Premiumspeed

Car sounds incredible! Very nice build, thanks for sharing.

Josh B.

Thanks for the compliment, glad I could contribute something to our awesome discussion board.

UniTink72

I went with vette-air's head package, they have wcch do angle milling. I was worried about 2 things, lifter preload and fast intake fittment. Used a pushrod length checker and ordered custom cut rods, valve train ended up nice a quiet. The fast intake did not sit on the heads cleanly, but after bolting down it seems to be ok. Not sure of the longevity as I'm sure that plastic is stressed.

I plumbed in the e85 sensor, rails, and ID850s. Stock fuel pump though, tuner and vette-air Carlos tell me it's ok.

shane p

Josh, what do you think about the afx rotors, I am thinking about getting those because I want 2 piece in the rear also and it seems not many people make them for the rear in a factory fit set up.

LFZ

Yes, definitely let us know your thoughts on the rotors...I know a few DE guys that used them and they were hit/miss. I am in need of new rotors soon and thinking of going with something different and lighter.

Josh B.

I could not say enough great things about the rotors. We all get seduced by the numbers and the looks, 32 lbs less rotating unsprung weight, and 2 piece rotor beauty. But to appreciate these rotors is to take a closer look at the precision that goes into machining them.

I actually picked these rotors up from the Performance AFX shop in West Chicago. There I got to check out their race cars, but more importantly, I got to see with my own eyes their CNC machine processing the rotors.

Fit
The fit is perfect, the slots are cut to the exact dimension of the Z06 calipers, by Performance AFX. You know that some precision engineering went into the parts when the rear hat nuts clear the brake drum by about 1mm. That kind of distance doesn't happen by chance.

Operation
The brakes are smooth on the street and seem to work well with my Carbotech 1521 single piece pads. Dust is fairly low. Very minor pulsation after heavy use, that goes away within 20 miles of commuting. I'm not a road racer, someone else could explain that phenomenon, I would guess it would be due to uneven wear between slotted surfaces, as blank rotors don't seem to have that happen. The rear parking brake functions exactly like the factory rotors, you would never tell that there are CNC machined hats back there.

Performance
The car seems much more responsive to throttle, steering, and braking inputs, which is to say it feels lighter. Minor throttle inputs during commuting actually result in a speed increase, deceleration seems more active now as well, where the engine has more of an effect to slow the car. I would attribute this to lighter rotating mass. But it makes our already lightweight Z06s feel even better.

Appearance
THEY LOOK AWESOME!! Every time I see my car in the morning the rotors just stand out and scream "race car". The pictures of the new rotors speak for themselves, but pictures do not do these rotors justice. The only thing I wish were different, and would add to the cost, would be zinc coating on the rotor surface, as the rotors tend to oxidize on the unused rotor surface.

100% made in the USA. Coleman Racing rotors, from what I understand, even the Iron ore is mined from Wisconsin. The hats are machined in house at Performance AFX. Nothing Chinese here. Just Rocky IV, Bruce Springsteen, and Hulk Hogan rolled into a brake rotor.

AzDave47

I'm running a stock LS7 and am an experienced driver/instructor. I have the AFX rotors on the front, originally with the lightweight rings and now the standard HD rings. I still use the OEM rears and OEM fronts for the street, Put the AFX on for track days when I do all the other prep work.

When I did my first Z06 track days (2) I used the factory pads and had no brake problems, but the pads are low friction compared with track pads so the retardation was also mild, but no problems.

As soon as I went to track pads I got front brake heating problems. Changed from ATE Blue fluid 518* dry boiling point to Motul RBF 600*, the Coleman AFX rotors and the cooling ducts from the OEM plastic duct to the rotors. I consumed the pads quickly and still had over heating problems.

Once I did this 4" brake duct mod, my brake cooling problems went away: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-new-look.html.

I will stay with the AFX rotors, but when I mod my engine, I may go to the Wilwood front brake setup

Josh B.

So my curb weight of 3080 has set me on a quest to trim some fat, from the car and the driver.

Today I slowly disconnected the passenger side of my recently installed 2012 seats from the electric bases.

With the bare electric base on my bathroom weight scale it came in at 20.9 lbs. Both my seats are electric, so I will be removing approximately 40 lbs of ballast from the car.




I am fabricating fixed seat brackets from 1.5" x 1.5" 6061-T6 angle aluminum. Right now I am fabricating the jig fixture to ensure my new brackets mirror the exact dimension of the brackets as I removed them from the car, as I made sure to leave the seats adjusted EXACTLY how I love them.

I'll post up some more pictures with progress. But for people who don't mess with their seats much, It's a good way to shed 40 pounds from the car.

Silver Bullet C6

I was just looking at how to remove the seats on YouTube...looks easy.
Do you have a picture of what the bottom of the seat looks like? I may get rid of my seat base, I am the only driver of my car...wife doesn't care to drive it.

Josh B.

It does look easy, the five nuts and 3 wiring harnesses are the easy part, lifting that 60lb mass out with your lower back, carefully avoiding scratching your door sill with the steel seat frame...not something to look forward to!

I have to steal my son's iPad to take a picture, and can't at the moment, so I found a link to an article where they rebuild C5 seats. The process to removing the C6 seat base is virtually identical.

http://www.corvetteonline.com/projec...n-project-y2k/

reasonable suspicion

Hey Josh...... I see you been doing work! Very nice. It's been a while. Ever figure out which tires work best with our setups? I only live about half hour from West Chicago and was planning on sending car back to Katech and do afx rotors,a clutch, engine trans mounts.....but I have been devoting all my time, energy, and fun money into a 2000 tj I'm building from bottom up with my youngest son. Eta finish this August and I'll turn my attention back to the z. I'll be copying everything you do! Be safe!

FRiCK916

Awesome thread. Keep it going. I look forward to your posts!

philpacs

You'll love the Wilwoods.

Josh B.

Hey man! Thanks for dropping me a note, I was hoping to make it to track attack to meet you but just couldn't budget it in this year.

For the tires I am using 285/40-18 Michelin Pilot Super Sport non-runflats in front, and 345/30-19 MPSS in the rear, on the stock 2006 Z06 wheels. The sidewalls look "square" with the wheel, instead of stretched like the factory sizes, but not "bulged" like a 295 front. These tires are really great for the street, I think they are the perfect street tire for any performance vehicle.

I tried the MPSS tires recently at a wannaGOFAST 1/2 mile event. I was fighting for traction through 2nd gear, so it's clear that I need more tire for dig races. Last week I purchased Weld RT-S wheels, black centers, 17x4.5 and 17x11s. I plan on 26x.5.00-17 Mickey Thomspon Sportsman S/R for the front runner tires, and M&H Racemasters 325/45-17 for the rear. If that doesn't hook the power, I don't know what will!!

Do you have a build thread going for your TJ that you could link me to? I owned a 99 at one point, very light mods, and just helped a friend get his 02 back to running condition last week (his auto shifter interlock solenoid was frozen, auto shifter button wouldn't even depress so it couldn't shift out of park). When I wacked it with the BFH he thought I was a water walker.

You will love the Performance AFX rotors, they are super easy to bolt on. The hardest part of the job is removing all the old blue Loctite from the caliper bolts (wire wheel works best). Someday when I'm rich I will send my shortblock to Katech so they can install some of their 12:1 pistons, blueprint and balance the engine, install the oil squirters, their oil pump, etc. Maybe in another 30k miles. I highly recommend the Monster LT1-S clutch, I installed one in mine and I am in heaven now. I will post some pictures:
















Always great to hear from you!
Josh

Josh B.

Thanks man. That means a lot. The car is really awesome to drive. I have a limited budget, and just want a nice balance to total investment, drivability, but still make some serious N/A power with a balanced suspension and chassis.

I enjoy finding some what easy ways to trim weight, without losing everyday functionality, or spending uber money. I might go as far as a Carbon Fiber hood, but I don't know. I look at weight loss as weight saved divided by dollars spent. Like, how much does each pound cost? The braille battery was the "cheapest" weight saver by far, 20 lbs less for only $199. Can't beat that!

philpacs

Thanks for sharing your build and your thought process will help many members with there own. I envy your limited budget=) I'd encourage you to get on a road course where you can really see your work and chassis shine. Here is a great build of a track car you'd might like and get ideas: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...formation.html

He went more with chassis upgrades and since your build is mostly powertrain this could be helpful for the rest of the car.

Da Z06

Josh,

Could you share the battery part number?

Thanks!

Josh B.

Here you go: Braille Battery No-Weight Standard Battery B2317RP‏. Best price I could find was $199. Be advised though, shortly after I made the purchase I read a couple comments where seasoned members wrote that Braille just re-labels Deka brand batteries and doubles the price.

I don't know what Deka part number would cross-reference, or if they have the same cranking amperages, etc.

I can tell you that my battery has served me well on my daily driver, but I'm cautious not to leave the car in accessory mode ever, and I connect to the battery tender at night which I think helps in the 35* cold morning startups.

Josh B.

Thanks for the kind words. I will take a look at that build. I agree that a road course would be awesome to really explore the capabilities of the car. I feel like that can be spendy though.

Along similar lines of weight savings/dollars spent, I wonder what tires and brakes would still work well/dollars spent. Obviously you don't want too poor of a tire, because there goes your driving experience, but you don't really want to wear out Michelin Pilot Sport Cups for $5k a set. Seems like a set of dedicated track tires might fit the bill, costly up front, but will save your street tires. My only insight as to road racing is that a friend of mine went to an HPDE at NOLA and his MPSS tires were pretty worn up front from the one day he went.

I just ordered some Weld RT-S wheels, 17x5 front and 17x11 rear for some 1/2 mile racing events. Looking at 26x6.00 M/T Sportsman S/Rs in front and bought some M&H Racemaster DRs 325/45-17 rears. So I'm invested in straight line racing for the short term, but that doesn't rule out getting into HPDE in the mid term. I won fastest Naturally Aspirated on Sunday of the wannaGOFAST event, on MPSS tires!, so that encouraged me to invest a bit more and win both Saturday and Sunday (I was 162.9, faster guy on Saturday was 166.x), both C6Zs.

Da Z06

Good note. Thanks brother!