The weather was perfect, the track was fast and so, as it turns out, was the CSR-69. I was not at my best so I enlisted the services of a couple of experienced drivers to perform testing duties for me. Paul Brown, noted professional Mustang racer (and yes, my son) and Terry Lingner, noted TV producer and accomplished semi-pro racer who has competed in the Rolex-24 and at Le Mans.

With the Kenny Brown GT4 running flawlessly, there wasn’t much for the
Speedworks crew to do – “Anybody bring the news paper?”

We partnered with the Speedworks folks for the test day and support services and I consulted with them on their car set-up for their Mustang Challenge race cars. As far as set-up for the GT4 test, we have a lot of testing data for Mustangs at Putnam Park, so I extrapolated past history and test data to come up with what I thought was a good starting point.

Terry Lingner was first out, my instructions were to do a couple of shake down laps then if it felt OK to start pressing it to point where the handling started to go off; then come into the pits where we would do tire temps and pressures then make adjustments. The laps clicked off and Terry kept going quicker and quicker until the checker. He pulled in and I asked why he stayed out and he said it never went off and just kept getting better.

The lads from Speedworks worked round the car quickly recording tire temps and pressures. Upon review I saw why Terry didn’t come in, the temps and pressures looked surprisingly good. A small pressure adjustment on the two front tires and the CSR-69 and it was ready for the next session. Paul was busy driving the Speedworks Mustang helping work on their customer race set-up so Terry was out again.

Second session more of the same, Terry kept going quicker and quicker and so went the rest of the morning. At lunch, reviewing the morning’s results we added .4 degrees negative camber to the left front, made one more small pressure adjustment, gassed her up and she was ready to go.

Last minute instructions before Paul Brown heads out.

Now, it was Paul’s turn in the CSR-69. Within a couple of laps, to my surprise he was turning lap times comparable to the Speedworks Miller Mustang race cars. He was flying. For comparison, the NASA American Iron lap record at Putnam is 1:17.3. Paul was cranking out consistent 1:20.4 – 1:20.8 laps in the CSR-69 (with the GT4 suspension). Considering that the CSR-69 was on max-performance street tires, is either 800# heavier or 95+ hp short (depending how you figure it) of an American Iron Mustang on race tires – this is pretty impressive stuff no matter how you look at it.

Paul’s initial comment after driving the CSR-69 with the GT4 suspension –“It was so easy to drive, I almost felt like I could pop-in a CD put my left arm out the window and drive with one hand - It’s that good.”

The tire temperatures and pressures along with the drivers’ comments showed it was all working perfectly; the next Generation of the Mustang AGS systems was a success right out of the box and ready for production. The GT4 suspension and CSR-GT4 will be released this winter as 2009 products and as of this writing, fixtures are being made and parts being built.

But Don’t Take My Word for it. Here are Two Professional Drivers
Who Have Tested the Kenny Brown CSR GT4 Suspension.

“I think without a doubt your car is the best strut Mustang I have ever driven. Precision race car feel with a civilized quality for the street. To bad it doesn't have a full cage, I'd talk you into taking it to Ohio.” (To the NASA Nationals)
Paul Brown, World Challenge Competitor

“What a pleasure to drive the GT4. … The ones (Mustangs) I have driven didn't feel as nice as your car. It was very predicable and easy to settle down as I was trying to catch up to the car's capabilities. Well done, great track customer ride!”
Terry Lingner, Rolex 24 and 24 Le Mans Driver