c6 z51 & Trackdays?

[e46m3c]

Hi,

Does anyone regularly track their C6 Z51? How do they cope. Temps, gearboxes, diffs, bushes, power steering etc etc.

Wilwood do a decent cheapish brake upgrade so not too worried about those.

How do people find getting parts both cost and availability wise in the UK?

Getting closer to pulling the trigger for a vette to be my next car.

[e46m3c]

nobody tracks their c6's?

[MrNoisy]

Yes, I do. I told you that on the other thread where you were asking.

I've been tracking my daily driver C6 Z51 for almost six years. As I said, if you want/need anything specific then fire away.....

MN

[chuntington101]

Heard some bad things about wilwood calipers. Might be worth looking at AP or Brembo's solutions instead.

Here is a nice one using AP pro 5000 calipers.

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/autocrossing-a...

[MrNoisy]

Wow that ap set up is v nice! 4x the cost of the Wilwood kit though, what have you heard that puts you off them if you don't mind me asking? I'd have thought the quality will be much less at that price point.

I nearly pulled the trigger on a set of AP brakes which were about 7-8 years vintage before leaving the USA. I still regret not getting them ($2.5k all around) but I was put off as when I contacted ap tech UK they said they couldn't help as they were a US specific kit.

[MrNoisy]

Yes, I do. I told you that on the other thread where you were asking.

I've been tracking my daily driver C6 Z51 for almost six years. As I said, if you want/need anything specific then fire away.....

MN

[e46m3c]

How do they cope with temps? Sufficient radiators or do you have to be a bit cautious with them?

How do you find gettings parts? Lots of advocates for the Vette are cheap maintainence, but id imagine getting the parts in the first place in the UK is the main issue? Do they still work out cheaper than say a 911 to run in the UK?

Have you upgraded any of the rads? water, tranny, ps? How does the diff cope on track?

Do they stuff fuel starvation at any point or even oil starvation? Any additional baffling required?

Any track specific maintainence I should be aware of?

[MrNoisy]

e46m3c said:

How do they cope with temps? Sufficient radiators or do you have to be a bit cautious with them?

How do you find gettings parts? Lots of advocates for the Vette are cheap maintainence, but id imagine getting the parts in the first place in the UK is the main issue? Do they still work out cheaper than say a 911 to run in the UK?

Have you upgraded any of the rads? water, tranny, ps? How does the diff cope on track?

Do they stuff fuel starvation at any point or even oil starvation? Any additional baffling required?

Any track specific maintainence I should be aware of?

Sorry, I don't know why my last double posted? It seems to only happen on this forum! Anyway...

I owned and tracked the car for 4 years in southern Nevada as well as daily driving it. I purchased it with 61k and it is now on 107k. The hottest ambient temp i've seen on a trackday was in the region of 115F which is kin hot. The HPDE events in USA tend to be more structured and you go out in run groups as opposed to open pit. I have never had to come in early from a 30 minute session due to fluid temps and I do monitor them. Mine is still running stock rads but it does have a 160 degree stat. However, this doesn't improve overall cooling but I think delays the onset slightly. There are many aftermarket cooling options available if you found yourself needing them but for normal spirited lapping in sensible sessions I suspect you'll be fine. The events I have done back in the UK have had me not even slightly concerned.

I do ALL my own maintenance. The biggest cow of a job so far was doing the clutch as this involves tearing it down from the rear and working forwards to the clutch. Doing this on axle stands in the garage was a challenge but perfectly possible. Every other job I've done has been a pure joy compared to other cars I've worked on. I service it every 6 months regardless and the oil life indicator rarely gets below 80%. Oil filters are pennies, oil is Mobil 1 fully synth. Air filter is a K and N type CAI which gets a proper clean and oil, kit costs £8 and lasts about 3 years! Tranny and diff gets changed once a year, more if I do a bunch of tracking in a row. Cost = oil. Best tires so far were Hankooks, I just couldn't wear them out, about 25k miles and many trackdays, not the grippiest though but perfectly adequate. Original runcraps were dire, almost dangerous to be honest. Got RE11s on now and they are great but are not lasting at all well!

Getting parts is an utter piece of piss. In the last year I have ordered a MAF sensor, an intermediate steering column and a steering rack bushing. All arrived within 10 days of ordering. MAF was £110 to the door, shaft just over £180 and the bushing was about £20. Always worth adding a couple of common parts to an order to save on shipping. Lot's and lot's of US vendors do this day in day out so understand it well. My fave is currently Cultrag, Gene Culley is a great guy to chat with and you can relax as they are a huge outfit. Lot's of online parts places where you can put your VIN in and get schematics of all the systems with part numbers, very handy. I would recommend a year specific HELM manual, it's what the dealers use and will set you back about $150. Tech 2 clones can be had for £300 ish which by all accounts work very well. Alternatively there are several places in the UK who hold stock of common parts, the one's I have spoken to have been great but I am comfortable ordering direct as I'm familiar with the vendors that way.

Can't comment on the 911 question. Like I say, I do it all myself so I suppose for me it comes down to cost of parts and reliability of. My hunch is that for myself I'd be spending more on a 911. I know some people think Vettes are exotic and probably pay exotic prices for servicing but seriously, it's a pushrod V8 and a very simplistic drivetrain/chassis.

Ref the Diff. If you mean how does it cope with regards to capability then I suppose I would say it is capable, probably less refined than other marques but I find corner exit traction is adequate and I can get on it nice and early. I soon learnt that full nannies is a massive cop out and fun detractor. If I want to be consistently lapping then "competitive driving mode' works well for me, I have not yet felt the need to turn everything off, CDM gives me all the yaw I need with +400 BHP through the back end. If you mean how does it cope strengthwise then it is fine. Dial in another 300 BHP and go drag racing and you may not want the 05 stock diff, for everything else it's fine.

LS2 is a normal sump configuration. My learned Yankee Vette tracking friends suggest full race slicks and coilovers + driving the arse off an LS2 equipped car can possibly lead to oil starvation and kaboom. This is allegedly due to the oil pick up and G's. In fact, Chevy themselves recommend an additional litre of oil over max on the dipstick for track use. This has always served me well and I have had no issues. Later cars got the drysump anyway. It might be an old wives tale, who knows? Dry sump can be retro fitted I believe. Mine burns zero oil in normal day to day use but maybe burns .5 of a litre a day on track, maybe a bit less. I am led to believe this is very good as I think LS' are known for a bit of oil consumption.

Never had fuel starvation issues, in fact (touch wood) it has never ever missed a beat on track at all! After one event I had a slight scraping noise which as I said earlier led me to rebuild the driveshaft/torque tube bearings and joints. As I was in there I replaced the actual shaft with a used one from a Z06 (loads available in the USA as big power builds need BIG shafts!) because it is a slightly larger diameter but a straight swap out. To be truthful all of the components seemed in good condition so I suspect it was just a dried out bearing or similar. Whilst in there it was worth making everything fresh if you get me?

I don't think you'll need any specific track maintenance? Just the regular routine anybody with a weekend or two under their belts would do. Bleed the brakes, grease up the pads, change oils as needed/desired.

I mentioned the only real downside before - the seats are absolutely dreadful for track use and you will spend more time holding yourself in than having fun. I have a set of corbeaus in mine now with a harness bar and full 6 pointers. These allow the use of the original belt for the road but totally transform the trackability of the car. If you do any kind of lapping as opposed to 'parade lapping' then you will want to swap them out sharpish!

HTH, anything else just ask.

[e46m3c]

Thanks very much this information is great. Exactly what i was after and exactly what i wanted to hear.

Hopefully my next post will be a picture of a new best