(Boss Ch. 5) Week one

The first week with the new Boss was nice, but a little bland. Of course the car looks, feels, and sounds great. And in the Texas Summer heat, it has been nice to be in a brand new car with an air conditioner that can blow snow right out of the vents. But as for driving, all I had done was the long highway trip from McKinney to Austin and then my daily commute to work.

The problem with cars of this performance caliber is that they can only be wrung-out for a second or two on the street before suddenly being deep into “go to jail” territory. I already have enough trouble staying out of jail, because among other reasons, I have a brother who is a cop and he thinks it’s funny to pull me over, hassle me, and otherwise get his payback for all the rotten things I did to him when we were kids. When he found out I was getting a new car, he put out a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) to his department:

Very funny. Police attention was already high this week, even without my brother’s help. On Thursday, I was having lunch with some friends and afterwards, we walked outside so that I could show them the car. There were a couple of police cars parked nearby and when I started showing my friends the car, the Sheriff’s deputies walked-up on us and started asking questions.

It seemed pretty clear that my punk rock girl was getting too much attention in conservative Williamson County and I needed to get her off of public streets. So, on Saturday, I took the Boss to her first track day. I went to Harris Hill Road (H2R) as a guest of my pal, Ryan English. Also joining us was Aaron Sonntag, who was along for some instruction in Ryan’s Miata, as well as being on camera duty.

My plan for the morning was to just take it easy and feel-out the car in a safe environment. I wanted to really start bonding with her. I also wanted to see what the car would be like to drive on the track with almost no track-prep whatsoever. The Boss 302 supplement to the Mustang owner’s manual has two pages of recommended track preparation, which includes things like changing to uprated brake fluid and installing optional accessories from the Ford Racing catalog. I’m sure I will eventually do most of those things to enhance my track driving experience, but Ford claims this car is designed for the track and is track-ready. The whole point of me buying this car is to have something I can drive to the track, drive on the track, and then drive home again, with minimal fuss.

I set the tire pressures to the recommended track settings (41 psi hot) and I set the shocks to their recommended track settings (5, all the way around). Actually, I made Ryan crawl in the trunk to adjust the rears, because I couldn’t see them at all. Except for torquing the lug nuts (and other common sense stuff, like emptying the car), that was my track prep. The one and only thing I was worried about was how the stock brake pads would hold-up. In order to meet standards for low noise and low dust, street pad performance is heavily compromised. On the track, they tend to wear quickly and I personally have run street pads down to the backing plates during a track event. The Boss is a fast, heavy car which should be murder on pads. Interestingly, in the recommended track preparation section of the supplement, pad replacement isn’t mentioned at all! However, there is a very lengthy brake pad burnishing procedure outlined for race track driving. My plan was to follow that procedure and report on the brake performance. Unfortunately, I was not able to do that, so I went on the track with no pad bed-in or burnishing, other than from the normal brake use during my work commute.

I followed Ryan out on to the track, where we took it easy for our first session. Ryan figures he was eventually driving to 80% in the Miata, but the Boss never broke a sweat. Turn-in was good and the car felt planted. The car also felt like it was cornering flat, but photos show that there is still some lean, which is no surprise considering the off-road ride height. I set the steering to Sport Mode, which felt good, but not great. I still want for more steering effort and more road feel. Still, the steering was precise and I could very easily place the car where I wanted it on track.

There are two places on the track that require heavy braking from mid-level speed (~100 mph), so I took it easy on those sections. I engaged ABS a few times, but only for a split-second before releasing. Ryan said he could smell my brakes after coming-in for a water break, but the brakes never gave me any warning signs and certainly no outright failures, such as pads fading or fluid boiling. I should also note that it was about 100 F on this day. I never had any engine cooling issues, though we kept the sessions short (for our own cooling) and engine stress was low.

We took a break and then went-out for another session. We decided to keep the same pace, but with the cars and drivers warmed-up, we actually picked it up a little. For the first two sessions, I kept the AdvanceTrac stability control on. I wanted to see how intrusive it was. Honestly, I never felt it at all. I’m certain it was there (because as soon as I turned it off, I got loose a few times), but it was not abrupt or unsettling in any way.

The second session went much like the first. We ran at a quick, but relaxed pace. I was only using 3rd and 4th gears, so the shifter was a non-issue. Good pedal placement and a lightweight flywheel allowed for really nice heel-toe downshifts. Just as I suspected, the Recaro seats were perfect. The car was very comfortable and very easy to drive. I did notice the weight of the wheels on a long sweeper with undulating pavement. The chassis showed no sign of the live axle boogeyman, but the suspension was having a little trouble trouble coping with the bumpy track. I think lighter track wheels would help with this. We finished our second session and took another break.

After one of the first sessions, we parked at the clubhouse and not wanting to use our parking brakes after coming off the track, we drove our front wheels into some gravel to keep the cars from moving. I didn’t drive-in deeply enough and when I got out of the car, it started to roll backwards. So, Ryan and I got behind the car to push it back into the gravel. I stepped forward and put my leg against the hot tailpipe! Damn it hurt, but I didn’t say anything, because I was embarrassed that my car would bite me, right in front of my friends. How am I going to tame this shrew?

For our third session, I had Ryan drive the Boss. He climbed into the car and said, “You are out of gas.” What? I had only gone out a couple of times! Sure enough, the fuel light was on. Oh God, she has a drinking problem, too. Of course she does. I see now that she is going to drink away all of my money. The computer still showed almost 30 miles, so Ryan drove for a few minutes. Being a member at H2R, Ryan knows the track like the back of his hand, so riding with him always reminds me of the correct lines, instead of the way I hack through the track. After the refresher course, I dropped him off at his car and I went to go get gas.

When I got back, it was my turn to drive Ryan around the track. This time, I turned the AdvanceTrac stability control off and I started to hustle the car a little bit more. I have been a quattro driver for a long time and I’m used to being able to pin the accelerator very early in a corner exit. Well, I didn’t always respect the loud pedal in the Boss during corner exit and the back of the car came out on me a couple of times. It wasn’t too bad and I managed to recover without spinning, but I will need to learn some respect in that area, making sure that I have my wheel pointed straight when I gently roll-on the throttle. Remember, respect this girl or she will bite.

For the last session of the day, my passenger was Bo Rivers, the owner of the track. He was excited about the Boss and it was the first one he had seen and certainly the first on track at H2R. He was impressed with the noise, the acceleration, and the apparent balance. Now, Bo wasn’t wearing a helmet, so I was taking it easy, but when I went through Turn 1, which is a fast, off-camber kink after the front straight, he commented about how fast we had gone through. I was surprised, because I wasn’t even trying. I certainly wouldn’t try to show-off for Bo, who is a much more experienced driver than me. We had gone through at about 85 mph, but he said most cars couldn’t do that, especially on street tires. Inside, I was beaming with pride at the abilities of my new car.

Soon after, Aaron, Ryan, and myself packed it in and went to Milt’s Pit BBQ for the traditional post-H2R lunch.

On Sunday, I took the car to Cars and Coffee, an informal, monthly show-and-shine open to just about every kind of enthusiast car. There are classic hot rods, sports cars, European exotics, and American muscle cars. The event is organized just enough to make it safe and comfortable for everyone. I had never been to one, but since I probably had one of the first few Bosses in Austin, I thought it would be nice to show it off for people to see, especially while it was still nice and new.

When I drove-in, I was directed to an area with other Mustangs. I parked and then caught-up with my friends Andrew, Kang, Shawn, Mike, Michelle, and Mo. Andrew had brought his Cobra and Kang had brought his 911, remarkably, the only one at the show! We walked around a bit and enjoyed the interesting offerings. A live band played and it was a really nice way to spend a Sunday morning, except that it was basically like standing on the surface of Mercury. Even the shade offered very little relief. Cars and Coffee will be a lot more fun this Fall.

Just as I suspected, I had the only Boss 302 and it was getting its fair share of attention. But about an hour later, a black Laguna Seca showed-up! I chatted with the owner and he said that he had only had the car for about two weeks. After a space opened-up, I shuffled my car so that it was next to the LS.

It was a big first week for me and The Boss. We had a short road trip, daily work commutes, a track day, and a show and shine. I continue to adore this car and it is as good as I had hoped. Actually, it’s better. All the things I thought would be good are good, but the few things that I thought would be a concern, were washed away in the visceral joy of driving her. I am especially looking forward to more track time and letting this Mustang run.

Please pin, tweet, and share! Most importantly, let me know what you think in the comments below.