Z51 Vs. Regular C6
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,359
Likes: 163
From: Concord NC
Very poor grip below 50? What experience do you have with this siffert? I currently own tire wheel combos with both style tires and I've done plenty of back to back drives, and I just don't see this cold weather Supercar issue that you are talking about at all. In warm weather the Supercars clearly have superior traction and predictability, but in the cold they both suck pretty evenly. Both will spin and slide easily in cold temps if pushed at all, and if anything the Supercars hold a little better than the base tires once you drive a few miles to heat them up, even on cold roads. The standard tires don't improve as much as they heat. The cold Supercar tire stuff I read on here seems to be more internet forum urban legend than anything else.
I like all three suspension systems depending on the usage. Since my car's a weekend toy, it's Z51 all the way, but a daily driver would be a different story because the tires wear so quickly. The tires alone do make a big difference in the car when driven hard. Buying a set of the standard F1 tires after reading some reviews on this forum was a mistake for me, I can't wait to wear them out!
I like all three suspension systems depending on the usage. Since my car's a weekend toy, it's Z51 all the way, but a daily driver would be a different story because the tires wear so quickly. The tires alone do make a big difference in the car when driven hard. Buying a set of the standard F1 tires after reading some reviews on this forum was a mistake for me, I can't wait to wear them out!
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 351
Likes: 0
From: Louisville Kentucky
Well the OP sure got his money's worth out of this silly thread.
I have a Z51. I cannot imagine describing it as being in another league. Somebody else already described the technical differences between the various versions, so the OP has the objective part answer of the answer that he was looking for.
As I understand it, GM put some of the features that had made the C5 Z06 popular in the Z51, like the manual shift 1, 2 and 3 gears and some other things. I had a C5 Z06. A car magazine several years back said that this was just giving people what they said they wanted in a slightly different version of the C6. GM said that it was a tiny bit quicker ( one tenth) in the religiously important 0-60 test. I was a little bummed becase GM said that the Z51 would do the 0-60 in 4.1. They said that my old car would do it 3.9.
I got the Z51 becase the Z06 was not available at the time that I got mine and wouldn't for another 9 months. If I didn't have a modded Corvette today that I really, really like, I'd get the Z06.
As an operator, I appreciate the lower gearing. I don't race and my accelation fun is nearly always below freeway speeds. The gears make a difference in my range. Depending on the final drive ratio, I can see why people might say the non-Z51 is better for road courses. When I occasionally go quickly to over 100 I don't like the 3-4 ratio gap.
The car felt soft to me, so I got Bilstein Sports, more to make it feel stiff like my old car than anything else. The brakes must be pretty good. I have as much fun stopping quickly as I do starting quickly.
I don't really care that the tires don't offer full grip below 40 degrees. I am glad that they work reasonably well in the rain.
I am sure that I'd be happy with a non-Z51, too. I modded my Z51. I'd probably have modded the non-Z51, too. My C6 did not provide the raw, taut feeling of the old one, as delivered, and it was way slower at slow speeds. My tuner friends have fixed that.
I have a Z51. I cannot imagine describing it as being in another league. Somebody else already described the technical differences between the various versions, so the OP has the objective part answer of the answer that he was looking for.
As I understand it, GM put some of the features that had made the C5 Z06 popular in the Z51, like the manual shift 1, 2 and 3 gears and some other things. I had a C5 Z06. A car magazine several years back said that this was just giving people what they said they wanted in a slightly different version of the C6. GM said that it was a tiny bit quicker ( one tenth) in the religiously important 0-60 test. I was a little bummed becase GM said that the Z51 would do the 0-60 in 4.1. They said that my old car would do it 3.9.
I got the Z51 becase the Z06 was not available at the time that I got mine and wouldn't for another 9 months. If I didn't have a modded Corvette today that I really, really like, I'd get the Z06.
As an operator, I appreciate the lower gearing. I don't race and my accelation fun is nearly always below freeway speeds. The gears make a difference in my range. Depending on the final drive ratio, I can see why people might say the non-Z51 is better for road courses. When I occasionally go quickly to over 100 I don't like the 3-4 ratio gap.
The car felt soft to me, so I got Bilstein Sports, more to make it feel stiff like my old car than anything else. The brakes must be pretty good. I have as much fun stopping quickly as I do starting quickly.
I don't really care that the tires don't offer full grip below 40 degrees. I am glad that they work reasonably well in the rain.
I am sure that I'd be happy with a non-Z51, too. I modded my Z51. I'd probably have modded the non-Z51, too. My C6 did not provide the raw, taut feeling of the old one, as delivered, and it was way slower at slow speeds. My tuner friends have fixed that.
