Hristofors Time Attack Mustang GT

Long time Steeda customer Hristofor purchased his 2017 Mustang GT in 2019, in stunning Grabber Blue, and after a few months settling in with the car he took it to the track for the first time and entered a local Time Attack style competition at Bulgaria's only track, Dracon, and finishing with a lap time of 1:19.43, he finished 12th in class.

We love to see someone getting stuck in on track straight away to find out what both he and his car were capable. At the time, both Hristofor and his car were "stock" and he quickly realised that not only could the car improve but he could too. A very wise and effective realisation! 

He start working with local coaches and in September was his first class win and 5th overall on the Ford Fest organised by the track 1:15.498....the car though was still stock and on OEM Pirelli PZero tires. 

In November Hristofor did an event on Serres in Greece where he achieved a lap of 1:39.012. After that event he started working with Steeda & Kenny Brown and he developed a plan for the car. 

After he felt he had a feel for the base car, and some improved driver capacity following some coaching, which is something we HIGHLY recommend for anyone wanting to get out on track, Hristofor decided that the car could start it's upgrade programme. 

In 2020 he started with a Steeda Oil Separator to help protect the engine from hard track use, a Ford performance Strut Tower brace, for a little extra front stiffness and control, and upgraded to 275/35/19 Zestino 07RS 140TW tires on the OEM PP1 wheels and lap times dropped to 1:12.7 at Dracon. So already 7 seconds a lap quicker from his initial effort! 

He then added Steeda Front Anti Roll Bar and Steeda Camber Plates and posted a time of 1:38.0 in Serres, Greece. 

In September he worked with the Bulgarian Pro Driver Pavel Lefterov (Nurburgring 24 class winner currently running in SuperTrofeo Cup - Pavel Lefterov (@pavel_lefterov) • Instagram photos and videos ) to show him what the car can do. Lefterov did 1:08 with the car while Hristofor did 1:12.564 but this helped him improve a lot for that season and Hristofor hit a PB of 1:09.774 at Dracon later that Season, thanks to what he had learned from Pavel. Coaching really does make a BIG difference to your driving! 

Hristofor:

"Steeda Camber Plates is by far my favourite upgrade for the car not only they help with front end grip during cornering but they actually extend my tire life by a lot. They work great with both the OEM suspension as well as the Ohlins Coilovers and getting up to -3.4 degrees of camber with them allows me enough adjustability to have a great setup for the track as well as different setup for the street. This was a mod that allowed me to run the same tires for over 200 laps and 2 seasons."

"The Steeda Front Swaybar helped the car with roll in corners allowing the front to both turn quicker and be more settled into long fast corners. The Steeda front bar has the highest bar rates than any bar on the market which was the reason to chose it and with it's adjustability allowed me to have the roll dialled in perfectly to my liking and with the spread in rates between the different adjustment points you can feel every change. This also transformed the car on the street making the front end much more predictable."

In 2021 The mod list extended with Gloc R10/R8 brake pads, Kenny Brown Jacking Rails, Goodridge Brake Lines, K&N Air Filter and a set of Zestino 07R 240TW tires.

In May 2021 the Ford Mustang Club of Bulgaria organised an All American Cars event on Dracon with over 7000 cars in the show area as well as a 18 or so cars in the time attack event, and with a time of 1:10.974 Hristofor managed his first overall win!  Later in 2021 at the Ford Fest show he managed to double his tally of overall wins, taking the day with a 1:10.319! Very consistent! 

Now he was a winner, the bug had really bitten and 2022 saw things take a big step forward in the mods with a new list of upgrades: Apex SM-10 ET26/52 19x11 wheels with 305/30/19 Nankang AR-1 tires, Ohlins R&T Coilovers (514/800 lbs) springs 1" drop. 

Serres track in Greece had been resurfaced and renovation in 2021 and in June 2022 Hristofor took to the new track to give it a test as well as check out his new mods and posted up a 1:31.870 making him the fastest Mustang to ever lap the Serres racing circuit according to Fastestlaps.com.... again 8 seconds better than his initial 1:39! 

In September he took part in the Dracon Speed Cup Round 3 a  Time attack championship organised by the track. Out if 82 cars entered, Hristofor finished a respectable 13th overall and 4th in class with a lap time of 1:07.938.  He regarded this as a test of the new setup at Dracon to get ready for Ford Fest... After all he was defending champ there! 

In September 2022 Ford Fest came around again, and Hristofor successfully defended his title with a time of 1:07.566 .

In 2023 Hristofor changed front brake pads to R12s and added the Steeda IRS Base Pack. The switch to Coilovers had actually highlighted to him how much the rear subframe moves in transitions so he decided to install the base kit as the Kenny Brown Jacking rails are full length so the Steeda IRS Braces will not fit with them. (Unlike the Steeda Jacking Rails which work perfectly with the Steeda IRS Braces!)

March.2023 was the First Round of Dracon Speed Cup so Hristofor decided to participate. He finished 11th overall out of 73th cars with a lap time of 1:06.565 putting him 3rd in class his first podium in Dracon Cup!

Hristofor was shocked how much difference the Steeda IRS Base Kit made:

"If there is a Must do Steeda mod no matter the car this is it ! Not only it lowered my lap times by 1 second on it's own but actually made the rear way more predictable and connecting. Once I felt the weight transfer from the rear subframe during transitions I knew I need to install the Steeda IRS Base Pack. Ones installed the subframe stopped moving during transitions allowing me to carry much more speed and get on the gas early. This is what a great engineering is." 

Well, we agree Hristofor, we agree! 

A friend of Hristofor then bought a Porsche Cayman 4.0 GTS and they decided to test them on track in May. Hristofor was able to run 1:06.390 (for a PB on Dracon) and the Porsche only did 1:06.650. So that actually made Hristofor's Mustang GT faster that day than a Cayman GTS .."it's amazing how much the Steeda suspension parts can transform a car!"

After that event the front Brembo brake callipers started leaking around the bleeding valves so the next few months were spent rebuilding most of the braking system. It shows that Dracon is a really brake intensive track and also meant Hristofor missed round 2 of the Dracon Speed Cup.

The last event of 2023 was Ford Fest where Hristofor claimed his "threepeat" with a time of 1:06.944 which he attributes to the tyres beginning to show a seasons wear.

2024 saw more upgrades join the party, with Ford Performance Power Pack 3, ( GT350 manifold, intake, throttle body and a tune to match) Steeda Adjustable Toe-Links, Ford Performance Toe-Link-to-Knuckle Bearing, Vorshlag Brake Cooling Deflectors and a set of new 295/35/19 Yokohama A052 tires. The goal for the car was to break through the 1:06 barrier....

March saw the 1st round of the Dracon Speed Cup, with Hristofor staying on the old set of AR-1s to see what the top speeds were looking like due to the new power pack. He spotted that peak went from 182.7 up to 191.6 kph. He finished 12th out of 78 with a lap of 1:06.825 .

He also visited Serres in Greece with his friend with the Porsche Cayman GTS, who was also running brand new Yokohama AO52 tyres.

"I manage to do a best lap of 1:30.528 with the Mustang. He did 1:28.9 with the Cayman. However my friend wanted to do a lap with the Mustang and manage to extract 1:29.84 out of it (Making him the fastest driver of a Mustang on Serres!)....

On the longer and Faster track the Cayman had an advantage but 1 second with the same driver is within striking distance. In that event I had 2 issues with the car:

1. I was missing shifts between 3rd and 4th on the straight because the shift is on a kink (Clutch is Exedy ProKit flywheel and all other MT82 components are the same and I use Motul DCTF).
2. The car was consuming oil 0.5 litters for 50 laps but Serres is clockwise and a fast track that I spend most of the time in 3rd gear hitting rev limiters at 158 km/h."

As every good competition driver should know, you must have a well prepared and convincing set of driver excuses ready (We joke Hristofor!)

Round 2 of the Dracon Speed Cup saw Hristofor finish 9th out of 67 cars with a 1:06.788 and 2nd in class.

I will leave the summary to Hristofor, who is already planning some new mods and upgrades with us...

"I was not able to went to 1:05 before the track closed for renovation in June. I'm currently sitting 2nd in Class in Dracon Speed Cup so I hope to be able to get that Championship podium if and when the track reopen it will be a longer track though 2.9 km's instead of the old 2 km's layout which mean that I might never see lap times in the 1:05 range with my car.

For 5 seasons I have over 761 laps and over 53 000 km's on the Mustang and my lap times improved from 1:19.4 all the way down to 1:06.3 I think that just proves how the Steeda parts actually help improve lap times and how vital Steeda Europe is for my project. 

I love working with Steeda on new mods for my Mustang. Having a great brand as Steeda with a shop in Europe is a huge deal for me. For the past 4 years the EU shop was a huge help in getting the parts I need for the build. As well as always helpful with suggesting the next budget friendly upgrades for the car. Robbie is doing a great job in promoting the brand and helping the customers to make the right decisions for the builds. Thank you Steeda for your EU shop and don't forget Speed Matters!"

We couldn't agree more and we can't wait to see those wins keep coming! Hristofor certainly know. Speed Matters! 

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