7th Gear
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,162
Likes: 114
From: Prosper, TX
Wouldn't the track be the last place you would open up into 7th? I'm thinking a lonely stretch of highway, trying to saving gas.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 5,887
Likes: 1,555
From: Calgary Alberta
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,345
Likes: 442
From: Jupiter FL
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 5,887
Likes: 1,555
From: Calgary Alberta
and 5th would likely have a higher top speed than 7th anyway.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 683
Likes: 140
From: Cookeville TN
The feds may have made 7th gear mandatory, I used it once just to make sure it worked, haven't been on a highway yet that I felt or had a need to use it. As for gas mileage....... who bought a Z06 for gas mileage anyway?
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,083
Likes: 190
From: IL / FL .
If your C7 is a weekend fun car you might not use 7th. If you get out of town and pile on some miles 7th is great for high speed cruising. If there is much traffic use 6th, for open roads 7th/Eco for great mpg. But not if there are any hills, then Eco gets annoying.
The dual purpose capabilities of a C7 are impressive. Around town in the lower gears in Sport or Track it's really fast. Yet in 7th/Eco it can be an economy car on the interstate
The dual purpose capabilities of a C7 are impressive. Around town in the lower gears in Sport or Track it's really fast. Yet in 7th/Eco it can be an economy car on the interstate
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,903
Likes: 315
From: Cedar Falls Iowa
7th is about 1400 rpm at 70 mph. At fuel cut off it would be going 330 mph. You may need to mod you car for a teeny tiny bit more power to get there though. Might reduce the lifespan of your trans a little bit too...
Instructor
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 168
Likes: 16
I don't use 7th much except as everyone said, on long highways. Honestly, I feel like it shouldn't even exist. I doubt fuel economy is a consideration for anyone buying a Corvette. That's like being in the market for a PETA-approved shotgun.
My main gripe with 7th gear is how it "feels." While other gear engagements are smooth with a satisfying mechanical "click," 7th gear feels muddy and almost seems like it's "mushing" into gear. It's the only gear where I have to glance over at it to know if it even engaged.
For the most part I pretend it doesn't exist, unless I'm going on a highway cruise and just throw it in 7th til I hit my exit.
My main gripe with 7th gear is how it "feels." While other gear engagements are smooth with a satisfying mechanical "click," 7th gear feels muddy and almost seems like it's "mushing" into gear. It's the only gear where I have to glance over at it to know if it even engaged.
For the most part I pretend it doesn't exist, unless I'm going on a highway cruise and just throw it in 7th til I hit my exit.
E-Ray, 3LZ, ZER, LIFT
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 34,937
Likes: 12,351
From: NE South Carolina
Max speed at 6500 rpm is 150 mph in 4th gear, which is about all you’d use if racing. 5th gear could reach 209 mph, perhaps a hopped-up Z06 could reach that speed if on a very long straight. 6th would be max 261 and 7th 310 which If the car would stay on the ground and the engine could last for the time needed, perhaps a 4000 hp double A fuel dragster motor might get there at Bonneville!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
The use of 7th gear also depends on whether you have a base or a Z51. I use 6th gear in my C6 Z06 all the time when I'm running over 60 MPH. My 6th gear is a .5:1 ratio and on the C7 Z51, 7th gear is a .48:1. RPM difference at 60 MPH is almost identical. .5:1 = 1300 RPM @ 60 MPH and .48:1 = 1245 RPM @ 60 MPH.
On the base Stingray, with it's .42:1 7th gear, the RPM at 60 MPH will be around 1085 RPM. Okay for level ground, but too low for any kind of an incline. 65 MPH @ 1175 RPM would be a more reasonable minimum speed for the base Stingray in 7th gear.
On the base Stingray, with it's .42:1 7th gear, the RPM at 60 MPH will be around 1085 RPM. Okay for level ground, but too low for any kind of an incline. 65 MPH @ 1175 RPM would be a more reasonable minimum speed for the base Stingray in 7th gear.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
I don't use 7th much except as everyone said, on long highways. Honestly, I feel like it shouldn't even exist. I doubt fuel economy is a consideration for anyone buying a Corvette. That's like being in the market for a PETA-approved shotgun.
My main gripe with 7th gear is how it "feels." While other gear engagements are smooth with a satisfying mechanical "click," 7th gear feels muddy and almost seems like it's "mushing" into gear. It's the only gear where I have to glance over at it to know if it even engaged.
For the most part I pretend it doesn't exist, unless I'm going on a highway cruise and just throw it in 7th til I hit my exit.
My main gripe with 7th gear is how it "feels." While other gear engagements are smooth with a satisfying mechanical "click," 7th gear feels muddy and almost seems like it's "mushing" into gear. It's the only gear where I have to glance over at it to know if it even engaged.
For the most part I pretend it doesn't exist, unless I'm going on a highway cruise and just throw it in 7th til I hit my exit.
Instructor
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 168
Likes: 16
That's like saying C6 owners should be happy about sharing a steering wheel with a Cobalt because it lowered the price of the car overall. That's great and all but I bet a good proportion of C6 owners would have happily accepted an MSRP a few hundred bucks higher to have a better one
.Hell, on this forum lots of people are shelling out nearly a thousand dollars just for leather horn pads! Not that I blame them some of the ones I've seen are HAWT!
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 775
Likes: 372
From: Yukon Oklahoma
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,789
Likes: 500
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,789
Likes: 500
That and cylinder deactivation in Eco mode.