I have a new 2014 GT automatic. Cant seem to cut a light or figure a dial in.First let me say I have drag raced for many years before going back to a stock car so I am familiar with drag racing. The problem is the newer cars. Throttle lag,computers changing the way the car is affected by the weather etc. Electronic throttle control screws with reaction time.And the weather wiil really change the ET(tenths instead of hundreds or thousands) Maybe its just me but would be interested in hearing from anyone having success with a stock 2013-14 Mustang. I have drag radials,and a line-loc. No tuner as it will kill the warranty. Thanks
Any one out there race a new box stock Mustang?
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I have a 2011 GT that is mostly stock. I do have a tune, radials, converter and cobra springs. But to answer some of your questions.
1: You won't be able to cut a light shallow staged if you are truly reacting to the third amber. I was consistently .14-.16 unless I anticipated. You'll have to either anticipate or deep stage for decent RT's. But even still, a tune is a must to fix the throttle response. Deep staging is even difficult to cut a light with if you barely go deep turning off the top bulb. Without a tune you'll still be .06 even if deep staged. Like I said, unless you bump in past deep.
2: Weather for sure will affect these cars. But they actually can be consistently predictable. But you need data and know how to use weather stations to predict. I can actually predict within .02-.03 first time rolling in with no time trials by just using weather. Unless you have massive changes in weather though, your split times on any day should be fairly close so you can predict using weather factors.
So, yes, these cars are not dial-in machines that repeat the same numbers day after day and give you a comfortable RT staging shallow and staying 100% stock. But these cars can be very predictable and can compete with the best cars out there but they require a lot of patience, data and work to "figure" these cars out. I personally like it though.
What factor of the weather are you using? One guy said he's using barometric pressure?? Just curious if you're using one factor or more.I have a 2011 GT that is mostly stock. I do have a tune, radials, converter and cobra springs. But to answer some of your questions.
1: You won't be able to cut a light shallow staged if you are truly reacting to the third amber. I was consistently .14-.16 unless I anticipated. You'll have to either anticipate or deep stage for decent RT's. But even still, a tune is a must to fix the throttle response. Deep staging is even difficult to cut a light with if you barely go deep turning off the top bulb. Without a tune you'll still be .06 even if deep staged. Like I said, unless you bump in past deep.
2: Weather for sure will affect these cars. But they actually can be consistently predictable. But you need data and know how to use weather stations to predict. I can actually predict within .02-.03 first time rolling in with no time trials by just using weather. Unless you have massive changes in weather though, your split times on any day should be fairly close so you can predict using weather factors.
So, yes, these cars are not dial-in machines that repeat the same numbers day after day and give you a comfortable RT staging shallow and staying 100% stock. But these cars can be very predictable and can compete with the best cars out there but they require a lot of patience, data and work to "figure" these cars out. I personally like it though.
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I use Temperature, Humidty and Barometric Pressure during any given day. I find Temperature causes the biggest movement in ET followed by Humidity and then Barometric Pressure. I only say Barometric Pressure causes the smallest movements because on a given day, there will usually be minimum movement. But when first rolling in, Barometric Pressure I think is the best for an initial prediction of where your ET should be. So that's what I think your friend is referring to. Barometric Pressure is a great weather factor to know how your car should be running on any given day. But I find you really need at least the 3 I mentioned to be able to predict accurately during a race day given how our cars move around.
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You can get a handheld tuner ( for BEST results, have a pro tuner build a tune & upload to the handheld. You WILL be AMAZED!!)
You can have several "tune files" on the tuner. You can run whatever tune you want, the when it comes time to go to the stealership just plug in the handheld,re-flash to factory tune & 5min later your stock as a clock.
It's very easy to do, & you can get GREAT results from "out of the box tunes" that come on the handheld. So you don't have to pay a tuner to go over it for a few 10ths.
You could get one of these:JMS PedalMax Throttle Enhancement Device PX-5000-1114F @ around $270-300 (That will buy you a tuner)
But a tune will fix your problem & really wake up that Coyote, & you can be back to stock in 5min or less w/no sweat.. Literally.
If you want some info on tuners let me know, or search it. You wont be disappointed.
You can have several "tune files" on the tuner. You can run whatever tune you want, the when it comes time to go to the stealership just plug in the handheld,re-flash to factory tune & 5min later your stock as a clock.
It's very easy to do, & you can get GREAT results from "out of the box tunes" that come on the handheld. So you don't have to pay a tuner to go over it for a few 10ths.
You could get one of these:JMS PedalMax Throttle Enhancement Device PX-5000-1114F @ around $270-300 (That will buy you a tuner)
But a tune will fix your problem & really wake up that Coyote, & you can be back to stock in 5min or less w/no sweat.. Literally.
If you want some info on tuners let me know, or search it. You wont be disappointed.
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reflashing back to stock does NOT fool the dealership, they can scan and tell exactly how many times the computer has been flashed and void warranty on the spot.
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I had a 2011 5.0 with Auto trans and that car was extremely consistent with both reaction times and E.T. I now own a 2013 Auto equipped 5.0 and the reaction times are not nearly as consistent but the E.T. seems to be fairly consistent. the 2011-2012 had a different converter and are supposed to give better reaction times and 60' times from what I have read.
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I run a 2006 Mustang GT. The engine is really the only thing that is stock. It has a TH350, 4000RPM converter, 4.56 gears, BMR lower control arms, Lakewood upper, BMR relocation brackets. I have found that my car is most consistent when cold , might be different on the 5.0s. I put an electric water pump on it and have the fan setup that I can turn it on anytime. Cools down fast. Another thing I've found over the years of racing it is that it likes to have a totally charged battery. These cars are battery hogs. I put mine on a float charger during the week. If the voltage starts dropping on the battery, so will my ET. Keep it charged between rounds if you can.
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81 Posts
Almost forgot. I removed the thermostat as well.
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8 Posts
Ok sorry I wasn't aware of the new Copperhead ECU used on the Coyote. But there are still fixes (warranty safe) for your problem.
You can have your dealer re-flash your ECU to get any updates that may have came along since tour car was last "plugged in", some people say they have felt some benefit from that.
You should talk to a dealer about a FRPP ProCal tune that comes w/a warranty from Ford Racing when installed by a dealer, the Ford Racing warranty covers you up to 3yr or 36k miles, and kicks in ONLY WHEN & IF the Ford Racing tune is found to be the cause of damage. In all other cases, the existing powertrain warranty on your car is still intact.
Or if you just want to get rid of that throttle lag the ONLY other way to do so (other than tuning) is installing a "Throttle Enhancement Device" like this one:
JMS PedalMax Throttle Enhancement Device (2011-14 Mustang) PX-5000-1114
available from Brothers & other vendors I'm sure.
It IS warranty friendly.
You can have your dealer re-flash your ECU to get any updates that may have came along since tour car was last "plugged in", some people say they have felt some benefit from that.
You should talk to a dealer about a FRPP ProCal tune that comes w/a warranty from Ford Racing when installed by a dealer, the Ford Racing warranty covers you up to 3yr or 36k miles, and kicks in ONLY WHEN & IF the Ford Racing tune is found to be the cause of damage. In all other cases, the existing powertrain warranty on your car is still intact.
Or if you just want to get rid of that throttle lag the ONLY other way to do so (other than tuning) is installing a "Throttle Enhancement Device" like this one:
JMS PedalMax Throttle Enhancement Device (2011-14 Mustang) PX-5000-1114
available from Brothers & other vendors I'm sure.
It IS warranty friendly.
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278 Posts
Yes I've used it but I had to remove it from my car because it kept throwing my car into limp mode. Honestly it's not really necessary. The car can be tuned to achieve similar gains in throttle response by a reputable tuner.
I've just tuned mine to be super aggressive with Pedal Pos for WOT start to a low number. Forget the Driver Demand table. Just bringing down the WOT Pedal Pos Start down will transition the car into a more linear throttle response much earlier.
I've just tuned mine to be super aggressive with Pedal Pos for WOT start to a low number. Forget the Driver Demand table. Just bringing down the WOT Pedal Pos Start down will transition the car into a more linear throttle response much earlier.
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Instead of leaving on the third amber, leave when the 2nd amber goes out, that or deep stage and bump in once.
Used to race with a guy in footbrake that ran a bone stock SN95, I believe it had a 3.8 but I'm not certain, it was not a GT I do know that, to help cope with ET fluctuations he never turned the engine off, it worked pretty good for him as he was always a contender in the later rounds if not the top eliminator, it didn't hurt that the old one eyed fucker could cut a light though, he always deep staged.
Used to race with a guy in footbrake that ran a bone stock SN95, I believe it had a 3.8 but I'm not certain, it was not a GT I do know that, to help cope with ET fluctuations he never turned the engine off, it worked pretty good for him as he was always a contender in the later rounds if not the top eliminator, it didn't hurt that the old one eyed fucker could cut a light though, he always deep staged.
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I have a 2002 that I raced a lot before I put on a supercharger. The car was consistent in the cool weather. The hot weather though, forget about it. This was pretty much a stock car too with a tune. On the hot days I would just have it get to operating temp to keep it consistent with engine temp.
I finally quit racing it all together. Finally got the reaction times focused. Love the car. Ran a best of 12.62 @ 111 mph. But the consistency was a joke. The computers are constantly adjusting for weather and the car would vary tenths. Its automatic with good tires (no spin at all). So I just enjoy cruising the weekends.
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I have never bracket raced a newer vehicle with drive by wire yet, but I have learned how to cut a light with a slow 60 foot car by shallow staging. (barely into the beams)
My 95 GT runs 2.1x 60 ft times and I leave when the last amber comes on and get single digit reaction times.
If you have really good front brakes and can preload the chassis with torque, then releasing the brake pedal really helps to lunge the car out of the beams. ( I use organic pads on the front)
I have mega byte jr. rear lower control arms to help preload the chassis, along with the stock AODE convertor.
Plus I launch @ 160 deg. water temp ( mechanical gauge) with pump gas on the completely stock ecu and the car is super consistent.
My 95 GT runs 2.1x 60 ft times and I leave when the last amber comes on and get single digit reaction times.
If you have really good front brakes and can preload the chassis with torque, then releasing the brake pedal really helps to lunge the car out of the beams. ( I use organic pads on the front)
I have mega byte jr. rear lower control arms to help preload the chassis, along with the stock AODE convertor.
Plus I launch @ 160 deg. water temp ( mechanical gauge) with pump gas on the completely stock ecu and the car is super consistent.
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278 Posts
The issue isn't so much the weather causing it to move around. It's the torque management programmed in and the multitude of spark tables (called HDX) which are designed to balance between power and fuel economy. The torque management is designed to protect the drivetrain in the car. And the many spark tables (over 20 in the 2011 and even more in the 2015) are blended together to run in different modes for economy, power, highway driving..etc.
But all of that can be tuned out. It's amazing how consistent these cars are once they are tuned right.
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