I don't care how much brake and power you throw at it. If he doesn't get wider tires on it it will be all for nothing.
Done before T-Hill in October.......not going to happen.

Not unless they make off the shelf flares :unibrow:

By the way -- I'm being serious. Ron runs a business. I'm a paying customer. I'm willing to pay for his expertise to help me with the car. He already shares an awful lot, and gives an awful lot of his knowledge away on here as it is. I don't see any reason for me to foot the bill for measurements to dissect what I already have - and then to pay to formulate improvements... for some other shop etc to lift their ability and sell the sauce they get for nothing.

Buying off the shelf parts is a different story and in that case everyone is helpful to everyone else interested in knowing how those parts work. Discussing a motor etc is one thing -- just don't ask the builder to tell you everything he knows about how he arrived at his numbers... Parts are parts - how they're put together and clearances etc is their formula.


This is my decision by the way - not Ron's... I've already discussed with him what I think of him giving away valuable info. I just think it's not right for people to expect to get so much expertise for free. That kind of expertise takes YEARS to get... it's how he makes his living. People should man up and be willing to do business with him if they want the kind of improvements he can give a guy.

It's a real shop -- they're used to turning cars around to get 'em to the next event...

The problem - which they didn't sign on for - could be the motor and what it needs. That remains to be seen.

Maier has flares available. Remember his blue car runs 315's square. Wouldn't be hard to get more tire under the car.

That would be the right direction for Greg to go IMO.

Greg,

I'll second all you said about Ron. I haven't posted all of this up yet, but I've also been working with him on TOW. I'll get the details up soon, but I'm amazed at how generous he is with his time and his knowledge! It's been a complete pleasure to talk to and learn from him...

For anyone looking to step up their ride and their knowledge, spend some money with him. You will NOT be disappointed!!!

I want to run on skinnies.... I think that keeps the spirit of what we (Charley - Chet and Pete etc) are trying to do. The changes I'm making are more for a "because" -- and I just feel better with stouter stuff in the car. Upgrading brakes is a matter of trying to get a bit of the feeling the Lotus has entering corners. It just hauls down so quickly it's insane. Obviously in a car that weighs twice as much we're not going to get there - but it's just a good feeling to really have the brakes working well. The suspension changes are a "why wouldn't you" while you're there kind of thing. The car actually goes pretty good as it is... and is fun to drive. I don't need more power.

I think it's hard to explain until you've driven something that is so capable like the Lotus. Then you want just a little of that - in the Mustang etc.

Ron improved the handling so much with such a few simple things -- that it shows you that with a bit more planning and some execution - the car could be that much more -- which for me - is mostly about making it more fun to drive.

In the meantime - I don't want to try to make it something it's not. It's a neat car - that drives pretty well and looks pretty good as is.

When you drive the Lotus -- you can run at about 75% you can take a look at a corner just about anywhere you want to put it. At 80% you can just about outrun anything on the track. What I want from the Mustang is to be able to run WITH the similar cars on the track -- while also feeling really comfortable and not working real hard to do it. That's when you climb out of the car with a big smile on your face and say "man that was fun!".

Did anyone bother to take the 1 minute it would take to pull a valve cover ? Yes I agree on engine builder secrets but general changes, parts etc are things that are shared and what sites like this are about . Guys like Stielow show in great detail what they do....FOR FREE !!!! That is what the site is about ! I built a site for a 70 Z28 "FOR FREE" so people could see the correct details on a orig car. Others would have written a book and charged for it. The biggest advancement you could make to make that car go faster would be to hire someone like Rick McCormick at the next track day to ride with you. The car is faster than most as it is. Stielow drove that car at Thunderhill and loved it. And he was fast ! That car could be made street legal in a day. I sold my other yellow Mustang track car because it was too much of where you are headed with that one. You further upsize all the crap like suspension, brakes, wheels, tires etc and you will need a full cage. Then you can have the joy of climbing in and out the window. This is the Shelby Club we are running with. My 66 Shelby has been a race car it's entire life and a championship winning car and it has Ford front disk and drum rear. It runs fine for what we do.

Running on narrower tires is going to be your limiting factor. Doesn't do any good to put huge brakes like the chassis you were standing next to when the tires can't do the work to stop the car. Driving Mike Maiers coupe with the nascar motor in it with the old setup and 275's vs the new setup with the 315's, it's amazing how much deeper you can go into the corners and still slow down and turn.

But I get it, your trying to keep it with the look of vintage trans-am vs the newer pro touring look. I just question if your going to be able to get the brake feel any where close to the Lotus being the size of tire and car are like comparing apples to pineapples...

No reason to pull a valve cover --- it's why you talked me into a back up car! I just jumped in it and off I went! LOL



Mark is free to give away what HE develops and does on his own... and we're all happy for it. HE does NOT give away what others do. I am not going to give away Ron's information. This is how the man makes his living. I'm not free to take his living away from him.


As for running fine... totally agree... but I'm a hot rodder thru and thru. Whatever I've ever had - the goal is to make it better. It's the way I like to do things.