The £7700 Corvette C6
Discussion
MNP-14A said:
Been reading through the thread, fantastic read and well detailed. I'm looking at getting a C6 myself fairly soon, just wanted to ask a few questions.
What do you do regarding service parts? Easy to come ahold of here?
And is the car ok to just run on our 99 octane fuel or do I need to change anything on the car? And have you noticed a difference in performance on our better fuel?
Cheers.
Thank you, always great to hear when someone has enjoyed my ramblings. What do you do regarding service parts? Easy to come ahold of here?
And is the car ok to just run on our 99 octane fuel or do I need to change anything on the car? And have you noticed a difference in performance on our better fuel?
Cheers.
So pleased to hear you're considering a C6. LHD aside, I don't understand why they're not popular here, they have so much character and performance to offer.
I've never bought any service parts here, as C5_Steve mentions, Rock Auto and Summit, in the States are good. Given the shipping costs are quite pricey, even for a single item, I tend to wait and buy a few things at once and keep them on the shelf. As you know, I do all the work myself, but if you'd prefer a garage to do this, you can just hand them the parts (filters) they need.
I've rarely noticed any difference in performance, whatever the fuel. Unless it is mapped to gain the very last horsepower, what you are gaining is a degree of safety with the higher octane fuel. If the car is standard, with no mods and you are pootling around with moderate use of right foot then I see no reason not to use 95. However, if the car is modified/tuned and/or you know you are likely to take it for a hoon on the roads or track, then super unleaded is very good insurance against pre-detonation. Two years ago when I was driving up and back to Knockhill, I would often fill up with 95, cover the 400+ miles at a steady motorway pace, then fill up with super for the event, before putting a tank of 95 back in for the return journey. It was just cheaper that way.
Given the temptation to use full throttle when the mood takes me I use super almost all the time now.Felix and I did drive fairly briskly in the Atlas mountains, on Morocco's basic unleaded (no super available) and even two up, with luggage and at high altitude it performed without hesitation, although we could tell the performance was blunted on that occasion.
Wednesday 6th January 2021
Fishy Dave said:
I will certainly report back once the car is back on the road.
Hi Dave, As a lot of miles have passed under Clives' transmission tunnel since early 2021 thought it timely to ask how the KW V3 units have held up over that time and how the Delrin bushes have performed. Love your work F1natic said:
Wednesday 6th January 2021
Good idea, first up, the KW V3 dampers. They're brilliant honestly, the ride is just right for an almost daily driven, fast road Corvette. Paired with the stiffer leaf springs (Z06 rear monoleaf and Hyperco 'race' T1 front monoleaf) the recommended settings are just right. No crashing or shuddering, good control on track, compliant on the road. I even left them on these settings in Morocco, impressive given some of the roads encountered. My only criticisms are 1, they are heavy and 2. when I was using them with the softer, Z51 springs the recommended settings left them running a little too close to the limits of firmness adjustment. Fishy Dave said:
I will certainly report back once the car is back on the road.
Hi Dave, As a lot of miles have passed under Clives' transmission tunnel since early 2021 thought it timely to ask how the KW V3 units have held up over that time and how the Delrin bushes have performed. Love your work The only thing left to change with the suspension is a stiffer rear anti-roll bar (perhaps the ZR1 bar), to encourage a little more oversteer balance. The Hyperco front spring has shifted the balance to understeer.
As for the Delrin bushes. They are like jewels, exquisitely made, but they are very expensive and annoyingly they bind and squeek. Very frustrating, given the extra paid for 'self lubricating' teflon impregnated units. If I were to do it again, I would fit the much cheaper poly bushes and drill grease ports into the wishbones, as shown here, about 3/4 of the way down (this thread is a good read too) https://www.vorshlag.com/forums/forum/vorshlag-mot...
Every time I'm tinkering in the wishbone area, I take the bushes out by hand, give them a clean, a little red grease, back in and they are fine for 6 months. I still need to fit the rear offset bushes, so I can dial in more rear camber.
I'm sad to see the earthquake devastation in Morocco.
A week after the Pistonheads meet, it was the US Autoshow, at Oulton Park. A nice place to park up, take the family and watch some racing. A change from organising or competing. From there we left Clive and took the VW camper to Anglesey and enjoyed a few days there, before the return journey (met Jamie Whitham at a bike track day).
Austin stood in front of a Clive imposter.
Last year I bought a set of Delrin eccentric bushes, for the upper, rear wishbones. This was to achieve a little extra negative camber, as the stock adjusters were at maximum (-1.3ish degrees). I finally got around to fitting them, the week before a Corvette Club handling day at North Weald.
To remove the older, centre-holed Delrin bushes just required whipping them off and popping them in the freezer for 20 minutes. After that, a hole was drilled and tapped in the alloy wishbones, new bushes rotated to suit, countersunk, then a grub screw locktited in place.
Standard vs. eccentric bush comparison.
This naturally introduced a smidge of rear toe in.
Time to break out the alignment kit, first done on my slightly uneven drive, then final tweaks at the flatter floor at work.
This isn't a finished photo, but gives an idea of roughly -2.7 front and -1.7 rear. If Clive goes back to competing I will dial in more at both ends, but given most of the miles at the moment are on the road this is a compromise. The extra rear camber has tucked the top of the tyre just slightly into the bodywork (with 20mm spacer), just about perfect to my eyes.
Given that North Weald is about having fun and practicing skills and find limits, it was time to put back on the slightly shabby 'polished' set of wheels, shod with AD08R tyres. The front are now more than 5 years old, with borderline legal tread and a LOT of heat cycles. The rears were newer, at about 3 years old (I get through almost two sets of rears for one set of fronts).
So, onto the late September handling day. Ten Corvette's was a great showing, some new faces amongst those Corvette owners who can't get enough of these days.
After my very first 'high-speed bend' I knew it wasn't going to be my day. Once everyone had heard my racing excuse of disappointing levels of understeer (old front tyres mostly), I got on with it anyway.
I consider myself pretty good at getting in a new car and getting to grips with it quickly, well, being given the controls to a kind strangers (a Scot, named Manish) C8 was daunting and at first I hesitated. An 80/85mph runway followed by a hard left with all safety systems off would give me no warning what the mid-engined marvel would do. Well, I can vouch for astonishing levels of responsiveness and turn in from the C8, when both my turns resulted in fast spins, shrouded in tyre smoke. My normal levels of confidence were somewhat diminished. Manish was still happy for me to have another go, to which I politely said no, but maybe in the afternoon....
I returned to my every increasing circles in Clive, front tyres skating across the tarmac, no matter how much trail braking I tried. By late morning we moved on to the MSUK sprint course, that's more like it. More waiting time than usual gave time to chat and observe how others were fairing. Plenty of smiles, a few spins too, great fun.
Manish did indeed give me the key for another run in his C8. We agreed on two runs, the first at a brisk but sensible pace, the second to go for it. In the end the two runs would be almost the same time (1:09.5), just enough to beat the owners best time and that of a new 911 Turbo S, though not enough to beat regular, in his astonishing VW Passat R in the end (1:09.3). The C8 still had more on the table. Now I know how the car would handle I know I could have pushed more in some areas. I may not love the C8's styling (but don't mind it) and I'd still prefer a manual option, but it is just so much more advanced than the C6, so capable and this is a standard car on road tyres too. Brilliant.
After that I spent what time was left giving passenger rides, not worrying about times set.
Here is one of my runs, tiptoeing around the sharper bends, having to be patient. New tyres would completely transform the balance. My best and almost only crack at setting a time was a 1:10 dead.
That's it for now, Clive passed 227,000 miles on the way home.
Austin stood in front of a Clive imposter.
Last year I bought a set of Delrin eccentric bushes, for the upper, rear wishbones. This was to achieve a little extra negative camber, as the stock adjusters were at maximum (-1.3ish degrees). I finally got around to fitting them, the week before a Corvette Club handling day at North Weald.
To remove the older, centre-holed Delrin bushes just required whipping them off and popping them in the freezer for 20 minutes. After that, a hole was drilled and tapped in the alloy wishbones, new bushes rotated to suit, countersunk, then a grub screw locktited in place.
Standard vs. eccentric bush comparison.
This naturally introduced a smidge of rear toe in.
Time to break out the alignment kit, first done on my slightly uneven drive, then final tweaks at the flatter floor at work.
This isn't a finished photo, but gives an idea of roughly -2.7 front and -1.7 rear. If Clive goes back to competing I will dial in more at both ends, but given most of the miles at the moment are on the road this is a compromise. The extra rear camber has tucked the top of the tyre just slightly into the bodywork (with 20mm spacer), just about perfect to my eyes.
Given that North Weald is about having fun and practicing skills and find limits, it was time to put back on the slightly shabby 'polished' set of wheels, shod with AD08R tyres. The front are now more than 5 years old, with borderline legal tread and a LOT of heat cycles. The rears were newer, at about 3 years old (I get through almost two sets of rears for one set of fronts).
So, onto the late September handling day. Ten Corvette's was a great showing, some new faces amongst those Corvette owners who can't get enough of these days.
After my very first 'high-speed bend' I knew it wasn't going to be my day. Once everyone had heard my racing excuse of disappointing levels of understeer (old front tyres mostly), I got on with it anyway.
I consider myself pretty good at getting in a new car and getting to grips with it quickly, well, being given the controls to a kind strangers (a Scot, named Manish) C8 was daunting and at first I hesitated. An 80/85mph runway followed by a hard left with all safety systems off would give me no warning what the mid-engined marvel would do. Well, I can vouch for astonishing levels of responsiveness and turn in from the C8, when both my turns resulted in fast spins, shrouded in tyre smoke. My normal levels of confidence were somewhat diminished. Manish was still happy for me to have another go, to which I politely said no, but maybe in the afternoon....
I returned to my every increasing circles in Clive, front tyres skating across the tarmac, no matter how much trail braking I tried. By late morning we moved on to the MSUK sprint course, that's more like it. More waiting time than usual gave time to chat and observe how others were fairing. Plenty of smiles, a few spins too, great fun.
Manish did indeed give me the key for another run in his C8. We agreed on two runs, the first at a brisk but sensible pace, the second to go for it. In the end the two runs would be almost the same time (1:09.5), just enough to beat the owners best time and that of a new 911 Turbo S, though not enough to beat regular, in his astonishing VW Passat R in the end (1:09.3). The C8 still had more on the table. Now I know how the car would handle I know I could have pushed more in some areas. I may not love the C8's styling (but don't mind it) and I'd still prefer a manual option, but it is just so much more advanced than the C6, so capable and this is a standard car on road tyres too. Brilliant.
After that I spent what time was left giving passenger rides, not worrying about times set.
Here is one of my runs, tiptoeing around the sharper bends, having to be patient. New tyres would completely transform the balance. My best and almost only crack at setting a time was a 1:10 dead.
That's it for now, Clive passed 227,000 miles on the way home.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Wednesday 11th October 15:28
Hi Dave,
Been reading it all by now, so time to reply a Thank you!
Great info about the maintainance and possibilitys of the C6.
I always wanted a Corvette.
Have looked at them for so many years, and always had an excuse not to buy one.
Mostly drive alone in my car as a daily, and dont need it for work no more it was about time.
The info you present here gave me the trust to buy one!
Thanks for all the info u sharing!
Looking forward to read all the new story's about Clive, and hope u 2 will go on for a long time!
Ps, i bought a C6 convertible.. Not intend to track it just enjoy the Corvette experience
Was a hard search here in the Netherlands. Prices went crazy last years, but its only money
Greetings,
Arjan
Been reading it all by now, so time to reply a Thank you!
Great info about the maintainance and possibilitys of the C6.
I always wanted a Corvette.
Have looked at them for so many years, and always had an excuse not to buy one.
Mostly drive alone in my car as a daily, and dont need it for work no more it was about time.
The info you present here gave me the trust to buy one!
Thanks for all the info u sharing!
Looking forward to read all the new story's about Clive, and hope u 2 will go on for a long time!
Ps, i bought a C6 convertible.. Not intend to track it just enjoy the Corvette experience
Was a hard search here in the Netherlands. Prices went crazy last years, but its only money
Greetings,
Arjan
Oussie said:
Hi Dave,
Been reading it all by now, so time to reply a Thank you!
Great info about the maintainance and possibilitys of the C6.
I always wanted a Corvette.
Have looked at them for so many years, and always had an excuse not to buy one.
Mostly drive alone in my car as a daily, and dont need it for work no more it was about time.
The info you present here gave me the trust to buy one!
Thanks for all the info u sharing!
Looking forward to read all the new story's about Clive, and hope u 2 will go on for a long time!
Ps, i bought a C6 convertible.. Not intend to track it just enjoy the Corvette experience
Was a hard search here in the Netherlands. Prices went crazy last years, but its only money
Greetings,
Arjan
Hi Arjan,Been reading it all by now, so time to reply a Thank you!
Great info about the maintainance and possibilitys of the C6.
I always wanted a Corvette.
Have looked at them for so many years, and always had an excuse not to buy one.
Mostly drive alone in my car as a daily, and dont need it for work no more it was about time.
The info you present here gave me the trust to buy one!
Thanks for all the info u sharing!
Looking forward to read all the new story's about Clive, and hope u 2 will go on for a long time!
Ps, i bought a C6 convertible.. Not intend to track it just enjoy the Corvette experience
Was a hard search here in the Netherlands. Prices went crazy last years, but its only money
Greetings,
Arjan
That's great news, so pleased to have helped in a little way, towards you becoming a Corvette C6 owner. I really hope you enjoy it and also get involved with the maintenance when it needs it, these really are nice cars to work on.
Please share some pictures of your car when you can.
Dave
Hi Dave,
This is her.
2007 Z51 LT3 M6
She has about 86000 miles.
I could convince my partners that a 2 post lift is necessary
First big job is gonna be changing the Harmonic Balancer.
I ordered one of Summitracing together with the Arp bolt and the oilseal.
The most recent vids about changing the balancer are interesting.
No steeringrack removal needed, well we will see.
This is her.
2007 Z51 LT3 M6
She has about 86000 miles.
I could convince my partners that a 2 post lift is necessary
First big job is gonna be changing the Harmonic Balancer.
I ordered one of Summitracing together with the Arp bolt and the oilseal.
The most recent vids about changing the balancer are interesting.
No steeringrack removal needed, well we will see.
Edited by Oussie on Sunday 12th November 09:03
That's a great looking C6 Oussie, congrats. Very good to hear that you got approval to get a lift too, it makes a world of difference and really helps run these cars properly, but also on a budget too. It doesn't take many jobs before the lift is paid for.
Keep us updated on what you do with your car.
Keep us updated on what you do with your car.
I spent the last couple of weeks in Florida, working for a week at Sebring circuit, then a few days to explore down to the Everglades, Keys and Miami. Oh and picking up plenty of Clive spares too.
As soon as I landed in Miami I drove to a Corvette breakers to pick up a stock 3.42 diff, as mine is still grumbling. I'm not sure what to do with it yet and it's heading back to me by ship, so is a week or two out still.
This gave the rental Camry a lovely smell for the week.
The Callaway C6 was just perfection.
Not a Corvette, but just, well, wibble! That noise!
I drove more than a thousand miles and saw more Alligators than Corvette C6's (just 5 of them, including this one at Key West).
Stocks of parts were bought from Vorshlag, Rock Auto, O'Reillys and Advance Autos (they've got some really useful little tools). Of these, most are being shipped back, but the tensioners, idler pulley and belts slipped into my suitcase.
That's stopped the squeaking, hoorah. Back on the lighter, 5W30 for the colder months.
Finally, a mention in this months Corvette magazine introduction.
As soon as I landed in Miami I drove to a Corvette breakers to pick up a stock 3.42 diff, as mine is still grumbling. I'm not sure what to do with it yet and it's heading back to me by ship, so is a week or two out still.
This gave the rental Camry a lovely smell for the week.
The Callaway C6 was just perfection.
Not a Corvette, but just, well, wibble! That noise!
I drove more than a thousand miles and saw more Alligators than Corvette C6's (just 5 of them, including this one at Key West).
Stocks of parts were bought from Vorshlag, Rock Auto, O'Reillys and Advance Autos (they've got some really useful little tools). Of these, most are being shipped back, but the tensioners, idler pulley and belts slipped into my suitcase.
That's stopped the squeaking, hoorah. Back on the lighter, 5W30 for the colder months.
Finally, a mention in this months Corvette magazine introduction.
I've finally cured an issue that's been bugging me for years. I bought a set of 'NPP' back boxes from the US some years ago (these have the dual mode valves), but they arrived with the over axle pipes sawn off. Two stubs of pipe were welded on, so I could actually fit them, but the extra join and clamps meant that the tips were constantly going out of alignment, with the cans clanging off the diff or arb.
For the 2nd time ever, it was time to break out the gasless Mig welder and weld the pipes to the back boxes.
The angles are critical, so, I removed the complete Speed Engineering exhaust, plugs and leads, putting back on the stock headers, cats and mid pipe. I gave everything a thorough de-grease and wire brush. With care I tack welded the back boxes to the mid pipes, one at a time, then welded the circumference of the pipes. Access was very tight, once dressed in thick gloves and my old triple layer race suit. I only blew two small holes in the thin-walled pipe, but filled them ok.
The welds aren't pretty, but I'm confident they'll hold.
At the same time I fitted the slightly thicker Z06 rear anti-roll bar (was Z51). I'm hoping this will bring the balance back to a slight amount of oversteer again.
Nothing to see here really, just the underneath. The cooling fins I'd added to the diff cover have been squashed flat, not surprising given how tight this area is for space.
I was rushing to get the car back together, in time for a post-Christmas drive to meet up with Felix. I suggested underneath the M48 crossing, as it was roughly in the middle. We got lucky and had a small window of mostly dry, calm weather, good to catch up and have a C6 convoy for a bit.
Felix was understandably worried about the puddles, as his C6 is equipped with a Vararam intake, that draws in air low down.
I'm pleased to report that there is no knocking from the exhaust and the tips are pretty good now for alignment too.
For the 2nd time ever, it was time to break out the gasless Mig welder and weld the pipes to the back boxes.
The angles are critical, so, I removed the complete Speed Engineering exhaust, plugs and leads, putting back on the stock headers, cats and mid pipe. I gave everything a thorough de-grease and wire brush. With care I tack welded the back boxes to the mid pipes, one at a time, then welded the circumference of the pipes. Access was very tight, once dressed in thick gloves and my old triple layer race suit. I only blew two small holes in the thin-walled pipe, but filled them ok.
The welds aren't pretty, but I'm confident they'll hold.
At the same time I fitted the slightly thicker Z06 rear anti-roll bar (was Z51). I'm hoping this will bring the balance back to a slight amount of oversteer again.
Nothing to see here really, just the underneath. The cooling fins I'd added to the diff cover have been squashed flat, not surprising given how tight this area is for space.
I was rushing to get the car back together, in time for a post-Christmas drive to meet up with Felix. I suggested underneath the M48 crossing, as it was roughly in the middle. We got lucky and had a small window of mostly dry, calm weather, good to catch up and have a C6 convoy for a bit.
Felix was understandably worried about the puddles, as his C6 is equipped with a Vararam intake, that draws in air low down.
I'm pleased to report that there is no knocking from the exhaust and the tips are pretty good now for alignment too.
Oh and not sure if I mentioned it, but I sold the Honda S2000 race car before Christmas, it's gone to live in the Republic Of Ireland, for track days. A shame to see it go, it was a good car, but with my mortgage taking a jump up next month and an opportunity to make money on the car, it was right to let it go. Hopefully I can concentrate a bit more on the Corvette more as a result.
One of our photos was used for the front cover of this months Corvette Club magazine, plus more within the North Weald article too.
My father visited, with his newly purchased Porsche Panamera diesel. It's a nice thing to drive, but look at how big it is compared to the Corvette!
The 747 was a little larger again (parked at Kemble).
Clive now has support from two sponsors, whose products I've used for years. This is a big help, ahead of this years secret road trip. It also means I can cover the costs occasionally of a videographer, to properly capture the next adventure.
The first event of the year was the Pomeroy Trophy, at Silverstone GP in February. Clive was almost ready to go, I did an oil change (Liqui Moly 5W30 Molygen), fitted new tyres (Yokohama AD09), pads (Mintex F2R front, F6R rear) and had the geometry checked and further altered (Adams & Page).
The car left the factory with 5W30, but I'll go for a thicker weight when the weather warms up. Given the ambient temperature in February I stuck to fresh Liqui Moly 5W30 for now.
I used the superb Yokohama AD08R in the first year I competed at Knockhill. I liked the deeper tread compared to most track tyres, ideal for driving to and from the event if conditions worsened and with no room for spares. The replacement AD08RS were a backwards step when it came to track grip. I was therefore very pleased that the AD09 is a return to form, with a sticker rubber and 7mm of tread depth. I will be leaving them on most of the year, for road and track and will report back on wear rates. I once again chose 265/35/18 front and 305/30/19 rear, the widest that can sensibly be used on the stock rims.
I asked Adams & Page to check the geometry, to see how close their expensive laser set up was to my string kit set up on gravel driveway. I'm pleased to report they confirmed almost identical readings. I asked them to add a little more negative camber, so now have -2 degrees rear and just over -3 degrees on the front.
Mintex suggested I try new compounds, for no particular reason other than 'why not'? So I'm trying F2R front pads and F6R rear.
I had a week to bed them in on the road and pack the car ready for Silverstone. The Pomeroy Trophy is a handicap event and the entry list showed that I would have the equal highest number of target laps (16) to achieve in the 40 minute 'race'. This year I decided to prioritise fun ahead of a result on track, given that the handicap made it impossible to achieve a decent overall target. I chatted to Martin Short, who was entered once again in his Yaris GR, we agreed that wherever we lined up on the grid I would wait for him and chase him for a couple of laps.
For those of you who may not know about Martin, this is just some of his racing history: https://www.rollcentre.com/biography
The night before the event, I was eating dinner with family when we heard a hell of a bang outside. We couldn't tell what had caused it, so went back to eating. More bangs and as I looked outside I could see fire from my neighbours garden, two doors along. Long story short, a gas explosion and subsequent fire destroyed his house and damaged my next door neighbours 1600's house and the house the other side. Only luck that the wind was blowing the right way kept things away from us. More than 20 emergency vehicles were called, including 9 fire engines, even the red cross came from the neighbouring county! The fire started at 18:20, we were ordered to evacuate at 19:00 and it was still raging at gone 21:00. We were allowed back just before midnight, somewhat traumatised. Only two people hurt, but repairs/rebuilding is going to take at least 6 months.
Anyway, the car was grubby, so out came the washmitt, final packing and after 3 hours broken sleep (the fire brigade were still working, generators, flood lights etc.) it was up and out to Silverstone!
The fire crews kindly added some ramps so I could drive over the hoses at the end of the drive!
The scrutineering queue was really long, at least an hour pushing and idling, followed by another 20 minutes waiting for the suitcase test.
It started to rain and this left the track wet, then greasy through the day, it would never fully dry. I didn't mind knowing that the tyres I would should be good whatever the weather. Besides, the rain is an excuse to slide about the place.
Morning tests (slalom, 1/4 and flying 1/4, followed by braking) all went ok, I finished in the top 4 overall for all tests. I hit the limiter in both the slalom and braking tests, costing me a few tenths.
During the wait for the main event in the afternoon, I was blessed by a good stream of visitors to the garage. Thank you to any of you who came to see the car, or ask questions.
Being a handicapped event, you are at the Handicappers mercy to see if they change the number of target laps you need to achieve, mid-event. Perhaps based on my showing in the morning and despite the now wet conditions, they decided to up my target laps to 17, which is impossible to achieve. To make matters harder I would also start the rolling start from 3rd from last. Amusingly Martin Short would be almost as far back, in the opposite column. Two green flag laps showed us that the track was indeed still moist. The two classic cars in front of Martin couldn't maintain the pace set by the safety car, with the trio dropping back considerably at the start.
Given our agreement, I waited for at least 20 seconds, before Martin flew past me at Maggots. As you might expect from such an experienced champion in a 4wd pocket rocket, he was mighty through traffic, making overtakes I couldn't or wouldn't risk. It took me a further 7 laps to catch him! On the way I had an enjoyable pair of laps beyond that glorious green, unsilenced GT40. That's now 2-1 to me against this car in previous Pom's.
Conditions were still damp, but dry enough that the AD09's were really coming in their own, whilst Martin's Yaris' worn Michelins were fading. We played for a couple of laps, then I was off to see if I could get to the front. I'd guessed I was probably up to 2nd place by then.
I had no way of knowing how far ahead the lead car was, but after some quick laps I could finally see a dot at the end of Hanger straight. With the amount of time left of the 40 minutes it would be close. The lead car was an ex ETCC BMW CSL, beautifully prepared and driven, but shod with full racing wets. These were probably a good choice at the start, but with the track drying they were overheating. I made a few mistakes, but could reel him in on the corners, but wow it was quick in a straight line. Finally, as the video showed, he was slowed by a lapped car and I almost got him on the line, just 0.2 seconds back. We both gave our fastest lap times on the final lap.
This isn't a race, but it felt like it. I love driving the Corvette, it's so rewarding. I was shattered on the drive home, but happy. Clive drove perfectly and had passed 228,000 miles.
I have three videos to share, the first is a slick 1 minute Instagram type video, the first that my colleague Marc Peters has put together.
Part 1 is having fun with the GT40.
Part 2 is the chase and catch of Martin Short, then the leader at the finish
I had some nice mentions in the motorsport press.
Autosport:
Motorsport News
My father visited, with his newly purchased Porsche Panamera diesel. It's a nice thing to drive, but look at how big it is compared to the Corvette!
The 747 was a little larger again (parked at Kemble).
Clive now has support from two sponsors, whose products I've used for years. This is a big help, ahead of this years secret road trip. It also means I can cover the costs occasionally of a videographer, to properly capture the next adventure.
The first event of the year was the Pomeroy Trophy, at Silverstone GP in February. Clive was almost ready to go, I did an oil change (Liqui Moly 5W30 Molygen), fitted new tyres (Yokohama AD09), pads (Mintex F2R front, F6R rear) and had the geometry checked and further altered (Adams & Page).
The car left the factory with 5W30, but I'll go for a thicker weight when the weather warms up. Given the ambient temperature in February I stuck to fresh Liqui Moly 5W30 for now.
I used the superb Yokohama AD08R in the first year I competed at Knockhill. I liked the deeper tread compared to most track tyres, ideal for driving to and from the event if conditions worsened and with no room for spares. The replacement AD08RS were a backwards step when it came to track grip. I was therefore very pleased that the AD09 is a return to form, with a sticker rubber and 7mm of tread depth. I will be leaving them on most of the year, for road and track and will report back on wear rates. I once again chose 265/35/18 front and 305/30/19 rear, the widest that can sensibly be used on the stock rims.
I asked Adams & Page to check the geometry, to see how close their expensive laser set up was to my string kit set up on gravel driveway. I'm pleased to report they confirmed almost identical readings. I asked them to add a little more negative camber, so now have -2 degrees rear and just over -3 degrees on the front.
Mintex suggested I try new compounds, for no particular reason other than 'why not'? So I'm trying F2R front pads and F6R rear.
I had a week to bed them in on the road and pack the car ready for Silverstone. The Pomeroy Trophy is a handicap event and the entry list showed that I would have the equal highest number of target laps (16) to achieve in the 40 minute 'race'. This year I decided to prioritise fun ahead of a result on track, given that the handicap made it impossible to achieve a decent overall target. I chatted to Martin Short, who was entered once again in his Yaris GR, we agreed that wherever we lined up on the grid I would wait for him and chase him for a couple of laps.
For those of you who may not know about Martin, this is just some of his racing history: https://www.rollcentre.com/biography
The night before the event, I was eating dinner with family when we heard a hell of a bang outside. We couldn't tell what had caused it, so went back to eating. More bangs and as I looked outside I could see fire from my neighbours garden, two doors along. Long story short, a gas explosion and subsequent fire destroyed his house and damaged my next door neighbours 1600's house and the house the other side. Only luck that the wind was blowing the right way kept things away from us. More than 20 emergency vehicles were called, including 9 fire engines, even the red cross came from the neighbouring county! The fire started at 18:20, we were ordered to evacuate at 19:00 and it was still raging at gone 21:00. We were allowed back just before midnight, somewhat traumatised. Only two people hurt, but repairs/rebuilding is going to take at least 6 months.
Anyway, the car was grubby, so out came the washmitt, final packing and after 3 hours broken sleep (the fire brigade were still working, generators, flood lights etc.) it was up and out to Silverstone!
The fire crews kindly added some ramps so I could drive over the hoses at the end of the drive!The scrutineering queue was really long, at least an hour pushing and idling, followed by another 20 minutes waiting for the suitcase test.
It started to rain and this left the track wet, then greasy through the day, it would never fully dry. I didn't mind knowing that the tyres I would should be good whatever the weather. Besides, the rain is an excuse to slide about the place.
Morning tests (slalom, 1/4 and flying 1/4, followed by braking) all went ok, I finished in the top 4 overall for all tests. I hit the limiter in both the slalom and braking tests, costing me a few tenths.
During the wait for the main event in the afternoon, I was blessed by a good stream of visitors to the garage. Thank you to any of you who came to see the car, or ask questions.
Being a handicapped event, you are at the Handicappers mercy to see if they change the number of target laps you need to achieve, mid-event. Perhaps based on my showing in the morning and despite the now wet conditions, they decided to up my target laps to 17, which is impossible to achieve. To make matters harder I would also start the rolling start from 3rd from last. Amusingly Martin Short would be almost as far back, in the opposite column. Two green flag laps showed us that the track was indeed still moist. The two classic cars in front of Martin couldn't maintain the pace set by the safety car, with the trio dropping back considerably at the start.
Given our agreement, I waited for at least 20 seconds, before Martin flew past me at Maggots. As you might expect from such an experienced champion in a 4wd pocket rocket, he was mighty through traffic, making overtakes I couldn't or wouldn't risk. It took me a further 7 laps to catch him! On the way I had an enjoyable pair of laps beyond that glorious green, unsilenced GT40. That's now 2-1 to me against this car in previous Pom's.
Conditions were still damp, but dry enough that the AD09's were really coming in their own, whilst Martin's Yaris' worn Michelins were fading. We played for a couple of laps, then I was off to see if I could get to the front. I'd guessed I was probably up to 2nd place by then.
I had no way of knowing how far ahead the lead car was, but after some quick laps I could finally see a dot at the end of Hanger straight. With the amount of time left of the 40 minutes it would be close. The lead car was an ex ETCC BMW CSL, beautifully prepared and driven, but shod with full racing wets. These were probably a good choice at the start, but with the track drying they were overheating. I made a few mistakes, but could reel him in on the corners, but wow it was quick in a straight line. Finally, as the video showed, he was slowed by a lapped car and I almost got him on the line, just 0.2 seconds back. We both gave our fastest lap times on the final lap.
This isn't a race, but it felt like it. I love driving the Corvette, it's so rewarding. I was shattered on the drive home, but happy. Clive drove perfectly and had passed 228,000 miles.
I have three videos to share, the first is a slick 1 minute Instagram type video, the first that my colleague Marc Peters has put together.
Part 1 is having fun with the GT40.
Part 2 is the chase and catch of Martin Short, then the leader at the finish
I had some nice mentions in the motorsport press.
Autosport:
Motorsport News
Edited by Fishy Dave on Friday 8th March 17:27
B'stard Child said:
Enjoyed all of those later videos - first one not so much but I get that it’s en vogue
The racing looked excellent and to be honest you have a nice calm approach behind the wheel which doesn’t appear that quick but I know it is.
Thanks for sharing and what a sound the C5 makes
Thank you, I do feel pretty calm, it's just so much fun. The only slight nerves were when following the GT40 closely, the thought of ramming it in the back doesn't bear thinking about The racing looked excellent and to be honest you have a nice calm approach behind the wheel which doesn’t appear that quick but I know it is.
Thanks for sharing and what a sound the C5 makes
Despite the final drive now being as short as will fit in the diff casing, the ratios are still fairly long. That lack of whipping up and down the 'box makes it look a little slower than it is, that and how wide the track is.
It's a C6 btw, but I'm sure you knew that and it was a slip of the keys.
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