Joshboody

Not sure if mentioned, but tow hooks are good idea. I went off track about my 5th day with no hooks and first thing I hear track crew say is "damn, where do we hook up". Luckily they were able to push me free. Don't want to be the guy that shortens everyone's track time.

In AZ the oil cooler is necessary I think... I'm slow and still hit 270ish. Installed it before my first outing. I also think the trunions are good peace of mind upgrade.

FASTFATBOY

Whens the last time you pulled the radiator and out cleaned the fins?

Whens the last time you blew out the radiator from back to front?

Whens the last time you blew out the A/C condenser from back to front?

Is the radiator/condenser sealed up so no air can escape?

Is the center air deflector under the car tied back so it can't fold under the car at speed?

mel3535

Thanks for the input guys, I am gonna get all the fluids changed, run Motul 600 and better brake pads and just get more seat time for now.

I think I will find out my exact needs as I get faster in the car and learn how to drive better.

wtb-z

Have fun. I think the car is pretty good with nothing done to it. It will plateau at 300*F oil in most conditions, but it's just a number and below the overtemp warning (320*F, I've never managed to hit that).

When you're doing the brakes, consider wrapping the front tie rod ends and lower ball joint boots with something (look on this forum for ideas). The rotors throw off a lot of heat.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

If you want to go with Carbotech pads I will be happy to help you.

JeremyGSU

If you can make it into an Advanced level none of that really does donkey if you're really pushing the car. At least it never did for me. I had to add a Dewitts radiator and the larger Ron Davis oil cooler to my Z to run at Sebring. Even in April I could hit 255 oil and 210 water with the coolers. Prior to that I was hitting near 300 oil and 245 water temps pretty easy.

While I had years of experience the first time I ever tracked my Z stock at Road Atlanta in 50 degree weather in November I hit 285 oil pretty quickly. Way too high.

Soloontario

Wow,easy to get confused with the responses here. You want your oil Temps high enough to not be too thick,but not too high (yet to be defined) but you want your coolant Temps low, but then you want the car to warm up quickly as well.

I have rarely worried about water Temps unless they were crazy but did get a bit anxious when I could easily get the oil to 300 and had to back off. I ended up going to an oil cooler built into the rad tank ,sorry can't remember the brand. Net result of the larger rad with a small in the tank cooler is oil temps peaking at 270.

One thing to remember is that the high speed tracks provide a lot of cooling àir and it is the lower speed tracks where there is less airflow where you get into trouble.

FASTFATBOY

You didn't answer any of my questions.

I ran my car at a track night in America in New Orleans, in August and I didn't run hot after I cleaned and sealed the radiator. It did prior to that though, and did it quickly. Oil went to high 280's and water went to 220 and stayed there after it was cleaned and sealed up.

So, this guy is a noob to the car world and you're an advanced driver...but he should run out and buy the whole she-bang for what an advanced driver needs?

I ran my car at Barber last weekend on slicks, pulled down some 1:42 laps. Oil never got over 270* and water never went over 210*. Stock everything, no coolers.

With a CLEAN, sealed up radiator it works pretty well. I spent a day pulling and cleaning the radiator, it still wasn't "clean" like a new one but I got tired of trying. The crap that came out of that radiator was astounding.

Even more astounding is what comes out when I blow it out about every month or so, car really is a vacuum cleaner.

BTW, 285* oil temps are fine....why is everyone scared of oil temps like this?? 300 or over start worrying about it. These cars burn oil, so you are adding about a quart a day refreshing the oil.

c4cruiser

Lots of good information so far. Certainly, brakes are very important. Z06-specifc pads will work to start out; same with stock C5 rotors. C5 rotors are fairly inexpensive and there are some good ones such as AC Delco Professional Grade, Raybestos Professional Grade, Centric, and PowerStop.

Supporting vendors will occasionally have sales on seats. Sparco and Corbeau make good seats that will hold you in place and still be comfortable for street use. You will need a good harness bar and a 5-point harness. G-Force has a nice cam-lock harness setup. Make sure you set up both the driver's seat and the passenger seat in the same way. Some schools will require that a seat for an instructor be the same configuration as the driver seat.

You didn't say anything about a helmet. Check with the tracks and event coordinators to see if they will accept a motorcycle helmet. Some will not. In any event, the Snell certification should not be more than two date ranges s old, something like M-2005 or SA2005. I would suggest buying a new SA- rated helmet that is full-face and allows for replacing the eye shields. Look at Pyrotect, Simpson, and Bell.

JeremyGSU

While the 285 oil may not be detrimental you want your temps lower for it to be running optimally. The car will run better and make more power if you can get your track temps down.

Also, the guy said he had track experience on a bike. While that doesn't translate to car driving the track experience does translate. He should be faster than your average driver because he will understand things like threshold braking, the line, track layout etc much quicker than a guy who is there for his first day. Cars versus bike most of that stuff is the same.

And all I was getting at is you can certainly do what you are suggesting and try to maximize the stock system but from my experience I didn't notice anything when I blew out the system. It still got hot. The OP might be fine with it for awhile but if he gets fast enough he too will want a larger radiator, as well as oil cooler. Then a big brake kit IMO. The faster you get the more stuff he'll want. The stock stuff only goes so far.

Also, which track he frequents plays a big part on the cooling. As mentioned, my home track was Sebring so I am writing from my experiences. Sebring is a lot harder on your car than Barber. I had students go through a complete set of stock pads in one day at Sebring as well as overheat their car hitting over 300 oil their first day out. So, yes even a newb can use cooling if they are pushing it enough in the right conditions.

FASTFATBOY

My home track is NOLA Motorsports Park

"Blowing" out a radiator that hasn't been pulled and cleaned since the car was built will do zero to help it's cooling.

This is what mine looked like when I pulled it










This is a 1/3 of what came out of it.




A week after I cleaned it.

FASTFATBOY

Sealed up




Center air deflector tied back so it cant fold under car

SouthernSon

If the radiator shroud has ANY small opening it can let a lot of cooling capacity go in the wrong direction. Rivet it, screw it, bolt it, install foam or tape it. Simply good enough is not good enough. It makes a BIG difference.

L Duncan

Lol, is this discussion still going on...Listen for the last time a STOCK liter bike, busa or zx14 will smoke(it's not close) a STOCK Z06 0 to 180. It takes 1000hp for a 3500lb car to compete with a bike...A Z06 has a 1 to 5 hp/weight ratio a modern sportbike has a 1 to 3 ratio. DOES ANYBODY UNDERSTAND THIS!!!!! I've run so many bikes and cars together and am absolutely correct on this. Obviously some on here have there head in the sand.

FASTFATBOY

Ummm

Reggie Dunlop

Double

insertclevername

I wanted to add to what great info FastFB posted concerning maintaining the factory cooling system. A cheap easy adjustable cooling benefit for the stock cooling system, would be a different antifreeze/distilled water mix. Based on your geographic location lower the antifreeze %. Florida guys can run near 15%A/85%DW year round. I would recommend to still using at least 10% antifreeze for the corrosion protection etc.

Example 17%A/83%DW would be safe to about 20*F.

I have to clean my radiator when I get home, and I'm going to seal the thing up like FastFB did.

mikeCsix

I didn't see it mentioned, but I would check the brake lines for cracks and replace them if they are.

Ludeaem

Wow there is a lot of ego on this forum sometime! Go out and have fun and be safe. As others have mentioned once you drive the car you'll see what areas it should be improved upon. Good luck.

People keep talking about getting oil temps high enough on the street but do we have a magic number to hit? My general area i like to hit is 190 however I can see others saying at least 212 to burn off any moisture in the oil. Either way, do we have an engineers analysis on this and not just speculation? Serious question.

johnny c

get yourself a set of race pads (KNS brakes) i like the pfc 01 they are great for beginners

a good helmet. something rated sa2010 -sa2015

and a copy of speed secrets. ( it's a book by Ross Bentley)


have fun!!