mdaniel

Okay gang .. I'm looking for ideas/suggestions. I enjoy participating in rental/HPDE type events - primarily at Gingerman, Grattan, and Mid-Ohio. I'm not bound by any class rules/restrictions on equipment.

My 2008 Z06 has the following mods:
Race seat + harness + hard bar.
Hoosier R6 tires on stock wheels.
Cobalt XR2 pads (front/back). Blue DOT 4 fluid.
Halltech air intake + custom computer tune.

Items I'm considering - looking for input on:
Rotors - current ones are drilled which seems a bit dumb for a road-race rotor. What is recommended?

Calipers - at what point are these a worthwhile upgrade?

Larger LPE oiling system - if I do a cam swap over the winter I'd do this at the same time.

Larger gas pedal - make heal/toe easier.

Any other items I should be considering? I'd like to do ~15 track days a season and want the car dead nuts reliable. I don't might checking fluids/bleeding the brakes prior to an event, but I have absolutely zero interest in mucking with the car at the track. If I have to I have to, but I really like to run every session.

Thanks guys.

TorontoC6

Oiling - bigger tank or ARE kit
Clutch ?
Cooling - upgraded rad, oil, and diff coolers.
Hubs - SKF race hubs and bearings
Brake ducts - Quantum spindle ducts
Aero - rear wing and larger front splitter for better downforce at high speeds (130mph+), vented hood
Brakes - Brembo, Stoptech, other big calipers and two piece rotors

Do you have a Hans?

mdaniel

Not yet. I've been shopping for one, but am a bit confused by all of the different options.

2 GTOs

Good helmet and Hans. Pads and rotors(search as there are a lot of opinions). I like carbotech and I have been using oem drilled rotors or DBA slotted but I am not hard on brakes.

Good maintenance- lots of fluid changes. Clutch fluid, power steering fluid, trans, and diff if they have not been done in the recent past.

Spend the rest of the money on seat time.

AU N EGL

good helmet and hans

at what point for new calipers? right a way

REAL race calipers. Harbar/APRacings T1 kit or their 6-pot front & T1 kit for the rear.
Or Brembo Racing, not brembo Street brakes, or StopTech are other option.


Bigger radiator for cooling.

NVR2L8

You said you would like to run about 15 days per year, but you did not mention how much experience you already have.

If you are pretty new to HPDE, you don't need to spend a ton of money on the car. You need all the seat time you can get.

I am approaching 20,000 track miles on my 2009 Z06, and my car is very close to stock. My only mods are:

1. High temp brake fluid is a must. I use ATE blue.
2. Quantum brake cooling ducts.
2. AFX Performance slotted rotors.
4. Hawk DTC 70 brake pads.
5. Hoosier R6s, but some times I drive on Michelin PS Cups.
6. Track alignment.
7. Front and rear tow hooks.
8. Custom tune to dial out O2 sensors, torque management, skip shift, etc.

Your Z06 is a very well mannered and track friendly car. I just wish that I could drive as well as my car can perform. I know that I can't because several pro drivers have driven my car. I was humbled to see just how much I still have to learn.

Good luck.

mdaniel

This is my first season. I'll have 12 track days in by the end of the season (couple more weeks).

How helpful are the brake cooling ducts?
What's the skinny with the rotors? I assume the stockers being drilled suck. Do the slotted rotors help much? My pads are spendy (Cobalt XR2) so I was wondering if the rotors might help preserve them.

I'm not looking so much to spend money for the sake of spending money, I know the car is faster than I am .. I'm more looking for mods that help keep things safe (the car and me).

NVR2L8

Good questions. First, don't let other people spend your money. The OEM drilled rotors are plenty good to start with. IMO, you should use them until they are used up, or unless you start to experience "brake fade", which will happen if your pads/rotors get too hot. You will definitely know when the brake pedal gets soft. That is why brake cooling ducts is a good investment, and costs less than $200. Slotted brakes help to dissipate heat, and drilled rotors are subject to crack earlier, but this is only likely when you get into some very hard and late braking. You should be good with OEM for now.

Brake pads are a consummable part, no doubt about it. The most I get out of the DTC70s is two week-ends. The rotors will not extend their life.

My advice is to make your mods gradually when you feel that your driving skill is improving significantly. Many people I have encountered try to let their mods make up for their lack of skill. I am reminded of one of the first things I learned: "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".

RDnomorecobra

you mention a cam. if you want reliable and you are still and will for the forseeable future unable to drive the car to it's max potential, I would not entertain a cam. that ls7 is plenty stout as is. Spend money on safety and reliability like the cooling options mentioned above.

I have block finish pedals with the extended side gas pedal, I think I got them from CCA. They are fantastic and I consider them a safety item. I couldn't drive my car even on the street if my shoes were wet with the stock pedals.

DScamp

Some very good info in here

0JDP Motorsports

There have been a lot of great responses in this thread. Safety should always be number 1. After that I would suggest going with the following for reliability and performance.

1. ARE Stage 2 Drysump and Dewitts Radiator
2. Brembo or Hardbar brake package w/Quantum Ducts. You can go with DBA 4000 Series Slotted or 5000 Series Slotted Rotors as a starting point but the factory calipers are junk IMHO.
3. Elite Engineering Pedal Extender if needed. I've never run one but it does help a lot of people.
4. Pfadt Camber Kit and Bushing Kit - with sticky tires you run the risk of an eccentric slipping and it isn't ideal plus the front upper c-arm bushings like to pull through the control arms.
5. Pfadt LR or HR sways - I prefer the HR personally
6. Pfadt Coilovers - I would start with single adjustable but Doubles will allow more fine tuning.
7. Headers - they're worth about 35-40 RWHP and help the car breath better which helps bring temps down.

Beyond that you'll start getting into internal engine mods such as heads/cam but with the above you'll have more than enough HP. Please feel free to call, email or PM me anytime with questions.

Kind regards,

Jordan Priestley
888.308.6007

Pfadt Racing

This!

As far as brake kits go we really like Stoptech or the Brembo 380mm front/365mm rear kits. They just work so well on track that they're hard to say no too. The Stoptechs are a close second in our experience, but the Brembo rotors seem to last a little longer.

Take care of the cooling and fluids first, and when your driving starts to catch up to your race tires start looking at coilovers and sway bars... both will help make the car easier to really hustle around track.

mdaniel

I appreciate all of the info folks. Keep it coming.
My CCI pedals arrived today.
HANS and driving shoes ordered last night.

DScamp

Which CCI pedals are you guys running?

mdaniel

CCA, rather.

http://www.customcorvetteaccessories...ingpedals.html

The block ones.