At Roebling Road Raceway outside Savannah for drivers ed event this weekend. I pulled in tonight to drop off car/trailer. Only 2 semi/car haulers in the infield and a handful of people. As I pull in, everyone stops and looks at the yellow Z coming in. I find a parking spot and start to unpack and everyone starts walking over. Guy starts admiring the car and asks me how I like it. Relay the story that it's only my 2nd corvette but that I've completely bought into the value of the Z. I'm at the track this weekend for a Porsche club event and am looking forward to showing off the Z and hopefully humbling some Porsche drivers (although there's always someone faster than me). He then starts asking if I've done anything to the suspension to set up for the track. No, I say. He looks at the CCW corsair wheels and Goodyear race tires I got from John at CCW and says "then you only have tire pressure to play with". Then he throws out "I'm (I think I have his name right - have it written down in my truck) Michael Neal. I was the chief engineer on the suspension for your car". Turns out he was the the engineer on both this and the C5Z. We talk about the differences etc. Says the C6 has more understeer built in to help handle the extra power. Says I should be careful in wide sweeping corners but use throttle judiciously to counter the understeer. He's now working some special advanced research project for GM and was at Roebilng to do some testing (get away from the snow at their own proving grounds). Their trailers had some little indy looking cars so who knows what they were doing. He gave me his email address if to contact him if I have setup questions for the track. Pretty cool. Very nice guy. Seemed VERY proud of the car which is understandable. They take a lot of personal pride in it.
yeah, he asked me if I have viewed the DVD's that came with the car. He was disappointed when I said no for both of them (don't ask me why not). Said he narrated both.
Not sure how they did it but the tire pressure is reading with the new CCW wheels. I called them to ask since they sent wheels with tires already mounted. Guy on phone said he wasn't sure if they put pressure sensors on my wheels. They apparently work via RF technolgy. I'll confirm tomorrow at the track but seems like an easy fix (get new sensors or swap out your old ones; not sure how they mount to wheels).
Not sure how they did it but the tire pressure is reading with the new CCW wheels. I called them to ask since they sent wheels with tires already mounted. Guy on phone said he wasn't sure if they put pressure sensors on my wheels. They apparently work via RF technolgy. I'll confirm tomorrow at the track but seems like an easy fix (get new sensors or swap out your old ones; not sure how they mount to wheels).
I think the biggest problem people were having is if your tire pressure goes out of the computer's spec, it puts the car in reduced power mode. And with race tires, it's much more feasible to exceed the pressure parameters. IIRC, the pressure window is 25 psi ≤ actual pressure ≤ 45 psi. So, with DR's you could be below this, with slicks, really "gittin 'er done" more than 45psi.
. . . He gave me his email address if to contact him if I have setup questions for the track. Pretty cool. Very nice guy. Seemed VERY proud of the car which is understandable. They take a lot of personal pride in it.
Good feedback.
My experience was always that the car guys (and girls) are always approachable and interested in "real car customers" and willing to talk about "the product and its development". It was the bean counters and staff services and marketing know-it-alls who were sometimes "a little off".
__________________ '04 Z06 Z16 #1394/2025
stock, with V1 and $4.95 cutely curved rubber ducky antenna
I still have not gotten a hold of CCW to ask how they addressed teh tire pressure issue but on the track it appears as if the readings have been fixed at one PSI reading. Not sure how or if that's really the case but I ran one session and the reading on the fronts stayed at 30 psi all session which obviously can't be right. When I measured after session with manual gauge it was nearly 40 psi. Nevertheless I am not having any trouble with active handling/power etc. which is great.
Forgot to mention when the topic of h.p. on the car came up, Michael Neal chuckled and said they were actually producing well in excess of 505 hp. No news to anyone here but interesting nonetheless. By the way, his favorite color was VY (my car).
I still have not gotten a hold of CCW to ask how they addressed teh tire pressure issue but on the track it appears as if the readings have been fixed at one PSI reading. Not sure how or if that's really the case but I ran one session and the reading on the fronts stayed at 30 psi all session which obviously can't be right. When I measured after session with manual gauge it was nearly 40 psi. Nevertheless I am not having any trouble with active handling/power etc. which is great.
Forgot to mention when the topic of h.p. on the car came up, Michael Neal chuckled and said they were actually producing well in excess of 505 hp. No news to anyone here but interesting nonetheless. By the way, his favorite color was VY (my car).
would be interesting to hear his comments regarding the europeans [read clarkson] referring to the c6 suspension as "medieval vietnamese ox cart suspension".
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'04 Z06 Z16 #1394/2025
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