RobbyZ

I am looking to track my 2009 Z51. I am going to a track day next weekend and I am going to run with the stock rotors and pads. The pads have about a half life left on them and the front rotors have a small lip. I have never tracked the car and will be with a group of amateurs with street cars like myself so I think will be fine for next weekend. However, I want to start getting into road course racing and I am looking for an upgrade to the OEM Z51 setup. Something mid range for around $1000 for rotors and pads. I am thinking of picking up the DBA 5000 series for the front rotors for around 900 and maybe the Carbontech XP10s for 200. What do some of the experience road racers on here recommend for a novice just getting started? Should I order new brake lines while im at it? I figured I will go through my street tires and OEM stuff as I am learning then start upgrading as I get more serious. I would like to get the brakes on order so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Also I want to start looking into a good racing wheel and tire combination.Im sure these street tires will not last long. I need something I can drive to the track as I don't have trailer yet. What size tire/wheel, brand and models would you recommend?

If anyone is in Phoenix and would like to meet up at for a track day PM me and let's meet up.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts guys!

RZ

chetly

Cheap blank rotors, XP10/10 or 10/8 and s.s. Brake lines. Flush your brake system with good brake fluid, ATE, Motul, Wilwood, Castrol SRF

RobbyZ

What about the carbon techs with the Z51 OEM rotors? Where do most people buy their blanks from?

bdanyluk

Michelin Pilot Super Sports for tires. Everyone loves them....I will buy my first set next year as I have only run Nitto Invos on the track.

RobbyZ

What model Centric Blanks? Should I go with the High Carbon Alloy? 125 Series?

chetly

From everything ive read on here I haven't seen any true decernable difference to pay the extra money, especially if your just starting out.

63Corvette

I feel sure that by now you understand that Nitto Invos are NOT a track tire!!!!! The Nitto NT-05 works well on track and is cheaper than the Michelin PSS, but the PSS is the BEST street and track tire available right now.

RobbyZ

I have decided I am going to buy Track only tires and new wheels and haul them their or get a trailer for track days. What wheel sizes and tire is a good setup? Id like to stay within 2500 if possible for both wheels and tires?

StreetSpeed

18'' front and rear is most popular. Allows the most tire choices. $2500 for GOOD wheels and tires will be a stretch, but I'm sure Tire Rack could put together a decent package enough package for your first track days in that budget. Personally I'd run with whatever you have on there now, see if you're gonna catch the disease or not, then buy good stuff when the time and your wallet is right.

BTW this gets asked about once a week, you'll find a ton of good info from a couple quick searches.

63Corvette

You can easily spend $2500 for tires alone. However, a more economical or efficient way to spend your money might include buying (say) $2000 wheels ($up to $500 ea) and buying scrub slicks from (Forum vendor) GT Racing tires......for $50 to $100 ea. I don't recommend that you spend top dollar for premium street tires which you use up in a few track weekends (and you can). If slicks are allowed where you plan to track, that is my recommendation......although many here on this Forum will say that you shouldn't be on slicks until you are Red Group level, I think seat time is more important than any other consideration.

bdanyluk

I understand...and i agree with you but i am not rich. I bought a used set of LG world challenge wheels and invos came with them. They had about 75% tread left and i only use them on the track.....which has been 3 events in the past 3 years. I only do 1 HPDE per year because i am not rich and its only a hobby for me. I am not nor ever will be a wheel to wheel racer. I simply enjoy driving my Corvette on a racetrack. Only person I compete with is myself. Aiming to reduce lap times each successive visit....which hasnt happened yet because i have never been back at the same track. I have done 5 events at 5 tracks. I feel that this variety gives me more experience than say 10 visits to the same track over and over. Anyway my first 2 events were on stock goodyear runflats.....OP run what you brung. Dont overthink it or overspend for no reason.....spend that $2500 on track time until your current tires are bald.

0SpeedFreaksUSA

If you're just starting out and looking for a good setup without spending a ton of money then the Carbotech XP10 or XP12 front with XP10 or XP8 rears paired with some centric 125 series blanks are a good way to go. The best choice will largely depend on what tires and tracks you wish to run. As far as wheels and tires go I see a lot of corvette guys going straight to really aggressive r-comps or even slicks. I suppose its because the price difference isn't that much compared to a really good set of street tires but I usually recommend newer drivers steer clear of running anything other than street tires for a number of reasons (mostly because they can easily get themselves into trouble). Depending on the wheel sizes you end up with you can use some of the EHP street tires like Nitto NT05, Bridgestone RE-11, BFG Rival(S), Hankook R-S3 and Yokohama AD08-R. Michelin PSS will be okay as you're starting out too but some have found that they don't hold up to the abuse well once you start gaining speed and putting a lot of heat into the tires.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

-Matt M.

Chets LS3

You will also find out an 18/18 combo is the best bet. But 18/18 for the narrow body is a nightmare. Might as well go CCW for wheels. I ran xp10/8 combo when I first started. Still have those pads. I started out using re-11 tires. They really took a beating before becoming trashed. They lasted longer than I thought. Great tires!! I moved up to r888 but in a smaller size front tire. So I'm trying to progress on those because I can find used r888s and use them and not trash a 1400$ set of tires.

Socko

Best bet is to not plan to spend tons of money on anything. If you are on a budget there will always be a pull between more track time and going faster when you are at the track. Vette's are VERY good on track, fast enough to run without being a burden on good street tires in any intermediate group at a track day. A vette is good for 10-15 track days to start to get to a point where the car is holding you back, outside of:

Should be addressed before you ever get on track:
Pads: i run xp10/xp8 as i run street tires. Swap to 1521 for street use.
brake fluid: anything good, i have used plenty and haven't settled on any one yet. All of the racing fluids work.

Be ready to address these as you get faster:
radiator
oil cooling

If you only plan to spend money on those things, it will leave you with plenty of money for track time. Buy cheap rotors, plenty of vendors would like to sell you fancy rotors, but all the track rats in here know dollar for dollar it's hard to beat cheap blanks. When you are new and slow cheap blanks will last 4-8 days, when you get faster they still last a 3 day weekend so long enough.

Getting a tire trailer and track wheels/tires isn't a terrible idea, its on my list, but honestly rivals or mpss are plenty adequate and long wearing tires relative to street/track use. Also street tires are easier on your car and easier to drive. I have rivals now but plan to get some stock c5z 18's for the front of my car for when they need to be replaced so i can go to the mpss. In a c6 (they come with 18's on the front i think?) you should be able to get good fitments on your stock wheels so just get mpss after you shred the invo's.

Once you get on track address issues as you have money to burn on stuff. Make sure to replace your trans and diff fluid as well.

Racingswh

Yes. My Wife had a left front GM brake line failure at the track on her 17K mile 2010 GS. Leaped through the air, barrel rolled 4 times and it was destroyed. She got a cool ride in a helicopter which was just 760 bucks shy of 40k.

Brake lines are pretty important. I will replace them now as wear items. I used the Spiegler's that came with the Essex kit on the Z06 I bought her but Goodridge is another good name. Be patient with the fittings and don't over tighten them.

RobbyZ

Everyone, thanks for all the feedback! This is the type of dialog I needed to make some moves and get ready. I ordered Centric 125 Carbon Alloy blanks, Carbontech XP10/8, but they were out of 8's so they are sending me 10's for the rear at the same cost. SS brake lines and racing fluid. The person I bought the car from from had brand new GForce Sport tires that I will use this weekend on my first time out. Wheels and tires are next. I think I will use the Rivals or Nitto next and then move to an R-compound after going through my current set and the next set. I am planning on going to different events every two weeks. I also downloaded Harrys laptimer app for my iphone and a mounting bracket. I plan to mount my iphone of the back window behind my right shoulder. Does anyone have any experience with Harrys App? Im not on any particular budget, but from what I have read is I should get more seat time before spending money on the good stuff. Appreciate all the advice and looking forward to eventually getting my SCCA license and getting competitive.

Socko

Harry's is awesome telemetry though in the novice groups its hard to get good compairisons of what you are doing vs what traffic is doing. Splits can help though, as you might get open track for partial laps. People tend to be unaware and the difference between a guy at his first track day and a guy at his 5th is very possibly 50% lap time difference. I have been in plenty of 20-25 minute sessions where i have passed the same person twice while only passing 1/4 or 1/2 of people on the track, so many people are getting held up by those couple slow people a bit, just causing more traffic.

There are people that go to the track for a sunday drive, and people that go to the track to push themselves. Obviously they are all on the track at once in novice, so be patient.

Harrys is a great place to start for sure. For my personal functionality harrys and a bluetooth obd sender is enough to keep me happy, telemetry wise.

RobbyZ

I put on the SS brake lines and had all the brake system flushed down to the ABS Motoul 660. Centric 125's with Carbontech XP 10's all around. They were out of 8's so they sent me 10s for the same price. They are loud as hell, I expected a little bit of noise, but they are really noisy. Will some of the sound go away as they break in? Is there anything in particular I can do to cut the noise down? Maybe a shim kit.... idk. Any feedback would be appreciated.

bdanyluk

xp10s are for the track...under 300 degrees they are like a train stopping.....once heated up on a track they are silent.

Use 1521 pads instead for the street.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

Get some 1521's all you need to do is swap pads and go.