PJRManagement

Hi there, brand new to this forum as of today. Not a Corvette owner...yet. My plan is to purchase a C7 Grand Sport in 2018 or 2019. Daily driver with 3-4 track days per year (road course). I currently own a (don't hate) 2011 Ford Mustang GT, with light mods for track day duty (wheels/tires/suspension/brakes) - small pic attached for reference. I only put on about 5k miles per year, since I work from home, and I try to get to 3-4 HPDE track events per year (here in Nevada). I do love my Mustang, but when it gets to be about 7-8 years old I may have to upgrade to Corvette. I like the balance that Grand Sport offers - prioritizing handling and braking to outright power. So I have some track-day questions, particularly for C7 GS:
(1) I like to drive to/from the track, on street tires (high-performance summer, like MPSS). Without swapping to dedicated track wheels/tires. I do this now with my Mustang. Any folks here have any problems tracking their Corvette on good street tires?
(2) I see no need for the carbon brake package upgrade, since mine will be a daily driver, and the stock iron disks and 6p / 4p calipers look pretty robust...any feedback on using the stock iron brake set-up?
(3) Will I need to upgrade to steel brake lines? (I have this on my Mustang now).
(4) Will I need to order my C7 GS with the optional front brake ducts OEM from Chevy? Or do the brakes hold up pretty good without them?
(5) Any other track tips / advise is most welcome.
My hope is to not have to mod the car - as was need for my Mustang. I'm counting on a great street/track package out-of-the-box from Chevy. Or am I in FantasyLand? All input is greatly appreciated, thank you!

Desmtg

Have a 2017 GS and they can to race and autocross from the factory. The only thing you may want is to change brake pads. Will be a great daily driver and a lot of fun on the track.

BEZ06

Welcome to the Corvette Forum!!!

1. No problem - the MPSS is a very good track tire! You can get a mild track/street alignment and the car with the Super Sports will work great.

2. The stock iron brakes will work GREAT for you. The only thing you will need to do is flush in a good DOT 4 fluid and slap in some track pads. Carbotech 1521 for the street, and for the track swap in XP12 or 20 up front, and in the rear XP10 would be excellent. The compounds are so similar that there's no re-bedding when you swap from street-to-track-and-back!!

3. You're gonna hear something different from others, but no, NO, NO - absolutely totally, completely unnecessary.

4. The 2017 (and I assume future model years) come with the front brake ducts and rotor backing plates (the backing plates come with iron brake cars, not included with the carbon ceramic brakes) - at least the Z06 does, so I guess the GS will. If you need to buy them they cost about $75, and maybe another $30 or so if you want the rotor backing plates. They aren't installed - they're there to be put on for track events. I bought some for my 2016 and they stay on all the time.

5. Flush in DOT 4 and swap on some track pads and you'll be ready to go!!! Drive it like that before doing anything else!

Nice looking Stang!!!!

.

Poor-sha

(1) I like to drive to/from the track, on street tires (high-performance summer, like MPSS). Without swapping to dedicated track wheels/tires. I do this now with my Mustang.
Any folks here have any problems tracking their Corvette on good street tires?

No problem there. Lots of us have done this on MPSS and MPSC2.

(2) I see no need for the carbon brake package upgrade, since mine will be a daily driver, and the stock iron disks and 6p / 4p calipers look pretty robust...any feedback on using the stock iron brake set-up?

A lot depends on how you drive. I could run my C7 Z51 on stock pads but I didn't push the car as hard. The C7 Z06 wouldn't only hold up a couple of laps for me with stock pads. I like the Ferodo DS 1.11 pads or you can try the DS 2500 for a good mixed street/track pad. If you're really going to push the car hard I'd get the AP Racing kit.

(3) Will I need to upgrade to steel brake lines? (I have this on my Mustang now).

I don't think this is necessary.

(4) Will I need to order my C7 GS with the optional front brake ducts OEM from Chevy? Or do the brakes hold up pretty good without them?

The brake cooling on this car is really bad. I haven't been to the track since GM released these but I think it's a cheap way to extend pad life if nothing else.

(5) Any other track tips / advise is most welcome.

Lots of threads on this but put in a quality DOT4 brake fluid like Castrol SRF, run 15w50 oil, and make sure you get a good alignment (look for the DSC Sport alignment settings). The DSC Sport suspension controller is also a great upgrade.

Have fun!

L82Brake

Great advise above. Cooling ducts are standard on the Grand Sport. Race pads and a good quality high temp brake fluid and you're good to go.

Maxpowers

All good feedback above.

As a new C7 owner with ambition to track in the summer I've done a lot of research. You should spend some time researching the threads.

A lot will depend on how far you can press the car to its extremes at the track. Perhaps start stock with the few mods above and then determine where you need to upgrade. The GS is a pretty good track car out of the box and no sense spending a ton of money unless your that good.

PS. Don't wait. You're missing out!

PJRManagement

Thank you all so much for the speedy replies (Desmtg, BEZ06, Poor-sha, L82Brake, Maxpowers). I really appreciate it. I will continue to search around the forum for more info. A few more, if I may:
1) I believe DOT 4 fluid has been changed industry-wide to DOT 5.1, That's what I have in my Mustang now. Let me know if I'm misinformed.
2) On Chevy's website, in the builder tool, I see: "Performance Brake Ducts, $275", in the Accessories section. Several of you mentioned that these come standard...?
3) Do the Standard seats hold up okay? Or will I require the Competition seats for track use? (I'm small, 5'6" 165lbs)
4) Will the full-leather seat be too slippery for the track? Or will I require the suede inserts?
5) As much as I'd like to buy one now, Maxpowers, I must wait a couple years, for various reasons. I'll still have fun with the Mustang until then. But when I do finally get the C7 GS, I will be thrilled.

L82Brake

I tried both seats and found the stock seats hugged equally well. The real advantage with the comp seats is if you someday want to add a hans\harness. The disadvantage is the cost. One more important point is the comp seats look really cool.

BEZ06

Leather seats are fine. You can get Touring seats or Competition seats - go to a dealer and try both out to decide what you want. I have Competition and find them great for street and track (I'm 6'2" 220 lbs).

As far as brake fluid, read this info on the Stoptech website:

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-su...rs/brake-fluid


In there you can read:

The main thing is - DO NOT use a DOT 5 silicone based fluid!!!

As it says above, some fluids are called DOT 5.1, but they're essentially like DOT 4 fluids. There are also some fluids that call themselves Super DOT 4, but I think that's mainly a European thing.

I wouldn't bother with DOT 5.1 when any good DOT 4 racing brake fluid will be as good or better. Like Poor-sha said, Castrol SRF is arguably the best (but expensive). Motul RBF 600 and several others are also VERY good fluids.

Oh - and also like Poor-sha said, the Owner's Manual says (at least for the LT4 in the Z06 - and I assume for the LT1) swap in Mobil 15w50 for track use (in Florida I run it year 'round on the street as well).

.

ShahulX

z07 package needs nothing i assume ...ready to go to track days straight away... maybe brake fluid...stock pads are good to go with CCB

PJRManagement

---
Thanks, but for 99% of use this car will be on the street, I'm not going to get the Z07 package.

WilliamCall

A lot of good comments here. I love my competition seats. If you track your car 4 or 5 times a year, factor in tire wear. The Michelin tires are a soft rubber compound, but they are excellent for the track. Also, consider getting the Performance Data Recorder (PDR). The PDR and the Cosworth toolbox software are a great combo to have for tracking your car. Search this forum, you'll find a lot of track PDR videos.

NathanS

I just did my first track day in my '15 Z51 M7 last weekend. It's fully stock, other than DOT4 Motul brake fluid and 15W50 oil, plus a track alignment. I drove from Austin to Houston (getting 27 MPG), ran 8 20-minute sessions, then drove home Sunday night on back roads with no trouble whatsoever. Max oil temp on track was 250, the trans temp didn't really move and the brakes actually warmed up and increased grip towards the end of each session. The 60 degree weather and my lack of skill may have helped, but I felt that the Z51 was more than up to surviving on track.

I would say don't throw parts at the car until you have issues. Do, however, follow the GM track prep directions and check your diff/trans fluid beforehand.

PJRManagement

Thanks, everyone, for so much valuable information. Next up...I understand that C7 can be lowered simply by adjusting OEM bolts at each wheel? Is this true? Sounds amazing...all of my other sports cars needed new suspensions to do this. Pros? Cons?

Bill Dearborn

C5, C6 and C7 can be lowered but you do have to be careful. 1/2 inch drop won't get you into the bump stops and may help handling but I find the stock ride height handles very well as is and you don't tear up as much stuff on parking curbs, speed bumps, road dips, driveways, etc.

Bill

RoninRed

So the dealer I was in contact with quoted me bottom dollar for my mustang.... and I would still come out owing less and with a lower payment.

Now I just have to fight the practicality of owning a vette, and the attachment to my mustang lol.

suggestions?

PJRManagement

Ronin, go with your heart (with a little guidance from your head). I don't like 'bottom dollar' for your Mustang. I won't take that for mine. But if you can get to a monthly payment that works for you, that is the end-goal. Just be sure to calculate that your loan will re-set back to 48 or 60 or 72 months. So it's not like...'my payments remain the same'...you actually begin all over again. Why don't you post up some more info. Year/model/mileage/condition for your Mustang. And year/model/trim for the Corvette. And proposed new monthly $ payment. And any money down. I'm sure these experience Corvette folks on this forum can tell you if you are getting a good deal, or not.

RoninRed

Thank you again, here's some info:

CURRENT: 2016 Mustang GT Premium Performance Packaged, 8,500 miles... just added new wheels and tires, besides a bunch of other goodies like LED lights. I baby her, no dings or scratches. Will come with spare rear UHP AS tires I bought on a good deal at Christmas from Continental.


Here is the ad I found on the vehicle: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.ac tion?entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntit y=d1&zip=42003&sourceContext=leadConfirm ationEmail&showListingId=160755873&sntEm lId=1009633392&type=leadConfirmationEmai l&subscriberId=13759808&utm_source=leadC onfirmation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaig n=default&utm_content=listingViewDetails CTA#listing=160755873