RapidC84B

After 6+ years racing I sold my racecar and trailer. Looking to buy a previously enjoyed C7 under $50k. My main requirements are:

White
Red seats
Manual
NPP Exhaust

I actually prefer the looks of the car w/o the spoiler. My intentions are to drive the car as much as possible. I've gone 6 years w/o a streetable sports car and plan to drive it.

I know all the bits and pieces the Z51 has, but curious if anyone has tracked the base car enough to have input? I tracked C5 Z06s for years with basic napa blank rotors, no extra coolers (oil cooler only), no fancy eDiff etc.

I guess my main question is will the base car (they all come with an engine oil cooler right?) stay cool enough to get through a 25-30 minute session w/o all the bells and whistles going off?

I figure I could try one and add Z51 suspension after the fact if I felt it was needed.

Does the base car have dedicated brake cooling?

Anything else to consider? End of the day this would be a street car to where I'd instruct and take my instructor track time 3-4x a year. No desire to run timetrials or modify the car extensively (been there done that many times).

Part of me says just hold out and pay the extra for a Z-51 car and take the spoiler off.

Rob Willis

Get a z51

stuiephoto

A wingless trunk probably costs what, a grand or so? Probably cost 5 grand to upgrade a base model to z51 spec.

rocsvette

Get the Z51, distinct difference between Touring and Sport affecting steering, suspension, acceleration, braking.we are long past the days of all of these things being independent and separate.

Seadawg

I would reach out to Henry Gilbert at Performance Driving Group. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple base C7's in his fleet of rental cars at the last Daytona HDPE event he hosted.

He could give you an honest opinion of what works and what doesn't, since he maintains a fleet of C5's, C6's and C7's for his events.

RapidC84B

^ Thanks. I'm friends with him on Facebook already. Will ask him.

NealB

non Z51 automatic will only run 3 to 5 laps on a 1.3 mile course before getting overheat warning chimes

MSR-Cresson TX and Drive Exotic

raw newbie drivers

RapidC84B

Wouldn't even consider an auto.

four0nefive

The biggest issue with a non Z51 is that you don't get the upgraded coolers, eLSD, and better tires.

RapidC84B

^ I get that, but do I need them for basic HPDE use? C5s didn't come with any of that and the only thing they need is an engine oil cooler which the base C7 has.

SouthernSon

What Ric said!

SouthernSon

That may be a little overstated. If one drives spiritedly on the track in a C5 the need for not only an engine oil cooler is needed but also a tranny cooler, underdrive pulley, Turn One pump and rack, as well as much better brakes. I have been tracking a C5Z for years and replaced all of these things out of need. I would go for the Z51; better for track days and works well on street. Leave the base model for those that don't track at all. YMMV.

bdanyluk

Yes...you need them for basic use......maybe not your first 4 to 5 events...but as you get faster...everything needs more cooling...dont forget to add spindle duct brake cooling which none of them come with.

Rob Willis

Still nothing available for C7s.

bdanyluk

You could probably get the C6 spindle ducts from Quantum/Lambert, and "massage" them or modify them to work. It's just thin metal. Nothing a little cutting/drilling/rivets and some aluminum sheet metal couldn't fix.

z06801

I had a student come in for a track day and his GT-R didn't make it so he grabbed a base car from a rental car co. We didn't not get 15 minutes into the first session before its was throwing lights and warning bells, pulled off let it all cool down removed the front plate, next session same thing. It ended going home on a flat bed. The extra cooling bits on a Z51 must make a difference.

RapidC84B

I've been racing with NASA for over 6 years and tracking C5s in general since '02. For HPDE use the only thing required is an engine oil cooler and brake cooling up front. The others are things that may eventually wear out, but are not required. I didn't even run a trans cooler on my race car. The light would only come on toward the end of 45 min races, 30 min races were fine. Wrapping the exhaust with header wrap under the trans and running good fluid works great.

Not in my experience on street tires in an HPDE scenario. Never ran a trans or diff cooler on any of my C5s and have run under 2 minutes at VIR.

The C7 has a little more power and a little more heft, but not much.

Was it automatic? Pretty sure they don't rent manuals? Auto trans cooling is a known issue. I would never buy an auto anyway.

SouthernSon

I am impressed. Haven't broken the 2 minute mark at VIR (close though) but I have seen 305 oil temp and tranny warning indicators during 30 minute session at Putnam years ago before modifications with OAT of mid 80's.

wtb-z

I have made my C5 Z06, with nothing but race pads and good fluids added, work for me for years and it goes pretty fast. But it requires many compromises, mainly in terms of session length. There are so many things that run out of thermal capacity as the lap count is incremented it is hard to plot a rational upgrade path.

If I could of gotten a version of my car with the stuff the C7 Z51 comes with it would have been a really easy choice and a no-brainer upgrade for the track.

RapidC84B

I really think I could make a C7 base work with a few suspension tweaks, but I don't want to find out the hard way I should have gotten a Z51.