maxG

It was a blast. Honestly took some getting used to, had to learn to be ultra smooth in all aspects but it paid off.

I ran bFgoodrich kdw's, hawk HPSpads, napa rotors, motul brake fluid, acdelco tranny and diff fluid, mobil 1 oil and race seats and harnesses.

tires really held up well but felt a little greasey towards the end of the day(3.5 hrs of aggressive lapping). Played with tire pressures and I liked the balance and grip at around 32-33 psi all the way around. Friend had very similar z06 with different tires and he was running 29-30 psi all around and liked that more. I will try less next time I am out for comparison. i dont know what is typical pressures for our cars, any ideas?

I have done some other racing but never in a 400hp rwd car at around 140mph. It took a few laps to get used to shift points and down shifting without breaking loose the rears but once I got it down it was a blast.

I am going to look into better brake rotors, fluid and braided lines. I wasnt going as hard on the brakes as my friend and it seemed i lost time here but I was also playing it somewhat safe as braking from 140 to 95 to enter a double apex into a cork screw is unnerving

i did try normal AH mode at first knowing that some have advised against it. after one run session it was to competition mode. The AH normal mode articulates the brakes too much and too soon making me nervous and unable to predict the cars handling, i just wasnt in control. Once i switched to competitive mode totally different story, but it still would save you if you started to get sideways. Next time out I may turn it all off, we will see.

the Bad:
i received a warning message along the lines of "tranns fluid over temp"
so I brought the car in, let it run for about 3 minutes and turned it off. My coolant temp was also 240-250 once i had parked, i didnt see what it was on track. I assume it was lower as cooling is less efficient parked in the pits after a 35 minute hard lapping session with no moving air. That was the last session of the day so no track time really lost.

i have heard that cooling on the tranny and diff is an issue and sometime with the engine oil.

I am starting to look into cooling solutions, any recommendations that you know and have seen work, i am not going for word of mouth stuff but reliable feedback. I am going to try out redline tranny fluid for starters instead of the acdelco stuff, it was recommended by my local trusted race shop.

The car wasnt shifting rough or anything even after cooling down, should I be worried? i think i did at most a whole lap in this condition before i noticed, maybe less. I let it cool and there was no more warning light and the car coolant cooled down quickly as well. is there any need for concern of damage done to the tranny? i drove it home at freeway speeds for about an hour, and I am no longer driving it until i replace the fluid.

I will post pics and vids soon.

also I love this car, out of the box its awesome, i was noticably faster at a very comfortable pace the entire day. 997 gt3rs, ferarri, bmw m3s, comaro zl1s, no problem. I am aware it has to do with driver as well but i had the sense that i was holding my own and the instructor agreed I had some things to work on but was doing well. one car that was working me and my buddy was a bmw 1m with Rcomps and a competant driver, WOW he was quick!

anyways, i have concluded its time for slightly better rotors, brake lines, pads, possibly fluid (Ate blue?), and cooling for diff, engine oil, tranny and I am entertaining the idea of a better radiator or at least radiator fan. any suggestions, again please no word of mouth.

Scooter70

Welcome to the madness. It sounds like you had a great first day.

First off, what is your car? C5? C5Z? C6? ZR1? Recommended next steps may vary depending on what model you're starting with.

spdislife

If it's not a free fall into this sport, it's certainly a very slippery slope...enjoy!

maxG

sorry i may have not filled that out in my profile. 2003 c5z with 23k on the odo.

Last C5

Welcome the Washington HPDE contingent. I run with a pack of other Corvettes that run HPDEs from Seattle Pacific to Laguna Seca (and a few points east of here too).

Redline tranny fluid is a good way to go, but you might want to try their "High Temp" fluid for a little extra insurance.

Normally, when we're running we keep the DIC set on Oil Temp not water temp. Your oil is more critical than your water. I've seen oil temps up to 300 deg before I added a cooler. Anything under about 275 is doable.

Unless your moving up to 2 piece rotors, all rotors are about the same. Once your going good they last about 3 days. Remember to move the car about a foot 3 times every 3 or 4 minutes after you pull back in the pits to get the section of the rotor that's coveredby the caliper out into the air where it can cool at the same rate as the rest of the rotor. Otherwise it's the telltale "tink" and you're replacing a rotor.

See you at the track.

Doug J.

Rob Willis

Be prepared to spend lots of $$$$$$ on this hobby!

maxG

Thanks guys for the welcome. I am aware it aint cheap, so I am trying to go about it in a smart way to avoid catastrophic failures, especially of large components. I have a lot to learn in both the car setup and driver abilities but have some amateur racing background that I pull from. I am also fortunate enough to live about and hour from the ridge and 45 from pacific.

I will look into the redline Hi temp tranny fluid. I usually always have the DIC on oil as well but didnt take the time to figure out how to have that display while in competition mode. what oil cooler did you go with? any other cooler recommendations? I am reading up now and there is the combo radiator and engine oil cooler and then the seperate one. I am concerned with all the major components and interested in your guys feedback. i did try my best to keep the car moving after the lapping session, no e brake etc, and the cool down lap was still at speed enough to help cool rotors but not fast enough to need much braking. again any advice info from experience please pass it on, I am eager to get out there again and want piece of mind. also, lastC5 so you guys post on this forum the events you plan to go to? i swear i have seen a couple c5's at the ridge this year, a yellow one for sure and i thought a red one. I would love to check out other track rat's setups and shoot the ****. this time we were the only Vette's out there. It was a sea of BMWs

maxG

ps if you see a blue c5z with the license plate bluhoon feel free to say hi!

Last C5

The yellow one is Joy of 6 (Ed) and I'm the red one Last C5 (Doug)

The separate oil cooler vs the oil cooler as part of the radiator is an old debate on the forum. I suspect either one will work, but the separate ones are easier to install.

If you want to PM me an e-mail address I'll send you the Excel spread sheet that our group uses to plan which HPDEs we are going to attend for the year. The year is kind of shot now but it will give you an idea of what's available each year.

PacificNWZ06

I wanted to add to MaxG's comment about competitive mode on the DIC, how do you change to oil temp after you enter competitive mode? I have an aftermarket oil cooler and I couldn't tell what my operating oil temp was but after each session, including a cool down lap, my oil temp was about 203F when I parked in the paddock area.

I also have a question for Last C5, what rotors have you tried at the track?

I'm most definitely a noob driver but in preparation for this track day with MaxG I installed racingbrake one piece directional slotted rotors, racingbrake stainless steel brake lines, ATE Superblue brake fluid and new front calipers. I used my existing stock C5Z pads front and rear and I had a slightly better front brake duct installed. MaxG commented on how aggressively I was braking especially before turn one where I decelerated consistently from 145mph to 90mph with no problems and after my cool down lap there was little heat coming from my rotors. I felt that the setup I was running especially the racingbrake directional slotted rotors really made a difference in my braking confidence.

Last C5

After you hold the traction button down long enough to set the competitive mode on then just hit the reset button and the DIC returns to oil temp and leaves the car in competitive mode. Remember though, that any time you turn the motor off or kill the car returns to full nannies and you have to reset the comp mode all over. Cooled down to 203 after the cool down lap is great, your cooler is working well.

What rotors have I tried. Probably just about everything under the sun from ATE, Centrix, Cryogenics, to NAPA. They all fail (crack) after about three days of hard braking on tracks like Portland International or Thunderhill. The Ridge, Infineon, Laguna, are actually pretty easy on brakes. I just settled on NAPA rotors for quite awhile until I did a cost analysis and decided two piece Aero Rotors by Stoptech would save me money. I get about 15 to 17 days out of them and the replacement rings are only about $150 ea. Plus I'm not always busting my knuckles in the pits changing rotors. The Aero rotors fit like stock rotors and can be used with any caliper. Note: Toss the stock pads and get some Carbotech XP-10s.

Incidently, you guy both mentioned using ATE Blue and that's what I use occasionally to flush the brake and clutch system but most of the time I use the ATE Type 200 which is clear and exactly the same stuff as the blue. The Type 200 makes it easier to see if your clutch fluid is getting dirty.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

On these C5Z with stock tire the Carbotech XP10 front and XP8 rear works wonders in braking.

When Carbotech™ unleashed the XP10™ to the general public it was an instant success. XP10™ immediately gathered multiple regional, divisional, and national championships. The XP10™ has a very strong initial bite friction material with a coefficient of friction and rotor friendliness unmatched in the industry. Fade resistance is in excess of 1650°F (898°C). Due to the high level of friction and bite, this material is recommended for cars weighing around 2,900lbs or less. XP10™ still maintains the highly praised release, excellent modulation and rotor friendliness that have made all Carbotech™ compounds so successful. Carbotech™ XP10™ is not recommended as a daily-driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.


A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range of 200°F-1350°F+ (93°C to 732°C+). Carbotech™ XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds. Good initial bite at race temperatures, high coefficient of friction, excellent modulation and release characteristics. Extremely high fade resistance and very rotor friendly. Excellent as a front brake pad for lighter applications weighing around 2,400lbs or less. Perfect for track day use with any tire and can still be driven safely to and from the track. Carbotech™ does NOT recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise. Carbotech™ XP8™ is a great compound on the front & rear of most open wheel and sports racers.

maxG

SO i gather an oil cooler of sorts is good to have, did you find that upgrading your radiator or fan was needed? i dont want to get an external oil cooler only to find i needed a better radiator and I shouldve done it all at once.

I have a feel for what I want to do for my brakes.

Since my friend matt(pacificnwz06) didnt have any issues I would like to refocus on my main concerns of tranny.
I want to do at least one more track event but want to do it safely. It sounds like if i pay special attention to my oil and coolant temps my only concern would still be my tranny. Any feedback on that aside from different fluids? it seems since i dont intend to put much more HP to the ground for a while that a tranny and diff cooler may be excessive. any tricks to keep the tranny temps cool? I dont think I am being rough on the car and since our cars dont display tranny temps its hard to monitor.

thanks for this help you guys!

argonaut

Since the exhaust pipes run so close to the Tranny a lot of guys wrap them with header wrap to keep them from radiating so much heat. I've seen posts claiming this helps and others claiming it didn't...go figure. The best solution is a Tranny cooler. I use the one sold by DRM. It uses an electric pump to circulate the fluid thru a small radiator tucked into the body work in front of the rear wheel (exposed by the Z06 brake ducts)

PacificNWZ06

LastC5, thanks for the advice on clearing the DIC and rotor selection. I now plan to change to ATE Type 200 on my next brake flush. For brake pads I plan on staying with the C5Z pads until I get more serious about tracking my car then I plan on Carbotech pads. Right now I hope to participate in 1-2 lapping days each year.

MaxG, I should have looked at my coolant temps better to compare with yours but a cheap idea is to vacuum all the debris from your radiator like I did with mine. You will be surprised with how much debris has collected over ten years of usage.

On the transmission cooling topic, I suggest better trans fluid and a thick tunnel plate reinforcement. That was the only difference between our cars aside from my headers and driving style and I was fortunate not to experice the trans high temp warning.

Thoughts?

Last C5

An oil cooler is very good to have and you won't have to upgrade the radiator unless you want to.

I ceramic coated my over the axle pipes and then wrapped them. I does seem to help as I haven't had a hot tranny message since.

maxG

ok, I gather i will fill tranny with hi temp redline fluid, any suggested vendors?

I will buy some ATE blue brake fluid.

I will look into an oil cooler, again any preferences and vendors?

When the time comes that I get an after market exhaust I will coat and wrap it.

before my next track day I will likely only get to the new tranny, brake fluid and clean the radiator.

PacificZ06, remember my car doesnt have 10 years of actual road life and it was driven in AZ all the time so not as much road debri as the NW. Regardless I will look into it. Also, You interested in another track day if we can find some local Vette guys to go with? it would have to be once I can afford it, I still have that chump car race mid september maybe a lapping day sometime after that?maybe i could stretch getting an oil cooler in before then with your help

OH and one other thing, what is the best way to get off the marks left by flying tire rubber LOL?! im used to cone rash but this stuff is a slightly different creature.

rayk

I use Liquid Turtle Wax Cleaner wax. Wet the rag, put some cleaner wax on and it melts the rubber right off with very little work.

argonaut

Off Topic: Regarding Ridge Motorsports Park - I'm going to be in Portland, Oregon the week of Sept 17th. I see there is an event by Turn2Lapping.com at Ridge on Saturday the 22nd. I have contacted the principal for that event and it sounds really good - solo only, three run groups, 3-4 hrs of track time. All I need to do is find a car to rent. Do any of you guys who frequent that track know of anyone or any shop that rents out track day cars - Miata, E30, etc...?

Back on topic.

maxG

call TC motorsports they either have one or know someone who might.
If not I would call 425 motorsports or Speedware motorsports. The last two are parts distribution and mild car prep(speedware) but have a good network in the area.

and now back ON TOPIC.
Thank RayK, Ill try the wax method.