kermooni

I have had eight HPDE days with Corvette, BMW, and Porsche guys. I am starting to need a little better handling from my car.

I have heard shocks help (e.g. Konti FSI, Bilestein (sp?)).

Need advice from C6 Trackers.

Thanks.

gkmccready

What's the budget? :-)

Aggressive alignment? Corner balanced?

Are you on DOT-R rubber? That will probably make the single biggest difference.

A lot of this place will tell you swaybars.... big beefy swaybars. The T1 bars or Pfadt bars seem popular. ADDCO and Hotchkis also make bars that fit. Some folks, though, will tell you to hold off on the swaybars and work through the handling with shocks & springs.

Some love the KONI FSD or Bilstein Sport or '04 C5Z or C6Z shocks as an upgrade. I've been testing a set of KONI 3013Sports for a friend and I'm not very happy with them. (Yes, I know others love them.) KONI 2812s are an option from RAFT Motorsports, too.

T1 springs, or VBP has replacement leaf springs in varying rates. As does Hyperco (although they have a lot fewer rate choices).

For more bucks you can go coilovers with DRM, Pfadt or LG. And for even a bit more you can get high-end coilovers from HardbarUSA.

What don't you like about the stock handling that you're trying to fix?

I have an '06 C6 Z51. I'm running CCW Corsair wheels 18x11 all around, 295/30r18 front, 305/35r18 rear. I run a base model rear swaybar and a stock Z51/Z06 front bar. As I mentioned I've been testing some KONI 3013Sport shocks -- they work, but I know they're leaving a lot on the table, too. Other than that it's SS DRM brake lines, Hardbar Harness bar, TeamTech JetPilot harness, Hardbar belt mounts, Hardbar camber plates & stud kit, VBP swaybar bushings... downgrade to C6 base brake rotors. To date I've run stock calipers with PFC 01 front pads and PFC Z compound rear, or 01 front and Wilwood H rear, and soon I'm going to run Wilwood SL6R calipers up front with H pads. At $350/set for PFC 01 front pads the calipers pay for themselves quickly with <$200/set pads...

Eventually I'll run some real rubber; but right now it's nice to drive to and from the track. :-)

Aaron Pfadt

If you have a base car, the factory Z51 sways are a nice upgrade, however, they are still too soft for hard core track use. The base cars really need more spring rate, so avoid just doing a shock package because you'll be left needing more stiffness. Just upgrading the shocks won't make up for the fact that the leaf springs are still too soft.

We sponsored the NCM event at Spring Mountain in November and I had two beginner students driving C6s. One was a base car and the other was a Z51 - neither had any mods. Spending the weekend jumping out of one and into the other really showed that the Z51 package is a capable track package. The students both progressed similarly through the weekend, but the one with the base suspension was overdriving the suspension by his second day. The Z51 student got faster all weekend and still had capability left in the car.

A set of our Pfadt coil overs are generally good for a couple of seconds per lap. Our stiffer springs really help control body motion and the adjustable damping gives you an easy way to tune the car.

Sway bars are also a good improvement - they won't get you as much time per lap as our coils, but the improvements are very noticeable. Depending on whether your car is the Z51 or has base suspension, either of the upgrades can make a significant improvement in lap times.

Given that you've had 8 track days, you're no doubt running into the limits of the factory suspension. This is where it really starts to get fun, though!

In general I would also discourage changing to R Compound tires yet. It will be easier to feel the increased capability of the car as you begin to upgrade the suspension. R compound tires can "hide" a lot of bad handling and bad driving.

-Aaron

kermooni

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Please remember this is also my DD. I am going to try and answer all your questions.
1. The budget is pretty much not an issue - of course I do not wan to put in the C6R equip. I simply want improved cornering.
2. I am runnign stock and will probably switch to Mich PS2 unless I can put in bigger rears without changing the body. I will not be running R compound for a couple of years. I am already at 380 RWHP. In spring, I am putting in the LS3 head that should take me to about 420.
3. The rear feels a little jumpy especially on a clover leaf with any imperfection.

FYI - I have the Hardbar Harness bar and Belt mount (using the Sparco eye hook). TeamTech Jetpiolt harness :-) I have SS brake lines, run stock Z51 brakes and pads with Castrol fluid.

Thanks.

gkmccready

Call Gary (@Hardbar) or Danny (@RAFT) or Randy (@DRM) or Aaron (@Pfadt) or Lou (@LG). :-) I think they all have workable packages for you... myself, I'm leaning towards a Hardbar Penske Dual-Rate setup eventually... I've spent time messing with single-adjustable shocks in the past and I'm always unhappy with just a rebound adjuster.

FWIW, my car felt twitchy at the limit until I went to the base model rear bar and put some more rear toe-in on the alignment. As for tires without bodywork changes; I'm stock bodywork but the fronts stick out a bit. You'd want 18x10+18x11 to run a 275+305 (or 315) combo... John@CCW would know exactly what to do to take care of you.

I try to drive mine daily, too, BTW. :-)