steve40th

In the September 08 issue they have various uber cars on the track at Willow Springs. Has anyone run their Vette there? And how are your times compared to the Cars from the showroom they used?
Streets of Willow
Viper 68.56
ZO6 70.87
Willow Springs International Road Course
Viper 90.1
ZO6 94.32
Of course these are with a professional driver, no special alignments etc etc.
Just curious.

Bimota Guy

The Streets times are not telling since there are many configurations and there is no doubt they did not do the longest track which includes the bowl and the skidpad.

As far as the big track, a "pro driver" (whatever that really means) could go faster than that C6 Z06 in a C5 Z06. I seem to recall Kevin Schwantz (1993 500cc GP Bike World Champion) doing a 1:35 or so in a C5 Z06 when he was doing a bike (Suzuki GSXR1000) vs. car article for one of the bike mags. He has some stock car racing experience, but a real pro sports car racer would beat that by a few seconds.

BTW, I will find out how fast my T1 car is at Big Willow come next weekend. Will be my first time on that track.

P.S. - Did these guys really list the time in total seconds? Kind of strange.

steve40th

Yes they posted in seconds. Oh well, didnt know there were different configs. They had a Pro driver there, some guy named "Steve Millen"

joemoia

Danny Popp drove a 1:29.02 in a showroom stock '07 C6Z06 at WSIR

Andy Pilgrim ran a 1:30.6 in a stock '02 C5Z06 at WSIR

The old SCCA T1 lap record (racelap) at WSIR for a T1 C5Z06 was 1:28.86 by Scotty B White

steve40th

Just goes to show a little modification to your Vette, and a real good driver can really shine.

Bimota Guy

Only more than one config at Streets, so the big track times can be compared.

I met Steve Millen at Cal Speedway recently (Speed Ventures track day.) I shook his hand and we chatted a bit about his built Ford GT which he was shaking down. I am surprised he could not do better than that in the Z06.

-Steve

Bimota Guy

Cal Club lists the SCCA T1 record at Willow as...
Corrected - Scotty White 1:27.491 2/19/2006

joemoia

That is in his Viper, which he now races in T1. The time I listed was his old T1 record in a C5Z

Olitho

Hi Steve:

...Actually it was a 1:27.491. You have a typo in there.


Oli

bobmoore2

That WSIR time in a Z06 is not very fast at all.

I've done a mid 99 once or twice, and I'm not that great a driver. My car isn't that great either - a 2000 Z51 Vert with Toyo RA1 tires, no engine or suspension mods. It's a daily driver that I drive it to the track, change the tires, then drive home at the end of the day.

Bob

Olitho

I agree the C6 Z06 times seem to be off a bit on WSIR. The Streets of Willow Springs times are hard to compare. For some reason they used a short configuration almost no one ever uses except some of the driving schools.

Bimota Guy

Right, in a Viper in an SCCA T1 race. And everyone knows all T1 cars are exactly even due to the SCCA rules.

sundiego

"We are always cautious when comparing laptimes. Track conditions, drivers, vehicle condition, etc. play a large roll in laptimes and can cause variation of several seconds. With that in mind, here are some laptimes during various stages of our development - most are likely slower than the final configuration we arrived with the ACR:"

Gingerman: 1:28.0
Grattan Raceway: 1:22.7
Nelson Ledges: 1:08.9
No Problem: 1:16.9
Putnam Park: 1:12.6
Texas Motorsport Ranch: 2:19.0
Willow Springs: 1:26.0


Most drivers, including me would be faster around big Willow in a Z06 than a Viper. For a pro driver, with the suspension set up by the engineers the ACR probably will have an edge.


Here is a comparison test at Willow with a stock Viper (mine) and a Z06. I have no dog in the fight. I'll be vintage racing my Corvette at Coronado this weekend. The driver in this video, Sam Hubinette, won a drift championship in a Viper, so there probably is some bias.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/H...Z06_159582.htm


Terry R., a good club racer took my '08 (non ACR) on a cool day at Willow and did a 1:29 in his only session. He feels there is more in it. My best in it last weekend, hot weather, was a mediocre 1:34.0

Bimota Guy

Good luck...have fun! I wish you guys would consult my racing schedule before setting this date. Recently I keep missing what is a great event.

To those who have never been to the Coronado vintage races, GO! You will see some incredible, rare race cars. The Trans Am race, IMHO, is typically the best one.

sundiego

You are right about the Trans Am group. It's race was the best this year at Monterey. The best drivers and the closest matched cars are in that group.

joemoia

I think it's fair to say that when the C6Z06 was first introduced it held a slight performance advantage over the then current 3rd gen Viper; and the new 4th gen (600hp) Viper holds a slight performance advantage over the Z06. The ACR should hold a distinct advantage over both. I think the 1:26 quoted above is a better indicator of the car's performance at WSIR than the times listed in the magazine article.

BTW, I think I was at WSIR the day Terry Rossi drove your car (OTR/ACRA trackday?). I remember he told me he couldn't get the car any faster due to understeer with the stock alignment.

sundiego

Yup. I had Terry align the car more agessively since then, but I'm still slow!