In reply to DeadSkunk :
It weighed in at 2750
In reply to DeadSkunk :
It weighed in at 2750
Stupid light. You think adding a bit of weight to the rear would help out with the over steer?
Yeah Noser your right. I'm re-balancing the truck this week with the additional 200lb I need to make class. It'll all go over the rear end.
Not sure what springs or roll bar you are running with the Mustang IRS, but if they are anywhere close to stock or stiffer, you might not be taking advantage of the geometry's camber gain. That could explain the outside edge tire wear, as your tires could be reaching positive camber in cornering. Definitely not good for grip. More static rear camber, returning to stock mustang ride height for the IRS, and running appropriate springs for the difference in weight over the rear will likely all help to some extent.
If anyone took pictures of your car during your last event, take a look and see if one of the rear tires is cambered halfway off the ground. If not, have someone grab a camera and take pictures as you do hard cornering, you'll likely find this.
Man thats was up 200lbs is queit a bit but better than a snappy handling truck. Anyways how does the truck handle with the new suspension? Im just about ready to start buying parts and id like some feedback since you got A VISCOUS ASS TRUCK!!! I got the same mustang brakes too except i got saleen instead of fr500
In reply to whiskey_business :
Good idea. I took GoPro footage of the IRS in action but really need some outside shots to show camber angles.
In reply to JGRAHAM :
Happy to help. I'm working on something similar with my 1991 Sonoma, attaching some other Ford sourced suspension and driveline pieces. When swapping around suspension bits, it's always good to keep in mind what it came out of and how different what you're attaching it to is. I'm starting with a pair of matching front and rear suspension and diff assemblies from an Expedition to make sure that their geometries complement each other, and then all that has to be done is pick springs and roll bars to match the new body.
In your case, probably easiest to just sweep spring rates and roll bar stiffnesses until the rear end settles back down.
Well what a great time last weekend at GoodGuys event in Raleigh. This was the first time I've been to a GG show & autocross and it didn't disappoint. I arrived Friday morning in Raleigh and spent the majority of my time at the autocross event. During the two days I made around ~15 runs on a well laid out course. The the event structure made it a great for dialing in the truck. I had roughly an hour between runs so I could make adjustments. Unexpected but very rewarding was being around so many well sorted autocross specific vehicles and the builders. The wealth of knowledge just floating around in the paddock was a lot to take in.
So the Ranger never missed a beat all weekend. I was quite happy with this being only the second event of the season. Being around ~500+HP ls motors all weekend has made me think of building something little more stout than the worked over 302 though.
The suspension worked well but after talking with Rodney, owner of SuspensionGeek it seems that I've got quite a soft setup. Running #375 front and #225 rear springs is causing a fair amount of body roll. I had originally the mindset of using a large front bar to combat weight transfer, but I may need to get yet a stiffer suspension. I've got some #500 front springs coming that I'll install before the next event. Adding a touch of toe in cured the squirrelly back end. Thanks for the advice of everyone.
Anyways here are a few photos!
Thanks Cole Reynolds for the last action photo!
Beaaaast ass truck bro im sure you got alot of attention from EVERYBODY looks killer.
Not that im hating on the 5.0 compared to the LS counter parts. THE 5.8 is much more well suited. And ive read with aluminum heads it weights the same as a 5.0. Plus you get the benifiets of rediculous torque a nastier sounding engine and the ability to slayyyyy the tired!!!
How are the brakes working for you btw?? I wanted to sell my ranger and hop in a c5 z06 but this project is aloooot more original and nobodies going to know!!
Everytime a picture of this truck pops up in my Facebook feed I come back and check this thread. Trucks still awesome.
In reply to Noser7 :
Your probably right. A 351 build would be better suited but an aluminum ls block to shed front weight would be a win as well. Anyways a new engine is still a far off thought.
The brakes are great now with Hawk pads and taking time to figure out the balance bar setup. The S550 brakes are complete overkill for a Ranger doing autocross though.
Yea im not hating on the LS engines but MIGHT as wel keep it ford older tech but so what works just fine plus you can strock em out to a 393+ just gear appropriately.
Im sure they qre over kill buuuuut they look SO BALLER!! It fills in the 18's great huh. I dont plqn on autocrossing my truck competitively but id like to hqve the satisfaction of knowing i got a fat ass break on my truck.
Keep up the great work!!
I was gonna ask. Did you have to cut into the bed to fit the IRS? I was hoping i could get it low enough without having to chop up the bed
In reply to Noser7 :
I never tried to keep the bed floor in tach. I honestly doubt you could put the needed framework for the IRS in without cutting up the floor or without raising the ride height.
Latest Updates:
I haven't really done a great deal to the truck. A few odds and ends. I did put a heavier set of front springs on and lowered the front more. After corner balancing and an alignment I now have a perfect corner balance.
I also added a brake balance bar adjuster and shifted my pedals around to get more clearance for my feet. The brakes are now very balanced with great great bite from the Hawk pads.
After taking it to an event last weekend I'm very happy with it. It's still a handful to drive, but I think with more seat time I'll be improving on the times. I'll post some GoPro videos soon!
When you ran @GoodGuys, did they put you in the truck class, or the All American class? How competitive was the truck? What types of vehicles were running similar times? It looks like you're having a great time!
I was put into the truck class. Not to make excuses but the GoodGuys event was really a lot of a working out the bugs and figuring out what needed to changed next.
After running a local event this past weekend with the new changes I'd love to see if I could doing a little better at another GG event. Below was the truck class results I found online. The 70 Blazer was definitely a top competitor, I believe he may have won the top 16 shootout, including the pro class competitors. I saw a few 44 sec runs coming from the Summit Racing cars that weekend.
The really fast cars are of truly another caliber of build, and they seem to usually have a driver with a lot of seat time.
In reply to JGRAHAM :
That’s still a very good job!
That's a very competitive result for a shakedown day!
Thanks all. I hope to be going to the Charlotte GoodGuys event this fall.
Maybe we’ll be closer to running at the top.
I was able to get out to another event. Truck ran very well. My driving is no doubt the limiting factor now. I did add some +50lb coil spacer rubbers and I believe they helped further in keeping the truck flatter.
I thought this was a cool shot with the GoPro.
In reply to JGRAHAM :
Nice!
In reply to Pete Gossett :
Thanks Pete.
The local club was able to snap a few action shots of the Ranger this weekend as well.
In addition a donor drivetrain was acquired for a spare trans and the 347 stroker winter build. I excited to get more HP in her.
Action shots are the best way to capture an image of a racecar (truck). I raced the Pink Panther in its new livery at the SCCA Springnationals last month and found out that there were none of the usual (Gotcone, Autoxpix) professional photographers there for that event so I still have no action shots of the car in Pink
In reply to loosecannon :
Your so right.....still images of race cars and trucks seem to have no "personality" in comparsion
Finally got on an alignment rack yesterday. I’ve been curious to see how good my string alignments have been. The computer showed that I was close but not exact with most of the settings.
Now I’ve got everything equal and exact side to side.
does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on these settings? They were based mainly on the old string alignment tire temps and wear.
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