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The courtesy dealer in San Jose says to me "This is the first one we've received thus far. It's really nice, it even shifts smoother than the Stingray." And so, my my excitement grew 1,000 fold. This was, after all, my only noteworthy negative with my Stingray test drive. The shifter felt clunky and the gates were hard to find.
Enter the Z06. It is smooth!
Here is a test: achieve highway speeds in 6th, turn **** to track mode, flip the rev match on, downshift 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 as fast as your arm can move. If that won't get your blood pumping you are not alive.
Here is another test: on the freeway start in 6th gear at 50mph, but this time downshift sequentially all the way to first. That was not a typo, this car WILL downshit into first gear at 50 mph without any hesitation. It will do so with slick motion and and a robust gate entry. It is fantastic!
The rev-match is in perfect unison with the track mode. The car barks, spits, growls, howls, and roars like you wouldn't believe. Combined with the ease with which downshifts can be made you will have a new found love for braking. You see those back lights light up ahead of you and you just can't wait to sneak the leaver into a lower gear. Bystanders are almost instantly enamored and you are well on your way to getting a thumbs up or a cheer for the love of motorsport.
I had pans to remove the shifter and install an aftermarket short shifter before I even bought the car. No more. You notice the double stitching following up from the boot to the **** and culminating in an 8 prong gate. I can't imagine having to perturb the perfect balance of mechanical bliss and the art in which it is clad.
Does it have too many gears? Yes and no. Yes, the gears are bunched together in a rather narrow pattern. Trying to go from 7th to 6th I end up in 4th about half the time. Then the rev-match does it magic and the quad pipes growl and I forget I missed my shift. On the other hand, 7th makes a lot of sense because passing is still an option even in the uber long 7th gear and no doubt the fuel economy is improved. If GM gave me the choice between a wider spaced 6 gear trans and this one, I'd take the 6, but I am slowly building the habits and learning the ideal push-pull pressure for perfect shifts.
Up to about 4k rpm it is classic push rod debauchery. It has a thick guttural growl, a lot of lope, and some explosive sounds like whiplashes. If you don't like this music scene, the Stealth mode does a good job domesticating the beast. With the baffles closed, the car gains an almost eerie quality. It is equally apt to throw you sideways up to 100 mph with a small accelerator pedal dab but it will do so in utter silence and secrecy. The world will never know you existed, yet you changed it completely.
From 4k rpm up, it is equal parts brutish American muscle and exotic symphony. Stealth mode is completely powerless. Like any other driving mode, they all open up to let the motor breathe up top. Laguna Seca, cry me a river! The beast cannot be plugged, leashed, or contained. Several lights start appearing on the track mode display to let you know a shift should be happening soon. In order to cope with the savegery and warp speed shove your body all but shuts down your kidneys and other non-vital organs to cope with the situation. Too bad, redline was reached in what seems a decade ago. Either that or the stability control kicked in again to save me from mayhem. I do not know, there are powers here beyond my control.
And so it ticks. Enough chains on the small block, 7th gear + Stealth mode exhaust + full throttle at a mere 50 mph, and you can almost hear the supercharger. It sounds like it but I can't quite be sure. There is a bit of ticking noise, like a racket made by a typing machine.
A for throttle response (time response)
A for sound (Exotic yet larger than life V8 growl, rasp on downshifts, no supercharger whine,almost completely silent in tour under 4k rpm)
A for power (no grip under 100 mph, no matter the heat in the tires)
A for torque (no grip under 4krpm even with gentle dabs of acceleration during engine warm up)
A for size (I LOVE that low hoodline, it feels like I'm driving a long shell Le Mans racer with the engine at the back and a slim nose for low drag)
If someone were to hold a gun to my head to give this engine a B for something, it would have to be something unimportant like fuel economy or aesthetics. And for that, I'd rather take the bullet.
Third and last review for tonight, this sucker has to work to finance carbon ceramic brake usables.
Detail
There is much of it everywhere. You can tell engineers and designers poured their hearts out to craft this car and the assembly line folks followed suit with careful assembly. Let's start with something simple, like the center tunnel storage bin. The laundry list is complete: dual USBs, SD slot, minijack, and a second 12v outlet for good measure. That's all fine and dandy, it's just typical check box stuff. That is until you plug in your phone and expect to use it while plugged in. The armrest closes over the thick charge cable and your jaw drops. Unless you pull the wire right over the release tab, the armrest lid has a gap large enough to let the wire through. The armrest is wide enough for both the driver and the passenger to use. No button on it can be actuated by mistake. The 12V main charge port hides away neatly. The materials are soft to the touch. My 1LZ feels like 100LZ. Bravo!
One reviewer of the car summarized his take on the car: " I just love those passenger side air vents!" Odd, I know, but right it is. From the trim, to the geometry, to the idependent temperature controls, even the vents are a great success!
It took me only about 20 minutes to figure out how to work both screens in just about every mode and remember how to go back to a setting I liked. That is how intuitive the iterface is. Heck, I almost felt a bit of sadness, like finishing your favorite game. I wish there were more modes, screen themes, and the like to explore. I quickly settled on the following:
Tour mode main display
Horsepower meter on the left pocket
Engine oil temp on the right pocket
eLSD readout center
HUD on track mode
Phone connected through bluetooth for GPS and Spotify
Track mode
Rev-match on
That's it!
The stock 1LZ seats are holding me perfectly. I drove 1,500 miles with no pain whatsover, not buttocks, not knees banging on the dash or center tunnel, no excess heat on my toes, no wrist pain, no ear fatigue. Heck, one day I drove for 12 hours and I didn't even notice it. I got out as I got in. This is an absolutely fantastic grand tourer!
Applause need to go out for the sunlight readability of the displays. Perhaps in part due to the sunken geometry of the screens, even on a hot sunny day I've never had to squint for a readout. I also love how the digital theme has a silver trim to it to match the rest of the interior trim. Brilliant!
Something negative, something negative, I have to bring some critique right? Ok, umm, the passenger side a-pillar meets the dash roughly half a centimeter too high. Yeahhh, that's it. Oh, also those three lights in the rear view mirror and obnoxious as hell. Why would they put such bright lights in a functional mirror??
Nice review! If you're still having issues with shifting you should try MGW shifter, if you haven't experienced before ask any who has, including myself. I have put it on every Vette I have owned and it is the best mod you can do.
This is what cellphone pics can look like in today's world folks. Thats why theres no excuse for some of the pics and videos posted on here. Congrats on car and phone OP. I have the Note 4 as well.
Horsepower meter on the left pocket
Engine oil temp on the right pocket
eLSD readout center
HUD on track mode
Phone connected through bluetooth for GPS and Spotify
Track mode
Rev-match on
That's it!
Great review! You beat me to it. I was planning on writing my 2000 mile review in the next couple of days.
Two quick questions. I keep my display essentially the same as yours. However...the eLSD readout. I understand what eLSD is doing, I think, but what is the functional purpose to keeping that display on? Or do you just like how it looks?
The other question is you say you keep your phone connected through Bluetooth for GPS. What do you mean by that?
Enjoy that beautiful beast. Black Z07's are the best.
12-30-2014, 04:09 AM
1,500 mile C7 Z06 Z07 review (lots of pics)
