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[Z06] GT transformation

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Old 04-02-2015, 01:46 AM
  #281  
Werks
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Originally Posted by Z06Ronald
Ron, is the ACP wing supplied with all the necessary hardware, i.e. including the mounts / pedestals or whatever you call them?

No the wing as listed on the price list is literally just the wing. End plates, gurney flap, mounting brackets etc are all separate. I believe the total cost for everything (minus installation) was around $5k

Originally Posted by mikymu
I still remember once you had the wing installed your lap time drop by 4+ seconds and set your best lap time at Thunderhill due to better balance and down force. Your rear was pretty lose before installing the wing
Yep the wing and front splitter set up made a huge difference in grip and totally transformed the car! Now even when I'm out running fast laps I'm still for the most part driving around 80% or 85%, so well within the capabilities of the car and with a huge margin for error.

Originally Posted by skxf430
It was loose because Werks was running those funny orange parts before.
Lol, orange is different!

Originally Posted by smellya
So we should not let Rich get any aero....

Rich pushes his car hard and is on edge, he's an excellent driver and his extensive autocross skill allows him to drive at the limit like that. Aero certainly would make his life easier because an average skill set driver would probably only be able to make one or two laps driving like that before crashing lol! I have heard that a certain canary yellow might be getting some aero in the future though!

Originally Posted by mikymu
lol


I told Rich wings and aero are too heavy, it will slow him down
Lol, I told him that to do it right it's too expensive and it will break the bank, so maybe between the two of use we can buy our selves some time so that we can figure out how to keep up with him. I can hang if I really push it but I think I have to get away from these cheap Conti slicks that I have been using the last 2 years and set my car up for Hoosiers to really have a shot. Thank god he decided to pass on switching to Michelin slicks because I certainly did not want to go down that road!
Old 04-02-2015, 12:02 PM
  #282  
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Originally Posted by smellya
Here is a pic from the last thunder hill day of the Z06 camp.
Nice Pic. We really had quite the Corvette presence up there that weekend.

Originally Posted by C5ZEE06
Milkymu, Werks, others....you guys have racked up some serious track miles on your Z cars over the past several years.
What sort of maintenance and repair Issues are you seeing ?
Who is still running the Ccb's, or has everyone gone to the iron racing brake ?
How,s the stock ls7 hold up Mike ? Any repairs required ? Btw How many miles on the odometer Currently, and how much of those are on track?
Transmissions, differentials, drive shaft...holding up ok ?
Ron and I have a lot of mods done to our cars, but my transmission and diff is 100% stock. I have found that maintaining the parts on the car is cheap insurance and will make them last a lot longer. We do a lot of transmission repairs to cars with far less power than mine, but lot of it boils down to less fluid changes causing the internal parts to wear out sooner.

I have 32k miles on our Z06 and not one of them has been easy on it. Dozens of track days, over 1,000 auto cross laps and ~50 passes down the drag strip without any issues since the Katech engine was built.

I switched the stock C6Z brakes over to the CCB's last year and I would never go back. I know that Mike has issues with them, but I love them and I am always impressed with how damn good they stop. I flush the fluid once a season and run Castrol SRF in the brakes and clutch. I also installed a much larger clutch reservoir, along with a Tilton slave and master setup. I am getting 4-5 track days on the 3 mile course or 2.5 days on the 5 miles course on a set of front pads.

Originally Posted by Werks
Good god man, do you wear ear plugs? That has got to be the loudest exhaust that I have ever heard or are you running straight pipes lol?

Next time that you are out at T-hill try not downshifting before T1. That's something that I see a lot of Porsche drivers do but with our car staying in 4th simplifies things and allows you to focus more on late braking using max force and hitting your proper turn in marker for T1. You are probably in the mid 90's when coming out of T1 and rolling on the throttle so in 4th you are in the meat of the torque band on our engines. I then do my downshift to 3rd right before entering T2, go to maintenance throttle until the apex (you are probably in the 75-80mph range there) where you are in the meat of the torque band in 3rd and start unwinding the wheel and rolling on the throttle heading to T3. I have a feeling if you do that a few times and get comfortable with it you will find your entry speeds into T1 will start creeping up and you will be carrying more speed through the T1-T2 segment dropping your times.
Excellent advise. I used to downshift into 1 and realized it's a helluva lot easier and faster to leave the car in 4th and get right back on the gas after turning in.

Originally Posted by Werks
Glad that you tried out holding 4th through T1. It's allways good to play around with shift points and see what works best.

In regards to the external mike, that explains things! I was wondering how you dealt with that at first! I'm playing around with some new packing in my exhaust and it's almost too quite now, I'm thinking of nick naming my car "whispering death" or something like that lol! Take a look at the new video shot by none other than Mike comparing it to Richi's yellow Z and a stock white BMW M4!

My car is loud, but that is using stock ZR1 mufflers. Ron's car used to be at least as loud as mine, but the Burns setup is much quieter. I think the new design packing material that we just installed in his mufflers made it even quieter than before.


Originally Posted by mikymu
lol



I told Rich wings and aero are too heavy, it will slow him down


Originally Posted by Werks

Yep the wing and front splitter set up made a huge difference in grip and totally transformed the car! Now even when I'm out running fast laps I'm still for the most part driving around 80% or 85%, so well within the capabilities of the car and with a huge margin for error.



Lol, orange is different!




Rich pushes his car hard and is on edge, he's an excellent driver and his extensive autocross skill allows him to drive at the limit like that. Aero certainly would make his life easier because an average skill set driver would probably only be able to make one or two laps driving like that before crashing lol! I have heard that a certain canary yellow might be getting some aero in the future though!



Lol, I told him that to do it right it's too expensive and it will break the bank, so maybe between the two of use we can buy our selves some time so that we can figure out how to keep up with him. I can hang if I really push it but I think I have to get away from these cheap Conti slicks that I have been using the last 2 years and set my car up for Hoosiers to really have a shot. Thank god he decided to pass on switching to Michelin slicks because I certainly did not want to go down that road!
Thanks for the compliments

I have always been a little on the edge behind the wheel, but I am also very comfortable at Thunderhill. I've probably had 50+ track days up there in various cars and I am really taking a liking to the 5 mile setup. What's funny is that I've never even pushed the car 100% because every time we're up there I always have a passenger in the car. Next time up I want to get a couple laps alone and see what I can turn.

I got a SoloDL so that I can see lap times because I've never had a timer in the car and always have to rely on you or Mike to tell me times. Luckily I had a friend with a stop watch to get me some lap times on our last track day.

I'm glad you guys talked me out of the Michelin slicks. They sound like fun, but won't last too long and the size of the rear tire would require changing the suspension setup.

I really need to get the car aligned again and double check everything. It's been almost 3 years since I had it aligned and I've never had it corner weighted. It also wouldn't hurt to get some weight out of it. I was able to put it on the scales at an SCCA auto x event a couple weeks ago and it was 3,165 without me in it.
Old 04-02-2015, 12:15 PM
  #283  
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Originally Posted by RichieRichZ06
I got a SoloDL so that I can see lap times because I've never had a timer in the car and always have to rely on you or Mike to tell me times. Luckily I had a friend with a stop watch to get me some lap times on our last track day.

I'm glad you guys talked me out of the Michelin slicks. They sound like fun, but won't last too long and the size of the rear tire would require changing the suspension setup.

I really need to get the car aligned again and double check everything. It's been almost 3 years since I had it aligned and I've never had it corner weighted. It also wouldn't hurt to get some weight out of it. I was able to put it on the scales at an SCCA auto x event a couple weeks ago and it was 3,165 without me in it.
You are going to like the SoloDL. One of the nice features is that you can put it into predictive lap timing mode. So it will record the first 2 lap times (to get an average) and then will show the pace that you are on for the following laps. So say you were on a 3:20 pace but you decided to try a different line through a section, if it reduces your time you can easily see it because the predicted time displayed on the times will drop to 3:18 or what not. So it helps you easily figure out if what you are doing is an improvement or not.

In regards to the Michelins, those 710 rears are just huge and especially with you autocrossing your car a lot you would be completely changing the set up on your car every week or two lol!
Old 04-02-2015, 12:16 PM
  #284  
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Originally Posted by gtodoug
Great post! A fun read and very informative.
Enjoy!
Old 04-02-2015, 07:41 PM
  #285  
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Originally Posted by mikymu
lol



I told Rich wings and aero are too heavy, it will slow him down
Good call and keep him on 200 tread wear
Old 04-02-2015, 11:23 PM
  #286  
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I will have to try the keep it in 4th for T1 approach. Getting on the gas there hard in 3rd can be a bit sketchy as the turn crests.
Old 04-05-2015, 01:20 PM
  #287  
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Originally Posted by RichieRichZ06



Thanks for the compliments

I have always been a little on the edge behind the wheel, but I am also very comfortable at Thunderhill. I've probably had 50+ track days up there in various cars and I am really taking a liking to the 5 mile setup. What's funny is that I've never even pushed the car 100% because every time we're up there I always have a passenger in the car. Next time up I want to get a couple laps alone and see what I can turn.

I got a SoloDL so that I can see lap times because I've never had a timer in the car and always have to rely on you or Mike to tell me times. Luckily I had a friend with a stop watch to get me some lap times on our last track day.

I'm glad you guys talked me out of the Michelin slicks. They sound like fun, but won't last too long and the size of the rear tire would require changing the suspension setup.

I really need to get the car aligned again and double check everything. It's been almost 3 years since I had it aligned and I've never had it corner weighted. It also wouldn't hurt to get some weight out of it. I was able to put it on the scales at an SCCA auto x event a couple weeks ago and it was 3,165 without me in it.
My god! hard to imagine how much faster you are going to be with good alignment, corner balance etc. Now with you and Ron running ahead I can sit back and act as moving chicane for 991 GT3

Originally Posted by carpe dm
Enjoy!
excellent

Originally Posted by smellya
Good call and keep him on 200 tread wear
forgot to mention that aero also create too much wind noise so Rich should definitely avoid any silly addition such as wing or splitter

Originally Posted by Robert R1
I will have to try the keep it in 4th for T1 approach. Getting on the gas there hard in 3rd can be a bit sketchy as the turn crests.
Yes, much easier to attack T1 if you stay in 4th and can carry higher entrance speed. Just keep in mind despite the uphill banked turn most car can not handle the left hand turn much faster than 95 mph ... I found out the hard way by attacking it at 100 mph

go to 8:13 mark on the video



what we need is a good pit crew so if we do go off our tires can be changes and visor cleaned in style

Old 04-06-2015, 08:32 AM
  #288  
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Originally Posted by Werks

In regards to the external mike, that explains things! I was wondering how you dealt with that at first! I'm playing around with some new packing in my exhaust and it's almost too quite now, I'm thinking of nick naming my car "whispering death" or something like that lol! Take a look at the new video shot by none other than Mike comparing it to Richi's yellow Z and a stock white BMW M4!

Werks, are you running the 4.5" Burns mufflers? What are they packed with? That's an amazingly low sound level.
Old 04-06-2015, 08:35 AM
  #289  
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Originally Posted by RichieRichZ06
Nice Pic. We really had quite the Corvette presence up there that weekend.



Ron and I have a lot of mods done to our cars, but my transmission and diff is 100% stock. I have found that maintaining the parts on the car is cheap insurance and will make them last a lot longer. We do a lot of transmission repairs to cars with far less power than mine, but lot of it boils down to less fluid changes causing the internal parts to wear out sooner.

I have 32k miles on our Z06 and not one of them has been easy on it. Dozens of track days, over 1,000 auto cross laps and ~50 passes down the drag strip without any issues since the Katech engine was built.
Rich,

Can you tell us how often you change your driveline fluids, and are you using OEM lube?

Thanks,
Old 04-06-2015, 11:54 AM
  #290  
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Originally Posted by Bad_AX
Werks, are you running the 4.5" Burns mufflers? What are they packed with? That's an amazingly low sound level.
Yes I'm running the Burns C6-Z06 exhaust which uses their 4.5" mufflers. In regards to packing material I was testing a new fiber material that they are working on and as you can see in the video the results are pretty amazing! Inside the car running with the windows open etc. you do not realize how quite the car is but after seeing the DB meter reading and watching the video I was frankly amazed!
Old 04-06-2015, 03:17 PM
  #291  
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Originally Posted by Werks
Yes I'm running the Burns C6-Z06 exhaust which uses their 4.5" mufflers. In regards to packing material I was testing a new fiber material that they are working on and as you can see in the video the results are pretty amazing! Inside the car running with the windows open etc. you do not realize how quite the car is but after seeing the DB meter reading and watching the video I was frankly amazed!
That sounds like a great system to be so light and yet so quiet. I like the idea of an exhaust that makes power without damaging your hearing or making the car miserable for driving on the road. Thanks for the all the great information you guys post about your cars and mods.
Old 04-06-2015, 04:25 PM
  #292  
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Originally Posted by mikymu

what we need is a good pit crew so if we do go off our tires can be changes and visor cleaned in style

Old 04-21-2015, 08:15 PM
  #293  
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Originally Posted by Bad_AX
Rich,

Can you tell us how often you change your driveline fluids, and are you using OEM lube?

Thanks,
Sorry for the late response. I change the rear diff and trans fluds after every 4 track days. I have always used Amsoil 'Torque Drive" in the trans and their 'Severe Gear" 75w90 in the rear diff.
Old 04-27-2015, 01:13 PM
  #294  
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Rich do you run with any aftermarket seats + cage at this time?

I'd like to switch out stock seats to something like the new(ish) Sparco Ergos with the removable halo, but am assuming I'd also need to install provisions for a 6 point which then turns into a cage discussion.

Is there anyone in the greater Sacramento area you guys would recommend for this kind of fabrication work on a C6Z?
Old 04-28-2015, 12:26 AM
  #295  
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Originally Posted by McMung
Rich do you run with any aftermarket seats + cage at this time?

I'd like to switch out stock seats to something like the new(ish) Sparco Ergos with the removable halo, but am assuming I'd also need to install provisions for a 6 point which then turns into a cage discussion.

Is there anyone in the greater Sacramento area you guys would recommend for this kind of fabrication work on a C6Z?
Mike at Tolle Fab will be able to take care of your needs http://tollefab.com/index.html
Old 04-28-2015, 12:32 AM
  #296  
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Originally Posted by mikymu
Mike at Tolle Fab will be able to take care of your needs http://tollefab.com/index.html
My C6Z is in his photos. The Blue C6Z
Old 04-28-2015, 12:54 AM
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Originally Posted by smellya
My C6Z is in his photos. The Blue C6Z
Yup, he did a great job with your car!

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Old 05-09-2015, 05:19 PM
  #298  
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Big thanks to mikymu for letting me keep up for a few laps and learn the full course. (I know the 3 mile... But not the full 5). May 8th at Thunderhill.

By the third lap I felt like I was doing a good job keeping up.

Until mikymu gave a nicely courteous wave and disappeared. LMAO.

Great guy and a gorgeous car. Nice meeting you.

Dave
Old 05-10-2015, 12:46 AM
  #299  
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Originally Posted by DaveN007
Big thanks to mikymu for letting me keep up for a few laps and learn the full course. (I know the 3 mile... But not the full 5). May 8th at Thunderhill.

By the third lap I felt like I was doing a good job keeping up.

Until mikymu gave a nicely courteous wave and disappeared. LMAO.

Great guy and a gorgeous car. Nice meeting you.

Dave
Hey Dave, it was very nice meeting you too and your track enthusiasm is contagious. With more time and practice you will be able to harass Richie soon I enjoy our lead and follow session and sorry I took off after three laps but I think you got it down pretty good and glad to hear now you really enjoy driving the 5 miles now. This 5 miles configuration can be intimidating even for season driver but once you get it down it's pure joy.

Rich pull an amazing 3:18 lap and the best I could manage was 3:27 and Derek with his blue C5 racer is getting harder and harder to catch and we were doing 3:28 in traffic. Overall a great day at the track and had fun fine tuning the nut behind my steering wheel and there are so much work left to do

Here are some action pics and videos to share with you guys

Thunderhill 5 miles track map for those not familiar with the track



My best lap was toward the end of this video but mess up on 9W and 12E and went in both turns too hot - still managed best time for the T5 over the top configuration



This video showed the danger when traction control kick in unexpectedly when my right front TPMS suddenly went out. Luckily this happen at 7W the slowest corner of the whole track. If this happen on a faster turn the chance of going off will be great. Best to unplug the steering wheel position sensor when you track to disable the traction control. I also included couple blooper video and also chase view of Richie's monster Katech Z06 at the end. I tried to keep up Rich but you need to slow down for me to get some good shots



The Z06 gang



my friend Pete's BAC mono



I need a steering wheel like this lol



Tried RB light weight CCM rear hat which shave 4 lbs from each rear CCM rotor. Pick up acceleration is sharper and brisk for sure



Action shots from the track



lead/follow with Dave's blue C7 Z06



more pics



Derek and company in tow



zig zag of Thunderhill



saying thanks to Dito at gotbluemilk photography for risking life and limbs and staying out in the hot sun at T3 taking all these amazing shots



wrapping up after a fun fill day. What a car! I will say this again, our Z06 is by far the best track car money can buy hands down and this is a 10 years old technology and still the fastest street sports car for the track any day


Last edited by mikymu; 05-10-2015 at 01:17 AM.
Old 05-11-2015, 01:03 AM
  #300  
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Mikymu, fantastic post as always. I love reading about your track exploits!


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