to fight to keep the car straight and modulate the brakes. The brakes started to fade after about 4 hard back to back stops so we had to drive some cool down laps between stops to keep the brakes from overheating.
The stock FR-S was much better. The car was flatter and things did not feel so on the edge. The car was not using its electronic nannies as hard. The car still had a pretty good amount of nose dive but it was nowhere near as bad as the Mustang. Like the Mustang we felt brake fade after about 5 hard stops, but unlike the Mustange, the brakes recovered more quickly.
The Ticket to Ride Mustang was a whole world better. The car was much more under control and the nose diving was reduced by about 70%. The electronic nannies were not as active and the car felt like it could still be able to maneuver under hard braking like this without spinning. The Stoptech brakes were powerful and fade free even after many hard back to back panic stops. We felt that we could improve things with some shock tuning but time was limited and we had to move to the next test. The great adjustability of the KW V3’s can make big changes.
The Ticket To Ride FR-S was even better. Flat and stable it was totally composed and both drivers liked it the best. Even though the FR-S did not have a fancy big brake upgrade, the Stop Tech Sport Kit had a good pedal feel and was fade free stop after stop.
Michael Essa looks at his results. The drivers were being drivers and were super competitive against each other. Mike and Tyler were trying hard to outdo each other.
