First HPDE day
I just got back from my first track day with the C7 and thought I'd share my thoughts on the car.
For context, I generally get to the track somewhere in the range of 8 to 12 days a summer. Most of the track days are 30 minute on, 30 minute off days... so 3+ hours of actual seat time per day most (not all) times I'm at the track. I run in the "red" group which is the group immediately below the instructors. Having said that, I'm far from a pro but I do have a decent amount of experience.
Cars I have owned/run at the track...
2 different E92 M3's (one a 6MT and one a DCT)
C63 AMG coupe
An E36 M3 (this was a dedicated track, only car)
Cars I have had extended lapping sessions in at the track...
997 GT3RS
SLS AMG
C6 GS
Track prep
Carbotech XP10 pads
Motul 600 fluid
C7 track spec alignment
Mobil 1 15W-50
Differential fluid change
Other than that, the car was stock. I even forgot to put the rotor cooling rings on when I put the XP10's on last night
Thoughts from the day...
I was a bit apprehensive with the car my first session out. Stories of brake failures, oil leaks, Z51 brake inadequacy, etc were all on my mind So, until I had a good feel for the car, I took it easy. The apprehension pretty much went away about 5 minutes into my first lapping session
At first, I had a tough time with being as smooth and fluid as I'd like. The steering is so direct and responsive and the throttle and brakes react so quickly to input that the car reacts very fast to any driver input. By my second session, I had smoothed things out and then REALLY started to appreciate how direct and responsive this car is. It does EXACTLY what you ask and IMMEDIATELY when you ask it. Once you understand this and get a feel for the car it is immensely fun.
Turn in is very, very good. There are a lot of elevation changes and off camber corners at my home track. This car simply goes wherever you point it. Turn in and steering response is so good, the car feels much lighter than it is. The grip from the Super Sport tires is also very strong... far better than I had expected. The single biggest... and pleasant... surprise to me was how strong turn in is with the C7 and how much ultimate grip it has!! There is a particular off camber, downhill sweeping corner with a decreasing radius to the apex... the car pulled like a freight train each and every time to the apex. The only other car I have driven that was as capable in this regard was the GT3 and my E36 dedicated track car (completely stripped, full roll cage and harness, track suspension, Wilwood BBK, etc, etc).
The Pilot Super Sports were amazing... as mentioned. The got a little greasy towards the end of each session but remained very predictable and had lots of grip.
The car braked well with minimal fade. I now wish I would have run SS lines and maybe used XP12s on the front. The brakes were fine but I wanted a little "more" from them towards the end of the sessions. I felt the pedal needed a little more pressure late in the session than I like... but I'm also very sensitive to brakes at the track for obvious reasons. I'm thinking I will put some Spiegler lines on it, buy a set of XP12s and use Castrol SRF fluid next time out. Eventually, I will replace the rotors with AP Racing rotors when they become available. With those changes, my opinion is the Z51 brakes are more than adequate.
The car is perfectly balanced. The rear end is VERY planted and when the car slides, the entire car slides. It is so well balanced, I could almost drive the car with the throttle around sweeping turns. The rear and front ends are always communicating exactly what is going on all of the time. The best way I can describe it is perfectly predictable all of the time. A great feature in any track car.
I ran the car in track mode (Sport 2) and in Sport mode (with TC on and off). The track is a fairly rough track and I found Sport mode was better for keeping the car settled. The slightly softer damping was better for a track that has rough sections and uneven pavement in places. For a smooth track, I would use Track mode for the firmer damping. Having said that, even in Sport mode the car stayed flat in cornering and braking. Very impressive. Also, I found that even with traction control on, it was very subtle in its intervention... I preferred it off but even when on it was perfectly usable.
Summary
I am VERY impressed and happy with the C7 at the track. My favourite track car before this was my purpose built E36 M3. It weighed only 2,600lbs and was not street legal and ran on racing slicks. That car would run with C6 Z06's on my track (slightly shorter, more technical track) as it would corner faster and you could brake later to offset the horsepower deficiency. The C7 was faster... it handled the corners similarly but had WAY more power. The C7 was also as predictable and controllable... steering with your right foot was easy in this car.
I am SO impressed by this car... more so today than ever before. It is a great DD car, is beautiful to look at inside and out, and is a hugely capable and fast track car out of the box. Put some money into brakes and racing compound tires and this car would run with almost anything out there at the track.
Funny story... one of the instructor's day job is selling Porsche's. There were about 5 guys standing around the C7 admiring it and she came over and jokingly asked how many customers she was going to lose... they all put up their hands No joke One guy was telling me that after running with the C7 today in his 997 Turbo (and me being faster) convinced him it was time to trade his car for a C7... because Chev "finally got the design right all around."
I'm back out at the track tomorrow again... can't wait.
Here's a couple of pictures from today... I didn't have time to take more
I just got back from my first track day with the C7 and thought I'd share my thoughts on the car.
For context, I generally get to the track somewhere in the range of 8 to 12 days a summer. Most of the track days are 30 minute on, 30 minute off days... so 3+ hours of actual seat time per day most (not all) times I'm at the track. I run in the "red" group which is the group immediately below the instructors. Having said that, I'm far from a pro but I do have a decent amount of experience.
Cars I have owned/run at the track...
2 different E92 M3's (one a 6MT and one a DCT)
C63 AMG coupe
An E36 M3 (this was a dedicated track, only car)
Cars I have had extended lapping sessions in at the track...
997 GT3RS
SLS AMG
C6 GS
Track prep
Carbotech XP10 pads
Motul 600 fluid
C7 track spec alignment
Mobil 1 15W-50
Differential fluid change
Other than that, the car was stock. I even forgot to put the rotor cooling rings on when I put the XP10's on last night
Thoughts from the day...
I was a bit apprehensive with the car my first session out. Stories of brake failures, oil leaks, Z51 brake inadequacy, etc were all on my mind So, until I had a good feel for the car, I took it easy. The apprehension pretty much went away about 5 minutes into my first lapping session
At first, I had a tough time with being as smooth and fluid as I'd like. The steering is so direct and responsive and the throttle and brakes react so quickly to input that the car reacts very fast to any driver input. By my second session, I had smoothed things out and then REALLY started to appreciate how direct and responsive this car is. It does EXACTLY what you ask and IMMEDIATELY when you ask it. Once you understand this and get a feel for the car it is immensely fun.
Turn in is very, very good. There are a lot of elevation changes and off camber corners at my home track. This car simply goes wherever you point it. Turn in and steering response is so good, the car feels much lighter than it is. The grip from the Super Sport tires is also very strong... far better than I had expected. The single biggest... and pleasant... surprise to me was how strong turn in is with the C7 and how much ultimate grip it has!! There is a particular off camber, downhill sweeping corner with a decreasing radius to the apex... the car pulled like a freight train each and every time to the apex. The only other car I have driven that was as capable in this regard was the GT3 and my E36 dedicated track car (completely stripped, full roll cage and harness, track suspension, Wilwood BBK, etc, etc).
The Pilot Super Sports were amazing... as mentioned. The got a little greasy towards the end of each session but remained very predictable and had lots of grip.
The car braked well with minimal fade. I now wish I would have run SS lines and maybe used XP12s on the front. The brakes were fine but I wanted a little "more" from them towards the end of the sessions. I felt the pedal needed a little more pressure late in the session than I like... but I'm also very sensitive to brakes at the track for obvious reasons. I'm thinking I will put some Spiegler lines on it, buy a set of XP12s and use Castrol SRF fluid next time out. Eventually, I will replace the rotors with AP Racing rotors when they become available. With those changes, my opinion is the Z51 brakes are more than adequate.
The car is perfectly balanced. The rear end is VERY planted and when the car slides, the entire car slides. It is so well balanced, I could almost drive the car with the throttle around sweeping turns. The rear and front ends are always communicating exactly what is going on all of the time. The best way I can describe it is perfectly predictable all of the time. A great feature in any track car.
I ran the car in track mode (Sport 2) and in Sport mode (with TC on and off). The track is a fairly rough track and I found Sport mode was better for keeping the car settled. The slightly softer damping was better for a track that has rough sections and uneven pavement in places. For a smooth track, I would use Track mode for the firmer damping. Having said that, even in Sport mode the car stayed flat in cornering and braking. Very impressive. Also, I found that even with traction control on, it was very subtle in its intervention... I preferred it off but even when on it was perfectly usable.
Summary
I am VERY impressed and happy with the C7 at the track. My favourite track car before this was my purpose built E36 M3. It weighed only 2,600lbs and was not street legal and ran on racing slicks. That car would run with C6 Z06's on my track (slightly shorter, more technical track) as it would corner faster and you could brake later to offset the horsepower deficiency. The C7 was faster... it handled the corners similarly but had WAY more power. The C7 was also as predictable and controllable... steering with your right foot was easy in this car.
I am SO impressed by this car... more so today than ever before. It is a great DD car, is beautiful to look at inside and out, and is a hugely capable and fast track car out of the box. Put some money into brakes and racing compound tires and this car would run with almost anything out there at the track.
Funny story... one of the instructor's day job is selling Porsche's. There were about 5 guys standing around the C7 admiring it and she came over and jokingly asked how many customers she was going to lose... they all put up their hands No joke One guy was telling me that after running with the C7 today in his 997 Turbo (and me being faster) convinced him it was time to trade his car for a C7... because Chev "finally got the design right all around."
I'm back out at the track tomorrow again... can't wait.
Here's a couple of pictures from today... I didn't have time to take more
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