MarkDFW

Even with cam, headers, CAI and tune, my grand sport just doesn't have the straight line speed of other cars (like z06s I am jealous of) when I HPDE at road courses.

Curious if you think I could go forced induction (probably a centri supercharger like procharger) and not have reliability and overheating issues?

Or do I have a stroker built? And if I build a stroker, who would you recommend?

I know the general rule is to stay NA but curious if any of you have put in a SC and not had reliability issues? Obviously a centri would be more co$t effective than building a motor so that makes it tempting.

SinisterC6

Your near Texas speed, thy could build you a nice 427 or 440 for about 10 that will do very well on the road course. FI makes good power but isnt the ideal setup for sustained WOT due to heat.

That being said you can make a SC or TT car do well, it will just take extra time and money to address the coolant and oil temps.

MarkDFW

Are we talking aftermarket oil cooler and bigger radiator? Or is there a lot more to it than that?

SinisterC6

I have both and still see 220 coolant and 240 oil on the street. I think a lot of metal work to seal the the bumper up and dual oil coolers in the fog lights would do the trick

MarkDFW

I hit 290 oil temp at the end of my last HPDE so I am going to have to get an oil cooler either way. A centri would in at least 6k so if I can get a built stroker for 10k, I might be better off saving up.

Wonder what I could get for my LS3 with cam? Would certainly cushion the blow of havin a stroker built if I could get a good price for my LS3.

SinisterC6

Probably 3k for the short block, that what im selling mine for.

JerryTX

Mark what kind of lap times were you running at ECR a few weeks ago? A stock GS should be in the low 2:0x range.

Jason

Doesn't a GS have the same 427 as a Z06?

gmccreary

GS has an LS3. If it is a 6-spd the LS3 includes a dry sump similar to the LS7.

Jason

Ah, my bad. I've lost track of the alphabet soup a bit.

MarkDFW

Jerry I hit 2:06 on street tires. Probably buying dedicated wheels for the track and then I can run R comps.

AtomicZ

Stay NA if your goal is about the road course.

JerryTX

FI in Texas is a nogo for a track car. Your car as it sits is good to near 2 flat with that cool weather we had, with the mods you have id suggest just seat time.

MarkDFW

Thanks Jerry. That corvette HPDE at ECR was only my 4th ever HPDE and 2nd time at ECR. I'm definitely leaving time on the track by braking early and still learning to carry more speed through the corners. I'm a little conservative with my daily driver. I want to break 2:00 at ECR as I've heard that is considered a good lap.

I hit 1:28.7 at MSR Cresson 1.7 mile CCW with Apex a couple weeks ago in the advanced group and was consistently below 1:30.

I did just bite the bullet and order a set of dedicated track wheels from CCW. That's my version of Black Friday

I'm going to run scrubs from GT Racing Tires. Have heard great things about them and seems much more economical in the long run compared to burning through expensive street tires. Maybe I'm optimistic, but I'm hoping R comp scrubs will not only be cheaper, but shave 2 or 3 seconds a lap at MSR 1.7 CCW and 3 or 4 seconds at ECR.

AU N EGL

AU N EGL

No offense untill you have at least 10 events dont worry about time

To get faster there is nothing but seat time and more seat time.

More HP wont help you and may even hurt your driving skills.

MarkDFW

I hear what you're saying and I'll probably stick with the HP I have for a little while.

I do like to measure my progress, and Harry's Lap Timer App for my iPhone has been as good a $20 investment as there is. I can't argue with the data. An instructor said to focus on control, consistency, and cadence. I'm staying on the track, my times are consistent and steadily improving when I'm not in traffic, and I start to feel a rhythm on the track.

I know I'm not going to be the fastest guy out there right now, but feel I need some sort of goal or benchmark for the day beyond not running off the track. Harry's Lap Timer + my GoPro camera reminds me I've got a long way to go to get smoother and faster.

CCW got me a reasonable deal on Kumho V710s so my black c10s will be wrapped and ready to go. I've been warned the R comps don't bark as much as street tires and and can be more of an on/off switch. Be sure to wave and laugh at me the first time I get greedy with them and run off the track. I will probably hear "I told you so" more than once!

One of the best learning experiences for me was in the spring, my first time at ECR, an instructor took me around the track in his M3 and Hoosier scrubs. Great to feel the line he took and also made me drool for R comps as they were clearly much stickier than what I had.

QUIKAG

Mark, seems like you're ramping up pretty quickly with HPDE which is cool! You have a lot of power as it is so I wouldn't try to add more power at this point. You'll just hurt reliability too. R-comps will help your speed. You should be sub 1:25 at MSR pretty easily with more practice and the r-comps. I'd focus on that for now IMHO.

MarkDFW

Thanks. Sounds like a plan if you let me borrow your ZR1 sometime

I'm going to look at an oil cooler before I do anything else to the engine. 290 oil temps at the end of a session on a 70 degree day is a bit concerning.

AU N EGL

Many times to learn how to go faster one needs to slow down.

Slow down so you are consistently hitting your marks lap after lap after lap.

So consistent that your heart rate is almost your resting rate of mid 60 bpm.

So consistent that when you leave AH/TC ON they never interfere with your driving.

So consistent that you can have a conversation with your instructor about any other topic then driving.

So consistent that you can almost do your quarterly taxes.

That is when your ready.