C7 VIR review
03-10-2014, 10:33 PM
#1
C7 VIR review
Amazing, amazing, amazing... Car ran flawlessly. I think I was the first person to drive a C7 at the "new VIR" after repaving. I was the only C7 at Chin's HPDE last weekend. Some thoughts:
1) I got the track alignment (fyi - specs in the manual are wrong). It felt great and tire wear was very symmetric.
2) I used Cobalt Racing brakes and ran ATE Super Blue - I got them at LG Motorsports - thanks Anthony. I also put the cooling rings in - kind of a PITA
. That being said, the brakes have FACE MELTING POWER - I brought out a senior instructor for a ride (he has a C6). Twice he was yelling for me to brake hard at the end of the straights
. Both times, I had plenty of room left. At the end of the front straight he claims that his C6 would have been in the weeds. I could have come to a complete stop before going off. I could feel my cheeks pulling off my teeth and I wasn't into the ABS or squealing the tires. So COOL. He was flabbergasted 
Some people have reported issues with rotor warping? Mine were fine - when I take them off later this week, I'll do a close inspection and see how much pad I ate up.
3) I ran 15W50 Mobil-1. It got pretty warm, but never too hot. Keep an eye on that temp gauge when the weather gets hot.
4) I dropped to 26 PSI per the manual. It sounded low, but in the engineers I trust. The car stuck like freaking glue when the tires were warm. I'd come off the track at 32 PSI hot. Sounds low, but felt great.
5) I never even tried the PTM. That thing can put down power amazingly well. The rear diff is telepathic. I have to admit, I was scared to test it first time out. The grass around the track was wet and muddy and I didn't really want to go off... Next time for sure. In hind sight, I should have. I ran sport and it was sweet. One of the Porsche guys there asked me 3 times how bad the rear end would step out when I got on it coming out of the turns. I kept telling him, it just sticks... he proceeded to tell me that I wasn't giving it enough gas. I felt like telling him he overpaid for an underperforming car but I just chucked and walked away. I'm so glad I sold my Porsche...
6) I could crash over the FIA curbing in the esses and not upset the car. I started by easing out on to them a few inches more every lap - It never got remotely upset. Very unC6 like. Stable as a freaking rock.
7) GT Seats held me beautifully. I was considering upgrading to comp seats...NO WAY. Unnecessary in my opinion for a 6 day/year track car. Not a compromise.
8) Those 2 little black air dams that hand down in front of the front tires are about an inch shorter - they shaved down (under hard braking I guess?). Poor little fellas took a beating. I'll take some pics before I cut the frayed edge off... no one will never know from looking.
9) Times - best was 2:18. Not even CLOSE to it's potential.
First and foremost - I'm a cautious intermediate driver and I was taking baby steps towards the limits. There wasn't a single turn that I couldn't have done harder. Second, I never got a complete clean lap. The instructor who I took out, also took some laps behind me in his c6. He said it was everything he could do to keep up. He's a WAY better driver than me with almost the same set up in regard to tire and brake. 148 MPH on the back stretch. I was hitting 120 at the end of the bridge straight before pussin' out and braking...I'll keep probing the limits as I get more comfortable with the car. I have no business going that fast into the uphill esses. I could comfortably cruise through them at 100 without breaking a sweat and staying off the outer FIA curbing.
HOW LONG TILL I CAN GO BACK?
By the way, VIR was just repaved. Smooth as glass and they widened several spots that should allow for faster laps than before. Very nicely done IMHO.
My advice: Quit rubbing your pretty little car with a baby diaper and drive that thing at the track - it's made for it. You will be AMAZED.
This car is a shining example of what the American people are capable of making. Simply world class in every way. STRONG WORK GM. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
1) I got the track alignment (fyi - specs in the manual are wrong). It felt great and tire wear was very symmetric.
2) I used Cobalt Racing brakes and ran ATE Super Blue - I got them at LG Motorsports - thanks Anthony. I also put the cooling rings in - kind of a PITA
. That being said, the brakes have FACE MELTING POWER - I brought out a senior instructor for a ride (he has a C6). Twice he was yelling for me to brake hard at the end of the straights. Both times, I had plenty of room left. At the end of the front straight he claims that his C6 would have been in the weeds. I could have come to a complete stop before going off. I could feel my cheeks pulling off my teeth and I wasn't into the ABS or squealing the tires. So COOL. He was flabbergasted Some people have reported issues with rotor warping? Mine were fine - when I take them off later this week, I'll do a close inspection and see how much pad I ate up.3) I ran 15W50 Mobil-1. It got pretty warm, but never too hot. Keep an eye on that temp gauge when the weather gets hot.
4) I dropped to 26 PSI per the manual. It sounded low, but in the engineers I trust. The car stuck like freaking glue when the tires were warm. I'd come off the track at 32 PSI hot. Sounds low, but felt great.
5) I never even tried the PTM. That thing can put down power amazingly well. The rear diff is telepathic. I have to admit, I was scared to test it first time out. The grass around the track was wet and muddy and I didn't really want to go off... Next time for sure. In hind sight, I should have. I ran sport and it was sweet. One of the Porsche guys there asked me 3 times how bad the rear end would step out when I got on it coming out of the turns. I kept telling him, it just sticks... he proceeded to tell me that I wasn't giving it enough gas. I felt like telling him he overpaid for an underperforming car but I just chucked and walked away. I'm so glad I sold my Porsche...
6) I could crash over the FIA curbing in the esses and not upset the car. I started by easing out on to them a few inches more every lap - It never got remotely upset. Very unC6 like. Stable as a freaking rock.
7) GT Seats held me beautifully. I was considering upgrading to comp seats...NO WAY. Unnecessary in my opinion for a 6 day/year track car. Not a compromise.
8) Those 2 little black air dams that hand down in front of the front tires are about an inch shorter - they shaved down (under hard braking I guess?). Poor little fellas took a beating. I'll take some pics before I cut the frayed edge off... no one will never know from looking.
9) Times - best was 2:18. Not even CLOSE to it's potential.
First and foremost - I'm a cautious intermediate driver and I was taking baby steps towards the limits. There wasn't a single turn that I couldn't have done harder. Second, I never got a complete clean lap. The instructor who I took out, also took some laps behind me in his c6. He said it was everything he could do to keep up. He's a WAY better driver than me with almost the same set up in regard to tire and brake. 148 MPH on the back stretch. I was hitting 120 at the end of the bridge straight before pussin' out and braking...I'll keep probing the limits as I get more comfortable with the car. I have no business going that fast into the uphill esses. I could comfortably cruise through them at 100 without breaking a sweat and staying off the outer FIA curbing.HOW LONG TILL I CAN GO BACK?
By the way, VIR was just repaved. Smooth as glass and they widened several spots that should allow for faster laps than before. Very nicely done IMHO.My advice: Quit rubbing your pretty little car with a baby diaper and drive that thing at the track - it's made for it. You will be AMAZED.
This car is a shining example of what the American people are capable of making. Simply world class in every way. STRONG WORK GM. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
03-10-2014, 10:39 PM
#2
Awesome review!!! Glad the GT seats performed well... I can't wait for my first day out... it's coming soon... early May (still winter here
).
03-10-2014, 10:45 PM
#3
Racer
Thanks!!
Amazing, amazing, amazing... Car ran flawlessly. I think I was the first person to drive a C7 at the "new VIR" after repaving. I was the only C7 at Chin's HPDE last weekend. Some thoughts:
1) I got the track alignment (fyi - specs in the manual are wrong). It felt great and tire wear was very symmetric.
2) I used Cobalt Racing brakes and ran ATE Super Blue - I got them at LG Motorsports - thanks Anthony. I also put the cooling rings in - kind of a PITA. That being said, the brakes have FACE MELTING POWER - I brought out a senior instructor for a ride (he has a C6). Twice he was yelling for me to brake hard at the end of the straights. Both times, I had plenty of room left. At the end of the front straight he claims that his C6 would have been in the weeds. I could have come to a complete stop before going off. I could feel my cheeks pulling off my teeth and I wasn't into the ABS or squealing the tires. So COOL. He was flabbergasted Some people have reported issues with rotor warping? Mine were fine - when I take them off later this week, I'll do a close inspection and see how much pad I ate up.
3) I ran 15W50 Mobil-1. It got pretty warm, but never too hot. Keep an eye on that temp gauge when the weather gets hot.
4) I dropped to 26 PSI per the manual. It sounded low, but in the engineers I trust. The car stuck like freaking glue when the tires were warm. I'd come off the track at 32 PSI hot. Sounds low, but felt great.
5) I never even tried the PTM. That thing can put down power amazingly well. The rear diff is telepathic. I have to admit, I was scared to test it first time out. The grass around the track was wet and muddy and I didn't really want to go off... Next time for sure. In hind sight, I should have. I ran sport and it was sweet. One of the Porsche guys there asked me 3 times how bad the rear end would step out when I got on it coming out of the turns. I kept telling him, it just sticks... he proceeded to tell me that I wasn't giving it enough gas. I felt like telling him he overpaid for an underperforming car but I just chucked and walked away. I'm so glad I sold my Porsche...
6) I could crash over the FIA curbing in the esses and not upset the car. I started by easing out on to them a few inches more every lap - It never got remotely upset. Very unC6 like. Stable as a freaking rock.
7) GT Seats held me beautifully. I was considering upgrading to comp seats...NO WAY. Unnecessary in my opinion for a 6 day/year track car. Not a compromise.
8) Those 2 little black air dams that hand down in front of the front tires are about an inch shorter - they shaved down (under hard braking I guess?). Poor little fellas took a beating. I'll take some pics before I cut the frayed edge off... no one will never know from looking.
9) Times - best was 2:18. Not even CLOSE to it's potential. First and foremost - I'm a cautious intermediate driver and I was taking baby steps towards the limits. There wasn't a single turn that I couldn't have done harder. Second, I never got a complete clean lap. The instructor who I took out, also took some laps behind me in his c6. He said it was everything he could do to keep up. He's a WAY better driver than me with almost the same set up in regard to tire and brake. 148 MPH on the back stretch. I was hitting 120 at the end of the bridge straight before pussin' out and braking...I'll keep probing the limits as I get more comfortable with the car. I have no business going that fast into the uphill esses. I could comfortably cruise through them at 100 without breaking a sweat and staying off the outer FIA curbing.
HOW LONG TILL I CAN GO BACK? By the way, VIR was just repaved. Smooth as glass and they widened several spots that should allow for faster laps than before. Very nicely done IMHO.
My advice: Quit rubbing your pretty little car with a baby diaper and drive that thing at the track - it's made for it. You will be AMAZED.
This car is a shining example of what the American people are capable of making. Simply world class in every way. STRONG WORK GM. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
1) I got the track alignment (fyi - specs in the manual are wrong). It felt great and tire wear was very symmetric.
2) I used Cobalt Racing brakes and ran ATE Super Blue - I got them at LG Motorsports - thanks Anthony. I also put the cooling rings in - kind of a PITA
. That being said, the brakes have FACE MELTING POWER - I brought out a senior instructor for a ride (he has a C6). Twice he was yelling for me to brake hard at the end of the straights. Both times, I had plenty of room left. At the end of the front straight he claims that his C6 would have been in the weeds. I could have come to a complete stop before going off. I could feel my cheeks pulling off my teeth and I wasn't into the ABS or squealing the tires. So COOL. He was flabbergasted Some people have reported issues with rotor warping? Mine were fine - when I take them off later this week, I'll do a close inspection and see how much pad I ate up.3) I ran 15W50 Mobil-1. It got pretty warm, but never too hot. Keep an eye on that temp gauge when the weather gets hot.
4) I dropped to 26 PSI per the manual. It sounded low, but in the engineers I trust. The car stuck like freaking glue when the tires were warm. I'd come off the track at 32 PSI hot. Sounds low, but felt great.
5) I never even tried the PTM. That thing can put down power amazingly well. The rear diff is telepathic. I have to admit, I was scared to test it first time out. The grass around the track was wet and muddy and I didn't really want to go off... Next time for sure. In hind sight, I should have. I ran sport and it was sweet. One of the Porsche guys there asked me 3 times how bad the rear end would step out when I got on it coming out of the turns. I kept telling him, it just sticks... he proceeded to tell me that I wasn't giving it enough gas. I felt like telling him he overpaid for an underperforming car but I just chucked and walked away. I'm so glad I sold my Porsche...
6) I could crash over the FIA curbing in the esses and not upset the car. I started by easing out on to them a few inches more every lap - It never got remotely upset. Very unC6 like. Stable as a freaking rock.
7) GT Seats held me beautifully. I was considering upgrading to comp seats...NO WAY. Unnecessary in my opinion for a 6 day/year track car. Not a compromise.
8) Those 2 little black air dams that hand down in front of the front tires are about an inch shorter - they shaved down (under hard braking I guess?). Poor little fellas took a beating. I'll take some pics before I cut the frayed edge off... no one will never know from looking.
9) Times - best was 2:18. Not even CLOSE to it's potential.
First and foremost - I'm a cautious intermediate driver and I was taking baby steps towards the limits. There wasn't a single turn that I couldn't have done harder. Second, I never got a complete clean lap. The instructor who I took out, also took some laps behind me in his c6. He said it was everything he could do to keep up. He's a WAY better driver than me with almost the same set up in regard to tire and brake. 148 MPH on the back stretch. I was hitting 120 at the end of the bridge straight before pussin' out and braking...I'll keep probing the limits as I get more comfortable with the car. I have no business going that fast into the uphill esses. I could comfortably cruise through them at 100 without breaking a sweat and staying off the outer FIA curbing.HOW LONG TILL I CAN GO BACK?
By the way, VIR was just repaved. Smooth as glass and they widened several spots that should allow for faster laps than before. Very nicely done IMHO.My advice: Quit rubbing your pretty little car with a baby diaper and drive that thing at the track - it's made for it. You will be AMAZED.
This car is a shining example of what the American people are capable of making. Simply world class in every way. STRONG WORK GM. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
03-10-2014, 11:31 PM
#6
03-11-2014, 05:10 AM
#12
Team Owner
Member Since: Jun 2005
Location: Northern, VA
Posts: 46,100
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
03-11-2014, 05:51 AM
#13
Melting Slicks
03-11-2014, 08:30 AM
#15
Can you share your alignment specs that are different from the manual? How did you arrive that they are incorrect? Thanks. I'll be instructing at Mid-Ohio in 6 weeks and still trying to get some miles on the car.
Ken
Ken
03-11-2014, 08:55 AM
#16
Team Owner
I agree. I know CHIN instructors really well. None of them yell unless you do something stupid. BTW- a lot of my crew were there and said the widening and new pavement were OK-It really needs seasoning and rubber laid down. 2:18 in the green group is pretty good tho.
03-11-2014, 09:24 AM
#18
Instructor
I'm with you OP. Once I get some miles on her, it will be doing some road course, autox and road rally.
Thanks for the details on track day prep. I read in another thread that rear pads are wearing out quicker than fronts at the track. This was from a experienced driver who was pushing it harder at Road Atlanta.
Thanks for the details on track day prep. I read in another thread that rear pads are wearing out quicker than fronts at the track. This was from a experienced driver who was pushing it harder at Road Atlanta.
03-11-2014, 10:12 AM
#20
Former Vendor
Member Since: Aug 2005
Location: Lewisville TX
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
Amazing, amazing, amazing... Car ran flawlessly. I think I was the first person to drive a C7 at the "new VIR" after repaving. I was the only C7 at Chin's HPDE last weekend. Some thoughts:
1) I got the track alignment (fyi - specs in the manual are wrong). It felt great and tire wear was very symmetric.
2) I used Cobalt Racing brakes and ran ATE Super Blue - I got them at LG Motorsports - thanks Anthony. I also put the cooling rings in - kind of a PITA. That being said, the brakes have FACE MELTING POWER - I brought out a senior instructor for a ride (he has a C6). Twice he was yelling for me to brake hard at the end of the straights. Both times, I had plenty of room left. At the end of the front straight he claims that his C6 would have been in the weeds. I could have come to a complete stop before going off. I could feel my cheeks pulling off my teeth and I wasn't into the ABS or squealing the tires. So COOL. He was flabbergasted Some people have reported issues with rotor warping? Mine were fine - when I take them off later this week, I'll do a close inspection and see how much pad I ate up.
1) I got the track alignment (fyi - specs in the manual are wrong). It felt great and tire wear was very symmetric.
2) I used Cobalt Racing brakes and ran ATE Super Blue - I got them at LG Motorsports - thanks Anthony. I also put the cooling rings in - kind of a PITA
. That being said, the brakes have FACE MELTING POWER - I brought out a senior instructor for a ride (he has a C6). Twice he was yelling for me to brake hard at the end of the straights. Both times, I had plenty of room left. At the end of the front straight he claims that his C6 would have been in the weeds. I could have come to a complete stop before going off. I could feel my cheeks pulling off my teeth and I wasn't into the ABS or squealing the tires. So COOL. He was flabbergasted Some people have reported issues with rotor warping? Mine were fine - when I take them off later this week, I'll do a close inspection and see how much pad I ate up.Told ya you would like those pads!
Solid alignment settings, good oil, good brake fluid and amazing pads will really make that car shine even brighter than it already does.
Like I have said in the past, there is not a better pad on the market today for HPDE or pro level racing.
Let me know if you need anything at all. Always here to help!