NOSLO6

Hi folks,

I'm going to participating in a two-day HPDE at NJMP this April and while I've taken multi-day schools at Spring Mountain and Skip Barber and autocrossed quite a bit this will be my first HPDE in my 08 C6 Z51.

I'm a long time drag racer and have found that it's incredibly helpful to have a good pre-event checklist AND pile of spare parts for those items most likely to fail. I'm also a new dad so this time away from home is very precious and I don't want to miss seat time while, say, trying to find a spare set of rotors. There's another great thread going at the moment here, but the poster there is a more seasoned racer and I don't want to hijack his thread with my three more basic questions:

• 1. I'm running r-compound tires (R888s) and making a little more power than stock (see sig). My research suggests that I'd be silly to think I'd make it through the two days with stock rotors and Hawk HPS pads. Am I right on this?
  
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• 2. If the above answer is yes, would swapping to NAPA rotors and brackets and bringing a spare set be good enough insurance?
  
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• 3. It's about a 40 mile drive to the track and I may not trailer the car-- front / rear pad recommendations? Bear in mind that given my skill level I won't be able to squeeze out the last n % of performance from the pads. Just want something that will last and resist fade.

Thanks for any and all thoughts-- including any other things that I'm missing. I've done quite a bit of reading, but your thoughts will really help me to make the most of this first event in my own car.

I'll be running in the green/yellow group-- it's my first time with this club and on this track.
Scott

sothpaw2

Much depends on your skill level with the brakes and what run group you are in. I think you'll be just fine with stock C5Z pads or Hawk HP+ but of course I would make sure they are new all around just to be sure.

My experience has been that if you are in a crowded green group of newbies, especially if they are not all Corvettes (ie some slower models), you won't get the wear on brakes or tires that you get with the same identical set-up but an open run group in intermediate or advanced. In novice, you'll catch people at the end of a long straight, then be stuck behind in the braking zone and thus not able to use your brakes or corner the car as hard as you would if nobody was there.

So don't worry about it. Just make sure they are relatively new. I don't like the HPS too much though. The dust is very corrosive on the wheels so don't use wheels you like up front.

OCCOMSRAZOR

Scott,

IMHO:

1. It depends on how you brake and what condition the rotors and pads are in the first place and how hard you are on your brakes when running at speed. Closely inspect your rotors for cracking or damage and then judge based upon that. (There have been a number of threads lately re; rotor cracking) I have used Z51 rotors with good success for multiple track days, but the track I usually run at is not that hard on brakes. It would be prudent for a multi day event to carry an extra set of rotors and pads.

2. If you are planning to do a many track days, the swap to stock rotors may be a good idea from a cost standpoint. However, if you are only going to do two or three per season, I would stick with what you have. I would recommend that you swap your brake lines to stainless steel and replace your brake fluid with a good hi-temp fluid like Motul 600.

3. Everyone has their own favorite brake pad so you'll get lots of opinions. I have used stock C5 Z06 pads that I purchased from Gene Culley with good results. They aren't that expensive and they are really a darn good pad for street and track use.

Sometimes the easiest solution is the best.

Have fun and stay safe!

gonzalezfj

Welcome to the insanity... er... sport, yeah, that's what I meant, sport.

You are probably running the Lightning track. It only has 2 hard braking zones going into T1 and T7. Therefore you may get away with simpler brake mods than in a high speed track like VIR.

You need, in order of importance:

1) Better brake fluid. Use any good DOT4 fluid. I use AP600, Motul or Castrol SRF.

2) Better pads. Hawk makes several good pads with varying degrees of heat resistance.

3) Brake cooling ducts for the front. Many people ignore these, but they are very effective in keeping the brake tmps down and don't cost all that much.

4) Pretty much any rotor will do, as long as it is in good condition prior to the event. You will use up the fronts, but the rears will last many track days if you stay away from activating the A/H.

PM me if you want more details. I instruct at NJMP and have a lot of experience with Corvettes at both tracks.

Frank Gonzalez

NOSLO6

Thanks so much to everyone for the input. Let me add a few more details based on the great feedback folks have offered.

• I'll be running one day at Lightning and one day at Thunderbolt
• I'll be using CRF as fluid and have a good brake ducting setup
• It's an April event so the track temps will be at least fairly low, which is nice for this initial test of the setup.

I anticipate doing no more than 5 track days per year, but will have this car for a good while and am happy to invest in parts that make for a safer or more enjoyable experience-- if it makes good sense to do so. The keep-it-simple theory is one that resonates where it's practical, particularly for first-timers.

I'm not looking to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the car, I'm well aware that the driver will keep that from happening. I would like to be able to drive the car to my ability, push it enough to learn from the experience, be a little better next time, not lose track time to part failure, and be safe.

The pad rotor selection seemed like the only real variable to focus on at this point, so thanks for the continued good thoughts!

RUN4CVR

Out of curiosity, which group are you running with?

If its your first year out, I think you can probably get away with the stock pads. Until you start really driving you won't do too much damage.

One thing about the NJMP tracks is that they really eat the soft compound tires quick. Make sure you flip the tires to the other side of the car between days, that drivers side edge gets rounded quickly.

(supposedly the South Jersey pavement has a lot of seashell mix in it...not sure if its true, but thats the rumor.)

Other than that, these tracks are fun.

tmak26b

Thunderbolt is not terrible on brakes, but I would still recommend track pads. I used my OEM rotors with track pads for 8 days before they are about to crack through. I think getting the correct fluid is just as important as the pads

EdsC6Z06

As long as your brakes are in good shape, you'll be fine. I did develop a mild brake pulsation on a set of stock pads/rotors in a day at Thunderbolt, but wear was not severe. I swapped to a set of Wilwood pads and fresh stock rotors next time out, and they still look new after a day at Lightning. Have fun!

Short-Throw

Let's say how high this number goes up after you're first event.


Have fun, you're about to be smitten!


Mike

NOSLO6

If only I had the budget .

I think I'm doing pretty well resisting the addiction so far-- I spent 3-days beating the snot out of someone else's vette at Spring Mountain last year and am only now going to be burning up my own tires and pads.

I've learned long ago through countless hours of wrenching on the Grand National (and a few dollars too) that there's no such thing as too much speed-- time and money tend to run out before the pure joy does!