Basil2000

get a c5z. can be had cheap and easy to modify. people with the group i run with are seriously fast. there is something to be said about driving the wheels off something and not worrying about a little off track excursion.that being said i have a c7z. i have to admit that i don't push the car super hard because its new and i paid 100k for it. it does put a stupid smile on my face though.

argonaut

There is no wrong answer here. Each model has its pros and cons but they are all good cars. Bang for the buck there is no way you can beat a C5Z - they are cheaper to buy, run and maintain. They are extremely mod-able and the most robust/bullet proof. The C6 and C7 Grand Sports are both awesome cars but weigh a bit more and cost a bit more (well C7 costs a lot more). The C6 and C7 Zs have both had a ton of issues and reliability problems. I personally know 5 guys who have blown the LS7 motor for example - plus they have aluminium frames - which have a few drawbacks.

If you get into this sport seriously, eventually you are going to spin, off, hit wall, whatever - and possibly damage the car. Old saying - when it comes to off track excursions - there are those who have and those who will. And another - don't track a car you can't afford to ball up and walk away from. For some guys - thats a C7Z for others its a C5Z.

Hunterworks

Thanks for this reply

What mods would you consider on a C5? Assume better brakes would be top of the list?

Hunterworks

Seems you guys really know your stuff on what is reliable and this is not a Corvette but what about the 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE with extreme track package?

Socko

I had a c5z and have a c7 gs now. Unless you are lucky enough to have fast tracks by you, its too much power:weight already for any smaller track. At Road america there are a couple places you could definately use more power, but at the same time the size of my ***** are more of a limit still then the overall horsepower. At Blackhawk you only have a few seconds a lap of wot in a c5z.

All the computers on the c7 are great in plenty of cases, but i felt much more like i was earning every tenth in the c5. C5z is probably the perfect car if you are young enough and have enough money to deal with tracking an aging platform and don't mind missing out on the niceities for daily driving use the c7 has to offer. The c7 is very much nicer car the 80-90 days a year i street drive it. In reality the cars are roughly the same fast so I wouldn't let that bias you.

If you can work on your own car, or can't stand a stock car i would look to c5. If you don't work on your own car and/or want to hpde on gm's dime, buy a c7. I got tired of replacing motors from shitty vendors and everything always being broken. So I decided i would buy a new one and let gm support my habit for a while.

Socko

Once you are comfortable you will need an oil cooler. I ran a dewitts with the in radiator oil cooler and its a good stopgap as the radiators can become problematic if you get fast enough.

There are some good kits that allow you to run full width 20mm sl6 calipers up front and any of the stock rotors. 12.8/13.4/14 as long as you run 18's front and rear. I had that on my car and its a damn hot setup but it will shred 12.8" rotors even on street tires. If the kit is built right you will be able to fit the 13.4" rotor with the stock front 17" wheel and a 1/8" spacer which helps some.

Decent pads, fluid all around, run it till it breaks! Don't believe the hype, everything breaks on track if you aren't loligagging. It is just a matter of if you want to pay a bunch more today or pay a bunch tomorrow.

argonaut

Read the 'What I have learned' sticky - it's the best car prep guide I've come across on the internet.

Most important things to focus on (beyond basic care prep: fluids, track pads, safety):

- Cooling: all Vettes run hot and thats especially true for a C5 due to its bottom feeder air intake. Racing radiator, Engine Oil cooler, Powersteering cooler are all mandatory for reliability. Tranny and Differential coolers highly recommended for serious track car. Brake rotor cooling ducts and hoses are also needed. Cockpit of Corvette gets extremely hot due to the layout - torque tube and exhaust basically act as a heating element within the cockpit - recommend cool suit/shirt in hot weather.

- Brakes: stock C5 brakes do work and guys do use them on track. But they have their share of issues - they are a 2-piston, slide rail design and you will see serious pad taper and wear. The stock front rotor is 12.7" - a bit small for weight and speed of car. I prefer a beefier system with a lot more thermal capacity - 14" rotor and 4 or 6 piston fixed caliper. Requires 18" wheels (stock C5 fronts are 17"). Several systems available: Wilwood, Stoptech and AP Racing are all popular. I have AP Racing Endurance BBK and love it.

- Suspension: many guys track the C5 with OEM sways, shocks and leaf springs and seem to do fine, but most track rats I come across go with coilovers and stiffer sway bars. There are several good coilover options - LG Racing and Doug Rippie Motorsports come to mind in sort of the mid-tier price range. Adjustable sways are useful for tuning the handling - I occasionally change position of the rear bar depending on track, conditions and tires - quick way to cure a too tail happy car or one thats pushing bad in the corners. Vettes have a double A-arm suspension with rubber bushings at the mounting points. Over time track work will destroy and/or push out the rubber. Many guys turn to poly bushings because they are cheap and a relatively easy install but the best option is delrin or spherical bushings.

- Clutch: the design of the clutch throwout bearing allows clutch dust to get into the hydraulic system. If left unchecked this will cause problems - like clutch going to floor and not returning or not disengaging the pressure plate. Part of routine car prep should be changing the clutch fluid - siphon out of reservoir and replace. But the better option is to install a remote bleeder and do frequent bleeds of the system.

- Hubs: the stock hubs will work fine for a while but will eventually crack and fail (ask me how I know). They should be inspected routinely and eventually replaced with SKF racing hubs. Likewise the stock wheel studs will break with repeated wheel swaps - ARP racing studs solve that issue.

I think thats the major areas of weakness that should be addressed for a track only car. I've made more 'upgrades' to my car than I care to admit (or can remember :-) - so I may be missing a few.

Acid666

Dude, C5 Z06 is all you need. 405 horse LS6, great starting point right out of the box. If you want more power your bottleneck is the heads, look into upgrading those and a mild cam. Oil cooler and maybe a few other small odds and ends and bam... You've got a great track car for $20K. I got my '02 Z06 for $20K with exhaust and intake and Forgestar rims... And I pretty much just make it my weekend driver and autocross car. 2 of my friends have C5s with "Poorvet" license plates because it's our poor man's supercar. Unbelievable bang for the buck. Every time I think about selling it and getting something with more power or different looks I sit back and realize that it's a weekend/track car and does virtually everything I need with reasonably priced parts and maintenance.

Hunterworks

No one answered this one, this car looks inviting but don't know about the reliability of the engine

SocalC5Z

Argonout nailed it for a C5 track car

Racingswh

I am with the others that say C5. I would buy a prepared car. They are around.

I have an old Nissan racing car, a C6Z, a C7 Grand Sport and a Viper ACR-E.

The Nissan weighs the least, is easiest on consumables, has no nannies and requires the most skill to drive quickly.

The C6Z is probably the best track car of the group but the reliability of the engine is the weak link.

My Wife's C7GS works great, isn't and won't be the fastest unless you through money at it, you can drive it one the street as well in ok comfort, and cost me 57k new in May.

The ACR-E is cool but it's like a happy monster that sits in the garage. As long as you feed it a steady diet of money, gas, brake pads and tires it's fast and fun.

If I had to do it again I would have bought a championship winning C5 instead of the C6. Just as fast and more reliable.

I like the Camaro but for me it's too heavy to be a steady track car and will have the consumable's issue that all these heavy and fast new cars have.

jaredtxrx

They are fast as hell. They don't have quite the cooling issues as the Corvette (they have more room under the hood for coolers). But honestly if i'm building a track car, I'm staying away from forced induction all together.

joezr2

Since it was not mentioned yet (and most don't think about-) no matter what you get to play with, it is highly unlikely that your auto insurance will pay for the car if you wad it up. Read your policy. The more expensive the car, the less likely you are able to financially write it off. Track insurance may be something to budget for.

Hunterworks

I think you guys have about talked me out of this altogether. Maybe I should spend a few thousand dollars at one of those pay to drive on the track places with their cars and get it out of my system LOL

I just want to go drive fast!!! Didn't realize it was this complicated but I really do appreciate all the feedback you guys have given me

If any of you have a Polaris Ranger or RZR and need clutch related items look me up, just google Hunterworks.

Thanks
Todd

Racingswh

Good luck to you Todd! I can tell you if you stick to that decision it's probably the greatest financial decision you will have ever made in your life.

There's way more to it behind the scenes before you ever get to the track. It takes a lot of time and/or money to be active in the sport. The less time you have to do everything yourself then the more money it requires.

With your off road skill set you would pick this up quite quickly and your car control on dry pavement would be very good in a reasonably short period of time. If you do decide to try it just for fun and want none of the reliability or major prep issues a new base Z51 or GS is a pretty easy way to get involved.

Basil2000

lol, spend a few thousand and get it out of your system, lol. yeah right. thats what i did and its why this habit cost me so much. its like crack and i can't stop

Hunterworks

Then I might spend a few there then get hooked and really spend more.

Truth is my son is hanging me up, he plays baseball is a senior in HS and committed to play at MS State, so assuming all that works out, I will be spending a lot of weekends at a ballpark not a track.

So I am just dipping my toe in the water here, I think I would really enjoy this

Acid666

It really depends on your budget man. For me, spending upwards of $80K+ just seems illogical for a track car when I could get a C5 Z06, some upgrades, new tires, coolers, pads, rotors, a trailer, AND a truck to pull it with for 80K.
A C5 will get 26-30mpg on the highway to the track and let you be fairly competitive on the track and have fun.

My scenario was that I was about 3 years into my new first house, and told myself that after I did most of what I wanted (floors, paint, various other renovations), I'd either build a project car and do an LS swap in it, or just buy something turn key. I looked into building a Miata with an LS, Porsche 944 takes the LS pretty well too... RX7, and a few others.
Then I paid off my motorcycle and looked into turn key options for a fun car that I could autocross and had good raw power for highway pulls and "spirited street driving". I was going between an S2000 and the C5Z. The Z was just better all around. Rotors, brake pads, stainless steel brake lines... All reasonably priced. Solid motor, the fail points are well know and reasonable to fix (harmonic balancer, clutch fluid issue with heat, headlight gears break, yellow valve springs are faulty).
Decided to move those motorcycle payments into a different toy and I don't regret it one bit. Their depreciation is about rock bottom right now so they're at an all time low for price/value. Good news is if you decide to sell it a couple of years later you 1) didn't spend a ton on it and 2) you can likely sell it for nearly what you bought it for.

Really depends on your situation and what you're willing to spend. For me it was the perfect answer. Oh yeah, full coverage insurance for it actually cost less than my '05 Silverado. Lol

carefulnow

If this is a dedicated track car, eventually you're going to want a full cage, and my advice would be to buy a steel framed car. It is substantially more expensive to fabricate a properly designed cage into an AL frame car.

If you're saying to yourself right now "I won't ever put a cage in", you should probably just walk away from the idea of a dedicated track car completely.

Mjolitor 68

Tell us more about off road racing.

I want to try that