When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I just wrapped up 2 days at Watkins Glen- 15 Z51 A8 with Mag ride.
My FIRST C7 outing so still getting used to it- but ~ 25th track days over last 4 years. Prior ride was 370Z also auto/paddle. I run HPDE 3 but we run groups 3/4 together often.
Track conditions were marginal- COLD - high of 42 F Monday with mist/ very lite rain all day but Tuesday was sunnyish and 50 F. Overall was successful- I did 100% of all recommended track prep (plus DEI wrapped exhaust by tranny & ediff) and started with ~2000 miles but had a couple issue's (overheated radiator day 1 & CEL/ code 31 misfiring day 2) which I will provide much more detail later when I have more time.
Lots of video from GoPro, PDR & Iphone which I will get around to posting tonite- here is a teaser from the GoPro mounted on helmet. You Tube Channel "Steve Pedretti"
Looked at Cosworth data last nite ...Wow Only briefly as drive home for 6 hours last nite (PS- C7 very very comfortable on long drive- really 10/10) . But is see tremendous opportunity to analyze track performance
I see it has vehicle health need to review that as well
Here are the stats from the session that is shown in above GoPro
Ambient temp was ~ 45 F +/-.
I overheated in the paddock 250- 260 F- DIC message was overheat action needed Idle car but it was idling I noticed fan was not running during idle- so I jumped in and started doing some cool down laps in infield to get air flow thru radiator- it worked. Than fan started to work after I parked it again- I am thinking just a sensor fluke that didn't tell the fan to run. On track everything looked normal
I've done WG ~ 10 times and the spring event is always tough as it is damn cold, usually wet and concrete is slick. We had 3 big wrecks including 2 Vettes - C5 & C6 and 1 GT3 plus a few misc crashes.
I reviewed all the Cosworth data- really great info. I did not see any thing of concern under "vehicle health" for any of the sessions nor did I experience any negative performance on the track. I would say I was driving 7/10th's maybe 8 on some laps but certainly not pushing real hard it was my first outing after all.
Operating temperatures seemed to stabilize but the ambient temps were in the 40's and 50's. The transmission fan was going ***** out at the end of each session in the paddock so I got in the habit of doing some slow cool down "laps" in the infield for about 5-7 minutes- would pull temp down from 270 to 220 then I would park and let it idle for a few more minutes. I just didn't want to retain so much tranny heat between session that I would start overly warm. Given it was cold & wet- I had the track setting in WET and I also left it in Auto during the morning sessions because I wanted to focus on getting a feel for the C7 in small bites. Track conditions did not lend themselves to being overly aggressive. I do have some concerns on a hot day the tranny will have some heat issue's the cooler seemed to be working damn hard in 40 F after 25 minutes of basic fast laps on a long high speed course.
Auto the shifting algorithm was actually pretty damn good- it always seemed to get the gear right and is great out of the box. You can influence that timing of shift with the gas pedal and how you time your acceleration to red line. Hard to explain but on short straights between turns I got a sense how to modulate the gas pedal to optimize timing of shifts. The Paddle shifting was excellent and the shift Christmas tree on the HUD was perfect- intuitive and just with peripheral vision timing was perfect to consistently get shift off before red line.
Radiator overheating- did not happen on track was after idling in paddock- I think the fan just got a bad input and was not running when it should have been on- it worked fine on day 2- so I think it was a fluke.
CEL Day 2 Session 2- Code 31- multiple misfire - no idea what may have caused this- I came in after 3 laps. We had a reader and reset the error. Everything else looked fine and nothing appeared to be off nor could you sense any performance impact at all. Next session I would get an occasion flickering of the CEL light maybe for 5 seconds but it would not illuminate continuously and then shut off for 15 minutes or so then flicker again for a few seconds- I stayed out had no issue and it never registered/locked on. I will have it checked out at the dealer- I assume I may have a sensor that was getting over heated/ starting to fail or go out of spec.
Goes without saying performance and handling were great- yes I did leave a lot of nannies on but that was the smart thing to do. Brakes were great- I was getting into them too soon and found my self a little slow on entry - ill sort that out with a little more track time.
I wont track my c7, but I tracked my c5z a lot.. Watkins was my favorite track.
Couple pointers...
-entrance to Essex, get as far right as u can and shoot over when curb ends (late apex). In my c5 I was flat to floor from turn one to bus stop! It's scary at first but really satisfying.. Over 80mph ground effect kicks in and the car glues down.
-toe of the boot, put foot to floor after turn in and up the hill. The car is so planted because of the pitch of the road you won't spin. Feels strange like it should slide out but it won't.
Those two tips let me pass basically everyone in my class..
First, there are paved run off areas at the Glen with tire walls and guardrails far away from the racing surface. There are substantial run off areas at the end of the high speed straights. At T1 there is about a 200 ft deep paved runoff area to the left of the track that narrows as it approaches turn 2 but is paved all the way. You have a lot of options if you have a brake problem going into there at high speed. Typical speed on GY EMT tires for a C6Z entering the T1 braking zone is right around 140 mph. At the end of the back straight you can go straight ahead for several hundred feet on black top. At T8 there is another run off area, there is another at T9 where you come into the NASCAR straight and another paved area at T10. If a driver loses it in the Bus Stop there is plenty of room to recover. In the carousel turn you have a wide fast down hill turn that permits recovery if you do something stupid. T6 at the bottom of the hill is narrow and going up through the Esses the guardrails are close but not that close. There is enough room for a car to pass between the edge of the pavement and the guardrail.
When I drive VIR I see lots of so called open space but obstacles in that space. Going up through the Esses there are obstructions that can be hit and although further from the racing surface than the guardrails in the Esses at the Glen I would rather bounce off the guard rail or side swipe it at the Glen Vs run into the barriers in the Esses at VIR. The Oak Tree turn doesn't have much run off at all. You have some dirt and grass and then fence. Hogpen has a vicious guardrail that can bite (I know, I experienced its bite last April while in a students car).
I agree with Bill.. There are definitely tracks with a lot more runoff, but its mostly grass (ie ice), and at Watkins, it just feels safer. I like how the track is so large you dont see a lot of traffic so you can really focus on you not other people. With that said, the last few corners before the front straight are a bit scary and I never did well in that area - leaving plenty of wiggle room.
I've driven on most of the NE tracks (including canada) with my c5 and watkins is definitely my favorite - its made for the vette! I stopped tracking before NJMP came and I hear thats a great place to go as well.
04-29-2015, 11:33 AM
Watkins Glen
& CEL/ code 31 misfiring day 2
) which I will provide much more detail later when I have more time. 
Only briefly as drive home for 6 hours last nite (PS- C7 very very comfortable on long drive- really 10/10) . But is see tremendous opportunity to analyze track performance
