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Quite a sad day when my beloved C7Z caught fire on track and was totaled. Im very lucky to have escaped without injury or worse. 😞
2017 Z. 14k miles. no power mods. Only had cooling mods and suspension mods for track duty. 20 track days over the last 11 months. Just like an ex girlfriend it was great while it lasted but there were clear signs she was a psycho from the beginning ……
Laguna Seca two weeks ago. first session. 65 degrees. 7th lap. Coming up on turn 2 i notice smoke in the cabin. it gets bad very quickly. immediately look for a good place to pull over on hot track. i get off between T5 and T6 in a nice dirt patch. cabin gets so smokey i’m having hard time breathing. immediately undo the 6 point. Door won’t open had to use the manual lever. I quickly see small ***** of flames dropping below the car in the right rear. Track tow arrives in minutes. He extinguishes the small fire prob 5-6 times. suddenly the cabin erupts in flames. I yell at him to pull back and that the car was gone at this point. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt. had 3/4 tank of fuel.
Turned into a healthy ball of fire. Fire dept arrived very quickly. Fire started in right rear and moved over to the left rear when it really got going.
Very surreal watching my car i had spent so much time and money on just burn to the ground. Grateful to be okay. lungs were sore for a few days.
Very sorry for losing your Z. Many who track carry a Extinguisher, that probably would not have helped hear?
. Thanks.
good idea to have one and no it wouldn’t have helped in this case. he put it out a bunch of times and the flames just burst in to the main cabin.
That is a bummer. That track insurance should come in handy I've never heard of a vette catching fire from driving it w/out any mods on or off track. What are you going to get next?
. Thanks.
good idea to have one and no it wouldn’t have helped in this case. he put it out a bunch of times and the flames just burst in to the main cabin.
Did you smell gas? There isn't much else back there that could reignite like that.
Very unfortunate loss. I wish you the best on finding a replacement in this crazy sellers market.
Oh man that is just awful, I was just reading some of your other threads the other day.
So sorry to hear this, but you look to be taking it with grace.
Any idea what caused the fire in the first place?
Did you have a track policy on the car?
Are your rear wheels salvageable?
Ooof.... that looks painful. I've experienced that before, totalled a car into a wall on track years ago. If you can walk away from it, cars can be replaced. Looks like something really overheated in the passenger side area. Maybe a fuel leak or the lining disintegrated, and started falling into the brakes and caught on fire from the brake heat, after that, it can get into the fuel tank side and once gas is involved not much to stop it.
Sorry to hear about your car. Having put my car into a wall at speed I know the sinking feeling you get when you look at your baby all messed up. However, the good news is you and the track workers are all OK. In the grand scheme of things that is all that really counts. If you determine the cause of the fire please post an update. It may involve something the rest of us track dogs have to look into on our own cars.
Sorry to hear about your car. Having put my car into a wall at speed I know the sinking feeling you get when you look at your baby all messed up. However, the good news is you and the track workers are all OK. In the grand scheme of things that is all that really counts. If you determine the cause of the fire please post an update. It may involve something the rest of us track dogs have to look into on our own cars.
Bill
I was able to see this as my car was burning. was so grateful. kept telling the fireman it’s just a car. replaceable.
I have some ideas. Firemen said it was not fuel. No aftermarket battery. there is a trans line up in the right rear. in 2017 and older there is a small flex section with NO heat shielding. 2018 and above had heat shielding ….. thanks for the afterthought GM 🤯
Another member texted me some photos of that area when he had his car totally taken apart. lots of heat up in there from exhaust. maybe the line got brittle and finally sprung a leak ? differential seems less likely.
On the left side was a trans cooler. i’m guessing once the fire got bigger it jumped over there ….. won’t ever know for certain.
when car was parked on track property days later i took a look. no fluids on the ground 🤷♂️
Oh man that is just awful, I was just reading some of your other threads the other day.
So sorry to hear this, but you look to be taking it with grace.
Any idea what caused the fire in the first place?
Did you have a track policy on the car?
Are your rear wheels salvageable?
thank you. Yea i did have track policy thankfully. 👍. had to leave wheels on it. did t have stock ones to replace them with for insurance. luckily i did not have my brand new set of same exact wheels and brand new tires on yet. we’re going on for Sat even. few days later. sold them for $4500 to another member. lost 1500 bit was a nice guy and needed the break.
That is a bummer. That track insurance should come in handy I've never heard of a vette catching fire from driving it w/out any mods on or off track. What are you going to get next?
I moved on quickly. no more vette. i looked at them but couldn’t do it for a track car again. maybe for around town and drag racing though later. Sneak peak. been eying these since they first came out. Won’t catch on fire and try to kill me.
I moved on quickly. no more vette. i looked at them but couldn’t do it for a track car again. maybe for around town and drag racing though later. Sneak peak. been eying these since they first came out. Won’t catch on fire and try to kill me.
Why would they be any different? Unless you go down a lot on power, you'd always have to deal with a lot of heat everywhere on the car.
Ordered a BRZ as the second track car; now that'd generate less heat.. : )
Sad to see this Dave, appreciate you sharing. Enjoyed reading all of your threads from your track days. Like you said, at least everyone is ok and the car can be replaced.
So sorry to hear about your car. I can't imagine what it felt like watching it burn, but as others have said, at least no one was hurt. Hopefully, you'll find something new before long. Glad you're okay.
06-08-2022, 08:52 PM
Great ***** of Fire !! caught fire on track !!
I've never heard of a vette catching fire from driving it w/out any mods on or off track. What are you going to get next?
