I attended my first HPDE this past weekend in my basically stock '99 coupe. I flushed the brake fluid and replaced with ATE blue brake fluid. I also replaced the front brake pads with the highest perf pads Autozone had (I was in a hurry and couldn't get some of the better name brand ones in time). The brakes did great.

Everything did pretty good except for having an automatic trans. It would not allow me to power through the corners and would run hot towards the end of the session .

I know I can add a trans cooler to help with the cooling. Does anyone know of a replacement shifter for the C5 automatic? I was not comfortable manually shifting the Vette for fear of pushing it into OD or neutral. I also wanted to be easier on the trans since it was running hot.

Thanks for help and suggestions. I want to do some mods for handling but don't want to spend too much on it if the trans is going to hold me back.

 

Talk to "Dirty Howie" on this forum. He's put a lot of track time on an automatic and knows the trials and tribulations.

IMHO I'd try to get a 6 speed in there. It'll be faster, cooler, and more fun.

 

Absolutely!!!!

 

Hey, I don't have much more experience than you do, but go a head and shift it you'll have less chance of blowing a shift than with a manual, it will not go into OD unless its time and you don’t stand much of a chance going into neutral (even if it does you have a rev limiter). It will make a LOT of difference in my HPDE 1 days it really sucked waiting for down shifts and also having the downshifts occur when I did not want them. I have the 3.15 differential, and by shifting it myself I'm fairly happy with the results. I think it modulates pretty well through the corners, and it launches great when exiting.

Next, I would suggest getting a custom tune. They can alter the shift speeds, down shift point, up shift points, and so on. I just got one and I'm heading to the track this weekend to see how it works for me. On the street it downshifts and up shifts like I would assume a Vette would in the first place

I think there is a shiftkit available, but I'm not sold that its the best idea. Just a feeling, nothing to back that up with...

Cooling is an issue, I put on a auxiliary cooler and it has helped. Get a pretty large cooler, search here and there are suggestions on what models to buy. they are pretty cheap, so don't delay. I'm still running a little hot on the trans (just more than I want) and the coolant temp is too high as well. I have a dewits radiator in route, hopefully that will solve both my issues.

 

I wish I could get a 6 speed!

I do like not having to worry about a clutch and heel-n-toe.

I think once I got more comfortable with driving I could manually downshift the automatic and be more competitive.

I used to have a ratchet shifter in a Camaro and loved that you could only go one gear at a time - no matter how hard you pushed or pulled on the shifter. I would think that with so many C5s with automatics that B&M or someone would come out with a shifter.

I found a great thread for adding a trans cooler. It has all the parts needed with part #s. I'll get that done for sure and work on the handling before my next trip to the track.

Thanks for the responses.