The First Spec Corvette Ever Raced
01-17-2018, 02:14 AM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
The First Spec Corvette Ever Raced
My Spec Corvette Race Debut at SCCA Super Tour at Auto Club Speedway
I got to put my Spec Corvette on the track for its first full test this weekend at ACS racing with SCCA at the Super Tour race. The race start when the green flag is thrown is horribly formed up and disorganized. I am not sure why they did not make us go around again. Also, I bounce off the rev limiter a bunch of times as the the limit is set 400 below the setting on my GT2 car. That along with the different gear ratios and I shift too late several times.
I was not actually racing in Spec Corvette with other Spec Corvettes. I entered in GT2 where I was severely outgunned by the higher horsepower cars with wings and splitters, but I was there because I crashed my GT2 Corvette at a previous Thunderhill race and it is not yet repaired. I need the minimum starts and finishes this season if I am to qualify for the SCCA Runoffs in October at Sonoma Raceway.
I elected to start from the very back rather than in P22 where I qualified because we found a gas leak and I wanted to be in back in case the car still had issues. I also drove a bit conservatively at first as I had not driven a track oriented street tire since 2010. Having been always on Hoosier A7s and Pirelli DH slicks I was a bit cautious to figure out what the limits are on the Spec Corvette Falken 615k Plus tire. Data showed the tires should go out at 27 PSI cold and target 33-34 hot, but we felt the fastest PSI would actually be 22 cold and my driving experience in this race leads me to believe this to be true. Further testing is required. ABS was also not working on my Spec Corvette on this maiden race voyage as you will see a few minor lockups and one severe.
I pulled in after nine laps due to a teething problem with fuel starvation exiting corners. I predict these Spec Corvettes will be turning sub 1:50 laps on this track on the Falken street tires. That is a very impressive lap time. My fast lap was only a 1:53.4, but as I progressively got faster my predictive had me at low 1:52, but the fuel starvation killed the lap time. A change of rear end gear ratio to the mandated gear in the differential, resolving the ABS and fuel starvation issue and we will be seeing some very fast lap times and exciting racing in Spec Corvette.
Let me add that the aFe Suspension and Falken tires provide great levels of grip and speed. The Falken tires stick very well and I was impressed with their resiliency even as I got tread temperatures up over 200 degrees. They did not fall off much at all.The reason the aFe suspension set-up and the Falkens worked better together at 22 PSI cold in my opinion is that the tires have more compliance and interact better as part of the overall Spec Corvette suspension system.
PS. I need to adjust my camera angles, too.
I got to put my Spec Corvette on the track for its first full test this weekend at ACS racing with SCCA at the Super Tour race. The race start when the green flag is thrown is horribly formed up and disorganized. I am not sure why they did not make us go around again. Also, I bounce off the rev limiter a bunch of times as the the limit is set 400 below the setting on my GT2 car. That along with the different gear ratios and I shift too late several times.
I was not actually racing in Spec Corvette with other Spec Corvettes. I entered in GT2 where I was severely outgunned by the higher horsepower cars with wings and splitters, but I was there because I crashed my GT2 Corvette at a previous Thunderhill race and it is not yet repaired. I need the minimum starts and finishes this season if I am to qualify for the SCCA Runoffs in October at Sonoma Raceway.
I elected to start from the very back rather than in P22 where I qualified because we found a gas leak and I wanted to be in back in case the car still had issues. I also drove a bit conservatively at first as I had not driven a track oriented street tire since 2010. Having been always on Hoosier A7s and Pirelli DH slicks I was a bit cautious to figure out what the limits are on the Spec Corvette Falken 615k Plus tire. Data showed the tires should go out at 27 PSI cold and target 33-34 hot, but we felt the fastest PSI would actually be 22 cold and my driving experience in this race leads me to believe this to be true. Further testing is required. ABS was also not working on my Spec Corvette on this maiden race voyage as you will see a few minor lockups and one severe.
I pulled in after nine laps due to a teething problem with fuel starvation exiting corners. I predict these Spec Corvettes will be turning sub 1:50 laps on this track on the Falken street tires. That is a very impressive lap time. My fast lap was only a 1:53.4, but as I progressively got faster my predictive had me at low 1:52, but the fuel starvation killed the lap time. A change of rear end gear ratio to the mandated gear in the differential, resolving the ABS and fuel starvation issue and we will be seeing some very fast lap times and exciting racing in Spec Corvette.
Let me add that the aFe Suspension and Falken tires provide great levels of grip and speed. The Falken tires stick very well and I was impressed with their resiliency even as I got tread temperatures up over 200 degrees. They did not fall off much at all.The reason the aFe suspension set-up and the Falkens worked better together at 22 PSI cold in my opinion is that the tires have more compliance and interact better as part of the overall Spec Corvette suspension system.
PS. I need to adjust my camera angles, too.
Last edited by Olitho; 01-17-2018 at 02:15 AM.
