600whp z06
 

I have read through the forum on this subject but looking for some additional thoughts. I currently have my bolt on 01 Z06 up for sale and have located a great deal on an 08Z 2lz with heads addressed, Cam, exhaust, air raid & mild to wild switch. Car put down 630hp and I can confidently say its the fastest car I have ever sat in. This is basically the build I have always wanted.... big displacement, cammed 600+HP street car. The car is currently on drag radials and actually hooks on them, but therein lies the concern. I want to be able to jump in the car and drive it when I have the opportunity i.e. a just me trip home to see the family cant be skipped because the drag radials can't be in the rain. So I've considered ordering new wheels and Michillen PS4S tires but then i have the concern of is the power completely unusable?

I just don't want to end up in this situation where I can't ever drive the car when I want to, but the flip side is if the car isnt really usable on the setup does it satisfy the originally desired criteria of big displacement 600hp car. I've owned a cammed car in the past and it isn't a daily so no worried about that piece. Just want to be able to use it. I enjoyed 3 1k+ mile trips in my 01 last year and aside from a sore back I enjoyed every second.

Who here has 600HP and doesn't strictly drive on hot sunny days?

I'm currently running the PS4S at 605whp - they are a fantastic street tire but spin pretty easily in cold weather, just something to be cognisant of. Looking to go R888R or ET Street next.

The power will be all but unusable unless you're on a stickier tire. My '09 ZR1 spun brand new Michelins at stock power levels. (~540rwhp, now making ~600rwhp) My new setup consists of 19" rears with Toyo Proxes R888R's. Have to wait until the weather warms up to truly test them.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...16186e328f.jpg

^Michelins vs Toyos.

Do you drive the car in the rain at all? Any concern about moving to a drag radial and losing that ability?

I would go for a solid ~530-540rwhp on a decent tire and call it a day. 600+ will be spin city on anything not a DR, and gas mileage, streetability, etc go WAY down at that power level. Even 530-540 is hard to hook on a normal tire without pedaling, warm weather, and traction control on. Sounds like you have some conflicting goals and need to decide what is more important.

I had a 560 RWHP C6Z with a H/C setup. At one point I had Nitto NT05R drag radials in 345 out back on the stock wheel. They were great for straight line acceleration and gripped very well, even during a 1st gear romp. I got rid of them one day after I was almost killed when the car lost traction and spun into oncoming traffic on a 2 lane highway in a heavy storm.

What I found out was if the road was wet you had to be really careful but it was manageable. However, if you came across any amount of standing water the car would immediately hydroplane. In my case I did not want to be limited during a heavy storm so I went t back to a regular tire, Michelin PSS.

Did you expect a different result from a DR on 600HP car in the rain? That’s not “heavy rain” either just a mild light rain, actually it doesn’t need to be raining at all just a wet road...600+whp on a DR......nope. Tire is not to blame in this situation.

You seemed to have misunderstood the content of my post. It simply refers to drag radials in the rain. Whether the car has 560 RWHP or 600 RWHP is irrelevant I am referring to carefully driving in the rain. The person originally asked how drag radials were in the rain and that is what I responded to. Reread what I posted.

Drag radials or any competition tire not made for wet weather is going to suck hard in the wet. If he really wants a drive anywhere at any time car, a car with drag radials full time is not a good choice at all.

Bingo.....Yes and I found that out on my own one afternoon and I was being ever so careful.

I bet that was a scary lesson to learn the hard way lol, I don’t drive mine unless it’s ☀️ there has been a time or two I needed to get the car to a physical location for work so I had to drive with a chance if rain or with rain clouds looming, once I was fine made it before it started....the other time I just left my house had about a 30 min drive and it started to sprinkle....I got off the next exit turned around and went home. I’ve got 345 NTO5R’s and am making a little more than the 600whp in question lol. Not playing around with rain/wet roads and DR’s that for damn sure.

Yes I got caught in a very hard Florida September thundershower. I was driving so carefully and I came across a part of the highway that had some standing water and the road had a slight curve. The back end broke traction and I drifted into oncoming traffic. I was just lucky there was no immediate traffic I would have been killed instantly in such a light car.

Never again.

The NT05R is awesome for all out dry straight traction. Once the road becomes wet it’s a different story. For a daily driver or even partially daily driver it’s not worth using a DR for safety.

So outside of being able to punch it from a Dig has moving back to regular tire really decreased your enjoyment of driving the car?

My dad has a 14 1LE Camaro with Procharger, cam & full exhaust that dynos 725RWHP. He is on goodyear eagle RSAs and you can hammer it in second from a roll and it doesn't miss a beat. From what i have read it sounds like the LS7 will blow a PSS tire off at almost any speed through 3rd?

I have a extra set of rear wheels with DR's on them. If it is summer or I go drag racing it is an easy swap. Cold or wet weather I keep my Bridgestones on.

If you keep street tires up front and DR's in the back,how bad does braking and turning become in damp conditions?

That is what everyone is talking about. The rear end may just swing around and turn for you. No one is running DRs up front as well.

So summing up what i have learned today:

Option 1: PSS tires or equivalent will allow me to drive the car rain/shine but will remove the ability to really get after the car hard.

Option 2 : If you want to hook you better have Drag radials

Option 3: Buy new wheels with PSS or equivalent tires... keep stock wheels with radials for when I want to scare the neighbors on a ride along.

That sum things up?

Thats what I assumed. I'm going that route this summer. Going to give the Hoosier R7's a try.

Michelin 4S - surprisingly great in the rain as well. Also I want to clear this up...its tq that spins tires not hp and usually higher rpm n/a engines have less tq down low which stops them from lighting up off the line vs cars with stock cam low rpm tree tugging torque. I feel better now.

This is a safety trade-off in both categories, spinning your tires on dry pavement is also dangerous during hard acceleration. What you should focus on is finding what works for you.

In my case I look to create ideal situations with tires, I replace my tires before tread depths get too low. this is directly related to hydroplaning resistance. When you combine the tires we use with the sizes we use, it's just a terrible combination for water evacuation.

You will always read stories about corvettes hydroplaning, nature of the beast. Your best fighting chance is with an all season tire if this is where your priorities are.