Stock ’N Roll
Justin Jordan’s stock-motor 2014 GT runs mid-eights with Hellion turbos
By Steve Turner
Photos by Steve Turner and courtesy of Justin Jordan
Modern Mustangs are amazing creatures. Even right off the dealer lot they deliver performance that their predecessors could only hope for in modified form. Of course, for many of these cars, modifications are immediately part of the plan. However, many people make it a point of pride to see just how far they can push the stock hardware before revamping what the Flat Rock Assembly plant gave to them.
One such horsepower hero is SVTP member, Justin Jordan. He currently holds the ephemeral Internet record for the quickest 2011-2014 Mustang GT with a stock engine. Yes, from throttle body to oil pan, Justin’s Coyote 5.0-liter is as-delivered from Ford, and thanks to the addition of a Hellion Power Systems Eliminator twin-turbo kit, and the subtraction of some weight, Justin was able to click off an astounding mid-8-second e.t.
This car’s mods actually started out on another Coyote-powered Mustang, but after a wreck, that gear was transferred to a new ride.
“I had 2013 stick-shift Grabber Blue Mustang. I was trying to go 9.90s with that one. Went 10.1 with that one,†Justin explained. “I ended up getting this white one. Took everything off the blue car, and swapped it over to the white one…â€
In this day and age, Justin went into the new project with relatively modest goals. You know, just a little mid-9-second street car—affectionately known as Snow WhiTTe. However, even he underestimated the efficacy of the two Hellion turbos that account for the two Ts in the car’s moniker.
“The goal was to originally just go 9.50s on the stock motor. Ended up hitting that goal a little more easily than I thought I would, so I set the bar a little higher. It went 9.50s on eight pounds. At that time Larry (Barringers) had the record with his On3 turbo car at 9.3, so I turned it up a little bit. At the time I was grudge racing, so I didn’t tell anyone, but I actually broke Larry’s record a few months ago, going a 9.32 on 10 pounds.â€
While he was a pioneer on the down low, someone else came along and publicly broke the record, which encouraged Justin to push his combo a little harder.
“…I just kept kinda plugging away trying to go faster. I turned up the boost a little bit. Ken Bjonnes actually broke Larry’s record going a 9.25, and I wanted to break Ken’s record. I ended up going a 9.12 on 11.5 pounds. Again I was grudge racing at the time, so I didn’t post up or talk about it.â€
Eventually, when a grudge-racing opponent broke before a race, Justin thought better of pushing the stock-motor combo in such a high-risk arena. He decided to have a public coming-out party at his local drag strip—Bradenton Motorsports Park.
“When NMRA was coming up last month, I decided if there was ever a time to show what the car can do, I figured that would be a good spot,†Justin said. “At that time, I had already gone a 9.12 on 11 and half pounds, so for NMRA I just left it the same and it went a 9.13, which was officially the new record.â€
Yet, even though he put the S197 world on notice at the NMRA season opener, Justin couldn’t remain content, as there was another car that was a bit quicker. It featured a stock engine in a lighter New Edge chassis.
“So, I had the ’11-’14 stock-motor record. The previous stock-motor, regardless-of-chassis record was 8.95 by Ronnie (Reynolds), so I wanted to try and get that record, or a least go an 8.99 and have the only 8-second ’11-’14 S197 stock-motor car. I actually surprised myself with it going the 8.6 that it did, because that wasn’t the goal. The goal was actually just to go eights.â€
He did so at a private test session at Bradenton Motorsports Park. However, since his stealthy street machine lacks a roll cage, he would really only have one opportunity to etch his name in the record books. Fortunately, the fates were with him and everything came together. He ripped off the stock Coyote pass heard ’round the world.
“…I got one pass last week and I had the boost turned up to about 14 pounds. We had good air and good weather and the track hooked. It went the 8.6 at 156 miles per hour.â€
You can watch his epic run right here…
An e.t. like that requires a carefully developed combination. Justin told us that running that quickly is all in the first 330 feet, so he worked really hard dialing in the suspension. With help from his friends at BMR Suspension, he basically equipped his car with “the whole catalog,†including a prototype rear anti-roll bar designed around his combo. It obviously works.
As impressive as the car’s performance is the fact that Justin tuned the E85-burning combination himself.
“Years ago, I had a 2008 Corvette and paid for a tune from a local LS tuner. I wasn’t happy with the quality of tune I received so I made the decision to buy the HP Tuners software and tune it myself. I made the purchase and reached out to a local trusted friend who helped teach me the basics of how to tune the car. I had a good understanding of the operation of an internal combustion engine and bought instructional books and videos from Greg Banish (well-known GM tuner), which really drove home the key points,†Justin explained.
When he moved to a Coyote-powered Mustang, Justin learned other tuning software so he could tune his new car. After ample testing, he learned what Coyotes like, and he was finally able to apply it with his preferred tuning software.
“Once I got the turbo kit for the 2013 stick-shift car, HP Tuners had just been released so I reached out to Eric Brooks who helped me get the car up and running on their software. I made a bunch of tweaks and refined the car to my liking,†Justin added. “When I got the 2014 auto car, I took what I learned from all of my previous experiences and applied it to get the car where it’s at today. All of the tuning was done on the street and the track with each change data-logged and analyzed to determine what worked well and what didn’t. To date, the car has run about 150 drag-strip passes with about 70 of them at a 9-second e.t. or better.â€
Now, Justin is at a crossroads. He knows the stock engine is on borrowed time, and he would also like to return to the racetrack in good standing. So, the time has come to work toward a built motor and adding the proper safety equipment to take this project to the next level. We can’t wait to see where the car goes from here.
The Mod List
Powertrain
Block: Stock
Crankshaft: Stock
Rods: Stock
Pistons: Stock
Camshafts: Stock
Cylinder Heads: Stock
Intake: Stock
Power Adder: Hellion Power Systems Eliminator twin-turbo system w/ Precision 6266 V-band turbos
Fuel System: Fore Innovations return-style fuel system w/ Dual Walbro 465-lph pumps, Fore fuel rails, a Fore regulator and Injector Dynamics ID1000 fuel injectors injectors
Exhaust: Hellion Power Systems
Transmission: Stock 6R80 automatic w/ Circle D torque converter and one-piece aluminum driveshaft
Rearend: Stock 8.8-inch w/ welded axle tubes and an Eaton TrueTrac differential
Electronics
Engine Management: Stock Copperhead PCM w/ custom tune by Justin Jordan via HP Tuners
Ignition: Stock
Gauges: Stock w/ AEM Failsafe wideband air/fuel gauge
Front Suspension
K-member: BMR Suspension tubular
A-arms: Stock
Struts: Strange Engineering adjustable
Springs: BMR Suspension
Brakes: Aerospace Components lightweight
Wheels: 15×4-inch SVE (drag)
Tires: Mickey Thompson ET front (drag)
Rear Suspension
Shocks: Viking double-adjustable
Springs: BMR Suspension
Control Arms: BMR Suspension upper and lower
Brakes: Stock
Wheels: 15×10-inch SVE (drag)
Tires: Mickey Thompson Pro drag radials (drag)
2 thoughts on “Feature: Quickest Stock Coyote”