Road Racing - Best for Road Course ~ Z06 or C6

Ok, here is the deal. I have been doing open track HPDE events for one year+. I have a total of about 35+ days of HPDE in my 2004 Mustang Cobra Convertible. I am near the limits of my car w/o doing major surgery on weight, i.e., Gut doors, remove conv't top, lexan windows, aluminum block, get rid of supercharger, etc. My lap times are pretty good now and I generally run in HPDE group #3 w/ NASA, SVTOA, etc., and generally I am the fastest in the session. Running in HPDE #4 I am about middle of the pack. I am sure I could learn to not overdrive the car a little, but there is only so fast you can take a 4000# Pig through the corners. Yes this convertible is one fat heavy car.

So I was thinking of selling my Cobra and coming over to what the ford guys say is the dark side. :hail: The only cars that generally give me trouble are the Z06's and the race prepped 05 Mustang GT's (Go Figure). I am tired of the excessive brake pad and tire wear that goes along with a 4000# car. So I was thinking about purchasing a '02 Z06 for open track. I want something that will drive to and from the track and will not give me problems on the track. The normally aspirated corvette seems to be a very good performer on those 100 degree days in the summer when other cars are running shorter sessions due to the heat.

Ok, now the questions begin. Some have suggested I get a C5 instead since I will want to change springs, struts, shocks, etc., anyways. They say the Z06 is only good if I plan on running it stock. Since I will likely want to do CAI, exhaust, suspension, roll bar, etc., that the C5 will be a cheaper car. They say buying a Z06 and then removing all the stuff that makes it a Z06 and putting better stuff on will be a waste of money. I apologize I don't know much about the dark side, but I am trying to learn quickly. If I do make the jump I will have to return my car to near stock and sell it for what I can get, then also sell off all the performance parts that I have bought for my car.

Do you guys replace springs/shocks/struts/sway bars. Do you change bushings out to Delrin or aluminum? Do you do gear changes or the T2R for the rear, diff cooler? Strut Tower brace, cc plates, coil overs? How much prep is needed to get the car to perform well on the track?

For reference this is what I have done to my car:

IRS: Delrin UCA, Delrin LCA, Aluminum Diff Mounts (Front & Back), Urethane Sway Bar Bushings, Stiffer Springs, Firmer Shocks, Rear Shock Tower Mount, 4.10 Gears, T2R, Diff Cooler.

Frame: Bolt-In Roll Bar, Weld-In Subframe Connectors, DS-Loop (Why Did I Buy That) :eyes:

Front: Strut Tower Brace, CC Plates, Stiffer Springs, Firmer Struts.

Safety: Stainless Brake Lines, Larger Brakes, Cooling Ducts, 5-Point Harness

Engine: CAI, Exhaust, Upgraded H/E and Radiator.

Thanks from a newbie retard...

- Vince

Glad to see you comming over here.

I;m not a road race person, but I'd suggest looking into an older Z06. Any 02-04. They can be very nice on the track from what I've heard. Should put a smile on your face bone stock.

Other will chim in I bet.

Z06, much lighter than a C5 and ready to go "out the box". Mods dont make better drivers :drive: you can find killer deals on 02's and 03's now. Come to the dark side :)

C5 Z06 would be better.
There was an article a while back that put both of these cars to the test, but I cannot find it right now.

From what I have seen about the new Z06, I want to go for an older Z06 like 2Much has there. Color is Perfect for me too. LOL Justin.

I would take a look at the pricing on 02-04 Z06's. Then surf and search this Site and digital Corvette site. This car is very different feeling than the mustang you are driving now. You sit lower to the raod by a large amount.

Oh, I'd also contact LG motorsport if you have any performance upgrades you'd like to make. They race a vette and are the most knowledgeable shop on this site and one of the best out there overall. Give them a call and use the search button on here to see what people do to their Z's to make them better and what quirks they have.

Z06, much lighter than a C5 and ready to go "out the box". Mods dont make better drivers :drive: you can find killer deals on 02's and 03's now. Come to the dark side :)

Yes, mods don't make you better. But they can help you go faster. Some of the mods I made cause I was a noob and chunked my tires @ the first event I went to. The experienced drivers were saying "Brace-it before you Race-it".

I did some work to the car, then stopped and did things as I thought I needed them. Roll bar was a requirement for a vert this year. Slipping too much in seats in corners so I got the harness. Tire rubbing fender during high speed cornering so I upgraded springs (Twice). Upgraded rear to T2R because I had no clutches left in rear end and did the gear while I was there. Diff Cooler because I was exceeding 275 degrees and the factory recommended not to exceed 250 and specifically recommended a diff cooler in the owner’s manual for racing. Stayed away from the HP mods except for the simple CAI and Cat-back. Rubber sway bar bushings are pounded out and egged shape from O/T, etc., so I went Delrin.

If I buy the Z06 I would like to drive it first and do mods based on what I felt the car needed. There are always compromises made in the manufacture of a car for reduced cost and NVH.

Please keep the comments coming, much appreciated...

- Vince

A fixed roof coupe c5 is lightweight..get some LG coilovers, a wolfe racecraft cage, some upgraded brakes from wilwood and you are off an running. A simple, yet 5k$ head cam swap can give you an easy 100hp.... So I'd say for 30k you can have a bad arse lapping car.

the c6 has less a lil feel in the steering wheel than some like for road course, but is agile as a mother., but certainly more costly. Power is excellent without mods.

Vince,
This is my first post on the LS1tech board but I'm a regular on the Corvette Forum Autocrossing/Roadracing page. I would look at the For Sale page on the forum as well, sometimes you can find cars that already have some of the good track mods done. Things you will want to consiter are #1 brakes, the stock brakes are good but you will go through rotors if you stick with stock one piece rotors. StopTech or Wilwood make a nice rotor upgrade kits that will last you much longer. #2 is an oil cooler, somehow you are going to need to keep the engine oil cool, either with a cooler radiator combo or a add on unit. (Lingenfelter and Doug Rippie make good kits either way). I actually set up 3 02 Z06's to run HPDE's at Road America. So any infor you need as far as set-up etc. let me know the Z06 or 99-00 Fixed roof cars are great track cars and you will not be dissapointed. :secret:

:werd: to what he said!

I currently own and autoX my 01 C5, and although it's fast, light, and real good out of the box, the Z06 is purpose-built for the track. Adding on to the already good advice, get rid of the runflats if your future addiction comes with them! They suck!
And soon, we'll welcome you to the Dark Side:headbang:

If you want to keep it simple, buy a used z06 and general motors offers whats known as a T-1 handling package. You buy straight from GM. It includes shocks, sway bars/bushings, diff, trans, and oil coolers to keep your car happy on the track. Its a kit to compete in SCCA's T-1 class. It makes a stock z06 feel sloppy and takes a lot of guess work out of dialing in a z06 since John Heinrecy an scca racer and corvette engineer designed it. Plus if you decided you wanted to go racing you would just need safety equipment installed. Some of the listed mods above would disqualify you from racing in scca's t1 class.

If you bought at 01+ Z06 onlything you would need is tires and brake pads to make it track ready. The stock tires arent bad, but it seems like youd want more. It wont take anything but seat time to get used to this car and in no time youll be runing faster lap times than in your car now.

I've been to a couple track days at Nelson Ledges and there is a guy that runs his Z06 a lot there. He is pretty fast, I think last time I was there he was running 1min. 16sec. laps. Nelson is 2 mile track. Here are his upgrades: Brake Pads, Harness Bar with two 6 point harnesses, Camera Mount, Lap timer and a hitch. He has a little trailer where he carries his spare tires (4), and additional fuel. So as you see, You can have a lot of fun in a stock Z06 then drive home in it.

Budget is?