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Anyone know what the weak points are in racing C7s like need for coolers or wheel bearings?
If you are looking at racing, it will need a lot of mods as it's a street car, not a race car (e.g., cage, fire suppression, etc). If you are looking at HPDE, go for the Z51 package and a stick shift. The extra coolers for diff and tranny will be a big help. Stay away from Z06, the supercharger generates way too much heat and will quickly put you into limp mode.
Stay away from Z06, the supercharger generates way too much heat and will quickly put you into limp mode.
6500 track miles on mine and it's never overheated with bone stock cooling. Probably your biggest issue with a Z06 and racing is fuel consumption as it'll suck a tank dry in under 45 min. That and the lack of a class to run in.
I've toyed with trying to build and run T1 with a C7 Z51 as I really like the platform but I've never run WTW and am not ready to invest in that at this point. I'd love to see one of you more seasoned guys prep a C7 and see how it performs.
Bob already does W2W, so try to tailor your answers to that. He's not an HPDE n00b.
Not sure if that's directed at me but I realize the Bob has tons of W2W experience and that's why I'm very interested in what he and you other experienced folks come up with.
I was at the SCCA Majors race at Summit Point this weekend and there were no C7s that I saw. I didn't get a chance to talk to Joe Aquilante but I know at one point he was advertising building C7 T1 cars. Looked like every car they brought to Summit though was with at C6 or a Mustang.
Bob already does W2W, so try to tailor your answers to that. He's not an HPDE n00b.
My fault, interested to see input from C7 racers.
Regarding the C7 Z06, my comment above is based on instructing HPDEs in Texas. Most of my students with C7 Zs with auto trans have gone into limp mode after ~15 min on track.
I will be interested to see if the soon to be available C7 Grand Sport is more widely adopted for racing. I think with the new DSC shocks and controller, and a little more power this car could be wicked.
As cool as it would be to see a C7 converted into a full-on race car...that is a LOT of money down the proverbial race car toilet....if it were my money...well, I'd go tube frame...skin it in C7 bodywork....there's a guy (or two) that can do that...maybe Bosco or David Pintaric will chime in.
Last edited by Captain Buddha; 05-02-2016 at 11:42 AM.
I'll bet a noob to the track would find the limit of the C7 quicker than an experienced driver if the noob can drive at least 80%. The noob will stay out for the very last lap, will not prep the car as well as someone experienced, and won't know how to work within the limits of the car and track. However, the experienced will prep as necessary, drive for reliability and probably not stay out for every last lap but the experienced are capable of ascertaining the weak points without breaking the car better than the noob; another catch 22! I am assuming we are talking HPDE's because a showroom C7 would not be my first choice for W2W.
My only advice for the C7 is NEVER turn of the traction control! I could not get my C7 Z06 to be as quick as my C6 Z06 so after several track events in race mode, i turned off the traction control to free up some of that untapped power. BIG MISTAKE. You can turn of the traction control but you cannot lock the ELSD. The c6's are Positraction however the C7 with the new electronic LSD cannot be controlled. You can apply power while going straight, get wheel slip without even knowing it, then the power will instantly transfer to the other side and your off to the guardrail in an instant!! Beware turning off the traction control!!!
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
There is really nothing right now you can race a C7 in...at least not at the Pro level.
There are some "C7 Corvettes" in transam, but they are all the same tube frame cars they have been since the 2000's. You have the C7R in Tudor right now but good luck buying one and racing that yourself. World Challenge will not allow, or let me restate that, GM will not allow a C7 to run in GT or GTS in World Challenge series.
Other than that, I guess you might be able to run a Z51 in T1 but that is really about it outside of your local regional stuff.
I will be interested to see if the soon to be available C7 Grand Sport is more widely adopted for racing. I think with the new DSC shocks and controller, and a little more power this car could be wicked.
My only advice for the C7 is NEVER turn of the traction control! I could not get my C7 Z06 to be as quick as my C6 Z06 so after several track events in race mode, i turned off the traction control to free up some of that untapped power. BIG MISTAKE. You can turn of the traction control but you cannot lock the ELSD. The c6's are Positraction however the C7 with the new electronic LSD cannot be controlled. You can apply power while going straight, get wheel slip without even knowing it, then the power will instantly transfer to the other side and your off to the guardrail in an instant!! Beware turning off the traction control!!!
Can you elaborate on these two points. I don't really know/understand what Positraction means, and I assumed the the eLSD was super responsive and very transparent in all modes.
Can you elaborate on these two points. I don't really know/understand what Positraction means, and I assumed the the eLSD was super responsive and very transparent in all modes.
I also wonder if those symptoms aren't from the rear caster being off. I've run my C7Z with everything off and not had that problem once the alignment was correct. However, I also put mine in the wall leaving pit lane in PTM Race with the stock alignment and cold tires.
Weak points is weight. Mine is gutted (except dash and AC) including a poly carb windshield and I'm still at 3230. If I go full on out drastic I think I can get another hundred out of it but I think that's it. It's definitely nice shaving 250 pounds from stock so far but it's still a big girl. Also if w2w, cooling upgrades are a must even for the z51. Z06 is very quirky so I'd steer away from that for w2w.
Weak points is weight. Mine is gutted (except dash and AC) including a poly carb windshield and I'm still at 3230.
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This may be a silly question, but do you have any ideas as to why they are inherently so heavy? I assumed a Z06 fully gutted would be closer to around 3100 +/- 50 lbs. If I'm not mistaken the same treatment would get a steel chassis C6 to 3000lbs and a C6 Z06 potentially 2900lbs or less.
Weak points is weight. Mine is gutted (except dash and AC) including a poly carb windshield and I'm still at 3230. If I go full on out drastic I think I can get another hundred out of it but I think that's it. It's definitely nice shaving 250 pounds from stock so far but it's still a big girl. Also if w2w, cooling upgrades are a must even for the z51. Z06 is very quirky so I'd steer away from that for w2w.
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Originally Posted by truth.b
This may be a silly question, but do you have any ideas as to why they are inherently so heavy? I assumed a Z06 fully gutted would be closer to around 3100 +/- 50 lbs. If I'm not mistaken the same treatment would get a steel chassis C6 to 3000lbs and a C6 Z06 potentially 2900lbs or less.
Or do I have incorrect assumptions.
Weight is still my big concern with the C7 GS arriving later this year. Compared to the C6 Z06, there is more mass in areas where it is difficult or impossible to deal with. I recall reading that direct injection added nearly 80 lbs. and the frame, while aluminum gained mass along with stiffness with the use of castings vs. extrusions or hydroforming. The C7 Z06 is further burdened with a supercharger and all the related cooling equipment and many expect to see additional cooling measures very soon which adds more mass. The car also has very high aero drag and there are many reports of a full tank of fuel not lasting for two 30 minute track sessions. Just focusing on the fuel burn highlights some of tradeoffs the engineers had to make to reach 650 hp within the packaging constraints. All those btu's of energy have to be dissipated somehow and it takes a lot of mechanical cooling equipment. I expect a lot of that fuel is consumed to cool the valves via a rich air fuel ratio.
04-29-2016, 12:20 AM
