Felix’s Corvette Z06: Easy Mode Alternative

“In all honesty, I might only have twenty track days under my belt,” he began.

Surprising then how Felix Huang has managed to sneak into the 1:35-range with his newly acquired 2006 Corvette Z06. The big 7.0-liter Z06 promises a lot from factory, but it requires some minor modifications and a delicate touch to get the most from it. For Felix, this 3,200-pound Corvette is a viable alternative to an S2000 or any driver’s car with a reputation for punishing mistakes.

The desire for something analog and demanding came after owning a cosseting machine for more than a few years. “I started tracking my E90 M3 back in 2021,” he began, “but I hit a point where I had to either replace the engine or move on,” he continued. The fear of an S65 rebuild, plus the worry he wasn’t progressing much as a driver, had Felix wondering if there wasn’t a cost-effective alternative which would help him sharpen his skills, stat.

Besides this hard edged character he was after, he was conscious of the cost of a heavyweight like the E90, and hoped to lessen the financial strain he’d been feeling. Well, a Z06 might be relatively light, but low-powered and easy on consumables it is not. Crucially, it had that indefinable it-factor than the other considered model, the S2000, did not have. Ultimately, that was why he picked the Z06 – a car he had lusted after for years.

“I wanted something something light that wouldn’t mask your mistakes. I wanted something that could bite you,” he said.

Finding a nicely-priced example made it a little easier to accept the anticipated cost hike, and to limit the squeeze he was sure to feel, he decided to keep modifications minimal. The first course of action was making sure he didn’t have to repair a motor anytime in the immediate future.

The Z06 is an undeniable bargain provided the LS7 lump doesn’t swallow a valve. The known head and oiling issues with the early model cars well-documented and plenty of solutions are available. With a Lingenfelter dry sump expansion tank, he addressed the first item. The second item required him to send his head out to American Heritage Performance for a new head. “I didn't want any downtime,” he said of the company which provides a core refund.

These two maintenance items were were relatively easy on the wallet, but that didn’t mean that once he was in the clear he wanted to spend like gangbusters. “I wanted to keep it simple and give Supras a run for their money,” he said.

He regards the Supra as an “easy-mode” car: one which barely requires any modification to go quickly. The problem with that approach is that most of the Z06-specific information online revolves around hundred-thousand dollar builds, not the modest track day essentials.

Adding to his worries was the fact that, in stock guise on Supercar 3 tires, the car was a little less than exhilarating. Not only a mediocre compound, but a stagger that wasn’t conducive to the incisive handling he was after.

Some of the car is adjustable, though. The front camber could be bumped up with the factory shims. “The car comes with eccentrics up front, and some like to lock these out and adjust with the shims, but I haven’t seen too much variance between alignments,” he added.

With an alignment, wheels, tires, and brakes, the Corvette transformed. Carbotech XP12s and 10s front and rear, respectively, and a set of 18” Alibaba wheels wrapped in Vitour P1 tires brought out the Z06’s inner athlete. Crucially, the knock-off forged wheels measured 18x11” and 18X12.5” front and rear, respectively. Stepping from a 275 to a 315 at the front axle made a world of difference in balance. The car now rotated eagerly – even too eagerly in some situations.

“It has a shorter wheelbase and wider track than the M3, which makes it snappier – not only at corner exit, but on entry, too.”

A slow rack and an oversized steering wheel made correcting the rear a bit tricky, as did some of the ergonomic challenges posed by the big Vette.

Enter one of the Z06’s weird little quirks. Since the factory seats are useless for track work, he swapped the left-side seat for an OMP WRC-R, which offered security and stability and the expense of ergonomics. “The stock wheel no longer telescopes due to the module residing in the stock seat. That, and the fact that my legs are too short, forces me to sit too close to the wheel,” he laughed.

Interestingly, the big six-piston binders left something to be desired. “If you want to track it regularly, you should get a high-torque pad – I changed from XP12s to XP20s up front. The stopping performance is there, but longevity isn’t – the pedal starts to get a little soft after one or two hard laps, and after three days at the track, the pads are done,” he explained.

There’s just no cheating physics, and a 3,200-pound car with around 420 horsepower at the wheels is going to place serious demands on its brakes. That weight is also felt in direction changes, “It’s not an issue at Laguna, but in the Turn 8 esses at Sonoma, I feel I’m leaving a second on the table just waiting for the weight to shift,” he explained.

That slow weight transfer, in conjunction with prodigious power, has forced him to refine some of his inputs, as he hoped he would. “Being more delicate is a must, mainly because there’s a smaller window of recovery. If you go much over the limit, the Z06 is much more likely to throw you off than the M3 ever was. Now, I go off at least once a track day,” he admitted.

That has helped him worked on his powers of anticipation, as has the way the car gathers speed. “You can get yourself into trouble if you don’t look far ahead,” he said, “since this car accelerates so damn fast. You really need to be ahead of the car, both in terms of vision and reactions. Anticipation is a must if you’re going to push this car hard,” he expounded.

As he hoped, a midlly modified Z06 has been the exacting machine he hoped it would be — and like the S2000 which he briefly considered, it hasn’t caused him much in the way of headaches. The two items to fail on the car have been the motor mounts – fluid-filled items that he replaced with AMT’s solid mounts — and a broken axle; the latter the result of banging off the inside berm at Laguna’s T6.

There are a couple items on the to-do list: oil temperatures get high on hot days, so a cooler and some hood venting are in order. To keep the current brakes, he feels he’ll have to modify the system with a better set of ducts; the factory ducts don’t do much, apparently. Beyond those, he’s mostly happy with the car, though he has his eye on a set of Nitron R1 coilovers to help minimize some of that from-factory slop.

“I have no regrets buying this car. It’s nice to do something differently. In fact, I’d say this car is almost slept on here in California. I just wish other local drivers would try something other than BMWs and Supras,” he declared.