REPORT: First 80 miles in my new 2008
07-09-2007, 05:41 PM
#1
Team Owner
Thread Starter
REPORT: First 80 miles in my new 2008
Pardon my keeping this brief. It's been a busy day, and I have some other things to get done, so I'll keep this brief, and add to it later. I took delivery this morning at the Museum. For those who don't know me well, this is my 6th Corvette. It's my 3rd C6. The first was a 2005 Z51 coupe, second a 2005 F55 convertible. All have been six speed manuals. This one is Z51, Navigation, NPP exhuast, 3LT. I've got CCW wheels with BFG KDWs sitting in the garage at home that will go on it Thursday night.
First impresssions:
Damn, is this thing red! All I could think about driving it is how much red there is out there over the hood. My first Corvette, 13 years ago was red. Then came two Millenium Yellow, then two Silver. Damn, is this thing red!
Shifter - still has a notchiness to it that I actually like. But it goes into each gear much easier than the previous C6's. I can come to a stop, THEN put it in first gear with no problems. BTW, do they still have the 1-4 skip shift? I cannot believe it, but I did not engage it once today. That has been odd for me in the past, and I have put the eliminator in within days of getting them in the past.
Steering. Honestly, I did not expect to feel the difference, but I did. It's very smooth and direct. Nice job, GM.
NPP exhaust. For the first 50 miles, the jury was out. Then, up around the Mamoth Cave park, I pulled over and pulled the fuse. Suddenly - there is joy in the world. I LIKE!!! Very little drone except going up hills in too high of a gear, but way less drone than my B&B Bullets. The NPPs are not quite as deep and throaty as the Bullets, but they sound good to me. Lots of popping when you roll off the gas in gear. Also, the Tips definitely ARE the Z06 size, and I'm very happy with the looks of them. These are going to be a keeper!
Paint, I looked over the paint and it is much better than in the past. Not perfect, but I'd say it on par with just about the best I've seen in quite a while on a production vehicle. Again, good job by GM.
Have not figured out why, or what difference it makes functionally, but the nav has two discs now - an east and a west. When I plugged in home (Houston Texas), it gave me a route from BG to home. I have to believe this crosses the east west line. I'm thinking maybe the discs are for point of interest detail. I'm going to study it tonight.
Heat in center console - I have always kept my wallet, phone and keys in the center console on my C6's. I've heard others talk about heat, but I never thought is was exessive in my 2005's. WHOA, HELLO....BURN FINGERS.....HOT, HOT HOT. Damn, where did this come from? I could hardly touch my cell phone. Hope to hell it didn't shorten the life of my cell phone batteries.
Performance - Did you really think I was going to report that I blew it through the gears today? No such luck. Got two more days. I have business in the area tomorrow, and hope to put about 300 miles on it tomorrow afternoon, then 600 Wednesday. Wednesday night I'll tell you how fast it feels.
Split spoke wheels - As I said, these are coming off. But here are my comments. The silver paint is what makes them plain looking to me. Tracey got the competition gray (or whatever they call it) split spoke wheels, and I can honestly say that it makes a huge difference. Her car and mine were next to each other quite a bit today, and her wheels look really nice. I also looked at the new polished wheels on a car today. They still have a little haze to the finish, but they are several times better than the 2005-2007 polished wheels. I think a lot of people are going to be very happy with the new ones.
New console treatment - I really like this a lot. What a difference it makes in the interior. Another big win for GM
Let me know what I have missed. For now, I'm very happy with the car
First impresssions:
Damn, is this thing red! All I could think about driving it is how much red there is out there over the hood. My first Corvette, 13 years ago was red. Then came two Millenium Yellow, then two Silver. Damn, is this thing red!
Shifter - still has a notchiness to it that I actually like. But it goes into each gear much easier than the previous C6's. I can come to a stop, THEN put it in first gear with no problems. BTW, do they still have the 1-4 skip shift? I cannot believe it, but I did not engage it once today. That has been odd for me in the past, and I have put the eliminator in within days of getting them in the past.
Steering. Honestly, I did not expect to feel the difference, but I did. It's very smooth and direct. Nice job, GM.
NPP exhaust. For the first 50 miles, the jury was out. Then, up around the Mamoth Cave park, I pulled over and pulled the fuse. Suddenly - there is joy in the world. I LIKE!!! Very little drone except going up hills in too high of a gear, but way less drone than my B&B Bullets. The NPPs are not quite as deep and throaty as the Bullets, but they sound good to me. Lots of popping when you roll off the gas in gear. Also, the Tips definitely ARE the Z06 size, and I'm very happy with the looks of them. These are going to be a keeper!
Paint, I looked over the paint and it is much better than in the past. Not perfect, but I'd say it on par with just about the best I've seen in quite a while on a production vehicle. Again, good job by GM.
Have not figured out why, or what difference it makes functionally, but the nav has two discs now - an east and a west. When I plugged in home (Houston Texas), it gave me a route from BG to home. I have to believe this crosses the east west line. I'm thinking maybe the discs are for point of interest detail. I'm going to study it tonight.
Heat in center console - I have always kept my wallet, phone and keys in the center console on my C6's. I've heard others talk about heat, but I never thought is was exessive in my 2005's. WHOA, HELLO....BURN FINGERS.....HOT, HOT HOT. Damn, where did this come from? I could hardly touch my cell phone. Hope to hell it didn't shorten the life of my cell phone batteries.
Performance - Did you really think I was going to report that I blew it through the gears today? No such luck. Got two more days. I have business in the area tomorrow, and hope to put about 300 miles on it tomorrow afternoon, then 600 Wednesday. Wednesday night I'll tell you how fast it feels.
Split spoke wheels - As I said, these are coming off. But here are my comments. The silver paint is what makes them plain looking to me. Tracey got the competition gray (or whatever they call it) split spoke wheels, and I can honestly say that it makes a huge difference. Her car and mine were next to each other quite a bit today, and her wheels look really nice. I also looked at the new polished wheels on a car today. They still have a little haze to the finish, but they are several times better than the 2005-2007 polished wheels. I think a lot of people are going to be very happy with the new ones.
New console treatment - I really like this a lot. What a difference it makes in the interior. Another big win for GM
Let me know what I have missed. For now, I'm very happy with the car
Last edited by jschindler; 07-09-2007 at 05:44 PM.
, post some pictures when you have time.
07-09-2007, 05:47 PM
#3
thank you lots of us have been waiting for first person reports on the new 08s. Interesting about the transmission....with the better synchros what you report is to be expected.
I'll stay tuned for a report of how the LS3 performs with some spirited driving. I am particularly interested in engine sound level with the various measures GM took to reduce it in the 08.
thanks again
I'll stay tuned for a report of how the LS3 performs with some spirited driving. I am particularly interested in engine sound level with the various measures GM took to reduce it in the 08.
thanks again
07-09-2007, 06:03 PM
#12
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Congratulations Jim. One of my old time forum pals from way back.....
I hope to be joining the C6 clan soon.
I was watching the twin deliveries today. That was cool...
Good luck with this one..
Red is Cool...
I hope to be joining the C6 clan soon.
I was watching the twin deliveries today. That was cool...
Good luck with this one..
Red is Cool...
07-09-2007, 06:15 PM
#15
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Pardon my keeping this brief. It's been a busy day, and I have some other things to get done, so I'll keep this brief, and add to it later. I took delivery this morning at the Museum. For those who don't know me well, this is my 6th Corvette. It's my 3rd C6. The first was a 2005 Z51 coupe, second a 2005 F55 convertible. All have been six speed manuals. This one is Z51, Navigation, NPP exhuast, 3LT. I've got CCW wheels with BFG KDWs sitting in the garage at home that will go on it Thursday night.
First impresssions:
Damn, is this thing red! All I could think about driving it is how much red there is out there over the hood. My first Corvette, 13 years ago was red. Then came two Millenium Yellow, then two Silver. Damn, is this thing red!
Shifter - still has a notchiness to it that I actually like. But it goes into each gear much easier than the previous C6's. I can come to a stop, THEN put it in first gear with no problems. BTW, do they still have the 1-4 skip shift? I cannot believe it, but I did not engage it once today. That has been odd for me in the past, and I have put the eliminator in within days of getting them in the past.
Steering. Honestly, I did not expect to feel the difference, but I did. It's very smooth and direct. Nice job, GM.
NPP exhaust. For the first 50 miles, the jury was out. Then, up around the Mamoth Cave park, I pulled over and pulled the fuse. Suddenly - there is joy in the world. I LIKE!!! Very little drone except going up hills in too high of a gear, but way less drone than my B&B Bullets. The NPPs are not quite as deep and throaty as the Bullets, but they sound good to me. Lots of popping when you roll off the gas in gear. Also, the Tips definitely ARE the Z06 size, and I'm very happy with the looks of them. These are going to be a keeper!
Paint, I looked over the paint and it is much better than in the past. Not perfect, but I'd say it on par with just about the best I've seen in quite a while on a production vehicle. Again, good job by GM.
Have not figured out why, or what difference it makes functionally, but the nav has two discs now - an east and a west. When I plugged in home (Houston Texas), it gave me a route from BG to home. I have to believe this crosses the east west line. I'm thinking maybe the discs are for point of interest detail. I'm going to study it tonight.
Heat in center console - I have always kept my wallet, phone and keys in the center console on my C6's. I've heard others talk about heat, but I never thought is was exessive in my 2005's. WHOA, HELLO....BURN FINGERS.....HOT, HOT HOT. Damn, where did this come from? I could hardly touch my cell phone. Hope to hell it didn't shorten the life of my cell phone batteries.
Performance - Did you really think I was going to report that I blew it through the gears today? No such luck. Got two more days. I have business in the area tomorrow, and hope to put about 300 miles on it tomorrow afternoon, then 600 Wednesday. Wednesday night I'll tell you how fast it feels.
Split spoke wheels - As I said, these are coming off. But here are my comments. The silver paint is what makes them plain looking to me. Tracey got the competition gray (or whatever they call it) split spoke wheels, and I can honestly say that it makes a huge difference. Her car and mine were next to each other quite a bit today, and her wheels look really nice. I also looked at the new polished wheels on a car today. They still have a little haze to the finish, but they are several times better than the 2005-2007 polished wheels. I think a lot of people are going to be very happy with the new ones.
New console treatment - I really like this a lot. What a difference it makes in the interior. Another big win for GM
Let me know what I have missed. For now, I'm very happy with the car
First impresssions:
Damn, is this thing red! All I could think about driving it is how much red there is out there over the hood. My first Corvette, 13 years ago was red. Then came two Millenium Yellow, then two Silver. Damn, is this thing red!
Shifter - still has a notchiness to it that I actually like. But it goes into each gear much easier than the previous C6's. I can come to a stop, THEN put it in first gear with no problems. BTW, do they still have the 1-4 skip shift? I cannot believe it, but I did not engage it once today. That has been odd for me in the past, and I have put the eliminator in within days of getting them in the past.
Steering. Honestly, I did not expect to feel the difference, but I did. It's very smooth and direct. Nice job, GM.
NPP exhaust. For the first 50 miles, the jury was out. Then, up around the Mamoth Cave park, I pulled over and pulled the fuse. Suddenly - there is joy in the world. I LIKE!!! Very little drone except going up hills in too high of a gear, but way less drone than my B&B Bullets. The NPPs are not quite as deep and throaty as the Bullets, but they sound good to me. Lots of popping when you roll off the gas in gear. Also, the Tips definitely ARE the Z06 size, and I'm very happy with the looks of them. These are going to be a keeper!
Paint, I looked over the paint and it is much better than in the past. Not perfect, but I'd say it on par with just about the best I've seen in quite a while on a production vehicle. Again, good job by GM.
Have not figured out why, or what difference it makes functionally, but the nav has two discs now - an east and a west. When I plugged in home (Houston Texas), it gave me a route from BG to home. I have to believe this crosses the east west line. I'm thinking maybe the discs are for point of interest detail. I'm going to study it tonight.
Heat in center console - I have always kept my wallet, phone and keys in the center console on my C6's. I've heard others talk about heat, but I never thought is was exessive in my 2005's. WHOA, HELLO....BURN FINGERS.....HOT, HOT HOT. Damn, where did this come from? I could hardly touch my cell phone. Hope to hell it didn't shorten the life of my cell phone batteries.
Performance - Did you really think I was going to report that I blew it through the gears today? No such luck. Got two more days. I have business in the area tomorrow, and hope to put about 300 miles on it tomorrow afternoon, then 600 Wednesday. Wednesday night I'll tell you how fast it feels.
Split spoke wheels - As I said, these are coming off. But here are my comments. The silver paint is what makes them plain looking to me. Tracey got the competition gray (or whatever they call it) split spoke wheels, and I can honestly say that it makes a huge difference. Her car and mine were next to each other quite a bit today, and her wheels look really nice. I also looked at the new polished wheels on a car today. They still have a little haze to the finish, but they are several times better than the 2005-2007 polished wheels. I think a lot of people are going to be very happy with the new ones.
New console treatment - I really like this a lot. What a difference it makes in the interior. Another big win for GM
Let me know what I have missed. For now, I'm very happy with the car
Congrats. Shame, shame though.
You have time to post a report, but no pics?
LEX
07-09-2007, 06:20 PM
#16
Team Owner
Thread Starter
BTW, Ernie took about eight million pictures of Tracey's car and my car (and us) today. I'm sure they will be able to add some great pictures. I can't tell ya'll enough how much I enjoyed this experience with Tracey and Ernie today
07-09-2007, 06:21 PM
#17
Team Owner
Congratulations Jim, I couldn't be any happier for you. The 2008 is an awesome car (as are all C6's). In my opinion the improvements are tangible and build on a fantastic foundation. I hope you got to take in some scenery on your cruise today, there is some fantastic countryside there to view. Take a drive by my property tomorrow and wave for me would you, 
you are only about 9 miles away if you are still around BG. Enjoy the trip home and travel safe. You'll finish your breakin and really get to check out all the car offers. Enjoy the ride. As is my tradition, here's to many miles of smiles.
Paul
you are only about 9 miles away if you are still around BG. Enjoy the trip home and travel safe. You'll finish your breakin and really get to check out all the car offers. Enjoy the ride. As is my tradition, here's to many miles of smiles.Paul
07-09-2007, 06:21 PM
#18
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Nice write up. Interesting note about the center console heat. I know mine gets HOT! I don't keep anything in there and I don't dare to put a can of pop or a bottle of water in the cup holders, they'd be heated in no time.
I've gotten into the habit of driving with the vent on and it set to the floor. This helps to keep 'cooler' air flowing past it and when it's really hot outside I put the A/C on with it on the floor setting which seems to work OK as well.
For a while I 'kinda' wondered why people took the center consoles out and put heat insulation in, but I can see why.
Congrats on the new car
And please post some pics when you have time!
I've gotten into the habit of driving with the vent on and it set to the floor. This helps to keep 'cooler' air flowing past it and when it's really hot outside I put the A/C on with it on the floor setting which seems to work OK as well.
For a while I 'kinda' wondered why people took the center consoles out and put heat insulation in, but I can see why.
Congrats on the new car
And please post some pics when you have time!
07-09-2007, 06:23 PM
#19
Team Owner
We're ready and waiting for you Glenn my friend. I thought I saw you slummin' around here a little too much.
07-09-2007, 06:31 PM
#20
Safety Car
Jim...Great report. Sounds like you have been able to drive yours more than I have so far. I hope Tracy can work out her exhaust problem. Be safe and look forward to your continued reports. Now, it's time to go and take mine for a drive.