After a major suspension overhaul, it's time to properly install a set of racing bucket seats and six-point harnesses and take Goldie back to the race track to attempt a new personal best...
Another great video! Hunting lap times can be one of the most frustrating or rewarding things at the track. The dedicated track track tires should close the gap to the GT3's time. Once you get the AP racing brake kit sorted that should help too. These videos are holding me over until I can get back on track in early May.
While not a Corvette guy myself, I appreciate your down to earth videos. Pointing out your mistakes is part of the learning process. There's a lot to be learned from guys like yourself regardless of what people drive. Well done.
A good investment for not much more money is to get some proper air ducting for the front brakes. The AP Racing setup is a huge upgrade but the improved cooling to that area will be the insurance you want to protect it.
99.9% of TH-cam is crap. This channel is the exception. I am either learning something new or relearning something that I forgot a long time ago from it. Keep it up! Oh yeah....I did the "more oil coming out of the car than I can put into the receptacle" dance more times than I'd like to admit.
My previous comment was made about half way through. I was literally...and I do mean LITERALLY...siting at my workbench in my garage by myself, cheering near the end. You might have heard me all the way from Nashville. :) Smooth run, nice job!!! Can't wait for the Apex wheels/race tire run. Buzz me if you ever visit my area.
I have been plowing through your videos since I got the C6 ZO6 bug. Its been great seeing your process with the car and your honesty throughout. Keep up the great work!
BTW I noticed on all 3 laps, you're SOOPER low RPMs around the 1 min mark, not long before that back stretch. I bet you could shave another .5 or so if you didn't upshift so early there. But grats on shaving off 2 seconds!
Them LS 7 like to let go of the stock valves at higher RPM sadly 😢. But they do make a nice aftermarket head for them. That I'm trying hard to talk josh into 😅
I started watching your channel with aspirations of getting a C6 z06 next year. Watching your journey is making it that much clearer this is something I need to make happen!!
DUDE!!!! Congrats!!!!! I found you when you started chasing the GT3 time, so it's super exciting to see you nipping at the heels of the GT3!!!! Better tires and pads and you're there!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoying the content. Great driving. If you haven’t already, upgrade the oil tank to the larger capacity, and or aviaid tank baffle, check those valves, test the oil sample for Titanium ( rod bearings) and lastly leave it stock. I modded my ls7 and it took about a year before the ring land on number 7 broke, cracked the sleeve and block. It was heads/cam and heads fixed. Ls7 are monsters, but unfortunately the most fragile and flawed engine in the LS family.
OUCH! Thanks for the tips! My intention from the get-go was to say "500 hp at the crank is plenty" and just worry about suspension, braking, and reliability. After driving my friend's built car I found myself wishing I had an exhaust, but I don't feel like I need more power. Wish I could get my hands on a Ti Akropovic unit but I don't think they're available any more.
Thanks buddy! I am still on the fence about aero. I don’t want to destroy the street-ability of the car completely but I don’t know if you can get really functional aero without taking the ride height way down and adding a big front splitter.
Make sure to upgrade the dual sump capacity to the Lingenfelter 11qt unit. GM upgraded the sump to 10.5 qts. in 09 due to insufficient oil supply at high Gs resulting in blown motors. Don't risk blowing that $20k motor over a couple hundred dollar sump tank!
Congrats, Josh!! You deserve that time. I have to admit, the lap just before your best had me really bummed. I started doubting my own involvement with cars, wondering if it's all worth it. That last lap had me celebrating with you, though. You're an inspiration! My C6 GS is not gonna be looking for a forever home after all!
What a great video! Thank you for taking us along! Goldie sure is a sweetheart! I can’t wait to see how she performs with lighter wheels and some DOTR compounds. I’m sure Goldie could also use some aero.
Goldie is looking really solid on the track now. Though I must admit, it's hard to remember that "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast" while on the course pushing your limits. Well done bud. I look forward to what you have in store for the next one.
Awesome! Glad to see your excited and still having fun! Race tires alone should get you there now. Then Add aero, and AP brakes, bye bye GT3s! Nice content creation, very engaging videos to watch.
Warms my heart that you use Good quality oil and top notch filter, Oil temp..... its not to bad. Also consider used oil analysis, set a base line, and then you can easily monitor the engine wear, i have done used oil analysis on my 911 the last eight years in my ownership.. OCI at 5000 miles, hard track use, no problems, allmoust no wear metals.... consistent readings, i use Valvoline Synpower... but oil is religion i will not debate that
This is one of the hidden gems of youtube. Your format is great, content is awesome. Ive been watching since your miata race (would love to see more of that) and don't even like corvettes 😂 but you're suckering me in with the porsche competition 😝 . love this stuff.🎉
On the race tires, I'm sure you know that your brake cooling issues will be far worse than they already are. As a guy building a C4 Corvette along similar lines, I will be very interested to see what it takes to overcome the problem in your car.
My wait for parts this year is just forever. I had hoped to be on the road a couple weeks ago. I still don't have half my stuff, yet. I did post a quick video of $10K of billet and carbon intake manifold finally all together.
Awesome channel! I don’t even own a corvette but I really enjoy the content. I get down to Road atlanta once a year in my M3 but really want to check out AMP this year. Looks fun!
Outstanding Job! Solid hands on work and still having a questioning attitude like any good mechanic. No question you can drive that car like you stole it lol congrats on the time. Video and editing work is excellent. Keep up the hard work spinning all those plates lol.
That’s what I’ve been hearing! I didn’t realize GM added a couple of quarts of capacity for the ‘09 and up cars. I’m sure they wouldn’t have done it for no reason. 😕
Alibaba is going to be your best friend ever for tracking this car. Its all there for the season with astounding pricing on pads rotors and complete systems. Not advertisement, but just saying.
What a cool experience to have witnessed. Very well done video in terms of story line and proving the right amount of detail and emotion. I'm hooked! Also, really inspiring me to get my NB miata on track this year.
Thank you! You should do it, I had an NB Miata and they do great on track even in stock form. SCCA runs a "Track Night In America" event that's a great way to get your feet wet.
I would recommend professionally reworked heads with non-OEM lightweight exhaust valves, ti retainers, psi single coil valve springs and quality roller rocker system with correct setup over the valves, a stage 1 cam (low lift, longer duration with minimal overlap), johnson link-bar reduced travel lifters, coated Kooks or A/R headers and x-pipe, Corsa sport mufflers, and a somwhat conservative tune for street/track use. That should give you a nice boost in power making the car even more responsive while dramatically increasing reliability. The Corsa sport exhaust will give a great tone with 0 drone.
@@JoshVanVeld I don't believe there is significant weight savings but I don't remember exactly (I weighed them a few years ago). I've tried/driven with numerous systems in numerous combinations including Akra's, and Corsa sports offer the most satisfying sound without impeding enjoyment. You can still hear the radio at human levels and have a conversation in the cabin during regular driving but it gets more intense as you lean into it until it finally screams at high rpm. Corsa's do give a hp boost you can feel as well. I believe they ad to any driving experience.
Keep up the great work. Might I suggest, since you are close to gt3 times, a detailed dissection video between the z06 with the current mods vs. the gt3+ other drivers cars? Really curious how it stacks up from a steering feel, suspension, drivetrain, chassis perspective. Lap times and feeling I find are often 2 different things. Thanks again
Josh brother that's amazing. And to know i road with you going mis 1:33s in the atom. How fast that felt its amazing to see that N/A 3000lb street car with AC going 1:30s on street tires. Your a driving animal and I love seeing the hard work and progress not only in the car and driving skills but the channel. Congratulations on the amazing lap time and for all the hard work paying off .
If those Sparcos are anything like the Sparco Evo seats I have in my rally car, the foam in the pad that's under your rear end is just some really cheap stuff that basically provides no padding. I ended up buying some "Confor Memory Foam" from Aircraft Spruce, the 1" thick stuff in medium density and replacing that cheap foam. As Confor warms up it conforms to your butt and is really quite comfortable, we end up spending like 4 hours in the car at a time and I never suffered from *ss ache.
I am just now putting a racing bucket seat in my car. I am going to use the same floor mount, belt and belt mount, and strap bar you have. Did you use/do I also need the Tele steering wheel/seat airbag bypass kit and/or the buckle clip that slides in the buckle to keep the alarm from going off? I don't think you touched on those in your videos so I wasn't sure if they were not necessary, you dont care about the warning lights, or if you did them but they didn't make it into the edit.
Awesome video and great to see you drop that lap time so much! You got lower than I expected with the mods you've done so far. I'm quite sure you could hit 1:27's if you get the suspension, brakes, and tires beefed up further.
Great work I have the same car even same colour...you never removed and drained your oil lines from the dry sump at lease I didn't see that happen you really should drain those lines maybe over 1/2 a quart in them thats cool next oil change try Ty!
I thoroughly enjoy your videos and your journey. I stumble across your content while looking for C6 ZO6 track experiences. It’s fantastic to watch your experiences and the results better or worse. I am looking for one to do some weekend tooling around and some SCCA auto-X/road course fun. The cars I was/am considering is the C6 ZO6, C6 Zr1, C7 ZO6, ZL1/ZL1-1LE and the GT350/R (before the prices went obscene the Porsche GT4 was a consideration). The C6 ZO6 seems to be the best bang for your buck value. Each of the cars are significantly different. I try to remind myself that power isn’t everything but it is hard not to get swept up in as my race car(Cobra Jet Mustang) makes 1,500hp.
Wow I bet that Cobra Jet is wild! My philosophy is that track cars are rungs on a ladder and there's no reason to skip rungs and start with the fastest thing out there. If you buy something right you can sell it after six months or a year for what you paid. Climbing the ladder is a lot more fun than owning a single car that you eventually get bored with and don't drive as much. I started with a C5 Z06 with bolt-ons as my first track day car and it was a bit too much for me. I learned a lot driving Miatas (not everyone's cup of tea) and now I feel like I have the skills to tackle something like the C6Z. Then again, everybody is wired differently. I think the C6Z is a lot of car for the money.
My advice to most people is learn how to drive a slow car fast first. What you gain in experience translates to quicker and quicker cars so that you can actually access their potential. My start was dirt bikes, then Fox body mustangs into a very long line of newer and newer mustangs. Working each car up with improved brakes, handling and power. Then I focused more and more attention on drag racing with personal cars/competition licensing/competing in a class. Dabbling still in the left/right arena with others cars and taking some driving courses along the way. Truth be told a 2013 Boss 302 with upgraded brakes and tires has been a very good spot that I’ve enjoyed tracking. Wanting something just a little bit more now.
I love how you did the gauges while driving on track. I see you filmed them with a GoPro, but how did you get them to look so clean? After Effects or something?
Been re-watching your videos and something caught my eye this time through. I have scars on my hands/arms from people who trim zip ties like you did on your shoulder belts. Get some flush cuts, your hands and forearms will thank you!
@@JoshVanVeld You see them more in aerospace but they are absolutely worth it. Re-watch stands up for sure, I jump around a little to see what kind of products you use (was digging into the harness bar) but all your videos are great stories instead of a how-tos. You are like the Mr. Rogers of C6 corvettes/wrenching.
Could you cut a new hole in the carpet on the passenger side like you did for the wiring on the driver's side but rather than tuck it away, route it over the top of the outboard passenger seat rail and connect it to the OnStar box?
Great video! I love the GoPro view of the gauges, what software do you use to edit/crop just the gauges like you do? I've grown tired of the layouts that Track Addict and Race Render have.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Man Josh your videos are so entertaining to watch because of your reactions. Am I watching a racing video or a comedy show. More the reasons why I’m sticking around. 👍🏻👍🏻 I gave this one a 2 thumbs up. Nice work Josh 1:30.79 Damn and YOU did it with no help other than your friend showing you how to set up your alignment. Hell yeah
I just realized which part you were talking about. She came out to complain about the noise (kids were in bed) and I told her it was going in the video. I didn't think anybody would pick up on it!
I need to start watching more. I'd love to have the time / money to track more. The one track day I did there was so fun but too much traffic with slower cars to see what laps I could achieve.
@@JoshVanVeld Yeah it was a "bring your friend" day. I was the "friend" but with a very capable car. I've done many track days on sport bikes and consider myself competitive by nature, so I'd love to see what I could do there. Was only on PS4S's though while chasing my friend in her GT2RS with Cup2's. I stayed with him though. He's a Platinum member there. Way more time / laps on that track. th-cam.com/video/PtYMUwi60R8/w-d-xo.html
@@protectandswerve Oh yeah that's terrible traffic. Come back out for a guest day on a regular member day (costs $250, you can do it twice a year) and you'll get a totally different experience. GT2 RS is a ridiculous car. I got to ride in one on a drag strip and the power was amazing.
@@JoshVanVeld Yeah, that's what I need to do for sure. My exhaust and tune puts me equal with Mike's GT2RS but the suspension, chassis, and tires are on another level for sure. He's got a GT3RS and a Radical also..Used to do the Spec. Miata class also I think. Hopefully I'll see ya out there for sure soon..
Thanks! I got the BL-5000SLX. I got it on sale at Costco over 3 years ago, it looks like that model has been discontinued since then. I love it and get a lot of use out of it. You probably wouldn't want to try to do extensive work under the car with it because it doesn't get a ton of height and the jacks sort of block your access from the sides of the car so you have to go in from the front or the back, but it's convenient and feels pretty safe. I think they have newer models that can get you more height.
Hey Josh, love the content you've been posting up. I saw in the video you posted your gt3 experience and I was curious if you had recorded your best lap time from your 997 turbo?
Thanks! I never drove the Turbo on track much. I don’t think I ever did better than a 1:34 and I don’t think I filmed it. That car would have benefited a great deal from an alignment and track-focused tires.
Awesome job man! It seems like Corvette's have it in them, but you have to respect them when you drive, over the limit they seem to fall apart. I can't wait for the brake, suspension and tire upgrades! Are you planning on running lap times after each single mod or do them all at once? It would be interesting to see a "stair-step" down, as to how effective each mod is. Just my thoughts though, loved the vid!
Original intention was to test each mod individually, but so far almost nothing has gone according to plan, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens :)
Great video, and great job on the lap time! Couple of questions… 1. Do you turn traction control completely off, and if so how hard is it to manage power delivery with those street tires? 2. I think your car is 2009+ correct? If not, do you have an expanded oil tank (that came in 2009+)? If not, you may want to consider it with those long left handers when you go to stickier tires (or at the very least log your oil pressure and watch for drops). Apparently the extra g’s over streets can cause oil starvation in the perfect storm. Thanks for the great video, finally get rewarded for all that hard work!!! Just need to address those brakes now! 🎉🎉🎉
Traction control / stability control are fully off. It's tricky to figure out when to get on the power (you can see me getting on too early or too aggressively in some cases) but you get the hang of it. My car is a 2007 and you're the second commenter today to mention an expanded oil tank so that's something I'll look into. It's all fun and games until the motor pops.
@@JoshVanVeld LFE has an exchange program that has pretty quick turnaround (you send yours in and they do a mod to increase the capacity, similar results to OEM). That is the route I took on mine... Better to be safe than sorry.
Good question, I don't know the answer as I don't run track day insurance (I tend to take unwise risks, hence my blown LS7 at the moment). Hagerty is well known but I'm sure there are others.
I'm always so surprised by how much lap times can swing in a given day. I have been lucky enough to have days like Josh had where the day ends much different then how it starts, but just a couple days ago I set a decent time (still a full second off my best) in an early cold session and while the conditions improved, my driving smoothed out I figured that record might be breakable, only to go within hundreths of that early morning time session after session, and ended up the day 4 hundreths slower. Lap times are still a bit of a mystery to me, because dang, they don't correlate as well as you'd think to how it feels in the car.
Track conditions and driver mindset are very difficult to quantify. I'll often come in from the first session of the day thinking, "That's all the car has to give!" but usually I've left at least a couple seconds on the table by making mistakes, pushing too hard, or not pushing hard enough. Then the day gets hotter, the track gets greasy, and the opportunity is lost. Sometimes it works out, and it feels like magic! I was happy to capture one of those instances in this video because they don't happen very often.
By the end of the video I turned in a faster lap in the C6Z and I think a lot of that was down to an aggressive alignment and getting comfortable leaning hard on the car. The GS I drove had an automatic gearbox and that probably saves some time as well. I think the stock suspension on the C7 Grand Sport is better for track work than the C6Z, as are the brakes. I was slower by quite a lot in the C7Z I drove and I think that was because I was intimidated by the power and trying to modulate the throttle on a twisty course like AMP. That car was also on a run-flat tire and just didn't give me a lot of confidence. I think if I had turned a lot more laps I could have gone much faster.
I've got a GoPro Hero 7 mounted on the steering column. I sync all the GoPros in Adobe Premiere and I use a mask so that the instruments are visible over the rest of the footage.
These videos are awesome! Between you and one other TH-cam channel it finally gave me the push the pick up a c6z! Love it! What camera system are you using when you talk into the cam and do car work? Either way keep up the awesome work. Love these vids!
Wow, that's awesome! They're great cars. For the garage stuff I use a Sony EV-10 camera with a Sony E 15mm F1.4 lens. I also use a Panasonic GH5S with a 16-35mm lens, but the auto-focus on that isn't great so I'm trying to lean on the Sony more.
@@JoshVanVeld thanks! Also I have watched all the vett videos. Love them and really like how you look at doing the work yourself and how you put that it’s not always easy to try. Thanks for sharing this side. It’s awesome to see as cars can be emotional for some of us and what they mean lol.
Congrats on the 'great success'. I really liked the graphic with the gauge cluster. The metal shavings on the oil plugs 'is-a not good'. How long was that from?
Thanks! It's been six months since the oil was changed just before I bought it. I'll send a sample off to blackstone next time and see what they find in it.
Good question. At this point I don't know because I haven't tried. I should have my brakes sorted soon and that will give me an opportunity to do a longer session.
@@jeremymvail dynamically both have proven capable and reliable but Porsche JUST changed their front suspension (& only in the new gt3) to what the corvette has been using all along also people joke about the corvette being plastic but in my opinion fiberglass tub and body is just "affordable carbon fiber" tub and body 🤷♂
I haven't watched the entire adventure... I keep hearing about GT3 killer, I am curious now, what time and year of GT3 are we talking about? My Z is at the shop waiting for a new twin disc install!
Great question! The short answer is - whichever one I can convince to come out and do a time attack battle with me at the track when the build is done! The long answer is that I've now driven a 2010 GT3 (gentle laps on track), a 2011 GT3 RS (long spirited mountain run), and a 2019 GT3 RS (fast laps on track) and they are all amazing to drive and very fast in stock form. The tricky part of the comparison is the driver factor. A pro driver is going to be several seconds faster than an amateur and most pros will hold back a little when it's somebody else's car and there's not a race on the line. So an apples-to-apples track battle will be hard to pull off. I'm not capable of getting the fastest possible times out of either car, but I like the idea that I could show up at a track day with Goldie and have no trouble keeping up with an amateur driver of similar skill level in a GT3 of any flavor, knowing that my car cost a fraction of what the Porsche did. The other factor that's hard to quantify is driving enjoyment. The GT3's I've driven practically beg you to push harder and you can't stop thinking about the experience afterwards, but Goldie did not have that quality when I first bought her. She was out of her element. That's the big transformation so far - she is now happy to be pushed to the limit. Back to the question... maybe the fairest comparison would be a 2007 GT3, but I think Goldie might already have that car beat. So let's say a manual transmission 991 generation GT3 is the target 😀
It’s hard to narrow down brake performance to a single component like the calipers because the whole system plays together along with the tires. That said, I was not happy with the brake feel at all. It wasn’t consistent and it’s hard to trust going into Turn 1 at 130ish mph because it transitions into downhill (less grip) and a hairpin left-hander, so you have to scrub a ton of speed and the gravel if you go off can absolutely tear up the car. Very much looking forward to upgrading!
@Josh Van Veld's Racing Mind yeah that makes sense! Got my first track session coming up and hoping everything works properly. I was looking at wilwood aero6 upgrade. Didn't want to break the bank to bad. AP racing looks extremely nice.
@@camonly849 If it's your first time ever on track I wouldn't be too worried about the stock calipers but I would definitely consider dedicated track pads and racing brake fluid for any track day. Depending on how hard you drive and the characteristics of the track you go to, those things alone might get you pretty far (stainless brake lines are a good idea too). Hope your track day goes well!
@Josh Van Veld's Racing Mind okay thanks! Fairly easy track (Putnam roadcourse) and I got fluid and ebc blue stuff pads... so should be good then! Thanks!
Another great video! Hunting lap times can be one of the most frustrating or rewarding things at the track. The dedicated track track tires should close the gap to the GT3's time. Once you get the AP racing brake kit sorted that should help too. These videos are holding me over until I can get back on track in early May.
Another great video! I really liked how you verbalize what you're feeling on the track for us, it was probably my favorite aspect of the video.
Thanks Derek! The feedback keeps me going with making the videos. I appreciate it.
Officially my favorite channel on TH-cam. Thanks for chasing the performance of a GT3 with an affordable platform!
Wow, that's high praise. Thanks!
I bet you’ll be in the low 1:30’s with fresh tires and pads. Nice job!!
While not a Corvette guy myself, I appreciate your down to earth videos. Pointing out your mistakes is part of the learning process. There's a lot to be learned from guys like yourself regardless of what people drive. Well done.
A good investment for not much more money is to get some proper air ducting for the front brakes. The AP Racing setup is a huge upgrade but the improved cooling to that area will be the insurance you want to protect it.
99.9% of TH-cam is crap. This channel is the exception. I am either learning something new or relearning something that I forgot a long time ago from it. Keep it up!
Oh yeah....I did the "more oil coming out of the car than I can put into the receptacle" dance more times than I'd like to admit.
My previous comment was made about half way through. I was literally...and I do mean LITERALLY...siting at my workbench in my garage by myself, cheering near the end. You might have heard me all the way from Nashville. :) Smooth run, nice job!!! Can't wait for the Apex wheels/race tire run. Buzz me if you ever visit my area.
@@InJasonsGarage Thanks dude I definitely heard something! 😂
I have been plowing through your videos since I got the C6 ZO6 bug. Its been great seeing your process with the car and your honesty throughout. Keep up the great work!
This is such a great series, the level of depth and quality reminds me a lot of Greg Peterson of the CarPassion Channel
That's a big compliment, thank you! I watched quite a bit of his channel when I got my 99 Miata.
Having a great time binge watching this corvette series. Keep the corvette videos coming!
BTW I noticed on all 3 laps, you're SOOPER low RPMs around the 1 min mark, not long before that back stretch. I bet you could shave another .5 or so if you didn't upshift so early there. But grats on shaving off 2 seconds!
Them LS 7 like to let go of the stock valves at higher RPM sadly 😢. But they do make a nice aftermarket head for them. That I'm trying hard to talk josh into 😅
@@Doctor_Bobby very very rare
Gotta be the best oil change ever, really funny bud! Awesome series! Thank you for this!
😂😂😂
Congrats! This series has been fun to watch.
Goldie & you were getting it around that track! It's really awesome to see/hear a 427ci on the street and track. Nice work!
Ran into this channel 1.5 hours ago and I can't stop watching This channel is great!
I'm getting rdy to pull the trigger on a C6 Z06 to make a track rat. I will be using you as my guide through the process. thank you for the content.
I started watching your channel with aspirations of getting a C6 z06 next year. Watching your journey is making it that much clearer this is something I need to make happen!!
DUDE!!!! Congrats!!!!! I found you when you started chasing the GT3 time, so it's super exciting to see you nipping at the heels of the GT3!!!! Better tires and pads and you're there!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks man!
Enjoying the content. Great driving. If you haven’t already, upgrade the oil tank to the larger capacity, and or aviaid tank baffle, check those valves, test the oil sample for Titanium ( rod bearings) and lastly leave it stock. I modded my ls7 and it took about a year before the ring land on number 7 broke, cracked the sleeve and block. It was heads/cam and heads fixed. Ls7 are monsters, but unfortunately the most fragile and flawed engine in the LS family.
OUCH! Thanks for the tips!
My intention from the get-go was to say "500 hp at the crank is plenty" and just worry about suspension, braking, and reliability. After driving my friend's built car I found myself wishing I had an exhaust, but I don't feel like I need more power.
Wish I could get my hands on a Ti Akropovic unit but I don't think they're available any more.
Nice one Josh, with the track tires and big brakes you’ll be tearing shreds of that time too. Just imagine with front/rear aero too 😎
Thanks buddy! I am still on the fence about aero. I don’t want to destroy the street-ability of the car completely but I don’t know if you can get really functional aero without taking the ride height way down and adding a big front splitter.
Make sure to upgrade the dual sump capacity to the Lingenfelter 11qt unit. GM upgraded the sump to 10.5 qts. in 09 due to insufficient oil supply at high Gs resulting in blown motors. Don't risk blowing that $20k motor over a couple hundred dollar sump tank!
Congrats, Josh!! You deserve that time. I have to admit, the lap just before your best had me really bummed. I started doubting my own involvement with cars, wondering if it's all worth it. That last lap had me celebrating with you, though.
You're an inspiration! My C6 GS is not gonna be looking for a forever home after all!
I took you for a ride on my emotional rollercoaster and we emerged victorious!
What a great video! Thank you for taking us along! Goldie sure is a sweetheart! I can’t wait to see how she performs with lighter wheels and some DOTR compounds. I’m sure Goldie could also use some aero.
Goldie is looking really solid on the track now. Though I must admit, it's hard to remember that "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast" while on the course pushing your limits. Well done bud. I look forward to what you have in store for the next one.
Very informative.
Thank you. Look forward to seeing more down the road.
Coil overs and Aero make the c6z a weapon.
Coilovers, bolt-ons & headfix, 100 tread wears 1:28s
Also glad to see someone else know how to over the garage in oil, its a real skill that we develop over time. lol
I don't believe I've ever managed an oil change without spilling way more than I should. The streak remains unbroken.
Can’t wait to see the car on some race tires. Always excited to see a Goldie update pop up!
Awesome! Glad to see your excited and still having fun! Race tires alone should get you there now. Then Add aero, and AP brakes, bye bye GT3s! Nice content creation, very engaging videos to watch.
Warms my heart that you use Good quality oil and top notch filter, Oil temp..... its not to bad. Also consider used oil analysis, set a base line, and then you can easily monitor the engine wear, i have done used oil analysis on my 911 the last eight years in my ownership.. OCI at 5000 miles, hard track use, no problems, allmoust no wear metals.... consistent readings, i use Valvoline Synpower... but oil is religion i will not debate that
Wooo!! I got super excited when you hit 1:30 at the track. Love the progress. Keep up the great work Josh!!
Thanks dude!
This is one of the hidden gems of youtube. Your format is great, content is awesome. Ive been watching since your miata race (would love to see more of that) and don't even like corvettes 😂 but you're suckering me in with the porsche competition 😝 . love this stuff.🎉
Haha thanks! Hopefully we'll get some more racing in before too long.
Great DIY video and filming technique. Plus u show the reality of racing. Keep up the great work 😅
On the race tires, I'm sure you know that your brake cooling issues will be far worse than they already are. As a guy building a C4 Corvette along similar lines, I will be very interested to see what it takes to overcome the problem in your car.
Why would brake cooling issues be worse with race tires? Just curious
@@lifeonmars03
More tire grip allows for harder braking, generating more brake heat more quickly.
@@Michael_Lorenson interesting, makes sense. Thanks for taking the time
Love the content
Yeah man... that was what we've been waiting for.
Good stuff.
My wait for parts this year is just forever. I had hoped to be on the road a couple weeks ago. I still don't have half my stuff, yet.
I did post a quick video of $10K of billet and carbon intake manifold finally all together.
Awesome channel! I don’t even own a corvette but I really enjoy the content. I get down to Road atlanta once a year in my M3 but really want to check out AMP this year. Looks fun!
I would never trust a garage alignment at the limit. So it could be even faster with a solid alignment setup
Outstanding Job! Solid hands on work and still having a questioning attitude like any good mechanic. No question you can drive that car like you stole it lol congrats on the time. Video and editing work is excellent. Keep up the hard work spinning all those plates lol.
Thank you!
Great video BTW, Congrats on your improved time.
Awesome video man love seeing the progress of Goldie 💪 keep up the great content.
Gonna need a real dry sump setup when you get on some serious tires and get that AP brake setup up and running.
That’s what I’ve been hearing! I didn’t realize GM added a couple of quarts of capacity for the ‘09 and up cars. I’m sure they wouldn’t have done it for no reason. 😕
Just found this channel, awesome video! and well done sticking with it!
Alibaba is going to be your best friend ever for tracking this car. Its all there for the season with astounding pricing on pads rotors and complete systems. Not advertisement, but just saying.
What a cool experience to have witnessed. Very well done video in terms of story line and proving the right amount of detail and emotion. I'm hooked! Also, really inspiring me to get my NB miata on track this year.
Thank you! You should do it, I had an NB Miata and they do great on track even in stock form. SCCA runs a "Track Night In America" event that's a great way to get your feet wet.
I would recommend professionally reworked heads with non-OEM lightweight exhaust valves, ti retainers, psi single coil valve springs and quality roller rocker system with correct setup over the valves, a stage 1 cam (low lift, longer duration with minimal overlap), johnson link-bar reduced travel lifters, coated Kooks or A/R headers and x-pipe, Corsa sport mufflers, and a somwhat conservative tune for street/track use.
That should give you a nice boost in power making the car even more responsive while dramatically increasing reliability. The Corsa sport exhaust will give a great tone with 0 drone.
Thanks for the detailed suggestions. Does the Corsa exhaust save weight over the factory?
@@JoshVanVeld
I don't believe there is significant weight savings but I don't remember exactly (I weighed them a few years ago).
I've tried/driven with numerous systems in numerous combinations including Akra's, and Corsa sports offer the most satisfying sound without impeding enjoyment. You can still hear the radio at human levels and have a conversation in the cabin during regular driving but it gets more intense as you lean into it until it finally screams at high rpm.
Corsa's do give a hp boost you can feel as well. I believe they ad to any driving experience.
@@srmurc6zo6 Thanks. That's the info I needed 😀
Keep up the great work.
Might I suggest, since you are close to gt3 times, a detailed dissection video between the z06 with the current mods vs. the gt3+ other drivers cars? Really curious how it stacks up from a steering feel, suspension, drivetrain, chassis perspective.
Lap times and feeling I find are often 2 different things.
Thanks again
Great suggestion and I couldn't agree more - the overall driving experience is a lot more important to me than lap times.
Awesome I was pumped with you got in the 1:30’s 👍🏻
What an incredible machine and some awesome driving man!
Josh brother that's amazing. And to know i road with you going mis 1:33s in the atom. How fast that felt its amazing to see that N/A 3000lb street car with AC going 1:30s on street tires. Your a driving animal and I love seeing the hard work and progress not only in the car and driving skills but the channel. Congratulations on the amazing lap time and for all the hard work paying off .
Thank you my friend! Looking forward to seeing your build in person soon.
Heads cam! Heads cam!
This is a terrible idea for a dedicated track ls7. My heads cam ls7 didn’t even survive on street only duty.
Dude I am happy for you! Great job!
If those Sparcos are anything like the Sparco Evo seats I have in my rally car, the foam in the pad that's under your rear end is just some really cheap stuff that basically provides no padding. I ended up buying some "Confor Memory Foam" from Aircraft Spruce, the 1" thick stuff in medium density and replacing that cheap foam. As Confor warms up it conforms to your butt and is really quite comfortable, we end up spending like 4 hours in the car at a time and I never suffered from *ss ache.
Nice, thanks for the tip!
Keep up the great work dude!
I’m loving this series!
Holy Shit! You killed that lap man! Nice job!!!💪
"Nicole will never know".... I hope your sofa was comfy!
Lol she was not pleased about that one at all.
Need AMT vulcanized (shortened) motor mounts and AMT vulcan trans Mounts. Only like $500 for both.
I'd love to make a trip down to GA for Road Atlanta and this track soon, I'd love to meet you and maybe get a session on track with you.
I am just now putting a racing bucket seat in my car. I am going to use the same floor mount, belt and belt mount, and strap bar you have. Did you use/do I also need the Tele steering wheel/seat airbag bypass kit and/or the buckle clip that slides in the buckle to keep the alarm from going off?
I don't think you touched on those in your videos so I wasn't sure if they were not necessary, you dont care about the warning lights, or if you did them but they didn't make it into the edit.
Awesome video and great to see you drop that lap time so much! You got lower than I expected with the mods you've done so far. I'm quite sure you could hit 1:27's if you get the suspension, brakes, and tires beefed up further.
I surprised myself, that's for sure. If I could match the time I did with the Atom I'd be really impressed. Thanks my friend!
The best thing you can do for your car is AMSOIL
Oh man, you had some fun with that oil!!
(been there)
One time before I die I want an oil change where I don’t make a mess. Never pulled it off in dozens of attempts so far.
Lol sounds like me i need more tire and brakes!
Great work I have the same car even same colour...you never removed and drained your oil lines from the dry sump at lease I didn't see that happen you really should drain those lines maybe over 1/2 a quart in them thats cool next oil change try Ty!
so awesome.
I thoroughly enjoy your videos and your journey. I stumble across your content while looking for C6 ZO6 track experiences. It’s fantastic to watch your experiences and the results better or worse.
I am looking for one to do some weekend tooling around and some SCCA auto-X/road course fun. The cars I was/am considering is the C6 ZO6, C6 Zr1, C7 ZO6, ZL1/ZL1-1LE and the GT350/R (before the prices went obscene the Porsche GT4 was a consideration). The C6 ZO6 seems to be the best bang for your buck value. Each of the cars are significantly different. I try to remind myself that power isn’t everything but it is hard not to get swept up in as my race car(Cobra Jet Mustang) makes 1,500hp.
Wow I bet that Cobra Jet is wild! My philosophy is that track cars are rungs on a ladder and there's no reason to skip rungs and start with the fastest thing out there.
If you buy something right you can sell it after six months or a year for what you paid. Climbing the ladder is a lot more fun than owning a single car that you eventually get bored with and don't drive as much.
I started with a C5 Z06 with bolt-ons as my first track day car and it was a bit too much for me. I learned a lot driving Miatas (not everyone's cup of tea) and now I feel like I have the skills to tackle something like the C6Z.
Then again, everybody is wired differently. I think the C6Z is a lot of car for the money.
My advice to most people is learn how to drive a slow car fast first. What you gain in experience translates to quicker and quicker cars so that you can actually access their potential.
My start was dirt bikes, then Fox body mustangs into a very long line of newer and newer mustangs. Working each car up with improved brakes, handling and power. Then I focused more and more attention on drag racing with personal cars/competition licensing/competing in a class. Dabbling still in the left/right arena with others cars and taking some driving courses along the way.
Truth be told a 2013 Boss 302 with upgraded brakes and tires has been a very good spot that I’ve enjoyed tracking. Wanting something just a little bit more now.
@@danieljohns9886 With that context I'd say the C6Z is a great step up. The car feels analogue and lightweight compared to the C7's I've driven.
Nice work! GT3 gonna get killed by a fraction of its price!
I love how you did the gauges while driving on track. I see you filmed them with a GoPro, but how did you get them to look so clean? After Effects or something?
Thanks! Yeah I used masking in Adobe Premiere.
Been re-watching your videos and something caught my eye this time through. I have scars on my hands/arms from people who trim zip ties like you did on your shoulder belts. Get some flush cuts, your hands and forearms will thank you!
Oooooh I don't even know what flush cuts are! Thanks for the tip. How does the series stand up to a rewatch?
@@JoshVanVeld You see them more in aerospace but they are absolutely worth it. Re-watch stands up for sure, I jump around a little to see what kind of products you use (was digging into the harness bar) but all your videos are great stories instead of a how-tos. You are like the Mr. Rogers of C6 corvettes/wrenching.
Could you cut a new hole in the carpet on the passenger side like you did for the wiring on the driver's side but rather than tuck it away, route it over the top of the outboard passenger seat rail and connect it to the OnStar box?
Great video! I love the GoPro view of the gauges, what software do you use to edit/crop just the gauges like you do? I've grown tired of the layouts that Track Addict and Race Render have.
Thanks! I'm using masks in Adobe Premiere.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Man Josh your videos are so entertaining to watch because of your reactions. Am I watching a racing video or a comedy show.
More the reasons why I’m sticking around. 👍🏻👍🏻 I gave this one a 2 thumbs up.
Nice work Josh 1:30.79 Damn and YOU did it with no help other than your friend showing you how to set up your alignment. Hell yeah
Hey Josh…I think your wife could hear you! Haha, love your vids
Haha I don't think she watches the videos ;)
I just realized which part you were talking about. She came out to complain about the noise (kids were in bed) and I told her it was going in the video. I didn't think anybody would pick up on it!
I need to start watching more. I'd love to have the time / money to track more. The one track day I did there was so fun but too much traffic with slower cars to see what laps I could achieve.
On the one hand it can get boring if you're out there by yourself with no other cars to play with, but too much traffic can be a pain.
@@JoshVanVeld Yeah it was a "bring your friend" day. I was the "friend" but with a very capable car. I've done many track days on sport bikes and consider myself competitive by nature, so I'd love to see what I could do there. Was only on PS4S's though while chasing my friend in her GT2RS with Cup2's. I stayed with him though. He's a Platinum member there. Way more time / laps on that track.
th-cam.com/video/PtYMUwi60R8/w-d-xo.html
@@protectandswerve Oh yeah that's terrible traffic. Come back out for a guest day on a regular member day (costs $250, you can do it twice a year) and you'll get a totally different experience. GT2 RS is a ridiculous car. I got to ride in one on a drag strip and the power was amazing.
@@JoshVanVeld Yeah, that's what I need to do for sure. My exhaust and tune puts me equal with Mike's GT2RS but the suspension, chassis, and tires are on another level for sure. He's got a GT3RS and a Radical also..Used to do the Spec. Miata class also I think. Hopefully I'll see ya out there for sure soon..
👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽 GT3 👋 👋 👋
I need a C6 in my life... I need it.
Great job man! Love the videos! What model quick jack do you use? How do you like them??
Thanks!
I got the BL-5000SLX. I got it on sale at Costco over 3 years ago, it looks like that model has been discontinued since then.
I love it and get a lot of use out of it. You probably wouldn't want to try to do extensive work under the car with it because it doesn't get a ton of height and the jacks sort of block your access from the sides of the car so you have to go in from the front or the back, but it's convenient and feels pretty safe.
I think they have newer models that can get you more height.
Hell yeah nice work!
Unrelated how do you film your gauge cluster it looks awesome?!
Thanks! GoPro mounted on the steering column plus some tricks in Adobe Premiere. 😄
Hey Josh, love the content you've been posting up. I saw in the video you posted your gt3 experience and I was curious if you had recorded your best lap time from your 997 turbo?
Thanks! I never drove the Turbo on track much. I don’t think I ever did better than a 1:34 and I don’t think I filmed it. That car would have benefited a great deal from an alignment and track-focused tires.
Awesome job man! It seems like Corvette's have it in them, but you have to respect them when you drive, over the limit they seem to fall apart. I can't wait for the brake, suspension and tire upgrades! Are you planning on running lap times after each single mod or do them all at once? It would be interesting to see a "stair-step" down, as to how effective each mod is. Just my thoughts though, loved the vid!
Original intention was to test each mod individually, but so far almost nothing has gone according to plan, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens :)
Great video, and great job on the lap time!
Couple of questions… 1. Do you turn traction control completely off, and if so how hard is it to manage power delivery with those street tires? 2. I think your car is 2009+ correct? If not, do you have an expanded oil tank (that came in 2009+)? If not, you may want to consider it with those long left handers when you go to stickier tires (or at the very least log your oil pressure and watch for drops). Apparently the extra g’s over streets can cause oil starvation in the perfect storm.
Thanks for the great video, finally get rewarded for all that hard work!!!
Just need to address those brakes now!
🎉🎉🎉
Traction control / stability control are fully off. It's tricky to figure out when to get on the power (you can see me getting on too early or too aggressively in some cases) but you get the hang of it.
My car is a 2007 and you're the second commenter today to mention an expanded oil tank so that's something I'll look into.
It's all fun and games until the motor pops.
@@JoshVanVeld LFE has an exchange program that has pretty quick turnaround (you send yours in and they do a mod to increase the capacity, similar results to OEM). That is the route I took on mine... Better to be safe than sorry.
@@_slipAngle_ Funny coincidence, I was just reading up about it. Thanks!
What's the best insurance for the track?
Good question, I don't know the answer as I don't run track day insurance (I tend to take unwise risks, hence my blown LS7 at the moment). Hagerty is well known but I'm sure there are others.
I'm always so surprised by how much lap times can swing in a given day. I have been lucky enough to have days like Josh had where the day ends much different then how it starts, but just a couple days ago I set a decent time (still a full second off my best) in an early cold session and while the conditions improved, my driving smoothed out I figured that record might be breakable, only to go within hundreths of that early morning time session after session, and ended up the day 4 hundreths slower. Lap times are still a bit of a mystery to me, because dang, they don't correlate as well as you'd think to how it feels in the car.
Track conditions and driver mindset are very difficult to quantify.
I'll often come in from the first session of the day thinking, "That's all the car has to give!" but usually I've left at least a couple seconds on the table by making mistakes, pushing too hard, or not pushing hard enough.
Then the day gets hotter, the track gets greasy, and the opportunity is lost.
Sometimes it works out, and it feels like magic! I was happy to capture one of those instances in this video because they don't happen very often.
What about fuel consumption per lap.
Subscribed!
Thanks!!
Curious as to what you attribute the lower lap time in the C7 Grand Sport VS the C6 Z06 to ?
By the end of the video I turned in a faster lap in the C6Z and I think a lot of that was down to an aggressive alignment and getting comfortable leaning hard on the car.
The GS I drove had an automatic gearbox and that probably saves some time as well. I think the stock suspension on the C7 Grand Sport is better for track work than the C6Z, as are the brakes.
I was slower by quite a lot in the C7Z I drove and I think that was because I was intimidated by the power and trying to modulate the throttle on a twisty course like AMP. That car was also on a run-flat tire and just didn't give me a lot of confidence. I think if I had turned a lot more laps I could have gone much faster.
Car has a 1:28 in it.
You made a lot of changes with zero seat time. Overall, If it was fun…..
The quest was worth it.
Ayos 👍
Really want to know the video equipment/software you're using to record your speedo/tach and superimpose it onto the video
I've got a GoPro Hero 7 mounted on the steering column. I sync all the GoPros in Adobe Premiere and I use a mask so that the instruments are visible over the rest of the footage.
Another video! 🎉 progress.. loading.. 👍🏼
These videos are awesome! Between you and one other TH-cam channel it finally gave me the push the pick up a c6z! Love it! What camera system are you using when you talk into the cam and do car work?
Either way keep up the awesome work. Love these vids!
Wow, that's awesome! They're great cars.
For the garage stuff I use a Sony EV-10 camera with a Sony E 15mm F1.4 lens. I also use a Panasonic GH5S with a 16-35mm lens, but the auto-focus on that isn't great so I'm trying to lean on the Sony more.
@@JoshVanVeld thanks! Also I have watched all the vett videos. Love them and really like how you look at doing the work yourself and how you put that it’s not always easy to try.
Thanks for sharing this side. It’s awesome to see as cars can be emotional for some of us and what they mean lol.
Congrats on the 'great success'. I really liked the graphic with the gauge cluster. The metal shavings on the oil plugs 'is-a not good'. How long was that from?
Thanks! It's been six months since the oil was changed just before I bought it. I'll send a sample off to blackstone next time and see what they find in it.
How many laps can you do before the oil temp get out of hand?
Good question. At this point I don't know because I haven't tried. I should have my brakes sorted soon and that will give me an opportunity to do a longer session.
Corvettes are faster than the “equivalent” 911
Faster in what way ? Being serious, not trolling. What about durability and repeatability of fast laps?
@@jeremymvail dynamically both have proven capable and reliable but Porsche JUST changed their front suspension (& only in the new gt3) to what the corvette has been using all along also people joke about the corvette being plastic but in my opinion fiberglass tub and body is just "affordable carbon fiber" tub and body 🤷♂
🙌🙌
Awesome run! Keep pushing want to see the GT3 killer get is prey!
I haven't watched the entire adventure... I keep hearing about GT3 killer, I am curious now, what time and year of GT3 are we talking about?
My Z is at the shop waiting for a new twin disc install!
Great question! The short answer is - whichever one I can convince to come out and do a time attack battle with me at the track when the build is done!
The long answer is that I've now driven a 2010 GT3 (gentle laps on track), a 2011 GT3 RS (long spirited mountain run), and a 2019 GT3 RS (fast laps on track) and they are all amazing to drive and very fast in stock form.
The tricky part of the comparison is the driver factor. A pro driver is going to be several seconds faster than an amateur and most pros will hold back a little when it's somebody else's car and there's not a race on the line. So an apples-to-apples track battle will be hard to pull off.
I'm not capable of getting the fastest possible times out of either car, but I like the idea that I could show up at a track day with Goldie and have no trouble keeping up with an amateur driver of similar skill level in a GT3 of any flavor, knowing that my car cost a fraction of what the Porsche did.
The other factor that's hard to quantify is driving enjoyment. The GT3's I've driven practically beg you to push harder and you can't stop thinking about the experience afterwards, but Goldie did not have that quality when I first bought her. She was out of her element.
That's the big transformation so far - she is now happy to be pushed to the limit.
Back to the question... maybe the fairest comparison would be a 2007 GT3, but I think Goldie might already have that car beat. So let's say a manual transmission 991 generation GT3 is the target 😀
@@JoshVanVeld Fair enough, this car was faster then everything on the market when it was released, that's why I was curious
How were the stock calipers?
It’s hard to narrow down brake performance to a single component like the calipers because the whole system plays together along with the tires. That said, I was not happy with the brake feel at all. It wasn’t consistent and it’s hard to trust going into Turn 1 at 130ish mph because it transitions into downhill (less grip) and a hairpin left-hander, so you have to scrub a ton of speed and the gravel if you go off can absolutely tear up the car.
Very much looking forward to upgrading!
@Josh Van Veld's Racing Mind yeah that makes sense! Got my first track session coming up and hoping everything works properly. I was looking at wilwood aero6 upgrade. Didn't want to break the bank to bad. AP racing looks extremely nice.
@@camonly849 If it's your first time ever on track I wouldn't be too worried about the stock calipers but I would definitely consider dedicated track pads and racing brake fluid for any track day.
Depending on how hard you drive and the characteristics of the track you go to, those things alone might get you pretty far (stainless brake lines are a good idea too).
Hope your track day goes well!
@Josh Van Veld's Racing Mind okay thanks! Fairly easy track (Putnam roadcourse) and I got fluid and ebc blue stuff pads... so should be good then! Thanks!