hemmerman

I'm a long time member. kinda like "long time listener first time caller".
seriously, I track my cars. maybe 6-8 times a year. when on track I'm always wondering which single thing should I be watching? engine temp,tire pressure,oil pressure,oil temp or something else? and which oil temp? engine,trans or dif.???
thanks for your honest opinion.

current car is a 2017 C7 ZO6 non ZO7 CC brakes.

Mark@AMT Motorsport

Well to me on my race car oil pressure is number 1. No oil pressure = no engine. I have a big red light that will light up if my pressure gets too low, in addition to the gauges on my dash.


On your car it has all kinds of fail safes so that if you lost oil pressure, or your temp was too hot, it would put you in limp mode (I think - definitely for water temp). So I don't think anything catastrophic is going to happen if you're not on top of your gauges at all times.

But my dash is setup to show Oil Temp, Water Temp, and Oil PSI whenever I'm on track. Those the the Big 3 for me.

rocsvette

I second Mark. In my 06 and my 18 I keep Oil Pressure in the HUD display. Most other stuff has a limp mode trigger but oil pressure can be sudden.

crimlwC6

1. Oil pressure
2. Water temps
3. Oil temps
2 and 3 are related but 1 is the most important.

BigMonkey73

What they said ^

My LS3 oil temp used to creep up to 280ish, i backed off and cooled down...even though some have reported getting it up to ~300 with no problems. External oil cooler and Dewitts radiator solved that for me now though..so don't have to watch oil/water temps as closely as I used to. But still watch them.

Tire temps? Yes, I watch the tire pressure creep up as they get hot on track. I let out a little pressure after each session to keep the high pressure where i want.

Power steering pump went out on me and made me miss track time. I added an external PS oil cooler after the pump/steering rack rebuild.

Trans/differential temps is something I should probably be looking at too, I'll get around to finding a gauge that will let me see on my C6.

hemmerman

thanks for your input.
yes I'm thankful I waited till 2017 to by my ZO6. as most of us know the 2016 and earily zo6 models had a problem with overheating at the track. and it would go in the limp mode. then you have to slow down and wait for it to cool off..
so far ive been pleased with the upgrade they (GM) did on the 2017 models (bigger cap for the supercharger and auxiclery cooler)I've only done two track days so far but no overheating issues.
IN my opinion I think GM should make some kind of effort to make these upgrades available too previous buyers.
Not that many Corvette owners take their Beautiful brand new Corvette to the track. "Oh my God a stone chip in the paint!
But I do and I make it do what its designed to do..Run hard!
Well I try too>>> see you all at the track thanks

Kubs

Just to echo what others have said, I too watch Oil Pressure most importantly. My race car dash is not digital, but the oil pressure gauge is the closest to me and higher than the others. I can spot it at a quick glance. I watch oil temp more closely than water temp. While water is still important, like Mark said oil is the life blood of the engine.