gthal

I just got back from my first track day with the C7 and thought I'd share my thoughts on the car.

For context, I generally get to the track somewhere in the range of 8 to 12 days a summer. Most of the track days are 30 minute on, 30 minute off days... so 3+ hours of actual seat time per day most (not all) times I'm at the track. I run in the "red" group which is the group immediately below the instructors. Having said that, I'm far from a pro but I do have a decent amount of experience.

Cars I have owned/run at the track...

• 2 different E92 M3's (one a 6MT and one a DCT)
• C63 AMG coupe
• An E36 M3 (this was a dedicated track, only car)

Cars I have had extended lapping sessions in at the track...

• 997 GT3RS
• SLS AMG
• C6 GS

Track prep

• Carbotech XP10 pads
• Motul 600 fluid
• C7 track spec alignment
• Mobil 1 15W-50
• Differential fluid change

Other than that, the car was stock. I even forgot to put the rotor cooling rings on when I put the XP10's on last night

Thoughts from the day...

I was a bit apprehensive with the car my first session out. Stories of brake failures, oil leaks, Z51 brake inadequacy, etc were all on my mind So, until I had a good feel for the car, I took it easy. The apprehension pretty much went away about 5 minutes into my first lapping session

At first, I had a tough time with being as smooth and fluid as I'd like. The steering is so direct and responsive and the throttle and brakes react so quickly to input that the car reacts very fast to any driver input. By my second session, I had smoothed things out and then REALLY started to appreciate how direct and responsive this car is. It does EXACTLY what you ask and IMMEDIATELY when you ask it. Once you understand this and get a feel for the car it is immensely fun.

Turn in is very, very good. There are a lot of elevation changes and off camber corners at my home track. This car simply goes wherever you point it. Turn in and steering response is so good, the car feels much lighter than it is. The grip from the Super Sport tires is also very strong... far better than I had expected. The single biggest... and pleasant... surprise to me was how strong turn in is with the C7 and how much ultimate grip it has!! There is a particular off camber, downhill sweeping corner with a decreasing radius to the apex... the car pulled like a freight train each and every time to the apex. The only other car I have driven that was as capable in this regard was the GT3 and my E36 dedicated track car (completely stripped, full roll cage and harness, track suspension, Wilwood BBK, etc, etc).

The Pilot Super Sports were amazing... as mentioned. The got a little greasy towards the end of each session but remained very predictable and had lots of grip.

The car braked well with minimal fade. I now wish I would have run SS lines and maybe used XP12s on the front. The brakes were fine but I wanted a little "more" from them towards the end of the sessions. I felt the pedal needed a little more pressure late in the session than I like... but I'm also very sensitive to brakes at the track for obvious reasons. I'm thinking I will put some Spiegler lines on it, buy a set of XP12s and use Castrol SRF fluid next time out. Eventually, I will replace the rotors with AP Racing rotors when they become available. With those changes, my opinion is the Z51 brakes are more than adequate.

The car is perfectly balanced. The rear end is VERY planted and when the car slides, the entire car slides. It is so well balanced, I could almost drive the car with the throttle around sweeping turns. The rear and front ends are always communicating exactly what is going on all of the time. The best way I can describe it is perfectly predictable all of the time. A great feature in any track car.

I ran the car in track mode (Sport 2) and in Sport mode (with TC on and off). The track is a fairly rough track and I found Sport mode was better for keeping the car settled. The slightly softer damping was better for a track that has rough sections and uneven pavement in places. For a smooth track, I would use Track mode for the firmer damping. Having said that, even in Sport mode the car stayed flat in cornering and braking. Very impressive. Also, I found that even with traction control on, it was very subtle in its intervention... I preferred it off but even when on it was perfectly usable.

Summary

I am VERY impressed and happy with the C7 at the track. My favourite track car before this was my purpose built E36 M3. It weighed only 2,600lbs and was not street legal and ran on racing slicks. That car would run with C6 Z06's on my track (slightly shorter, more technical track) as it would corner faster and you could brake later to offset the horsepower deficiency. The C7 was faster... it handled the corners similarly but had WAY more power. The C7 was also as predictable and controllable... steering with your right foot was easy in this car.

I am SO impressed by this car... more so today than ever before. It is a great DD car, is beautiful to look at inside and out, and is a hugely capable and fast track car out of the box. Put some money into brakes and racing compound tires and this car would run with almost anything out there at the track.

Funny story... one of the instructor's day job is selling Porsche's. There were about 5 guys standing around the C7 admiring it and she came over and jokingly asked how many customers she was going to lose... they all put up their hands One guy was telling me that after running with the C7 today in his 997 Turbo (and me being faster) convinced him it was time to trade his car for a C7... because Chev "finally got the design right all around."

I'm back out at the track tomorrow again... can't wait.

Here's a couple of pictures from today... I didn't have time to take more

slief

Great write up and report! Thank you for taking the time to document this! I've got to get my car out to Willow Springs Raceway soon! I guess I will need to invest in some track pads though.

gthal

IMO, this is an absolute must.

BMadden

Very cool write up.

fun2fly

Thanks for the write up. I know that track well and can attest it is very technical. 1.6 miles with 13 turns and over 100' elevation change. Turn 1 and 4 come to mind when speaking of off camber. Scary to get it wrong into 1. Turn 4 leading into the roller coaster was one of my favourite turns back in my motorcycle days, that and turn 9. I'm going to try and make it down there tomorrow if I can get the lawn mowed early enough. I'll be sure to stop by and say hello. If I make it down that will be the first time I see a C7 in person. Do you guys run most of the day?

*C7*

Thanks for the very detailed report.

What tire pressures were you running??

gthal

I ran 27 cold and it worked well.

gthal

We should be there 8:00 to 4:00

sting ya

Great insight and write up...
I had a deposit on a c7 and withdrew because of the long wait and restraint issues. I bought a 2011 z06 carbon to hold me over and was wondering about the comparison. I love my carbon ! But would also love to drive a c7 for comparison.
Your input helps me to think i did the right thing for now. I would love to get the new z06 with the carbon brakes and more ponies once available...

48supertruck

Great write up

gthal

I don't think you need to go with carbon brakes to get strong and consistent braking on the C7... and you can definitely accomplish that for WAY less money than carbon brakes

The big advantages of the C7, IMO, are the interior and the balance/predictability of the car. One of the instructors who races cars drove my car today and also has driven another members Z06 fairly extensively. His comment was that he thought the C7 was better balanced, easier to get it to do what you want and less likely to bite you. His view was the Z06's advantage was power which becomes more relevant on a longer and bigger track.

Having said that, the C7 Z06 will have all of the above Whether it is a C7 Z51, C7 Z06 or C6 Z06, all are great track cars IMO (predicting re: C7 Z06 ) If someone isn't tracking their cars, the performance differences will be less pronounced on the street IMO as my thoughts (and his) are all "at the limit" type of comments.

Snorman

Great info, gthal!
Enjoy tomorrow...the second day of a track weekend is always better than the first!
S.

tunaman

Excellent write up - thanks for sharing your thoughts!

peter pan

Awesome and nice to see results like this

BERETTA

Great info, this will really help all of us who have yet to get to the Road Course.
As of right now my first event will be at the new Motorsport's Park in Bowling Green in October. If I can wait that long. Lol
Please keep us posted on how tomorrow goes for you!

leadville1

Great write up, my car is going to the track at the end of the month. I am going with Carbotech XP20's, what dif fluid did you end up using? On my track prep I am changing all the fluids and going to Mobil 1 15w50 and most likely Mobile 1 gear and tranny lube.

I am really just considering buying the C5 Z06 wheels and going with track tires right away on the car rather than chewing up the Michelin's. We get Tudor sports car series scrubs here for $100 each cheaper than chewing up those Michelins.

bigblock427

Thanks for sharing your experience and opinion of the C7 on a track.

hxrly

Great read. I'm thoroughly impressed with the C7 and I haven't even driven one. However, I have read and watched about every review for this car and people have nothing but good things to day.

gthal

Update...

Another GREAT day and the car was simply stellar. I was much faster today than yesterday (ask the two 911 Turbos and the 911S in my run group what they thought as I passed them each lapping session ). The car is so planted and predictable it is a joy to drive at the limit and the limit is very high for a street car.

The brakes were better today even though it was hotter ambient temp... that's bad news because I put the cooling rings on at the track this AM so they helped. Needing these are a poor design by GM... probably the only thing I wasn't happy about. Putting them on is a PITA... looks like AP Racing rotors for me ASAP.

Otherwise, amazing car!!!

gthal

I used whatever diff fluid the dealer put in... I didn't specify anything.

I think the Carbotech XP10 are marginal for this car... your idea of going with a better pad is a good idea. Especially if your track is high speed and hard on brakes. I'm going to buy either XP12, I think, once I've talked to Carbotech. I liked the pads but I needed something with a higher heat tolerance.