LeMans05C6

Well i know there are many people who have been Road Racing for years. David Farmer seems to be a very helpful and knowledgeable person on these boards.

I am looking to get a few questions answered and see the best direction to go for the longevity of my car. I rebuilt my engine and now have more power and therefore need to see what else needs done to keep it running for a long time. I would have done suspension and cooling first, but the bolts on my cam shaft sheered off so the engine came first.

Now i am running close to 500rwhp and so far just on ToyoR888s. I have seen over 1g through turns so I know the car can do a lot more now.

OIL PRESSURE-----
What is the oil pressure number you want to avoid? At my last event I saw 19psi as my lowest during a couple second left hand turn? I saw low 20s on other runs but that was the absolute lowest i saw. I had my oil pump shimmed to help bump up pressure some.
I have looked into Accusumps and the install kit but not sure what the labor is like.

COOLING----
What are safe oil temps and when is a better radiator needed? I saw 265-270 a couple weekends ago. It was 65-70 in February in Texas, but in know the summers hit 100+. July was a scorcher last year, and if i got this year i don't wanna see my oil hit 290+ if i can avoid it. With more power comes more heat and I don't want it to get TOO hot.
I was thinking a Ron Davis Radiator, but wasn't sure if i need an external oil cooler as well.

BRAKES-----
Brake cooling, what is the best bang for buck COMPLETE brake duct kit? I ask because i recently was reading that the Quantum kit doesn't include the plastic ducts just the hose and the metal part at the hub.
-What about SS Brake Pistons from DRM, are they worth it and how hard are they to install?

ALIGNMENT & SUSPENSION----
Camber Kit & Poly Control Arm Bushings I recently had an alignment done for street / track set up 1.5* front and about 1* rear. I was told out at the track though that the rubber bushing defeat a good amount of that camber with the flex of the rubber. Also the PFADT Camber kit allows more camber and will hold even if you hit a bit bump so you don't ruin a tire. Any thoughts on either of those.

Here is my estimation thus far... Any thoughts. Labor could be low or high i have no idea.

PFADT
Poly Control Arm Bushing Kit $390.00
C6 Camber Kit $290.00


Doug Rippie MotorSports
SS Caliper Pistons Front $184.95
Ron Davis Radiator $925.00
Brake Cooling Kit $395.00


Canton Racing
Accusump Tank - Long 3qt 22" 4-1/4" body $246.00
---- Other is $228 for short one 16" 4 1/4 body
Install Kit $200.00

Parts total $2,630.95

Labor - Estimation $1,500.00

Total $4,130.95

spdislife

I just picked up the Quantum brake cooling kit and they recommended the ducts and hose from DRM, which I just got yesterday. Only thing I wasn't aware of is that the Quantum kit is set up for A 3" hose and the DRM hose appears to be 4"... I don't think that'll be an issue since I plan to trim a wedge off the end of the hose to accomidate the diameter reduction. Regarding the other issues, I'm relatively new to HPDEs and am learning myself.

95jersey

what car do you have? That would help to give you appropriate direction.

rustyguns

welcome to the madness! very good info here : http://forums.corvetteforum.com/autocrossing-and-roadracing/2407034-c5-track-car-hpde-conversion-what-i-have-learned.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...e-learned.html

sothpaw2

[QUOTE=LeMans05C6;1577009327]OIL PRESSURE-----
What is the oil pressure number you want to avoid? .[/B]

COOLING----
What are safe oil temps and when is a better radiator needed? I saw 265-270 a couple weekends ago.
BRAKES-----
Brake cooling, what is the best bang for buck COMPLETE brake duct kit?

-What about SS Brake Pistons from DRM, are they worth it and how hard are they to install?

ALIGNMENT & SUSPENSION----
Camber Kit & Poly Control Arm Bushings I recently had an alignment done for street / track set up 1.5* front and about 1* rear.

Answers as briefly as I can:

Oil pressure: don't know. Keep the temperature in check, run 15-50 oil, don't run slicks (R888 ok), you should be ok. I am sure you'd be ok with the LS6 but with the LS2 maybe you should back off in the left sweepers.

Cooling: I researched that last year. 265 oil is the temp for a stock engine (LS6) where (this was with a cooler, run hard for many track miles) the engine lived for a long time. Nobody has a lot of data at temps higher than this. I think some of the aftermarket guages don't go much higher than this so you get the picture. Before my oil cooler, I stopped shifting (left it in 4th) if I saw anything north of 285. Oil analysis came out ok for this useage.

Brakes: Nobody makes a complete kit. I got mine from ECS...they some from DRM and make the brackets themselves. Supposedly the Quantum maybe better (give more uniform temps on both side of rotor)? Mine do show cracking on both sides but it's worse on outside. I'm satsified with it.

SS pistons: Just had DRM rebuild some calipers for me with the SS pistons Buy some spares and send them or have yours re-worked. I think the rebuild was free.

Alignment: Can't comment on the camber kit. The bushings are an incredible amount of work, you have to push the old ones out in vise. This upgrade only makes sense if you do the labor yourself. Paying a mechanic will be cost prohibitive.

Hope that helps

DRUGschnorr

I added an larger oil cooler, trans cooler, dewit water cooler.
oil pressure never below 40
oil temp max 295.. then shift to 5th and cruise a lap to get to 270
water 250 max
even in 104 texas heat..
do a cool down lap during the run.. give up a pass or two... suprise the other cars..

consider 103 octane.. lowered my temps 20 degrees...

brakes PFC 01 but any are good
quantum brake coolers, ss cups, titanium heat sheeld shims
extra qt of oil in the tank
change clutch and brake fluids each weekend. and engine oil. ( cheap insurance)
send oil sample out for testing ofte
remember we are DE, not racing.. shift early it is not a race..

camber 2.0 all around... toe out smig front, toe in smig rears ( how is that for technical)

rustyguns

how does 103 octane lower your temps?

spdislife

Thanx....Very true on the madness part. I've surprised myself at some of the luxuries I've given up to redirect those $ to the car

LeMans05C6

I have read that "what i have learned" many times and got a lot from it. Just curious to get more eyes and ears on the topics above.

Started as LS2 Z51 2005... crank bolts sheer off so i rebuilt into the following...

LS2 Block (and oil pan i know )
403ci stroker, ls2 ported heads, FAST 102 w/ NW 102 and halltech CF112.
LG 1 3/4 Pro Headers (had these before the big build happened)
234/238 cam 114+2. Wide power band, and lots of power from what im used to. 488 rwhp 479 tq.

LS9 clutch from Mike Yeager with remote bleeder (great add-on here)

Stock C6 wheels with R888s on them right now. Ive seen that Hoosier makes a tire to fit my rims as well but i worry about the oil starvation with that much grip.

Z51 stock sway bars with poly bushings right now on them so nothing too special.

Lowered on stock bolts just a bit.

This is me!

waddisme

For $500, the accusump is pretty good insurance for the $$$s you have invested in that motor. That is what it cost me to have mine installed. An oil cooler and upgraded rad would definitely be required for TX tracking. Brake pads will just be trial and error til you find what works for you. XPs work great for me, PFCs - not so great. Hate to tell you, but $4k is just a drop in the bucket. You haven't even discussed trailer and tow vehicle. Good luck with upgrades.

0Randy@DRM

Our brake ducts are set up with 3.5 hoses. The last two steel wires can be cut off and the hose works great for 3 inch spindle ducts.

Here is the product page with install videos.
http://dougrippie.com/?p=425
If you aren't in the mood for rebuilding your calipers, DRM will be happy to install them for free. Less then a 24 hour turn around time.

Randy
www.dougrippie.com

DRUGschnorr

I dont understand the phyics ( hell i cannot even spell it)
i got it from Chuck Cow when doing the tune and ARS headers.

I ran one day on 93 unleaded... 280 oil 255 H2O

next day added qt of Torquo (sp) check w/ chuck for source.
to the full tank 1/2 of the labled amount

same track , same temp, same "Flat Out" LOL driving.. [check out the video]

oil 270 water 230.. did not believe it but it is doing it.
something about burning better
tom

P.S. Who are u using for oil testing.

rustyguns

googled it and others agree with you

Falcon

WOW! You saw 250* coolant temps? I thought they went into "Limp Home Mode" at that temp???

rustyguns

maybe a c6...... in my C5 i get that hot and all i get is an engine warning light, ignore it and keep going i do short shift until it goes out

Crepitus

I dont know a lot about the LS Vettes. But I have a lot of oval track experience. The OP reports oil psi fluctuations in the corner. This generally means the oil pump pickup is sucking air. Big problem. If this isn't fixed I expect the bottom end to fail. At the same oil temp / rpm the oil psi should be the same in the straight or the corner. Accusump should help, getting things sorted out in the pan would be the best bet. Hopefully guys that are more familiar with this platform will chime in.

ace996

It's actually burning less, or at least slower.

Higher octane fuel is harder to burn, so if your car is not "tuned" for it, less fuel is burned = less heat. This is evident in cars without cats that run race fuel and are tuned rich...flames shooting out the tail pipe.

On the positive side, higher fuel resists detonation. Detonation = higher heat.

If it works and you're running cooler, have at it...

Be good,
TomK

jlutherva

I just got a quote on installing the Pfadt Poly bushing kit for $570 from Vengeance Racing in Atlanta. That should give you a ball park for budgetary purposes. From every thing I've read, installing the bushing kit is a b@#$h

I have a C6ZO6 and installed the Quantum Cooling kit. It works quite well and will even be better after I install the Katech front splitter w/ the integrated brake ducts.

Don't spend any time worrying about dust accumulating on your VISA card

Jim

kmagvette

$570 is a nice price for the bushing install, especially if it includes getting your alignment set...which you will certainly need. When I did my bushings my car handled like a busted up shopping cart prior to the alignment.

jlutherva

No, I don't think that included the alignment, but I will definitely have that done at the same time. Road Atlanta with Chin Motor Sports is the next day!

Jim