I am so bummed.

[GTMomma02]

So last night I went to the track for the second time. The first time I went my best ET was 14.36@95.03 and I was hoping to improve. Last night I ran 4 times. The first 2 times were slightly better than before, my best being 14.31@98.77. Now normally people get better with practice, for some reason I got worse. :( My 3rd run I spun a little off the line and got a 14.54@98.38. My last run I spun halfway down the track and watched a hatchback civic pass me before my wheels finally caught. I finished with a 15.76@97.33. :duck: I don't think I did anything different between the runs. I tried to launch at the point before my wheels started to spin (I have an automatic) which was slightly over 1000 RPM's. I ended up leaving with my head hanging really low and feeling like crap. Could something be going on with my car, or do I just suck as a driver?

-Stacy

[DARKHRSE99]

I think you could solve alot of your problems by getting some DR's or slick to stop your wheel spin.


Jason

[GTMomma02]

I went out and looked at my tires in the daylight. There is rubber all over the place on the right side. It's on the wheel well, my exhaust tips, and my bumper. :( So apparently I had alot of wheel spin on that side only? What would cause this? I just upgraded my suspension, but for some reason the right rear sits half an inch higher than the left. Could this be part of the reason?
:confused:
Stacy

[TOYGT02]

sounds like the left wheel is not spinning...That would definitely cause the problem. I just rebuilt my stock posi and 10000 miles later it is still working good, knock on wood. I just rebuilt it until I decide which posi or set up I want to go with...The best I managed with my stock auto was a 14.15 on a very red light... Theo

[ChickInHer01GT]

may have broken yout T lok, which causees the infamous one wheel peel.

[GTMomma02]

O.k. What's the T lock and how do I fix it? I'm very new to all this and am basically learning as I go. Details please. :D

Stacy

[Jackie Chan]

do a burnout and have someone watch and tell you if both rears are spinning before you start talking about a failing t-loc. i usually have a bit more rubber on one side than the other.

[Brandon Alsept]

Take it to a shop that does gear installs and have them repack your differential. Tell them to try and get a extra clutch on each side and you should be set as far as the one wheel peel goes. You may wanna look at having a gear done at the same time as it will consiest of the same disassemble and reassemble.

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Ok, silly question here, but I really don't know. Does the GT have the "traction control" like is on the Cobra? Are you sure it was OFF? Leaving it on almost guarantees one wheel burnouts in the Cobra.

[Derek]

which track were you running at? also, what were your 60fts on the 14-second runs?

[RandyStinchcomb]

one other thing to consider is it has been very humid here(mid atlantic) the last couple of nights wth lots of fog which does not help wth et's & mph, as the night went on the humidty went up, alot. also as Ken stated, was your traction control on or off and as Brandon said, get your clutch pak "shimmed".

[GTMomma02]

Well, let's see. I was down at Capital last night. I didn't do a burnout, tried to avoid the water box, but I did spin the tires a little to clean them off. My tire pressure was 30 psi in the front and 25 in the rear. Traction control and overdrive were off. My 60 foot times were 2.14, 2.14, 2.42 and 2.73. :(

So, now I have a few more questions. What does it mean to repack or shim the differential? About how much will that run me? Any chance I can have this covered under warranty? What is the posi unit and t lock? Last but not least, how can I find out for sure what the problem is? Sheesh, I think I need lots of help.:rolleyes: (One more...Should I ask this in tech or is it OK here?)

Stacy

[RandyStinchcomb]

the trac-loc is a series of clutches and steel plates(in the rear diff) that distributes tq equally to both rear wheels, once the clutches get worn down the unit becomes inaffective, as new posi clutch kit is @$50.00(we have them instock at all times) and I can supply you wth the fone # of someone (who I trust) to do the job cheaply. doubt if Ford warranty will cover this, how many miles on yuour car ?

[ChickInHer01GT]

Originally posted by GTMomma02
Well, let's see. I was down at Capital last night. I didn't do a burnout, tried to avoid the water box, but I did spin the tires a little to clean them off. My tire pressure was 30 psi in the front and 25 in the rear. Traction control and overdrive were off. My 60 foot times were 2.14, 2.14, 2.42 and 2.73. :(

So, now I have a few more questions. What does it mean to repack or shim the differential? About how much will that run me? Any chance I can have this covered under warranty? What is the posi unit and t lock? Last but not least, how can I find out for sure what the problem is? Sheesh, I think I need lots of help.:rolleyes: (One more...Should I ask this in tech or is it OK here?)

Stacy
Its fine here Stace, we will find it.:D i have to counter you randy, unless shes been doing some heavy duty driving, she should still be under warranty, its only an 02. BUT- before you take it in to see if ford will fix it for ya, CLEAN OFF ALL THE RUBBER!!!! Use WD-40, takes it right off.

[96GTS]

Originally posted by Jackie Chan
do a burnout and have someone watch and tell you if both rears are spinning before you start talking about a failing t-loc. i usually have a bit more rubber on one side than the other.
:agree:
After the track in my car, one fender is covered in rubber and the other one is clean. But I performed the stripe test and concluded that both tires were definitly spinning:D

Darren

[GTMomma02]

Originally posted by RandyStinchcomb
the trac-loc is a series of clutches and steel plates(in the rear diff) that distributes tq equally to both rear wheels, once the clutches get worn down the unit becomes inaffective, as new posi clutch kit is @$50.00(we have them instock at all times) and I can supply you wth the fone # of someone (who I trust) to do the job cheaply. doubt if Ford warranty will cover this, how many miles on yuour car ?

I have about 21000 miles on my car (I've only had it a year :eek: ) I've only been to the track twice and I'm not out there racing on the street. I didn't think I was running my car that hard, but I guess it was hard enough. :dontknow: Is there any sure-fire way to tell if I need a new posi clutch? I'm trying to avoid spending any more money than I need to.

[GTMomma02]

Originally posted by ChickInHer01GT
Its fine here Stace, we will find it.:D i have to counter you randy, unless shes been doing some heavy duty driving, she should still be under warranty, its only an 02. BUT- before you take it in to see if ford will fix it for ya, CLEAN OFF ALL THE RUBBER!!!! Use WD-40, takes it right off.
Awww, you called me Stace. Now I feel at home here. :D Thanks for the tip Brooke. How to get the rubber off was gonna be my next question.

Stacy

[GTMomma02]

Originally posted by 96GTS
:agree:
After the track in my car, one fender is covered in rubber and the other one is clean. But I performed the stripe test and concluded that both tires were definitly spinning:D

Darren

Now I need a buddy to watch me spin my tires. Well tomorrow I'm going to get my car dyno'd with the local mustang group, maybe I can have someone take a look then.

[96GTS]

Originally posted by GTMomma02
Now I need a buddy to watch me spin my tires. Well tomorrow I'm going to get my car dyno'd with the local mustang group, maybe I can have someone take a look then.
That's what the stripe test is for. You dont need anybody else. Find a nice clean area of asphalt and light 'em up! Get out and look. If you have two nice even stripes, you passed. If you only have one or one is sketchy, it's on its way out.
:thumb:
Darren

[RandyStinchcomb]

well, things that are of a friction nature, brake linning, belts, drive clutches and diff clutches are not as likley to be replaced under warranty. especialy on a Mustang Gt, one look at the rear tires is going tobe a dead give away, along wth all the rubber up in the rear tire well that you cant see but they will see it once the car gets on the lift. good luck. also, its common for a stock trac loc to lock & un-loc on hard accell, giving inconsistent 60 fts.

[GTMomma02]

Originally posted by 96GTS
That's what the stripe test is for. You dont need anybody else. Find a nice clean area of asphalt and light 'em up! Get out and look. If you have two nice even stripes, you passed. If you only have one or one is sketchy, it's on its way out.
:thumb:
Darren

:Clue: Ohhhh. Got it. Now I need to go find some asphalt around here. Doing a burnout is something I can be ticketed for, right? Just checking.

[ChickInHer01GT]

Originally posted by GTMomma02
:Clue: Ohhhh. Got it. Now I need to go find some asphalt around here. Doing a burnout is something I can be ticketed for, right? Just checking.

oh yes..... yes indeedy.....:evil: unless the cop joins ya.:cheers:

[D.K]

Originally posted by GTMomma02
:Clue: Ohhhh. Got it. Now I need to go find some asphalt around here. Doing a burnout is something I can be ticketed for, right? Just checking.

Yep, you can be ticketed for doing a burnout. Easiest thing to do is to find a big, empty, open parking lot and do one there. You don't need to do a big, Pro-Street burnout or anything, just enough to make your mark. ;)

[RandyStinchcomb]

I have to disagree, a parking lot is not a dragstrip starting line where you have tons of rubber laid down, traction compounds sprayed down, the locker is going to loc & un-lock more offten on a "stickie" track than on the "slick/green" street.

[GTMomma02]

This reminds me, I was supposed to be looking for some kind of "groove" right?(is that the correct term?) The place where everyone else launches from? If I'm not in the right spot, can it cause my tires to spin like that, especially if my rear tires are slightly worn?

Thanks alot for putting up with my questions. No more today cause I gotta leave here shortly. I'll check back in with you guys tomorrow.

[RandyStinchcomb]

sounds like you need some help/tips from the Pro's, why not come down to MIR next weekend for ther Fall Ford classic race, bunch of us Depot Dregs will be there to race & help out others

[GTMomma02]

Originally posted by RandyStinchcomb
sounds like you need some help/tips from the Pro's, why not come down to MIR next weekend for ther Fall Ford classic race, bunch of us Depot Dregs will be there to race & help out others

Haha! I guess I must be really bad off if I need professional help. :lol: I'd love to go to MIR next weekend, but I'm driving to Yorktown, VA Friday night. Maybe another time. Btw Randy, I'm gonna talk to my hubby about the posi clutch kit and get back with you this week sometime. Thanks!

Stacy

[Black Hole]

My advice would be to get in touch with some locals on this board (I know there are a bunch in the Maryland area) that can give ya some pointers AT THE TRACK.

Also moving to Drag Racing....

[BCH-SLP]

Stacy,

It seems as though you aren't having any luck at all with the stock goodyears at the track. First off I would suggest you invest into a good set of maybe ET Streets and throw them on some cheap style wheels that you can bolt on/off your car when you make your rare appearances. Secondly, since the big question is whether your differential is going out what you might want to do is follow some of the guys advice and go out to any street and give yourself a small burnout to check and see if the differential is working ( somewhat ). Like Randy said peeling on the street isn't at all the same as it would be at the track, but would give you some idea on the health of your differential. All that rubber on your rear clip is definitely from a one wheel peel but if you cleaned your tires in a wet/damp spot it could cause one wheel to turn more easily than the other. For a while I paranoid that mine was too going out because of the amount of rubber behind both wheels, but came to the conclusion that it wasn't my differential giving out, it was the texture of the burnout area. My car is also an automatic with 34k miles and been running it at the track/street with ET Streets ( slicks ) and I'm still on my stock differential. I'm guessing that yours is still in good shape. You've got tons of questions to be answered on here, but I hope I at least cleared a few for you. Like Randy said; You would learn a whole lot hanging with the Modular Depot Racing Team at a local track. So goodluck!

Roque