Dreamin

2007 Z06, driven 4-5 times a week (almost a daily driver) and I plan to do 8-10 track days per year. Have a fair bit of experience tracking a C5 Z06: 50+ HPDE events. But it's going to take me a few events to get comfortable with this car.
I've done 1 event with everything stock, Summary: hate the seat, hate the brakes, and have chrome wheels, which i dont want to discolor by tracking... SO:

1. Track Seat: Caravaggio Race seats or Sparco EVO?
Caravaggio would be 'dual-purpose', i'd use it for the street and track. Sparco would be swapped in and out for track days.
I love the look of the Caravaggio's... but will I be happy with it as a street seat AND a track seat (esp vs. a dedicated track seat)?
And how long does it take to swap a race seat in/out of the car?

2. Thoughts on tracking replica wheels? Safe?

3. If I dont go with replica's... i will get the CCW C10/C14 with Mich Pilot Sport Cup (285/30/18 & 345/30/18). My question is what size wheels to get? Popular Sizes seem to be 18x10 or 18x11 Front and 18x12 or 18x13 rear. But there are lots of posts of people rubbing, espeically on the rear when running 18x13s?

4. Brakes: Go with aftermarket 2-piece rotors and race pads (i'm thinking Hawk DTC-70/60 combo) and see how far that gets me? Or bite the bullet and get Brembo/Stoptech upgrade right now?

jrz1

I'm no expert but....

1. I elected to go with Kirkey's and swap. Takes 45 minutes to swap both out. Some may say faster but I don't know, I guess I'm slow. These will hold you much better than the carvaggios but you have to swap. Carvaggios could be tighter/less comfortable on road depending on what size you are. I saw carvaggios in a vet at NCM VIR event last year and they didn't seem to mount too solidly though it may have been an issue just with that car/installation. They wobbled a lot on the rails.

2. Probably ok but why risk it. I'll also bet they're significantly heavier than CCWs.

3. I went 18" CCW all around and have no rubbing issues. Cant remember width but John at CCW can tell you. Think they were 13" in rear with no problems but can't swear to it.

4. Don't bother with expensive aftermarket rotors. You burn through even the stoptech rotors given the speeds. At least stock ones are cheap to replace. Do get better pads. I upgraded to stoptechs and like them but they do feel different and it takes getting used to. No fade though with spindle ducts etc. installed.

96CollectorSport

I like the Caravaggio seats but they are kind of a "in between". They are not as supportive as a full race seat (which are hard to get in and out of), but they are not as comfortable as a stock seat. If you are only going to do 4 or 5 events I'd say swap, if you start to do more ????

I've had tons of friends use replica wheels at the track without one issue. Plus you can afford 2 sets vs one set of CCW's, check out the tire rack, you can get a set for about $750.

Brakes - Definatly StopTech, but I have a slightly different recommendation, instead of doing the ST-60 6 pistons look at the ST-40 4 pistons, I've talked with Erik Steinkamp at StopTech about this and he said the only reason that they don't have a ST-40 kit listed for the C6Z is because most owners would see it as a "downgrade". The pads for the ST-40's are almost $100 cheaper per set and you will get just as much braking performance. The only advantage to the ST-60 is that the pads are larger, which in theory means that they should last longer, but not 1/3 longer. Just look into it and save some $$.

John Shiels

Cost of a BBK kit is the initial cost then deduct what you can sell them for second hand if you dump the car and swap OEM back on. I would guess 60%+. You can get two piece Stoptechs and they will last longer than OEM. I would guess 3X as long with the right pad, Never a dollar even swap. If you are paying someone to swap rotors then it will make more sense to go with a good two piece. SRF for fluid it is so far above anything else. The cost per mile is also cheaper as it will last longer with less bleeding.

Slots work better for more grip I dd notice a difference on my 13" Fourteen inch kit should be plenty. I think if you run hard stock pad-lets in race compound will cost a bunch and go fast. Having no personal experience I have seen people eat them up in 2 days or less.

It is hard to judge the life of a pads by others unless you run with them on the track. Like telling someone how loud you exhaust is by typing and no decibel meter. Does the Stoptech replacement rotor fit their BBK or is the OEM Stoptech replacement rotor different? Look at the price difference and if you can add calipers later if you are not pleased. Watch rotor ring replacement cost Stoptech vs Brembo if $$ matters. In any hard running you will need some brake spindle ducts from DRM and LGM with any race compound. Race pads work but turn motion into HEAT.

My first thing would be spindle ducts & race pads, seat & harness bar.
two piece rotors then BBK. You will be spending a bunch of money for 8-10 track days Some you can enjoy on the street and a Stoptech caliper will let you swap pads easy for street use. You can just bed the race pads in quickly when they go back. Cha Ching you just spent a ton

95jersey

If you have enough money to do everything everyone above is stating, then GODBLESS! Just a couple issues...do you have a 2LZ? If so, you can ONLY go Carravagio as they are the only seats that do not screw up the electronics. I do not like the idea of dashboard check lights, non working seat, and non-working air bags. I am going to use Harbar harness next year and put a couple inserts into the tops of the seat to allow the belts to pass through. While folks say the stock seats are lame, they are the best stock (corvette) seats I have ever sat in...much better than ANYTHING offered in the C5. Their lateral support is actually deceptively good (but not race seat good).

Replica wheels...well I did it backwards, I used the stock OEM's for track duty as they are proven durable OEM, and I bought the aftermarkets for the street driving. This works out because the aftermarket are MUCH heavier and I wouldn't want the compromise and extra weight at the track, but the OEM's are perfect for the track. So, like I said, I did it backwards. It cost me $650 for a set of 4 black chrome China reps...they look absolutely fab.

Brakes, we'll to each his own, but I have done over 70+ days in C5 and a season in the new Z, and the brakes work great! Stopping power is much better than standard C5 and I've never seen a hint of fade. It is only a matter of economics, they C6Z calipers eat through brake pads every 2-3 events give or take. I have yet to try the full length pad from Carbotech, but this should potentially help wear issues. The best way to mitigate the pad wear is buy the same pad compound for the front and the back and switch the pads around after each track day. The leading front paddlet wears the fastest and the middle paddlets last longer, the rears last much longer, so swapping them around I got another day or two! I know Stoptechs are great, and if you plan to own the car long term, it will probably pay for itself in about 3 years. Rotors, we'll I won't start that again... to me they are totally desposible chunks of iron, where cheapest is best. OEM's are still the cheapest at around $120 each. If you don't go with a hardcore compound (like DTC-70) you will make them last twice as long. Try XP12 or even XP10.

I am actually running a C6Z on a close to Miata budget (slight exageration) and doing a pretty damn good job of it! The great thing about the Z, is that NONE of my money needs to go into the motor or exhaust in anyway.

John Shiels

if OEM rotors are 120 each how much is a Stoptech rotor ring in 14"? It will save money fairly fast.

95jersey

A couple websites I checked had the rotor rings themselves at $212+ each. So, unfortunately there is no "cheap" two piece rotor replacement for the C6Z. So even though $120 per rotor is still expensive, it is better than $212 per ring. I am banking that aftermarket or NAPA will have a cheap replacement soon. It may not be $25, but even if it is $70, I'll take it!

John Shiels

It will last 2-3X as long as a one piece before splitting so two piece is cheaper. My 13" has enough time on it where if it was a NAPA it would have been junked by now from a split. It doesn't have to last even 2X to beat the 120 for a rotor. Hard t beat a 30 rotor if you do the work yourself but 120 is easy. Also will have better performance with the slots. I noticed better feel and power with the slots.

95jersey

When you include the cost of original purchase $1200+, you can go through quite a few OEM's before you hit that target (about 10). I am not arguing with your logic, but it's like the caliper issue, eventually you will get a return for your investment, but it could take a 2-3 years to see that return. If it were my $3500, I would personally rather spent the $3500 on a full set of coil-overs, sway bars, adjustable endlinks, and leave the brakes in place. From my first year with the car, the brakes actually work great, it's the soft suspension that seems to be the weak area for the track.

My situation may also be different from his, where I may sell the car in a year or so, and won't ever see the return, but I would imagine if I wait long enough a cheaper rotor solution will appear for the C6Z, and the single Pad from Carbotech may resolve some of the pad wear issue.

So, this is just my perspective as a "budget" conscious C6Z HPDE'r, which itself is an oxymoron. So, DREAMIN, if you have the cash...GO FOR IT ALL! If you have a small - med budget and a 2LZ, forget the seat, you can use cheap aftermarket rims for the street, and use OEM rims at the track. With the $2000 you'll save using OEM's at the track, you can either invest in sway bars and coil-overs or do your brake upgrade. Obviously this is after safety equipment. Again, I personally feel the stock brakes are up to HPDE with pad and fluid upgrades, but if you plan on owning your car more than 3 years, you may consider a Stoptech upgrade. Only do the fronts, the rear paddlets wear fine.

96CollectorSport

Just for a little referance one of my customers ran a whole season on the same set of StopTech rotors AND pads! Now I will say that he has changed his braking from threshold braking to a more "long and light" philosophy, however he still ran the whole NASA season on one set of rotors and pads (the rotors look fine by the way).

I haven't seen any rotors last as long as the StopTech 14", I would say you will definatly get twice the life out of them than the stockers, if not 3x.
If you go with the ST-40 caliper I mentioned above the pads are more resonable as well.
Rotors rings are around $225 each and pads are as high as $275 for PFC or $225 for Hawk DTC-70.
It will offset quicker than you may think (especially if you can sell the stock calipers) and you don't have to deal with the constant maintenance of the stock system.

There are many ways to look at it, but what it comes down to it the sooner you get the BBK the sooner you start to "save", the longer you wait the more money you are going to spend with the stock setup.

John Shiels

selling a car in a year or two I would not put much into it if I was concerned about money and value. Pulling the brakes apart every two or three HPDE days is