holeshot115

Hey guys, looking for some help/ advice on how to setup my C6 Z51 for a few more trackdays coming up. I've gotten a harness and shark bar currently in the car and changed the brake fluid to SRF as well as installed some C6 Brake ducting. Other than that, the car's bone stock.

I was looking for advice on the following:

Alligment
Tires (It's got the stockers on it now...but I've got a 2nd set of factory rims...what to put on those?)
Brake pads (leaning toward the Carbotech X10/12's)
Brake rotors

How long will I get out of Pads/ Rotors? Any ideas how long the stock Goodyears will last? Ideally, I'd like to keep them for street on their set of rims and swap a track set in for the trackdays.

I'm running at Thunderhill mostly, for reference. I'll slip in a Buttonwillow day when I can.

Thanks a TON in advance. I NEED the help!!!

bonster

Oh, my Berto . . . it looks like you're officially addicted. I think I warned you about this danger. I'll let the experts voice their opinions on brake pads, but the Carbotech's are actually not a bad choice. How long will they last will depend on how fast you go. I used to get through a whole race season on one set of pads on my racecar -- now I go through three sets of fronts per year and at least one set of rears -- not to mention the rotors! I recommend taking a look at what's available at www.adrenalineracing.com Tell Eddie T.E.A.M. Racing sent ya.

For tires . . . I've seen a lot of Corvette guys using and loving the Toyo RA-1s. They make great rain tires at full tread, and I have not found a tire that can beat them for grip when shaved to 4/32s in the dry. They are kinda pricey though, especially for a novice driver. You should probably stick to a high performance road / track tire for now -- maybe a Kumho 710 Ecsta or a Bridgestone Potenza. Perhaps see what's availabe at www.tirerack.com If you want to drive to the track with the same tires, make sure they are D.O.T. legal or you might run into some problems with law enforcement. Unless you have one of those little tire haulers, you probably will have to drive up on your track tires, as if memory serves, the C6 doesn't have enough room to haul them in the trunk.

BW

holeshot115

Thanks Bonnie...between bikes and cars I'm just not wasting enough money I guess...totally addicted! It's so much warmer than being on a bike!

RichieRichZ06

with Bonnie on the tire ideas. I tried 555 RII's and then stepped up to the V710's. What a difference between te "R" comps and the 710's.
I did an allignment and it changed the whole feel of the car in a good way. In the front we went with -1.75* of camber and took 2 degrees of caster out of it for a total of 5.0*. The rear camber we only went to -1.0* camber. The turn in is more abrupt and the grip is AMAZING. If I was never going to drive it on the street, I would have done a little more negative camber, but I still take it on trips and did not want to wear the tires out.
Holeshot, Let me know a day that you are going to THill and I will try to attend. I would love to take you around the track and tell me what you like/dislike about how the car handles.

holeshot115

Thanks Rich! What sizes are you running? Seems like the 18/19" of the C6's isn't preferable?

wtknght1

You're definitely on the right track (no pun intended) with what you plan to do.

My best recommendation to improve the car is to improve the contact patches - tires, brakes, belts, suit, gloves, shoes, etc. Leave the suspension and drive line alone until you know enough about you and the car to begin with the big improvements. When you do start, look at getting a bigger/stiff set of sway bars - cheap speed man...cheap speed!!!!!

Take the car to a pro shop like Phoenix and have them set the correct ride height, corner weights and tune the computer. That's worth it's weight in gold!

I love the Kumho tires and Carbotech brakes. A bunch of the T1 guys use the XP12s up front and XP10s on back. They are just phenominal brakes. How long they last will, as stated earlier depend on how fast and how hard you push. Scrap the cheese-grater rotors and just go with the cheapest ones you can find (no holes, no slots)...replace when they crack to the edge! Rinse, repeat...

Keep putting tires, brakes and rotors on there and gets lots of seat time. A good driver in a 'modest' Vette will dust a poor driver with a ton of mods. And the good part is that yours will run smoothly, so you get more seat time...and go even faster with more confidence. There is no substitute for seat time!!!!

Welcome to the dark side!

RichieRichZ06

285's up front and 315's on rear. They are on stock Z06 rims. No rubbing of any kind anywhere on the track.

RichieRichZ06

The T1 setup on my car is absolutely unbelievable. It along with the allignment took off almost 2 full seconds at Thunder Hill. On the cheap rotors idea. I ate up a few nice drilled sets before going to the $20 each AC Delco ones. I can get about 2-3 good hard track days out of them MAX, but for the price they are great.

bowmanm98

What alignment did you use? Were you running the same tires? T1 setup includes shocks, sways and what else? Do you have a link to the T1 setup?

wtknght1

What he's referring to is the legal suspension package we can use in Touring 1 (T1). It is an actual GM part number and comes primarily with springs, sway bars, and front control arms (w/stiffer bushings). The SACHS shocks are extra ($600/set) I think.

If you're on a tight budget though, the sway bars are where to spend your money - cheap speed!

It was designed by John Heinricy (also a T1 driver) to work as a package, but you can bolt on the sway bars and still get big benefits!

RichieRichZ06

I was running the allignment I listed above. The GM part# for the kit is 12480062. I went with the Doug Rippie kit that has all the bushings and bars and bought the shocks seperate. The only component that I did not get was the springs. I have heard they are way to stiff on the street and I still wanted a decent ride for the trips the car may go on.