Overall, we were extremely happy with Project Budget 400whp Track Car. Our S197 Mustang hit every goal we set forth from the beginning. This car is an absolute riot on the track and extremely capable. It is well-balanced and does everything right. It’s a balanced chassis thanks to the wide 305-width Nitto NT01 tires all around wrapped around Apex EC-7 wheels, the Steeda Swaybars reduced roll and the decision to go to the softer rear bar and create my own custom package was spot-on. The GT500 brakes held up great without any fade on this track.
The Steeda spring and shock package was the biggest unknown and turned out great. This spring and shock combination were fantastic on the track, exhibiting a very responsive turn-in and excellent body control. The car is extremely ‘flat’ in the corners with very little body roll. Performance wise, there is no need to invest in coilovers for the S197 when the Steeda spring and shock combination handles this well. This package is fun for a professional driver, yet is easy to driver, controllable, and is great for beginners to learn on. On the street, this package is stiff and sporty but able to be daily driven without issue.
This data overlay is of Project Budget 400whp Track Car (red) vs Project Viper GTS (white). The Mustang makes 404whp with a 3.73 final driver ratio to the Viper’s 475whp with a very tall 3.07 final drive ratio. It is very interesting to see the acceleration rate between both cars is very similar around the whole track, until the Viper starts to pull away above 95mph on the back straight.
Through the corners, the Mustang (red) pulls 0.10-0.15 more cornering G’s than the Viper due to the 305-width square Nitto NT01s vs the 285/345 staggered Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on the Viper. The corners alone gave the Mustang a 3-second advantage over the Viper, while the Viper only clawed back 0.6 seconds on the back straight. Without ABS, an undersized brake package, and very little runoff to a tire wall on the outside edge of the track, I was a bit conservative in the Viper’s braking at the end of the long back straight. Despite not having ABS in the Viper, the deceleration rate between the two cars was pretty similar as was the acceleration onto the front straight.
With a 1.27.777 lap time, our “Budget Mustang” was 3.5 seconds faster than the Viper, 5.2 seconds faster than our 2016 (S550) Mustang GT CS on 255/275 Continental ExtremContact DW tires and 6.1 seconds faster than our 380whp Project E90 M3 with 245/265 ExtremeContact DW tires.
While the NT01 is a (now very old) R-compound track-focused tire compared to the street-focused Michelin PSS on the Viper and Continental ExtremeContact DWs on the S550 Mustang and E90 M3, this shows how capable the S197 Mustang chassis is with an extremely wide and aggressive tire that can fit under the stock fenders. While the lap times would be much closer together if all of the cars were using the same tires, this project shows that the S197 Mustang can run with or outperform cars costing many times more, which demonstrating this was the purpose of the build.
I had a lot of confidence in selecting these components and I am very happy with the result with how they all worked together. This car is proof that the solid-axle S197 Mustang can be extremely capable on track, turning fast lap times and balanced to be a riot with power that most track-day cars could not hold a candle to. You would be hard pressed to build a car with this much power that’s this reliable and fun to drive for less money.
If you’re looking for a car to track and improve your driving, I would highly recommend the S197 Mustang, especially the 2011+ GTs with the 5.0L Coyote engine. You don’t need coilovers or to spend a lot of money to make these cars capable track cars. You also don’t need to make 400whp, but it’s nice to know that it’s not difficult to do.
Billy
4 comments
Great article! This seems like such a sweet spot for both track times and street fun. I am looking for a ’11-’14 GT as we speak. You also got me to go an re-read this entire series and I noticed in the comments that one of your most crucial parts, the Roush 3rd link, is no longer available. Could you perhaps convince your friends at Steeda or even Roush to bring it back?
My buddy a Boss last year and loves it. He went with the Steeda suspension based on your build. Definitely an underrated track day platform and they look great too.
As an M3 owner, I love this project.
This was an unexpected surprise to see a conclusion story! This series of articles originally inspired me to look at Mustangs (I ended up with an S550 at a similar price point), so I’m glad to see this car again.