theblackangus

Hello all!
My appologies for this, as Im sure its been discussed and I just can't find it.

How does Chevy handle warranty if you take your car to the track?
I do a couple of hpde's a year and want to make sure Im not voiding my warranty on non-consumables.

My dealer gave me a totally wishy washy answer.

Appreciate the details you all can share.
Thanks!

TARANTULA

Some dealers are better that other but you’re covered.

Red Mist Rulz

For the C7 GM specifically said the warranty was not affected by track use (at least for the Z51 and up, not positive about the base). There have been a few cases reported where dealers refused to honor the warranty when they determined the car had been tracked, but when a complaint was brought to GM the warranty was honored.

None of us know what GM will say about the C8, but I would expect it to remain the same. Note that this doesn't apply to vehicles that have been modified for track use, or accidents occurring on the track. I'm not sure how it applies regarding actual "racing," vs. HPDEs, but I'm not sure any sanctioning bodies would allow a Corvette to actually race without modifications (e.g., a roll bar).

Zymurgy

In one of the Ask Tadge section answers is the following:

RichieRichZ06

We were recently told by GM representatives at the Spring Mountain C8 training that the warranty is 100% in tact if you track your C8 with two requirements... It must be a Z51 equipped car and the recommended track prep/maintenance must be performed and followed. That includes the additional fluid in the DCT, following maintenance intervals for engine, trans and brakes and running GM recommended spec'd fluids.

Rinaldo Catria

Be concerned about your insurance company not covering an off course detour.

theblackangus

Thanks to everyone for the response, greatly appreciated.

Since I only go to a couple a year I get HPDE insurance. Its not too much for my piece of mind =)
Tyres = much more expensive than HPDE insurance.

breakskeet

I heard the same thing from someone who also attended the C8 Spring Mountain training; the car must have the Z51 option and be properly prepped for track for warranty to be honored.

thill444

It was the same for the C7. That’s why it is silly not to get a Z51 IMHO. Not worth taking the chance of GM denying a warranty claim because you bought the base car.

Unless you have zero intention of ever going to the track.

But thats half the fun with these cars and the only way to safely, and legally really be able to enjoy them for what they were built for.

acrace

Good info . . . did they say anything about tires? Has to be the OEM Michelins, or what about the performance oriented 200TW tires, or, for those with a larger budget, DOT competition tires? Thanks for any insight.

RapidC84B

Thanks @RichieRichZ06 ! As expected, but great to hear. To the OP, there's a whole owners manual section regarding recommended track prep. As Rich said, car is covered if you play by their rules and don't modify the PCM tune.

It's really nice they switched to one spec 0W40 oil for street and track. With the C7 they wanted you to run 15w50 on track and 5w30 on the street. Never heard of anyone getting denied warranty after them testing the oil though. I personally ran 10w40 Amsoil all the time.

So do they explicitly not warranty the base non-Z51 on track? Seems odd given it has a dry sump.

Shut up! Just put your stock wheels/tires back on when it goes to the dealer

Bill Dearborn

Since multiple brands of tires may be made to fit the car like multiple brands of mufflers and other parts are made as replacement parts it would be virtually impossible to deny the warranty based on the tires. The interesting thing is unless somebody switches to R compound tires or slicks it would be hard to improve on the grip provided by the stock Michelin tires as they are quite sticky.

On the C7 Z06/GS/ZR1 the Cup 2 tires are competitive with R compound tires when on track and the PSS ZP tires are marginally less grippy than the Cup2s. You aren't giving up much grip if you use the stock tires.

Bill

RapidC84B

The LS7 started having oiling issues when run on Hoosiers on track. GM stated they never tested the car with anything other than OEM tires. They ended up doing the piggy-back oil tank or the LPE tank under warranty to increase capacity. Not saying they would do it, now that we're in the era of Cup2s as factory tires, but I could see them having an out if you have a lubrication issue on race tires (i.e. Hoosier R7s or A7s).

Zymurgy

The LT2 does a much better job of maintaining the oil supply under g-forces than the LT1 did:

C82LT

So the base car isn't Jeep Trail rated?

brAnd7onX

Another good point... Why would they make the base care have dry sump if they didn't intend people to take it to the track once in a while? I mean for me I am looking at doing a parade lap or two with it and maybe a fast lap once in a while but nothing crazy.

Zymurgy

Basic design considerations:



To have the engine this low, they have to have a dry sump.

jvp

And fewer production variants, which means lower prices all around. IOW: a good thing.

RapidC84B

Agree, but not sure how they can deny warranty for base cars on track other than for possibly overheat issues. It's a grey area for sure. I personally would never buy a non-Z51 car, but lots of folk in in our Corvette club have them and some want to try a HPDE out. Granted they'll all be very slow and not really stress the car, but worrying about warranty would keep them from exploring track days.

EDIT - With the wet sump C7 I could see an issue. If I recall there's a DIC message for potential lubrication issues with certain G-force readings.

Zo62018A8

I work for a BMW dealership and I am surprised how often even the service advisors tell customers track use would void the warranty. Umm, the car is named M2 Competition why on earth would the warranty be voided if you tracked? And no, using launch control again and again wont void your warranty either.