Going from F-body to C5: Differential?
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Going from F-body to C5: Differential? Hey fellas I've been an F-body guy for the past 10 yrs and I am literally days away from owning my first vette, a 99'. The 10 bolt was/is really crappy in F-bods. For vettes I know wheel hop is the big enemy. I plan on having 400rwhp and am getting a DTE brace and hardened output shaft. How critical is it to upgrade the differential? This will only be brought to the track a few times a year.
I'm not a stick racer, but I'll pass along what I've read/learned.
It starts with dumping the clutch (not slipping it) on tires that have little forgiving side walls (low stiff profile) or over inflated tires, that combo will shake your rear driveline and if your lucky you will only break your output shafts in your rear.
First you need to learn slipping the clutch. if you wheel hop stop right away. A more forgiving drag tire with a bigger sidewall helps alot, a 16" rim is most popular. (upgraded rear shocks don't hurt either)
If you're going to race alot you should get harden output shafts & a trans brace that keeps the rear & trans from twisting and breaking the cases. ECS can hook you up with everything you need if interested.
http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.co...rut_Brace.html
It starts with dumping the clutch (not slipping it) on tires that have little forgiving side walls (low stiff profile) or over inflated tires, that combo will shake your rear driveline and if your lucky you will only break your output shafts in your rear.
First you need to learn slipping the clutch. if you wheel hop stop right away. A more forgiving drag tire with a bigger sidewall helps alot, a 16" rim is most popular. (upgraded rear shocks don't hurt either)
If you're going to race alot you should get harden output shafts & a trans brace that keeps the rear & trans from twisting and breaking the cases. ECS can hook you up with everything you need if interested.
http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.co...rut_Brace.html
I've only been to the track twice with mine but as mentioned you do NOT want to wheelhop. A controlled slip will give you the best times unless you're going to run a full slick which I wouldn't do on the stock diff. Having a hardened driver's side output shaft and the diff brace are pretty good if you're careful at the track and don't go very often. I would recommend doing the output shaft yourself - it's pretty easy and the C6Z shaft is only like $60.
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I've only been to the track twice with mine but as mentioned you do NOT want to wheelhop. A controlled slip will give you the best times unless you're going to run a full slick which I wouldn't do on the stock diff. Having a hardened driver's side output shaft and the diff brace are pretty good if you're careful at the track and don't go very often. I would recommend doing the output shaft yourself - it's pretty easy and the C6Z shaft is only like $60.
Last edited by 01bird58; Dec 15, 2010 at 10:44 PM.
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I've broken and replaced the output shaft in my '99. What has been posted above is correct about slipping the clutch off the line and using bias ply ET Street tires.
I don't know for sure, but I don't think the C6 Z06 shafts are much of an upgrade to C5 shafts. Last track day two of my friends broke their C6Z shafts, but my hardened 300M aftermarket shaft held up just fine to mid 1.7 sixty foot times. But then again, I was running 16" ET Streets and the guys that broke were on drag radials.
I don't know for sure, but I don't think the C6 Z06 shafts are much of an upgrade to C5 shafts. Last track day two of my friends broke their C6Z shafts, but my hardened 300M aftermarket shaft held up just fine to mid 1.7 sixty foot times. But then again, I was running 16" ET Streets and the guys that broke were on drag radials.
It's no surprise that a 300M shaft will outperform a C6Z shaft. The C6 piece gets rid of the undercut on the C5 shaft (see pic) which is an area prone to breaking. C5 on the left and "A" is the undercut. Yes it's a direct fit and for how cheap they are I figured why not try it. You can get them from a good GM parts place. When I did mine over the Summer I couldn't find one in stock at the time and ended up getting one from RPM Transmissions.
The C6 Z06 shafts are great pieces. They rarely fail. But we have seen them fail in extreme situations. If you are on a budget I would opt for the C6 Z06 shafts and an *ECS* brace. The ECS brace is a MUCH nicer piece anyway.
We actually just got our newest batch of shafts from DSS and they are even stronger than the 300m parts. The fastest IRS corvette in the world will be running them next spring.
If you guys have any questions please feel free to shoot me a PM or give us a call.
We actually just got our newest batch of shafts from DSS and they are even stronger than the 300m parts. The fastest IRS corvette in the world will be running them next spring.
If you guys have any questions please feel free to shoot me a PM or give us a call.
Last edited by Jeremy@RPMTransmissions; Dec 29, 2010 at 10:11 AM.
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Could someone point me in the direction of a distributor of a stock C6 zo6 shaft, im having a hard time finding one.
Edit: Nevermind I found a link in corvette forum, its only $77! Im allowed to post up the corvette forum link right.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-z06-guts.html
Edit: Nevermind I found a link in corvette forum, its only $77! Im allowed to post up the corvette forum link right.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-z06-guts.html
Last edited by 01bird58; Dec 18, 2010 at 09:50 AM.
