motodog

does anyone have an auto and run some track day stuff ? i am a ways away from any track time yet (car is apart for paint) i left my motor guys shop yesterday and trans questions came up "are you going to build an auto or do a zf swap?" i had to question myself a little bit because as of present this car will be on the street 90% of the time. at this stage i can do an auto or a zf. motor is a gm 4bolt eagle 396ci, afr elim 195cc, mini ram, c/r 10.5:1, havent got a cam yet. i do like to cruz with my wife and the auto is cool for that and she has fun in the car too. can a build 700r can hang for hpde or will i be lynch mob have me on the 1st tree after it grenades at the best part of the track. thanks guys i know some of you have a lot of track time and have seen and done plenty

longdaddy

i've seen auto C4, C5 and C6 corvettes on the track. if you are planning to run more than a couple of DEs you may want to invest into a trans cooler if you don't have one already.

PrestonG

Ask ktoonsez on here.. he runs an auto on the track nonstop. Seems to do fine, just make sure you have a nice cooler on it

Also you will want to tune the hell out of it, the default tune sucks. Ask him he can give you some pointers.

AU N EGL

if you do one or two DEs a year an auto is fine. If want to start doing more DEs then put in the ZF.

Either way a trans cooler is a must for DEs.

trumper Z06

Very rarely do I get a student with an auto tranny, in fact it's been a few years since I last rode with a student who had an automatic transmission in a Vette.

The tranny will hold up for a couple of events at least but...

The driver does have to work around the tranny wanting to "change gears" at awkward moments.

If DE Events are new to you... go ahead with your "auto", it will be a fun experience.

0RAAMaudio

There are more auto trans HPDE Vettes around as well, more may post there experiences here.

I am getting my car ready for some fun at the track, my first auto performance car ever, Chuck Cow tuned and it if far better than stock.

Secondary trans cooler installed, outlet at the top of the one built into the radiator, down to the inlet on the secondary cooler, out to the trans.
One test so far, hot day, going up to Park City from SLC, over 40 degrees cooler than before and well within comfort zone.

But, I also changed to a Ron Davis radiator with trans cooler built in instead of the stock cooler, how much of the RD unit is dropping the temps I not know and the last time up that hill I was pulling a 1k tear drop trailer load, and it was a bit hotter outside.

Watch oil temps as well, you might want to add an oil cooler.

---------

The paddle shifter, when programmed better, will actually work pretty well and are instant and will a blip of the throttle. To say the clutch packs the upshifts are delayed a bit so just plan ahead a little.

---------

I have a feeling this is going to work very well on the track

Rick

PrestonG

You still put it in manual mode and just use the paddle shifters

AU N EGL

The few students that I have had with autos, we still tought them to shift.

Downshift just before turn in is the main shift point. This way the auto will not downshift as you have come out of the corner.

0RAAMaudio

Great info, I have played around just enough on the road to know I have to do my own downshifts so have to use manual mode. Upshifts are fine in auto mode, usually, if happened at the wrong time it could unbalance the car and cause unfortunate results. Best to use those paddles all the time for the most control.

The only trick is to allow a moments lead time to the upshifts, do it a bit early, etc....it will be easy to figure that out.

I am going to change from downshifting while turning, as I am well accustomed to with a manual trans, to doing them all while braking in a staight line, as much as possible that is, I think this will be the best way to use the car at higher speeds and maintain the best control.

Rick

jaa1992

Having driven an auto when I first started HPDE that is what i emphasize to my students. Also you will NEED a big trans cooler.
My 88 would overheat the oil and trans fluid on a short course on a 30 minute session. A student had a c6 with the paddle shifters and overheated his trans fluid in less than 20 min at VIR. Made corners very interesting until it cooled off. Had another student with an older camaro, he would put too much power down comming out of the turns. He would select 2 before the turn, because he floored it too early it would still downshift to 1 and rear would get loose. Couple of times we were 90* to the track surface. You have to plan all of your shifts and KNOW what your trans is going to do.

bearnest

Be sure to watch your tranny temps, if it gets around 280 290 the computer will take over and shift for you. This can cause real problems. Ask me how I know???

Aardwolf

Car sounds like a C4. It should be fine but add a temp gauge and cooler. I've made threads about that if you would like to search them up.

mikemiller68gs

I've had a number of days with a C4 auto. It worked fine on our local track, but the track only requires you to down shift twice. No problems at all with it

yakisoba

We tracked my wife's C5 vert for three years. In order to do that well, we had to do some stuff:
1) Deep trans pan. B&M. More fluid volume == more cooling. Also gives you a drain plug.
2) Trans cooler. Doug Rippie. In series with the stock cooler.
3) Tune. Stock autos come with torque management and it will need to have shift points changed.

With those things, it was still much slower than a standard would have been. The main issue we had was passing. In a standard, it responds to throttle instantly. The auto takes a minute to respond, and in short passing zones, there were issues. She still spanked BMW, Porsches, etc.

0Chuck CoW

Thank you VERY much!

And, YES...It will survive NO PROBLEM!

Chuck CoW

mcandrew67

I HPDE my C6 Z51 A6. I have done a few now and learn something every time. First time out, tranny and oil temps got to high, brakes were ok. A little fade but not a whole lot.
I took out the stock radiator, tranny cooler, oil cooler as it just didn't cut it. We put in a dewitts radiator with oil cooler and then mounted a separate tranny cooler up front.
Then put in Carbotech XP10 and XP8 pads.
I also have a COW tune
The next event, the temps were perfect no issues whatsoever, but had a lot more brake fade.
Now installing brake cooling ducts, will see how they do next time out.

So cliff notes.
Upgrade your radiator, oil cooler and transmission cooler.
Install, brake cooling ducts and upgrade your pads.
Also put castrol Srf brake fluid in....

David

0RAAMaudio

To clairify and add a bit more, I am running a dual trans cooler setup, one in the radiator, Ron Davis, feeds into the grill mounted one then to the trans.

Brakes: C6 Z06 calipers, DRM SS pistons, XP10/8 pads, Quantum ducts, SS lines, DBA rotors, good fluid, I should be good to go on the track in that department

The way my trans is programmed it downshifts immediately when I use the paddles, blips the throttle, not to harsh to lock up the tires, etc, that part is going to be very easy to adapt to and not be shifting at the wrong times.

Upshift delays are going to take the same amount of time, all the time, it will be easy to learn the timing.

I do not see my car being that much more difficult to drive quickly that I do with a manual car(I have driven quite a few manual cars including Vettes on the track)

Rick

kimmer

All I know is I love my auto for autocrossing, just stick it in second and focus on your driving.

0RAAMaudio

I am pretty sure there has been at least on national championship winning auto in SCCA solo, driving by a lady, not sure if against the men or in the womans class.

motodog

i may end up going to a z6 after all is said and done. my new motor wont pass smog so it could find itself as a track only car if i run out of help on smog. with the money going into an auto it may not be much of a differance cost wise to do the 6mn swap. the trans guy was talking about a manual/auto valve body. anyone run one? and my car is a c4 if i hadnt given that info yet.