OK, I've had my M7 C7 for a whopping 5 days and 178 miles on local city streets. First impression: The C7 is, across the board, head and shoulders above my beloved C6. Still, it has its oddities. For example, turn signal indicators do not appear in the HUD. Not a big deal, but a nice touch on the C6.

I luved the digital water and oil temperature indicators on my C6 DIC. I would start the car in the morning and watch the water temp start at 60 or 70F. At 90, I would drive off. Then I'd switch to oil temp and drive gently til it hit 180 or 200. Not so easy in my C7. Despite all the technical wonders and wiz bang screens, the C7 has only analog guages. The analog water temp guage starts at 100. You have to squint to read the tiny analog oil temp pocket guage. The performance versions, in the center, while different, are still analog and still difficult to impossible to read precisely.

The base exhaust is an absolute wimp. Almost an embarrassment on such a hot looking car. Even odder, while mostly silent, it emits the occasional and very momentary bark or growl at random intervals, seemingly unrelated to anything I do with the throttle. Can't wait for my BB PRT aftermarket exhaust to arrive.

With only an additional 60 HP, the C7 feels much faster, much lighter and much more nimble than the C6, shooting up to the 4500 break-in redline in no time. Why does the manual say keep it under 4000 but the break-in redline is 4500?

My non-Z51 C7 stays very flat and planted during spirited cornering, much better than my Z51 C6. It's an absolute thrill to drive. I absolutely luv this car.

 

Good review. On the oil and water temps, maybe you can put those gauges up in your "sport" tach type dash and set it to stay. I too like to see those temps before full throttle stuff.

Lotta truth in your analysis here: "With only an additional 60 HP, the C7 feels much faster, much lighter and much more nimble than the C6, shooting up ..."

I will be interested in hearing of your reactions to your PRT exhaust. I believe they come with B&B's own design for the AFM valves located just fore of the mufflers? It seems Corsa is the only one who has you cut the pipe aft of the factory valves. Whatever, just be sure to post up how that goes.

I also like on the c7 how the traction control/ stability control and torque management is not as abrupt as in the c6. It still cuts in heartily, maybe even more so since there's more thrust, but the transitions seem to move away from the on/off switch sensation in the c6.

 

The C7 handling is light years ahead of the C6 with F55. I was afraid magnetic ride would be missed, I had it on my C4 and C6. The new stiffer frame and suspension eliminated the need for magnetic ride under normal street use. Granted you don't experience the car's personality change when selecting different driving modes as with the option. I have the stock exhaust, doesn't embarrass me (once you get past the RPM restriction), under high power it gets considerably louder.

 

There is a display mode that shows all your important levels in digital format.

I believe it is in Touring mode and Info (The I) Shows a pic of the car with all the digital readouts to the right.

 

I assume you didn't get NPP? It sounds great on this generation. I'm glad I got off the fence and got that option. It's a great option for $1195. If the stock exhaust sounds like the NPP in tour mode I can feel where your coming from. I now just leave my valves open most of the time. I'm really impressed with the NPP this time around. I hated the sound of it on my 08Z.

 

Right. I did not get NPP as my plan was to go aftermarket (BB PRT on order). I listened to NPP in a parking lot. Even at idle, it sounded great, as long as you weren't in Tour mode.

I'm going aftermarket to guarantee it's open all the time. Clean and simple. No valves or baffles. No entanglement with car's electronics.

 

this is my first vette so I can't compare on c6, but I agree if you leave the tech on sport mode, you can see temps their, also there are a lot of good exhaust options out.

 

For non-npp, not really, in my opinion, as there are more yet to come. One of the traditional sales leaders, Borla, has yet to release their non-npp systems. "SASprof" will be the first on this forum to go with/post-up the PRT. The non-npp muffler is so quiet, I hear the whoosh of the stock air intake over the exhaust when under heavy power.

 

OMG! You're right! Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

I assume the top item, "Engine", means coolant temp.
The one immediately below it is clearly marked "Oil temp".

 

Yes, but you can only see one at a time (oil or water) in the center. And it's still analog. Also very imprecise.

 

Correct. One forum member posted that, after installation, multiple codes were thrown, which could not be corrected. I talked to Mike at BB about that. They are well aware of the post, and even sent out a new system, with the same result, so BB claims it is the car, not their exhaust. Given that nobody else has complained (at least not on this forum) I believe that. The poster says he luved the sound so much, he will not go back to stock, even if it means living with codes.

Yup. I sure don't want that. I also don't want the Corsa high pitched "European" sound.

OK. Scheduled installation a week from tomorrow. I was really torn between PRT and Bullets (2nd gen), but Mike convinced me to go with PRT. It better not be wimpy.

Even in Touring mode, with all nannys turned on, the tires wanted to break loose. I wasn't mashing the throttle, either. Just mildly spirited driving, under 4500 RPM.

 

"I agree "396tears", the car can sound quite healthy, but just to clarify for others who might still be learning about the c7: "Sound management" controls have no effect on non-npp cars, regardless of the mode. There are no controls associated with the non-npp mufflers that alter the sound. It's been discussed on the forum that the screen giving us the option to control "sound management" is an oddity that does nothing, (on non-npp cars).

 

Does sound management even doing anything with the standard exhaust?

 

No.

 

I am so glad I got the NPP. I can turn the sound up at will.

 

 

I hate to admit it but sometimes I like to show off a little, in town. Damn, she sounds good with the butterflies open!

 

Posted here: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c7-g...and-b-prt.html

 

There are valves close to the engine which come into play when the car is in 4 cyl mode. Now that changes the sound no matter whose mufflers you are using. ( including the ones which are used by Chevrolet). What I am saying is do not expect cool sounds from your C7 "all" the time. I have heard that you can counter the 4 cly mode by using some of the modes. It works in every mode with my A6.

 

Put your A6 in M mode. It will remain in V8 all of the time. Of course, you must do the shifting. But if you are cruising at a constant speed and not changing gears, it will remain in V8.