fej

Hey guys. I am not planning on trying to win championships or travel back to the nationals, however I would like to get an idea on what it would take besides seat time (obviously) to be competitive in ASP.

At this point I do not want to remove my AR headers. Car is an 01z with the ARH's and a Haltech Stinger. Car is getting a tune in the coming weeks and a more aggresive alignment since it is off of the street now. Everything else is stock besides 275/40 and 315/35 V710's on 02 OEM rims. Car does not have sport seats unfortunately.

Thanks in advance guys.

Fej

ltborg

the car sounds pretty competitive as is, just depends on the seat time you get (as you already mentioned) and how competitive your region is. honestly, i think you are fine as is, however im using the 3 or 4 regions i compete in as reference so your region may be a different story.

since you said besides seat time, heres a quick list of things that come to my mind, mostly because they are what i just did or what i am trying to do next to my car (i run sm2):
lighter wheels
wider wheels/tires (specifically front)
04 z06 shocks or better
sway bars
brake pads
lsx intake
race seats

i say wider fronts because i felt that my 99 z51 pushed badly when i ran some borrowed 275s/315s. a couple of the guys i know who run ss run 295s on the 17s to counteract that and like it compared to the 275s. hope that helps

fej

Thanks for the reply. I failed to mention that I am lowered on stock bolts just short of 1", and I have 06 z06 shocks on the car right now, which will be changed I am sure soon.

I did notice the car's tendency to push a little even when I felt my corner speed was correct. Most of the people running similar cars are on 295's or 315's in the front as you mentioned.

My next move is a more aggresive alignment. Have an event in 2 weeks.

As for my region, in my little "series" we have several national champions (CP, SS, ASP and umm .. 1 other) with very sorted out cars. Like I said I don't want to win, as I realistically do not have the $$$ to truly play with the big boys, however I know that I can at least be respectable

Fej

LehmanZ06

Get a pure race alignment. Max camber all around. 0 toe or a smidge toe out front -.02 to -.03 per side. Rear .12 per side.

You need stiffer shocks than the 04 C5Z06 to run a 315 in front. But maybe your C6Z06 shocks would be better than my C5Z06 were. Got the Koni singles inverted from Sam Strano, Stranoparts.com, and I am very happy with them.

Good Luck

Solofast

alignment is a given

Then, you need shocks.... Without them you will find yourself getting beat by well set up SS cars....

Then you probably need some more wheel width, at least on the front... to go with the wider tires....

Then probalby springs and bars... and shocks revalved to match...

fej

Shocks as in bilsteins? koni singles or doubles? Penkes? Just wondering what steps to take vs the $$ outlay. I would rather jump into the middle range somewhere and eventually move to something like penskes down the road.

Thanks for the advice guys, getting my appointment for the alignment next week.

Fej

XPC5R

Koni singles are a good step up. Get some sway bars (T1, pfadt, hotchkis) and some 18x10.5 wheels for the front. That gives you the choice of 285, 295, or 315 front tires. 315 to 335 tires will be good on the rear.

Keep the stock springs for now, they will be fine. They are expensive to replace, and that money is better spent on shocks, bars, and wheels.

astock165

Wouldn't you need stiffer springs working in combination with bigger sway bars to properly control body roll? I thought that (in general) springs & bars were always done @ the same time?

NavyVet

We don't run in ASP because of the cam and other mods, but our '99 FRC with '04 Z06 sway bars, springs, and Bilstein Sports handles quite well. We use factory Z06 rear wheels (10.5x18) on front and rear with 315/35x18 Kumho 710s at all four corners. Camber is -2.2 front and -1.8 rear (had to use offset bushings in the rear to achieve this). We run the rear at 1/4" toe IN total. Front toe is set to zero and I adjust before events depending upon the course. Normal is to turn each tie rod OUT about 1/2 turn, sometimes a bit more if really tight and convoluted, or less if mostly straight. Car is lowered almost to the max on the factory bolts with cushions intact. Good luck.

ltborg

how is your tire clearance on the front with those 315x35s?

NavyVet

No clearance problems with our camber and shocks in AX. Again, lowered all the way on the stock spring bolts with cushions, then backed off about 1/4 turn. I do have to go slow getting it on and off the trailer though - sometimes the fender lip leaves a small mark on the outside of the front tires as I hit the bottom of the ramps.

mikahb

This is an interesting topic to me as I'm debating moving out of SS and into ASP just so I can get some decent seats in the car. I noticed in Topeka last year, the winning ASP Z06 (Kevin Johnson, I believe) actually ran a tenth or so slower than the fastest, but 3rd place, SS Z06 of Alex T. I know Kevin is a great driver, and I know he'd been working on that car extensively.

So my car has nothing but alignment and corner weight right now. I'm thinking about adding seats, Koni single-adjustables, swaybars, and replacing the stock intake with something a little less restrictive.

I've got -2.0 up front and -1.6 in back for camber - any need to add parts to get more than that? Also, do the extra 20mm of width running a 315 up front rather than a 295 make a noticable difference? The wheel/tire assembly must be a little heavier.

In theory - a very lighltly modded Z like this could be nationally competitive - with the right driver, of course.

acrace

ZedOtSix:


A word of caution in comparing ASP (Mike Jr. Johnson) to SS times from Topeka last year. ASP ran the first two days, midday. SS ran at the very end of the event (last two days, last heat). With the surface ever improving and the lack of rain, SS had much more favorable conditions. Willing to guess that it was worth a second a course.

XPC5R

Ideally yes, but spring replacements will run you 1000-1500, better places for those dollars in the early phases of ASP setup. We ran 2 seasons in ASP with T1 bars and stock springs, and did well against full spring and bar cars. The car set fast ASP time on the north course at Topeka in '02 (with my wife driving in fact, faster than the men), and also finished 2nd in the pro solo finale that year.

With stock springs, I would run the stiffer bars like the T1's or the heavy pfadt ones. There was very little roll with the T1 bars.

LehmanZ06

I ran last year.

Kevin Johnson was smoking fast in ASP

Alek Michael in SS was also smoking fast.

But SS was won by Brian Braun, With Jackie Stewart in 2nd, Alek in 3rd, and Larry Thomason in 4th.

mikahb

Yikes - very good info. I wasn't there, and knew they ran different times, but wouldn't have guessed near a second per course.

So I guess it still costs some $$ to get to ASP. I know Kevin had headers, intake, etc.

I appreciate the perspective correction, acrace.

Solofast

The SS Z06 is a lot closer (in performance) to being a good ASP car than a stock C4 is to a good BSP car. That is, with some minor mods you can make a Z into a pretty good (but not necessarily really nationally competitive) ASP car. With a C4 you need to do a lot more to make it competitive. The reason being that the power is good and the suspension is better to start with. With a set of headers and a tune to the engine, a set of shocks, bars and wheels you can have fun and have a pretty competitive car. To get the last 1% you have to do it all, but it just goes to show how good the Z is to start with.

TedDBere

Donny Lehman, you crack me up.

codename Bil Doe

Hey, Fej. I'm local and I run AAS events along with some Fresno SCCA autox's when I get a chance. (Un)fortunately, you picked a class full of Multi-time national champions .

When you come out stop by and say hello. I'm the white C6.

I've gone through multiple iterations of the car to have a general idea what it will take to be competitive. From what I've learned, I'll give two levels. The first is decently competitive, and the second is what you'll need to be close. Just remember, my car is still streetable. So, all these recommendations take into account that I still love driving on the street.

For either way you go, buy the cheapest street tires you can find and save your money for stickies! I drive 55-65 on the freeways and only play in the hills. You should get enough seat time with all the car clubs in the area (Santa Clara Vettes, Lotus Club, AAS, SCCA) to not have to care about grippy street tires.

Ignoring seat time:

1st level (these are all general suggestion. you have to experiment to see what works best with your setup):

- T1 front sway
- stock rear sway or no rear sway (again depends on setup)
- Bilsteins sports, Koni FSD, or 04 Z06 shocks
- 3° neg front camber (Hoosiers don't like less than this and it won't completely kill your street tires)
- 1.2-1.5° neg rear camber
- 315's in front and 315's or 335's in rear. People running both
- 0 toe front / .125-.25" total toe-in rear


2nd level (what i'm bumping up to in couple weeks):

-VBP front and rear springs
-Penske double adjustables

All this is from a season of testing and discussion with several other C5 Z06 and C6 owners. If you come out to an AAS event, make sure to talk to several people. They're all there to have fun and go fast.

talon95

What rear tire can you run with the stock springs? I've read that the 335's hit the fender unless you're very tall (like Lehman's car was last year), or a lot stiffer?

Dave G.