Driving impression of GTWC

[DrBro]

I completed my first track weekend with my car and am happy to report my impression is right in line with what others have reported. A few specific observations.

- The 4.6 motor was very workable powerplant for the car. TWS has a 1/2 mile front straight, so big hp cars will always shine. My car is putting 300 hp at the tires and I was able to beat stock C5 vettes and run with modded ones. The GT3 cup cars, were beating me up at first, but as I got more comfortable in the car, even they were in reach. Cams and headers may be all this motor needs to run ST2 competively.

- The car sticks like crazy! It is a new driving experience coming from even a well set up corvette. The feedback is awsome. I am taking tips from the Miata crowd now, because the driving style is very similar but with much more power. I haven't corner weighed the car yet (ran it like it was delivered except for checking ride height), I fully anticipate even better performance once that is done.

- The brakes are fantastic. The pedal effort is initially higher, than my vette (6p Willwoods fr and bigger rotors all around with H compound pads), but they are very strong once heated up and confidence inspiring. More importantly, the brake wear was minimal. A huge improvement over my previous experience $$$$$.

- A 32 gallon fuel cell is nice, but... I found the car was much better balanced at a half a tank. It is nice to not have to fill up for the whole weekend, but I will likely go with less fuel next time.

- The PI dash is nice but takes some time to get used to. I have been studying the manual and tracing wires, so I need to redo the setup. I changed the rev limiter to 7k on the dyno (it was 6500 from Panoz). My next addition is a Raptor shift light. I like the raptor because it is so easy to install and adjust. It is also very compact and bright! Just need to find the correct wire on the PI wire loom......

- I found the driving position excellent. I am 5'8" and used to a corvette. So to me the car is just the right size and very natural for sight lines and body position. I am sure it is big compared to some spec racers, but I like it just fine.

- The clutch is stiff, but not nearly as bad as I was afraid of. Driving it in and out of the garage at home had real concerns. On the track I didn't even notice it. FYI I have the cable clutch set up.

- The car is REALLY hot, I mean temperature inside. It was nice cool weather here in Texas, but it was very warm inside. I have seen that the many of the GTS cars here have holes in the back window. I know why. I will also look at NACA ducts for a little breeze as well. Maybe a fan. Any suggestions other than a trucker fan?

- My fan controller was not working, thus no radiator fan for the weekend. Regardless, the water temps never went over 200 degrees and were down in 180's by the time I rolled into the pits. I bought a relay and will change it to a manual switch instead of buying a new fan controller. In any event there were no cooling issues except for the driver as noted above.

Overall the weekend was fun. I spent about two weeks going over every nut and bolt on the car, cleaning up wiring, adjusting the ride height (mine is still higher than the GTS specs by about an inch all around), and adjusting body panels. The only repair was fixing an oil leak on the valve cover. I was getting a steady leak so I pulled the valve cover expecting a bad gasket. Found a crack in the cover itself above the timing chain (very effective oil slinger!). Black RTV fixed that for now. It helps to not have a puff of oil smoke on every down shift!!

People clamored over the car all weekend long. It is a lot of fun having a REAL racecar, especially one that looks nice!

[DrBro]

Aw come on!? Not even a comment on the trucker fan???

[Cobra4B]

Awesome dude! Pretty much the same experience I had in mine minus the 300 rwhp

[Squerly]

Very nice car DrBro and an excellent review. I have driven mine in 3 races (GTO class) and have been having a blast. I don't want to spend the time writing the same review as you so I'll just say that you're right on the money. Mine also handles very well, love the brakes and is a real attraction at the track. It is also VERY hot inside but I'm looking into a cool suit. (not ready to make the move to a trucker fan just yet... )

[DrBro]

Well for the heat, this is what I have learned from the GTS cars here in Houston. Drill holes in the back lexan for ventilation (2" holes nicely spaced along the bottom seem to be the norm). I am adding dual NACA ducts on the passenger side window with hoses aimed at ME! I also have a cool suit that I will don in the summer time, but dang! I shouldn't need it in February!!!

[g8rbob]

One heat source we noted was the horizontal area of the interior between the seat and the door. This is directly above the exhaust system and has no insulation on the under side nor does the vertical sheet metal leading up to the inner door sill from there. These areas got hot enough to avoid touching with a bare hand.

While we had the body off of the chassis, we added insulation to these surfaces (both driver's and passenger's sides) like that which is on the front, side and back of the seat tub. This should keep these surfaces cooler and hopefully have some affect on the overall compartment heat.

[Cobra4B]

Hmmm my GTRA has heat insulation on the fire wall and the sides of the compartment tub. It also has carpet pieces w/ heat material on the back of the carpet pieces and each muffler is wrapped in heat blanket. The car was fine for me