I am posting this in the Z06 section rather than the Tech section as I figure true Z06 owners are the best to ask for help on this. I need to review my owner's video, but I wanted some advice from those of you who have first-hand experience in this matter. I am planning on spending some time on the track (autocross) this summer in my new Z06 and want to know what everyone recommends they do for race setup.

What cambers have been effective in the past, and how much do you lower for racing? Add oil, secure battery I know as well. Anything else I need to do to prepare with my setup (besides mods I mean)? Thanks in advance for everyone's feedback!!!!

 

Post this up in the auto-x/roadracing forum You'll get more answers.

The basics:
*Lower car 1" w/ factory adjustments
*Agressive allignemnt ( I have on that's still streetable w/ -1.3 and -1.0 camber, + 6.x caster, 0 toe up front, -1/16 per side rear)
*Harness bar w/ w harnesses
*Fresh fluids

More advanced:
*Seperate race wheels/tires
*Racing seat
*Racing pads
*Front brake coolers
*Heat protection for tie rod ends and ball joints
*Oil cooler
*trans/dif coolers

Then there's suspension tweaks and more power... it never ends. I have tons of mods... my father just tapes up the car, slaps on his helmet and goes in his Z.

He has an intake, agressive allignment, and a harnessbar setup w/ 6-pt belts.

 

as Cobra ( Brain ) mention the http://forums.corvetteforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=23

There is a sticky on top about NEW to Autox and Road racing

 

I am not a first time autocrosser, but I still plan on checking the ego at the door. The last car I had was a heavily modded Mustang GT. I was points leader a few years in B Modified class and was an assistance instructor at my local track (not an official instructor as I did not have my racing license). All this being said, I've had my new Z06 for one week and I am not ashamed to admit it is more car than my current skills will handle at 90% of the car's capability (that's being generous).

What I am really looking for are specifics to car setup from seasoned professionals. Info on camber and lowering, etc. is excellent. What the video tells me and what you guys say are two different things. Just because I can set the camber to -2 degrees doesn't mean I'll do it.

Thanks agian for the insight!

 

I can tell you this from the last two years DE's: Lowering these cars isn't needed or desirable. I'd skip that part of it, unless you're already into coilovers and corner weights and so on. Alignment for autocross is not something I can speak to with any authority, but I run -1.5 degrees camber in front, -1 in back, 1/16th toe in per side in back, and a little toe out in front, for road courses. Autocross I might omit the toe out in front as the last thing I'd want would be shimmy under hard braking. Again, no expertise with autocross alignment.

 

for auto-x the most important thing is to get seats or harnesses that will keep you in the seat - so you can pay attention to driving instead of flying around the car.

with how quick and short auto-x tracks are you won't build up enough heat to need cooling ducts, $35 dollar per pint brake fluid, an extra oil cooler, etc - just drive it like you stole it!

This is what I run, per the recommendation of Fordahl racing:
Front Camber -2.1 deg.
Front Caster 6.3 deg.
Front Toe 0.00"
Rear Camber -1.4 deg.
Rear Toe 0.12"

I think it's a little aggressive and will have them take some camber out depending on how the tires wear...

 

For the first timer in a C5 you should probably stick with the Service Recommended alignments for the Z06. Not as aggressive as some here have mentioned but you should get to know the car and decide how you want to tweak it for your driving style. As for harnesses you can get by without them for a while. The Corvette seat belts can be cinched and once cinched they do a pretty good job of holding your upper body in place. To cinch a C5 belt you pull it out all the way and when you let it go back in you can hear the ratchets clicking. To get it tight enough run the seat all the way back, pull the belt all the way out and then fasten. After the takeup reel has gotten as much of the belt retracted as it can use your hand to push a little more belt into the takeup. Once done with that run the seat forward to your driving position. If the lap belt feels like it is going to cut you in half you are just about tight enough. At the starting line when you let the clutch out the shoulder belt portion of the belt will also cinch and you will be pretty much held in place (make sure your arms can reach what they need to reach from your seating position). Your left leg will have to push against the door speaker but you will still do that when you have a 6 point harness unless you get a racing seat that holds your legs. Make sure you wear long pants since the speaker grille is actually a meat grinder.

Put the Active Handling in Competition Mode or turn it off altogether. Comp mode can help if you drive the car to make use of AH capabilities (apply brake to only one wheel to rotate the car) Vs letting it cover your mistakes.

I found my best starting line procedure is to rev to about 2200 rpm and then let the clutch out. Do not dump the clutch. Slip it just enough to keep from burning the tires off the car but do allow the tires to slip some. You will feel the proper amount after a couple of runs.

Once on the course find a place to get into second gear and leave it there unless they have turn that brings the car down to about 5 mph. These are great second gear cars. Very similar to the old C4 L98s except with more power and longer legs.

Bill

 

you seem like you have been around and probably know this but here goes: one word....TIRES !!!!!!!!!!!

given sorta equal driving ability - the guy with the best slicks wins!

have fun and haul ***!

oh....kumho v710's here

 

As always good advice Bill!!!

Just as a note we have seen speeds in excess of 90 on the auto-x courses here - 3rd might be required too... better work on that heel/toe shifting!

 

more racers that like turns.

 

On my 02 Z the lap belt will cinch but not the shoulder belt. Is this normal?

 

Since you've already run a Mod car you know how that game works. I ran a C4 for a few years in AS then got the Z06 and ran SS for a year. Don't do any mods that boot you out of SS. Your first bump is into ASP. You'll get beat up by the prepped cars and won't know if it is skill or parts beating you.

In stock trim I found a couple of things I didn't like:

1st get the alignment more aggressive. I ran -1.5 front / -1.0 rear. 0 toe front, 1/8 total toe-in rear. Whatever caster you get will be fine. Just make sure that Steer Ahead and Thrust Angle come darn close to 0 so the car tracks straight. It is very streetable.

2nd run the stock Supercars. They spin easy so chill out on the launches. Lateral grip and braking is excellent with the Supercars. Since it's legal in SS. If you want to get another set of Z06 rims and run Hoosier A6 or Kumho V710 go for it. It's a freebie.

3rd get a harness bar and 6-point harnesses (pilot style). Staying still in the stock seat with the stock belts is next to impossible on an AX course. I have permanently bruised knees to prove it!

Leave everything else alone. Stock pads are quite aggressive and work just fine on an AX course. So does the stock suspension. You could lower it on the stock adjusters (before an alignment) to help with body roll. Throw in an extra quart of oil to stop any starvation issues. You can run it fairly low on fuel without starvation issues. Short shift 1st and get into 2nd and leave it in 2nd. Even a turnaround is not an issue with the torque you have. Like Bill said, try Comp Mode, then ditch it and turn AH/TC off.

If you are in a hot climate pop the hood between runs as these things keep heat in the engine bay. It'll help some.

You know the rest, seat time, seat time, seat time. If you can get to an Evo School to get lots of seat time in short order that would help. Only real problem I had adapting from my C4 to a C5 was clipping cones with the rear tire. Took a while to get used to where it was in relation to where I thought it was. The front was no problem. You'll have to adapt from the Stang.

 

Yes... only the lap belt actually cinches... what you were reading was that if you launch hard you can engage the shoulder strap cincher (which is what stops you in a crash).

 

On my 97 and 03 it doesn't take to much of a launch. Before I went to harnesses I could get the shoulder belt to lock on both of them by just accelerating quickly in 2nd or 3rd gear so I could cinch everything up while on pit road. Only the drivers side belt does this. The passenger side belt will remain unlocked through all sorts of wild driving. Never saw it lock on either car. Probably takes a crash to get it to lock so I won't be testing it.

Bill

 

I find that my STOCK F1 tires set at 32 and keeping them there is best for me.

2nd gear is usually what I stay in.
I just use stock alignment for now.
stock brakes is fine.
tires are a huge factor.

Accelarate, brake hard, turn in, accel out.

then hit the road course....