berny2435

Tires are the easiest change you can do besides the driver... . We can wish they'd even up the tires but we all know, that could cost up to 2,000 for some cars depending on the tire you select (Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 are +$500 in some sizes)

I don't think anyone here is butthurt about it, but most of us in this thread track our cars, some competitively, and we know the difference between race tires, race shocks, and everyday type stuff. It was never meant to be a apples to apple test so it's all good. The what could have been is always fun to talk about.

Previous Lap times here- they did some testing with the GTR on the Nissan Spec 240TW All seasons.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...o-2013-page-10

ealand0001

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...28-at-vir.html
This guy claims that the new course is worth 2 secs

hariku821

They could pick a relatively cheap summer tire and put that on every car. Even if you do that though how do handle tread width? If you put smaller profile tires on the Z/28 it probably would not do so well. The only thing they could do is select one set of rims and put that on each car with the same profile tires on each. If they did that wouldn't it mess up how the suspension is tuned?

humbucker87

Yeah I like the fact that all cars come with the same tires they would from the factory. Otherwise you could quickly get into all cars need the same brakes, tires, etc.

Speaking of which I didn't realize that some of these cars (the z28 included) come with carbon brakes from the factory. Sure the Z28 sets an awesome time, but what are the consumables going to look like for someone who regularly tracks them? A co-worker of mine bought a Camaro SS with the 'dusk' package and the only tires available in that size are $2400 p-zeros.

Chris S

Print media is dying - mags' paper circulation is way down, which also hurts ad revenue. They're likely more worried about developing a more sustainable business model than buying a set of R comps for a dozen cars.

rockville

Fun articles but lot's of bench racing. I guess it's like figuring out which team should have won last Sunday. Part of what I think it is interesting is looking at how people talk about "equalizing" cars. I think what people are really trying to do is come up with a single number to explain why one car is better than another. As we all know, there is more to a car than just a single number. A slow Miata might be worlds more fun around a track than a fast sedan.

Anyway, on a near 3 minute lap we see ~10 seconds between fastest and slowest. Call that ~3 seconds per minute. Now consider this recent F2000 race at Thompson Speedway
http://www.f2000championshipseries.c...on-race-2.html
While these are formula cars the rules greatly restrict what they can do. They all have the same motor and tires. The brakes and other parts are very similar. Over the field we see a spread from ~1:07.5 to 1:10. That's about 2.5 seconds per lap.

My point? Well the difference C&D found between the killer 918 and the, relatively speaking, common Corvette was about the same difference we see between "identical" cars at a low level pro race. I'm sure with a few tweaks and different drivers any one of these cars should move notably up or down the list.

Incidentally, since we are talking track days, in the late 90s I was at a test session at Putnam Park. Some locals had purchased a used Indy car, I think it was an early 90s model. It was no longer competitive at Indy. The motor was a down on power Indy Buick V6. I bet it was probably down to 600hp or so. I think they were over 800 at Indy. Anyway, it was clear these guys were in over their heads. They gave a wave by to a 116hp Formula Ford driver. Big toys doesn't mean you know how to use them.

CosmosMpower

For how many laps?
[/quote]

Yeah until it overheats all the fluids and have to pull it off track.

berny2435

For how many laps?
[/quote]

Yeah until it overheats all the fluids and have to pull it off track.
[/quote]

It is pretty sad that people are reporting heating and cooling issues with the Z51 package already. I'm sure I hear some good stories soon out here in Phoenix.

budgy

You guys are talking as though you expect any car should be able to be tracked without issue. Every car that is abused eventually gets issues, especially high horsepower ones. I am sure there are easy ways to solve the heat issues if you really want to track the car. Let's be honest with ourselves, is the Z28 laptime super impressive for the price? Yes! But its also 18 grand more than a Stingray with a Z51 package and it is comes with tires that are in a completely different league. Another thing no one has mentioned is the DSSV shocks on the Z28 are completely hardcore racing pieces.

http://www.multimatic.com/structures...ion/dssv.shtml

You can find the same type of hardware on LMP, Indy and F1. Stingray Vette is no doubt the value winner. Tires don't matter as soon as you burn your first set away and if you track the car its not going to take long.

QUIKAG

Anyone else get their Car and Driver magazine and it's missing pages? Mine jumps from page 40 to page 53 and I am missing the first part of the LL article?