2011+ Track Use without Oil Cooler and Bigger Radiator

One of the guys I ran into with a Boss302 LS package was even having heat issues, even though it has the track package with oil cooling and whatnot. His solution was to take out the grille, and that seemed to cure most of his problems. He really liked the Roush billet aluminum grille I had because of the ability to let air through.

Personally, I would just take the car out there and see what it needs after the event. (I wouldn't let my first race day be a 100+F day, I'd take it to a more suitable 60F-80F track day)

As for the 3.7L. It's an absolute blast to track with. No heat problems, adequate horse power (enough to get all your R compounds squirrely out of an apex), and the lighter weight makes it a formidable opponent in it's class. I would be behind the Z06 corvettes and ahead of the C5's. Nothing like telling them it's a V6 Mustang afterward to open their eyes a bit, haha.

The 5.0 would be fun, but would require a bit more attention to the details you listed. The Brembo Brake Package will help brake fade with the Brembos and the stiffer suspension will keep the car from wobbling all over the place, but still is not perfect for the track. Is it good enough to take out and have fun? Most definitely. Just like the 3.7L is fun to take out and leave porches in your rearview :bigthumbsup

I have a 2013 WITH track pack (so this may not be much help). I've only done 1 trackday in it, but experienced No cooling issues whatsoever (brakes, oil, coolant). Granted, this was a cool day about 70* F, but I did a couple sessions running hard the whole 20 minutes. Also I did swap for better brake fluid.

Quick question for 2VipeRS - for an average track, do you think the 3.7 with PP, would have close if not the same lap times as a GT with track pack? -due to its lighter weight?

Is the PP suspension about the same as the track pack? You are making me regret my 5.0 vs 3.7 decision:hihi:

I have been doing track days for about 8 years now with about 30+ days under my belt. This year I have taken my car out 3 times for track days and all were a blast! I had no one over heating issue with the coolant or oil at all. If you are keeping the stock tires then you won't have to worry about your brakes either. If you move up to R compound tires then you might need either a better fluid and/or ducts to cool them. I would just take the car out in stock form so you can really see what the car can do. In stock form I was lapping everything but heavily modded cars.

Thanks for the responses, all. It was very helpful. It turns out that I had to make some sacrifices today anyway when I made my purchase.

Apparently, the Ford dealer I spoke to a couple weeks ago either didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground or else was dishonest when I was asking about the order cycle for Mustangs. Apparently the order cycle is OVER and no more 2013 mustangs can be ordered. He made no such warning when i asked. Nothing can be ordered until they open it up for 2014's. This caused some serious issues in me getting what I was looking for - a 2013 Deep Impact Blue GT Premium, with Track Pack (or Brembo & 3.73 gears), and Glass Roof. Instead I ended up with a 2013 Silver GT Premium with Brembo, 3.73 gears, premium stereo, and reverse sensing/security package. I really wanted the glass roof, but most of the glass roof cars didn't have Brembos or the gears, or at least were missing one of them. The color was a little less difficult, since the blue had a hint of purple to it depending on the angle after seeing it in person, which made me second guess it. Candy Red would have been my second choice, but you can never go wrong with silver. And now I won't have to clean it!

They have to ship it from OH to IL. With the holiday, I imagine I'll have it in maybe 2 weeks or so.

I have a 2011 GT, and had oil temp issues on the same tracks you're talking about. 300 degrees+. You might want to start by installing an oil temp gauge to monitor. Chances are you'll be concerned enough to install the oil cooler and upgraded radiator. I was, and did. OK now. A higher flow grille can help too.

Machine154 said:

DUFUS - how did you know you had oil temp issues? Is there a dummy light for it?

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I had just read articles/posts/etc. about how hot these engines run, including from people with Bosses (e/w oil-water cooler from factory) who had to add oil-air coolers before getting it under control, and figured I had better start monitoring it. You should probably add an oil pressure gauge also if you're going to track the car. The factory oil pressure "gauge" (it's really just a glorified dummy light) is pert near worthless. The coolant temp gauge is just a little less ignorant, but you can monitor an actual digital readout in the engineering test mode display for that.
BTW, go with a heavier oil when tracking as well. 5W40, or 50 (as recommended with the 2013 Track Pack and Bosses).

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party, but I'll weigh in anyway. I have a 2012 GT. I have a stock radiator and no cooler. I did install the Boss 302S grille from Ford Racing. My August track day was in 105º heat. I don't have stand alone gauge, but in the diagnostic mode, the coolant temp got up to 245º. It didn't lose any water though. That high temp was on the front straight at 150mph. Then it cooled right back down. Last week, the temp was 70º and the needle barely moved.

Because of the high speed nature of ACS (Turn 3 is braking from 125 to 35), I put on the Laguna Seca cooling ducts, switched to Motul 660 RBF, and added Hawk HP Plus pads. I still haven't installed the stainless brake lines though.

To the question about the V6 performance package. There was one in my run group. I do a 2 minute even lap. I think it did 2:10. He was new though. I think a 2:06-2:07 would be possible. At the same time, power is a big deal at ACS. On a tighter track, the two would probably be much closer.

Vipergtsrgt1 Thanks for the heads up on the ACS event. And the V6 PP times.

Hope to see you out at ACS one of these days. Or Willow, or... My roomate was there last weekend (white evo). He said there were like 5-6 boss 302's there as well.

I'm trying to get a couple weekends off next year to do some more track days. :bigthumbsup

Vipergtsrgt1 said:

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party, but I'll weigh in anyway. I have a 2012 GT. I have a stock radiator and no cooler. I did install the Boss 302S grille from Ford Racing. My August track day was in 105º heat. I don't have stand alone gauge, but in the diagnostic mode, the coolant temp got up to 245º. It didn't lose any water though. That high temp was on the front straight at 150mph. Then it cooled right back down. Last week, the temp was 70º and the needle barely moved.

Because of the high speed nature of ACS (Turn 3 is braking from 125 to 35), I put on the Laguna Seca cooling ducts, switched to Motul 660 RBF, and added Hawk HP Plus pads. I still haven't installed the stainless brake lines though.

To the question about the V6 performance package. There was one in my run group. I do a 2 minute even lap. I think it did 2:10. He was new though. I think a 2:06-2:07 would be possible. At the same time, power is a big deal at ACS. On a tighter track, the two would probably be much closer.

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I just picked up my GT yesterday. I see that there is an oil temp meter, but no numbers on it. Do you have this 'virtual' meter on your car, too? I think not everyone has the LCD between the gauges. I wondered how hot the oil is running during racing and at least this would give a relative idea even though there are only green, yellow, red zones.

Machine154 said:

I just picked up my GT yesterday. I see that there is an oil temp meter, but no numbers on it. Do you have this 'virtual' meter on your car, too? I think not everyone has the LCD between the gauges. I wondered how hot the oil is running during racing and at least this would give a relative idea even though there are only green, yellow, red zones.

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It's not a normal display. It's a an engineering test mode that takes the place of the normal odometer/message display. I'm hoping the 2013 models work the same way. This is a link to a video explaining how to do it.

How to Enter the Engineering Test Mode - YouTube
There are a bunch of items to display, so you'll have to cycle through a bit to get to coolant temp. It displays in centigrade, so you'll have to do the conversion yourself.

Machine154 said:

DUFUS - a little bit of a tangent, but not much - what gauges did you install, any write-up or photos you can share?

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I use ProSport EVO blue gauges in front of the left dash vent for oil temp and oil pressure.
Prosport Gauges Evo series gauges, EVO Red and Blue digital gauges
Used their sandwich plate for the sensors
Oil filter adaptor plate-Sandwich adaptor Plate -Prosport Gauges
I also later added an Aeroforce gauge mounted between the two center vents (they seem susceptible to high temps so make sure they are positioned where they won't be blown on directly when using the heater) on which I monitor coolant temp, IAT, and AFR.
Aeroforce Technology Inc | Products - Interceptor
I used these mountings for all of the gauges
52mm Gauge mounting bracket/strap -Prosport Gauges
Then added some homemade hoods and trim details for about a $1 to cover up the mounting brackets.

Sorry, I don't have any pics. I'll have to snap some when I get a chance. I think the layout looks better than what you're probably imagining :winks. I know there are those that poo poo the Prosport gauges, but they've worked fine for me.
I set the Mustang gauges to ice blue, and halos to deep blue to try and tie it all together color-wise.

I've been running in the NASA HPDE since 2008, (haven't made up my mind yet if I want to go to TT or not). I have a Roush 427R, thats been modded for the track and until this year, I've not had any issues with overheating, oil or water, except for last year, when water temps went up to 240+ at Putnam Park. I upgraded to the Roush 9-bar grill and stay farther away from backed up traffic, it seems to have helped. However, this year, running at Autobahn, during one of my sessions on Sat (day 1), my water and oil temps went up, both to 240+ with clear traffic ahead of me. I've never had oil go that high. I spoke to my speed shop, who run 2 mustangs in the NASA American Iron class and upon discussing the weekend, running the car harder due to running R compound tires, in the SC a lot more at Autobahn and now trailering the car (now I have a way to get it home if I muck it up), I was told I'm now pushing the car to its stock limits and probably need to upgrade the radiator and add an oil cooler. They run a setup on their AI cars thats got the oil cooler and radiator as one piece vs it being two seperate items. Thats probably what I'll end up going with before next season. I was told it was just a matter of time before I began reaching some limits of a stock built car. Damn this is a fun sport.

In reply to the question about the GT/Boss vs the 3.7L is really a 2-part answer.

1. In the straights, the Boss LS would gain on me, but in the corners, I braked a bit faster and could corner just as fast (i'm guessing due to the weight reduction). I do have the base model V6 with the PP.

2. I would recommend a 3.7L to a person who is just getting into the sport. It's plenty of HP for someone just learning to put you ahead of the pack in the lower-intermediate bracket, and not enough torque to REALLY get a person in trouble in corners. It's a great platform to learn on, and I have loved every moment of it!


With a more seasoned player, the 5.0 would probably be the choice most would take. Naturally aspirated and can have fun with the vettes However, instead of trading in my car for a 5.0 after becoming more familiarized with tracking and wanting a bit more to keep up with the vettes, I went with a forced induction option. Yup, my car is in the shop getting forged parts, but let me tell you, it's a lot cheaper putting OE parts in my 3.7L than a 5.0L ($2.2k for a brand new long block).

The cool thing with the 3.7L PP platform is that it borrows the regular GT items, which is oversized for it's curb weight, and super cheap since I get the parts from Roush take-off ($90 for a full, new, OE rotor swap!), which makes this platform very reasonable if one considers how much tracks gobble them.

I'd sum up the 3.7L track platform with: Affordable, adequate and a whole lot of fun The bit I save justifies more track days and a couple more mods, which translates to more fun!

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I also have a v6 perf pkg that I track regularly. I've never had heat issues even when having run on very hot Summer days.
Then stock brakes while adequate will not last. I had hotspots after my first event on all four rotors.
The road course I normally drive is full of tight corners which is a curse ( tires/brakes) and a blessing ( I have kept up with and passed 'superior' cars$$$$)

Careener said:

I also have a v6 perf pkg that I track regularly. I've never had heat issues even when having run on very hot Summer days.
Then stock brakes while adequate will not last. I had hotspots after my first event on all four rotors.
The road course I normally drive is full of tight corners which is a curse ( tires/brakes) and a blessing ( I have kept up with and passed 'superior' cars$$$$)

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Sorry to derail this a hair, but what pads are you running now?

I'm using EBC Blue Stuff - works pretty good on the track and street. Other very useful item are brake ducts and some 600 brake fluid. Those 3 upgrades are the meat and potatoes of really making this a sustainable track monster. Shocks and struts if a person wants to eliminate the majority of body roll.

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