linutux

I just completed my first HPDE driving a completely stock 2006 Z06 at VIR Dec. 9 & 10 with Chin Motorsports. Over the two days I was able to get in almost 6 hours of track time in my car with excellent in-car instruction from forum member David R. whom I hope will comment later in this thread. He was driving a black 97 C5 very, very well and gave flawless and endlessly patient instruction.

The only car prep I did for this event was as follows:
1.Had the dealer check for any breakage or other issues.
2.I personally did a wheels off check of all suspension components and re-torqued anything that was not to spec.(more on this later...)
3.Upgraded to DOT 4 Brake Fluid
4.Tempilaq paint on the front rotors and temp stickers on the front brake calipers.(more later...)
5.Installed(almost correctly) a Traqmate data unit(more to come...)

Other than the DOT4 and an exhaust baffle switch, the car was completely stock, including the run flats with 8000 miles of “spirited driving” on them. At the start of the event they had about 60% front and 40% rear tread remaining. The brake pads were no more than 30% used on the front.

Before I admit to my humble lap times, let me give you a little hint of my in-experience; all my knowledge of driving had, apparently, come from the following, in no particular order:
Gran Turismo on a PS2
American LeMans on Speed Channel
The Dukes of Hazard

I had originally planned to track the car with Chin in July of 06, but that was just a few weeks after I took delivery and this thing is a monster!! I admit, it scared me... several times; so, I decided to wait until this December. It was the right decision. It let me properly break in the car and gradually learn it's personality. I had done some extended tours getting to know the car and a lot of late night runs. It's also my daily driver and this helped me get to know the car better. For instance, I know exactly what oil pressure it will be at for a given oil temperature and RPM. It was very reassuring at the track to have this point of reference. I new what the car should sound like. I was comfortable USING the heads up display. I had driven it often enough and hard enough, that I knew what it would do when I pushed it too far; I knew it would go into a drift at 70MPH if I gave it to much throttle in a turn, even with TC and AH all on!!!

My goals for this event were simple:
1.Drive my car home.
2.Improve my driving skills.
3.Drive this car the way it was meant to be driven.
4.Achieve a lap time of less than 2:30(see goal 2 and my experience level)
5.Have as much fun as possible.
6.Exceed 150MPH in as safe a way as possible(see goals 1, 3 and 5 above.)

Thanks to my instructor, GM, VIR, and Chin Motorsports, I was able to achieve all these goals in a controlled and relatively safe manner.

All but one of my sessions was run in Competition Mode(TC off, AH on). Also, almost all laps, including my best overall, were done using 3rd and 4th gear only. This is a result of cold weather, gobs of torque and my experience level.

To give an idea of where I was starting from, here's the data from my best lap of my first ever novice session on Saturday:
Best Lap Time: 2:35
Max Speed: 137mph
Avg Speed: 75mph

Later that day in I achieved goal #4:
Best Lap Time: 2:25
Max Speed: 126mph
Avg Speed: 80mph

In the next session I checked off goal #6... twice
Best Lap Time: 2:32
Max Speed: 152mph (then 151 on the next lap)
Avg Speed: 76mph

My best driving, by FAR, was on Sunday during my final novice session when I was being checked out for provisional solo status:
Best Lap Time: 2:19.8 so I can say I got into the teens
Max Speed: 138mph (self limited under 140; see goal 1 above)
Avg Speed: 83mph

My worst session was my first earlier that day. I'd mistakenly left the car in TC and AH all on and didn't realize it until after the session!!! This was a symptom of my poor focus at the time; and the session data shows it:
Best Lap time: 2.29 (following a 2:56, 2:58 and 2.44)
Max Speed:129mph
Avg Speed: 78mph

The most fun I had was chasing and being chased(and passed) by a 2006 Lotus Exige being driven very well by a nice guy named Carl. I'll try to track him down to get some comments. Sorry, I don't have any in-car video; maybe Carl or others have some relevant video to post here?

I regret that I wasn't able to meet and get to know more of the many forum members I know were there; I was fighting off a cold the whole weekend and had to just focus on the event itself.

The car held up FLAWLESSLY during the entire event. I'll post more later about tire wear, suspension impressions, brake performance, engine temps, oil temps and active handling. I'll also post links to the all the TraqMate data once I figure out how to clean it up and post it somewhere. The software to view the data is free so anyone that wants will be able to look it over.

I was definitely “driving by the numbers” this time out. Next time I'll hopefully be able to choose better and faster lines and drive smoother more consistent laps. I'll also have a six point harness, Hans, SS brake lines, in-car video, a “tune and filter” upgrade and maybe Hoosiers. I'm planning on doing the four-day stint at VIR with NCM July 2-3 and then Chin July 4-5.

David, thanks for giving me an excellent introduction to VIR and HPDEs. I hope to see you again in July!

CHJ In Virginia

Great write up of the event. Dave R was my first HPDE instructor several years ago. He is one of the best instructors that I have had, and a very smooth driver. I credit him with my addiction to this sport. Every time I see him, I let him know how much money he has cost me by getting me started in performance driving events.

AU N EGL

Miaugi

Good write up! Congrats on meeting your goals!

varkwso

I believe I spoke to you a little on Sunday (you had a cracked windshield I believe). Jake and I were running the white FRC...

You looked pretty good out there on the track - safe and predictable with a good grasp of the line.

For what it is worth - I would hold off on the mods if I were you....it will be a while before you need anything more than the car GM delivered to you. But I am sure others will chime in with differing opinions.

It was nice to meet you breifly and welcome to the addiction. By the way I was/still am fighting the same cold I believe!

Also the SCMC (SVT Cobra Mustang Club) is runnning VIR South on Jun 30 and Jul 1.

I can get 6 days at VIR with one commute....

MattW_VA

Great write up, sounds like you had a blast

C5inWV

Thanks for the kind words from Scott and Curtis. I try to help students get the best experience out of their track time.
Having said that, most instructors cringe when a novice student tells you that their goals are to exceed 150 mph and have the best lap times of any car in their group. It was a tall order, but fortunately Scott was patient enough to wait until he was able to string together enough skills for that kind of performance. I had alot of fun and relished the experience of riding in the Z.

Short-Throw

You have been shot by Cupid's 'love to track it'. There is no hope for recovery, enjoy your new passion!

Great summation.

As we say at Autobahn, Drive Fast. Be Safe.


Mike

B-ras

Great post! The C6Z is one hell of a car to be driving for your first track experience. Congrats on achieving your goals for the weekend!

John Shiels

glad you had fun only one tip. Don't wait till July to return to a track. Don't worry about times the important thing is you drove it home.

linutux

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.

Here's a little of my impression of how the stock suspension performed from my novice point of view.

When I was prepping the car I found the following components not torqued to spec:
Front stabilzer shaft link nuts(both sides, top and bottom)
Rear stabilizer shaft link nuts(both sides, top and bottom)
Rear stabilizer shaft insulator clamp nuts and bolts on both sides.
Left Rear upper control arm mounting bolts(one loose;but, individually loosened and re-torqued all of them)
Right Rear drive shaft spindle nut(way to easy to turn!)

Note to self: Loosen front lug nuts BEFORE jacking the car.

Of the above the stabilizer shafts and the right rear spindle nut deserve special mention for being WAY out of spec. The rear insulator clamps were so loose there was a visible gap. I'm not sure if this is an installation or design problem; but, both these spots are apparently commonly loose on the C6Z06.

After this torque fest the car of course SEEMED to feel more solid to me. It's never felt skiddish or "tail happy" at all to me; but, it just felt more planted. This was confirmed at VIR where I eventually was able to enter the climbing esses at 120mph and "coast" through with an avg of 102mph. Max lateral accell for left and right on that run was .99G. I'm pretty sure I was up on the "rumble strips" left and right then and it was not at all jumpy.

At other places I put 2 wheels off at least a couple of times over the 2 days and each time the recovery was uneventful, including once exiting at Oak Tree where there seemed to be some kind of strip mining operation going on.

On several laps I was near or over 140 through the "apex" on the front straight. At that speed there is a noticeable dip after the start finish. One lap shows 141mph and max lat accel of 1.05G through that section. I'm glad I didn't know that then; but, the car was barely disturbed even at that speed through the dip.

This car is so much better than me. I feel an obligation to become a better driver. What's the quote from that movie?: "You make me want to be a better man."

That is definitely the feeling I get driving this car.

wallyman424

if you stay in tighter through there you can miss the dip. you should plan an earlier event than july. in fact, i'm sure in a week or so you'll start going through withdrawl.

linutux

A week or so! I've got the shakes already!

varkwso

I agree - stay tight and there is no dip. We were shifting to 5th right before there in our C5 LS1 (~143 also)

Sebring in 14 days

MKV

Sweet write up... I'm new to VA, been here for almost a year now. I sure would like to track my car is this track near Richmond?

Thx,
MKV

I guess I got so excited to hear of a track near me. I thought the VIRgin was Virginia

wtknght1

VIR is in Virginia...Danville to be specific. It's at the very southern side of Virginia. Richmond is about 3 hours away - a cake walk.

94ZR1#444

Actually VIR is in Alton, VA near Milton, NC. Danville is 20 miles away.

linutux

The ambient temp the second day was in the mid 50s; so, the car was getting a lot of help keeping cool. 212*F was the highest Oil Temp I noticed and the oil pressure was in the low 20's PSI at idle after that run. Also, since I was only using 3rd & 4th, I wasn't sustaining high RPMS for very long. I don't even recall the coolant temps. It wasn't outside what I see in commuting, so I didn't worry.

I was NOT babying the car by any means. In fact I think the only place I could really have dropped to 2nd was turn 12. The one time I did go to 2nd there I wound up testing my rev limiter . (It goes deep into the red if you're wondering...) In third I had enough time to check my mirrors before shifting and it still had enough torque to break traction exiting 12. The same was true for turns 1 and 2.

The sessions I ran would definitely be considered light track use. 20-30min with equal or more breaks between sessions, no extended high RPMs, etc... However, I was constantly trying to shrink my braking zones and was repeatedly pulling 1G+ braking from over 130mph at 2 places each lap. The brakes held up VERY well. Not once did I feel any signs of fade. The left front rotor does appear to have exceeded 1000*F while the right front did not. Neither front brake caliper exceeded the minimum indicator at 250*F.

For the most part I was running the tires at the standard 30psi all around. They were showing 40psi after sessions and would quickly cool differentially; so, I would turn the car so the other side was in the sun for a few minutes before the next session. After an hour of sitting all four would be down to around 32psi. I'm sure these were not the optimal settings; but, the performance was predictable and comfortable for me.

The tires(GYF1 SC EMTs) did "grain" significantly. So much so that the rubber on the fronts was spread like peanut butter across the tread. I didn't notice until I checked them on the drive home. I had noticed a bumpy ride along with the occasional thump, thump, thump, thump WHACK!, WHACK!... of what was apparently big strips of melted and spread tire rubber wearing off. After about an hour of highway driving everything quieted back down and the ride was much smoother again. After a week of daily driving I'm convinced that the tires have successfully weathered the event. There's plenty of tread left. In fact, I hardly notice any new wear. I guess my NCM alignment is a little aggressive for the street; so 2 track days just evened up the wear patterns. Next time I may try trimming the strips off before leaving the track though...

Gray Ghost GS

Great write up and first experience at VIR! Was this the VIR full course or grand course? Sounds like you're hooked and we'll be seeing you on the tracks more next year. I enjoy seeing the new Z06s at HPDE sessions - they're simply awesome. I'm looking forward to getting my C5 back on the track after working through a defective oil accusump and other issues this year. I participated in a VIR full course event last month with the VW R32 club in my '93 Celica GT with a track time of 2:37. Lots of fun! Mike

Scott Farmer

Chin is a really fun group. They do a lot of HPDEs in Florida; I ran with them at Sebring once. Some people disagree with their "open track" policy, sharing the track between novices and more advanced drivers. Personally, I think their instructors do a great job of keeping everything "in order" on track. Plus, it's always nice to learn, first-hand, from faster drivers. Plus, you can't beat VIR. Definitely the most beautiful track I've ever been to.

I've never timed myself at VIR, but I know that I hit 135 on the front straight in my STi and 125 in my 02 BMW 330i. 152 is booking it! Did you have any issues with the stock pads overheating or with compound left over on the rotors? If not, I am absolutely blown away with what a C6 Z06 can do!