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C5 Track Car \ HPDE Conversion: What I have learned!
#42
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Jul 2004
Location: MD
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St. Jude Donor '10-'11
Thanks for taking the time to organize and present a very well-structured discussion of the "slippery slope" of track addiction ...
Yes ... Moderator - please sticky this ...
Yes ... Moderator - please sticky this ...
Last edited by MungoZ06; 09-04-2009 at 01:35 PM. Reason: avatar glitch
#43
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Sep 2002
Location: Oakville Ontario,Canada
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Great write up, I have the attn span of a knat otherwise I'd love to contribute my experiences in detail.. Heres my list, not in the order I did it but this is everything I have on my car now and the order I would do it if I did it all over again:
1) Bigger Rad, Oil Cooler, Power steering cooler
2) Front brake spindles, ducts, stainless lines and race pads
3) Roll bar, Seats and Harnesses
4) Accusump (C5 guy)
5) Poly Bushings, sway bars and end links
6) Coil overs
7) R-compounds
8) Engine Mods
9) Drivetrain Mods
Lots of little things like catch cans, engine mounts etc, but not really needed.
I am now in break=fix mode... time will tell what my next mod is, just waiting for my car to tell me.
Steve
1) Bigger Rad, Oil Cooler, Power steering cooler
2) Front brake spindles, ducts, stainless lines and race pads
3) Roll bar, Seats and Harnesses
4) Accusump (C5 guy)
5) Poly Bushings, sway bars and end links
6) Coil overs
7) R-compounds
8) Engine Mods
9) Drivetrain Mods
Lots of little things like catch cans, engine mounts etc, but not really needed.
I am now in break=fix mode... time will tell what my next mod is, just waiting for my car to tell me.
Steve
#46
Racer
Member Since: May 2009
Location: Post Falls Idaho
Posts: 250
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Brake Ducts:
I am on my second kit. My first kit was a “fire path” kit (http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.co...uct%20Kit.html), meaning the air cooled directly on the inside path where the pads directly heat the rotors....I just installed a Quantum Motorsports Kit (http://store.quantummotorsports.com/...nq78lbb0bc1kn7), this sends the air into the HUB. ......
Could you explain a little more about the difference between the two kits. From the pictures they both appear to send the air directly into the center of the rotor. You say the Quantum sends air into the HUB, but a hub is sealed, do you mean the center of the brake rotor?
#49
Terminal Vette Addict
Thread Starter
Could you explain a little more about the difference between the two kits. From the pictures they both appear to send the air directly into the center of the rotor. You say the Quantum sends air into the HUB, but a hub is sealed, do you mean the center of the brake rotor?
The Quantum kit send the air towards the hub area, and seals the air from leaking out. It gets some to the rotor also, but the air then flows form the center hub area to the center of the rotor. Most rotors are veined to allow the air to flow form the center outwards. This seems to cool the brakes more evenly inside & outside. Thus less assymetrial cooling of the metal and less warpage / craking.
THis only really matters in cases where the brakes get REALLY hot and tortured without tiem to cool down. ROad racing is the most common case. Where you have 20min to an hour or more on a track, with HIGH speeds and high friction high heat race pads. Rotors will get hot enough to need pads that can handle 1200-1600F in some cases! OUCH!
Going from 140mph+ to 60 mpg in 300 feet just can be bruttle! This means if you cant cool teh brakes, they can glaze and lose friction.
LIek I said though this never really happens in Solo Auto X or 1/4 mile applications where the ECS kit I think would be overkill even for most people.
FYI as of today I have my ECS kit for sale cheap. it worked great the first season even on teh road courses until I went to cobalt friction/carbo tech pads and really started to go fast fast.. and break deep and hard.
#50
Race Director
HPDE Car Insurance:
Most insurance companies do not cover racing, some do cover HPDE when it’s not timed and there are no winners / losers. Meaning if it’s a “Driver’s Education” event, you might be covered in the beginner groups. *** Assume you are not covered *** Some State Farm policies still cover it to my knowledge like this. You can buy HPDE track insurance at declared value. I saw a 3 day GT3 Porsche destroy the front end on Thunderbolt and get towed away with 253 miles on it. Covered 100% with track insurance. Find out all the conditions though, some do not cover blatant stupidity like running on full slicks in standing water, etc. Know what you buy before you try. A common one used is http://hpdeins.locktonaffinity.com.
Note when buying track insurance: One event might be $249 for the event, BUT you can do a "10 pack" for a full season sometimes for about $800 - $1100 by car value (this estiamte for a declared value of about 35-40k). It might seem crazy for 250-300 per event, but when you get the price closer to $80 per event... it doesnt sound so crazy does it? A friend in Porsche Club Recently (August 2009) rolled his track 993 with cage 3 times over sideways at Summit in WV. He had a 10 pack deal, and they paid him out. Don;t think the check comes fast or easy though, it takes about 3-6 weeks of wrangling. You can also sometimes buy your own car back as "scrap" for pennies on the dollar! This is great if you take the $$, buy another of the same car... and now can pull all your performance piece upgrades from the damage car to the new car WAY cheaper than buying them all again!
Most insurance companies do not cover racing, some do cover HPDE when it’s not timed and there are no winners / losers. Meaning if it’s a “Driver’s Education” event, you might be covered in the beginner groups. *** Assume you are not covered *** Some State Farm policies still cover it to my knowledge like this. You can buy HPDE track insurance at declared value. I saw a 3 day GT3 Porsche destroy the front end on Thunderbolt and get towed away with 253 miles on it. Covered 100% with track insurance. Find out all the conditions though, some do not cover blatant stupidity like running on full slicks in standing water, etc. Know what you buy before you try. A common one used is http://hpdeins.locktonaffinity.com.
Note when buying track insurance: One event might be $249 for the event, BUT you can do a "10 pack" for a full season sometimes for about $800 - $1100 by car value (this estiamte for a declared value of about 35-40k). It might seem crazy for 250-300 per event, but when you get the price closer to $80 per event... it doesnt sound so crazy does it? A friend in Porsche Club Recently (August 2009) rolled his track 993 with cage 3 times over sideways at Summit in WV. He had a 10 pack deal, and they paid him out. Don;t think the check comes fast or easy though, it takes about 3-6 weeks of wrangling. You can also sometimes buy your own car back as "scrap" for pennies on the dollar! This is great if you take the $$, buy another of the same car... and now can pull all your performance piece upgrades from the damage car to the new car WAY cheaper than buying them all again!
I second the insurance. I totalled my last Vette at Thunderbolt the 2nd day it was open. I consider myself a pretty decent driver and my instructor had told me after the crash that he was very surpirsed it happened as he thought at no time did I ever lead him to believe I would lose control of the car. Without getting into the details, I'll just say that I fall into the freak accident category at the one place on the track that walls are close by. I was fortunate that my insurance company did pay off the car, but it was a worrisome month awaiting the decision. My case also was reviewed a month after and I was told that if it happened again, not to expect such a rosey outcome. I was also very fortuante to have great people from friends at the track, to a great instructor, to great track officials, etc that helped get through that rough day. Would never want anyone to experience that.
I will be back on the track again soon, after my wife's heartbeat returns to normal, and I will be buying this policy. I'm sure the chances of this happening to someone are less than 1%, but this one percenter is not taking any chances.
I also was very lucky to walk away with nothing more than a 1-inch bruise on my chest from the seatbelt and a minor pain in my knuckle from hitting the windshiled as the air bad deployed. I was very surpised at how well a Vette holds up in a collision. If you had looked in my car, besides the airbags being deployed and the rear view mirror falling off you would have never known it was in an accident. However I know my head took a nice jolt by the size of the chip in my helmet - we still debate whether I hit my a pillar or perhaps the armco. Thus, besides a helmet I strognly suggest getting a hans device:
http://hansdevice.com/site/index.html
Last edited by cjlaw73; 09-28-2009 at 05:16 PM.
#51
Racer
Member Since: May 2009
Location: Post Falls Idaho
Posts: 250
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Thanks for the clarification, as I said before, I thought they were all (ESC, LG ect) routing the air to the same place but after your comments and closely examining pictures from all the different manufactures I can see how different the Quantum kit is. The only reason I'm hesitating on the spindle ducts right now is that I'm undecided on the brakes I will use next year. If I go with a BBK like Stoptech then anything I buy now might not function properly on the aftermarket brakes.
#52
Terminal Vette Addict
Thread Starter
Thanks for the clarification, as I said before, I thought they were all (ESC, LG ect) routing the air to the same place but after your comments and closely examining pictures from all the different manufactures I can see how different the Quantum kit is. The only reason I'm hesitating on the spindle ducts right now is that I'm undecided on the brakes I will use next year. If I go with a BBK like Stoptech then anything I buy now might not function properly on the aftermarket brakes.
Just make sure you get the whole kaboodle and not just the small duct that bolts on.
#53
Racer
Member Since: May 2009
Location: Post Falls Idaho
Posts: 250
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Typically a BBK with a larger rotor, say 14”, has a larger ID then the original smaller rotors, the ID of the new rotor will be larger than the backing plate from the quantum kit, therefore it won’t seal correctly.
#57
Great write up. I've already had to make many of the same choices.
One of my first track failures was a power steering pump bearing. It seems to be more common here in the south. The Z06 PS cooler isn't enough. TurnOne has a great replacement pump.
One of my first track failures was a power steering pump bearing. It seems to be more common here in the south. The Z06 PS cooler isn't enough. TurnOne has a great replacement pump.
#58
Terminal Vette Addict
Thread Starter
Edited after install of the new bushings, ball joints, tie rods ends, and a replaced hub. My thoughts and observatiosn added, as well as a few tweaks in the whole thing after rereading with another season firmly behind me. Enjoy, come back and check in often, and feel free to post your tid bits i may have left out to add to future revisions. merry Xmas & happy new year!
#59
Wow! Nice writeup. This is really good info and makes it much easier to find the best mod path for how you want to use your car. Thanks for the time you took to do this
#60
Edited after install of the new bushings, ball joints, tie rods ends, and a replaced hub. My thoughts and observatiosn added, as well as a few tweaks in the whole thing after rereading with another season firmly behind me. Enjoy, come back and check in often, and feel free to post your tid bits i may have left out to add to future revisions. merry Xmas & happy new year!
Thanks a lot for all your useful information. This makes it much easier for me/us and saves a great deal of time