mikymu

By some demand for feedback I will share my experience in a street 2007 GT3 RS vs 2007 IMSA spec GT3 Cup car and 2011 Z06 carbon edition. I will break them down as far as costs, mods, track behavior and subjective driving experience.

Cost:
2007 GT3 RS: MSRP $130K+ I got mine used at $135K with CCB brakes, nav etc
2007 GT3 Cup: MSRP $165+ I got mine used at less than $90K with fuel cell and updated ECU software, 3 sets of BBS wheels and tons of spares
2011 Z06 carbon MSRP $100K I bought it new at $15K+ off MSRP and 0% 60 months finance

Mods:
2007 GT3 RS:
CCB to Cup steel brakes
factory cage
GT2 seats
Guard LSD inner rebuild
Akrapovic exhaust - transfer to Cup car
Wevo engine mounts
996 Cup shift cable
CCW 18" wheels
software
front clear bra
Total mod cost: $34.7K

2007 GT3 Cup:
Akrapovic exhaust
sachs two ways shocks
09 Cup rear CF bumper
rock chip clean up and whole car clear bra
Porsche autoblipper
Nitrogen tank, hose and dolly
air jack stands
Total mod cost: $24.6K

2011 Z06 carbon: Link to mods write up http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...formation.html
Forgeline GA3R wheels
OMP HTE seat
custom roll bar
Pfadt engine and tranny mounts
Pfadt track sway bars
LG headers and mid section with 200 cell cats
Akrapovic slip on mufflers
Diablo sports hand held tune
Halltech intake
Stock ride height rubber eliminated
Aeromotions S1 active wing
whole car clear bra
Total mod cost: $19.2K

Tire cost:
2007 GT3 RS: approx $1500 per set of Kumho V710

2007 GT3 RS: $400 per set of scrub Michelin slicks and they last about 12+ HC after I finally learn how to avoid flat spot. Initial tire cost was very high due to lack of ABS and OMG moments which lead to flat spot

2011 Z06 carbon: approx $1500 per set of R6 and so far they lasted 20 heat cycle and I rotate them inside out after 12 HC and everything looks great and grip very well.

Maintenance:

All three cars cost about the same for oil change and frequency and all three cars will leak couple drops of oil here and there ... it's a race car

Brakes pads are same price for GT3 RS and Cup if you use the same brand. Z06 ceramic rotor brake pads also cost alot at close to $1K a set.

So far all three cars cost the same for track expenses include some amature racing with the cup. Cup car needs 100 octane fules and I typically use 15-20 gallons per event. Z06 don't use much more fuel on the track compare with GT3 RS

Driving experience:

2007 GT3 RS
Street - noisy and harsh after all the mods and driving to and from track can be tortuous and 996 Cup cable really add additional mechanical noise. I often drive with ear plugs
Track - drive like a race car until I drove the Cup car. Fun and fast but tricky like any *** heavy 911

2007 GT3 Cup
Street - wake my neighbor up when I fire up my car to load on trailer
Track - No ABS, no brake assist, barely have power steering. It's hot and jet turbine noisy in the cabin and I could not drive the car without ear plugs. You have to really push and pull the sequential to up and down shift and autoblipper is strongly recommended to save your tranny. It drive totally different from street GT3 and it's a race car. If you are mortal like me then your first time out in a Cup will be alot of WTF!! You lap time will be significantly lower than your street GT3 first time out. It takes every concentration from you to go fast in a Cup and you have to get gas, shift and brake perfect every single time to go fast.

2011 Z06 carbon
Street - stock form is super boring unless you really step on the gas. After all the mods above it's tons of fun with distinct exhaust sound and the ride is much more forgiving than GT3 RS with less noise and I can road trip without ear plugs. Much more thumbs up from the public than GT3 RS.
Track - stock form was totally undriveable. Stock alignment was almost positive front and rear. *** wiggle like mad under braking and acceleration.
After above mods - it totally transform the car. It drives like it's on rail and completely stable under braking and acceleration. It match my GT3 Cup lap time and it did it under traffic which means it's faster without traffic. I can drive with minimal gear shift if I am lazy or more gear shift if I want to play. It's more forgiving than GT3 RS when the car start to slide and much more stable. I am still using stock leaf spring and magnetic shocks which are fantastic on the track at both soft and hard settings ... I am totally amazed! Ceramic brakes can stop like the Cup car and better then GT3 RS with steel Cup rotors without fading and that's with OEM pads and brake fluid.

Conclusion:

Street GT3 RS cost alot more from get go and also more expensive to mod for my track use. I am always paranoid on the track knowing the cost and headache of repair and resale if I have a major shunt. I hate it when people come up to me and say "wow, what a nice looking car" which makes me even more anxious about damaging the car. It's alot of fun to drive but worry me too much. It's at least 5-6 seconds slower than GT3 Cup and Z06. After driving the GT3 RS on the street and track I don't see myself doing it again unless the initial cost of ownership is much less than $80K

GT3 Cup car really test my patience and sharpen my skill as a driver. If I am sloppy and miss a brake zone or shift then lap time suffers or I spin out and flat spot the tire. I am dead tired after a track event but always find myself thinking how to improve my lap time next time out. Track support really helps but can cost $$$$ depends on whom you employ. To really drive fast in the Cup you need proper coaching with data analysis etc. But for DE and occasional chrono or race you can't beat the raw experience of a Cup car. It is the safest car you can be in on the track if you are in a wreck and that's value enough for me to hold on to the car in addition to using as a teaching tool. Engine is as tough or tougher than street GT3. PMNA recommend rebuilding the engine every 75 hours but that's for racers to ensure you don't lose a race due to unforeseen mechanical issue. For my purpose it will last as long as a street GT3 engine and I don't plan on rebuilding the engine till I start noticing power loss or other mechanic issue. I have own the car for almost two years now and it's well above 150 engine hours and it still able to keep even pace with a 570 Hp Ferrari 458 challenge. It is just an amazing experience every time I drive it. I recommend tranny rebuild to 09 spec with tougher gears and inners which was done for my tranny. Autoblipper is a must.

Driving the Cup car is an experience of a life time and it really take courage and concentration to go racing speed which I am still far from it

Z06 Carbon is an unique car with fantastic brakes and powertrain but marshmallow engine/tranny mounts and barber shop seats. Factory alignment was horrible and Porsche is not that much better. All that heroic lap time at the recent Laguna Seca supercar shoot out and Nürburgring was done with more aggressive alignment and some fine tweaks from the factory. No way you can get that time at stock factory setup. It is just a beast to drive on the track after all the mods and just as fast as GT3 Cup car or faster at my current skill level. it has super wide track stance and It clears my open trailer on each side by 1.5 inch compare with > 6 inches for GT3 RS and Cup. At >600 hp and torque at the crank after few mods and complete track stability with the peace of mind of cheap parts and repair cost it is a much pleasant experience to drive on the track compare with GT3 RS.

So, now days when I walk into my garage I stare at two amazing track cars that can challenge me in very different ways and at end of the day you need to ask yourself what kind of needs you have to fill on the track. What works for me will not work for the next person.

GTSilver

Great post mickymu, i was actually waiting for your review and checking out corvetteforum.com to see your upgrades

At first i wasnt keen on the corvette z06 on the track and thought the only place where it would shine is on the drag strip, but boy was I wrong after the improvements they have done to later models they are very capable cars !!

I track in Bahrain International Circuit and for the past two years on time attack competitions the corvette z06 was in first place and with pretty much the same mods you have but with lg coilovers and heads and cam package. The second after him is a corvette zr1 which was within 1 second between them. The z06 gearing on our track is perfect, half if not most of the track is in 3rd gear !!

Although we dont have many experienced drivers and getting near the limits of their cars which may be faster than the corvettes but they are a very strong contender. Hopefully his winning streak will be broken this year

Great post again and would love to see what your corvette will do in Savyboy/rennlist event in October.

ATL Fahrer

So, you've got $170 in the RS, $115 in the Cup, and $105 in the BRAND NEW 'Vette with free money for 60 months. Hmmm, sounds like a no brainer for the track.

Nizer

Shocking; the Cup doesn't cost more to maintain than the street car driven under similar conditions?!? Who'd have thunk??? And yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Nice write up Mike.

scott40

You make a compelling case for the vette.

utkinpol

what was the reason to put akrapovic on a cup? does it even need it? stock headers on a cup are fine, and other than headers it does not really need anything if track has no sound restrictions, so, what was the purpose?
also, why don`t you just install motorsports ABS into your cup - if you`re not restricted by racing class specs, why not to do it?

savyboy

Great write-up as always Mike!

aussie jimmy

very informative, thanks for sharing your experiences!

mdrums

For DE's and street fun...I'll take the Vette!

utkinpol

at event 2 days ago a guy who runs race built Z06 told me price of his build was about of $50K on top of a '10 car donor he used. NASA GT2 class car.
it is just to put a realistic number on a car that gets to run 2-3 sec slower than a 997 cup as his car does at LRP.

on top of OP car - 2 oil coolers for tranny/motor, brembo brakes, full cage, rebuilt motor, fuel cell, safety, fire system, for tranny details i did not ask but he told me - custom and bodywork was not stock too, no idea how all that costs. all i`m saying here - it is not cheap to build at all and will cost plenty more than a used cup car, from what i found so far.

mikymu

Glad you guys find the post interesting. Again this is something that work for me and experience vary greatly from person to person. Some may spend 1/3 the money to drive their street GT3 well on the track and other like myself spend over $30K. Same for Cup car. It is very cheap for me to run the Cup car because I do all my work and other may spend thousands every time they are out with full track support and new sets of slicks every two events. Some may even chose to rebuild their engine at 75 hours which all make it impossible to afford expect for the few rich folks with deep pockets - even they can run out of money. If you compare street GT3 vs Cup driven at the same level and events then the cost is similar and the Cup car is much faster but very difficult to master.

As for the Z06. What I found is that very few Z06 driver on the track here can drive it fast. I have not meet anyone (except for Gordon) that mod their Z06 like mine and suffer from instability on the track hence really slow them down. Vette crowd is not as hard cord at modding their cars like GT3 folks and my close circle on the track are all P-car folks. None of these car's engine will last forever and all of them need rebuild. There have been several report of Z06's LS7 engine blown up due to defective valves and I have also seen GT3 engine needing rebuild due to use. Replacement engine and rebuild cost for Z06 is about 1/3 the price of GT3. I do plan on rebuilding my Z06 engine in couple years and GT3 Cup to 3.8L or 4.0L when it comes time

Hey GTsilver, glad you like the post. Bahrain International Circuit is long and hard to find any track that's not suitable for high power and torque car like the Z06 and ZR1 if set up right. Will have alot of fun at Reno learning the track under savyboy's guidance

Serge944

Just looked at you thread on the vette forum. Wow. What a transformation!

mikymu

lol

Not as impressive as your 4.0

TRAKCAR

Thanks for the write up.
WFIW, in South Florida all Z06 have upgraded brakes. Stock don't hold up. Many engines blown.
But a well driven mildly upgraded Z06 on Hoosier is faster for sure.

mikymu

Yeah, I heard earlier model Z06 have valve issue and hope the newer Z06 hold up better.