- 1,410
- Canberra
- Unwired-Eddie
Road vs Race
Hot on the heels of part 2 comes the third in my ongoing series of tune-up challenges.
Two Corvettes will go head to head and we see if it is possible to get the road car as fast as the race car for the same budget.
The Contenders
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5)
Cost: CR 53,570
Power: 379 HP
Torque: 485.09 Nm
Weight: 1409 kg
Chevrolet Corvette C5R Race Car
Cost: CR 1,000,000
Power: 620 HP
Torque: 670.31 Nm
Weight: 1139 kg
Method
Both vehicles were bought from the showroom with 0 km on the odometer. As the most expensive car, the C5R will be test driven by B-Spec Brett at three seperate locations and the times recorded. B-Spec Brett will then try to beat these times using the Z06. Total cost of car and tuning may not exceed the cost of the C5R. TCS and ASM must be set to 0 and B-Spec will be set to 3.
Tracks
Le Sarthe I
Le Sarthe II
Fuji GT
Results
The C5R left no doubt as to its intentions today. B-Spec Brett piloted the Chevy race car strong and steady to record the following lap times; Le Sarthe I - 3'52.992, Le Sarthe II - 3'35.883, Fuji GT - 1'34.255. No mistakes, and good times that should make this an interesting road test.
B-Spec Brett got to turn a few laps in the stock Z06 before it was taken to the workshop. Le Sarthe I (4'38.545) and Le Sarthe II (4'18.363) showed the difference in speed, while Fuji GT (1'53.725) showed up the acceleration gap. The handling of the stock Z06 wasn't too bad but we were about to make it a whole lot better.
After hitting the tune-up shop for some go-fast bits we fitted out the Z06 with a complete race package of weight reduction and NA tune (both stage 3), suspension and gearing (both fully customisable), race brakes, chip and tyres (race medium). To keep parity between the vehicles the Z06 suspension settings, gear ratios and tyre compound will match as closely as possible those of the C5R.
Taking the Z06 back to the track, it was now absolutely flying around Fuji. A lap time of 1'38.103 saw it close in on the C5R but that still left a gap of 4 seconds to overcome. To see how the new gear box was working out I now headed to Le Sarthe I. After screwing around on the opening lap, B-Spec Brett trapped a 3'58.107 on lap 2 - only 6 seconds off the race car's best time.
Back in the workshop and we now fitted a triple clutch, racing flywheel, carbon drive shaft, racing exhaust, and balanced the engine. A variable LSD was added, but this probably could have been left behind. The LSD settings were matched to the C5R's for parity and the gears readjusted to get even closer to the C5R.
Back at Fuji GT and the Z06 was now recording solid 1'36.5's with a best lap of 1'36.402, just over 2 seconds away from a tune-up victory. Le Sarthe I provided a nail-biting finish with the Z06 crossing just 0.139 slower than the C5R. The Z06 was now producing 682 HP and 817 Nm of torque. This is quite a bit more than the C5R but the road car was still carrying 60 kg more weight, despite the weight reduction done in the workshop. One more addition should be all that is needed - a GT wing. While the Z06 is very efficient aerodynamically (in fact extremely efficient) it is still not getting enough downforce for high speed cornering.
CR 1,200 later and a shiny black trolley handle adorns the rear of the now highly modified Z06. The downforce is set to maximum to closely follow the C5R settings, but not enough is available - will this play in to the C5R's hands or the Z06? First track to be conquered is Fuji GT. A 1'34.057 scrapes in for a 0.2 second win over the C5R. Spirits rise as the replay is watched - the Z06 is now handling identically to the C5R around corners and, even though the gears are set up as close as possible to the C5R configuration, the road car seems to have a good speed advantage too.
Now on to Le Sarthe I and a true test of speed. The C5R is soundly beaten by the Z06, which puts in a blistering 3'49.649. I am now looking forward to the ultimate show down - Le Sarthe II. Will the C5R's race breeding be able to stop the Z06 road warrior. Rather than setting B-Spec on fast forward, I instead sit down to watch every moment of the flying lap. With a replay of the C5R fresh in my mind I compare where the Z06 has any advantages. It comes down to the speed along the back straight. The C5R seems to have a slight advantage in the slow to medium area but thr Z06 carries almost 30 kph more through the fast right hand kink. 3'30.766 gives the Z06 a well deserved 5 second win.
Conclusion
What can I say? Yes the Z06 was not set up exactly to the C5R specifcations but, where possible, any adjustable parts were tuned as close as possible. The fact remains that a Z06 (C5) can beat a C5R race car given the same budget - in fact it can do it on less than a quarter of the money.
Final figures for the Chevrolet Corvette C5
Cost: CR 246,720
Power: 682 HP
Torque: 817.03 Nm
Weight: 1197 kg
Tuning parts:
racing (med) tyres
weight reduction stages 1, 2, and 3
fully customised suspension
racing brakes
NA tune stage 3
racing chip
fully customised gear box
triple clutch
racing flywheel
carbon drive shaft
variable LSD
engine balance
racing exhaust
GT wing
* Click here for Part 2
Hot on the heels of part 2 comes the third in my ongoing series of tune-up challenges.
Two Corvettes will go head to head and we see if it is possible to get the road car as fast as the race car for the same budget.
The Contenders
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5)
Cost: CR 53,570
Power: 379 HP
Torque: 485.09 Nm
Weight: 1409 kg
Chevrolet Corvette C5R Race Car
Cost: CR 1,000,000
Power: 620 HP
Torque: 670.31 Nm
Weight: 1139 kg
Method
Both vehicles were bought from the showroom with 0 km on the odometer. As the most expensive car, the C5R will be test driven by B-Spec Brett at three seperate locations and the times recorded. B-Spec Brett will then try to beat these times using the Z06. Total cost of car and tuning may not exceed the cost of the C5R. TCS and ASM must be set to 0 and B-Spec will be set to 3.
Tracks
Le Sarthe I
Le Sarthe II
Fuji GT
Results
The C5R left no doubt as to its intentions today. B-Spec Brett piloted the Chevy race car strong and steady to record the following lap times; Le Sarthe I - 3'52.992, Le Sarthe II - 3'35.883, Fuji GT - 1'34.255. No mistakes, and good times that should make this an interesting road test.
B-Spec Brett got to turn a few laps in the stock Z06 before it was taken to the workshop. Le Sarthe I (4'38.545) and Le Sarthe II (4'18.363) showed the difference in speed, while Fuji GT (1'53.725) showed up the acceleration gap. The handling of the stock Z06 wasn't too bad but we were about to make it a whole lot better.
After hitting the tune-up shop for some go-fast bits we fitted out the Z06 with a complete race package of weight reduction and NA tune (both stage 3), suspension and gearing (both fully customisable), race brakes, chip and tyres (race medium). To keep parity between the vehicles the Z06 suspension settings, gear ratios and tyre compound will match as closely as possible those of the C5R.
Taking the Z06 back to the track, it was now absolutely flying around Fuji. A lap time of 1'38.103 saw it close in on the C5R but that still left a gap of 4 seconds to overcome. To see how the new gear box was working out I now headed to Le Sarthe I. After screwing around on the opening lap, B-Spec Brett trapped a 3'58.107 on lap 2 - only 6 seconds off the race car's best time.
Back in the workshop and we now fitted a triple clutch, racing flywheel, carbon drive shaft, racing exhaust, and balanced the engine. A variable LSD was added, but this probably could have been left behind. The LSD settings were matched to the C5R's for parity and the gears readjusted to get even closer to the C5R.
Back at Fuji GT and the Z06 was now recording solid 1'36.5's with a best lap of 1'36.402, just over 2 seconds away from a tune-up victory. Le Sarthe I provided a nail-biting finish with the Z06 crossing just 0.139 slower than the C5R. The Z06 was now producing 682 HP and 817 Nm of torque. This is quite a bit more than the C5R but the road car was still carrying 60 kg more weight, despite the weight reduction done in the workshop. One more addition should be all that is needed - a GT wing. While the Z06 is very efficient aerodynamically (in fact extremely efficient) it is still not getting enough downforce for high speed cornering.
CR 1,200 later and a shiny black trolley handle adorns the rear of the now highly modified Z06. The downforce is set to maximum to closely follow the C5R settings, but not enough is available - will this play in to the C5R's hands or the Z06? First track to be conquered is Fuji GT. A 1'34.057 scrapes in for a 0.2 second win over the C5R. Spirits rise as the replay is watched - the Z06 is now handling identically to the C5R around corners and, even though the gears are set up as close as possible to the C5R configuration, the road car seems to have a good speed advantage too.
Now on to Le Sarthe I and a true test of speed. The C5R is soundly beaten by the Z06, which puts in a blistering 3'49.649. I am now looking forward to the ultimate show down - Le Sarthe II. Will the C5R's race breeding be able to stop the Z06 road warrior. Rather than setting B-Spec on fast forward, I instead sit down to watch every moment of the flying lap. With a replay of the C5R fresh in my mind I compare where the Z06 has any advantages. It comes down to the speed along the back straight. The C5R seems to have a slight advantage in the slow to medium area but thr Z06 carries almost 30 kph more through the fast right hand kink. 3'30.766 gives the Z06 a well deserved 5 second win.
Conclusion
What can I say? Yes the Z06 was not set up exactly to the C5R specifcations but, where possible, any adjustable parts were tuned as close as possible. The fact remains that a Z06 (C5) can beat a C5R race car given the same budget - in fact it can do it on less than a quarter of the money.
Final figures for the Chevrolet Corvette C5
Cost: CR 246,720
Power: 682 HP
Torque: 817.03 Nm
Weight: 1197 kg
Tuning parts:
racing (med) tyres
weight reduction stages 1, 2, and 3
fully customised suspension
racing brakes
NA tune stage 3
racing chip
fully customised gear box
triple clutch
racing flywheel
carbon drive shaft
variable LSD
engine balance
racing exhaust
GT wing
* Click here for Part 2
