I am building my C8 to order on Tuesday and want to make sure I get all the essentials for the track. I am doing the Z51 package and Z51 magnetic ride control, high wing spoiler etc. Anything else folks consider essential? I am getting the rock guards also to avoid chip’s where I can. Also the front radiator grill.

Is it worth installing an after market exhaust or is the factory one good enough?

What about the engine rear cross brace? I have read those make quite a difference on the track but the one that is offered as a factory option is like $2k more than the after market ones. lol. Is the factory one worth it (looks a bit better than most after market ones), or is an after market one good? Ideally I would want something I can put on for track days and remove for normal driving.

Also I hear I need to change the alignment for the track as the default setup pushes bad. So I plan to get that done (hopefully get the dealer to do it before they deliver it). But my question on that is whether it’s ok to get that done and just leave it that way for normal driving or should I be putting it back to stock when not on the track? Is this something easy to do myself or do I need a car shop like GMP to do it for me if I have to change it for track days?

I assume I should swap the brake fluid out of the box from the stock fluid to something better for the track. Any suggestions on what to use there? Is a brake flush hard to do on these cars yourself?

What about brake pads? Are the stock pads decent for initial use on the track? Once I burn those up what is a good pad to use for track use? For my M5 I have two sets of pads. A low noise, low dust set for normal driving that I swap out for some yellow stuff pads for the track. Is it worth doing something similar for the corvette?

What about separate wheels for track days? I change them out for my M5 as I have all season tires for normal driving and summer only tires for the track (the summer tires suck in the cold!). Any suggestions for good wheels to use for the track? How hard is it to jack up the vette to change wheels? Does not seem to be a lot of ground clearance so not sure my regular 3-ton floor jack would fit under there? What jack and jack stands do folks use for the corvette?

I also read you needed to put more fluid in the transmission for track use on the older C8’s but I was told at the dealer that is no longer necessary for the 2024 models. Is that true or do I need to add more fluid?

 

• I'd not get the magna ride. It's a bit better at the track, but still way too soft if you use any serious tire combo. If you order without magna ride, you can then easily switch to a coilover set to much improve the car's dynamics. If you would never do that, then get the magna ride, since it's marginally better : )
• I don't see much point in exhaust; this is not a turbocharged car where it would make a big difference?
• I'd NOT get front radiator grille. The GM unit is going to be too restrictive for track, and GM actually asks you to remove it from the car for (hot) track days. You can make a less restrictive one from grille maker sheets, and keep it there forever.
• Cross brace seems to be a gimmick. There's only one video I've seen where it made a big difference, and the channel owner was sponsored for that test.
• Track alignment should make a big difference. Much increasing front tires would also drastically improve your handling but it'd require much stiffer suspension as well to leverage it.
• Girodisc rotors or similar 2 piece set would be needed at least, since rotors run hot, and OEM units are not as good, and don't ventilate well, either. You could use EBC SR11 or SR21 pads, Raybestos ST43 or ST47, etc., depending on your choice. Many use Carbotech pads, but they last a few times less than these other options. Yellow stuff is a pretty mild pad as far as I know, so perhaps you'd be happy with Carbotechs? Others, please chime in : )
• Yep, low profile jack would help. You should also install those aluminum jack pucks under the car for convenience and to avoid mistakes.
• There are good track wheels available. APEX makes pretty affordable forged wheels at 18x10 front, and 18x12 or 19x12 rear. They make less aggressive wheels, too for folks looking to only use stock size tires, but keep in mind, you'd have more understeer with skinny front tires.
• Yep, 2024 does not need additional transmission fluid fill.
• Bonus: depending on your local tracks/weather and driving, you might need more cooling. If so: How-to: Add 2nd Auxiliary radiator (a.k.a. V09 mod) (link).

 

Thanks for the info! What aftermarket coil over shocks are good for the car? I heard from a friend of mine that the magna ride was not that great for the track either and that regular shocks are better.

 

Quite a few folks here use MCS coilovers. They're pretty flexible in their dampening (i.e. you can change spring rates later on without having to revalve them), and usually have longer life than regular shim and stack coilovers before a rebuild would be needed.

Any good quality set of coilovers would have excellent low and high frequency damping, so they'd be comfortable enough for street as well, even with much higher spring rates.

 

I’ll be comparing the MCS and JRI offerings this spring and will be offering up whichever ones I dont keep for sale in a couple months. I will be testing the Cisco Performance 2WNR MCS and compare to the JRI 2 way non remote as well. I ran the JRI 2 ways last fall and have run them on two other platforms. Will see which I like better.

MCS


JRI

 

The Jack I have at the moment is a Daytona 3-ton long reach low profile so maybe it will work? Would just need some super low profile jack stands.

I also have a Quick Jack 7000TL that I got my my F150 truck when I had it and it’s 3.5” when lowered. That might actually work for the Vette? Main thing is it usually sits under the motorcycle adapter with my track bike on top of it . Maybe a 5000TL would be good to replace that 7000TL as I have a GMC 2500HD truck now and it’s too heavy for the jacks and the 7000TL sucks for the motorcycle anyway as it’s barely enough weight on top to lower it. I have to stand on it and jump and and down to get it down with a track bike on top.

 

Ok so after much research not sure I would want to spend the time and effort on coil over shocks initially and DSC supposedly has a controller coming for the mag ride to improve it on the track. So probably fine for me initially.

But if I do get the mag ride (or manage to find a use corvette to my spec that happens to have it - so far not finding what I want), is it feasible to remove the mag ride later and install proper coil over shocks if I get better on the track and want the better performance? Or are you pretty much stuck with only the mag ride at that point?

 

There are simulators available, but I've heard that they sometimes fail. There is also a device that connects to the OBD port, which might be a better solution, but having to have it connected there forever is also a nuisance. At least it allows another OBD device to be connected, as far as I've heard.

The car might switch to a safety mode if the simulators fail at an unlucky moment (e.g. in the middle of a turn), at least it did so on C7s, so it'd be of utmost importance to make sure simulators work. If you don't have magna ride, of course, you don't have to deal with it.

 

I am using the OBD port version from X-ineering (Shock Sims) to delete mag ride and use their OBD Y adapter, so my car looks 100% stock from OBD perspective. I have only had this seem to stop working once in about 5k miles where the mag ride error code came up. A key cycle and it went away. Seems to work fairly well. The front lift simulators are another issue for anyone that has those. When I bought mine last fall from same company, they didnt work. They made me a few sets; I tested lots of voltages for them and turns out a software update made their front lift sims no longer work. Customers who's cars were not having issues were reported to no longer work shortly after. They are working on a solution, but have been since last fall with no progress, waiting to get a car in their shop to figure it out.

 

Yeah, good point, don't get the front lift option!!! Also, don't get the convertible; very hard to work on those, and don't even know what the safety implications would be : )

 

I was planning on the front lift option as I think I need it for my driveway. Is there a specific reason not to get it?

 

Front lift complicates tuning your coilovers (changing height, etc.), and makes it very hard to install aftermarket coilovers if you ever want to, since there are controllers, hydraulic lines, etc. to take care of. How is your driveway; are you sure you need it? Corvettes are relatively high in stock form and Z51's aero is very subtle, and you can often navigate most all bumps by driving diagonal onto them..

 

Yes swap brake fluid if doing any track events, Castrol SRF is a great fluid. Nothing tricky about C8 brakes other than needing to disconnect the battery so the electronic brake assist doesnt push the pistons out by activating while you have the pads out. Use traditional brake pedal method or a pressure bleeder, no vacuum bleeders.

Stock pads work ok at track especially if not super advanced. If you drive very hard, they can wear out quick. I swap for track days, prior I was using Carbotech XP12 and XP10. Just upgraded to AP Raing brakes over the winter and will be running Ferodo 3.12 at track with stickier tires.

With coilovers, you can fit really wide tires on the C8 with the right offsets. I ran stock wheels with PS4's for the 8 or do track days I did last year after getting the car, I bought a new set of smaller/ wider forged wheels over the winter and am going to run Nankang AR-1 in 298 front and 325 rear. The stock PS4s are ok but certainly not optimal for a dry track.

Transmission fluid you are correct, later run of 2023 they redesigned the sump and there is no longer a need for the extra transmission fluid.

 

Great now that I know that I will likely strike it from my build and just go into the driveway at an angle. It’s not crazy high but it’s certainly the usual gutter lip that most domestic driveways have. My buddy said he wished he got it on his as he has trouble in his driveway so maybe I need him to drive over and test it before I order

 

Still curious as I have not found an answer yet. If I do get the mag ride is it feasible to remove the mag ride later and install proper coil over shocks? Or are you pretty much stuck with only the mag ride at that point?

 

No problem running coilovers with mag ride. The coilover company will also supply a mag ride simulator so that your ECU doesn't freak out.

 

Awesome thanks! I think I will get that initially as it will take me a while I think to get to the point where I would want to upgrade.

 

Lg motorsports, gspeed, and inertia laboratory for additional coilover options

 

A related question, not trying to hijack the thread.

On all my other vettes I changed to braided stainless brake lines. Does the C8 need that? Doing a brake flush this weekend so might as well do the lines then if there's a benefit.

 

So it seems the best option is to use a shock that is compatible with the lift. I have only found JRI to produce the front shocks that would allow me to use lift feature.