victorf

Okay, thanks!

To lessen wheel hops, anyone using just the transmission mounts? Any user thoughts on that? TIA!

ajg1915

Wheel hop is not caused by or helped by the transmission mount. To fix wheel hop you need to look at your tire type and sidewall height along with your suspension setup.

Whatever you do, if you get wheel hop let off the gas or you're break your drive train.

victorf

Thanks again!

I have experienced wheel hop twice, both times only short burst and the last time was last year bedding new brake pads decelerating from 60, hitting a bad section of bumpy road but I aborted the bedding process immediately.

Since then, I had installed Bilstein Sports and Hotchkis Sways. I am looking into Pfadt due to their claims of lessening wheel hop with the use of their trans mounts. I do not drag race, just doing what I can to preserve my enjoyment of the Vette and also in the process of changing out the GY to Michelin.

ajg1915

Actually, when you were braking that is not wheel hop and you won't do any damage. It's actually okay to do that because it exercises your ABS system.

I'm not sure what wheels and rubber you're running but I would look at that and a tranny brace from ECS or DTE to keep things together.

Wheel hop on acceleration is your enemy as that is when you break the transmission's main shaft or the differential.

Suspension jittering (trambling) is caused from rough roads and feels like wheel hop, but is a completely different animal because it is not being caused by hard acceleration.

If you are running run flats that is part of your problem.

victorf

Thanks for your continuing assist!

I switched to a smooth country road and completed the bedding process without further drama. The washboard section of the hiway was a poor choice initially although it was straight.

Although I enjoy the performance of my Z51 but never abusive, still on my original '05 GY SC and stock wheels. I am in the process of switching to Michelin but staying with run flats for peace of mind.

I don't ever drag race from a dig, only spirited running occasionally after the car is rolling. So I am just trying to do simple add ons to prevent the dreaded differential issue.

ajg1915

The run flats are probably your main cause of wheel hop as they have very stiff sidewalls. I have a 2001 SW Z06 myself at the moment. I've had a bunch of vettes over the years.

I would recommend some non-run flats and picking up a tire inflater kit like the ones used on the Z06's.

Non-run flats will give you a quiter car, better handling and pretty much eliminate wheel hop that you have been getting.

Zenak

Wheel hop is directly a function of the leaf spring suspension.

Change to Coilovers, and never see hop again.

victorf

Thank you!

ZR11AB

Swell job, er how about drag racing? Oop? Thank you. Greg

Zenak

Drag Racing is a whole nother animal!

Its all about HP to Weight Ratio. Building the drivetrain to take a beating and not snap.

Road Racing wears the car out.

1/4 Miles just blow it up when it goes bad

riffman5

2002 c5. 39000 miles. No kidding. That article blew me away. I need a clutch thou. Going OEM. Vararam,tuner,and borla thats all I had done.Thanks for a great write up.

Zenak

Welcome. Its an expensive hobby to start modding, and any insight on how to make it easier and cheaper is the best medicine.

ZedO6

Excellent write up and perfect timing, I have been racing a long time and finally sold my dedicated Porsche track car with the idea that I will get a C5Z as a track day replacement. Had a student in a 02 Z06 and couldn't believe how good it was stock, so here I am! Thanks for posting such excellent information.

Dirk Miller

Hey Zenak

Over the past 18 months, I have really enjoyed your read. So much there that I know I have missed a lot. I think there was maybe one mention of the power steering puke issue that many C6s out here in California see. Mostly seen this in non Z models, but worth bringing up. I split a power steering reservoir while still under waranty and it was replaced. But belched again so began looking at options. Do the C5Z's have this covered ? The C6Zs have a small finned exterior line and maybe that is sufficient?

ajg1915

The C5Z's have a power steering cooler that is mounted up front on the cradle. All C5's with the Z51 or Z06 designation have power steering coolers. Haven't seen too many cases of over-heating a power steering unit in one of these equiped C5's.

Dirk Miller

Thanks for pointing this out, but maybe your C5 has a better design than my C6. Mine is just a 6 MM aluminum tube bent with a few 180 degree turns. Does yours have fins on it like the C6Z06 has? But even that design is minimal at best.
For a couple of seasons , I had power steering oil vaporizing inside my reservoir; ended up dripping on my serpentine belt. Last season went well for me after changing out to a heat exchanger. I found this easier to install than switching out to a different underpully. I have one friend out here in California who is an instructor for Trackmasters. He went through 4 different designs in attempt to remedy this in his LS2 C6…..but he was really quick and knew how to push it on the track.

ajg1915

Looks like this

http://media.photobucket.com/image/r...ringCooler.jpg

Dakota Slim

Took your advice and got the Nitto: NT05 street tires for HPDE. Really like them and have ordered a new set for next season. Just wondering how much tread you need before you replace them? I am just about down to the wear bars. Just completed a TRACK DAZE event at VIR and tires still seemed to stick well. I am at the intermediate level and will probably stay there for next year.

Zenak

i use multiple sets of rims when i hit track days and literally run the tires until you can just about see the cords coming through them. yes, i know i start losing traction that low and it drops me a .2 sec on a lap or so. yes I know that leaving that little rubber between the cords and the ground heats the tires up significantly faster in the corners... but unless you are a sponsored racer with nice deep pockets i get every last fraction of a mm out of brake pads and tires before i kick them.

blk96gt

So I've been debating on picking up a C5 for HPDE/Track Days. I currently drive a 2011 Camaro SS, and have taken it to two days at Texas World Speedway in College Station and one day at Grandsport Speedway in Houston. It didn't take me long to get bitten by the bug! My instructor at TWS was also driving a TT (don't remember if it was TTA or TTS) C5 Z06 which he took me for a ride in, and that didn't help the situation at all! I've decided that tracking my car is fun, but I think it's pretty limited on what it can do in the future. On top of the fact that I'm still making payments on it, I'm thinking my best bet would be to sell it and pick up a used C5. I think the Vette has much more potential in the future, and I would be able to pay cash for it once my car is sold.

Is the Z06 considered the better starting point over the standard C5? What mileage is considered too high if I'm going to be doing 4-6 weekends of HPDE a year?

From what I've read in this thread, I should pretty much stick to stock other than changing out all the fluids for the first couple events. Followed by brake lines, pads, shifter, and possibly seat/harness after a few events. After that I was thinking that since I'm in Texas, cooling issues would be a good thing to address. Maybe radiator, trans/diff cooler, oil cooler, and brake ducts. Once all that is done move on to suspension maybe followed with a few engine mods. Is this a pretty sound plan? I am thinking a budget of $3000-$5000 for the first year should be plenty for any upgrades/mods I would need to do (I'm not including maintenance costs in that price). My main goal is to make the car reliable first, then get to work on the driver, followed by engine/suspension modifications as the need arises.

I should also add the car will not really be a daily driver, but I would like to be able to keep it streetable for a year or two, depending on how into this I end up getting in the future.

Any thoughts/opinions on this?