The hydroformed Aluminum frame in the C6 Z06 while saving weight may present some problems for race car builders:
1. Will it be stiff enough?...In Torsion? & Flex?
2. What are it's harmonics? Will extra gusseting be necessary?
3. How much rough driving and "rubbing" will it be able to handle. Will tapping the wall bend it beyond repair?
4. Will repairs be prohibitively more expensive?
5. It will be interesting to see how a mandated Chrome Moly steel cage or rollbar will be welded to the Aluminum frame.
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Williams GT Engineering @ www.WilliamsGTEng.us
F1 Technology, Parts and Preparation for Competition Corvettes AMSOIL Online Store
Not really one to speculate and deal in this kind of stuff, but what the heck......
I don't want to mention BD (it's still just a fig newton of GM imagination) but what if THIS car is the BD (@75k) and they tone it down, maybe FRC it and release a plain vanilla Z-06 at 60-65k???
OK OK OK......Sorry.......I'll put the pipe down! LOL!!!!
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2002 Z-06 M/Y
2006 Tahoe LTZ White
2002 Dodge Viper RT/10 Red
1998 Dodge Viper RT/10 Silver
Yeah, I mentioned some of this C6Z stuff to my insurance agent - carbon fiber body parts, aluminum frame, magnesium bits. His reply, "I am afraid this is gonna hurt a little!"
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'08 Atomic Orange Z06 with 3 LZ Sienna Wrap Interior, Nav, and Chromies. M2W, Halltech Killer Bee, Air Charger, 180 degree thermo, Body Colored Spoiler, More Mods coming
It's one thing to get extra 30G to pay for the car. It's another to pay forall the add. cost of changing transmission fluid, tires, bent rims, all the other maintainence related cost, not to mention the insurance hike.
What is the current insurance rate for the Z for someone in the 30's?
I think the SCCA is going to have to bend on the cage issue, I don;t think you can join Al to Steel at least I don't know how. on the 360 Ferraris the cages are bolted. As to flex I think Al flexes less then steel but is more brittle. Al in general has been proven to work ala NSX and 360 Ferrari. If any car was going to fall apart it would be the Ferrari and amazingly the chassis of those are holding up.
The C6 Z06 might end up orphaned as far as racing is concerned.
The C6-R will probably be based on the C6 coupe with its steel frame. The overall body design of the C6 coupe and C6 Z06 is outwardly similar enough that when combined with hybrid body modifications, as in the ALMS series, will not present a problem. In other words the C6-R is probably going to be a highly modified C6 coupe with its steel frame and not a Z06, although it may borrow some Z06 design features.
SCCA T1 rules do not permit the C6 Z06 but rather the C6 coupe instead. They also mandate a steel cage welded to the (steel) frame.
Another factor that needs to be considered is why would GM use a hydroformed aluminum frame rather than steel? The answer is of course weight savings. But why is that important on a production street car? The reason is the CAFE standard, or "Corporate Average Fuel Economy". Generally speaking the more a vehicle weighs the less its fuel economy and when you take the average fuel economy of all a companies vehicles combined they must meet the CAFE standard.
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 required passenger cars and light trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 8,500 lbs. or less manufactured for sale in the United States, to meet CAFE standards. The CAFE standards are applied on a fleet-wide basis for each manufacturer; i.e., the fuel economy ratings for a manufacturer's entire line of passenger cars must average at least 27.5 mpg for the manufacturer to comply with the standard. If a manufacturer does not meet the standard, it is liable for a civil penalty of $5.00 for each 0.1 mpg its fleet falls below the standard, multiplied by the number of vehicles it produces.
Given the likelyhood the new Z06 will have around 500 horsepower it can't weigh significantly more than the C5 Z06 or its fuel economy would likely suffer. When you take into account the other added 'features' such as transmission and engine oil cooler, etc. the need to reduce weight somewhere else became of concern. Combine that with the 'marketing' potential of "500 Horsepower!" and you can see why this may have been part of their rationale.
I'll never be putting a cage in mine as I won't be tracking it; but, I have been wondering about the insurance costs. I currently pay $600 year full coverage on my 02 with $1,000 deductible.
I think the insurance will initially be based on the 5th generation's claim history......for a short while, at least until they have to start paying for replacement fenders, straightening the Al frame (IF that requires special techniques) and it pans out to be a more costly beast to repair, and hopefully it won't be because folks will be doing some stupid stuff in them etc.....
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