STANG KILLA SS Goes Racin

[STANG KILLA SS]

well after getting the two o2 heater codes i ordered new ones. while i waited for them i wrapped the headers from the o2s to as far forward as i could reach under the car. to try to help keep the exhaust hotter back to the o2s. picked up 100' of DEI Titanium wrap. was my first time attempting wrapping.





also wrapped the x pipe to aid in footwell and tunnel heat. the 100' was perfect amount.


short version of long story:
o2s were supposed to be delivered friday, the night before my local autocross. well by 4pm they werent delievered and i got nervous. ordered another pair locally for backup.
i get home and pair # 1 is delivered. i open boxes and the plugs are wrong. turns out i ordered rears thinking the heaters would be better, not thinking the plugs might be different. wires were all different colors, couldnt even re wire the old plug on.
no worries i have a back up set waiting.... go check it. sombitch rear square plug too. 5 o clock panic. i called every Oreillys, Advanced, Autozone, AND dealer ship within 4 cities from me and NO ONE had front O2s. all had rears. finally tracked down one 1 hour south of me, and another 30 minutes west of me opposite directions. a 3 hour road trip later i had the 2 unicorns in hand. pulled late nighter in the dark and get them in.
clear codes and test fire. codes come back. by this time its 11pm and im done. come inside to find a lucky post by someone on corvette forum saying exposed wires will pop a fuse and give O2 heater codes. i did find melted O2 extention wires i re-covered. went out and sure enough that fuse is blown. but too late to retest. replace it and fire it up in the morning with no issues or codes.
so theres a good chance my old O2s were never bad, just melted extension wires poping the fuse and giving the heater codes.......

autocross time!
unfortunatly i was the last class of the day. my first run didnt start until 1:30. fastest time of the day to that point was a 41.2 after 4 rounds. i went out on my first pass and ran a 39.9
i couldnt believe it. and neither could everyone else. racers and crowd was cheering me on all day. and asking for ride alongs. was a TON of fun!








couple of outside views sent to me




ended up having the fastest RWD and overall time of the day.
im at the very bottom


last/fastest run of the day: 38 flat!


not sure why i was stabbing the throttle like a monkey threw those first series of lefts. i had been smooth there all day. i was getting tired i guess. was able to make the time back up in the 3 final 180s thanks to a tip to slow down more and slide less. it worked!

[XSRCdesign]

So funny story... on my sunfire. After I put the supercharger on, I chased that o2 heater circuit code for almost a year.. same thing, it was a stupid fuse.

The good news is, as far as I could read up on, all the heater does is help before the engine is at operating temperature. So the car ran fine, just threw a code because of start up emissions.

[XSRCdesign]

Oh and I love the forgestars!

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by XSRCdesign

So funny story... on my sunfire. After I put the supercharger on, I chased that o2 heater circuit code for almost a year.. same thing, it was a stupid fuse.

The good news is, as far as I could read up on, all the heater does is help before the engine is at operating temperature. So the car ran fine, just threw a code because of start up emissions.

when mine threw the code at the NCCC AX above. it was definalty causeing rough running issues at partial throttle. you can actually here it bad in the videos. could feel it too. at WOT the o2s are ignored in open loop so it ran fine.

the obvious problem with long tubes is it pushing your o2s back 18-24" from the designed location, and exhaust tempurature.

thanks! made it was a hell of a 6 month experience, but worth it to have a quality wheel, with the exact fit i worked out.

[XSRCdesign]

Yeah I recall mine taking about twice as long as originally expected to arrive. Still was happy in the end.

What’s interesting is the place I got them from chooses to get them raw and do their own powder, reading your comments I wonder if that has something to do with it?

[STANG KILLA SS]

yeah i think they do the same. i think they buy CF5 blanks and then machine away the hub to the offset you want. and drill the lugs. and then PC them. i think thats why alot of the vendor offer colors that arent available threw forgestar.
nothing to back this up, just a guess and a few likely tiny over thought clues.

i wish they made the CF5V and CF10 in 18" would have made my decision tougher.
but im a 5 spoke guy at heart. its what belongs on domestics, and i like the easy of cleaning.

[XSRCdesign]

Yeah I ended up doing the CF10s in 19/20 and looking back I would have done 19/19. The cf5 was tempting at the time, but they were close enough to factory that I felt I needed a more drastic change.

I really should stop looking at this thread, I want a c6z now. Good thing I don't have anywhere to put it A c5 on CCW classics is at the top of my want list though. Well second...

[hpiguy]

Congrats on the win Cory. I actually liked the old wheels better, until you mentioned the cleaning aspect. I can't argue with that logic, I'd have bought some shit that would likely be a nightmare to clean. LOL

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by hpiguy

Congrats on the win Cory. I actually liked the old wheels better, until you mentioned the cleaning aspect. I can't argue with that logic, I'd have bought some shit that would likely be a nightmare to clean. LOL

yep go back and look at the CCWs that came on the car. F that im too old to be out there with one of those foam balls on a drill going in between every crevice.
learned that lesson years ago.

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by XSRCdesign

Yeah I ended up doing the CF10s in 19/20 and looking back I would have done 19/19. The cf5 was tempting at the time, but they were close enough to factory that I felt I needed a more drastic change.

I really should stop looking at this thread, I want a c6z now. Good thing I don't have anywhere to put it A c5 on CCW classics is at the top of my want list though. Well second...

the CCWs that came on the car are 19/19
why did you not like the 19/20? ie stock Zr1 sizes correct? ive been thinking about doing that in 5 years or so for a street wheel set. and not going full black, ie a dark gunmetal.

and just to push you over the edge....





FUUUUUUUUUUUUU i might have to add this to my wank off bookmarks....


the CCWs were out for me because of cost and BBK clearance.

[hpiguy]

Cleaning be damned, those all black CCWs are gorgeous!! Damn you Cory, first the mega PC sim racing setup, and now I've been looking at used C5s. I've wanted a Vette for years though, maybe next year since I got out of moto all together. A C5 Z06 or FRC would be my top pick of course, but maybe not in my budget for a weekend toy. I miss weekend laps on 9 mile though, just got to an age where I want a car around me, with all the safety features that affords.

[STANG KILLA SS]

you can buy a Base C5 coupe SO cheap now! its crazy. and unlike the C6 (aluminum frame Z vs steel frame Base) the c5Z is nearly identical to the coupes. ie bolt on parts can convert a base to a Z as time and money permits.
performance per dollar there is not a single car better in the world than a C5.

i also got out of motorcycles after 15 years to get into the vette. sold my 06 R6 that i taught myself to ride and then kept. finally sold it to fund the vette a bit. yeah im not invincible. watched a guy just last week get hit leaving a light. he never moved on the ground and ambulance left with no lights on....2 wheel freedom isnt worth that. anymore.

[hpiguy]

I know, that's what I've been seeing. I can get a NICE well taken care of C5 for under 10k now, and fairly local (500mi radius). It'd be a good base to tinker with and grow with me, and if well taken care of and garage kept, I think I could get 10-15 years out of one no more than I'd drive it. I've owned two RX7s, but never had a V8, or a Vette. Dragging a knee was fun for a few years, but I had enough close calls that I knew it was time to stop if I wanted to watch my nieces and nephew grow up. I've always wanted a Vette since I was a kid, so it's only a matter of time, hopefully next year.

[XSRCdesign]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

the CCWs that came on the car are 19/19
why did you not like the 19/20? ie stock Zr1 sizes correct? ive been thinking about doing that in 5 years or so for a street wheel set. and not going full black, ie a dark gunmetal.

and just to push you over the edge....





FUUUUUUUUUUUUU i might have to add this to my wank off bookmarks....


the CCWs were out for me because of cost and BBK clearance.

Couple reasons.. one, as I get older I’m starting to like side wall. And the drop centers were different between the 19 and 20 on the wheels. It made the front wheels look deeper than the rears in certain ways, and that drove me bonkers.

I didn’t realize how much I liked the smaller wheels till I put the factory ones back to trade it in. Maybe I liked the gunmetal more than I thought too?



Also the white c5 and that CCW wheel pic you posted are already saved in my phone

[STANG KILLA SS]

went to a new autocross at an airport. thought it would be pretty cool with all the extra room. did runs in 2nd instead of usual 1st gear. was crazy to have to stop the racing to have a crop duster or Scout cross the race course in a plane! once and entire fleet of aerobatic planes went up and flew "blue angels" formations over us for half an hour.







Fu cking exhaust came off again. this is getting old. after i got this side back on, i checked the other and it just fell of when i barely touched it.



the previous day it was 50* and raining, and race day it was 50* again in the morning. i struggled all day with grip. front lateral grip seemed decent at times, but i just couldnt get any rear grip.



i believe i ended up still winning my class with a couple 34.0s but i think i was a little over half a second off the fastest overall time. probly had a top 3 or top 5 time.
but for some reason i just didnt enjoy it. didnt have fun. i dont know if i wasnt in the mood, or if i wasnt happy with the cars or my driving perfomance. but the whole day was just kind of meh. I think it may be time to get back to what i really love.....

[durok]

Uhhh.... DAMN!

I know this is about YOUR Corvette...

But I spy with my squinty eye sumpin' in PURPLE with some YELLOW racing stripey-ness goin' on...

That is a mean-lookin' machine, from my fave generation of 'Vettes.

Just askin', ya got any pics showin' ALL of that bad-boy?

[STANG KILLA SS]

there are some earlier in the thread i think. he was at my very first waco AX.
the whole interior is yellow. and the side pipes are functional.

[hpiguy]

Nice work Cory! I think it's a testament to your driving that even though you didn't feel it that day, you still were able to calm down, figure out the lack of grip, and set the fastest time of the day. And what is it that you really love that you want to get back to?

[STANG KILLA SS]

well time to get back to road courses. My first time to MSR Cresson.
(warning: lots of pics)

been just running my street pads lately at the Autocross's, and origonal rotors, they were more than shot.


spent 3 weeks researching what race pads i wanted to try next. not much info on them yet, but the people that ran them loved them. The Raybestos ST-43 compound. well i called every shop in america and even Raybestos themselves. entire country was out. waited 3 months for them to finally produce some more.


replaced the rotors, with Stoptech/Centric blanks
stock rotors weighed 23.5 lbs, new rotors weighed 24lbs. probly the difference of the holes.


also my steep driveway entrance had drug a flat spot in my headers primary tube on the driver side. metal was paper thin. and when i wraped them it then cut the wrap. so i re wrapped that section. and made this redneck galvenized skid. ugly and ghetto as hell, but works awesome.


Headed off to Cresson to try MSR for the first time. definatly alot nicer facility than i was used to at TWS. first thing i came across was these vettes, not encouraging!






also these
murdered out Mclaren






garage full of skittles. pick a flavor

[STANG KILLA SS]

race day! what a humbling experience coming to a new track. i was used to usually haveing one of the fastest street car lap times at TWS to being a total newb again! i did some practice on Assetto Corsa sim to try to learn the track. i found it very difficult to learn. alot more technical i thought.

had to go on a Monday to get the full 3.1 mile track. luckily only 25 of us signed up. and about half were new to the track like me. and it was an open track day. no sessions or groups. 7 hours of run when ever you want, how ever long you want.


i found the new pads to have too much initial bite, and were also over powering my rear duralast GT pads, the car would only straight line brake, which made turn in tough, especially for a newb learn where that point was.


i struggled most of the day to get tires pressures/temps up. a sign i wasnt even close to pushing the car enough. but i knew that as i spent most of the time tip toeing around trying to learn the place.


over heard the guys running the event (Chin) call Corvettes "Gods Chariot" several times. lol i had never heard that before. damn catchy!


i dont know what Sonic puts in the burgers, but apparently its testosterone. after lunch i started to get my balls back and push a bit more.

but it was short lived, my new found comfort level was quickly met with overheating the brakes, several times. to the point it even backed off my front bleeder screws, and letting brake fluid leak and steam/smoke out. eating and discoloring the caliper powder coat too. the rubber nipple covers were smoking/melting too.
on the second to the last session i boiled and lost the brakes completely. pedal went straight to floor.


also exhaust came off again....


track seemed to not have breaks. for the driver, or to for the brakes to get a rest.








when you spot the photographer at 100 mph


this picture is a perfect image of my impressions of MSR. Elevation change, and it seemed the designer wanted every corner to be off camber, blind, and with a insanely late apex.


on the second to final session is when i completely lost the brakes. boiled them. so with 30 minutes left in the day after some cool down time. i went out. hoping they had cooled. i putted around for the first 2 laps, to see if they were back. they were. so i braked super gentle the rest of the session/day and it worked. car lasted the entire 30 minutes and i had a great time. this is that final session, minus the first 2 "do i have brakes?" laps.



was running a best of 2:29-2:30s most of the day.
well when the white flag droped for the end of the day, i decided to go for it. gave as much as i was comfortable with. ended up shaving 3 seconds and ran a 2:27 flat for my final lap! ironically exactly what i had run in Assetto Corsa sim. you can see that fastest lap at 17:41 in the vid.


was alot of fun, dispite some setbacks. but ive got alot to learn still. 4 corners im still completely lost on.