CabronZ06

So last friday I was fortunate enough to take my 2011 carbon edition to laguna seca. Awesome experience. Very fast down the straights and the ceramic brakes allow you to brake late.. I dont much like trailbraking and prefer to get braking done on a straight line and I noticed some "movement" under heavy braking and also while coming out of the turn and also some movemet after turn in, at first I thought I could be sliding a little becuase the rear end felt like it had slight movement and the tires were getting a little greasy but know thinking about it I think it was the factory bushings squirming all over the place. I am running michelin Cup2 180 treadwear its a good tire, good grip and handling as well so I dont want to do another set of tires until I upgrade my bushings. I am thinking about the Pfadt polybushings I dont want to do delrin or monoball due to cost and also becuase I like to drive the car on street once in a while .This will be my first upgrade to my car besides a Corsa CAI that I havent installed. Any other bushings that can be recommended? So far Pfadt seems like the only company to make poly bushings, it seems like the upper control arms up front are the ones that keep having issues with the bushing popping out or splitting ,any recommendations or inputs will help .Keep in mind this is isnt a straight up race car. I like to take my Z to some autocrosses and open track days a couple of times a year and im driving to the events as well.

charger21

At least on a track/street Corvette, people seem to be going away from poly bushings. Delrin is a much better option, and not very noticeable on the street.

CabronZ06

I know global west has some I don't know of any other companies making delrin besides them

AzMotorhead

VanSteel and Ridetech have Delrin

Jfryjfry

Whis9

Nowanker

I've had a set of Pfadt's poly bushings on my C5 for 5+ years. Lubed them thoroughly with that nasty-*** silicone, and they're still quiet. Delrin will probably last longer on the track.
My C6Z came with LG monoballs all over. After replacing the worn out/rattling ones, I'd call them perfectly streetable too. Overkill, but still workable.

63Corvette

Since you TRACK your car, you should save your money for new carbon ceramic rotors, which WILL wear out doing track days;-)

Bill Dearborn

Yes, the front rotors are pretty hard on the wallet at $1280 each. Rears cost even more.

OP: If your car hasn't seen much track time before I sort of doubt the stock bushings are the issue. I would inspect them to see if there is a problem but I suspect the issue is some where else. There could be an alignment issue.

Bill

CabronZ06

I had an alignment done .. 1.7 negative camber up front and and 1 Degree negative camber rear . Toe is set to whatever spec is and yes I am aware that the ceramics are expensive.

seamus2154

As a Zo7 owner I have learned that lesson the hard way 2 times till I caved in and bought AP racing brakes which I should have done on day one. CCB are for the street! And to keep your rims clean, but not for the track.....


BTW your issue sounds like a tire issue. Michelin cups get greasy only good the first 2 track days. CCW 18" rims w/ Too R888's a better way to go.

seamus2154

www

Robert R1

oh hey. my exact car. I ran cup 1's and then Cup 2's. My suggestions;

-Camber kit: you'll need one unless you want to get your alignment out of whack and pay to have it done over and over. you'll also not be able to reach the optimal settings on cup 2's with the stock setup
-poly bushings: i've have had to replace a few with only ~10 trackdays on then and another is ready to be swapped. Get Derlin at this point
-brake fluid: stock fluid is just that. stock. Get Castrol SRF and do a full flush then you can run many sets of tires
-alignment: i found -2.3f and -1.8r to be ideal for on the Cup 2's. No toe with a slight bias towards toe out in the front and .20 total toe-in at the rear
-tire pressure: hot 32-34f/r below that will accelerate wear and above that will make them greasy faster
-pad life: 2 days from the a front set and 4 from a rear
-rotor life: do NOT rely on the sensors. check pad life manually. they will also wear in a taper form so rotor damage is possible and expensive
*bonus* if you get enough heat into the calipers they will change color over time!

What tracks you run at?

CabronZ06

I run at Sonoma and laguna seca . Im a lot more familiar with Sonoma. I plan to take the z out to autocross mainly and open track 3 times a year if that . I mainly track my mustang . I can drive that car without feeling guilty.

Robert R1

Cool. I ran Sonoma and Thunderhill. Enjoy it. It's a great car that doesn't need much to go fast.

anth115

Hey, lots of good info above but I want to expand on the alignment topic since it's way cheaper and may be the root cause/meet your needs:

When you're under heavy braking, you really compress the front end. This makes your camber more negative and your toe further outward. The higher camber puts less rubber in contact with the road (since you're going straight) and the outward toe makes the car eager to turn/follow any track that either front wheel picks up. When you couple all of that with the weight transfer, the car will feel unsettled as you described. Yes, stock bushings are quite soft and contribute to this deflection, especially with sticky rubber. If your budget allows, you'd do well to replace them, but think about the alignment first since it's much cheaper.

I run my car at Mosport with 0 front toe and -1.8* camber IIRC and notice the same thing. Personally, I just deal with it. I know the car will want to move around if I'm braking hard in a straight line, and if I'm trail braking/not going straight, I'm not braking as hard and being extra smooth to keep everything manageable. I don't want to run toe in up front as it makes the turn in quite lazy and I don't want to decrease the front camber as that would be detrimental over 90% of the lap. I only brake hard enough to get that unsettled feeling in 1 corner.

Good luck & enjoy.