yesterday Paul Masse Chevy drove a new 06 white/tan auto/paddle with the l3 package (did not have z51) to my office so i could drive the car. i was concerned about driving an auto since i just sold my 00 frc with an upgraded suspension to z06. the seats are a 100% improvement over my old vette. the ride....terrible it felt like i was in a caddy. the car floated over the road i had ZERO feedback between the road and the wheel. my 00 was completely grounded i was aware of every bump in the road, it felt like a real sports car, this felt like i was driving my acura tls. the first gear had a decent pull but the shift was very soft between the 1-2 and 2-3. granted the car only had 41 miles but it felt very slow from the 2-3 shift. i know they say this car is a 12.8 in the 1/4 stock but this felt very slow. so now that you have read my grip will the z51 suspension give me the driving feedback that i am missing? any one who has owned a porshe 911 or m3 understands what feedback is when driving. this car stickered for 55k and i was very dissapointed in the ride, way to soft....i think i should try the 6 speed with z51, but the dealer didnt have it so this is what i drove.

 

Yes...the Z-51 will definitely give you the feel of the road you are missing. I have the Z-51 and it's a great package. I would suggest you go out and test drive one.

 

IMO, the Z51 should be standard on all Vettes. There are plenty of cars out there that will give a nice, cushy ride if that's what the prospective buyer wants. BTW, the Z51 is comfortable. Everyone I driven in it remarks on how smooth the ride is...and I live in rural New England.

The A6 shifts pretty fast. What setting did you have the selector on?

 

Try a Z51 6 speed and then let us know what you think.

 

yes,the z51 and the 6spd will set you straight...the A6 is geared at 2.73 i think,while you have 3.42's on the 6 spd.YOU WANT PULL,GET THE Z51 6SPD !!

 

Having driven sports cars all my life let me say that, even with the Z51 package, this car will not provide the road feel of a Porsche or BMW. The suspension is well damped, stiff or not, and doesn't transmit a lot of feel back to the cabin. The big culprit, however, is the steering. Although well weighted and fairly quick, it has a numb feel to it that really doesn't add anything to the driving experience. That, when coupled to the very long wheelbase of the C6, makes the car feel bigger than it is. Compared to most imported sports car, the C6 just doesn't feel very nimble.

The Z51 does improve the handling qualities and feel of the car and, personally, I'm glad I have it. The "float" and roll of the base car are well controlled with the Z51. The car does make up in acceleration and lateral adhesion what it gives up in tactile feedback. Still, I always wonder why they didn't just provide more feedback in the steering when they designed this car...it would have really pushed this car up another notch.

 

The A6 rear end is 2.56 which is immaterial since it's the product of the tranny gears and the rear end that counts, not one isolated component.

 

i am glad to see others have the same feedback. but why would my 2000 frc have outstanding feedback, you feel the road through the wheel. the new c6 is very overboosted compared to the c5. why would gm go backwards???

 

Coming from a 99 Z51 hardtop and going to a base MN6, I can relate to what you are saying. I found body roll on the base C6 to be absolutely horrible for a sports car and in the end it was simply unacceptable to me. Around corners, the car felt more like a Buick than a Corvette so I think you did yourself a disservice by driving/comparing the base car. My solution on my base car was to install the Z51 sway bars. The result is that my base car suddenly turned back into a sports car. While that solved my body roll complaint completely, the car does still feel a little less "connected" than my old 99 Z51. I've driven two 05's with Z51 and honestly, they don't feel much more connected to the road than my base with the Z51 sway bars: still a little more removed from the road than my 99.

Now, having said that, I could also see where some people would feel that my 99 drove more like a go-kart than a car. The cushier ride of the C6's sure make them easy to drive on longer trips when you just want to relax and cruise for a while. My 99, while it had more feedback, did convey more of the feel of a rattle trap to most passengers. My 99 also had major quality/reliability issues where my C6 has had none, other than a dead battery once which I corrected with a Priority Start. I think GM was going for something that the majority of drivers would see as more "refined" with the C6. An unfortunate tradeoff is that this also removes you from the road a bit.

From someone who spends about 50% of my time just tooling around in a relaxed driving mode, 40% in a more "spirited" driving mode, and maybe 10% track time, I think they got it right with the C6... for me. The more your percentages shift from the Sunday driver side to the tear-up-the-twisties side, the less you'll probably like the C6.

Mike

 

Stan said it exactly right!

 

ok,i knew it was something along those lines...but anyway,the z51 is still the package to have!

 

I think one of GM's goals in designing the C6 was to improve performance and handling while making the car more "civilized" to broaden its appeal. I think they succeeded and, in fact, did a great job. Compromises, however, were made along the way. The coarseness/harshness of previous Vettes has been massaged away...some would say too much so. I believe that GM did produce the car they wanted to, based on what they thought the market wanted. The areas where they may have sacrificed too much would be in how they reached their final "smoothness' goal. This car is smooth and tight, which is a wonderful thing. Somehow, they also thought that they had to provide greater isolation from the road for the driver, which is not such a wonderful thing.

Don't get me wrong here. The C6, and I'm only basing my opinion on my own Z51 equipped car, will provide astounding handling at all speeds. You can push this car to its limits and still feel like you are in complete control. You can also get on a highway, set the cruise control, and feel like you're in a tight sports sedan as you loaf along effortlessly while getting mileage in the high twenties. So yes, GM did a superb job with this car. It's because of this, that the little "misses" become more apparent. IMHO, the steering is a weak link in an otherwise extraordinary package. It would have been nice if the Z51 package included an upgraded steering linkage, but it doesn't.

You should definitely drive a Z51 car. I think many of your issues with the suspension will be resolved. The car does feel different and should be more satisfying for you. The steering is okay, but well short of being world class. Try it...you might like it.

 

This pretty well reflects my experience and is a fair evaluation compared to a Porsche 911 or BMW "M" cars. There are trade-offs in either direction and I suppose it all comes down to personal preferences and driving requirements. Good luck.

 

This is the most civilized discussion of the Z51 package that I have ever encountered on this Forum! Woo-hoo!

 

You are forgetting the torque converter on the auto. For acceleration you can not compare stick shift set ups directly to the auto because the converter multiplies the power. Once moving at a set speed a comparison can then be made. I have read that the 6spd auto is smoother than the 4spd it replaces. Also on the highway in 6th gear it is very close to what the 6spd manual runs at & gets similer gas milege.
It really gets down to what you are comfortable with in day to day driving.

 

I have F55 w/Z51 sways (put them on, took them off, then back on again for comparison) and have been 911 owner in the past. The real cuprit for the non Z51 car road feel issue to me is the tires. The steering isn't great, but it has the same slightly vague feeling of a 911 turbo I once owned and changing the tires cured it. Anyone else greatly improve steering feel with different tires?

 

Until you drive an MN6 Z51 C6 you won't get a full appreciation of what the C6 is and was supposed to be.

 

It's not that the steering is horrible because it's actually pretty quick. In fact it is noticeably improved from my C4. It's just that the MagnaSteer design isn't fully mechanical and damps out much of the vibration from wheel and suspension. BMW and Porsche are hydraulically assisted Rack & Pinion (mechanical) linkages so more of the some vibrations get transmitted thru to the steering wheel.

WHY? It's simple. MagnaSteer has fewer moving parts and is easier/cheaper to build and install, AND can be used on much broader array of GM Vehicles. Porsche builds a much narrower line of cars and therefore ins't pushed to make such compromises as often as 'The General'.

 

I'm about to commit blasphemy. I frankly don't consider the c6 a sports car, more like a sporty cruiser instead. The base is cushy and even the z51 does not equal the feel of an M3 or STi and others. The long wheelbase and it's large turning circle simply removes it from a true sports car in my mind. So I have said the unthinkable--flame on. To add even more fuel to this fire ,I further believe the c6 lends itself more to the a6 than the mn6 by it's driving characteristics. This is not a knock on the c6 as I love the cruising, ride , and blistering acceleration. I LOVE MY C6. But it is not going to handle twisty backroads like a carerra 4s or an STi. Choice comes down to what you want the car for and what are your expectations of said car.

 

ahh hell,after reading all these posts,i'm buying a porshe!!NOT..