C7 Z06 Trackday! Will it Overheat???

[@MrBalloonfoot]

I did some additional "digging" and found where Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter said they added the cooler used to cool the A8 trans in series with the "stock" Z06 radiator to improve cooling on manual shift cars (for 2017). There is a recorded drop in water and oil temps = 20º. He said you should be able to run through a tank of gas at track temps up to 100º. As the only improvement to the A8 cars is the taller supercharger lid he said the A8 cars should be good for up to 85º track days. There is talk of a retro kit being made available from GM. I would hope that a "fix" for the A8 cars is in the plans as these are by far the majority of the cars purchased. Track temps aside, the C7 Z06 is an awesome ride!

[@Ladco77]

Check the oil cooler next to the exhaust. A heat shield around the exhaust can help lower oil temps.

[@hsc724]

Should see the rest of the video actually. Yes, the car gets hot, but this was the first time it went to limp mode. I would say it had to do with traffic not the modifications made up to this point. We will be adding spacers to the blower and changing radiators/heat exchangers in the future.

[@KnightDriveTV]

The hand positioning and elbow on the door was driving me crazy. On the Corvette forums, I started the current C7 Z06 track times thread that has all the tracks. The mods don't like young guys who challenge them, so I've been banned since and someone took it over that manages it poorly...ANYWAY, in the year and a half since I started it (until banned), there were less than 8% of all submissions that had overheat issues. It is pretty much isolated to certain tracks in certain regions. If you do the full recommended factory track prep (which most don't), the car is actually very solid in all but cooking track temps. The C7Z doesn't like COTA at all. Vegas and AZ are problem for obvious reasons. In very humid or very hot locations, the C7Z struggles for a full session. The A8 transmission adds to some of that also. The overheat issue was a bit overblown though, according to the largest mass of C7Z data collected on my part, to date. Simple way to look at this though is, the C7R makes mid 500's hp wise and look at the amount of heat rejection capability it has to sustain track use. Massive hood venting, far more cooling system capacity, etc. The fact the C7Z does as well as it does is very impressive. Tadge said the cars were designed for non-stop track use in 86F ambient temps.

[@MrBalloonfoot]

Interesting!

[@hsc724]

RC000E I was happy with the car's performance and the temps up to this point. We will continue to address things as they arise. As stated this was the first time the car has been tracked.

[@jalloor]

GM mades some modifications to address the cooling issues for the year 2017. Also it doesn't help that he added more horsepower. That would make it only worse. More hp equals more heat, yes?

[@russandadamsgarage105]

jalloor exactly

[@WillEagleton]

The Z06 (I have a 2015) has the same radiator as the standard Corvette, and yes more power = more heat. In 2017 they modified the cooling bricks in the supercharger, and added an additional radiator (M7 cars only, the A8 has a transmission cooler in this location) which is small. The intercooler is the same. Many people are having success keeping oil temperatures down by removing the secondary CATs or by shielding it from the oil cooler with a heat blanket (can be wrapped about 75%). To be fair though outside temperature, and how hard someone actually pushes it play big factors because some people even with 2015s never experience a problem.

[@patriotsfan1236]

pulleys will make that thing hottttt... but long tubes ported heads and an intake should actually bring the temps down.

[@MrBalloonfoot]

The only "mod" I am aware of for 2017 (over the 2015-16 Z06) is a taller supercharger lid and slightly different design under hood pad to provide needed clearance. I do not believe there has been an increase in the size of any of the radiators. At Spring Mountain the automatic equipped Z06 I drove had temps that stayed in the 240º range. The outside temps were around 60º. I've done some "window shopping" online and there appears to be larger radiators available for water, trans, and rear available but the price for the "full meal deal" can run up to 10k! I have a non Z07 2016 Z06 that will not see track time (convertible). However, I do believe that cooling adequate for open track sessions "should" be part of the Z07 package. This should include proper cooling for the automatic as 80% of the cars are sold with them.

[@russandadamsgarage105]

No doubt that over spinning the blower doesn't help with cooling either. I've heard that the taller lid and the re-positioning of the inter-cooler bricks helps cooling as well as power output. Could just be a sales pitch, but GM must have had a reason for spending all that money. As for other cooling mods on 2017 Z06's, the 7-speeds get the extra radiator, but the auto is still stuck with the same cooling capacity. -Russ

[@DonaldTroup]

As a fair point, the 2016 gt350s also had overheating issues, unless you got the track pack. I'm not sure if Ford admitted this, as there is a class action lawsuit for overheating issues and a limp mode. I've also heard first hand accounts from instructors at the track. But, if you notice, the 2017 and newer models, include the track pack as standard equipment, wonder if that lawsuit has anything to do with it :). I traded in my 2016 GT for a 2017 gt350 about a month ago. I track on Sebring, and even my regular GT had differential heat issues. First Sebring event in a month, can't wait!

[@russandadamsgarage105]

Donald Troup the non trackpack cars back in 2016 did but I blame the owners partially for not getting the trackpack. You're going to love the GT350 on track. It won't overheat, I beat on mine for 30 minute sessions and it kept asking for more. Be prepared to get new brake pads...I'm hard on brakes and mine wore out in 4 track days. -Adam

[@KnightDriveTV]

The one thing I will add for readers, that I found throughout my 1.5yrs collecting track data on these cars, is that amateur drivers tended to overheat them more often. Reason being, amateur guys with little track experience tend to drag race in the straights and turn slow. This put loads on the car at the same tracks, where more experienced guys were having no issues. Also, less experienced guys would run the A8 in "D" mode, versus shifting manual, and that added a lot of heat issues.

[@MrBalloonfoot]

Curious, why would running the auto in Drive cause more heat than running in manual mode? We did run in manual mode at Spring Mountain but that was for better control out of the corners (not experiencing multi gear downshifts). I totally agree with your first statement. With 650 ft # of torque there was little need to wind up to redline. Keeping the revs down probably helped keep temps downa bit.

[@russandadamsgarage105]

RC000E he was manually shifting the car in this session. I wonder if leaving it in drive would have been better or maybe not having it in track mode? With the extra power the cooling problems only get worse. Most of his shifts were around the 5-6k RPM so he was even short shifting slightly. Russ is a lot more knowledgeable on Vettes so maybe he will chime in. -Adam

[@russandadamsgarage105]

Yep you got it, it's those revs. Staying in auto keeps the REV's higher than manual. -Russ

[@KnightDriveTV]

Russ and Adam's Garage I wasnt implying this person was doing that, or anything else I spoke of, I was just speaking in general.

[@KnightDriveTV]

Wes Burmark​​ We found the A8 to be overly active in auto mode, versus manual selection. With adequate torque you can get more exit speed traction and reduce shifts by staying in higher gears. The manual guys did this, while the guys in D didnt. Also, the auto cars add more heat load to the cooling system, as they have a cooler in the front the manual cars dont. Its just another heat/friction source that adds load to the already overburdened radiator in these cars. The updated cooling system in these cars will place an additional cooler in the manual cars, fastened where the A8's transmission cooler was.

[@Mmyers1177]

GENERAL MOTORS: NEEDS TO OPEN UP THE FRONT END AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL COOLING RADIATORS FOR A PROPER COOLING FIX TO THIS FIASCO!

[@DWVids00]

You guys must have been down there with ProAutoSports because that is Dan right at the beginning...lol. How often are you in AZ?

[@russandadamsgarage105]

DWVids00 not too often. At most twice a year. -Adam

[@charleswilcox7251]

You would tape your car too if you want to protect it. 3M protecter will be added soon. Go to HSC24 to see more videos from the Labor Day event. No instructor this time so let's see what I learned from Mr. Klaudt. Again, Thanks Dan.

[@kochj0713]

Tape is good stuff.... The tires will throw all and everything and the extended width back end!... It will eat it up like sandblasting!

[@kcampbell4098]

i needs a shit ton of cooling for that extra boost, my gt500 hits 165f IAT2 if I play around with it on a 95 f day, you got a battle on your hands, need a giant reservoir and heat exchaNGER.....Ob

[@russandadamsgarage105]

K Compbelli indeed...more power equals more heat. Thanks for commenting. -Adam

[@bobsmith4292]

You cannot buzz this engine hot cold doesn't matter, like it's a high revving 4 or 6cyl. It will get hot. Cylinder pressure = heat. Supercharger = torque lower rpm higher gear will net same acceleration rate on track and car will NEVER overheat. Watch the video. Hangs above 5k rpm more than 80% of the time. Upshift and play all day. And the mods he did add to the heat under hood dramatically.

[@lougigliotti6452]

There is no GM fix for this problem. and no single radiator addition or aftermarket radiator will fix it. LG Motorsports Super inter cooling system is the total fix for this problem GOTO the cover of Corvette Magazine to see a road test with our LG Cooling system installed, -- Validation, Contact us at LG Motorsports

[@MyVetteLife]

Let's sue for the electrical issue the C5 have. I wonder if that ZR1 had any issues, if not then the c7 owner should trade up. I'd expect to mod the car even if it's minor if I'd plan to track or autox the car. Want to track or autox? Mod your car and you're done, are you afraid of loosing your warranty? Lol. Who's to blame if your clutch burns out at 20k due to autox or track the manufacturer or the driver? ​​​​​​​I'd say just make the mods or get a different car.

[@speedlife301]

My Vette Life that’s why I like n/a. My c7 is 640+ hp n/a and it doesn’t get hot at all and it is just as fast down the straights as the zo6 because I’m lighter but I blow past the gt3 and m’s on the straightaway

[@GeraldRisch]

Trade it on a 2019 and quit crying foul.

[@tbas8741]

just buy a real car you can drive flat to the floor for 10 hours in 45*C heat (thats like 120F)

[@kochj0713]

Dumb ass.

[@1969huggybear]

Gee let me guess another problem With the modern sports car design but a bunch of millennial engineers that sit behind a desk and a computer and never test a damn thing before it’s into production

[@1969huggybear]

And by the way you should be able to run the card for many hours at near full throttle without a problem of overheating no matter what anybody says I call BS on gm