Mikelly Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 After I posted the pics of Jim's little red Zcar, I got a lot of pms from people asking why on earth Jim would sell such a good looking project car... Guy's this is a Zcar site and all, and we love them.. But there are "other" projects to fall in love with too... Like this, Jim's latest ultimate track build 2008 Z06... And the final product... Jim Actually flew out to Texas last weekend and spent a couple days with Lou G. and his team testing the car at Texas Motorsport Ranch. The car comes home from Texas on Tuesday, and Jim loads it up and will have it out at Mid-Ohio Friday - Sunday. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 So what was done to the new 2008 Z06 that it didn't already have??? On most new Corvettes there are a few areas that will crop up under heavy track day abuse. The new, massive brake system on the Z06 really isn't all that good. Most serious track junkies will replace them, as was the case on Jim's new car... The upgrade was to the Brembo 15inchers up front and I believe the 14.5 inch rears. The leafspring/shock setup was also scrapped for LG's new coil over/external shock setup. New hubs/bearings/ drop-spindles were also used to get the geometry correct for the suspension. Another area that I simply hated on my old C5 was carried over to the new C6... The "torque tube". Well, LG Motosports replaced Jim's with a carbon fiber unit that should be bullet proof when fighting off the torque that the new cam/header/ head mods gave the car, along with software tuning to improve and take advantage of the internal changes... Another area where new Z06s suffer is GMs pathetic attempt at a drysump. LG replaced Jim's oil pan, lines, and dry sump tank with custom pieces. The oil pan is a custom one off design, and Jim has one of two in the world. LG has the other on his ALMS race car. So, beyond the aero mods (Straight from the SWC and ALMS parts bin) and safety mods (Seats/ harness/ roll bar not seen in the pics and installed after the test session), the car is pretty much ready. You'll notice in the pics there are two different sets of wheels... one set is the red lipped custom forge lines. The other is a set of CCWs that Lou mounted some ALMS slicks on for the test. I'm sure there are other items I'm forgetting, but this little red corvette is now perfect and ready for track days up and down the east coast... LG says the car should be putting about 540HP to the rear wheels. Jim should get the dyno sheet and all other pertinent data when the car comes home on Tuesday. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Literally.... drool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdmanZ Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Jim still has this beauty too... 4 days old and no graphics... This started my desire to own the car I now have... With Graphics and ready to romp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 That Vette is REALLY freakin awesome and a big step up from his Z in my opinion. Congrats Jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I like the hood! reminds me of the hood on the SCCA GT series Dodge Vipers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Lou G? The loudmouth funny guy off of that Forza tv show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 I don't watch Forza, but the Lou G. I'm referring to is ALMS race car driver and owner of LG Motorsports, Lou Gigliotti. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Yea thats him, funny guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Sounds like a systematic and well thought-through plan. It would be interesting to compare the “before†and “after†performance of the car – same track, same driver, same tires (as far as possible) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhptom Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Looks like I am going the wrong way again. I sold my 911 to get back to a Z car mainly due to cost associated with newer high performance cars. I know if you sit down and do all the math you probably spend close to the same less cost of initial car. I was wanting a track dedicated car only and my budget could not see a 50 to 75K car sitting most of the year in the garage. But that Vette sure looks sweet along with the 911. Maybe if my 6 numbers ever come in I will go back to that route for track fun. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrxand280z Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I love the moto of LG "where money buys speed" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Well I think it all boils down to what you want to do... Jim is not mechanically inclined. He doesn't want to spend time tinkering under the hood, or working on his cars at the track. To that end, his GT3 has been dead nuts reliable and only once straded him at the track when some minor issue caused his tranny not to work getting the car back onto the trailer at the end of a weekend... This is after 3 hard years of tracking that GT3 for at least 25 days per year. All Jim does is replace the brake pads and tires regularly, and have the rotors swapped and fluids flushed on schedule... Jim is a driver, not an engineer or mechanic. He knows what he wants to do, and what he doesn't want to do and he's damned GOOD at what he "does" do. So modern hardware best suits his needs. Again, it all boils down to what you want to do... Work on them or drive them... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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