w00tw00t

I'm a reasonably competent track day driver (three years experience) and I already feel my C6Z has a ton of power/tq, on the verge of being too much. I've spent my mod dollars on handling improvements and left the engine alone. As much as I love the new C7 Z06 I don't see myself ever getting one because it'll be too much for me to handle (esp. with TC/AH turned off) on the track.


I love the aggressive look on the new C7 Z06 and I know every manufacturer has to up the power/tq game everytime they release a new generation, but does anyone else feel the way I do that the C7 Z06 will have too much power/tq for the avg. track day enthusiast?

troyguitar

A C5 Z06 already has too much for the average bear, C7 will be way too much - but the nannies have gotten so good that as long as people leave them on they will be fine.

I can't imagine starting out in a Corvette at all. I started out in a 5 hp go-kart though and think that everyone should start out with something like that so maybe I'm just weird.

C5ZEE06

Way to much for many...not enough for some.

ooldguy93

after 50 + years on track the following conclusion :

you never have too much horsepower, however, you still have a brain ( for self-preservation ) and a right foot controlled by same

also as stated above - a much better idea to start with 5 hp vs 505

Lawdogg

"If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower." - Mark Donohue

ZedO6

"If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower." - Mark Donohue

very apropo Lawdogg...


LOL...my thoughts as well!

sevinn

After a few minutes into the session the heat soak will take care of some of that horse power.

talon95

Never too much power, just too little tire.

I really don't know, I have tracked my C5Z and it didn't seem overpowered at all on street tires. If you have the money to risk crashing a $80+k car then it would be fine probably.

Bill Dearborn

I firmly believe too much HP is just enough. It is how well you use your right foot. You don't have to floor it coming out of every corner. Is a 150 hp car too powerful on the street. Most people would think not. However, if you put the same car on a street covered with ice and slush 150 hp can become a handful. Whether or not you are driving at the limit on a track in a C6Z or encounter an icy highway while driving your 150 hp gas miser the same things apply. Back off the power use your right foot judiciously and get through the low grip area.

Bill

w00tw00t

yes but is 620 + 600 tq too much for the track? ... why is it that the race C6R has much less power vs the street car.. at what point is it too much? .. there's a reason why in motorcycle world - the 1000cc I4 engine is still the high water mark .. right balance of power and lightness.

ZedO6

The C6R runs an intake restrictor mandated by the sanctioning body. No race team would ever limit power intentionally. If the driver came and told them the car had too much power, he'd be replaced.

JeremyGSU

Coming from an instructor standpoint this car is WAY too much for a beginner. In my experience, typically even a C5 Z06 is too much for a beginner. Most just want to point and shoot and with the power the new Z makes it will make it all that much harder to teach a student.

And the comment about the nannies. Yes, they have gotten better but no amount of nannie will save your *** if you go into the corner way too fast. Which a person has a high potential of with the power these things are going to make. Novices never want to brake enough so limiting their speed will be more important than ever in this thing as things could get out of control in a hurry with 620hp.

SouthernSon

Too much HP is not the issue. The ever increasing intervention of more intrusive Active Handling is a real concern for newbies on track days. A newbie will floor the 500 or 600 HP vehicle and the nannies will intervene. The newbie learns nothing of car control, the brakes get fried and the first time a real situation arises on the street, the newbie that has never run a track with A/H OFF has no idea what to do or when to do it. If you are afraid to run with all A/H off on a track day then you do, indeed, have too much HP for you. A good instructor can show you how to control ANY HP car with A/H turned completely off in only one HPDE weekend if you have any aptitude at all. BTW, I really love good brakes, too.

Also, I have run into those students that do not want to turn off A/H. So be it. I certainly don't require any student to do something with which they are uncomfortable, not only from a potential liability standpoint. However, I cringe every time I feel the driver playing off the A/H while burning up the rear brakes. I feel much more useful to the student when they are learning to drive the car themselves and not letting the car intervene.

redtopz

Too much power? No. Too much torque? No. Too much money? Yes.

Like mentioned above, it depends on your goals and/or your experience. If you just want to go have fun at occasional track days like many people do with their high end sports cars, then go for it. I don't think this car will be too difficult to handle even for a novice. In the hands of a seasoned driver, I'm sure this car will kick ***. Randy Pobst did a 1:34 in a stock 13 C6Z at Laguna Seca (which is very fast) and I bet he beats that by multiple seconds with this car with a huge grin on his face.

However, if you are just learning and your goal is to get into TT or racing, it would probably be easier and a shorter learning curve to start with a lower hp car. It's more difficult to push the limits of braking, cornering, etc. with a high hp car and the consequences of making a mistake are higher. Plus things happen faster in a fast car. This is why we see so many high hp cars turning mediocre laps even in race groups. They simply brake early, park in the turns, and drag race down the straights. Of course with this technique, they can never get enough hp. Many never learned how to use momentum (or can't). Look at the Mike Skeen GT1 vid for a quick example. Everyone completely disappears from sight after the first turn. Drag race, park, drag race = slow.

high9s

LOL, I don't know about that, the Porsche 917 comes to mind

jlutherva

Very well said. Last year I had a series of students driving 600+ hp cars and although most of them had at least a handful of track events under their belts, they were totally relying on active handling to get them around the track. They were not at all interested in turning off the nannies. That's the way the wanted to play the game. The late model BMWs and AMGs, as well as the late model GM cars, have active handling systems that are so smooth you can barely feel them coming on.

Jim

JeremyGSU

Sure, I'll agree with that statement. But I'll also say I think there in lies the problem. Most students don't. I would say 2/10 out of the ones I get have any aptitude for track driving.

Until my student can prove to me that the nannies are hindering him from going faster I have them leave it on. Most are still struggling with learning Sebring's 17 turns after a weekend, let alone getting into car control.

95jersey

600+hp is not crazy on a 3300lbs car as it seems. My car has 600+hp and I can nail the gears even on the street with street tires without any problems. Matter of fact, now that I am use to it, I could easily see another 100hp with no problem.

Jump on a Suzuki Hayabusa 1340 and only then do you find the definition of TOO much power arguable.

I do agree this would not be the best car for a novice to learn on. Mostly because the power will mask their mistakes.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

"No. It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear." They were aghast at that. They had never seen motors put out even as much power as we had. As they reached 800 horsepower, they literally burned out one of their dynamometers. By the end of the year the five-liter engine was up to 880 horsepower,and the best 5.4-liter engine in 1973 was eventually good for 1190 horsepower. All the time they kept asking, "Now does it have enough?" And I kept saying, "I still can't spin the wheels all the way down the straightaway." Mark Donohue on the 917 Porsche

SouthernSon

I think I know what you are saying. I have identified the biggest obstacle to successfully understanding negotiating a track at speed as the inability to focus far enough ahead. There are those that must learn to raise their line of sight from just a few feet in front of the hood to several hundred feet down the track and DON'T simply connect the dots. After the driver gets the line I instruct them that once the immediate focus point is assured (in other words, within a second or two of calibrated anticipation), I instruct them to acquire the next one and continue in each subsequent step. In a cadence I will instruct thusly: Focus on brake point - (within a few feet) GOT IT!, focus on turn in - (within a few feet) GOT IT!, focus on Apex - (within a few feet) GOT IT!, focus on track out or next brake/ turn in which ever is appropriate. Point is, you have to speed up their focus to anticipate the next step and stay focused far ahead. This keeps them looking farther down the track and keeps everything much smoother. This has been very successful for me and very seldom do I run into anyone that doesn't get it.