kentz06

As a certified, card carrying "Track Junkie", I have accumulated a ton of track miles and smiles over the past 5 years driving the '07 Z06.


Road America is a long ways from Seattle but worth it!





I don't abuse the poor thing, but I definitely push the car hard. Pfadt competition sway bars, Moton Club Sport Coil-overs, Stoptech BBK, Hoosier R6 tires, race seats and 6-point harnesses allowed me to keep the game A on.



Pfadt competition sway bars, dirty but still going strong after lots of hard use:





Become one with the car:





Hoosier R6 in the dry, hand cut wets in the rain. Hey, it's Seattle:





I don't keep a log but it's been to the track 60-70 times. Of the 41K total miles, close to half of them have been on the track. Only incidents have been two minor off track excersions and one spin. The only time I have hit anything to cause damage was loading it in the trailer after an event (bent control arm, cracked fender, don't ask). Once I improved my driving skills to be able to use the car close to it's potential, over the past couple years the only car I have trouble staying in front of is a Lambo LP640 driven by a fellow senior instructor. (Amazing what driving 25+ times per year for a couple years will produce even in a dunce like me).



As you might remember the fun hasn't come without some pain. The original motor expired around 15K miles at a Thunderhill track event, probable cause was a piston failure.



Pieces of piston in the throttle body is not a good sign:





GM did an engine swap at Bowling Green, no charge. The replacement motor only lasted 1300 miles with a classic oil starvation, bottom end seize. GM stepped up to the plate again with a new motor. GM informed me, however, "no mas". They treated me more than fairly and I have no problem with their decision.


With no more warranty and having gained some valuable insights I made some changes. First thing I did was modify my driving style. Where I use to push the car to the red line frequently, I now drive the torque curve by short shifting at 6000-6500 rpm. This really reduces the velocity of the cast pistons and has had no effect on speed/lap times.


I also modified the car with an ARE oil pan/scraper and increased the dry sump capacity with the Lingenfelter tank swap.



ARE oil pan/scraper with a proven better design:





These changes seemed to do the trick and I had no problems for 3+ years. Towards the end of last year, however, I detected some slight change in the engine noise/feel. So I stopped driving the car since you shouldn't be on the track if you don't have 110% confidence in the hardware. I have spent this winter deciding what to do...






To be continued...

Dean

Hirohawa

Very cool

GreekPT

Kent, we met once at TH some years back, late at night before the track day at the hotel parking lot and you were maybe installing your splitter? Anyhow this is a bit off topic but what model Recaro are u running and how's the headroom? I have a long torso and need more headroom in order to wear a helmet. I've moved up from C5Z to C6Z.

Good luck with your project.

~Phil

Mookster

Hey OP, would it possible for me to check out your car and the seats, i'd wanna see how i fit them? Thanks

foremaw

Very interesting post, I like your style. Keep us posted.

kentz06

The car is down in Vancouver at Tom Wong's shop. If you are headed down there in the next 4-5 weeks let me know. Otherwise it should be back to Seattle late March.



The seats are Recaro Pole Position. Unfortunately I don't know what seat mounts were used. I am 5'7" and they were too low so I raised them a little over 1" and still have plenty of head room.



I'll keep posting every day or two as points of interest come up. Maybe this will help break up some of the winter doldrums.

Dean

Pfadt Racing

This should become a very interesting thread indeed!

Nice sway bars Dean, maybe we will see more orange on the car soon!

bluemagoo

Marking it.

Halltech

Any idea how much the seats weigh vs. stock? Love the look.

Where did you get them?

Corvette0096

Seen the car in person.. Your in Good hands with Tom.

Bluefire

Good thread, nice build. I hope it goes smooth and quick.

Tom, Now I know why your rack isn't available.

molon labe

Thanks for the post kentz06. Very good info!

Rogue C6

Hey Dean!

I know that picture! Nice shot! I have a better camera now.

I had the opportunity to ride with Dean and it was the most fun I had in a Vette. At one point I was looking at the speedo and it was 155mph.

I have been following pictures on FB from Tom Wong's. It looks like a great build. I am sure it will provide you years more of fast fun.

If you need another photo shoot, please let me know.

Patrick

travisnd

Subscribed. One thing though... if short shifting at 6000 rpms vs. 7k doesn't affect your lap times, epsecially on a timetrials lap, then you're doing something wrong.

ErnieN85

NW94Z

Kent you need to top off your windshield washer reservoir. Your getting a little on the low side.

Painrace

Dean, why don't you send all the parts to Autobahn and we will have an assembly party at Track Attack!

You supply the beer and all us guys and gals will supply the labor.

Or, you can just rent a new CAMARO!

Jim

spartanc6z06

Good read! Beautiful Z. Thats just about an engine per year of ownership for you. Guess thats not to bad.... LOL

kentz06

To recap, I decided to embark on this journey due to lots of track miles and a slight change in sound and a small increase in vibration from the engine. I could detect the difference when moving, or while parked and blipping the throttle. Thus it must be motor related. Didn't want to risk driving the car 180 miles to Vancouver so trailered it down and dropped it off at Tom's. He confirmed the sound and vibration.

First order of business was to determine cause of vibration so Tom performed a compression check:

1: 150
2: 150
3: 145
4: 145
5: 145
6: 140
7: 145
8: 150

No obvious problems here.

Next check is oil pressure:
Hot idle: 50 psi
5500+ rpm: 94 psi
Redline 10W-40

Another positive negative.

Dyno run next:





So 447 HP and 428 torque, not bad. More good news, but WTF???

Valve covers pulled and everything looks 100%.


Already fully committed to the process so out comes the drivetrain:





Lo and behold, the answer to the vibration source:








I guess motor mounts are not supposed to look like this. Oil pan weep contributed to the mess. You can't tell that I cleaned this up frequently.


I've also been fighting an oil leak in back so the transmission is a mess. Due to one mis-shift the reverse syncro doesn't work too well either:





Like an archeological dig, Tom keeps finding more issues:


Worn out torque tube prop shaft probably caused by pilot bearing failure:





Rubber boots missing from ball joints.


Worn out shift box????


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t95zD...ature=youtu.be


The car has more repair finger prints than the FBI, so I think some of the issues are from previous engine swaps. Obviously a good decision to keep tearing the thing apart.


The good news:


A little dirty but in great shape. Tom says the clutch looks new.
Note sure if I'll keep it or sell. I don't need anything from it for the build.




Enough of the gore, I think it's time to move on the the fun part:





RPM Level 5 transmission and American Racing 1-7/8" headers!

Dean

fperra

Its about time you put some headers on that monster.