I would love to hear from anyone who either has, had or plans on buying a Callaway Stingray. I have had some very good and long talks with Chris from Callaway. Very helpful and since I ask a lot of questions, very patient. I would love to hear from Callaway owners on why you went that route? I would also love to hear from anyone who is not a Callaway owner but has knowledge of the Callaway on why you did not go that route. My choices were modding, Callaway or Z06 but modding went out the window since that's where my warrantee will go. If I price out the Callaway and the Z06, it's easily a few grand higher plus I won't be able to use my GM rewards card on the Z06 which is another $3000. Thanks and looking forward to joining the team real soon.

 

Sounds like you've already answered your question. Callaway delivers a great product and until now, with the C7 Z06 introduction, they were the only game in town with a viable full bumper to bumper warranty complementing GM's on the corvette. GM did have a factory C6 supercharged corvette in the ZR1, but the only choice was a solid fixed roof 6spd manual coupe. The C7 Z06 changes the whole picture, as it comes with 650 HP/650 TQ in all flavors, removable roof coupe/vert, 7 spd manual/A8 auto, with a built drive train warranteed for 3/36 bumper to bumper and 5yr/100,000 miles on the drive train. Only you can decide which option suits your needs best. You can't go wrong either way.

 

You are correct, only I can decide. I just like to hear other people's reasons on why they decided to go with them. Thank you for your response

 

Well, I had my 2005 Z-51 C6 modded by Lingenfelter with their 403 CI engine and I will admit that it was a torque monster. However, when shipping a car to them in Indiana you have to make sure you understand what they can and cannot (or will and will not) do. For instance, they, as a CARB compliant manufacturer, cannot/will not install high-performance headers for you as that modifies the emission system. On the other hand, if the car comes in with the headers already installed they can and will reconnect them when it comes time to tune the engine. This caused me to have to have the headers installed before I shipped the car to Lingenfelter. On the other hand, modification does permit you to do as little or as much as you want to the car and over your selected period of time.

Fast forward a few years and the '05 decided to eat the engine (thrust sensor showed excessive end-play) and I needed a new Corvette. Fortunately, Carlisle was going on and I was there. Chris Chessnoe was also there, had driven my Lingenfelter a few times (loaning me his Callaway at the same time) and convinced me to take a look at a new Supersonic Blue Corvette Grand Sport convertible with the Callaway SC606 package they had on display on Friday. I took a look at it at Carlisle, called the salesman that evening, and picked up the Callaway at 10:00 the following morning.

One major advantage of the Callaway over the Lingenfelter or any other mod shop is that you can take your car, when sick, to the nearest GM dealer and tell them to fix it as all Callaways are GM warrantied.

This is a picture of my beast:

 

Thank you for that story. Let me ask you a question since you definitely felt the differences. How was the power between the stick Vette and the Callaway? Also between the lingenfelter and Callaway? What really made you want to get the Callaway? Thanks

 

I purchased a 2014 stingray sc627. Absolutely love my car. I have 3 friends with supercharged stingrays and all three have stated they wished they went the Callaway route. Not only for the warranty but the way it handles the street. It can be a beast when needed or can be used as a daily driver.From what I'm hearing the zo6 might be too much for the streets. This year I have been to a few corvette events including one with over 300 corvettes and I must say I have only received very positive comments. The z06 looks amazing and I think you are getting a great car for the price. One thing about the sc627 will be the rarity of the vehicle. I think next year you have a better chance of running into another z06 than a Callaway. Also customer service and communication has been excellent !!!!! Good luck with your decision. I don't think you will be disappointed with either choice. Enjoy your new car!!!

 

I've owned over a dozen Callaway Corvettes since the late 80s up to a C16 supercharged today. Callaway product's are top notch and are easily serviced by my local Chev dealer.

Plus, Callaway Chris rocks...

 

I've owned two Callaway's. The first was a 2009 SC580 (580hp) with 6 spd. The color was Jetstream Blue. I traded it for a 2010 ZR1.
My second Callaway was a 2011 Grand Sport SC606 with a 6 spd automatic. This one was in Arctic White with red hash marks & a carbon fiber hood bulge. I traded it this past January for a new Chevy SS.

I loved both my Callaways. Take one to a cruise-in or a car show and see how much attention it gets.

I almost went this route with my new C7 Z51, but seeing how much my IRA has diminished the past couple of years, I decided to go with an ECS supercharger, AR long tube headers & a BB Fusion exhaust. I making a ton of RWHP (563 on a warm day), and I saved a ton om money.

 

As for why I bought the Callaway, as I said earlier the Lingenfelter developed a problem that precluded driving it in early August 2011. I was informed by Lingenfelter that due to the success of their business it would take a minimum of one month to schedule it into their shop, a month to pull, rebuild, and re-install the motor, and then a couple of weeks to ship it back to Virginia. This meant that I would not get my car back until mid-Nov when I normally pack it away for its winter rest. In as much as this is "prime Corvette time" I just had to have a 'Vette.

The power differential between the stock C6 Z-51 and either the Lingenfelter or the Callaway is exceptional. While I was never able to put both the Lingenfelter and Callaway on the same dyno on the same day both cars consistently put out over 520 rwhp with the Lingenfelter having a slight edge in torque (562 vs 549). But this could also be put down to variations in gearing between the Z-51 and GS packages and between the LS2 engine in the Lingenfelter and the LS3 in the Callaway. Again, these readings are from different days using different dynos, with different temps, humidity and barometric pressure.

Seat of the pants driving indicated to me that the Lingenfelter hooked up better off the line but began to fall back at approximately 85 mph to the Callaway. I've never taken the Callaway to the extreme limit as it is a convertible and I have no roll bar installed. . . guess I'm too chicken.

All said, however, the Callaway feels more finished than my collection of mods to the Lingenfelter did and it has the GM warranty. Keep in mind that when you mod a car as I did at less than 5,000 miles your warranty goes out the window and if the car develops a problem it is on you to get it fixed whereas with the Callaway you can take it to a GM dealer to get it repaired.

I guess the major deciding point is what do YOU want to do to the car? If you want to pick out what mods as I did to the Lingenfelter (LG long tube pro headers, K&N CAI, the Lingenfelter 403 engine, etc.) then you can have a car customized exactly to your specs as opposed to buying a package such as a Callaway. On the other hand, buying a package ensures that all of the components work together with no problem. If you are willing to put in the time to research all of the components necessitated by the mods (and some may surprise you) then you will truly have "your" car. Either way, I am sure that you will be happy.

 

I bought my '08 Callaway new and owned for 5 1/2 yrs. til I got the hots for a C7 and sold it...I'm soooo sorry that I cannot bear to take the photo off my avatar. The performance of the car was stellar and in almost 6 yrs of ownership not even one glitch. The engineering of the conversion was superb and the car drew the looks, oohs and ahhs everywhere I went...

I have never understood the fascination with the Z06 when for the same $ you can have a Callaway. Get the Callaway and prepare yourself to be at the top of the food chain.

In GM parlance, when you own a vette you have a Chevy, when you own a Z06 you have a Buick, when you have a ZR1, Callaway or Lingenfelter you have a Cad...that simple.

 

Other than rarity, what makes the Callaway so much better than the Z06?

 

I compared both very carefully before purchase. Pricewise, there was little or no difference. Inasmuch as the Callaway was built on the C6 Z51 format, I preferred the ride quality, quietness, and overall street manners of the Callaway to the Z06. The added HP of the Callaway also resulted in superior performance/acceleration. The above factors, coupled with the fact that the factory warranty was still intact, made it an easy decision for me. I always referred to my Callaway as the "poor man's ZR1".

 

$100,000 for a "Buick" is a lot of money.

 

I have a 2011 Callaway GS 606 unreal power and comfort (noise) paddle shift, handling is great, can't say enough. Supercharger really comes on about 2200. Bought the car in Philly and drove it back to the Memphis area 1020 mi first day thrill ride. Looking around for a 650 had mine up for sale what a hassle, lots pf dreamers and lonely folks very few serious folks. Owed a lot of quick cars this is by far the best so far, Cheers

 

If there is a downside to Callaway ownership, it is in the re-sale area. I was truly disappointed in the seeming lack of interest (Callaway dealers included) in my car when I got ready to sell. My car was pristine, low mileage, never tracked or on a dyno...only 67 built in 2008. I rec'd some lowball (downright insulting) trade offers from 2 Callaway dealers who I felt SHOULD have a vested interest in the continuing value of these cars. I finally connected w/ the right buyer (thru an ad placed on this forum) and rec'd a fair price.

The key on re-sale is finding the right buyer. While the Callaway brand has made major strides in the last few years, there is still an unawareness among the general Corvette population...

 

IMO, the only reason to buy a Callaway now(C7) rather than a Z06 is rarity. You can now get a Z06 with an auto transmission and a removable roof/convertible. Neither of which was available before from GM.

 

Calloway is about the same price as the C7 Z06? A fully loaded C7 with the addition of the Calloway would probably cost around $95,000 and with just a basic C7 around $75,000 I guess. Something to think about.

 

I think ur a little low on the Callaway addition price, some of the options like wheels and seats are 7K each the exhaust and supercharger would easily push it over 100K, jus sayin.

 

Wondering what the opinions are of keeping the Corvette badging or going to the Callaway badging?

 

Actually, most of our Corvettes have been in the ballpark of $88k or less, with some really nice options (incl. Z51 and Nav. on a 2LT)

Here's a link to our Build and Price Section of the www.callawaycars.com website: http://www.callawaycars.com/cars/cal...ild-price-c20/

There, you can find listings of standard features and available options for the new corvette Stingray. We do not have wheels or seats for $7k each, and we have actually reduced the price of our package for the Corvette Stingray by $5k this year. The base price is $17,995 on top of the Stingray of your selection. Thank you for your interest in Callaway