We introduced our latest LSX Magazine project to you all last month. Project Track Addict is a C8 Corvette we are taking from the dealership showroom and turning it into a track day weapon. We will initially put in a few sessions with the car in stock form to get a solid baseline, and then we will upgrade the car in three phases and retest Track Addict after each phase is complete.
The three phases will be focused on handling/braking, aero, and power. But before we dive into the modifications and upgrades for Track Addict, we need to get our baseline lap times and performance data. To take the car to the track and be safe we need to add a few things to our C8 first.
We want to ensure the driver is securely seated in the car while on track. Keeping the driver firmly planted in the seat serves multiple purposes. The less the driver moves around in the seat during hard cornering and changes in direction, the more confident the driver can be and the more they can focus on turning the quickest lap times possible. To accomplish this, we installed a harness bar and racing harnesses.
For the harness bar, we reached out to Peitz Performance and ordered their C8-specific unit. This harness bar is made from quality 1.25-inch diameter .120-inch wall DOM steel tubing and is formed in-house at the Peitz Performance facility in the USA. The harness bar passes NASA and SCCA tech inspections for the required harness angle and position with either factory or aftermarket seats. Another feature of the Peitz Performance harness bar is they designed it so you still have complete access to the fuse box located under your speaker. The installation of the harness bar does require some modification of the factory interior plastic panels. Still, Peitz Performance has gone the extra step and offers modified panels with its harness bar so you don’t have to modify your C8’s panels.
Installing the harness bar is a straightforward process that we completed in no time. Once the interior panels were removed, the holes could be marked and drilled for attaching the harness bar to the C8’s structure. With the harness bar installed, we were able to attach the Sparco four-point harnesses. The Sparco C8 harnesses feature three-inch shoulder belts and two-inch lap belts made of high-quality fabric with durable fasteners. These harnesses are also FIA-approved so we can pass through tech at the track with no worries. Each of the four belts attaches using snap-on fixings, and the built-in padded load spreader in the lap belts makes the Sparco harnesses easy to buckle. We chose to go with red harnesses to match our C8’s red exterior.
Next, it was time to turn our attention to another area of Track Addict we wanted to add some safety, reliability, and peace of mind to. Taking a recommendation from the experts at Cicio Performance, we upgraded the factory axle shaft bolts. Admittedly, axle bolts are not a glamorous component like wheels or brakes, but upgrading them to higher quality parts reduces the risk of having the bolts work themselves loose when put through the stresses of track use. Plus, this upgrade is relatively inexpensive for the added reliability.
The last thing we installed before hitting the track for our baseline testing was a premium high-performance metal mesh reusable transmission filter and filler kit from Dodson Motorsports. If you’ve ever tried to change the transmission fluid in a C8 or simply overfill it slightly for track use, then you are aware that the only possible way of doing either task requires the removal of the factory airbox. To remedy this issue, Dodson Motorsports created an assembly of hoses and fittings along with a one-way valve that, once installed on the transmission, allows you to perform fluid changes and fills without touching the factory airbox.
Installing the filler kit is quick and easy, especially if the car is in the air on a lift. It does require the removal of the C8 belly pan to access the transmission. The key thing to a proper installation is making sure that the flow arrow on the one-way valve is pointing in the correct direction, which is the direction that oil will flow when filling the transmission. While we had the car in the air and the belly pan out of the way, installing Dodson’s reusable metal mesh transmission filter involved removing the four E8 bolts holding the transmission filter lid in place, pulling the old filter and o-ring, and installing the new Dodson filter and o-rings.
Once the belly pan was back in place, we could set the car on the ground and get it loaded in the trailer for our first track day outing. In the next installment of this series, we will bring you Project Track Addict’s baseline lap times. While at the track we will bolt on a set of track-only Forgeline wheels and Continental tires to do back-to-back testing and see how much we can gain in time compared to the stock wheels and tires. Stay tuned as we begin modifying our C8 and testing how far we can push it on track.
