Roy's list of Mods and what they do
Roy, that's some sick data there. For those just tuning in... can you recap the cool gear you have and what it can do for folks?
I for one will start researching this stuff at some point this summer and would appreciate the info.
Sure Patrick, I'd be happy to describe what I have. I would not consider my Corvette to be heavily modified by any means. Many of the DC'ers have done lots of radical stuff to make their cars post big numbers.
Here is a list of what I've done (and undone, the car is evolving):
7/25/2003 - Air intake: K&N Filter, Z06 air box, cold air screens, silicone air coupler: to help the car to breath.
10/11/2003 - Z06 size tires and wheels: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 265/40ZR17, 295/35ZR18, Z06 5 spoke chrome wheels 17x9.5, 18x10.5: better grip on the street, non-runflats.
4/1/2005 - Fire extinguisher: Passenger seat mount, Brey-Kraus: a requirement for my first track event with the LA Shelby Club, a Chevy among Fords.
10/22/2005 - Brakes: Dura Stop drilled & slotted rotors, Hawk HP Plus brake pads, stainless brake lines: in the hope of solving brake fade problems.
4/7/2006 - Harness, driver's side: Arizona Speed and Marine harness bar and Simpson Cam lock 5 pt harness: a requirement to run Time Trials with the So. Cal Alfa club, an American brute among feisty Italians.
4/22/2006 - Harness, passenger side: Simpson latch and link 5 pt harness: so I could give rides and have an instructor in the car with me.
4/22/2006 - Fire extinguisher mount: Moved fire extingusher to harness bar: within better reach for me.
4/24/2006 - Programmer: SLP Diablo Sport 2: to gain access to the computer and take advantage of my upcoming mods, car just fell out of warranty so let the fun begin.
4/26/2006 - Cat back exhaust with X-pipe: Magnaflow muffler and X-pipe system: sounds better, flows more freely, still CA smog legal.
4/26/2006 - Lower front and rear: Use stock bolts at max adjustment range: little lower CG for handling, car looks better too, scrapes, but not bad if you're careful.
4/29/2006 - Cold air intake and filter: Callaway Honker: much better breathing than K&N with stock Z06 airbox setup, way better than my original coupe setup, CARB certified (CA smog legal).
4/29/2006 - Throttle body coolant bypass: West Coast Corvettes: Hey, I live in So. Cal so I need cooler intake air not warmer.
4/29/2006 - Front brake cooling ducts: American Custom Industries
www.acivette.com: to improve brake cooling in front, better than stock "sidewall coolers".
4/29/2006 - Throttle body: Callaway 78mm billet throttle body with actuator and sensor: much better breathing and throttle response, CARB certified.
4/29/2006 - MAF: Granatelli modified mass air flow sensor for aftermarket cold air induction: better breathing and calibration to take advantage of new intake system, CARB certified.
4/29/2006 - Cold thermostat: 160 deg thermostat Hypertech "Powerstat": cooler engines perform better.
5/8/2006 - Sway bars and end links: Hotchkis1.25" front 1" rear bars with heim end links from Lingenfelter: improved handling for track use, I can almost lift my inside tires now (see my photos).
5/27/2006 - DriftBox: On board data recorder for lap times, speed, and line: Best modification I've made, DriftBox modifies the driver, not the car, and is the best teaching and learning tool I know of, I can see my line, braking points, mistakes, things I did well, see if different things I try on the track help or hurt, where I'm fast, where I'm slow and can make up time, it's great.
6/4/2006 - PowerSlot cryo treated rotors: Replacement for the drilled Dura Stops after the front rotors cracked after Buttonwillow: drilled rotors crack, mine cracked after the first track weekend, I was mad.
6/4/2006 - Russell Speed Bleeders: one way brake bleeding valves: makes it easier to flush the brake fluid, can do it without a helper and is quicker than using a vacuum pump if you're flushing lots of fluid, I still use the vacuum pump for routine bleeding and after speed bleeding (don't trust them 100%).
6/23/2006 - Al Kelly's race tire set up: SSR GT7-H 18x9.5 F, 18x10.5 R, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 285/30YR18 F, 315/30YR18 R: my friend uses this setup on his Z06 so I tried it myself, I like it, I'm on my 3rd set of tires in 12 months though (see photos showing how they get chewed up).
7/10/2006 - DriftBox mount: Permanent mount for DriftBox using aluminum tabs glued to windshield using rearview mirror glue: to satisfy some picky tech inspectors who didn't like the suction cup mounts that come with the DriftBox.
8/1/2006 - Racing Seat: Sparco Evo with adjustable rails, Brey Kraus outboard lap belt mount: another great mod that improves the driver by holding me in place, Corvette seats are flimsy and a picky tech inspector didn't like them nor the lap belt mounting and routing with the stock seats.
8/22/2006 - Short throw shifter: Kirban billet: necessary since with my Sparco Evo and my seating position (I'm short) my elbow hit the seat and I could barely use the stock shifter when it was in 2nd gear, shift knob would hit the base on my palm, with Kirban, I can get the middle of my palm on top of the shift knob.
9/9/2006 - 2002 Z06 aluminum sway bar end links: Replacements for the noisy heim joint sway bar end links: I'll try these for a while until I upgrade some day to Pfatty bars.
9/9/2006 - Lowered fan temperatures, raised rev limit: Set rev limit to 6500, set fans on/off to 195/188 and 210/203: cooler is better, a few more revs help my on certain tracks where I bounce of the rev limit in third rather than shift to fourth for a few seconds.
9/23/2006 - Racing brake fluid, DOT 4: Flushed brakes with Ate Super Blue (also gold Type 200) high temperature racing brake fluid: good stuff, greatly reduces brake fade, comes in blue and gold, same performance, alternate colors when changing fluid and you can tell when all the old fluid is flushed out by the color of the fluid coming out of the calipers, neat.
5/4/2007 - Camber plates: Pfadt camber plates -1.8 deg front and -1.5 deg rear camber: need more camber to help with grip and tire wear on the outer shoulders.
5/5/2007 - Tie rod ends, front and rear high performance: Eckler's tie rod ends, heat resistant, more threads for camber: handling upgrade.
5/12/2007 - Ate PremiumOne Slotted Rotors Front: Cryo treated front PowerSlots cracked badly on both the inboard and outboard sides: Ouch, cracked rotors again, they weren't drilled, and they were even Cryo-treated, to heck with it, I'm trying cheapo rotors to see how they work, I also have a spare set of Raybestos non-slotted non-drilled rotors waiting on deck.
Coming Soon - Oil Cooler: Lingenfelter Performance Engineering oil cooler: I see high oil temps at the track, I run tracks in the desert (CA and NV), I saw 298 deg at the Streets of Willow, this scares me, Mobil 1 web site says they tested Mobil 1 at 300 deg for 256 hours with no appreciable loss of protection, I'm still scared, cooler is better.
Wish List - Pfadt suspension: Coil overs, Pfatty bars, new bushings: handling is key to going fast on a road course, then brakes, then power, first and most important, however, is the driver! Fix the driver and everything else will work better. (I've gone to Bondurant 2 day HPD, Spring Mountain 3 day Level 1, and Alfa Club 2 day driving school events - I'm still learning, when I stop learning I'll get bored and quit). As I mentioned above, the DriftBox is a great teaching aid (the new PerformanceBox is cheaper and would work just as well for track driving - just no yaw rate sensors needed for calculating slip angles).
P.S. I forgot to mention that this is still my daily driver. So all of my mods have to leave the car legal and livable. In fact, my wife, Mary, has the car today because I needed her Chevy Avalanche to take my front track wheels to the tire shop to get my replacement Michelin PSCs mounted and balanced.
