Running 12s has never been easier.
It is amazing. I bought a 2007 Mustang GT last year from DeSantis Ford and I love it. The car has most of the available options, including the 5R55S automatic transmission. I had worked on many S197 Mustangs during tech stories for MM&FF, so I knew firsthand how nice of an engine package it is. My Mustang ran 13.79 at 102 mph in completely bone stock trim last summer. That isn't the amazing part, though.
I am not one to keep things stock for long, so I ordered up a DiabloSport Predator just to throw in the trunk for when I rolled out to a MM&FF track day last summer. The said tuner helped drop my time down to consistent 13.50s. Not bad for stock, but I have to admit I first wasn't thrilled with the auto shifting at WOT. I could feel the throttle being pulled back, thus losing ET in the process.
The winter came, I parked the Stang, and drove my F250 Super Duty. Now that the weather has broke, it was time to get back to the track, so I pulled my Stang out of hibernation. This past Tuesday (April 8, 2008) was the first MM&FF test day at Englishtown, and I had to be ready for action. I prepared by calling my buddy Justin Burcham of JPC Racing and had him bring some new tune ups to the track. I also ordered up Ford Racing's new Bullitt cold air intake kit.
We arrived early in the morning and the air was unreal. Corrected altitude was about 400 feet BELOW sea-level for most of the day. For the first hit, I kept the same Predator tune as last year, and the car ran a respectible 13.40 at 103 mph. The air was worth a tenth over last year. After performing my magazine duties, I had some free time to devote to my ride. Burcham loaded the new tunes into the Predator and it was time to have fun.
Burcham had two tunes for the stock engine and two tunes designed to be used with the Bullitt cold air kit. The tunes he said leaned out the car some more, but was still way safe to run on 93 octane gasoline. He said the biggest gains I was going to see were in the torque management and gear shifts. The cold air kit tunes simply accounted for the better intake tract. My goal for the day was to run 13.20s with both the new tune up and the cold air kit. Boy was I wrong!
On track, I was simply amazed. Just by updating the tune, the car blistered runs in the 13.20s on stock tires! With some more practice, I ran a 13.18 and 13.19 at 104 mph. Burcham and I played with the shift rpm a little, and even tried pulling the gear selector into 3rd to try and hold the gear through the traps. The engine was completely flat through the traps and even touched the rev-limiter. This wasn't the best technique for my car. Keeping it in Drive and letting the trans do its thing is the best way to go.
Burcham took the car for a pass and recorded a best sixty-foot of 1.98 (I was going 2.00) and went 13.12! We didn't even add the cold air kit yet. Here we were a tick away from the 12s. Man this car is fun! My Stang even outran Super Chevy's Mike Ficacci and his brand new Pontiac G8 (which had a custom tune in the computer too). We didn't go head to head, but had he lined up with Burcham, the Stang would have easily beat him. Unfortunately, Editor Smitty had lost a best-of-three match race against the G8 in his wife's stock '07 Mustang GT. His driving skills forced a tie-breaker third match up, but the stock Stang was no match for the L76-powered four-door family troopship.
The next step was to add the Ford Racing Bullitt cold air kit, which took all of 10 minutes. I added the new JPC tune to the computer and cooled the car down big time. I was rewarded with a 13.04 at 106 mph. Once again, this was with a completely stock automatic '07 Stang and the dinky 3.31 gears in the rear.
The day was nearing the end and the track crew wanted to go home, so it was time to go for broke. I parked in the shade and threw a bag of ice on the intake manifold. We had one shot to run in the 12s. I thought it would be best to put a horse jockey behind the wheel, since Burcham is probably 50 pounds lighter than me.
A smokey burnout was made and he pulled to the line ever so gently to stage-shallow. He was off with a 2.00 sixty-foot time, not the best of the day, but it was a good start nonetheless. The car changed gears and promptly chirped the tires on each shift. Burcham cruised through the top-end, and the scoreboard showed a 12.98 at 106.5 mph! Two simple modifications and my fully-optioned Mustang ripped off a 12-second run! No special tires, larger gears, or exhaust- NOTHING but a JPC tune and a Ford Racing Bullitt cold air kit. We also had favorable track conditions that won't be around until the fall, but I still have a 12-second timeslip in the glove box and that is what matters.
Now that the tracks are open and I am driving the car everyday, I have a laundry list of parts to order. It is time to shake the winter blues and get back on track. Keep checking the website for updates on my 2007 Mustang GT. Do we have a new project car in the works? Maybe. I could call it the Lucky '07 Project due to the 12s coming so easily.