I posted this in the drag racing forum but nobody seems to go there, si I decided to try here. Need some tips on getting my C6 down the track.

I have an all stock 06 automatic with standard 2.5 gears out back.I plan on taking it down the track at Beech Bend in the spring. Id like to launch it with traction control off. What is it going to do on a prepped track ? Tire spin ? Bogg ? Or wheel hop ? Wheel hop is my concern. If it does hop is there an easy fix ? Id hate to break parts first time out. Ive done lots of racing but this is going to be a first time in a C6.

 

Drag racing takes practice letting you learn as you hone your drag racing skills. Try different launches, tire pressure etc, with wheel spin and getting it to hookup is your biggest problem. If you don’t do crazy stuff your car will run down the track many many times without problems. Wheel hop is usually caused by cold pavement and tire temperatures. Get out on the blacktop on a hot summer day and I bet wheel hop will not be a problem. Practice practice practice and it helps if you have some competition when you are making practice runs. Learn how to look over while bringing the engine revs up to launch and give the Dude in the other lane …“ the look” and let them have it… good luck.

 

I have to disagree a bit here as wheel hop can happen on any temp road surface, and at any ambient temp as well. Best thing to keep in mind to prevent wheel hop, and the damage that can result from it is to ease into the gas as soon as the light hits yellow, and then add more gas as you gain traction and get moving. It takes some practice, but great run times can be had once you have this down.

 

That is going to be difficult for me. I have a lot of time in at the track but I automatically nail it to the floor when I see that last yellow flash. How much will it slow me down if I leave the traction control on ?

 

Believe me I had the same bad habit ingrained in me since I started racing old muscle cars when I was younger. Using the same tactic with my C6 resulted in 1.8-2.0 second 60' times because the tires would just spin and I'd go nowhere. After I unlearned this bad habit and started launching slowly to start I was able to cut my 60' time down to 1.3 seconds. That's a whole half second I picked up, which is quite considerable in the 1/4.

 

You are really overthinking this. I don't know who gave you the idea to leave TC on, but you will never realize the potential of the car if you do that. If you don't think you can launch at anything other than WOT, do it. It should only take once to see what not to do.

There are different methods for cutting a good time. I have only tracked my C6 base auto-trans a few times, so I can only give you my suggestion as to where to start.
1. Turn off TC.
2. Don't go through the water.
3. When the lights start, power brake to about 1700.
4. On last yellow, release the brake, roll into the throttle so that by 10 feet out, you are WOT.

Based on how much wheelspin you get with that process, you can adjust launch RPM up or down, and how long you take to roll into WOT.

Even though it may be a couple months away, we would really like to hear the result. Most of us trying to learn from what others do, as well as our own experience.

Good luck.

 

are you going to be on a drag radial? if you are turn the traction control off then let it rip

 

The problem with TC is that it only comes on as much as needed leading to inconsistent times. If you hook well it won't come on at all but if you spin it could slow you down significantly depending on how bad the traction is.

Even stock tires will usually spin at some point, maybe not on your 1st or 2nd pass but eventually by the end of the night. This is why running with a set of drag radials is the best approach even if the car is completely stock. It pretty much eliminates the need for TC and also allows you to floor the car as soon as you launch because having to try and ease into going WOT is also going to slow the car down.

In all the years I've been racing a C6, never once have I ever needed to ease into the throttle and I'd probably stop racing if I did.

 

Thanks for explaining this a bit better than I did.

 

Thanks for the input guys. 2 weeks in the drag forum, I got 3 replies. I will work on the roll into the throttle thing in March. Not ruling out drag radials. Depend on how often I get to race.

 

If you're just looking to see what the car will do then rolling into the throttle may kinda, sorta work but you'll never be able actually win races doing that, at least not consistently.

Realize the full potential of the car - buy some tires!

 

Aw, come on....geez. You are running drag radials, he said nothing about them. You have run yours down the strip dozens of times, he has NEVER run it. I bet you are not running a stock motor...he is. I tried to give him some tips for his first outing, and you go "may kinda, sorta, work, but..." I was giving him a starting point.

Try speaking to the level of the person who is asking the question, okay?

 

Tires are not out of the question. I just do not know how much I will be racing. I only have one real competition in the plans. LS Fest has a true street class. I would have to drive a 30 mile cruise and make 3 passes on a 13.00 index, RT does not come into it. Just can not go under 13.00. Will be a lot of cars in the class. Closest to 13.00 average wins.

 

I also have a bone stock 2011 Grand Sport so I was speaking to the level of the OP since I have direct experience with that setup as well.

The reality of the situation is I've lost track of the number of guys coming out to race their stock Corvettes and end up being disappointed afterwards and as I said earlier, he might be fine for a few passes but that's about it. I know he's not hard-core which is why better tires are the only suggestion I made.

Drag radials (even if they're older and used) would all but eliminate that variable and make him more competitive from the get go. At best he has fun and hangs onto them, at worst he sells them at a slight loss.

 

Subfloor@cwnturytrans, Are you saying it will dead hook on the drag Radials ? For the record, I have done much bracket racing in the past. Just never in a C6.

 

Yes, that's exactly what it'll do in both my race car and the Grand Sport. I need a pretty extensive burnout in the race car but with the Grand Sport I only needed to heat up the tires a bit.

Some action shots of the race car are shown below and if you zoom in you can see just how well they're able to hook as they wrinkle like a full slick. Again, this isn't directly applicable to the OP's car but does illustrate how important good traction is.

 

Wow, that car is hooking hard. I am not looking to do that. Just want it to get good launches and not wheel hop. If my local track would reopen Id buy drag radials in a heartbeat. I just do not have the ability to drive 2 1/2 hours each way to race on a regular basis. THANKS for your input.

 

Not to beat a dead horse but running those drag radials will pretty much prevent any wheel hop as they're pretty soft. In fact, the only time I've ever had wheel hop was with Mickey Thompson tires as they're heavier and not nearly as soft.

 

Just comes down to learning how to slip the clutch enough as you are rolling into the throttle, that as your coming out of the hole, you keep the tires hooked up to the available traction until, you can fully engage the clutch/ and roll on more throttle then.
No, even with racing slick and M6 trans, if you play the clutch dump/pin the throttle game, it going to break the tires, so you back to learning how to slip the clutch on launch for the available traction, and still then using the throttle rolled on to hold tires sticking on the roll out as well.


As for if you screw up the launch and get into tire spring at any point, get out of the throttle on the spot! Do not try to pedal the throttle to get the tires to stick again!!!!
If the tires start to wheel hop from spinning, then get a good bite, your going to blow the diff up as it cracks the case.
Note, with drag slicks, and even not spinning the tires on launch, it just a matter of time before the diff case lets loose as well, just from the increased amount of torque your putting into the differ not designed for high G launch in the first place.

Short version, long output shaft out of the trans, pinon gear on the end of it, and with enough torque, pinion gear tries to walk out of the ring gear, to either snap the trans output shaft, or crack the case from the over torque.







As for the stock clutches, easy enough to slip them, but if you replace the clutch, need to make sure your going with organic plates, hence clutch that is to be slipped. Inorganic plates are really good at holding a lot of power, but are more like an on/off switch, that do not slip well as needed instead.

 

When I first started running my C6 on the OEM RF's, I found a 1200 RPM stall launch worked best. It was just enough to push close to the break loose limits without getting any tire hop. First ever pass with idle punch had a 2.076 short time and a 12.58 ET. 10 passes later with a 1200 stall launch, the 60' time was 1.960 and ET at 12.43.
Since you can't go quicker than 13 flat, get a package of Home Depot wood shims for under the skinny peddle. Start with 1 and add as needed.