Zo62018A8

I have always had non sports cars that sit up high and right now I have a c300 Mercedes Luxury Edition and I plan on getting a Grand Sport as my daily driver with a manual tranny soon as the lease on the benz ends. Other than the lack of space (I have no kids, not married) and I drive about 1 mile to work and then back 6 days a week. I sometimes park my car and notice the tires end up hitting the parking curb and Im sure that wont end well if I did it in the grand sport considering how low it is. Also speed bumps that are too high must be avoided initially im sure. Another thing I notice is when you pull into driveways or shopping plazas that have a sudden incline or decline (bottoming out the car on a car like a Corvette). What are the few things I should be extra vigilant about so I dont mess up my new car when I start driving it initially? Also I have never owned a car with a fiberglass body. Anything I should do to take care it? I would want to keep this car for at least 5 years so I have to try my best to take care of it.

mountainears

Get the front facing cameras and be diligent about using them and you won't mess up your ground effects. And as you state, be very aware of your surroundings, angles of approach, etc.

Potholes is another thing to watch for, consider getting the Tire and Wheel warranty (was $930 for me for 5 years from the folks mentioned in the forum) to help protect you in case you do damage a wheel and/or tire.

Not sure how you cleaned your current vehicles, the Grand Sport will not go through most car washes. So if you want someone cleaning your car find some place that can do a hand wash. If you do it yourself, it's not too much different than a regular car. Look for tips on here for the two bucket system and/or invest in some dry wash supplies which I use to keep things clean between water washes which I try to minimize.

I have not done it to mine yet, but will be replacing the brake pads with the PowerStop pads to reduce the cleaning mess on the wheels that the stock pads create. Again, covered well in these forums.

Landru

Sounds to me like you've a good grasp what to watch out for.
Bottom line is one has to be extra careful where they drive a Corvette, and most other HP 'sports cars'.
Not unlike truckers have to be aware of bridge heights?

In all the years I've been driving Corvettes I had to back-up, go another direction once when encountering heavy construction.
In hindsight glad I did, had I tried risking it my beloved Z's frontend c/would've been badly damaged.
But, happened only once in many years. YMMV

BTW checkout a product called Curb Alert.
It's sold by one (or more) forum vendors & IIRC would solve your fear of smacking curbs.

Zo62018A8

I work at a Lexus dealership and I get to use the car wash whenever we want to. Cars like the RC F (brand new ones) regularly go through it. Any specific reason why I wouldnt want to drive the Corvette through it. It does not have the thing where your tires are basically held in a line as you drive through. You just park and it comes and does its thing as it moves around your car.

LimeRay

I have 2016 Stingray, no added splitter, not lowered. Have not had any issues with speed bumps, have had no issues with parking stops, so far they are all lower than the bumper. No issues with in/out on steeper entrys/exits. The air dams that are in front of the wheels do occasionaly scrape but they are flexible and cheaply replaced. I have been very pleasantly surprised at the clearance.

mountainears

The main issue that I hear is making sure that if you're using one with tracks that your wheels go in. The tire/wheels are big and won't fit in most tracks. And if they do, you want to make sure the tracks don't mess up the wheels and of course that your ground effects (if applies) don't hit anything.

LimeRay

Not sure what kind of solutions/chemicals your wash utilizes but that is something to be wary of. Many of the auto washes use a very harsh pre soak solution, it is hard on paint and very hard on plastics etc. The trim on one of my other cars has been eatin alive by that crap.

mountainears

There's more in the owners manual, but here's a few tidbits...

tcinla

While driving, at gas pums, etc., I've seen several c6's and c5's that sit lower than my c7. I don't know if they are just lowered or if the stock c5-c6 height is lower than the c7

Seldoon

I was driving my car to Virginia Hospital Center. They had a big parking garage. You needed to pull up to a ticket dispenser to get a timed ticket. So I pull up. A car pulls in behind me. I go to get the ticket and the car is too low to allow me to reach the ticket. I can't back up. I can't open the door because the ticket dispenser pole is there. I thought I was going to have to put my top down to get a ticket but finally in straining as hard as I could I managed to get hold of the ticket and pull it out of the dispenser.

Davids65

the reason for this is clear most car washes have a track that the tires ride in the question that was asked was the wash at a Lexus dealer which is different you drive the var in and park it then thener goes back and forth over the car. I wish there were more washes like this around! There more common in cas stations that offer washes many or most are touchless and i dont see any reason that it would be an issue. The Corvette is still just a standard painted car nothing special about it other then clearance issues. When i trvaed with my last vette ilooked for these type of washes butmostof the time i justused detsil spray. I have been finding micro scratches in my paint which i believe are from usimg the detail spray it seems to scratch the pai t when wiping off the dirt and grime. Not real happy i now need to try swirl remover to lean itup and the car only has 800 miles.

as for your other concerns, it sounds like you have a good hadle as to what to look for this said your current Mercedes has some similar issues it too has a low front clearence hence the scrapping parking curbs and it has lowrofile tire that are prone to bubble after hitting a pot hole. In the first two months my wife hadto reeplace two tire on her Cla 250 and thefrontairdam is all scratchedup.

kenownr

I haven't seen "Road Gators" mentioned yet. Large tire treads that have come off semi trucks on the highway. Keep a close eye out for them as it seems most often they are hidden till the last moment by the cars in front of you. They WILL do a number on your undercarriage spoilers etc. and trust me; YOU WON'T CLEAR THEM !!

thill444

I have not had any issues with inclines or speed bumps. I do take them at an angle and go slow. I would never put my car through an automatic carwash. For $100 you can get a nice kit from Checmical Guys that will have the car wash, a foam gun, and some mits to wash and dry. There are some car washes that you can manually wash yourself with a spray wand, I sometimes do those.

Maxpowers

OP - don't underestimate the power of the GS and the fact that the rear end can come loose on cold tires in some circumstances (even with nannies). Not something you could have done in the C300.

Z06NJ

The same happened to me as a surprise awakening when I went to the State DMV to get my initial inspection. I couldn't reach the ticket for the life of me. Luckily nobody was behind me so I backed out, moved the car to the right, got out, got the ticket and went my merry way. Now I know if I ever come up to any ticket booth, I'll save myself the embarrassment and just pull to the right to get out!

Zo62018A8

Ok so by next week my 2018 z06 2lz auto will be here? I'm switching from a c300 luxury edition benz (2015). What do I need to look out for the most?

Silver C7

I went from 15 years in Mercedes C Class to my ‘Vette 15 months ago. It is different. Just take your time, don’t try to set new speed records or find you limits. The street is not the place. It’s an obstacle course with the roads, different types of vehicles and drivers. Understand, you don’t have any bumpers, you crack and break, you don’t dent. You’re six inches lower, so you understand driveways and speed bumps aren’t your friend, actually, little to nothing on the road is.

Again, take your time, let others admire your machine, you WILL get plenty of compliments. Drive but pay close attention at all times. What ever happens in that Benz, happens a lot faster in a ‘Vette. Nothing to fear, just be aware it’s a different experience with the power to beat just about anything you’ll encounter on the road. Respect the power, resist the urge, until you’re comfortable. And most important, get to Spring Mountain as soon as you can. There you’ll learn what you car can do, and what YOU can do with it.

Good luck...and here’s to scores of thousands of happy & safe miles!

Zo62018A8

Thanks. I just dont want the road to destroy my new ride

c54u

You can always get the dealer to raise the height of your car on the stock bolts....maybe 1/2 to 1 inch. The height from the ground to the car behind my front tire is 5 inches and the height is 6 inches from the ground to the car just in front of the rear wheel. This is the height my car came from the factory.

Zo62018A8

How does that affect the warranty or performance? I have the 2lz pack so I have the front cameras too. I dont want to mess with the car since Im buying a 10 year 100k warranty on it. Just want to make sure Im careful with it until I get used to it.