The Force is Strong"R" With This One

[50 Deep]

Finally got this S550 Carbon GT350 hood vent on. Inspired by the 13/14 GT500. Took a little work but the end result looks good. Its all 3M double sided so I used adhesion promoter and left some weight on the vent after install to ensure adhesion. You have to bend the stock hood bracket that the OEM vent attaches too. It can be done by hand and returned to stock if you take it off. I noticed there needed to be a little extra clearance where the vent meets the top hose of the coolant expansion tank. Once I filed that down a bit it was good. As always I recommend you get an exposed CF treated to ceramic coating to ensure it has a long healthy life without haze or yellowing.

 

[biminiLX]

Another pic of the hood vent please?
I'm in love with this color combo and really need to restrain myself from leaving the Hellcat for a base GT350 with Hellion TT and some of these upgrades.
Who needs 4 doors anyway? That's why why she has a minivan
-J

 

[50 Deep]

Sneak peek of things to come

 

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Some additional upcoming projects....

 

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Sad news. Installed my new custom engraved tank only to discover I can't use the tank as it interferes with the passenger FP oil seperator. would need to run one of the other brands that mounts off to the side, or none at all. If anyone is interested in the tank I will sell it for $280 Shipped. One small blemish from the powder coater near the snakes mouth.

 

[Blu50Stang]

How bad is the interference? Can you relocate the oil separator and reroute the hoses?

 

[50 Deep]

How bad is the interference? Can you relocate the oil separator and reroute the hoses?

I just ordered some hoses to relocate the seperator. I should have some data to share in a few days

 

[50 Deep]

Still pushing boundaries thanks to Positive G Motorworks, @skylane67 at ZL1 Addons, and Signature Wheels. Cant wait to do shots of the full setup.

 

[Kav1]

Car looks amazing.

How did you mount your plate? Did you order two of the ZL1 tow hook brackets?

Any chance you have a write up on the tow hook installation?

 

[50 Deep]

Car looks amazing.

How did you mount your plate? Did you order two of the ZL1 tow hook brackets?

Any chance you have a write up on the tow hook installation?

This one is actually from Craig's customs brackets. Super easy install with 3M double sided tape. The ZL1 piece is also a good option if you plan to run the tow hook

 

[50 Deep]

Finally got my custom engraved True Forged Coolant expansion tank installed. I was pretty bummed when I found it wouldn't work with the passenger side Ford Performance Oil Seperator. Luckily I stumbled upon a relocation kit offered by UPR products. It's made to relocate their Oil Seperator to the passenger strut tower, and not the FP model. Luckily I confirmed the connections were the same and figured I could make the bracket work. Sure enough it did. Took a little modification, but $60 later and I have everything I wanted. If anyone is running the FP setup and the True Forged tank this is the way to go. Hit them up to order yours. This tank looks way better than the OEM setup. Thanks again @Steve@TF

 

[Zemedici]

Looks great buddy. Bravo on the car, you're doing a fantastic job with it.

 

[CO Mack]

Hmm. Good Intel. I have the FP separators coming (messed up by Harvey).

 

[biminiLX]

Pretty cars but ugly motors.
Keep updates coming.
Power mods?
-J

 

[50 Deep]

Looks great buddy. Bravo on the car, you're doing a fantastic job with it.

Thanks Z. Little by little

Hmm. Good Intel. I have the FP separators coming (messed up by Harvey).

Harvey is jacking up a lot of crap

Pretty cars but ugly motors.
Keep updates coming.
Power mods?
-J

I've thought about it, but after driving on track I need to master the car at its current level before adding anymore. Plus I want to ride out this warranty as long as possible. Did you decide to turbo or supercharge yours?

 

[50 Deep]

Full thread with pics and info on the Signature wheels once they are all edited.

 

[50 Deep]

Background

Let me start by saying the entire experience with the GT350R has been amazing thus far. It was the car I always wanted, and it literally fell into my lap after giving up on searching. I will give a quick story on how I got the car, and then onto the pictures since that is really what you are here for anyway. Some may remember my white 2016 GT350 I was building. It was a car that I really got to put my personal touches on. In hindsight that build was rather divisive for some, but inspirational for others. I still have forum members that won't even comment on my posts or throw a like, but I consider it par for the course.

I haven't been one to embrace social media much. However, wanted to stay current on the trends and share my build with the community. Made the decision to get onto Instagram and that platform really changed things for me. Through my photography efforts and fielding of questions I was able to meet a lot of really cool people, and build some good relationships with vendors. Both the wheels and the R were products of people I met there.

I was randomly contacted by a GT350R owner asking about my @MGW Shifter. We got to talking over the months and I inquired about where he bought his car, and to my surprise I found out he got it at MSRP. I was graciously put into contact with his salesperson and a few months later I got a call asking how I wanted to spec my GT350R, and confirmed it was an MSRP deal. I put my car up for sale, it went to a happy new owner, and the rest was history. I owe Sam a lot. Thanks Bro!

After months of waiting to bring the car home I knew I wanted to drive it as much as possible. I have garage kept cars before and it is such a waste. California is blessed with great roads and weather, plus life is short. No need to keep such an exhilarating car hidden away. With that in mind I knew driving around on the R compound Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires was a waste on the street. They cause heart palpitations when driven in the cold or wet. Plus, I didn’t want to risk damage from the mount/dismount process of those tires on the carbon fiber wheels. I have never had a set of tires dismounted that didn’t leave some level of scratches/scuffs on the wheel. So, let me introduce you to Signature Wheels

I met with a great gentleman by the name of Ashley of Positive G Motorworks that was a retailer for Signature Wheels. After speaking with him for a while and reviewing wheel profiles I settled on a set for my first GT350. For the R I knew I wanted to try something different. I was told about one of their new profiles the SV108. I saw some renderings of the wheel and honestly, I had apprehension about a directional wheel. That was never really my taste, and I had not seen it done correctly on a lot of cars. Once I got the wheels mounted on the car.... everything changed.....

 

[50 Deep]

Signature Wheels SV108

Specs:
-Signature Wheels SV108
-GT350R Specifications
-Front 19x11 – 23 lbs - 305/30/19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport
-Rear 19x11.5 - 22lbs - 325/30/19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport

The SV108 is a forged aluminum mono-block design. The front wheels come in at 23lbs, and the rear 22lbs. Fronts are slightly heavier for the material needed to clear the front brakes. These wheels have greater brake caliper clearance than the OEM GT350 and GT350R wheel and are made to the OEM specifications. The wheels even took less weight to balance than the OEM carbon fiber wheels. Impressive....The company took the care to ensure the wheels are engineered to rotate the same way on both sides of the car. I was shown a picture of a wheel made by ADV.1 that had the wheels spinning a different direction on each side of the car.

The driver side of the car is finished in a brushed tinted bronze, and the passenger a brushed triple black clear. The color gives the wheels a lot of depth and they react different under changing lighting. Very similar to the paint. The most common experience I get is the double take as people walk from one side of the car to the other. Followed by the question, why? Simply put you can never see both sides of the car at the same time, and its an excellent way to get two looks out of one set of wheels.

In any case I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and seeing something you have not seen before. @PositiveGMotorworks has invited me to attend SEMA! I cant think of much more I want or need to do to this car, but I look forward to what the future holds.

Photos were taken by me at Thunder Hill Raceway with a Nikon D3300. Editing was done in collaboration with @Tob / @Epiphany and @Zemedici . Thanks again for your help :cheers:

 

[50 Deep]

Today ended up being pretty cool. Had the opportunity to ask a favor of a new acquaintance of mine. Thought it would be cool to get the car on my old college campus at California State University Sacramento for some photos. I went out with Todd from GP36 Media and he snapped a couple images while we scouted some other locations for photos. Looks like I can get access to some pretty exclusive places that will provide some great imagery. I snapped a few pics while he was working. Will share his images once he gets to them.

After my last photoshoot at Thunder Hill Raceway I was contacted by a company named DCT Motor Sports. They are looking to bring a new steering wheel for the S550 Mustang to market and asked me to try it out. I had not felt the need to upgrade from the GT350R wheel, but when I saw their product I was intrigued. Even more pleased when I actually got it in my hands. The stitching, quality of the leather, and weave on the carbon fiber is VERY good.

Of note were the impressions in the top of the steering wheels for your fingers to grip.

The only real knock I can make on the OEM wheel is that the Alcantara (or whatever it is) will eventually get messed up if you have sweaty hands, let your kids touch on it, get dirt on the material, or constantly let the wheel slide through your hands after turning. I think a few here have discussed the option of a full leather wheel. I basically resigned myself to wearing driving gloves all the time to save the material, but sometimes that is a bit of a hassle. Being that guy who pulls up to the cars and coffee with the racing gloves on is a bit much at times.

This is looking like an attractive option. Once I get it installed I will take pictures side by side of the OEM wheel to check for any differences in size, and will provide impressions after driving.

 

[CO Mack]

Driving gloves for the Alcantara, heh. You're the guys whose car I want to buy