vettejockey

I am looking to improve the handling on my C6 z51. I am only going to upgrade one piece at a time to understand how these upgrades effect the car's handling and work together.

Any recomendations on which upgrade first and also any advice on products would be great. I have studied this on other threads and this is a complicated topic.

I autocross my car and do HPDE Track days so being able to optimize the handling for these types of applications is the goal.

waktasz

Shocks.

edit: Adjustable ones.

TedDBere

Wow Matt, I'd do those last.

I vote for sway bars, an alignment and a second set of rims for good tires.

waktasz

I kind of figured tires were a given and alignment isn't really a 'part' so you can do that whenever. I'd do shocks before sways though.

Independent1

I vote for sways also. They are the least expensive item and probably least difficult to replace.

The adjustable shocks are a good idea too. However, why not just go with a set of adjustable coilovers when you ready?

waktasz

Because those put him in a nasty autocross class.

Aardwolf

I would get a good alignment then use the rest of the money for safety equipment.

ghoffman

and entry fees, and gas, and brakes, and Gatorade, but if you really want to, I would go with shocks first.

vettejockey

I already have rims and R6 tires and an aggressive alignment.

The rims are one inch wider than stock and the tires are wider I think they are 275 front and 315 rear. I just went to the 315's from 295's

Understandabely I may have to have it re-done once modifications are made. I am also thinking of getting a camber kit while I am doing this work to give me more control over the alignment.

You hear so many people talking about the stiffer leaf springs and coil overs it confusses me. I have no experience with these changes. The goal I guess is less role to the outside of the turn with less compression of the suspension and less push when turning at higher speeds.

I am sure some of these issues are me but I still think it could be better. It is all about saving prescious seconds.

gkmccready

Are you turning consistent lap times with the car as it sits today? Or are they fluctuating in a 5-10s range?

rfn026

1 - Tires
2 - Alignment
3- Sway Bars
4- Shocks
5- Springs
6- Go back to 1 and do it all over again

Richard Newton
Race Cars 360

63Corvette

Driver 1st

RichieRichZ06

If you already have the tires, I vote for Sways also. Seat of the pants, they will make the biggest diff.

gkmccready

I must be doing something wrong. I have shocks and springs ... and stock bars!

vettejockey

My times are more consistant but I am still not as competative as I would like. My ability is a factor but I am entering events as often as possible, running good tires, and making changes to my car slowly.

One thing I have noticed when I try and push to go a little faster I loose the smoothness I have at say 2 or 3 seconds slower in an autocross. This is about how much I am behind the faster cars in my class doing Autocross events. Ideally I would like to shave a couple seconds and remain smooth. In autocross 2 or 3 seconds puts you back in the pack.

On road coarses I may be 8 to 15 seconds behind the faster cars in my run group. Again my times are consistant just a step or two behind. I am definately in the slower run groups. I have less experience in these types of events so I have much more to learn but it is getting better.

gkmccready

What causes you to become less smooth as you try to pick up the pace? What does the car do that takes you off your game? If you can't name the problem with the car that causes you to become less smooth you're probably better off keeping the car the same and pushing the pace to get the driver in tune with the higher speeds -- or at least do that until you can identify the area that's causing the issue. :-)

Armycop

Sways, brakes, tires, driver, driver, driver! Nothing beats seat time.

Webz

Corner Balance
Alignment
Swaybars
Springs
Shocks

vettejockey

The issue I run up agaist on road coarses is the car doesn't seem to want to turn it pushes more. So I slow down on entry and loose speed on exit. On hard exit the car will push out as well but this seems very normal and doesn't seem to slow me down.

On autcross slaloms the car gets out of control after several cones when I try and speed up even a little bit . As well I have to slow down more to get the car to turn when cornering. This causes me to be slower on exit puting me lower on the torq curve which hurts accelaeration.

longdaddy

you have sticky tires and correct alignment - it is really odd that turn-in/pushing in corners is the issue.

it could be the balance between entry speeds and throttle input -i.e. if you are overslowing for the corners and then use a lot of throttle to make up for it (I know I did), you are taking too much weight off the front tires.

some of the smoothness will go away with speed - if we are talking about how the car is responding, however your inputs have to always stay as smooth as possible.

i'd start with double checking the alignment and having a competent coach ride with you and check what you are doing.

with sticky tires and right alignment there is no reason for you to run in slower groups, assuming the human part of the equation is well sorted out, if you know what I mean