CornPicker

Went to an autocross this past weekend a saw a C6. There were some other cool cars there such as a beautiful GT40 kit car, a bunch of Cobras, a ZR1 frame under a 50's Corvette body (Farm Use for those of you who know of it), and about 100 other cool cars.

The guy that was autocrossing the C6 was an experienced driver, but he was understandably going pretty easy while getting the feel of his new baby. I was curious what it could do, and whether or not it would be classed as A-Stock (where the C5 is now) or Super Stock (where the current Z06 is).

So, for all of you that have ran your C6s hard at an auto-x course, where did you place relative to the rest of the field? I'm guessing with the shorter wheelbase, and the fact that GM engineers obviously spent some time tweaking the low speed performance (see autocross option in build your own Corvette on the Chevrolet website), should make the C6 an autocross beast.

I beat most of the C5s at the local events (my Subaru STi is A-Stock also), but then again both the Corvettes and my STi regulary get whipped by an SHO Taraus and a prepped Neon

Silk

CP,

That was me in the C6 at Cumberland last weekend, and you're right - I was still trying to get a feel for the car. Very different from what I usually drive in open track (Cobra replica), but by the end of the second day I was begining to get comfortable with it. Just wish I could find something other than the standard street tires for auto-x, but I've been told that no one has anything sticky for the 19" rears yet (anyone hear differently??). I was classified in SS, which is what I was anticipating. My only regret of the weekend was being edged by a couple of tenths by one of my Cobra friends.

BTW, that was my first time at Cumberland, and I thought the the event was outstanding. Well run and a lot of interesting cars. I plan to be back next year.

vetluvr

CornPicker

Doh, slip up. Shorter length, not wheelbase :o Shorter by about 6 inches and narrower by about 1 IIRC.


Silk, are the stock C6 tires summer only or all seasons? The STi comes with RE070 summer only tires stock, which are rated for 15,000 miles (without auto-x's ) and are about as sticky as you can get without making the jump to slicks. I might invest in some slicks next season if I have some extra play money, because it looks like they are good for a second or two.

I agree that the Cumberland autocross is awesome. They definitely know how to run an event, which is more than I can say for some regions in my home area (West Virginia).

Silk

As far as I can tell based on what I've picked up on this forum, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar EMTs are great in the dry and fair in the wet (although my runs in Cumberland on Saturday morning in the wet didn't seem too greasy at all to me). Haven't owned a Vette since the late '60s, but I gather that when the snow flies, the C6 will be happiest in the garage.

My concern is that at $400+ a pop (rears at Tire Rack), I'm not going to do too much auto-x until I figure out a tire solution. May just mount some less expensive (not run-flat) street tires on a set of rims until something better comes on the market.

Kays C6

I'm also interested in autocrossing. I'll be going to my first event in November in my C6 in Salem, Va. I have absolutely no idea what to do, but everyone says that they will show you what to do. Do you guys go often? Do you drive your C6 as a daily driver? It looks like a lot of fun and several of the people in my area compete with vettes. I can't wait to try it out. Any tips? How well did the stock tires work? What tire pressure?
Kay

Silk

Kay,

I'm sure you'll find the auto-x crowd very friendly and helpful. Just spend a few minutes talking to a few people that have done it before and they'll tell you the things you need to know.

Stock tires were adequate, but not great. Regarding tire pressure, I ran 38 in the fronts and 34 in the rears. Several people with a lot more knowledge on this than I have said that was at least in the ballpark. Only other thing I can think of is to make sure you turn off both traction control and active handling prior to each run. And walk the course as often as you can. Enjoy!

thebiggman

It was just mentioned to leave the traction control and active handling off, but what about having the car in Competitive Driving mode? Is that cool?

CornPicker

Just be careful, and don't try to get FTD (Fastest Time of the Day). Make sure the course looks safe, cones shouldn't be anywhere near solid objects like lightpoles and curbs. I have no expereince with your region, but sometimes regions are hit or miss on following SCCA rules and designing a safe course. Just use common sense and if you see a curb/lightpole near a corner you might spin, don't try to take the corner at the limit of traction

All that being said, have fun! People will generally be very helpful, especially if you're out there just for fun. Take the first couple runs slower to get a feel for the course, and ask an instructor to ride along to give you some tips.

If you don't take out some cones because you overcooked a corner every once and awhile you're probably going to slow. If you hear excessive tire squealing you're probably going too fast. Just try to be smooth and look very far ahead and your times will be good.

Tire pressures of around 38F/34R sound fine. I usually run 42F/40R but my car is a little more nose heavy than a Corvette and my tires like higher pressures.

Lee6

i ran my Z51 6-speed at Atwater, CA about 3 weeks ago.....since it was my first time with it on an autox course (i have 4 years of autox experience with my old Z28) i was only going at about 7/10 my ability....but it handled very good, imho

my best time was 49.8, whereas the better drivers in well-modded C5s, with slicks, were coming in at around 43 seconds, best times....

i tried runs with all systems on, then "competition mode" then everything off......the later only on one run, but i think it's what i'll do from now on....

had a blast......a great car! (my first vette)

Kays C6

OK - so the Competitive Driving Mode setting sounds like the best? From the manual, looks like when this is selected, the Active Handling System comes on and the Traction Control System goes off. Sounds like I need to select the Sport mode too - although I have one of those cars where you feel absolutely no difference between the two settings. Maybe this will be a good opportunity to see if I can feel a difference between the two settings. Do you guys have the F55 on your cars?

Lee6 - how much of a difference was there when driving with the different settings?

My main goal is to not run over any cones and to not get lost on the course. I'll worry about going fast later. This event is a charity event, so no points - just fun. I figured that would be the best one to start at. I'm going to ask around and see if anyone is brave enough to ride with me and offer advice. I can't wait to see what my car can do!

Lee6

when A.H. kicked in it felt like i hit the rev limiter and the power just cut out.....

i'm no expert at A.H. by any means, but my initial take on it is that it was designed to take over, in the course of a "normal" driving situation when things suddenly get out of hand (black ice, oil on the road, etc.)....and therefore, when it kicks in it's pretty intrusive....at least when i was autox-ing that's what it felt like...

when i went to the road course at Thunderhill a few weeks before that, the A.H. wasn't nearly so intrusive.....i noticed it as the day progressed, and i gained more confidence with my new C6, and started taking the turns more aggressively....when i started to loose traction it cut back on the power, but in a much slower, more progressive way...what it felt like was how i would react to the same situation myself, with my Z28...namely, when i would ease up on the throttle a bit to regain traction....since the results of A.H. in that situation was very similar to my own reactions, i elected to leave it off for the rest of the day...

so i'm thinking that i'll leave A.H. and T.C. off for both autox and road course driving, but for different reasons....

(i guess it's less intrusive on a road course because the driving technique is much smoother.....in autox you're jerking and throwing the car around a lot more, and so A.H. kicks in faster and harder)

Silk

Just to clarify, I ran with both traction control and comp mode off. For auto-x, I don't think you want (or need) the computer unexpectedly butting in.

CornPicker

The results are in from the autocross. I was lonely in A-Stock, one Subaru and 9 Corvettes Silk, I got you by 0.2 seconds. I'm sure the results will be different next year when it isn't raining and you have some sticky rubber on there. Us guys in Subarus liked the rainy conditions; AWD gives us a chance against all that displacement of yours.

A Stock' Total Entries: 10
Time
Diff.
From 1st

1
214
Keith Baxter
Chevy Corvette
47.813

2
106
Joe Stoffa
Subaru WRX STI
50.019

3
203
Steve Hotchkiss
Chevy Corvette
51.360

4
218
Bill Nyga
Chevy Corvette
52.291

5
206
Bill Herbaugh
Chevy Corvette
53.186

6
407
Larry Myers
Chevy Corvette
54.138

7
408
Al Hogan
Chevy Corvette
55.363

8
231
Ron Wilson
Chevy Corvette
57.224

9
414
Richard Henry
Chevy Corvette
59.812

10
162
Bob McClure
Chevy Corvette
DNF

2Cool

I still find it strange that all wheel drive turbos are in the corvette and camaro classes

CornPicker

What the SCCA does is class cars according to their performance. If they find nationwide, over a period of a year or so, that STi's and C5 Corvettes have similar course times, they'll put them in the same class. Super Stock (where the Z06 resides) is the fastest stock class, A-Stock (where the base C5 and STi reside) is the second fastest class, and so on and so forth all the way down to H-Stock.

The Camaro and Mustang aren't in the same class as the STi or Vette in autocross, they are C-Stock to F-Stock. The F-bodies and Fox chassis make good drag platforms, but in stock form they can't hang with something like an STi around the corners, the suspension is too soft, the gearing too poor, and the chassis dynamics just aren't there in my experience.

Even new sports cars like the BMW Z3, Honda S2000, and Nissan 350Z aren't in the same class as the STi, they are in B-Stock. If you ever have the oppurtunity to drivea Subaru STi or MItsubishi EVO (both A-Stock) you should take it It's amazing how well these rally bred souped-up econo-sedans are tuned from the factory. The fact that my Subaru comes with 4-pot Brembos, a close ratio 6-speed, 300HP/300ft-lb, great steering, and more all for 31k is amazing. That it can hang with a C5 on an autocross course or around a full course in stock form is amazing too.

But again it's all relative, remember I got handily whipped by an SHO Taraus, a prepped Neon, a Civic Si, and an Integra As always the driver is #1.

2Cool

i dont believe that much analyzing is going on, more likely petitions by STi owners. Also in the ESP class that i run there is almost always an EVO, or STi in the class, it is my belief that the same driver, with the same experience in both cars prepared to the standards of the class will almost always get a better time in the all wheel drive rally type car.

Silk

Congrats, Joe! Browsed Tire Rack yesterday, and it looks like Pirelli actually has a comp tire to fit the C6 19" rears. Be looking for ya next year.