I was out running around with my girl in the C4, and I came across a younger guy with a C6 (both heading the same direction). We gave each other the traditional ups, and of course eventually rolled to a stop, so we lined up. Once we took off, i thought I was going to blow the doors off this guy, but I was actually pretty surprised that he was right there with me. We did a few pulls and it was basically neck and neck... had him by a fender length. He would pull ahead of me until i started to generate some boost though. Long story short, I thought these C6's had 400hp, until I realized (just recently) that they actually have 430hp! I weigh about 230lbs, my girl is about 130lbs, and I believe the C4 weighs more than the C6 to begin with? From what I could tell he was probably 160-180lbs and driving solo. 1st and 2nd gear are pretty much useless for both of us.

it was fun, he had no idea what year my vette' was. I mean it just seems like he bought the vette' because he just happened to be sitting on an additional $50K, and thought a corvette was cool, heck I don't even think he knew how to change his own oil? lol...

 

Cool! what rear tires and what gearing are you running? Auto or stick? Sounds like you are a pair of Nitto 555R's away from blowing his doors off. That means so much. Not much out there that is keeping up with me on that type of race (even cars that are dynoing 200 rwhp more than me) just because of getting the power to the ground. With the 3.07's and the Nittos it hooks right up. As a side note, I'd love to have a C6 and would trade my C4 for one if I could but I know I'd miss the C4. It is just a really enjoyable car.

 

I love th C4, and the idea of having a z06 (c5 or c6) has certainly crossed my mind. Although the c6 is WAY out of budget, the c5z's are definately becoming more affordable. And I am a "performance" nerd! I love the idea of the company making the effort to lighten the Z cars and just simply adding a unique touch. Other than that, i love my C4 and more power is only a stroker motor (and tune) away!

I have a 6-speed, 3.54's in the back. the stock tires on the sawblades measuring 285.... This thing is down right violent when i roll into it EVEN at 40+MPH in second (when it's nice and cool out 50-60 degrees) the rear-end (although very stable and predicable) will step out, or at least loose total traction.

 

dan0617- what kind of power are you putting down? What do you run in the 1/4 mile?

I have been thinking about the following tires...

nitto nt555r drag radial (only available in a 315/35-17) or a 275.... but i don't want to step down.
nitto nt555r ll (but again, only a 275/40-17 showing on their site).
MT streetradial ll (again 315/35-17)
BFG g-force t/a KDW 285/40-17 (nice stock replacement)
kumho escta v710 295/40-17
kumho victoracer v700 275/40-17

I don't know how big I "can" go on the stock sawblades.

 

The nittos run small, a 315/35-17 will measure similar to the 285's that you have now. They will also fit on the stock saw blades without an issue.

 

Or get the BFG Drag Radial, as it will perform better than either of the Nittos, yet not be so unruly as the M/T.

With regard to the C6s, bone stock mine ran in the low 12.7s and dynoed at 370 WHP. The C6s hook very well, and the only way that 1st and 2nd would be useless in that car is if the driver turned the traction control off vs moving it to comp mode. With the lighter weight, even a stock C6 with a decent driver should be able to easily handle a 400WHP C4.
Aaron

 

AKS Racing-

Well, he must have had the traction off? he mentioned to me at one of the lights that his 1st and partial second was useless. I know with my own car that I can roll into second and the tires light up (granted when it's cold out, and with nice cold intake air, you can tell once the supercharger "heat soaks").

AKS Racing & neat-

So you think the BFG drag radial is the best choice? I assume you mean the BFG g-force T/A drag radial? It comes in a 315/35-17... I figured a 315 would be too much width for the stock sawblades?

 

I will have to find some time to take this thing to the tack so we all know what it runs. It wont be for a little while, I would like to get some decent tires on it (if possible) and also wait for the temps to cool down around here (AZ).

Otherwise, I had some terrible 60 foot times with the current 285's back when the car was naturally aspirated.

 

Once you hit a certain HP level your 0-60mph runs are gonig to depend on traction alone. If you would have run him from 60mph on up then you would have seen a pretty good difference between the cars.

I've got a set of 315 BFG's on my car and they helped alot off the line, but once the engine gets reved up there isn't going to be much you can do to keep traction.

The other think I've noticed is that old tires, reguardless of wear or type will have less grip than the same tire that is newer. I'm not sure if the rubber looses something over time, but you can notice a big difference in just getting a newer set of tires.

 

Brian is absolutely correct.. over time tires have a tendancy to have the rubber "harden" this is especially noticeable with lower priced tires vs the high end tires.. get yourself a set of nitto drag radials and call it a day.. beyond the nittos there are other options but they do take a toll on the driveline parts!

Chris

 

Just to clarify everyone, I am not out trying to beat on my corvette everyday. I typically take it easy on it.

mn_vette- this thing really does wake up well above 60mph.

 

On a very stingey Land and Sea dyno (similar to a Mustang dyno) I made 412 RWHP and 417 RWTQ on a 150 shot with bottle pressure at about 875. I since went up to the 175 jets and changed the catback (could see on the dyno curve the exhaust was hurting me) and got a good tune. I'd guess if I went back to the same dyno now I'd be at about 440 at the wheels, give or take. When I launch I don't spray till I'm rolling (about 5-10 mph). Unfortuantely I haven't been able to make it to a track yet. I have the 3.07 gears and a 2800 stall converter. Just blazed the street tires. With the 275 nitto's (555R's) as long as I heat them I dead hook when I launch from a dead stop on the street, and it stays hooked when I hit the spray. If it is hot out and the road is hot I can get nearly a dead hook even without doing a burnout. My only suspension mod to help traction is removing the front sway bar. It is going to be harder for you being a stick and all, but the nittos will make you happy. There are other options but none of them really have enough tread to make me feel comfortable driving in the rain on the street. A good friend of mine has a Cobra with an S-trim @ 17 lbs boost, water/meth injection, 4.30 gears and about a million other mods. I'm betting he would kill me at the track but when we race on the street I beat him bad. He just can't get going from a stop or a race from 20mph. Now if we are on the bypass side by side and he nails it, even if I have the bottle on and ready to go, he is gone. He ran a 11.28 (traction limited, of course) at 129 mph at the track on drag radials. It made my day to beat him on the street with my 'ol stock bottom end 350. And that was with the 150 jets, old catback and mediocre tune. It is amazing how much traction can make up for horsepower on the street.

 

that is very interesting Dan0617. I am surprised that you went with the nittos. I am assuming you are running 275's?

I don't have to worry too much about rain, as we rarely see it here in AZ. I would just run a straight slick with the exception that I like taking corners as well, so I don't want a super soft-sidewall tire for daily use.

 

Even though the BFGs DRs will outperform the Nitto DRs in a straight line, the BFGs do have a soft sidewall, so moving from street tires to BFG DRs will take some getting used to when going around corners quickly (read as not nearly as good around the corners).
Aaron

 

i think it's time to get a second set of wheels, to actually get a dedicated set of DR's instead of trying to have one tire for "both" worlds.

 

I have the two sets of wheels for my '87. The ZR1 A-molds for the DRs and G-Force KDWs and a set of Weld Racing wheels for the ET drags and skinnies.

I would not drive on the street regularly with slicks.
Aaron

 

what is the smallest diameter wheel that you can fit in the back of a c4 anyway? I don't know if it makes a difference but it's an LT1 car... (possibly larger diameter rotors than the 87?).