Driving on Autobahn, your input
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 90
From: Kaiserslautern
Driving on Autobahn, your input
Hi there,
Im stationed in germany and luckily have my c7z51 here with me (US spec). I dont have mag ride (boo).
So, as one can imagine the autobahn is very hard on the car. I had my c6z06 and it never had issues, but it was a z06, so was built to withstand a lot of abuse. A plain c7(z51) has its challenges. The tranny temp goes up after 15-20 min of cruising at 150-160mph. I just wrapped my axel back with some heat wrap, so hopefully that helps. Few other issues that bother me, and id like ur opinions on how to solve them.
1. My rotors got "warped". Car has 7k miles. Now i read a lot of things about how rotors dont actually warp, but instead its just brake pad material left on them etc. somewhere i also read that if i were to follow brake pad rebedding procedures (few hard stops), it will solve the issue. I tried it once (though not to the point where brakes were smoking) and it didnt work. There is one rather large grove in the middle of the rotor that i can feel. Should i get rotors turned? What pads should i get for high speed braking? I had carbo tech and hp carbon ceramics on my z06 (carbon ceramics in germany and hp's when i went back to US), and i prefered Hp, but didnt try them on abahn.
2. Cooling rings. Does anyone daily drive with them on? I drive the vette all the time, in any weather (well, it can rain here any time). I know manual says not to drive with them due to rust, but is that really the case? I feel like the rings would help cooling at autobahn speeds.
3. Daily running 15w50. I daily the car to work, which is on back roads, 15 min each way. But on the weekends im usually driving somewhere on the abahn. Offcourse i dont granny drive it on the abahn, so the car does see a lot of redlining in all the gears. Can i run 15w-50 all the time?
4. Alignment. Gm recommends track alignment, but should i do the specs that are used for track to daily the car? If there is no speed limit on the abahn i usually dont dip below 100mph (mostly cruise around 140-160mph. And speaking of alignemnt, this always made me curious: there are these dials in the rear with numbers. Is that something i can use to just adjust my camber by turning some bolt? Say at the track? And then just put it back to street by putting it back on the original number?
I think thats it for now
Curious to hear your opinions!
Im stationed in germany and luckily have my c7z51 here with me (US spec). I dont have mag ride (boo).
So, as one can imagine the autobahn is very hard on the car. I had my c6z06 and it never had issues, but it was a z06, so was built to withstand a lot of abuse. A plain c7(z51) has its challenges. The tranny temp goes up after 15-20 min of cruising at 150-160mph. I just wrapped my axel back with some heat wrap, so hopefully that helps. Few other issues that bother me, and id like ur opinions on how to solve them.
1. My rotors got "warped". Car has 7k miles. Now i read a lot of things about how rotors dont actually warp, but instead its just brake pad material left on them etc. somewhere i also read that if i were to follow brake pad rebedding procedures (few hard stops), it will solve the issue. I tried it once (though not to the point where brakes were smoking) and it didnt work. There is one rather large grove in the middle of the rotor that i can feel. Should i get rotors turned? What pads should i get for high speed braking? I had carbo tech and hp carbon ceramics on my z06 (carbon ceramics in germany and hp's when i went back to US), and i prefered Hp, but didnt try them on abahn.
2. Cooling rings. Does anyone daily drive with them on? I drive the vette all the time, in any weather (well, it can rain here any time). I know manual says not to drive with them due to rust, but is that really the case? I feel like the rings would help cooling at autobahn speeds.
3. Daily running 15w50. I daily the car to work, which is on back roads, 15 min each way. But on the weekends im usually driving somewhere on the abahn. Offcourse i dont granny drive it on the abahn, so the car does see a lot of redlining in all the gears. Can i run 15w-50 all the time?
4. Alignment. Gm recommends track alignment, but should i do the specs that are used for track to daily the car? If there is no speed limit on the abahn i usually dont dip below 100mph (mostly cruise around 140-160mph. And speaking of alignemnt, this always made me curious: there are these dials in the rear with numbers. Is that something i can use to just adjust my camber by turning some bolt? Say at the track? And then just put it back to street by putting it back on the original number?
I think thats it for now
Curious to hear your opinions!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 2,305
Likes: 87
From: Richmond, BC, Canada
With those speeds (pretty much regularly) it might be thought that you are
actually "tracking" the car.
So.... the automatic transmission has a history of over heating.
Since I have a MN7, I can't give you any recommendations.
GM Advises to use the cooling rings for track use. period.
Since you are running at high speed predominantly, I expect the use
of "track weight" oil would be not a bad idea.
You might consider a compromise in Oil weight... maybe 10-40 (if it exists).
If the track alignment is not too severe, then I would leave it in.
I have my aggressive alignment set for Autocross, and I just leave it
for the street.
But mine is NOT my Daily driver.
I do like aggressive alignment for all my cars... daily driver or race car.
I like the car to handle well, and tire wear has never been a problem for me.
(I get new Toyo R888 tires every year or so for the Autocross car)
actually "tracking" the car.
So.... the automatic transmission has a history of over heating.
Since I have a MN7, I can't give you any recommendations.
GM Advises to use the cooling rings for track use. period.
Since you are running at high speed predominantly, I expect the use
of "track weight" oil would be not a bad idea.
You might consider a compromise in Oil weight... maybe 10-40 (if it exists).
If the track alignment is not too severe, then I would leave it in.
I have my aggressive alignment set for Autocross, and I just leave it
for the street.
But mine is NOT my Daily driver.
I do like aggressive alignment for all my cars... daily driver or race car.
I like the car to handle well, and tire wear has never been a problem for me.
(I get new Toyo R888 tires every year or so for the Autocross car)
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,154
Likes: 25
From: Jasper GA
My regards to K-town; I was stationed there 1965-66 (yes, I'm that damned old!). At the time, I had the first of my Sunbeam Tigers, a car that could only manage 125 mph with its Ford 260 V8, but could run all day at that speed.
Just shooting the breeze, since I have no suggestions to address your C7 problems.
Just shooting the breeze, since I have no suggestions to address your C7 problems.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 174
Likes: 9
From: Loma Linda CA
Same greetings. I was there from 75 to 77 as a Doc at 2nd Gen Landstuhl. Many great drives in used but great Porsche 911T and Mercedes 300SEL6.3.
Have owned many cars over the years and have NEVER had rotor warp or brake pulsing as long as I ALWAYS hand torqued the lug nuts.
I know not all believe this but I will continue to hand torque and continue to not expect any rotor warp. However if you are continually slamming on brakes at 150 mph......then who knows....maybe the cooling rings might help.
Good luck and enjoy your tour!
Have owned many cars over the years and have NEVER had rotor warp or brake pulsing as long as I ALWAYS hand torqued the lug nuts.
I know not all believe this but I will continue to hand torque and continue to not expect any rotor warp. However if you are continually slamming on brakes at 150 mph......then who knows....maybe the cooling rings might help.
Good luck and enjoy your tour!
Racer
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 373
Likes: 3
Hi there,
Im stationed in germany and luckily have my c7z51 here with me (US spec). I dont have mag ride (boo).
So, as one can imagine the autobahn is very hard on the car. I had my c6z06 and it never had issues, but it was a z06, so was built to withstand a lot of abuse. A plain c7(z51) has its challenges. The tranny temp goes up after 15-20 min of cruising at 150-160mph. I just wrapped my axel back with some heat wrap, so hopefully that helps. Few other issues that bother me, and id like ur opinions on how to solve them.
1. My rotors got "warped". Car has 7k miles. Now i read a lot of things about how rotors dont actually warp, but instead its just brake pad material left on them etc. somewhere i also read that if i were to follow brake pad rebedding procedures (few hard stops), it will solve the issue. I tried it once (though not to the point where brakes were smoking) and it didnt work. There is one rather large grove in the middle of the rotor that i can feel. Should i get rotors turned? What pads should i get for high speed braking? I had carbo tech and hp carbon ceramics on my z06 (carbon ceramics in germany and hp's when i went back to US), and i prefered Hp, but didnt try them on abahn.
2. Cooling rings. Does anyone daily drive with them on? I drive the vette all the time, in any weather (well, it can rain here any time). I know manual says not to drive with them due to rust, but is that really the case? I feel like the rings would help cooling at autobahn speeds.
3. Daily running 15w50. I daily the car to work, which is on back roads, 15 min each way. But on the weekends im usually driving somewhere on the abahn. Offcourse i dont granny drive it on the abahn, so the car does see a lot of redlining in all the gears. Can i run 15w-50 all the time?
4. Alignment. Gm recommends track alignment, but should i do the specs that are used for track to daily the car? If there is no speed limit on the abahn i usually dont dip below 100mph (mostly cruise around 140-160mph. And speaking of alignemnt, this always made me curious: there are these dials in the rear with numbers. Is that something i can use to just adjust my camber by turning some bolt? Say at the track? And then just put it back to street by putting it back on the original number?
I think thats it for now
Curious to hear your opinions!
Im stationed in germany and luckily have my c7z51 here with me (US spec). I dont have mag ride (boo).
So, as one can imagine the autobahn is very hard on the car. I had my c6z06 and it never had issues, but it was a z06, so was built to withstand a lot of abuse. A plain c7(z51) has its challenges. The tranny temp goes up after 15-20 min of cruising at 150-160mph. I just wrapped my axel back with some heat wrap, so hopefully that helps. Few other issues that bother me, and id like ur opinions on how to solve them.
1. My rotors got "warped". Car has 7k miles. Now i read a lot of things about how rotors dont actually warp, but instead its just brake pad material left on them etc. somewhere i also read that if i were to follow brake pad rebedding procedures (few hard stops), it will solve the issue. I tried it once (though not to the point where brakes were smoking) and it didnt work. There is one rather large grove in the middle of the rotor that i can feel. Should i get rotors turned? What pads should i get for high speed braking? I had carbo tech and hp carbon ceramics on my z06 (carbon ceramics in germany and hp's when i went back to US), and i prefered Hp, but didnt try them on abahn.
2. Cooling rings. Does anyone daily drive with them on? I drive the vette all the time, in any weather (well, it can rain here any time). I know manual says not to drive with them due to rust, but is that really the case? I feel like the rings would help cooling at autobahn speeds.
3. Daily running 15w50. I daily the car to work, which is on back roads, 15 min each way. But on the weekends im usually driving somewhere on the abahn. Offcourse i dont granny drive it on the abahn, so the car does see a lot of redlining in all the gears. Can i run 15w-50 all the time?
4. Alignment. Gm recommends track alignment, but should i do the specs that are used for track to daily the car? If there is no speed limit on the abahn i usually dont dip below 100mph (mostly cruise around 140-160mph. And speaking of alignemnt, this always made me curious: there are these dials in the rear with numbers. Is that something i can use to just adjust my camber by turning some bolt? Say at the track? And then just put it back to street by putting it back on the original number?
I think thats it for now
Curious to hear your opinions!
I put in power stop front rotors - new ones made for excessive heat. So far no warping. Using Carbotech street pads, I like initial bite of stock pads but way too much dust on wheels!
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 16,253
Likes: 1,657
From: Arizona
Seriously?
Just because you are in Germany don't mean things just start breaking. It's a country with better maintained roads than USA (with exception to cobblestone).
The difference must be your driving habits. I was stationed in Germany twice and if you are heavy footed, yes, things will happen.
1. Shattered my torque tube racing on the A3. $5,000 drop on a new torque tube, new clutch, and Kraut labor rates.
2. About a year later, dropped a lifter on NurburgRing. $5,000 repair pulling the entire engine, replacing the cam, lifters, swapping clutch disc, Kraut labor rates.
3. Kraut leaned out the tune like a dumbass. Blew a hole through #6 piston.
Any of this could have happened in the USA. But, you want to play? Be prepared to pay. And having a Vette break down in Germany gets very expensive.
Look up Baden-Wurrtemburg Corvette Club. Lots of Americans. And they do ALOT of cool stuff!!
GPS NurburgRing and have fun. Take it easy. Small VWs with sticky tires and big brakes will lap you. Don't eat a wall trying to show off.
What goes RACE WARS (Eisenach, Germany) stays Race Wars. Show up on a Friday evening; plan for no sleep until Sunday. Have a blast!!
If you can, get out to BODENSEE WORLD TUNING in the Austrian border. It's the biggest Import show in Europe.
Frankfurt IAA Car Show comes once every 2 or 4 years. All the latest bad-*** European rides. Last I was there, the Lamborghini Aventador was revealed.
Enjoy Germany the best you can! I miss it for sure. A5 outside Frankfurt is a nice place to be on an early Sunday morning. 5 lanes, and wide open!!
Just because you are in Germany don't mean things just start breaking. It's a country with better maintained roads than USA (with exception to cobblestone).
The difference must be your driving habits. I was stationed in Germany twice and if you are heavy footed, yes, things will happen.
1. Shattered my torque tube racing on the A3. $5,000 drop on a new torque tube, new clutch, and Kraut labor rates.
2. About a year later, dropped a lifter on NurburgRing. $5,000 repair pulling the entire engine, replacing the cam, lifters, swapping clutch disc, Kraut labor rates.
3. Kraut leaned out the tune like a dumbass. Blew a hole through #6 piston.
Any of this could have happened in the USA. But, you want to play? Be prepared to pay. And having a Vette break down in Germany gets very expensive.
Look up Baden-Wurrtemburg Corvette Club. Lots of Americans. And they do ALOT of cool stuff!!
GPS NurburgRing and have fun. Take it easy. Small VWs with sticky tires and big brakes will lap you. Don't eat a wall trying to show off.
What goes RACE WARS (Eisenach, Germany) stays Race Wars. Show up on a Friday evening; plan for no sleep until Sunday. Have a blast!!
If you can, get out to BODENSEE WORLD TUNING in the Austrian border. It's the biggest Import show in Europe.
Frankfurt IAA Car Show comes once every 2 or 4 years. All the latest bad-*** European rides. Last I was there, the Lamborghini Aventador was revealed.
Enjoy Germany the best you can! I miss it for sure. A5 outside Frankfurt is a nice place to be on an early Sunday morning. 5 lanes, and wide open!!
Last edited by WICKEDFRC; Mar 20, 2016 at 09:30 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 90
From: Kaiserslautern
Seriously?
Just because you are in Germany don't mean things just start breaking. It's a country with better maintained roads than USA (with exception to cobblestone).
The difference must be your driving habits. I was stationed in Germany twice and if you are heavy footed, yes, things will happen.
1. Shattered my torque tube racing on the A3. $5,000 drop on a new torque tube, new clutch, and Kraut labor rates.
2. About a year later, dropped a lifter on NurburgRing. $5,000 repair pulling the entire engine, replacing the cam, lifters, swapping clutch disc, Kraut labor rates.
3. Kraut leaned out the tune like a dumbass. Blew a hole through #6 piston.
Any of this could have happened in the USA. But, you want to play? Be prepared to pay. And having a Vette break down in Germany gets very expensive.
Look up Baden-Wurrtemburg Corvette Club. Lots of Americans. And they do ALOT of cool stuff!!
GPS NurburgRing and have fun. Take it easy. Small VWs with sticky tires and big brakes will lap you. Don't eat a wall trying to show off.
What goes RACE WARS (Eisenach, Germany) stays Race Wars. Show up on a Friday evening; plan for no sleep until Sunday. Have a blast!!
If you can, get out to BODENSEE WORLD TUNING in the Austrian border. It's the biggest Import show in Europe.
Frankfurt IAA Car Show comes once every 2 or 4 years. All the latest bad-*** European rides. Last I was there, the Lamborghini Aventador was revealed.
Enjoy Germany the best you can! I miss it for sure. A5 outside Frankfurt is a nice place to be on an early Sunday morning. 5 lanes, and wide open!!
Just because you are in Germany don't mean things just start breaking. It's a country with better maintained roads than USA (with exception to cobblestone).
The difference must be your driving habits. I was stationed in Germany twice and if you are heavy footed, yes, things will happen.
1. Shattered my torque tube racing on the A3. $5,000 drop on a new torque tube, new clutch, and Kraut labor rates.
2. About a year later, dropped a lifter on NurburgRing. $5,000 repair pulling the entire engine, replacing the cam, lifters, swapping clutch disc, Kraut labor rates.
3. Kraut leaned out the tune like a dumbass. Blew a hole through #6 piston.
Any of this could have happened in the USA. But, you want to play? Be prepared to pay. And having a Vette break down in Germany gets very expensive.
Look up Baden-Wurrtemburg Corvette Club. Lots of Americans. And they do ALOT of cool stuff!!
GPS NurburgRing and have fun. Take it easy. Small VWs with sticky tires and big brakes will lap you. Don't eat a wall trying to show off.
What goes RACE WARS (Eisenach, Germany) stays Race Wars. Show up on a Friday evening; plan for no sleep until Sunday. Have a blast!!
If you can, get out to BODENSEE WORLD TUNING in the Austrian border. It's the biggest Import show in Europe.
Frankfurt IAA Car Show comes once every 2 or 4 years. All the latest bad-*** European rides. Last I was there, the Lamborghini Aventador was revealed.
Enjoy Germany the best you can! I miss it for sure. A5 outside Frankfurt is a nice place to be on an early Sunday morning. 5 lanes, and wide open!!
i still have the warranty.
doubt they will lap me
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 90
From: Kaiserslautern
One really hard stop from 135 to 70mph toasts the rotors and gm will turn or replace them until you have 15,000 miles.
I put in power stop front rotors - new ones made for excessive heat. So far no warping. Using Carbotech street pads, I like initial bite of stock pads but way too much dust on wheels!
I put in power stop front rotors - new ones made for excessive heat. So far no warping. Using Carbotech street pads, I like initial bite of stock pads but way too much dust on wheels!
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Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 29,063
Likes: 1,839
From: cookeville tennessee
Hi there,
Im stationed in germany and luckily have my c7z51 here with me (US spec). I dont have mag ride (boo).
So, as one can imagine the autobahn is very hard on the car. I had my c6z06 and it never had issues, but it was a z06, so was built to withstand a lot of abuse. A plain c7(z51) has its challenges. The tranny temp goes up after 15-20 min of cruising at 150-160mph. I just wrapped my axel back with some heat wrap, so hopefully that helps. Few other issues that bother me, and id like ur opinions on how to solve them.
1. My rotors got "warped". Car has 7k miles. Now i read a lot of things about how rotors dont actually warp, but instead its just brake pad material left on them etc. somewhere i also read that if i were to follow brake pad rebedding procedures (few hard stops), it will solve the issue. I tried it once (though not to the point where brakes were smoking) and it didnt work. There is one rather large grove in the middle of the rotor that i can feel. Should i get rotors turned? What pads should i get for high speed braking? I had carbo tech and hp carbon ceramics on my z06 (carbon ceramics in germany and hp's when i went back to US), and i prefered Hp, but didnt try them on abahn.
2. Cooling rings. Does anyone daily drive with them on? I drive the vette all the time, in any weather (well, it can rain here any time). I know manual says not to drive with them due to rust, but is that really the case? I feel like the rings would help cooling at autobahn speeds.
3. Daily running 15w50. I daily the car to work, which is on back roads, 15 min each way. But on the weekends im usually driving somewhere on the abahn. Offcourse i dont granny drive it on the abahn, so the car does see a lot of redlining in all the gears. Can i run 15w-50 all the time?
4. Alignment. Gm recommends track alignment, but should i do the specs that are used for track to daily the car? If there is no speed limit on the abahn i usually dont dip below 100mph (mostly cruise around 140-160mph. And speaking of alignemnt, this always made me curious: there are these dials in the rear with numbers. Is that something i can use to just adjust my camber by turning some bolt? Say at the track? And then just put it back to street by putting it back on the original number?
I think thats it for now
Curious to hear your opinions!
Im stationed in germany and luckily have my c7z51 here with me (US spec). I dont have mag ride (boo).
So, as one can imagine the autobahn is very hard on the car. I had my c6z06 and it never had issues, but it was a z06, so was built to withstand a lot of abuse. A plain c7(z51) has its challenges. The tranny temp goes up after 15-20 min of cruising at 150-160mph. I just wrapped my axel back with some heat wrap, so hopefully that helps. Few other issues that bother me, and id like ur opinions on how to solve them.
1. My rotors got "warped". Car has 7k miles. Now i read a lot of things about how rotors dont actually warp, but instead its just brake pad material left on them etc. somewhere i also read that if i were to follow brake pad rebedding procedures (few hard stops), it will solve the issue. I tried it once (though not to the point where brakes were smoking) and it didnt work. There is one rather large grove in the middle of the rotor that i can feel. Should i get rotors turned? What pads should i get for high speed braking? I had carbo tech and hp carbon ceramics on my z06 (carbon ceramics in germany and hp's when i went back to US), and i prefered Hp, but didnt try them on abahn.
2. Cooling rings. Does anyone daily drive with them on? I drive the vette all the time, in any weather (well, it can rain here any time). I know manual says not to drive with them due to rust, but is that really the case? I feel like the rings would help cooling at autobahn speeds.
3. Daily running 15w50. I daily the car to work, which is on back roads, 15 min each way. But on the weekends im usually driving somewhere on the abahn. Offcourse i dont granny drive it on the abahn, so the car does see a lot of redlining in all the gears. Can i run 15w-50 all the time?
4. Alignment. Gm recommends track alignment, but should i do the specs that are used for track to daily the car? If there is no speed limit on the abahn i usually dont dip below 100mph (mostly cruise around 140-160mph. And speaking of alignemnt, this always made me curious: there are these dials in the rear with numbers. Is that something i can use to just adjust my camber by turning some bolt? Say at the track? And then just put it back to street by putting it back on the original number?
I think thats it for now
Curious to hear your opinions!
Look at the stuff from LG motorsports in here as a vendor. I got from them for my auto the added 4 qt trans pan and the cooler for it. I have not been up the your speeds in mt car but the temp's in my trans on the hwy driving at 95 plus has gone down plus I have wrapped my exhaust pipe like you also..
Really look at the stuff from LG great vendor and they also use all of their stuff on the road course also..
Robert
Racer
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 373
Likes: 3
Champion Chevrolet Reno NV
Had three services due to warped left front rotor(!). Rotors were replaced because some rotors were made from inferior metals. Last and 4th service warped both. Got pissed and put on powerstop's latest C7 Z51 additional cooling front rotors.
Each time I made a hard braking from 130 to 70 warped rotors. EACH TIME. GMs Z51 brake rotors suck.
Had three services due to warped left front rotor(!). Rotors were replaced because some rotors were made from inferior metals. Last and 4th service warped both. Got pissed and put on powerstop's latest C7 Z51 additional cooling front rotors.
Each time I made a hard braking from 130 to 70 warped rotors. EACH TIME. GMs Z51 brake rotors suck.
