HPDE - Any HPDE people here????

[redvette24]

HPDE is High Performance Drivers Education. Keyword - Education. This way your insurance company cant say you were racing.

I am not an expert by any means. But the following information has helped me out over the past 4 yrs. I hope it helps answer any HPDE questions that any of the members have.

And if you ask, "Whats the point of an HPDE?". The simple answer is , you get to do to your car what you either wish you could on the street, or you get to do what you shouldnt be doing on the street. I am not preaching. Just offering up options. When you hear people tell you to TAKE IT TO THE TRACK. This is what they mean. And its a complete adrenanline rush!!

[redvette24]

The following information is quite helpful to anyone considering taking their car onto the Track and participating in an HPDE:
(I bogarted the information, so dont kill the messenger.)




Ok, after several attempts... blunders… and LOT$ of wasted money. This is what I have learned so far, and hopefully it saves others money in the process. Of course it’s just my opinions, please do not flame. I am just tired of spending money, and I wish I had read something like this before I started my track car modding obsession. It also helped to know that it would become a track car. Originally I went with the idea of just modded to “look fast and be cool”. One auto cross, I had to try HPDE. One HPDE and I’m an addict... and this addiction makes heroine and crack look cheap once you get the speed addiction to keep going faster and faster on a Road Course. Thank goodness for the Corvette Forum! Each thing I did I read extensively about, but sometimes the perspective they give is not one for the track. You find what works on the street vs. track is not the same. Pretty cross drill and slotted rotors is a great example of this!

The Commentary below is NOT suggested to be done in any particular order. It was done as I thought of parts and stuff. At the very end, I make my suggestion on the order of Mods... and why.
These are the parts I found work best, why, where to get them… and some commentary to go with.

Shifter:
Get rid of that sloppy P.O.S. stock manual C5 shifter - the whole box! Throw it away!
Get the C6Z06 upgrade from gmpartshouse.com part# c6z06shifter for $195 (Gene rocks) and then if you really want to make it sublime - MGW (http://www.mgwltd.com/corvette.shtml) top end conversion. For the $$ this is the single best mod you can do for your driving performance in the car. Wholly crap is the stock C5 shifter awful & long in shifts! The stock C5 is sloppy, and you will miss 3rd most commonly. This change out = perfect and predictable shifts = lower lap times, less transmission damage & safer driving. Disable the CAGS (http://www.corvettegarage.com/produc...-corvette.html or http://www.corvettesofhouston.com/pr...products_id=62) ASAP either with a hard plug or an engine PCM tune. If the shifts still feel too notchy, the AntiVenom Mod (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-done.html)you can research on the forum will make the shifting easier for about $5 in washers and some elbow grease.

Tunnel Plate & Oil Catch Can:
Elite Engineering plate with thermal pad stiffens your body flex, cuts ALOT of heat out of the center tunnel (http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/C5Products.html). The catch can fixes the LS1 blow by in the higher RPM, I also recommend changing the PCV valve from the variable floater to the fix orifice type (Part# 12572717) which further reduced caught oil blow by. Procedure here: (http://www.conceptualpolymer.com/PCV...eplacement.htm) Both Elite Engineering pieces are top quality, perfect bolt on, easy to use… I can’t say enough about them. It doesn’t also hurt if you run the car hot and hard for long period of time to get a breather for the oil cap, East Coast Supercharger makes a very nice one but does cause a small impression on the hood liner after the hood is closed (http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.co..._breather.html).

Headers & Exhaust:
American Racing Headers all the way, get them jet hot coated to cut your engine temps down ALOT under the hood! Make sure you get boot covers for your plugs or you'll melt them. High flow x-pipe and cats also from AR. Several CF vendors sell them; look for a group buy for the best deals. It’s hard to install the headers yourself, you will need a lift or be able to put the car on stands a good 18” off the ground. The rear exhaust is so subjective! I like the Corsa, but others will argue they like the sound of another like Borla. I think the Borla drone is a bit obnoxious, but my buddy loves it. Honestly the rear is more an esthetic difference than performance.

Head & Cam vs Forced Air:
Simple explanation => Head&Cam natural aspiration for HPDE & Forced for 1/4 mile or car shows

In my experience I have found the most successful guys down the road eventually went with a forged big cube motor that was natural aspirated but now you’re talking money. In teh short term, a decent head & cam swap will create more than enough HP for all but the most extreme racers. I will admit, the forced set up are really cool and menacing looking though, espeically at a car show! Also DO NOT get more HP than you can control! In the beginning your driving skill can't even get the car to perform at 50% of its potential. Do nothing to increase to massive horse power until you are such a kick ass driver that you are now trying to shave .01 seconds off your lap times!

On the track there is a simple phrase: MEH = Money + Ego + Horsepower

A true story, detailed below in the track insurance section will explain this dilemma.

In the begining spend your money on seat time and/or a reputable drivers school before you do on expensive motor upgrades! I know a guy in a old stock drive train Scirocco from Volkswagen (RTR - Porsche Club) that will drive circles on HPDE around a new guy in a C6 Z06. Skill, not HP wins in the end. HP only matter in the straights, you make and lose time in the corners. It’s all about exit speed baby! Nitrous is NEVER for HPDE, just ¼ miles.

As far as heads go, the jury is in. Right now everyone seems to agree that the Trick Flow make the most reliable power and best mid range available torque. But they are BIG $$$! You can do other heads for a lot less money, but you will leave a few HP on the table. As far as Cams go, there is tons of debate on this one! Eveyone has a different theory and different favor cam. If you are using a local tuner, you might want to see what they use 99% of the time because this combo is the one they have the most experience tuning and thus you will get a more reliable result. Don't forget that the bigger the HP you get out of a cam, the less driveable it gets. If you Dual purpose the car, remember this. If you cold start and street drive it in 38 degree weather remember this. BIG cams that offer BIG power will idle rough and need more time to warm up, and be less street friendly. ECS, Texas Speed, LG, Callaway, EnglandGreen, Vengence, etc. all make good to great quality cams... spend a boat lod of time on this topic BEFORE you buy and install!!! Remember the cam for a N/A and a Forced Air system will vary alot! Forced Air wants lower compression (close to or below stock) vs. a N/A cam deisnged for big #s.

Before you decide, "oh I'll just do it myself" please look at posts on the CF like this one. (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...s-of-pics.html) Which nicely detail the amount of time, effort and problems that can occur. You really need to be in it for the long haul when you decide to do it all yourself.

[redvette24]

Suspension:
If you are doing one HPDE a year, nothing wrong with the stock suspension. The cheapest upgrade is a Z06 leaf spring set up (lots of em used on CF) & hotchkis (prices change all over) with bilstein sports (ebay pricing best). Problem with all leaf spring set ups, wheel hop on bumps, not a problem on the track. This could be a big problem on the hi-way if you tighten up the suspension. If you are going to do a lot of track time, just shell out the $$ the first time and go for the Pfadt set up with coilovers and pfatty bars apx $3k for total set up in parts (check weekly deals in the C5 parts for sale section by vendor specials, many local guys install these cheap if you buy from them directly) if you buy directly from Pfadt (http://www.pfadtracing.com/catalog/p...products_id/34) I found Jordan and the guys there top notch on customer service! Be careful buying used coil overs, a lot can go wrong. If you do buy them used and they have the old Clevis Style mounts, get the new cup version mounts prior to installing. Make the hole in your truck a good 2” big so you can easily get your fingers down in there to adjust the dampening. I prefer about 12/14 on a new track in the dry on the 16 point adjustments on the Pfadt. It’s a nice setup. If you keep oversteering, drop the rear down some. In the Rain I also soften both front and rear if I have the time to 10/12. To adjust the fronts, the easiest thing to do is just jack up the car and then reach over the wheel. You could just barely squeeze your fingers in, but it’s easier than going through the top and moving the reservoir each time. No sense doing what I did if you race it a lot which is do the hotchkis/blistein then up convert again. Pfadt kit also totally removes both leaf springs. Also the stock endlinks on the older vettes are plastic and give too much play, the newer C5s went to metal. Both do not allow you to adjust the heights of them though like the Pfadts and Hotchkis do. The Pfadts are more adjustable, the Hotchkis are beefier. Adjusting the endlinks lets you 50:50 the car for corner weight balance. The GM performance T1 set up is not too bad, but unless you are running SCCA etc which require specific parts for a class, makes no real sense when there are better aftermarkets out there. LG Motorsports has a really nice new GT2 setup now (Sept 09) (http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog...oducts_id=2176) & a review here (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...rs-review.html), which is very similar to the Pfadt kit except for the upper mounting mechanism in the rear (there is a bit of friction between pfadt & LG) and the LG is a very pretty anodized red! The one thing that is different on this kit that jumps out is the fexible shaft adjusters for the coils. You do NOT have to go through the trunk to set them! Much easier, I tried them on the display at Carlisle. They may be making an aftermarket kit so you can attach these to other kits in teh future, but for right now its only on their kit. I went with the less $$ route the first time and spent more in the long run doing this upgrade twice. Not to mention labor and busted knuckles twice, don’t make my mistake. Go with the more aggressive camber settings though, stock will just not do.

Don’t over lower the car unless you live in the salt flats! I love my front frame rail saver wheels from custom corvette accessories (http://www.customcorvetteaccessories...fattdaddy.html). Thanks Chip. While you’re there, get jacking pucks if you don’t already… much easier on your car when you are constantly monkeying for events. Harbor Freight makes a great inexpensive low profile race jack, and there are always coupons for them in Auto Week, Corvette magazine, etc. Front chin splitters add great down force, but good luck with them anywhere but the track if your car is lowered.

BUSHINGS! Do the bushings ASAP! Even after my hubs were done, I still have way to much play in the upper control & lower arms! Its taking out all my camber! (see video ) I looked around and talked to several folks on the track, VBP makes a nice cheap kit (it was $269 @ Carliels 2009) but for the money the Pfadt kit is the way to go at $390 Jordan will hook ya up over there directly (http://www.pfadtracing.com/catalog/p...products_id/43). Energy Suspension also makes a decent kit (and its red for those who care) whic hSells from SummitRacing.com. The hard part of doing bushings is not picking the kit... it is pulling the arms, pressing out the old ones.. and getting in the new ones. Some guys go nuts and add Zerk fittings (grease sites) while there, Im hoping the pfadt ones with the grooves in them that claim to be self lubing live up to their promise. I decided to do the job professionally, and have the ball joints, bushings and zerks done all at once by SpeedSouth (205-621-6969) and make sure its all done right and won't need to be done again anytime soon! When you feel how solid they are over OEM, you instantly get a lot more confidence. And FYI, dont go too nuts spending time and $$ getting your perfect alignment and 50:50 corner weighting done only to then do the bushings. Once your bushings are done, the whole car will need resetting up. If you pay a shop to do the work on this one its about 6-10 hours of labor by shop you call. You can buy a cheap bushing press on ebay.

As for the tie rod ends for front (http://www.vbandp.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=396) and rear (http://www.vbandp.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=397), you can not go wrong with the Vette Brake Products (VBP) heavy duty units. Make sure you also order the polycovers for them (2 sets for full car) which will keep crap out of them and make them last longer / also resist heat better. Since they are stiffer they will also hold yuor track camber/toes setting better.

When it comes to the ball joints, RockAuto.com is the way to go. Moog K6537 (lower) and Raybestos 5001128 (upper) you will need 4 of each. These are FAR more durable than the OEM ones, and while pressing out the bushings its a good idea to do these too. You can wait for the OEM to fail or be proactive and do it all at once and not waste a track day when they do.

Brakes Basics:
First you must get rid of those OE lines if you are going to be racing the car often. Get a good pair of Stainless Steel braided lines, do not skimp. Stoptech, etc. are all fine products. Motul 600, Super Blue, etc is your fluid choice. I found the best deal on Motul 600 from http://corollasport.com/rbf600.html if you buy by the case after shipped to your door its $16 each. You will need a case. Flush your system before each event, it’s cheap life insurance. Normal brake fluid = boil over = expansion = no pressure on your pedal when your hydraulics fail = no predictable stop = death. To flush your system WAY faster without helpers, I cannot say enough about Speed Bleeders! (http://www.speedbleeder.com/) Get the stainless steel ones! And order 5, not 4. There is a small chance of failure (rare but happens), and for the extra few bucks, it’s not a bad idea to keep one in your race tool box for emergencies. I can do my brake bleeding on my car solo under an hour on all four at lunch at an HPDE no sweat. You might want to eventually change out the stock Aluminum pistons in the calipers to Stainless Steel with the DRM kit (http://www.dougrippie.com/), the race pads make a lot of heat and the aluminum OEM pistons send all that heat QUICK into your fluid causing boil over. S/S ones will not. While there you might want to think about brake bias springs as well (http://www.vbandp.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=393).


BIG BRAKE KITS? You do NOT need a big brake kit until you are a super driver! The stock C5 calipers do just fine, they DO need better pads. BBKit looks super cool at the car show, but is just over kill for most people’s skill level for a long long time. Spend the $3000 at Bondurant, etc. for race school instead of a brembo set up. The Race school will make you brake far better than a BBK will. Remember BBkits will require knowing if your wheels will fit over them. This happens a lot! Many BBK will not fit easily under 18’s unless you custom order special BBK friend version of those rims. BBK pads also will cost more, don’t forget this. Some BBK do not have a lot of choices for pads on them either, so do your homework first. And don’t forget, more pistons do not always mean stops better. AP Racing, Stop Tech, Brembo, Wilwood, Baer, etc. all make BBKs. Ask others what their success and pitfalls are first before you shop.

[redvette24]

Here's a great webpage on how to select / understand brake parts & pads and information for HPDE, Solo, etc.
http://www.essexparts.com/learning-c...ose-brake-pads

Brake Pads:
This is a highly contested topic. Just look at the debate on here. I have learned that the Hawks HPS/HP+ do kinda suck ass and will glaze quickly once you start braking deep into the pocket. Great street, not great coming off a front straight on your 15th lap from 140 to 60mps quickly! I learned that on Pocono North into Turn 1, almost met the bus stop! When I got my advice on these pads, I was told Carbotech XP8 at “my skill level”. So I listen. Bad move. The XP8 I find just burn off WAY too fast in the front, it seems that the XP8 don’t work well in cars over 2400lbs is why! Found that out after I burned though a few bucks. Wish I had something like this to read and learn that! Wasted money again! Once I started talking about the XP8 failures I got better advice. Do not always trust the guy selling you the stuff to know what works for YOUR car, it might be good in the BMW \ Miata but a C5 is different. Carbotech XP10 front/XP10 rear seem to be run more often on the forum here (the prices do not vary much at all vendor to vendor, I think it’s set by the company as fixed pricing). When \ If I later return to the Carbotechs, it will be on XP12/XP10. For right now Im going to try the Cobalt Friction the XR2/XR2 (cheapest @ http://performanceafx.com) is a great setup but costs much more than the Carbotechs, Talk to Robert he was very knowledgeable & a good guy on the Forums. In my first use of the XR2/XR2 setup (new at track & bedded them there) @ Pocono North Clockwise in Sept 2009 with R-comps (8 sessions = 4 hours / top speed front straight about 138mph) I used up about 35% (outside) & 30% (inside) pads of the fronts and about 15% of the rears (wore equally). The XR2 in the front tended to taper pretty pronouced too compared to the carbotechs IMHO. I brake hard and late. I found the initial bit a bit alarming for my taste and driving style.. they will lock you up and ABS you in ahurry if you do not modulate very very well. I think the Carbotechs had a much cleaner initial bite PERSONALLY and modulated easier. DC60/70 Hawks (www.tirerack.com) are decent pads as well & are the most common i find out there, but consensus on these is they are a bit less rotor friendly & can create grooving compared to the carbotech/cobalts.. oh yeah and dust heavy... but not as bad as the HPS/HP+ when tracking. There are a lot of debates on rotor friendliness, heat, grooving… and it seems VERY subjective to braking style and rotor material. All of these race pads need a proper set in or don’t work as well. They will all squeal cold & don’t grip cold. So if that bothers you esthetically, swap pads at the track to streets before heading home. All race pads will make dust, lots of dust. Some of it can be corrosive so wash up the rims etc when you get home. Invest in a caliper / brake piston spreader. It will save you damaged calipers and swearing. Use that nice green lube on the two pins in the floating caliper liberally; it is often sold in single use tear open packets to ensure trouble free calipers that won’t seize up on extreme racing heat.

[redvette24]

Brake Rotors:
After destroying a “pretty” pair of rotors, I went with Napa. You can get them quick and easy everywhere. They do not rust, hold up well and resist warp. Rotors get more and more deposable as you go faster and faster and brake deeper and deeper. The sold rotors will hold up longer, and will resist the cracking & splitting the best. I tried the Baer set up (+1/+2), and I have seen others that did. We all agree = REALLY pretty at car shows = horrendous for HPDE with race pads!!! Especially on race pads that eat them up. Expensive rotors are just that expensive. Napa Part# Fronts: 86700 & 86701 // Rears: 86702 & 86703. You can also go to Rockauto.com (http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,1896) for cheap rotors that hold up well, the discussion on CF all say the best ones there are the Centric Rotors (Part# 12062059, 12062060, 12062061, 12062062). So you can save $$ at RockAuto, but in a pinch Napa is a quick grag and go... just make sure they didn't swap the cheap chinese imported ones on you that are failing lately.

A nice inexpensive 2 piece set up does exist to save weight and such, but it’s not cheap getting set up and no guarantees that they will last longer or brake better. http://performanceafx.com has a custom 2 piece set up that isn’t too bad in $$$ and he is a really helpful guy. I also suggest when you put the bolts back in to hold the caliper on to use "no seize lubricant" or somethign like that. Without an impact / air gun those bolts get hard as heck to get out once you race one time and the heat jsut locks those SOBs in there tight!


Brake Ducts:
I am on my second kit. My first kit was a “fire path” kit (http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.co...uct%20Kit.html), meaning the air cooled directly on the inside path where the pads directly heat the rotors. I found this great on my Hawk HP pads & for a ¼ mile car it probably works very well. When I went to real race pads (XP8) for HPDE which heated the rotors up more & an hour session can torture the rotors, I found that the asymmetric cooling cracked the outside of the rotor and left the insides unscathed. This then created warping and I got brake pulsing.

I just installed a Quantum Motorsports Kit (http://store.quantummotorsports.com/...nq78lbb0bc1kn7), this sends the air into the HUB. This accomplishes 2 things: cools the hub for hopefully better hub / bearing life (see later section) and since the air then leaves thru the veins of the rotors out to the circumference it cools both the inner and outer firepaths equally. This means less asymmetrically cracking and hopefully less likely to warp. I have not used them enough to have first hand, but others told me this and that’s why I switched. Rear ducts aren’t necessary (but look cool). 80% of your braking is on the fronts, the rotors and pads there will get abused WAY more and fail WAY more. Cool the front, no worries on the rears. If your wheels are wide, there is no room for rear ducts anyhow. PLUS if you eventually need a rear diff/trans cooler set up like the DRM kit... you need the space those ducts fill for the coolers. FYI it took a lot of fussing to get the Quantum kit just right, and still having issues making it perfect. Sigh, at least Im not rubbing on hard turns anymore and hearing metal on metal! Still happy with the effort.

FYI the OLDer version of the Pfadt pfatty bars interferes with the ducts by pushing the endlinks in teh front into the DRM where it meets the hose duct causing rubs and a small air leak eventually. Pfadt has fixed this issue on their bars for 2009 and on.

[redvette24]

Rims & Tires:
Again this is a very very subjective moment. Form vs Function. CCW & Fiske make great racing rims. There are many more out there, thse seem to be the most common I have seen. Remember light is best, and more spokes are better than less spokes for this purpose of racing. Just remember a few things. If you get lets say 18x10 all around, you can order 5 rims and have a mounted spare for failures you can put anywhere. If you are not symmetric in rim/tire sizes you need more extra wheels in a failure for front/rear. The bigger the rim, wider the tire… the more expensive it gets to rubber them. The wider the tires the less choices in rubber you have to fit it. I’m on big rears, and my choices for tires isn’t that great (or cheap) as a result. ** Run flats sucks ass ** They get hot, they are heavy, and their side walls are too stiff to race on. In fact the one dry hot day I tried runcraps on the track I felt they were very dangerous as they greased over quick and it felt like in the corners I was on banana peels! Nitto, Toyo, Kuhomo, Hoosiers, etc are all fine tires. This is also a vast opinion difference. Also consider if you run dry or wet? If you have Hoosier slicks (R6/A6) on as your only set up, and it rains… Now what? You can’t rain drive without risking your life on slicks. So you spent all this time and money for a HPDE event that you cannot even drive in? Do not get slicks until you are a kick ass driver & can trailer 2 sets of shoes with you. Learn on street tires, not even r-comps. Streets will slide a bit and bark a lot. This allows you to learn car control in a slide, and teaches you track humility.

Learn how to control understeer & oversteer at least pretty good before moving to R-comps or better. R-comps too early will give you false confidence. Slicks do not bark! They hold like a train on rails, but when they lose grip you are really screwed! Without the skills to correct your error without panicking… you will die. Dying isn’t fun... or cheap on the car! Used? I’ll tell you my personal experience with used. I got my CCW classics. They looked great with tires on them. Tires were great to look at. It was a show car set up, and barely used. Problem was I didn’t read the date code on the tires. They were OLD. First HPDE on them, the caulk seals started to go, the tires went hard and started to split / dry rot. I had to fix a small inside lip warp on one with correct a wobble only felt after 120+ mph... etc. In the long run it cost me as much or more even to go used. AND let’s not forget the aggravation. Not saying all deals go like this… but something to think about. Also know after about 315 in the rear (depending on offset), you will probably have to remove the Z06 rear ducts or get rubs. Max tire size before mini-tub usually 335 depending on offsets & they will stick out though; get the APSIS guards to solve this problem. (http://www.apsisusa.com/C5%20Corvett...le%20index.htm) If you want to replace and paint an entire quarter to make it a more factory finished wide body look in the rear, Lewis Five MotorSports makes a superb quality kit. (http://www.lewisfivemotorsports.com/index.html) LG Motorsports I hear at this time (9/09) is also working on a flare rear quater and ACP has a widebody kit as well.

Hubs & Bearings:
Again there is some debate on this here. One thing that there is NO debate on is that the stock OEM when you bought your car Hub is junk. No you can't "just replace the bearings", the HUB\bearing comes as one single part. GM even admit this and changed the design later to fix the short comings. You cannot change the bearings alone; you need a full new hub each time. You will start killing Hubs in this hobby quickly, especially if you spin out. You can get an aftermarket at Autozone, etc which is as good if not better in some cases (search forum) than the OEM. But everyone agrees, eventually you will get sick of replacing HUBs and go for the SKF. Pfadt (http://www.pfadtracing.com) and Hardbar (http://hardbarusa.com) both sell them cheap @ $380 but Hardbar is way cheaper on shipping (flat rate shipping ground for entire order!). The SKF unit also makes all the hubs exactly the same for front and rear = same part! OEM are different units entirely for front/rear which means ordering 2 different parts (2 front & 2 rear). Why does this matter? BACKUPS! You can buy one SKF hub as a back up and take it with you to an event, and it fits anywhere in an emergency fix over a lunch failure with your buddies track side! The OEM hubs will fail in a lateral slide easy, the SKF are more durable in a lateral car slide especially if you hit dirt (*cough* turn 7 on lightning *cough*) I have tried the hub bolt kit from Hardbar to replace the torque head OEM hub bolts while you are there for an additional $35 a wheel. It replaces the silly OEM torque bolt design with nice 12 point bolts that you can grip and remove easier/torque down better after install. I found that while they might make a nice change on the fronts, the rear bolt heads stick out too far and get in the way. I think its a well made & well thoguht out kits but it didn't work so well for me. The kit also comes with a better nut for the ball joint. The OEM nut (especially in the rears) tends to spin when you go to take it apart, this after market kit eliminates that to a small degree and makes you swear less. You may need a spreader for the ball joints, but the drop & hammer tap trick works well for me. CF has some nice already posted walk thrus on these topics, you will need to make sure you have the right size socket for the rear hubs before you start... it’s not a common tool box size. Read your CF walk through and plan your tools before you jack up the car.

[redvette24]

Safety gear:
It’s all about helmet weight. Buy the lightest helmet you can afford. The stock seat belt will hold up ok for most people until you get to the upper intermediate levels of HPDE, by the advanced group have a racing seat and harness please. Your $$ will be well spent on Safety gear, harness, seats, etc. Why? A super charger doesn’t keep you alive in a crash. I am a Dr. by day and treat auto accident cases often. When you have an impact the head whips forward and back = whiplash. This could also snap your neck & kill you (Dale Sr). Whiplash is a factor of speed & weight. Your heavy head moves forward and back, this causes the injury. So the heavier the helmet, the more force is applied on your neck in an accident. More likely you will have a severe neck injury! In fact, I would think many of us are safer without the helmets for this reason sadly. What to do? A HANS. Head and Neck Saftey device. Unless you have a special race seat for the standard HANS units with a Halo etc, the best device out there for the rest of us is the R3 (google shopping to find vendors). Standard R3 is carbon fiber and $1000! It allows you to attach your helmet firmly to your torso, thus avoiding the whipping motion of the skull and protecting your neck and your life! Recently a composite version came out called the Rage R3 for $650, same device… less pretty. Saves you a lot of $$$. The newest version is the hybrid Rage. From calling several vendors (I did), the consensus is that this device is just as good in crash testing as the older style R3, but doesn’t go as far down your spine. It’s wider on the shoulders, but less bulky (thick) behind you in the seat. It also comes with a pad you can place in hard race seats so you can “leave it behind” embedded in the seat (like a Kirky seat) and then just sit down and strap in. It’s comfortable. It saves lives. Do this before you do any engine power changes. It’s a definite necessity when you change from the beginner to intermediate groups & beyond. The faster you push, the more likely you will spin or crash. Safety is more important than performance! From all I have heard and read, those cheesy neck padded collars do little in a severe impact. Better than nothing though. Just FYI.

One last thing, most of the HANS equipment you buy will have hardware that comes with it to attach to the helmet that is #10/32 screw sized. However I found that many modern helmets COME WITH factory moutning points already threaded for the HANs with M6 screw size sites. I went to Sears Hardware and got hardened Alan key bolts for these. Home Depot & Lowes had a crudy selection and many of the items were mixed in draws and hard to find. Easy attachment & removal with no worries about stripping screw heads in the future. I found that the 3/8" bolts worked best, but this may vary helmet to helmet & I had to drill the anchor holes a bit bigger to accept the M6 with cobalt steel bits.

Fluids:
Change them often. Many people will tell you that the standard 5-30 isn’t great for racing temps, its too thin. 10-30 is better (6.5 quarts). Lots of debate on redline, royal purple & the XPR, Amsol, mobile 1, etc. All subjective. One thing is clear; you cannot watch your oil life % indicator on your DIC when doing HPDEs. You need to change the oil more. Bad oil will = engine wear and higher oil temps racing.

Read here for how much to use / which fluids & how much needed for the Rear Diff/Manual Tras: (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...post1571382132) You need to do this every few years for a street car, and atleast annual for an HPDE car... some say more.

You DO need to get a 160 thermostat (http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog...products_id=91) and either an engine tune to turn your fans on sooner (easier) or a aftermarket hard wire kit to kick the radiator fan on sooner. Lower temps = longer engine life and less failures. Get a good tune! Don’t forget your coolant. The 50:50 works great for normal driving, but higher water (distilled) to antifreeze ratio will run a bit cooler. Its not a bad idea in a track car to go 70:30 / 60:40 in spring once you know ther eis no issues with freezing for the whole race season, then change back for the winter to 50:50... but its time consuming. Only use STEAM distiled water, NEVER tap or "spring water". Running ALL water = higher pressures, and needs some system items changed/considered first. All water will also corrode the aluminum engine engine parts without the anti-corrosion chemicals in it, and all water = higher pressures hot = faster water pump failure FYI. The redline water wetter will also help keep temps down a few more degrees, this is a MUST for all water systems. The farther away you go from 50:50, the more water wetter you need. Don’t forget to change the fluid in your car if racing for the rear diff and the transmission after every season as well. These parts expensive when they fail. I find that the dealer does a great job on fluid changes CHEAP and reliably IF you get your own fluids and bring them. If I bring all my fluids, the total cost for oil, trans and diff change out is under $90 and saves me a mess & disposal costs. Filter? Mobile 1 is just fine. Oil temps above 300F are not uncommon if you are pushing your stock motor without mods. Ouch. I hit high 260s even on a hot day with the mods for heat discussed here in this tutorial.

Learn the Ranger clutch reservoir trick! This is getting a 10cc syringe or bigger from your auto parts store (Pepboys has them) with a small hose attached; store it in a freezer bag sized ziplock to keep your tool box clean. It’s usually used for mixing 2 stroke oil, etc. Open your clutch reservoir and STIR up the gunk on the bottom. Then SUCK it all out carefully, it will eat your paint if you drip since there is brake fluid in there. Then dump it into an empty disposable water bottle. Carefully refill with the same good fluid you now use in your brakes, DO NOT OVER FILL, and then get in the car. Pump the pedal 20 times. Start drive 2 minutes. Come back, turn car off. Pump clutch 20 times again. Repeat the flush. This is for the first time only. Then do this after all spirited driving involving shift or clutch dumps (i.e. spinning wheels). Keep at it often and the fluid will be and stay clear! If the fluid brakes down it gets gunky looking snowflakes in it that damage the slave fast! The constant change over of fluid here will keep your slave cylinder clean and avoid clutch failure. It’s cheap insurance. I do it first thing at an HPDE each day, and if it’s a busy morning (4 sessions) I will do it at lunch too. Basically every 4 sessions, I do this procedure to keep the car fresh. Power steering fluid can be changed the same way with a sucking syringe, get the synthetic good stuff not the OE cheap stuff. Just insert wheel left and right a bunch of times with engine on instead of clutch pumps. I only do this two times a season though.

Recently I found a local Tuner shop (you know the Honda, subaru, etc. places) that sells all the Redline products, motul, etc. They have a PRICE MATCH policy on all fluids! I went one by one on my fluids I needed on Google Shopping, copied down the best prices for each and bought locally at rock bottom prices! Think about this option. 8q oil, 2q diff, 3q trans, 1q steering, 1q water wetter = $140 all Redline when price matched locally without shipping costs. I also set up an account with them, so next time I will get the same prices automatically! Saved about $25 bucks. Not life changing but they also said they will price match for rotors, pads, and anything else they sell / can order...

[redvette24]

Plugs, Wires & Coil Packs:
Get the NGKs TR55 or TR55 - IX (irridium) plugs (http://www.texas-speed.com/SHOP/cate...MID=3&catid=11), they will hold the higher engine temps for a N/A car with basically stock motor LS1/LS6. NGK recommends the TR5 (http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/part_fi...gineid=1442419), but extensive reading on CF and pro-shops all like the TR55. Forced air systems need different temp plugs. Get the nice MSD wires or GMPP wires, dont get cheap or OE wires!!! The MSD coil packs add no horse power but it idles in COLD temps much better in my car, but when I went back from them MSD to the OEM I found (on the exact same tune) the engine oil ran 10 – 15F degrees cooler on average with the MSD coil packs than the OEM coils. No clue why?! The MSD packs are therefore a nice option, but also have a much higher rate of failure & cost a ton of $$$. There is less detonation I hear from those with twin turbos & high boost with the MSD. The OEM packs last forever, and you can always fine one on ebay cheap if you need an OE when one fails. Get the spark wire plug heat shields, good insurance from a melted wire short & MANDATORY if you have / plan to get long tube headers.

Cold Air Intake:
This is a must. Let her breathe! Vararam (http://www.vararam.com/b2.html) is great if you do not run in heavy water conditions, CF posts abound with hydrolock engine issues. Since I dual purpose my car on the street and don’t mind standing water… I got a Callaway Honker instead (http://store.corvetteforum.com/p-224...iliateid=10142). This again is a highly debated topic. Read before you buy. Also understand the installation pitfalls of each, for example the Honker makes you cut up your radiator shroud to install it. The blackwing is an easier install, and costs significantly less.. but it is just a CAI, and there is no forced air effect like with the Honker / Vararam, plus it pulls engine bay heat not fresh.

If you have a METAL MAF housing, you can get a cheap (under $20 bucks) plastic housing to swap it with from CorvetteAmerica.com. The metal housing acts as a heat sink, and this means the MAF once hot will add its own heat to your incoming air. Cheap power fix. A throttle body bypass kit (you can search CF to find out the 3 home depot parts to make it) will keep your hot collant from heating your throttle body. This seems like a nice idea in the winter when the air can be too cold... but seriously how many of you drive the thing in 20F in the snow? Bypassing the throttle body keeps yet another source from heating up your incoming air. Colder air = more volume = more power.

You do not need to do a throttle body upgrade, intake manifold, etc. until you do your big power increase with a head cam / Force air set up. It’s not worth the expense on a stock motor to do those alone, spend the money on seat time to go faster instead! Pay and get the car tuned, however. East Coast Superchargers can email you a pretty close tune based on your easy bolt on mods that you can bring to a local tuner with the right software tune for a 30 secs OBDII port download ($99 at Carlisle and they do it there, $129 - $149 by mail). You do not need a dyno tune from a good tuner, unless you made serious engine & power mods. Many tuners will do a quickie tune, way better than stock, for far less $$$ than on the dyno ($400 & up). A tune can also change your fan temp kick on, as well as disable the CAGS without using the hard wired plug.

Seats, Harness & Bars:
Want pretty? Caravaggio (http://www.caravaggiocorvettes.com/) & Arizen (http://www.arizenracingsports.com) both fit on the stock tracks as does the A4 from Corbeau (http://www.corbeau.com/products/reclining_seats/a4/). Want just functional the cloth Sparco is quality and easy. I recently tried the Cobra Seats, these are the ones Phoenix (http://www.phoenixperformance.net/) prefers lately, and they have a whole set up you can buy with the tracks and the seats all set up for you to bolt in. You may need seat tracks if you are tall though to lower the seats for tall guys + helmet thickness. Stock set up will fit up to about 6’2 with helmet. After that you definitely need after market tracks. If you are a wider Corvette owner, you need a different seat to fit your butt than the regular seats. Somewhere between 34-36 inches is the max for the standard seats. If your shoulders are wide, you might need a different seat too. If not sure, go sit in some seats before you buy. Its miserable driving in a seat that doesn’t fit you. You will only need the driver’s seat, but if you plan on having passengers ride along… or instructors in the car they will greatly appreciate their own race seat with harness.


5 vs 6 point? I don’t like my Johnson mashed up by the center strap of the 5 point. Nuff said. If you have a sport OEM seat, the Brey Kraus set up is a great match up and you can use those OEM seats. Most clubs will NOT let you use the stock Z06 seat because it does NOT have shoulder pass thrus. BUT the Brey Kraus (http://www.bkauto.com/corvette/corvetteindex.php) is not always after market seat track friendly because they employ a vertical support upright on the outside of each seat track. You can use a seat stud extender kit from Hardbar ($25 per stud) to make the Brey Kraus kinda work better in this scenario. If you are going with an aftermarket track, seat and 6 point all at once… the Hardbar (http://www.hardbarusa.com/hardbar) cross member and sub-belt units are the way to go to avoid issues. Avoid the less know other brands. Don’t skimp on safety. It’s nice that the BK setup allows you to use both stock belts and the 5/6 point with ease on an OEM sport seat. Don’t forget to buy the CLIPS for your harnesses; you will not be bolting on in most cases for a C5. Also get a quick CAM release style, it’s very easy to get and out especially in an emergency. I like the G-force one, good bang for buck. I found that Soloracer (http://www.soloracer.com/) sells most of your seats, belts, clips, etc. cheap and will price match lowest prices quite often. Never hurts to check CF group purchases or google shopping for lowest pricing either. Never buy a harness used because they do degrade over time. And many groups will check the MANUFACTER date, too old and you can’t use it for many groups like the SCCA. For a stock car you do not need a fire extinguisher, but the more you mod your engine the more you will need it.

[redvette24]

HPDE Car Insurance:
Most insurance companies do not cover racing, some do cover HPDE when it’s not timed and there are no winners / losers. Meaning if it’s a “Driver’s Education” event, you might be covered in the beginner groups. *** Assume you are not covered *** Some State Farm policies still cover it to my knowledge like this. You can buy HPDE track insurance at declared value. I saw a 3 day GT3 Porsche destroy the front end on Thunderbolt and get towed away with 253 miles on it. Covered 100% with track insurance. Find out all the conditions though, some do not cover blatant stupidity like running on full slicks in standing water, etc. Know what you buy before you try. A common one used is http://hpdeins.locktonaffinity.com.

Note when buying track insurance: One event might be $249 for the event, BUT you can do a "10 pack" for a full season sometimes for about $800 - $1100 by car value (this estiamte for a declared value of about 35-40k). It might seem crazy for 250-300 per event, but when you get the price closer to $80 per event... it doesnt sound so crazy does it? A friend in Porsche Club Recently (August 2009) rolled his track 993 with cage 3 times over sideways at Summit in WV. He had a 10 pack deal, and they paid him out. Don;t think the check comes fast or easy though, it takes about 3-6 weeks of wrangling. You can also sometimes buy your own car back as "scrap" for pennies on the dollar! This is great if you take the $$, buy another of the same car... and now can pull all your performance piece upgrades from the damage car to the new car WAY cheaper than buying them all again!

Let the LS1 Cool when moving:
I like the Z06 race mesh in the front of the car, open up the silly fog screen area and get more air into the engine bay to cool your racing engine! halltech makes this very easy and pretty, but its big $$ and then you need to paint it - I use it an am very happy (http://www.halltechsystems.com/Hallt...p/ratp1500.htm). Cutting open & doing race mesh on the license plate adds even more cold air flowing up and over the engine to keep her cool. A walk thru / how to is on CF which explains how to do this here (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...cover-mod.html), unfortunately if you live in NJ or one of those state that requires a front plate you are kinda screwed on this one.

A nice new bumper for C5 that opens up the entire front can be found here (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...nt-bumper.html) Never hurts to use a front hood seal, gets the air flowing more predictably in the engine compartment and that’s cheap and easy to do. A upgraded radiator is a must once you get into the Intermediate & Advanced groups. DRM (http://www.dougrippie.com/) sells not only those cool plastic brake ducts to attact to the Quantum kit, but also a real nice radiator/external oil cooler set up. A definite must as you go faster to save your engine life. Dewitts makes some of the best double thick bolt in radiators and External Cooler comobos (http://www.dewitts.com/pages/categor...s.asp?catID=19). LG sells the G2 Radiator with lines (http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog...oducts_id=1488). The diff/trans/steering cooler are the next step after that. DRM again makes kits seperate for each, and the coolers sit in the cut out locations for Z06 brake ducts (DRM (http://www.dougrippie.com/) LG makes a kick but cooler as well for big $$$ (http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog...oducts_id=1859).

Final Note:
I hope this helps anyone reading it to avoid the pitfalls of Modding and $$ lost in broken parts, time researching what works and doesn’t, and hours of searching forums for correct answers.

Suggested Order of MODS if you are completely new to the addiction:

1.) First HPDE = MUST change out all fluids if you haven't in a while. Make sue your diff, trans, coolant, oil and especially your brake fluid are fresh. Safety of you and your car come first. Buy a good lightweight helmet, cheap neck foam pad and seat belt shoulder pad for the first event.
2.) Spend your first 3-6 track days in a mostly stock car. Get seat time! See if this is for you! Seat time will determine everything else. Experience is far more important to go faster than mods. You want to be on crappy tires in the begining to teach you humility!
3.) Once this is for you: brake pads, brake lines, shifter, seat & harnesss. Safety first.
4.) Did I mention seat time and driving schools? Good time to get you thermostat, air intake and car programmed if you haven't already. Might be a good time in invest in brake ducts as well.
5.) Now your ready! This is a big debate area, but unless you went from loser to god in 5 races, you really aren't going fast enough yet in a 20-30 min HPDE to over heat the engine. I would say bushings \ ball joints \ tie rods and then suspension next in a cool/moderate climate up north.. then a bigger radiator & external oil cooler. In a HOT cliamte like Florida, So Cal, Arizona... you need to do this in the opposite order so you don't over cook your motor.
5.) Now move up to a wider rim / better R comp tire (NOT SLICKS) once you are far to ofast to kepe the car on the track in street tires.
6.) All the rest of the bells and whisltes... with your engine and drive train DEAD LAST after all the rest has been done.

One last note, if you read this thread, notice how many people say that the hardest thing to learn about this hobby is $$$ management! (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...ad-racing.html) Meaning that it will cost you in time and $$ WAY WAY more than you think! The first track day is cheap. Pads and fluids. The second day isnt too bad either. Its track events 4 to the rest that will bankrupt you!

[redvette24]

The above information was bogarted from another site. Its all very good information.

Any questions will be entertained to the best of our abilities!!!

Feel free to send a PM or Email and I will do my best to answer any questions. I am not an expert, but the above information has helped me over the past 4 yrs of participating in HPDEs.

[1977and2010]

Redvette thanks for all of the info. I've been doing some autocrossing and having too much fun. Getting some parts sorted and hoping to do some HPDE events later this year. Thanks again for the info.

[MyKwikToys]

Lots of good info
Tks
Bill

[JDP Motorsports]

There is a lot of great information in here!! The C5/C6 Corvette is an entirely different animal in comparison to the 5th Gen Camaro but a lot of the principles apply. I think one of the best suggestions is SEAT TIME and SAFETY! Have a good one!

Kind regards,

Jordan Priestley
888.308.6007