C6 Steering Input - Sensitivity and Quickness
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Chicago, Illinois
C6 Steering Input - Sensitivity and Quickness
I am getting close to ordering a 2008 C6 and am considering the Z51 option package.
Can you please help me understand if the Z51 option will help with what I am looking for?
I will never track the car and will seldom get anywhere close to the handling limits of the C6 with any suspension.
I am looking for something I call steering precision, which I think is different from what reviewers call steering feel. Most of the descriptions of steering feel seem to deal with high speed turn in and how you feel the car in the corners.
My definition of steering precision is what I felt when driving a former vehicle, a 1993 Mazda RX-7. If I quickly moved the steering wheel say 4 inches to avoid a pothole or road object and quickly moved the steering back to where it was, it felt like a go-cart that obeyed exactly what you wanted with no slowness, sloppiness, sway, etc.
Is there another name for this? Is this different from steering quickness? I owned a 2000 C5 for a few years, and loved it, but missed the RX-7 steering.
I don't really want the tires that come with the Z-51 option which I hear are noisier and wear more quickly than the standard tires.
Do you think that the Z-51 will help with what I am looking for, or do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks for your help.
Can you please help me understand if the Z51 option will help with what I am looking for?
I will never track the car and will seldom get anywhere close to the handling limits of the C6 with any suspension.
I am looking for something I call steering precision, which I think is different from what reviewers call steering feel. Most of the descriptions of steering feel seem to deal with high speed turn in and how you feel the car in the corners.
My definition of steering precision is what I felt when driving a former vehicle, a 1993 Mazda RX-7. If I quickly moved the steering wheel say 4 inches to avoid a pothole or road object and quickly moved the steering back to where it was, it felt like a go-cart that obeyed exactly what you wanted with no slowness, sloppiness, sway, etc.
Is there another name for this? Is this different from steering quickness? I owned a 2000 C5 for a few years, and loved it, but missed the RX-7 steering.
I don't really want the tires that come with the Z-51 option which I hear are noisier and wear more quickly than the standard tires.
Do you think that the Z-51 will help with what I am looking for, or do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks for your help.
Racer
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 392
Likes: 1
From: Orange County CA
Z51 will be as close as you can get
Because the Z51 has a firmest stock suspension (outside the Z06), it affects the steering feel.
What you really are describing is a taught suspension which reduces body lean and is more responsive to steering input.
Bear in mind the Mazda had less weight up front than the Corvette-another factor in steering response.
I think the Mazda is probably somewhere between a 911 and the Corvette in steering responsiveness. The 911 is, of course, the ultimate in "go cart" steering response. However the downside is the dreaded terminal oversteer. IMHO, the 50/50 balance of the Corvette and the Mazda may not feel as responsive but are actually quicker and more stable than the 911 with it's light front end.
It's all about physics......
What you really are describing is a taught suspension which reduces body lean and is more responsive to steering input.
Bear in mind the Mazda had less weight up front than the Corvette-another factor in steering response.
I think the Mazda is probably somewhere between a 911 and the Corvette in steering responsiveness. The 911 is, of course, the ultimate in "go cart" steering response. However the downside is the dreaded terminal oversteer. IMHO, the 50/50 balance of the Corvette and the Mazda may not feel as responsive but are actually quicker and more stable than the 911 with it's light front end.
It's all about physics......
