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Klodkrawler05's C5Z Build for USCA, CAM-S and Time Attack
I've seen a few threads talking about the Optima Batteries Ultimate Street Car Association and Invitational and it seems like more often than not its followed by undertones of "open the pocketbook" "you can't win without cubic dollars" "better bring at least 12 billion horsepower" So I thought I'd share my build/experiences. Remember the title of this series is the "ultimate" street car so you won't see people winning in a daily driver prius on eco flat tires but I believe (and have proven) you can do it without going broke or building a wild custom car.
My build is centered around these 3 basic ideas:
1) Driver is the most important mod you can do. Guys like Danny Popp could probably win these events in a Prius if he tried.
2) Tires will be the single biggest performance enhancement you can do. They let you put more power down better, stop faster, and corner faster.
3) Reliability is Key, you can't win if you don't finish, lighter cars are more reliable, they use less brakes, need less power and change directions faster.
About me: I've been autocrossing for 7 years, I've only done a couple of HPDE events prior to this year and I love any/all aspects of performance cars, around the time I started racing I was lucky enough to get to pit crew for a Rally team and be part of the only privateer team at the time to win an overall event against factory Subaru teams which served to show me even at that level the driver can still make a huge difference even if the equipment isn't up to snuff, since then I've always tried to focus on making my cars reliable/repeatable and consistent while working to improve the driver.
About the car: I purchased my first Corvette this 2002 Torch Red Z06 early this summer, It had always been a dream car for me ever since reading the motortrend articles when it was brand new and beating up all the exotics in performance per dollar. When I saw this one pop up for sale locally I knew it was the one, it had 19k miles on it and was bone stock aside from having a Hotchkis front sway bar, 04 Shocks, Corbeau Seats and a Brey Krause Harness Bar and HEAVY aftermarket replica wheels.
My Goal was to Compete in the Under 3,000lb class for the USCA events, if you aren't familiar with their events the only real rules are you must have 200tw tires and classes are broken down by over/under 3k lbs and awd also has their own class.
Step 1 was to establish a baseline weight, at the time of this picture I had replaced the stock battery with a Braille 11lb battery (20lb savings) which was a leftover from one of my past cars and had removed the harness bar (which saved 25 lbs) but still have the heavy aftermarket wheels on the car.
with a bit under 1/2 tank of fuel this was my weight:
The USCA rules state dryweight is used for classing however I'd heard from others that they use the weight your car is on the scales so I wanted to get under 3,000lbs wet to be safe.
Switching the replica wheels which had nitto nt05 275/305 tires to OEM wheels with 255/275 BFG Rivals netted me a weight savings of 24lbs! the extra stick of the rivals meant my ultimate corner traction was still as good if not better than it was on the wider nt05s.
next up was some additional de-modding of the car, the stock non power Z06 passenger seat (the stock seats also came with the car) saved 9.4lbs over the Corbeau, switching the drivers seat to a recaro pole position I had laying around saved me another 10.4lbs and helped hold me in better to make up for removing the harness bar.
As a precaution to ensure I got under weight I removed my washer fluid bottle and fluid, this took 10 minutes and saved me 9.1 lbs (it was nearly full of fluid at the time)
By the time my first USCA event (at MIS) rolled around I was confident I was under 3,000lbs.......I guess I shouldn't have been because I just barely made the cut with a hair over 1/4 of a tank
But Hey! under is under so off we went for the first event, getting the stickers all applied:
The event was an absolute blast! Yes its more expensive than your typical autocross day but the USCA format allows for far more track time! I got in 17 autocross runs and 21 speed stop runs (think mini auto-x that requires you to stop in a box at speed or the run doesn't count) in one day! Then still had an entire 2nd day of track time too. IMO the USCA events are one of the best bang for the buck seat time events you can attend, the events can be even cheaper if you drag a buddy along and get in on the refer a friend discount.
While I did get absolutely hooked at this USCA event, I didn't manage to win the under 3k class. My new friend (and quasi-rival) Andy Smedegard outdid me with the driver mod and did an even better job proving you don't need tons of money, edging me out by a mere 5 points in his mostly stock Honda S2000. (remember his name he's important to my story later)
While disappointed I didn't win the USCA MIS event (my 2nd time ever autocrossing the Z06 and first HPDE with it) I was pretty happy with my showing and figured I couldn't be too disappointed running narrower than stock tires and still adjusting to all the power compared to my previous cars (BMW's and Miatas) with that in mind I set my sights on the final USCA event of the year at Pittsburgh International Race Complex.
While I'm a firm believer that driver makes the biggest difference sometimes having the right equipment helps with that in mind I set about looking for other weight savings in order to squeeze more tire/wheel under the car. By sheer chance I happened upon the XS Power headers thread and their search for test fitters for the newly revised edition. I jumped at the chance, while the car/driver isn't ready for more power at this stage the weight savings alone was appealing.
When the headers arrived they were absolutely beautiful! installation went off without much of a hitch and the clearance issues others expressed seemed to have been fixed, and the best part (in my mind) was that they saved me 14.7lbs!
With the weight saved I decided to Pick up another pair of OEM rear speedlines (adding 1.6lbs) and run 18x10.5 wheels on all 4 corners, I moved the 275 tires which I had been previously running on the rear of the car up to the front and then order a new pair of 295 tires (a weight gain of 8lbs) to run on the rear, I really liked how the car handled/balanced with 20mm of tread difference front/rear and anticipate keeping that stagger for the forseeable future.
Testing with the new headers showed that burning spark plug wires was going to be a problem, Turns out a local shop to me (zzperformance) makes heavy duty spark plug wires for LS motors at a very good price, they were looking for someone to track test the wires and I was happy to oblige, Their stickers and plug wires were added to the car and we were off to Pittsburgh!
Pittsburgh was Cold, Rainy and just as much fun as MIS! my class was absolutely stacked full of cost no object cars (a sampling seen below)
Awesome C6 Z06 with full aero (yes under 3k lbs!)
Wicked Tube Chassis C10:
After wandering around the pits and oogling all the awesome machinery I was starting to get pre-race jitters, however as we started lining up for the auto-x event so did the rain clouds, I managed to get in 1 dry lap along with my competitors before the clouds opened up, I wound up standing on my first run which it turned out was the fastest time of the day in the under 3k class! With 1 win under my belt the nerves settled down and I was able to stay calm and just drive!
The rain made for lots of fun (but not fast) sliding corners:
I wound up winning the speed stop event as well although it was a total nail biter! the top 3 times were within the .2 seconds and 1-3 all got their fastest time of the day on the final run! to make matters worse times had been dropping all afternoon as it dried up and I had to run first then sit and watch as my competition took their last/fastest runs!
Moving on to Sunday and the HPDE/Time Attack event I knew I'd need to put in a good showing but was nervous, the other cars certainly had more power/tire than I did and the Pitts track seemed like it was really going to favor those with more horsepower. Thankfully I had a couple secret weapons to help drop time! A new to me data logger and Andy Smedegard as my coach, (thats right, even after winning an event and not running his own car in Pitts Andy came out to help his friend Michael and I try to secure our invites to Vegas )
Andy is a bit of a wizard when it comes to datalogging and after a couple sessions we'd already picked out several spots where both myself and Michael could improve and gain time. As we started chipping away at various aspects of the track I was able to save myself 2.5 seconds worth of time just on 1 segment of the track While I'm not sure if that speaks more to Andy's teaching or my lack of skill as a road course driver all the instruction paid off and I was able to secure 3rd place in the HPDE.
Finally it was time for the awards and boy was I nervous, they never reveal how you did in the Design/Engineering portion of the weekend until the final awards ceremony and my score that could be low enough to allow somebody else the overall win. Fortunately my score wasn't as bad as I expected and I secured the win and my invite to Vegas!
And now comes the big rush to prep my car for SEMA, get the car to LV and then compete in the OUSCI! I honestly have no expectations for the OUSCI I'm just stoked to be competing with some guys I've read about and taken advice from. Attending SEMA has always been a bucket list item but not working in the automotive industry I wasn't sure that would happen I have been following/reading about SEMA since before I had a drivers license so that's really cool for me as well!
I'll create a new post detailing what I've been working on since Pittsburgh to prep for SEMA.
If you've read this far I appreciate it and hope it helps show that anybody can compete at these events regardless of if you have a fully built car or not! I'm still on stock wheels/suspension/brakes and was able to win an overall event!
Last edited by klodkrawler05; 04-06-2016 at 01:38 AM.
Please help me understand your decision to compete in the under 3,000 lb. class. It would seem if you competed in the over 3,000 lb. class you would have a greater advantage since you would not be carrying extra weight while others would have a hard time getting down to your weight. Perhaps I am missing something.
You are correct, a lighter car in the over 3k class would be helpful, however the under 3k class typically is a bit smaller than the over 3k class so that was my justification for it.
Very fun post! Thanks for sharing. Goodluck in Vegas.
I've only had my 02 z06 for a few months, and would appreciate any quick tips you can give for auto X type of driving from someone who is also new to the car, as I plan to participate in some events next year.
Very fun post! Thanks for sharing. Goodluck in Vegas.
I've only had my 02 z06 for a few months, and would appreciate any quick tips you can give for auto X type of driving from someone who is also new to the car, as I plan to participate in some events next year.
Step 1 have fun! the z06 is a blast to auto-x and if you haven't auto-x something with that sort of power before you'll be grinning ear to ear the whole time!
Step 2, work really really hard on looking ahead, the corvette will shrink straight sections to almost nothing so looking ahead will be very important.
Step 3, experiment with gear selection, I personally am faster putting the car in 2nd and leaving it there, I find I can get back on the power earlier/faster and my data logger shows that I'm consistently more on line/creating a shorter course in 2nd than in 1st, I attribute this to less explosive power delivery by being in 2nd allowing me to actually make turns at the right point etc however on hoosiers or something else really wide/sticky that can actually put the 1st gear power down you may find 1st gear to be faster.
Hope that helps! I'm still learning how to drive this thing fast myself!
Why did you go with such small tires, even though the 255's seem to work if you won the speed stop event.
Derek
Good question, it wasn't by choice exactly, BFG only makes the Rival 17" sizes up to 255 wide, Since I already had 4 of them nearly new leftover from my previous car I mounted a pair on the stock front wheels and ordered a pair of the 275/18's because the 295s were out of stock at the time and I was afraid 315's would upset the balance too much.
Ultimately I knew I'd move to 18x10.5 square wheels so my plan from the start was to eventually move the 10.5/275 set to the front and get a wider set for the rear. prior to Pitts I did just that and ran a 10.5/275 10.5/295 combo thanks to the weight savings from the headers.
Yup these do have the batwing pan, and the headers are designed/built to clear the wings!
My C4 has an LS in it. I had to swap pans from the Batwing to a F-body pan in order to clear my new headers. I wish I would have known this before I did that.
1) Driver is the most important mod you can do. Guys like Danny Popp could probably win these events in a Prius if he tried.
So incredibly true...
I've done only some auto-x and a couple HPDE's. The guys that know how to drive absolutely run away from the guys that just have fast cars.
Outstanding post. I love seeing the pursuit of this event happen in a C5 Corvette. This event is my aim next year in mine. Was looking at this year, but my mod choices and a relocation put that behind.
If so, I don't know why I passed it up. Wasn't sure I wanted a z06 at the time. Waited 2 weeks, it was gone. Wound up having to go to Virginia for a deal like it. But 01 and silver. Red was my first choice! Good for you! If I recall, the guy who purchased it was from Grand Rapids?
how is the performance and sound of the XS Headers? Very cool thread, loved to see cool story's like this, your doing what I want to do lol keep up the good work and congrats on the win!
Outstanding post. I love seeing the pursuit of this event happen in a C5 Corvette. This event is my aim next year in mine. Was looking at this year, but my mod choices and a relocation put that behind.
Get it done!
Hopefully you can make it to an event or 2 next year! they're an absolute blast, I've been recommending them to everyone!
Originally Posted by tjschraf
Nice car!
Did you buy this in commerce, michigan?
If so, I don't know why I passed it up. Wasn't sure I wanted a z06 at the time. Waited 2 weeks, it was gone. Wound up having to go to Virginia for a deal like it. But 01 and silver. Red was my first choice! Good for you! If I recall, the guy who purchased it was from Grand Rapids?
Yup that would be me! I bought it from Ted if you know him? I gather he did a fair amount of DSCCA events?
Originally Posted by zdeckich
how is the performance and sound of the XS Headers? Very cool thread, loved to see cool story's like this, your doing what I want to do lol keep up the good work and congrats on the win!
The sound is absolutely incredible! I kept the stock titanium z06 exhaust and it really sounds.......well almost exotic! I constantly get compliments on it. Performance wise I noticed the powerband seemed smoother with more torque down low but I haven't had a tune in the past. Part of my SEMA prep is getting the PCM flashed by Doug at ECS so hopefully I can report back on that soon!
03-06-2015, 02:50 PM
Klodkrawler05's C5Z Build for USCA, CAM-S and Time Attack
with that in mind I set about looking for other weight savings in order to squeeze more tire/wheel under the car. By sheer chance I happened upon the XS Power headers thread and their search for test fitters for the newly revised edition. I jumped at the chance, while the car/driver isn't ready for more power at this stage the weight savings alone was appealing.
While I'm not sure if that speaks more to Andy's teaching or my lack of skill as a road course driver all the instruction paid off and I was able to secure 3rd place in the HPDE.
