MrEracer

Anyone have wheel spacers for sale for the front of a C5. I want to run 335 Toyo R1's on the front and rear... Looking for .5" or .75" thick spacers.
Thanks
Shirl Dickey

doje

Do you have a stud kit? I think .5" spacers would be unsafe unless you have longer studs. I may be wrong.

0Randy@DRM

We sell spacers in all different sizes, 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 and 5/8 of a inch. You will need different studs if go bigger than 1/4 inch.

Randy
PS why are you looking to run 335 up front anyways???

63Corvette

Actually they make "bolt on" spacers. I have some about an inch thick that I used to run on my IMSA L88. First you bolt this billet spacer WITH STUDS on to your spindle. Then you bolt your (race) wheel onto the spacer. Don't remember where I got them, or brand name, but they work

MrEracer

Yes, I will use long studs with any spacers that I find. The reason I want to run 335's on the front is because I have some understeer with GY 18 X 25.5 X 11.5 race slicks that I've been using and I have the 335Toyo R1's mounted up now.

As to the bolt on spacers mentioned above. I have seen those but I am leary of using them on a road race Corvette for strength/reliability reasons...
Shirl

0Randy@DRM

I'm not trying to be a know it all or anything, I'm just trying to help. No corvette should need a 11.5 slick or a 335 tire up front to turn in. I have seen all sorts of combs win races but I think it maybe easier to fix something else to cure the understeer. Please someone tell me if I'm wrong!!!

Randy

John Shiels

mine hadles nice with that set up in slicks

emf

understeer with 11.5's?

Hmmmm . . . . not enough front-end downforce, maybe? (running a wing, no splitter?) Front end lift? Bad weight transfer?

I'm with Randy. The only time I've seen or had push with 11.5's is when I'm trying to exceed the laws of physics, or I've seriously botched the setup.

Spacers that big . . . have only seen machined w/ the hub eccentric, a-la CCW's. (and with that, I seem to be one of the few crazy b@stards to do it . . . .850 up front, .750 in rear)

MrEracer

Randy,
Thanks for your comments. If you want to help why not offer some tips. I do not have any problem turning in but I have 500 RWHP and I can drive the car into a push in the sweepers. The car is a dedicated race car and has a T1 front spring, Hotchkis sway bars and Bilstien shocks. It also has an agressive track allignment. The obvious solution is to slow down in the sweepers, but I'd rather have the front end hook up at higher corner speeds... The car currently holds the Corvette track record on the West track at Firebird Raceway, Phoenix, AZ.
Shirl

Slalom4me

Personally, I think Randy@DRM WAS offering some tips. First he
answered the question about having spacers. Then he politely asked
what the intended use was. Then he suggested politely that it might
be worthwhile looking at other angles.

At the risk of being blasted, too, I'll offer that if the car is neutral
at low speed on a pad but pushes at high speed, then something
to reduce lift/add downforce might be worth considering. Given
what little has been said about the car, I expect that some work
in this area has already been done.

To drive a Corvette to the record at Firebird puts you ahead of some
pretty capable company.

.

Slalom4me

Uhm, I now know what an E-Racer is.

I can see that you have probably forgotten more than I'll ever
know about lift and downforce. Blast away ...

.

davidfarmer

If you have 500hp, then you should have no trouble rotating the car with the throttle.

I hope you have a T1 rear spring as well, or that is your problem.....

You should get wheels with the proper backspacing if you continue to run this combination. Spacers are fine for temporary fixes, but just something else to lose or damage at the track.

Slalom4me

E-Racer



.

MrEracer

slalom4me,
I was not blasting Randy and I will not blast you... I appreciate your (and Randy's) input. I am open to ideas on how to improve my car and I was hoping he would be more specific. I understand that not much is known about my car so maybe suggestions would have been premature. Yes, there has been some work on the car to improve its track performance. The car has a rear wing for high speed downforce, an ACI Splitter for some front downforce and a MCM vented hood to reduce front lift and I have reduced the weight to around 2900lbs.. I have tried 2 degree cambered front tires (GY 18X12X25.5 slicks) and they worked pretty well but I have corded everything I had and since I had a set of Toyo R1's mounted up I thought I'd try them on the front for my next event...
Thanks for your comments.
Shirl

Don Keefhardt

Shocks, chassis set-up, spring rates, bars. In that order. Bigger tires will simply make the problem harder to diagnose.

With that kind of horsepower, stick and speed potential, you should be in serious shock-land. Serious shock-land = $2.5K and UP. Penskes, Ohlins...something with a handle on bump and rebound, at valved appropriately for your spring rates, which you'll then change and change and change again.

It ain't cheap, but it's the only way to fix it correctly.

0Randy@DRM

Like I said before I have seen a ton of different setups win races or in your case set track records. One of my customers went from 315 in the fronts down to a 285 and picked up 1.5 seconds a lap on average. It was a high speed track too. That much front tire cause a ton of friction and slows the car down.
Are you running a T1 rear spring? Becasue if you are not I would agree with Farmer that could be some of the push. The other thing that I could thing of is your wing angle maybe too much. I understand that with that kind of power it's good to have some angle in that wing. So maybe try and put more of a lip on the front spilter.

Randy

MrEracer

Thanks everyone for your comments... They have given me some very positive direction on what to do next. FYI, the car has a 421 cid LS2 stroker engine with lots of mid range torque... I run in the Unlimited Production class (timed events). This is a 'run what you brung' Corvette class with PASA in Phoenix <proautosports.com>.

I do not have a T1 spring in the rear. It currently has a Z06 rear spring. It also has a Z06 sway bar in the rear. I have a Hotchkiss rear bar but I haven't tried it yet. I have also been interested in swapping the Hotchkiss bars for T1 bars but I don't know if there is enough benefit to justify the change...

As it is now I use the throttle to steer the car through the sweepers. I do this by feeling for the 'push' and then feathering the throttle to achieve directional control. If I add more throttle the 'push' gets worse and if I add some more throttle the rears will break loose causing a rapid transition from 'oversteer' to 'understeer', something that I definately do not like... I also use some trail braking to shift weight to the front during the time where the 'push' is occuring so I have both feet very busy on the brake and throttle...

The car has gotten very fast and I am in new territory when it comes to improving the car set up. This is why I am very appreciative of your input... Sorry if I came across too abrupt... It would not surprise me to learn that I have a bunch of miss-matched components in the car... If I do then there is a lot that can be done to improve things...

As to shocks. It is my understanding that they play a big roll in the case of uneven track surfaces and the correct shock will keep the tire in contact with the road. The tracks I have been running are very smooth in the sweepers and I do not see where shocks would help in that specific area... Please correct me if I am wrong. I would like to have my Bilstien Sport's re-valved but I don't know what valving I should use. I guess I could let Bilstien give me a 'track setting'... At this time I am not ready to move to big bux shox... Maybe when my driving improves to the point where they become necessary I will have to buy them...

As to my wing angle. I built the wing myself. It is an inverted NACA 4415 airfoil w/ a 4" fixed flap. I have been hesitant to crank in a lot of angle of attack as it is very effective at speed and I don't need to add a lot of drag...

There are a lot of very fast (winged) Vette's in my region and the bar goes up every race... I'm scrambling just to stay on top... If you are interested, check our web site at <redracervette.com>.

All this knowledge and experience will help me when I finish my C5 chassis 'World Challenge' (C6 style) car currently under construction (looks like David's car only not as much carbon fiber).

Please keep your comments and critic's coming...

Salome4me. Nice shot of my bird, thanks.
Shirl

Don Keefhardt

Easy...this is not correct. Regardless of 'smooth' or 'bumpy', shocks have a HUGE impact on handling. Unless you've been on 'real' shocks, you don't know just how much you're missing.


And a reputable shock vendor wouldn't take your word for it, anyway. That's why there are smart shock guys...and then just a bunch of guys selling boxes of stuff that they don't understand. Good shock vendors will ask you about all sorts of odd questions, then apply their own magic.

This is going to sound like your parents lecturing you, and it's not meant that way...but here goes anyway:

How much do you have invested in your car ? It sounds like a lot. And you're asking a ~$500 street shock package to perform up to the same level as the rest of the car, which sounds like a high performance rocket. Know what that sounds like from 2000 miles away ? Sounds like you've got snow tires on your Ferrari.

From experience, you'll get more performance gain from $3K in shocks than you'll get from $15-20K in motorwork, every time.

You don't need bigger tires. You need suspension work, desperately.

You can pick your poison -

There is Joe Stimola at SRP on Long Island - GRM did a nice story on him last month. Joe is the shock god, and knows more about Penskes than Roger hissef. He's the only guy I let rebuild my Penskes. - (516) 671-9715

Then there is The Shock Shop in Oregon, builds Ohlins & Penskes and even Bilsteins. I know all the SCCA A Sedan guys consider Chris on a par with SRP - http://www.shock-shop.com/ or (503) 621-0621

John Shiels

There is Joe Stimola at SRP on Long Island - GRM did a nice story on him last month. Joe is the shock god, and knows more about Penskes than Roger hissef. He's the only guy I let rebuild my Penskes. - (516) 671-9715


good tip right by me 516 I'll have to give him a ring, thanks

0Randy@DRM

With Don,
Shocks do make a huge difference in the "package". The only thing that I have a problem with adjustable shocks is the racer doesn't always know what way to adjust them. I have heard more horror stories about racers knobing their way right out of the sweat spot. They can be great with a full out race team that has time and money to spend on making a adjustable shock work. If the valving is real close then you can make other adjustments, like tire pressure to fine tune the car. I can set you up with the right people at Bilstein if you need me to. Or I can arrange the whole deal and make it happen.

T-1 bars will make your push worse! I think you are running too heavy of a front spring, this can cause a push.

Still just trying to help, saw the website and you have a lot of work to stay up front of that pack.

Randy