Charley Hoyt

According to Road and Track (may be a questionable source) the Z06 holds 1.06G on the skid pad, compared to .96 for the Grand Sport. What do you believe accounts for the difference. Is it the springs, shocks, sway bars ? Alignment? All of the above? Or is there a difference in suspension geometry or CG? I thought it could be weight related....but, they only show a 60 lb. difference.

Thanks,
Charley

trapp

The Z06 has a more rigid frame...has bigger sway bars and stiffer leaf springs then the GS... The GS is less rigid due to the removable top..I bought a GS this year and already up graded both to T1 sways and HPT hyperco Springs....this car is rock solid!

Solofast

Not sure, but if the GS is on run flats and the Z is on real tires it could make that much difference. The rest of the stuff isn't that much different that you could see a tenth of G difference.

You have to be careful with mag articles. Different test locations can make big differences in lateral acceleration numbers and they don't tell you that.

Edit,

Looked it up, the Z that had the big G numbers was on Michelin Pilot Sport ZP's and the Grand Sport had Goodyear Eagle F1's...

That's probably 90% of it.

trapp

The Z06 is stiffer but the tire differences make up most of the differences in the lateral acceleration.....

B y r o n

I won't question what Road and Track got for results but can only give you my experience. I have a '11 GS with manual trans and G2 F1 Supercar Goodyears. I know a lot of people seem to complain about the tires but I have no complaints. Yes the tires will break loose when cold. I'm not talking about below 40 somethiing either, I've had them break loose when pushed when it is in the high 60's but only when the tires haven't warmed up.

I've been running 31 - 32 psi cold and the tires warm up to 34 - 35 psi. When the tires have warmed up they stick like glue. I've pulled 1g on more than one occasion on some local roads and still no sign of being loose, although I know I'm right on the edge.

I also have F55 and don't know if that would make a difference.

When it comes time to replace my tires I'll need more than someone else complaining they don't like them before I decide to switch.

Shaun Bailey

I can confirm that both vehicles were tested at the same location. in general our update tests are all performed at the same location in Irvine, California. Our comparison tests and single car road tests that have complete data panels give test conditions and location, again mostly in Irvine.

The difference in performance between the two Corvettes is mostly from the tires, which some astute readers here have already researched and discovered were the Goodyear Eagle F1 RFT of the Z06, and that the Z06 we tested at 1.06g was equipped with all the parts from a ZR1, including MRC suspension, larger wheels and sticky custom Michelin Tires.

It's good to question what you read. And if anyone doubts something R&T has published please hit me up, I promise to answer. Road & Track is the oldest auto publication in the USA, and we've tested more than anyone else.

Shaun

Shaun Bailey
Associate Engineering Editor
Road & Track

Charley Hoyt

Shaun, Thanks for clarifying. It is great to get the information directly from the source. I am surprised that R&T doesn't do something to show when the data isn't from a stock car, or a special model (like the carbon). It would make it much easier to interpret the data.

Thanks again for the help,

Charley

gkmccready

Is the GS your street car? What's it like as a daily driver in that configuration?

Shaun Bailey

We can't easily include all the information someone would want, but it is in the magazine. So if you're like me and have the past 11 years of Road & Track on the shelf it's easy to look up a specific test and get all the details. If you don't have the shelf space, that's okay too, we have many of our recent test panels online here.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/data-panel-archive

-Shaun

Charley Hoyt

Fantastic resource. Thank you for the link to the information, it is very helpful.

Charley

trapp

Yes it is used on the street. It is not my DD. I drive it on weekends, at the track and some weekday driving when its nice out.

I have no problems with it...it is not too stiff of a ride for the street. The spring rates are higher then a stock Z06, but not so much to make it too rigid for street use.

Ballypinball

I find the F55 is great, very smooth over the bumps on Tour Mode, and in sport mode you feel every bump.

The G2 tires are fantastic, no complaints here much better than the g1 on my other car.

yes a bit loose when cold, They soon warm up, and yes you get that shudder if you turn too tight at slow speeds, but the tires are so wide it is to be expected

rocsvette

Last year at Mid Ohio I saw 1.27g on the HUD running through The Madness in my 06 Z06 on the original type F1 Goodyears. Not my favorite tires but free tires wins over beating up the non run flat Pilot Sports I normally use. I started out with 28/26 lbs cold. I'm usually at 1.2g in the Keyhole.

Charley Hoyt

I have seen that many times also...The G meter maximum value is 1.27. But, basically that means that you are sliding in the corner (which is not a bad thing )

rocsvette

The only one who didn't like it was the 911 in front of me who kept pointing me by.