sethp

I just got back from a 2200 mile road trip in my z06. On April 6 I had my first day ever on a track at Lime Rock. Totally amazing day.

I drove home, packed up the car, and drove to the Outer Banks from Connecticut the next morning. A few days later I drove to a conference in Atlanta, then got home yesterday after 2 days of driving. I averaged just over 25 mpg for the trip. It's a stage 1 with the Super Sport tires.

It's just incredible that this car could hit 140mph on the track one day, then drive for 10 hours comfortably the next getting great gas mileage.

I have only the most positive things to say about the car. It's just so easy to drive in every condition.

One important note: On I40 heading East from Asheville, NC there were warning signs about slippery roads. There was very heavy rain for part of the drive, and the car got loose on the road a few times. I don't know if the road had something to do with it, but please be very careful in heavy rain. Below 58 I was fine; any faster and I started to have periodic mild hydroplaning. There was no standing water. And the Cups probably would have been much worse.

I could not believe how much I could get in the trunk. I had two good size coolers with 10 days of food, kitesurfing gear (3 kites, 2 wetsuits, a split board, harness, helmet, etc.), regular and business casual clothes, computer bag, snacks, etc.

A few other considerations:
- cruise control is a must on the highway to counter the urge to constantly stomp the pedal to the floor. So are Waze and a radar detector.
- the car is not subtle! People wave at you on the highway, take pictures of the car, talk to you at gas stations. And some kids pull up next to you and rev their engines...
- when I got to the last hotel and was unloading the car, two cops walked out of the hotel and one joked that "I guess I should just give you a ticket now"
- the trunk gets pretty warm on long drives.

It was a great trip, and I have no hesitation about taking the car on long trips again.

Seth

george vee

Nice write up.

I had a 2014 C7 Z51 and had no trouble in the rain with my Michelins, I now have a Z (stage 1) about a week and have not gotten to drive it in the rain on a hwy. iI would think it's the width of these tires that make them hydroplane so easily. I remember reading many stories about hydroplaning with the goodyears on the C6 grand sports, I was hopping the wider Michelins would be better.

SMFCPACFP

Enjoyed your write up.

BobSWFL

Thank you for sharing. Nice to hear about real life fun with the Z06. Race track one day, then drive 10 hours comfortably the next day. That is what it is all about!!

My first day of ownership two local cops walked up at a gas station and told me all about their favorite features of the car. Then they critiqued it vs. a GTR, etc. At that moment I silently promised to only do burnouts up to the speed limit. Heh.

Fastmikefree

Thanks for the review and fo the heads up about driving in the rain... with such large wheels not really a surprize and those 'summer' tires are probably not the best for that usage.

Glad that you are enjoying that great car!!!

Phil

JoesC5

The OE Goodyears on my C6 Z06(same tires as on the GS @ 325mm wide) were terrible in the rain. I was afraid to drive over 60-65 with them.

It wasn't the width of the tires that was the problem as I installed a set of Bridgestone RE050A run flats of the same size and I was driving 80 MPH on I-64 in a pretty heavy rain, passing the semi's, and never felt uncomfortable, once I realized that they were surefooted in the rain.

I have Michelin Pilot's on my Mercedes 4 door sedan(and only 205mm wide), and they are scary in the rain. Great in the dry, but won't hold in the corners on wet pavement.

Fastmikefree

BTW, forgot to ask, do you have a M7 or A8 version? Any comment about your gearbox?

Thanks

Phil

JoesC5

Most people, including Corvette owners that never take their cars on road trips, don't realize just how great they are for road trips. Unbelievable how much junk will fit in the back, and I drive 500 miles to Talladega, drive 160+ MPH on the track, and then drive 500 miles back home, while getting 28-29 mpg cruising along on the highway in my C6 Z06. Unless I hit some really rough pavement, it rides like a normal sedan, yet corners at over 1g, unlike a SUV.

RC000E

I wish this type of use were more common with Corvette owners, because the appreciation for these cars would grow profoundly.

Everyone should keep this in mind as, yet again, Porsche and Bentley top the list of the most unreliable cars sold, and Audi topping the list in the 3-8yr old unreliability and cost to repair list.

We can compare Porsche to GTR to Z06 and so on...but Corvette is a pinnacle of reliability versus those cars. Yes, Corvettes still have their problems, as they become more techinical, but GM/Corvette team seem to do very well with putting out a pretty reliable product, despite the performance and complexity.

I wish more people, especially those who complain about pulling timing in 100degree weather, or after abuse lap after lap after lap, or that their driving light went out, etc...would just pause and look at the rest of the market. The Corvette is a gift...it's cheaper, more reliable and outperforms anything in its pricerange as a whole.

Bravo Tadge and company...

sethp

Manual...feels great, works great...not so fun in stop and go traffic. No complaints at all about the tranny.

I sometimes shift from 5th into 4th instead of 6th or other similar misses, but it's been over 20 years since I had a manual, so that's just a matter of practice.

Seth

Madsen

Nice write up Seth.
I'm hoping to have on soon, and I to love the longer trips. I buy them to drive, not to shine.
My last was a 06Z and I loved to drive longs distance. With the better seats I can't wait.

Thanks again for sharing your experience

Movie Muscle

Nice.

""I guess I should just give you a ticket now" " LOL or follow you for about 10 minutes just to see the car in action first. Sheesh no appreciation for a fine automobile. Maybe they were afraid they wouldn't ever catch up to you to administer said ticket.

rockit1

gt or comp? teddie

SUB VETTE

With all the hype about overheating on the track, what was your track experience?

sethp

Regular seats. When I ordered the car the dealer had a few Stingrays with the comp seats, and I didn't think I'd like them for daily driving.

Seth

sethp

I had 4 25 minute runs, outdoor temp in the 60s. I spent as much time on the gas pedal as possible

My instructor has a 2009 z06, and every time I came into the main straight doing doing around 80 and floored it, I heard "holy ****" or similar.

The car was spectacular, no heat issues. Just more fun than should be legal.

Seth

WaFp

Well here is proof that a Z06 can be used as a road trip car. Moving back cross country meant shipping a lot of my **** and being "stuck" with the rest. I do have to say that my C6 had a bit more room, but also about 200 less horsepowers. I'll take the mo by WaFp, on Flickr

Did my own lil cross country road trip after buying my Z at Kerbeck. Delaware to California. And you can pack A LOT of junk in that Z trunk!

Great writeup and I agree with others saying that more folks should get out there and road trip with their Z. She's a "lady on the street and a freak in the....track"

badhabit_wb

Did you switch to weather? I was driving back from a cars and coffee on saturday with the top down when it started to rain. I noticed a the rear end got a little loose and switched to weather mode and it helped a lot. I noticed the rear slipping in a curve but I think it was a combination of water and horsepower. I was driving easy but fast enough to keep the water off of us. I was above the legal limit but the weather setting seemed to calm things down a lot.

sethp

Good point...I was in eco and forgot about weather. Not sure that would have helped, but certainly would have been worth a try.

Seth

badhabit_wb

It made a big difference for me. I was really surprised because I didn't expect much when I tried it.