RichinCincy

I test drove a C7 yesterday, and I have some questions.

I noticed quite a bit of road noise (from the tires) Will this lessen as the tires 'age' or will the noise be fairly constant?

Is there some type of 'skip shift' feature? When 'granny driving' I couldn't shift from 1st into 2nd.

What type of mileage can I expect from tires if I don't beat it, track it or do burn outs?

Overall, I loved the car. The blindspot is pretty bad and would take some serious getting used to. I loved the power and handling, I'm a bit worried about the low clearance and getting in my driveway!!

Thanks in advance!

Zymurgy

Tire noise will not improve with "age". Non run-flats would decrease tire noise. There are also some noise insulation kits you can buy.

Yes, there is skip shift "feature". You can get a CAGS eliminator for about $30 - or just use your right foot a little more.

Can't answer the tire mileage question as I'm still on my first set.

1-4 Skip Shift Parameters:
This light will come on when:
• The engine coolant temperature is higher than 169°F (76°C),
• the vehicle is going 15 to 19 mph (24 to 31 km/h) and
• 21 percent throttle or less.

stab1991

Tire noise will not get mush better with mileage. I have placed dyno mat on the rear tub and behind the seats. Its now so much better but still worth it for the traction of the sport tires.

Yes there is a skip feature to go from 1st to 4th. It is a must to get rid of, a simple cags eliminator will fix it for a few bucks.

This car gets great gas mileage. Some get more than others. Depends on how you drive but I'd say if driven non aggressively, about 27 mpg. I personally never see that but I have a lead foot and drive it more in the upper revs.

stab1991

Zymergy beat me to it, I type too slow HA

Zymurgy

Properly adjusted side mirrors will be a big improvement on the "blind spot". Most people adjust their mirrors to far "inward".
With my mirrors properly adjusted, I do not have a blind spot in the C7. Some claim they still have a blind spot, so YMMV.

tunaman

Road noise will depend upon the road... Some pavement makes a lot of noise, some little to none. The noise level will remain relatively constant. Some have installed sound deadening material, which is reported to help. I have no issues with the sound myself.

There is a skip shift... I'll let others speak to it.

Tires should last 25 - 40k, depending on your driving style and roads. These tires are great, IMHO, and vastly superior to the previous Goodyear run flats.

The blind spot is a non-issue, as long as you have your mirrors adjusted correctly. You will get used to it quicker than you think.

Driveways and speed bumps just need to be taken at an angle, especially if your car is lowered... No big deal.

Get it - you won't be disappointed!

OnPoint

1. Tire noise will remain fairly constant. If anything, as the tires wear and eventually heat cycle hard (the rubber compound becomes less soft as they age/heat cycle) the tires toward their end of life will get noisier. I find the tires noisier on certain surfaces - like concrete - and quieter on asphalt.

2. The manual trans does have a skip shift feature. You can avoid it by not "granny driving", or you can plug in a skip shift eliminator - they don't cost much and don't affect the tune or warranty. Or, if you put a custom tune on the car for performance reasons, you can tune out the feature (a custom tune, of course, negates your warranty).

3. Tire life - varies by individual and driving habits. If you don't track or drive aggressively you can get 20 - 25k miles out of them (some have gotten even more). The tire performance will drop off noticeably in the last 5k miles or so. The most important factor to long tire life is a good wheel alignment. I recommend you have an alignment shop that is good, check the alignment. These cars come from the factory with fairly broad alignment allowances. Have the alignment put in a tighter spec and you'll get better tire wear.

4. Blind spot. A good trick with the C7 to help with this - and in fact largely eliminate as an issue - is set your side mirrors farther outward. Set the mirrors so that they are just past the point of being able to see the sides of the car looking back in them. That will largely eliminate the blind spot issue, tho for some it takes some time to get used to.

5. Driveway - take it a small angle, not straight-ahead and that will help with clearance.

Go get one - these cars are a blast.

trivette

Agree on the road noise-definitely varies with the type of pavement. The blind spot mirror adjustment illustrated definitely works. My ATS coupe has a similar rear vision configuration and using these mirror settings allows it to be a non-issue.

Boiler_81

See notes below

RichinCincy

Thanks so much for the replies!!! I'm currently in an Audi S4, which I love, but the fear of costly future repairs has me considering other options (the C7 being one) Historically, how expensive are C7's to repair maintain?

Thanks again!

TKO Performance

For road noise you might want to consider the Blockit Quick & Quiet sound deadening mat. 3 Piece kit. 1 Pre cut piece for the Cargo area
and 2 pieces (one for behind each seat) Takes about 60 seconds to install (just toss it in) and it dramatically cuts down the road noise.





For the Coupe: http://store.tkoperformance.com/20c7blsodesy.html

For the Vert :http://store.tkoperformance.com/2020bldinsod.html



Ed

traderfjp

Tires make a huge difference with road noise and obviously the roads you drive on. I have Hankook A/S. These tires are very smooth and quiet and are non-runflats. You can also buy sound deadening for the car but my car is pretty quiet so I see no reason for it. I have a non-Z-51 car and it drives very smoothly for a sportscar. A Z-51 car without magnetic shocks will drive harder. That said my wife's newly designed Hyundai Sonata is quieter and rides much smoother. A sports car has the benefits of incredible acceleration, road hugging abilities and you can take the top off on a beautiful day. It's all about what is important to you.

abrimberry

Have a little over 22,000 miles on my original Z51 tires and they aren't ready to be replaced. IMHO, over the years, proper tire pressure and alignments have extended my tire life.

drs

Well, this is a good news / bad news thing. The good news is that unlike some other "premium" manufacturers, Chevrolet dealerships are fairly reasonable regarding costs for routine maintenance and repairs. The bad news is that unlike some other "premium" manufacturers, Chevrolet dealerships are... well Chevrolet dealerships. Expect no better service than if you were a Spark owner and you won't be disappointed. Maybe.

RapidC84B

You can just put it back over left and down into 2nd even when you feel the skipshift push the stick into neutral.

RichinCincy

I really don't need to be pampered by my dealer, I just expect the job done right at a reasonable price. My friend's A4 needed a starter... $900......... ouch... That's enough to scare me away. Checking out the C7, Camaro SS convertible and Mustang GT convertible.

capecodvette

Like others have stated, run-flats/performance tires nature of the beast. This is not a Caddy

The A8 automatics and the software are self learning. Meaning the software algorithms learn the drivers behavior relative to throttle response, etc.

Mileage, like others have stated can be in the high 20s if not using constant WOT.

Blindspot...well I have my 2nd convertible. with the rear and front camera's and properly adjusted outside mirrors, no issues. The Corvette is low, therefore more awareness of your surroundings. The C7 is awesome.

capecodvette

I have owned Audi's. Their shop/labor rate and parts are much higher $s. GM dealerships are pretty standard shop/labor rates as found in most U.S. car manufacture dealerships. Parts are no different, and way less than Euro parts.

JerryU

Yep, tires make noise and to keep the C7 light there is very little insulation. It's a sports car! No problem for me I always have the radio playing the ~1000 songs I have on SD cards, with new C7's put them on a flash drive. The subwoofer in the 2LT and 3LT is a help, IMO.

As others mentioned you can eliminate the skip shift for ~$25, I did on my C6 and C7, easy install.

Folks report getting ~25,000 for tire mileage, yours will vary depending how you drive.

Never had "blind spot mirrors" on my '88, '93 or '08 C6 Vette coupes. But the visibility out the rear window in the C7 is not as good, it's a narrow view especially with the Z51 spoiler.
I set my mirrors per the ~1995 SAE tech paper summarized in the graphic in post #5, and have for many years. But if you read the words on the right side of post #5 they say to follow a car as it passes "from the center mirror" to a side mirror. For the C7 there is a blind spot because of the narrow rear view. In all Verts (with the top up) it's bad. Small blind spot mirrors WITH the side mirrors properly adjusted make visibility a non issue, IMO. To each his own!I set my mirrors per the old SAE Tech Paper, i.e. should not see you car when leaning your head on the window. But with the C7 that is not good enough per that same SAE paper because of the limited center mirror view!

rcooper

Tire mileage is going to vary greatly, are you getting a Z51 ( softer compound tires ) or a base car ( a wee bit harder compound )?
I have a base with 20,000 miles on it and still have plenty of tread, guessing that I will hit about 35,000 before I need to replace them. They are still noisy.
The rest of your questions have been nicely answered so I thought that the mileage on my tires might give you an indicator as to wear.