linutux

Thought this might help pass the time until the NCM VIR HPDE...

AU N EGL

A few things I noticed

They used VIR Grande East course. ( Brake markers are on the left side up the back straight hill) and car was left of center. Full course you dont see the brake markers untill you go down that little hill and they markers are on the right.

He shifted up at south course pit out, Late to 4th or early to 5th. ??

Driver down shift twice in the brake zone on the back straight, 5-3 or 4-2. Normal is 4 - 3. Normal 4 th gear 130-135 into the brake zone.

Out of turn 2 though turn 3 driver up shifted, and down shifted into turn 4
Normally there is no shifting at either place. Might be the gearing differences.

Two other things

That car had a RED interior

and by the sound of the OTHER car on the track the other car may have been on of Synergy's Grand AM 997s , high pitch screem on the sound track. or two ZR1s.

Over all very

anotherone

I have 5 hpde's so far and cant imagine what 200 more hp would be like. Do you have this much power or have driven a car with this much power? I like the new brake info also ; seems like GM is really awake!

Wicked Weasel

More power means easier to get in trouble. I started HPDEs with a stock vette with stock tires. I added power as I got better. Eventually I ended around 460rwhp for about 3 years.

Going this route made the most sense to me. I know mistakes that I made at the lower HP levels would have been serious at the more HP levels (I learned this the most when riding a motorcycle. If I made the same mistakes with my GSXR that I made with my 450 nighthawk I would have been dead).

Now I am replacing the H/C 346 with a LS7. Honestly I think a modded LS7 is too much for HPDEs, but because of other factors I had to go with this setup (the main one being the dry sump and not losing A/C). I feel I will have to relearn everything again. Shift points, brake points, etc etc etc. but from experience I know that I can really control everything by not allowing myself to press the GO pedal all the way down.

Wicked Weasel

BTW to follow up

I really believe that GM should include some sort of driving training with the purchase of the C6Z and now the ZR1.

People just think they can buy this car and go out speeding. They do not realize the power it has and soon (as we saw from the many pictures posted) end up wrecked.

davidfarmer

I think power ultimately makes you a better driver. We had 2 cars at most events this year, a stock C6, and a stock C6Z06. In the C6, you could just push the pedal to the floor at almost every apex, whereas you had to feather the throttle on the Z06 until you got the car either fast enough/straight enough to apply full power. While the extra power can certainly get you into trouble, learning to manage all that power is a big part of mastering car control.

I didn't pay too much attention to the shifts on the video, as the sound didn't sync especially well when I played it back. I did notice some pretty sloppy driving coming through 5-6 however. I wonder if the yellow car is the one they ball'd up??????

Cobra4B

Car has red sparcos in it... at least on the passenger side.

robvuk

I agree on that 5-6 area, he was clearly off line. I don't think I've heard about one getting balled up. This is the first on this forum anyway. Any more info?

AU N EGL

The driver was an experienced driver, but not on VIR.
The sound on most of the Video, was of a different car.
as you listen to the sound and watch the video, the sound is of a car just passing the camera but not on camera.

then the ZR1 flys by.

The trans of the ZR1 is closer to the GM Motor sports gear box but with a 3.42 rear end

linutux

Since 3rdd is only good for 128ish, I think he's going early to 4th.


With so much torque, I'm surprised they were shifting there too. Judging from the acceleration through T2 they were definitely looking for max thrust.

Very Cool.

I like the sound of the engine when off power as much as on. The "whine" under power from the supercharger is almost subliminal. More like a jet engine than a wet-vac with a deer whistle stuck in it.

gonzalezfj

If you will rev the LS7 to 7000 vs. 6500 for the LS6, then your shift points will need to be adjusted.

The C6Z also has bigger wheels than the C5Z, so max speed in gears differ. For C5Z at 6500 redline and C6Z at 7000 redline:

C5Z C6Z
1st: 50 MPH 61 MPH
2nd: 71 MPH 91 MPH
3rd: 103 MPH 125 MPH
4th: 148 MPH 163 MPH

Therefore, in a track like VIR, the shift points differ quite a bit in some areas of the track. For example: Oak Tree is definitely a 2nd gear turn in the C6Z, and the car rockets out of the turn like a Saturn V booster was strapped to its ***.

Since you are carrying more speed at every corner entrance, your brake points also need to be relearned.

BUT... relearning all of that is the FUN PART!!!

See you at VIR.

Frank Gonzalez

AU N EGL

4th 1;1 at redline ( 6750) on my 18x335/30 is 147. When I used the GY G19s 18x25.5x11.5 6750 was 154 mph.

So with a P335/25ZR20 and 6600 red line lets say 6500 shift would be 150 mph. However, if one down shifts to 2nd for Oak tree ( prior corner) that point on the track is about the place to shift to 4th, which would put the car about 118 mph.



Normally we go though T1-T2 combo in 3rd gear, IF the driver was in 2nd though T1-2 then YES shifting to 3rd just prior to T3 ( slight left hand bend) would be needed.

Remember the gear box is close to the GM Motor Sports box:
ZR1 gearing
First: 2.29

Second: 1.61

Third: 1.21

Fourth:1.00

Fifth:0.81

Sixth:0.67

AU N EGL

Oak tree is a 3rd gear corner. If you use 2nd your going too slow though the corner. or 2nd gear will cause the tires to spin

Only time to use 2nd in oak tree is if there is lots of slow traffic.

VIR is one of those tracks, the less shifting you do the faster you go. 3rd and 4th gear track.

the C6Z and my guess the ZR1 would use 5th on the long back straight to get speeds up to the upper 160s to low 170s, before the brake zone.

I think I did 172 going into the brake zone ( Marker #2 - bottom of little dip ) on the back straight ONCE

Wicked Weasel

I think this is true only if you respect that power from the beginning. I drove Doug@ECS 1000rwhp Vert. The first day I called Doug and said does the boost go above 0 and he laughed. There was no way the first day out I was getting on a 1000rwhp car. By the 2nd day though I knew when I was above 0 boost. The thing is a rocket ship and people say traction is a problem, but as long as you didnt floor it and gradually got into the gas I never had a problem.

Though I do agree that the power makes you better just like taking off TC/AH. Yeah at first your car is sliding out, but eventually you learn how to control your car better which makes you a better driver.

Mikelly

It's clearly driver dependant. I went from a 386WHP C5 Vette to a 510WHP modified Twin Turbo porsche and I've had no issues at all adjusting to more power. <knocking on wood> I'll be driving it at 530-540WHP on pump gas and closer to 575WHP on race gas come VIR in March and dont' anticepate any issues other than the normal "focus on smoothness and the line" stuff we all deal with lap after lap. Makes checking your mirrors less of an issue.

Mike

0Randy@DRM

It looks like a fun car!!! A old joke from my youth.
Question
"what is better then X amount of power"
Answer
"X+1"


Randy

Falcon

I heard from a corner worker, who was at that test, that GM was also testing 2010 CVST's with that same motor during that same time. That might have been what you heard.

I was also told that at the end of testing on day 3 that the 'Vette ended up in the armco at Turn 3 and they shut the track down for a couple of hours repairing the armco. No one was hurt but the car was torn up pretty bad.

Falcon

Ron Fellows was one of the test drivers of the ZR1. Whether that was him in the turn 5 & 6 clip, I dunno.

steponc

I have been told the sale price will include schooling at Bondurants for the ZR1.
I also read today that Pratt Miller will have Ron Fellows at Spring Mountain for the buyers of their C6RS.

AU N EGL

That idea was thought about but rejected.