BossV8

I have started tracking my C5 Corvette (pretty uncommon here in France).

I have had two issues at my last session : my transmission overheated several times after 15-20 minutes sessions forcing me to stop and my power steering pump leaked.

POWER STEERING PROBLEM

My mec told me to change my power steering pump. My feeling is I have two solutions :
Solution one : replace it for a brand newstock power steering pump and add a cooler
Solution two : replace it for a TurnOne power steering pump

--> Do I need to add a cooler to the TurnOne power steering pump?

TRANSMISSION OVERHEAT

That surprised me a lot. My engine did stay in decent level of heat. The day was cold. So I don't know why my transmissions hit 130°C (270 F).
I decided to change the fluid of my gear box.

--> Any other suggestions/idea about this?

thanks !

Jason

Trans cooler.

RX-Ben

Turn One pump and also add a Z51 cooler (cheap and good availability) if you do not have one. Be sure to use a good PS fluid such as Red Line.

BossV8

Okay then. I'll get the ps cooler and change the ps pump.

About the transmission overheating : is it a commun phenomenon? Can it be the rear diff that overheats when we get the message or is it only the gearbox?

froggy47

Put some header wrap on the exhaust pipes as they run past the tranny & diff.

John Shiels

one and two

Z06trackman

I solved all my track over heating problems in my otherwise stock C5Z by:
-Larger 2-row radiator and >90% water with Water Wetter
-Tape the lower front air dam so that high speed airflow does not deflect it
-Large external plate-type engine oil cooler
-DRM trans cooler (header tape on the pipes did not solve the problem for me)
-DRM diff cooler (DRM says the diff runs 50F hotter than the trans - my experience was the diff cooler alone did not fix the trans over heating)
-Redline power steering fluid in stock system

Now I can run the tank dry flat out in 95F heat and everything stays cool, and quiet (no more horrible noise from the diff when hot). To me it was worth every penny of the $2,500 I spent to do it all.

Next you will want DRM front brake ducts, and quantum spindle plates to improve your braking and pad life, however that will shorten the life of your rotors (they will crack faster). Then you may want expensive 2-piece front rotors to fix the rotor life (I choose the Hardbar T1 kit). The above applies to all C5s and many C6s. Everything I write here has been proven by my experience (except 2-pc rotor life - just installed). I am cheap and the above took me 3 years. I tried all the cheaper shortcuts I could find, but I ended up biting the bullet in all the above steps. If I had to do it again, I would just buy it all and be done with wasted track time and the frustration of a car that lets you down at the track. Even with the $3K in front brake upgrades, the C5 is a bargain track car considering its performance!

meldog21

Good post,

I have:
(1)Ron Davis radiator with integrated engine oil cooler
(2)14" Stoptech front brakes, Baer 14" rear rotors with stock calipers
(3)DRM ducts with LG spindle mounts

And recently added but not yet tested, (4)LG trans and diff cooler kit (which I don't recommend as it is too expensive, comes incomplete, with no packing list, no invoice, no instructions, missing parts, and most of all - LG's customer service is horrible. It took many many calls/emails and 3 months to get all the parts to me, then during install I found out I needed a special tool for the differential, then after install I found out [when all the trans fluid pumped into the diff and overflowed] the differential lines MUST be run on the inboard side of the pump because the pump leaks inboard fluid down the pump shaft into the differential, etc,.... suffice to say you should buy the DRM kit).

This advice is for anyone with some experience going somewhat fast. Newer drivers won't need all the cooling. Experienced drivers will at some point need to cool - coolant, oil, brakes(larger or better than stock), trans, and diff.

Oh, keep this in mind - If you get larger brake rotors you have to buy the larger spindle ducts that go with them. From LG the spindle ducts are $170-$190 so if you're going to get them (and you should get them, LG or Quantum sell them) get the larger size for the larger brakes so you don't have to buy the spindle ducts twice like I had to after I upgraded to larger brakes/rotors.

I'll see how the LG kit works for the trans and diff next time I'm at the track. All my other cooling issues were solved with the above listed improvements. Trans over temp was the only remaining issue. LG claims they use the system they sell on their race car(s) so theoretically it should work. Of course they have a completely different sequential transmission in their car so based on their customer service my confidence in their claims about the effectiveness of their trans/diff cooler systems is not very high. We'll see.

I know its not great news to find out you need a bunch of somewhat expensive mods to run fast reliably, but keep in mind the standard rules that everyone should know; 1. If you want to play, you have to pay, and 2. Speed costs $$$, how fast do you want to go?

Good luck and have fun,

Dog

BossV8

That's all interesting information here and I thank you for that.

On my car, I have a light engine mod (400 hp). I also have pfadt swaybars and coilovers.

The first weak link in the chain that made me stop my tracking session was me, the pilot.

When I (the pilot) was no more the weak link at the track and had to stop because of my clutch pedal staying on the floor. So I changed my clutch for a ls7 clutch and a tick performance master.

Then the weak link became brake fading, I added friction performance discs and pads. I have no more fading.

Now the weak link in the car is the ps pump so I'll change it and add the cooler (no cooler on a cab).

I know that my transmission overheating problem is next on the list. I doubt taping my headers can solve it and my mech is not too easy with that as they are arh headers and he thinks it could damage them. I also have the elite engineering plate with the isolant on it. Maybe it makes the problem even more important as it stops the heat dispersion on the direction of the car?
I also just have a 3.90 diff stage 2 from RPM transmission recently mounted on the car. It may also heat quiet hard says my mech.

So yes, drm coolers for diff and transmission maybe my next mod.

And yes the C5 is an incredible bang for the bucks track car (after the MX5/miata maybe).

Jason

Sounds familiar to all of us.

BossV8

Yes!

I guess I am lucky to just have had minor issues that only forced me to stop for a while and then go back for more and no serious incident that stopped the day! I knock on wood.

froggy47

See response in body of quote.

BossV8

All right. I did not realize this. I'll have a talk with my mech about it.

BossV8

Could you please help me finding :
- where to buy online the TurnOne ps pump
- the part number of the Z51 ps cooler

Thanks.

CHJ In Virginia

Here is the website for Turn One pumps.
http://www.turnone-steering.com/
When you order, be sure to get the pump set up for track use with competition tires. Get the billett pulley also. It is a few more $ but makes the install MUCH easier as it has cutouts and you can actiually get to the attachment bolts. The Joe Gibbs full synthetic PS fluid is also a good thing to use.

BossV8

Thank for the advices. It is just i dont find a place to order the pump online.

sebdavid

I think you have to creat an account first.

Greetings from a fellow Frenchman! You should try the Charade circuit, it's about 10 minutes away from my home/work when I'm in France (I live in Montreal, Canada).

BossV8

Hey ! Bonjour ami FRANCAIS !

Charade is a bit far from my home. I am up north. But my parents are next to Charade.

I'll drop TurnOne an email and we'll see.

sebdavid

I've driven much longer than that for much less interesting tracks... make sure your brakes are good before you go there, though. Those downhill hard braking zones are killer, I fried some Porsche brakes there a while back.

BossV8

Fry Porsche brakes. God! That's serious.