Blown-Engine Corvette Z06 Dominates at Road Atlanta Track Day
Call it a happy ending, or a happy continuance, but it looks as though forum member “Lawdogg149’s” blown-engine troubles with his Corvette Z06 are behind him. You may recall Lawdogg was the first Z06 customer to experience engine failure with only 891 miles on his odometer.
Click here to read more about Lawdogg’s blown–engine. >>
On Dec. 31 when we last heard from Lawdogg, he updated us with the image below of the fresh-out-of-the-crate LT4 that would eventually replace his Z06’s original motor.
At the time, Lawdogg was “hoping for a speedy install” so he could have time for a proper 1,500-mile break-in to prepare his Z06 for a Jan. 10-11 track event at Road Atlanta. Good news. Lawdogg was able to attend his event, and he’s shared Performance Data Recorder video with us.
Lawdogg says his best lap time at a cool 42-degree Road Atlanta (with a passenger) was 1:35.02 (that lap happens at 24:03 in the video). If you’re put off by the Z06’s roll-race losses and/or conservative ECU, don’t cancel your order just yet. Watch the video and then read on to see what Lawdogg has to say about his weekend at Road Atlanta.
“Let me just say wow again. Never have I ever owned a car that I could not find the limits in two days tracking,” Lawdogg said on the forum. “My fastest lap was at the end of the second day with a passenger. I tried all weekend to find the car’s limits, but it kept on taking more and more. I would enter a turn at what I thought was the limit for the car and tires, only to find that it stuck. Next lap I would try even faster. I would stick again. Most of my weekend was with passengers. That is what I enjoy doing most: letting others experience the car as much as I do.”
Remember, Lawdogg also owns a Viper, as you can see above. Here’s his report on how the Viper compares to the Corvette Z06 on the track:
“I would say after both days of driving both the Viper and the Z06, the Corvette wins the award. I ran several split sessions of 15 minutes Viper [and then] 15 minutes Z06. The Corvette was a lot quicker and more balanced in the turns.” He also said he was able to find the Viper’s limits. To top it off, Lawdogg reports zero issues with overheating or pulled ECU timing.
Here’s something we haven’t heard before: an issue with lug nuts coming loose.
“My front lug nuts would seem loose after a couple of sessions. I like to at least check them every other session. I had three lug nuts never click my torque wrench set at 100 ft-lbs.”
We’ll be on the lookout for more issues like that from other Z06 owners tracking their Corvettes.