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I've recently switched from '23 C8 Z51 1LT w/ Comp seats to a '24 C8 Z06 Z07 2LZ, and finally hit ~1500 miles with it. I've learned a lot on C8 platform with my Z51, and looking forward to trying out Z06 at the track! This is my build thread for it.
Bone stock... As part of my midlife crisis, I also decided to get the color I like, not the color that shows least rubber, etc. at the track. That color is red : )
Hi guys, another track rat here. Long time german car owner, first Vette, but I love every bit of this car. It's fantastic and a great addition to the stable.
Nice build! I've got a build similar to yours albeit a bit heavier (3LZ w/ comp seats), as I swapped my CCB rotors for steel, but have a Lion battery, and rear cat-back exhaust which shaves about -35lbs, and tall wing risers. I run the Competition Motorsport harness bar with Schroth GT3 bucket 4pt belts (which for hans/hybrid). My car is on stock suspension too, and it feels really soft. My biggest gripe is they didn't give us adjustable swaybars from the factory (i.e. Porsche GT3). Having just some level of adjustability at the track is really nice. I find it to be really soft, especially on 19" wheels where the offsets are more aggressive, which lowers the spring rate at the wheel. Especially the rear of the car. Car just feels sloppy in transitions, and you are waiting for the car to take a set.
That said, on Cup2R, I can turn a low 1:10.XX or high 1:.09XX in pretty hot conditions at Putnam Park. I expect in the fall to easily dip into the mid-1:09's on a fresh set of Cup2R, which is really quick around Putnam Park for a street car on street tires, so out of the box, setup, it's crazy fast. It's still quicker than my buddy who has a similar Z51 w/MCS, AP brakes, etc. etc. and is a pro-level driver, so setup correctly the Z06 should still be faster than even a nicely prepared Z51, or about the same depending on how prepared it is. I think long-term, the 20/21 wheel/tire size will be the most attractive since Hoosier and Nankang will soon have their Track-attack and CRS tires in stock sizes, which will last longer than a Cup2R and offer pretty similar performance at a lower price.
The front Z07 rates are about 820lb, rear are ~510lb. Compared to what a typical MCS setup runs is 1000/1100 or 1000/1200 for example. The Mag ride shocks are obviously adding some rear rate via shock damping in track mode, but it still rolls and takes a while to take a set. So you have to wait to get back on throttle, especially with 19" tires on wider offset wheels. So, while I wait for Ohlins and other manufacturers to come out with a fully sorted kit (i.e. Ohlins TTX or something similar), I'm going to try to stiffer the rear rates and see how that helps the car. I just added the rear Z51 swaybar (28.6mm) to help add some rate in the corner, and if that does what I like, then I might go ahead and add the rear only Paragon springs, which add another 11% of rear spring rate. It won't be a huge change, but will move it in the right direction at least.
IMO, the aggressive OE rear toe setting suggestion of .05 deg per side is how they get the car to turn with such low rear spring rates, albeit at the expense of stability. I've experimented with rear toe, running it low like this, with aggressive alignment settings, and we've looked at the toe curve at the rear, and under heavy braking, the rear can go to basically zero toe making it super loose on entry and in the middle of the corner until you get back to throttle. They have some pretty slick ways of letting the car put power down and getting it to turn, but it's not in a traditional way, such as more rear spring rate, bigger bars, more rear toe for high speed stability.
I really like the MCS shocks and have driven a few cars with them, and if next year the other big manufacturers don't hint at something coming, I'll prob just add a set of MCS 2WNR and call it day. I also have a set of control arms with AMT monoballs and eccentric lockers for the rear waiting to install, once I add either suspension or dial in the alignment. I'll be at Putnam next week to test the car with the Z51 rear bar (and -35lbs from the rear due to Paragon rear exhaust), and report back how the car handles.
PPF
I picked up the car from Salinas, CA, and drove 900 miles home. I've decided to apply PPF as one of the first things to do on the car. I normally don't care much about PPF, but this is just a bit too expensive of a car, and when it's eventually time to get the car sold, the buyers might be more picky than my former cars'. I went with partial front since it covers pretty much all the impact areas anyway, and red does not show the lines as much as colder colors do. On the top of that, I also got the rocker panels covered as per my experience with the C8 Z51, which took a beating, especially by the bottom of the side intakes. I will also install EOS XL mud flaps, and I'm hopeful those flaps will help keep my own tires from throwing stuff as well : )
Partial front PPF was $1250, and I paid $250 extra for the rocker panels. They threw in window tint (legal level) for free.
BK Bar
I'm carrying my BK bar over from my C8 Z51 project. This bar adds 11.5 lb weight, and is not the easiest fitment to be honest, but BK always takes utmost care in making their bars comply with race bodies, etc., and I trust them more than most other brands'. Last look at the interior before I start removing things... (2LZ)
All trims removed! It's crazy that fuse box is hidden under these trims...
GT1 2LZ seats. Front driver seat is 60.7 lb, and passenger seat is 61.5 lb.
Unlike my Z51, Z06's chassis glue did not overflow! This made my install much easier. On the Z51, I had to trim the excess glue for fitment...
Notice the metal black tip missing from the tab... I've never seen this panel coming off without leaving some of them inside the car... same with the B pillar. I've had some spares, so I could at least fix it before putting it back.
Finished! I've decided to use my old B- pillars from my Z51 project, and did not cut the B-pillars. This also allowed me to remove the speakers from B-pillars (and the car did not complain). This saves 1.1 lb.
Sparco QRT Performance
One thing missing from the specs of this car is the competition seats.
Swap to comp: This doesn't seem to be easy on this platform. The modules under the seats apparently complain with VIN mismatch. One could say 1LT/1LZ with no modules under the seat might make it easier, but I'm not so sure anymore. Once I removed, the forward collision detection system errored out (which is OK), which means there are some modules controlling that under the seat, and that's a feature for ALL 2024+ models.
Conversion to comp: I thought I could easily convert my seats to comp seats, but it looks to be harder to do so in this platform than in previous gens, at least price-wise. I asked one of the vendors in FL that offer C7 comp seat conversion kits if they could put together a kit for the C8s as well. They obliged, and sent me a link for the new kit they brought together. The C7 conversion kit, which I've done myself (at $1400) back when trunkmonkeyparts offered it, is currently on sale for $2300. They offered the C8 conversion kit at $5050! When I asked for a discount stating they must have been using OEM list prices for all the parts (or else it'd not become this pricey in my opinion), they replied "If you'd like half the price, just do one seat. That was the end of my communication with them.
Mirror Controls: One good news is that my mirror controls are working!! On my C7 Z06 2LZ, they were disabled.
Weightsavings: There's substantial weight savings to be gained in using race seats. The seats I've picked are 21 lb or so without mounting material, since they are wrapped in leather, but the base version of this seat is in 15-16 lb range. If you go with the new type "skin" seats, they are at 12 lb range (but they don't come with padding, and the optional pads they offer are installed with stickers).
The AMT mount is about 7.5 lb with all the hardware, and the seat with mount installed is about 28 lb per side. Overall, there's about 66 lb weight savings. I could save 5 lb more by choosing one of those new 'naked' seats, but I thought leather and alcantara adds a nice touch to the car, and looks less boy-racer than most other options. This seat is very similar to Sparco EVO (regular) in terms of fitment.
I copied my mount settings from my C7 Z06 , and it worked wonderful! I was at a very comfortable position at my first trial.. amazing install time savings..
I added eye bolts with Schroth's backing plate and lock washer onto the mount as well. It's not the best way to do it, but it's safe enough. You need to enlarge the hole with a 7/16" drill bit.
Eye bolt is clocked to directly go up for the lap belt (45 degrees). The 6-point belt eye bolts need to be vertical to the floor to give space to the large Schroth connectors, leaving them horizontal to the floor.
The seats installed! AMT provides max 6 washers per mounting bolt location. I've used 2 of them under the adapter bolt as Mark @AMT suggests that's the max we should use, and 3 washers (out of 4 remaining per corner) on the top of that bolt. Last time on C7 I've used only 2 washers and the seat was crushing the carpet a bit. This time, it looks much better. I'm sure it will help me with harness install as well (which I'll do tomorrow), with a wee bit more space under the seat.
And here it is from another angle with BK harness bar also showing.
I do have the airbag light as expected, but I also have the forward collision light! I wonder if it would quiet down if I disabled them in the menu (didn't even check if there's such option).
I’ve not seen an answer to this question: If the sensors for the driver seat are removed when an after market seat is installed will the driver side airbags activate in a collision? The passenger seat airbags do not if no one is in the seat .
I assume no one really knows and does not want to be the test dummy…..
I’ve not seen an answer to this question: If the sensors for the driver seat are removed when an after market seat is installed will the driver side airbags activate in a collision? The passenger seat airbags do not if no one is in the seat .
I assume no one really knows and does not want to be the test dummy…..
Don't quote me on this, but AFAIK, the rest of the airbags still deploy when you remove seats. This was something I've heard from film makers' discussion, where they mention one of the hardest things is often disabling all the airbags in a car.
Not sure about the passenger airbag, though, since it's supposed to 'read' weight before deployment (or provide an off switch) by law.
Originally Posted by Mark9
Love it. Trusting that the warnings don't inhibit the car in any way. Looking forward to seeing updates from the track as well.
Yeah so far it didn't look like they're inhibiting the car in any way : )
x BC Forged RZ39 18"x11" ET30 Front, 18"x12.5" ET25 Rear
x BONOSS Forged 7075-T6 Aluminum M14x1.5 Lug Nuts (1.0 lb vs 3.2 lb OEM; -2.2 lb).
Brakes
x AP Racing 9668 372mm front BBK w/25mm pads. (21.6 lb rotor + 12.8 lb caliper; link).
x AP Racing 9661 355mm rear BBK (18.5 lb rotor, 10.2 lb caliper; link).
x Ferodo 3.12 pads front/rear.
Fluids
Engine oil: Mobil1 ESP 5W-50 (dexos Supercar R).
x Transmission oil: Amsoil FFL4/DCT fluid.
x Brake fluid: Castrol SRF.
Other parts
x MegaLiFe (40+8) Ah battery (16.6 lb vs. 38.3 lb OEM: -21.7 lb). link.
Weights (of parts not on listed above)
Wheel/tire combos
OEM TBD
BC Forged TBD
Other / Discussions
How-to
N/A
Alignment:
N/A
Archived
N/A
Nice car and thread! I went to 19" BC Forged wheels for the track for my C8 Z06, I'm interested in your experience with the AP racing brake kit and 18" tires. Are you going to run slicks? When I was looking for 200TW options, I didn't see many options that would work in 18"s.
Congrats on the Z06! Your Z51 build thread was very informative, detailed, and well written. I am looking forward to your Z06 build info.
Regarding your wheel selection and offset- front looks like a really aggressive fitment and rear looks similar to stock. Is there a reason you went with this fitment? Or I could be wrong, but looking to learn from your experience and build as well.
Nice car and thread! I went to 19" BC Forged wheels for the track for my C8 Z06, I'm interested in your experience with the AP racing brake kit and 18" tires. Are you going to run slicks? When I was looking for 200TW options, I didn't see many options that would work in 18"s.
For street use, I think R888Rs might be a perfect choice since they have all the sizes you'd ever need, and they provide traction instantly at the street. They are not very good at the track, but I think it's hard to beat them at the street. It's 100 tw I think, but it lasts quite a bit, and it's survivable in the wet, too, unless it's puddling everywhere.
I'll probably run 100tw or less tires (the new Proxes R, Hoosier R7s, possibly CR-S, etc.). Toyo Proxes R in 305/35/18, 345/35/18 has perfect diameters. It also has big profiles, and I don't know how they'd impact handling. We'll see how they fare, soon. In any case, R7 would likely be my best choice for performance..
Originally Posted by Vrrooom
Congrats on the Z06! Your Z51 build thread was very informative, detailed, and well written. I am looking forward to your Z06 build info.
Regarding your wheel selection and offset- front looks like a really aggressive fitment and rear looks similar to stock. Is there a reason you went with this fitment? Or I could be wrong, but looking to learn from your experience and build as well.
Thank you!
Regarding offsets, let's see: OEM
20x10 with +35mm offset
21x13 with +40mm offset
BC Forged RZ39
18x11.0" +30 --> 22mm wider track than OEM, 2mm narrower than APEX. Inside, 7 mm closer to car than OEM.
18x12.5" +25 --> 9mm wider track than OEM, 4mm narrower than APEX. Inside, 21 mm farther away from the car than OEM.
So in short, these offsets are marginally less aggressive than APEX on the outside, but are very similar. Since I went with 12.5" wide rear wheels, though, I have much more space away from the car, which is not a bad thing in my opinion. I picked 12.5" instead of 13" wide since at 18", 345/35 tires are recommended to be mounted in 12"-13" range due to much thicker side profile, and even the narrower profile 335/30 tires are often recommended with 12" wheels; 13"would be too wide for such tires. If I get a 19" wheel set in future, I'd do the rears 13" for sure, since narrower profiles often require wider wheel for perfect fitment as far as I understand..
Meanwhile, I took care of a few other bits as well, yesterday. I am planning to install the AP brakes, front radiator grilles, and the EOS XL mudflaps, which should conclude the mods; exciting!
Installed the Schroth harness; looks good! On my C7 Z06, the OEM seat belt bottom mount used to bang on the seat as I drove the car at the track. I decided to fix it in a location so it does not bounce around.. Attached a velcro strip to these as well.. Now fixed in place!
I needa surface with velcro to install my GPS transponder, but the surfaces on the Corvette are not smooth, making it impossible to have a good adhesion. One solution to that is to put a much bigger velcro than needed, and only use a small portion of it with the device, so the pulling strength would not overwhelm the adhesive. Done! Also installed my camera mount. I also have PDR in this car, so I suppose I need to decide what to do with that, too. PDR provides great info on temps, car's G sensors, throttle, etc., but its lap timer is sub-standard, and sometimes even wrong as far as I've heard. I might create a video overlay with both, but lap times won't match exactly, since PDR uses a different start/stop line coordinate. Oh well, we'll see : )
For street use, I think R888Rs might be a perfect choice since they have all the sizes you'd ever need, and they provide traction instantly at the street. They are not very good at the track, but I think it's hard to beat them at the street. It's 100 tw I think, but it lasts quite a bit, and it's survivable in the wet, too, unless it's puddling everywhere.
I'll probably run 100tw or less tires (the new Proxes R, Hoosier R7s, possibly CR-S, etc.). Toyo Proxes R in 305/35/18, 345/35/18 has perfect diameters. It also has big profiles, and I don't know how they'd impact handling. We'll see how they fare, soon. In any case, R7 would likely be my best choice for performance..
I run the stock PS4s on the street and CRS v2 on track. Don't like R888R as they arent really that good on track. The Nankangs are out of stock though so i might switch to R7s and have to switch tires at the track.. man Hooisier prices have gone up though!
I have not yet decided, but I'll likely stay with OEM shocks for a while, even if I eventually end up trying the MCS coilovers. On my C7 Z06, OEM shocks were adequate unless you changed the aero of the car enough to push it out of its tune's sweet spot.
I installed the MCS3 ways on my 2022 c8. I also have the AMS control arms. It has been the best mod to any car I have ever done. The car gives me so much feedback. Its' way more compliant over bumps. I plan to run it next year with NASA in TT3. I used to have a ZL1 1le, and this mod what what the doctor ordered. You can send your 2 ways to mcs and they can turn them into 3 ways. The compression circuit is built better with the three way. I running 160kg front and 120 rear with Eibach sways.
My plan is to roll these parts over to the z06 when I upgrade.
Last edited by jdzumwalt; Sep 6, 2024 at 03:53 PM.
Changed both engine and transmission fluids as well as filters in preparation for the first track day. I know that it's not required by GM to change the fluids this early, especially the transmission fluid and filter, but I've done the same on my Z51 as well, and it never missed a beat! As you'll see in the pic below, the transmission filter was already pretty dirty, as is expected to happen in the first few-hundred break-in miles. Replacing the filter now ensures transmission line pressure does not get impacted by a clogged filter, and the break-in artifacts (e.g. small metal pieces, etc.) are also now mostly removed from the fluid.
Tomorrow, I'll likely switch the brakes to AP kits, and this will conclude the initial set of mods pending the alignment! I will also measure the weights of the track wheels, tires and brake systems in the process.
WEIGHT: If I understand it correctly, my 2LZ car is already at around 3700 lb from the factory, as 2024 models gained a bit of weight (40 lb?). I'll get the alignment done with full tank, and will ask the shop to weigh the car, so we'll see if my weight savings helped. I'm currently estimating the weight savings at ~120 lb.
ZL1Addons jack pucks. They are actually pretty heavy at 1.2 lb for set of 4. I installed the pucks closer to center of the car (the lifting hole has a bit of play) so that I can reach at these 13mm bolts to remove the bottom panel when needed while the car is on the lift. Unlike my Z51, this car does not have any leak on the transmission, etc. Everything was dry; great! NPP exhaust actuators are actually far from the exhaust on this car, and they operate a push-rod. This shold keep them away from the excessive heat; great! On Z51, I had to replace the actuators and do a small mod to keep actuators from overheating again. This is the LARGEST water-cooled oil cooler I've ever seen in my life. Looks cool (pun intended) : ) Turning the transmission oil filter cap is always hard. This time, I decided to use my old brake caliper piston adjustment tool. It made a quick work of rotating the lid enough to expose the corners to pull from. I used plastic trim tools to remove the o-rings and pull on the transmission filter lid to avoid scratching them. The transmission fluid looked pretty clear, and looked like new in terms of color. The filter, however, is very dirty, just like how it was on the Z51. It is highly recommended that one should replace this filter before the first track day, and probably again after just a few track days as well to remove all the metal shavings from the break in. Engine oil filter's paper looked a bit rough in shape to me. I'm guessing this is just how it is, but I digress. New filter going in!
Finished the brakes, today. Once I get it aligned and install grill mesh in front of cheek radiators, I'll be READY!
I don't like using the EP16 socket for the rear panel. With these bolts, now everything is 13mm socket : )
13mm socket for all!
39.4 lb for the OEM battery + the top mount that I no longer need.
Replacement is 16.5 lb; 22.9 lb weight savings.
Rear tires/wheels are at a whopping 69.7 lb.
... and the fronts are at 57.8 lb, bringing the total to 255 lb. I'm expecting >50 lb saving with BC Forged wheels + R7 tires.
The bottom bolt of the hub was sticking out more than anything else on the Z51, causing scratches on the wheel when something got stuck in between. Looks like I won't have this problem on the Z06; nice!
3.1 lb for OEM lug nuts.
1.0 lb for my forged aluminum lug nuts; 2.1 lb weight savings.
15.8 lb for the front OEM rotor.
Considering discard weight is 6828 gr, 7150 is huge!
12.5lb for AP front calipers. It was 12.8 lb with brand new calipers.
17.8 lb for OEM calipers. Total AP is 34.4 lb vs OEM 33.6 lb; 0.8 lb increase per corner; 1.6 lb total increase.
The brake pad life sensor is now very compact : P
As with my Z51, the front passenger size line was overtorqued. I used a thread chaser (10mm x 1.0) to fix it.
Both front lines had to be rotated to reduce stress on them. I initially used the method described in the instructions, but this was not efficient, since you have to keep removing the line for every adjustment.
This is with the caliper closest to the car.
... and this is with the caliper furthest from the car.
Finished! On the other side, I simply gently held on to the line with a diameter-adjustable plyer, and slowly turned to the perfect angle... so much better!
Rear OEM rotors are 13.3 lb.
Rear OEM caliper is a whopping 15.1 lb.
AP caliper shows 9.3 lb, but I think it's actually about 10 lb with new pads. Rear rotor is 18.5 lb.
The Z06 e-brake was very very close to the dimensions of Z51 caliper with the AP kit's spacer. That said, the z06 caliper would not fully cover the rotor since it's meant for higher diameter. I think it'd still barely work, but I digress.
Z51 modified e-brake caliper is 5.3 lb.
...and the Z06 e-brake caliper is at 6.3 lb. The total AP brake system is 10 lb caliper + 18.5 lb rotor + 5.3 lb e-brake caliper = 33.8 lb. The OEM system is 13.3 lb + 15.1lb + 6.3 lb = 34.7 lb. .9 x 2 = 1.8 lb total savings!
Finished! Tomorrow, I'll remove the UCA washers before alignment, and put the tires back on. I plan to bleed it again after the alignment since some of the air would only be caught after driving a bit (when you replace calipers).
The e-brake caliper overhangs the smaller AP rotor, but it’s not a problem. I plan to remove the e-brakes from the hub and relocate them to the engine bay as I did on my C8.
The e-brake caliper overhangs the smaller AP rotor, but it’s not a problem. I plan to remove the e-brakes from the hub and relocate them to the engine bay as I did on my C8.
Sure, that's a solution as well, but Z51 ebrake calipers that work perfectly well on AP rotors are just $200 each from RockAuto; I think it's worth it : )
Sure, that's a solution as well, but Z51 ebrake calipers that work perfectly well on AP rotors are just $200 each from RockAuto; I think it's worth it : )
The ebrakes were a pain in the *** on my C8. My Z06 is a track only car. I don’t need an emergency brake plus it reduces unstrung weight.
'24 C8 Z06 Z07 Track Build
