Setting up cones

[Joslyn]

Well I am up to 400 miles on the Z06 now and while driving around breaking the car in my mind has been reeling with the potential that this car holds. Never before have I had a car that corners so well AND inspires so much confidence. My question is: Does anybody know the spacing on the cones in a slalom, Distance of slalom etc. ? I don't know if I could ever set it up somewhere without getting hasseled, but I would like to experiment in a controlled environment to see what this car is capable of as well as getting a feel for it's limits. Thank you in advance, Mike

[gaijin]

I'd suggest setting up the cones at least 10 feet apart. You can use, depending on how much room you have, anywhere from 10 to 15 cones should be plenty and challenging enough for a slalom. A standard low speed autocross (42 sec.) track uses about 100 cones (usually 18" or taller).

Enjoy!

[Joslyn]

Gaijin'
Wow, that was fast.Thanks! So a good run with 100 cones is 42 sec.? That is a lot of cones and cornering are there sweeping turns in this type of course or is it simply a straight line blast? Do the timers start from a standing start or do you go from a roll? Lastly since 10 to 15 cones would be more achievable from my stand point the time is a poor referance for competance. Is there a speed that is considered the standard? Of course I realize driver skill is a huge factor here and I don't foster any illusions that I am an "out of the box driver" but I am still curious on how I might measure these runs against the performance potential of the car.

[John & Donna]

This comes right from the SOLO II course design book and our club has used it successfully over the past year.

For a "slow speed"course, cones should be 15 feet apart. For a simple slalom, space them 45 apart, with a 15 foot offset. If you email me, I can send you a simple diagram of how this looks.

As Larry stated, the "standard" 18" traffic cone works the best. Click on the link to our club website in my sig to see some pics of our auto-x events.

Or, if you're not in a big hurry to set up your course, if you can send me a quick drawing of your lot, with dimensions and any obstructions in it (light poles, etc.), I can lay-out a low speed course for you.

BTW, our last auto-x used about 120 cones and the C5's were averaging around 35 - 36 seconds per lap. The ZO6 was running high 34 to low 35 seconds on the course

Happy Holidays

[gaijin]

Low speed autocrosses usually will have one or two straight line shots that can get the car up to about 60 mph. The rest are switchbacks and chicanes (one way to slow the speed down).

You start the clock running from a complete stop (standing start).

Slalom are more test of agility, braking, etc. and don't offer a true test of driver against the clock (same with skidpads for braking).

Low speed autocross really is the true test of the driving skills. A great car helps but I've seen it really is the driver most of the time that matters with that sport. Great way to learn how to drive a car.

Tough to give a true barometer on your car's performance without seeing the course set-up. You should look up the local SCCA club and check to see when they have an autocross in your area. Even some of the other car marques like BMW and Porsche offer their own version of low speed autocrosses too. Or if you can wait until April 25th, just come to the NCM for the C5 Birthday Bash and we'll set-up a low speed autocross for you to "test" both you and your Z06.

Happy Holidays!

[Gordy M]

Another option is the NCCC for autocrosses. Boone Trail Corvette Club is in you area and puts on several events and a drivers school each year. The main difference between the SCCA events and NCCC is the latter in usually only for corvettes and many times have more "fun to drive" courses and can often get 8-14 runs in a day. The size of the parking lot or tarmac greatly influences the course design. Some clubs use 3 bucket (cone) corner and others have a maize of buckets for a corner. Boone Trail CC hosts there events at Gateway International parking lot.

You can use this link http://www.boonetrailcc.com/index.html for Boone Trail

[Joslyn]

GordyM,
I had no idea these guys were around. Thank you