almost there...holy crap! (journey into road racing)

[BlackonBlack89]

Im finally almost there. Always loved this and when I learned about road racing and autocrossing (Basically from this forum) I knew this is what I wanted to do. Anyways Im finally pretty much there and able too. I cant wait for the season. So much so Im planning and registered to hit opening hpde/track day at VIR in febuary. The tracks up here dont open till the end of march so I gotta go to where the weather will let me go:sun: I swear....Im not impatient

I kinda jumped into this knowing this is wat I wanted; so I jumped in prepared and with wat I wanted. U already know the car. Its the reason why I went with it, I wanted it for this. best bang for ur buck. Gonna take a long time to surpass this cars capaiblity. Also in the fall/winter I have prepared big blue for towing. (hitch, brake controller, maint.) Finally couple weeks ago picked up a used open car trailer! This is big, finally Im close and this is a huge piece of mind for me. need to fix the damn lights on it sunday, its always sutin!!!!


Anyways ive been preparing the car the best I can this winter. Holy crap........ I piled up my fluids and "expendables" for this and wat I need to do before febaury 18/19. All I Can say is WHY DO I HAVE TO PICK THE EXPENSIVE HOBBIES!!!!! Holy shit!! Lol Still need a few small thing but after this it should be good for a year of hpde's. hope to do 1 a month and autocross's in between

This is pretty much just fluid prep and pads/rotors. Ordering 8 bottles of motul 600 tonight so add that into the pic. Tires are not shown dont even want to think about that.



SHOFORUM....I partially blame all of you. espically the racers for posting vids and pics. Also have to thank this place. I've read alot and just reading about other people tracking cars u learn alot. So....Thank you shoforum....thanks for spending a ton of money

 

[RonPorter]

Good start!!

The Motul is way overkill, though, especially considering the price. For regular track sessions, Valvoline Synth or ATE will do you fine. If you boil those, you ain't doin' it right!!

 

[SHOtime2511]

What tires are you going with?

 

[Jonny Cash]

Its addicting to the point, if you have an addictive personality.. dangerous..

So whats the plan/what club are you driving with? whats going to be full race, z06, or sho?

 

[BlackonBlack89]

Good start!!

The Motul is way overkill, though, especially considering the price. For regular track sessions, Valvoline Synth or ATE will do you fine. If you boil those, you ain't doin' it right!!

I went with motul based on that most of the vette guys go with it. however from wat i've read the stock z06 are plenty good but are a weak point in stock forum. Heat is the problem. I went with good fluid, cooling ducts and ti shims to combat this. I know in the beginning it wont matter but i like to think in the future Ill be getting those puppies hot! money may force me to use a cheaper fluid 15 bucks for 500ml is not cheap!

What tires are you going with?

I have a spare 17/18" set of r6 scrubs. However for my first event or 2 Im gonna use my street tires. Gonna go with 18's all around (295) with my toyo T1-R. I dont wanna b/c replacing street tires is not cheap. But learning on slicks is not exactly good from wat I've read. After my r6 set is gone gonna run r6 or a6 scrubs on my 4 18's (295) I like the idea of being able to rotate my tires ( saves a lil bit money)

Its addicting to the point, if you have an addictive personality.. dangerous..

So whats the plan/what club are you driving with? whats going to be full race, z06, or sho?

The Z Not full race yet I wish.

The plan. This is the part i have no expirence and dont really know anyone in any clubs. However I just registered with nasa. had to for their hpde. Im gonna stick with hpde around here (njmp, pocono, glen, summit) and make trips to vir once in a while. Id like to think in a few years I wanna do Time Trials. For now hpde and autcrosses. Money controls all this though. haha

 

[Sho Amo]

What about an accusump or oil pan baffle? Have you heard about the oil starvation issues?

I had a lead on an ls1 t56 but I got snaked on it Im getting close though.

 

[BlackonBlack89]

I heard bout accusump and like the idea but didnt read too much about oil starvation being a problem.( atleast on CF) When its being raced i run 7.5 qts instead of 6.5, thats all i can do.

Oil cooling is huge with the ls1/6. Its pretty much a definite and I will be doing that before the heat gets here. A blown ls6 is the last thing I need.

 

[Jonny Cash]

I went with motul based on that most of the vette guys go with it. however from wat i've read the stock z06 are plenty good but are a weak point in stock forum. Heat is the problem. I went with good fluid, cooling ducts and ti shims to combat this. I know in the beginning it wont matter but i like to think in the future Ill be getting those puppies hot! money may force me to use a cheaper fluid 15 bucks for 500ml is not cheap!



I have a spare 17/18" set of r6 scrubs. However for my first event or 2 Im gonna use my street tires. Gonna go with 18's all around (295) with my toyo T1-R. I dont wanna b/c replacing street tires is not cheap. But learning on slicks is not exactly good from wat I've read. After my r6 set is gone gonna run r6 or a6 scrubs on my 4 18's (295) I like the idea of being able to rotate my tires ( saves a lil bit money)



The Z Not full race yet I wish.

The plan. This is the part i have no expirence and dont really know anyone in any clubs. However I just registered with nasa. had to for their hpde. Im gonna stick with hpde around here (njmp, pocono, glen, summit) and make trips to vir once in a while. Id like to think in a few years I wanna do Time Trials. For now hpde and autcrosses. Money controls all this though. haha

Well after your first few track days you'll get a feel for which direction you want the car to go.

Ive learned alot, and my perspective of car modification has changed so much ever since the track bug bit. I spent so much time and effort into my e30 putting this fancy m3 motor and suspension into it.. for what? now i realize all i want to do is race, and all that crap so unecessary. So now in the process of selling it all off to build a spec car.
either way just being out there is so much fun.. track days= crack.

 

[Jonny Cash]

When its being raced i run 7.5 qts instead of 6.5, thats all i can do.

http://www.crank-scrapers.com/Chevrolet.html

I run an IJ scraper on both my cars, great product.

 

[Sho Amo]

Im going with Improved Racings oil pan baffle. I have heard if you arent racing it, then an accusump isnt as necessary. Ill be using an oil cooler and gauge as well.

 

[Shoaz]

Sounds like you've got a reasonable plan and I'll reinforce your decisions to:

1. Start on street tires. DON'T be in a hurry to go to r-comps. Consider getting a set of sticky street tires (RS3, Star Spec, whatever) after you wear out the current tires. It takes a while to get to where you can benefit from r-comps without them hurting your learning curve.

2. Do the NASA DE ladder. IMHO this is the best way to develop as a driver short of spending the big bucks on a real racing school. Don't rush yourself, be patient and just have fun. Patience is very important in racing, believe it or not.

3. Use a decent brake fluid. I'm still a fan of Castrol SRF even though it's muy expensive. Motul is not a bad choice. It'll still absorb water, though, so be prepared to change it out now and then.

In NASA no matter where you are there will likely be other Corvettes, especially in Time Trials and PTA/S2. Make friends with those guys, but don't be in a rush to mod your car. A Z06 is VERY competitive in TT in stock form.

And in case I didn't mention it, don't be in a rush. The DE ladder is fun to progress through. Find out if your region has a Time Attack program, as that's a really good way to get into competition. Cars are spaced to eliminate (or at least minimize) the need to pass anyone, and, at least in our region, you can compete in TA once you get in DE3. In AZ we encourage TA experience and look for reasonable (i.e., non-awful) results in TA before extending an invitation to TT.

The main things are to be safe and have fun. DE1 should give you the basics for keeping yourself safe, and the fun sould come pretty easily.

Oh, and take your time.

 

[rooster]

Now all you need is a diesel and a nice trailer

 

[BlackonBlack89]

Yes VIR is amazing. Super fun course with lots of technical turns. The snake can bite and turn 16, iirc, is a pita! Last session at 3. woot. Tommorow gonna suck be cold and wet. Boo its sj nice today

 

[thebigjimsho]

I heard bout accusump and like the idea but didnt read too much about oil starvation being a problem.( atleast on CF) When its being raced i run 7.5 qts instead of 6.5, thats all i can do.

Oil cooling is huge with the ls1/6. Its pretty much a definite and I will be doing that before the heat gets here. A blown ls6 is the last thing I need.

I know where you can get a spare... :swing:

 

[thebigjimsho]

I heard bout accusump and like the idea but didnt read too much about oil starvation being a problem.( atleast on CF) When its being raced i run 7.5 qts instead of 6.5, thats all i can do.

Oil cooling is huge with the ls1/6. Its pretty much a definite and I will be doing that before the heat gets here. A blown ls6 is the last thing I need.

Yep, LS engines like that extra quart...

 

[thebigjimsho]

Yes VIR is amazing. Super fun course with lots of technical turns. The snake can bite and turn 16, iirc, is a pita! Last session at 3. woot. Tommorow gonna suck be cold and wet. Boo its sj nice today

VIR is still my favorite and will probably always will be.

As for brakes, I'd stay with Motul as it's an excellent fluid and should get you through a full year of DD/tracking. I always think it's good to get in there and bleed every so often, anyway.

I boiled the fluid on my '04 CTS-V and have run Motul, with success, ever since.

I'd also recommend learning on street tires, but once you go with slicks, buy used. There should be plenty of race teams that sell slightly used slicks, usually after practice and qualifying. I found a seller on the NASAforums and got 8 slicks for my V at $70 apiece.

 

[DrivinhardLLC]

The hardest braking track you'll probably ever run on is CMP in SC (out of ~20 tracks I've raced on, this one takes the cake) and even doing that, I've never all out boiled the fluid, even with the crappy stock PBR slide rails. I run $10 ATE and kiss bleed every event or so, do a full flush every now and then. Stainless steel pistons in the calipers do wonders for keeping heat out of them.

VIR is awesome, I'd come in March if I wasn't going be working on a media project that weekend. Hope to come up and practice in July, and then back in Oct for another go at the TTA track record since a buddy of mine just nixed mine by 3 tenths on saturday! It's now at 2:03.6.

I ran a 2:07.xx at VIR when my car was pretty much a street car on 275 A6's, and there was more there (as a driver), so you can get a stock C5Z to get around there pretty well. A 2:07 would probably put you in the top 20 or 25 at the UTCC.

The LS6 is *the* best wet sump oiling LS motor GM has made for road racing, with the batwing 2 pc C5 pan anyway. If you do an oil cooler, do a stand alone (not an in the rad one) and you can always block it off in the winter time up there. There are no needs for oiling mods short of just running an extra qt, it's even less of an issue the less sticky tire you run (less lat G's, less strain on the oil control).

I did the tire/tool trailer for the first year or 2 of TT, it worked great. Roll in, throw on the R comps, lay down the law, drive home 26 mpg pulling a trailer.

 

[SVOFANATIC]

I envy you guys so much I have wanted to do this for quite awhile but I doubt I ever will be able with my funds sucking.

As of boiling brake fluid I took my SHO around CMP for 20 min sessions (I know it's not a Corvette lol) with the crappy little 10in stock brakes. Suffice to say the rotors were warped and the pads close to gone after 2.5hrs worth of track time but I never had boiling brake fluid just glowing brake rotors LMAO.

 

[Sho Amo]

Post some pics Justin! I have been working feverishly to get mine ready. Cam is in, Im just waiting on a valve spring compressor tool to get my springs on. After all that, its time to put on the clutch and trans, then drop it all in.

 

[DrivinhardLLC]

As of boiling brake fluid I took my SHO around CMP for 20 min sessions (I know it's not a Corvette lol) with the crappy little 10in stock brakes. Suffice to say the rotors were warped and the pads close to gone after 2.5hrs worth of track time but I never had boiling brake fluid just glowing brake rotors LMAO.

We ran the back half of CMP for lemons, with the 96 brakes and some auto-x carbotech pads (similar to XP8) and the pads held up well, but we trashed the rotors and the pedal was total mush. and you can't even build any speed on the back half of CMP.

at the last NASA event, the T14 corner worker came up to us and told us he could see our front rotors glowing braking for T14, this was in the middle of a sunny day All that track is, is buzz the car up to 120-130 mph, stop it, turn around, do the same. it's horrible