Nosferatu

I posted this in both the C6 and C7 section unedited. This isn't a "which car is better" but more or less a comparison of going back and forth between the two vehicles as daily drivers. I had a day off today so I figured I'd think back and reflect on what's been a year of ownership with the C7. I'll keep the modified aspect of the C6 to a minimum as it does alter the comparison to a stock C6.

Cars of comparison...

2010 3LT 6-speed manual
2015 2LT 7-speed manual Z51

The C6 is heavily modified (see signature). The C7 is bone stock. Both cars each have gotten about 12,000 miles on them this year.

Anyways, where to start...

Engine - I'll try to compare to when the C6 was bone stock. They both put down nice power. Both are very responsive engines. I feel the LT1 in the C7 has more sub 3000rpm grunt at part throttle applications. Both are pretty much similar. You do have displacement-on-demand on the LT1. I see no difference in MPG gains for the few times I've used it. I think it's all just a gimmick for CAFE standards. As it stands currently, the C6 at around 4000rpms makes more RWHP than what the LT1 puts out at max power so it's like a Jekyll and Hyde when going back-to-back in each car and no comparison. It makes the C6 feel like a race car / monster and the C7 like a peppy sports car.

Transmission - I seem to be in the minority but I find the C6's 6 speed manual to be the better transmission. The C7 can get notchy, especially going into 1st on a cold start. It also took a learning curve to figure out 5th vs 7th gear when coming from 4th or 6th gear. On the contrary, I do find the "rev-match" feature of the C7 to be a joy to use. What I thought was going to be a gimmick I find to be a joy. I'm not a fan of the Z51 gearing in either generation. I enjoy the non-GS/Z51 gearing in the C6 more. The jump in gear ratios from 3rd to 4th is a bit ridiculous on the C7 given it has 7 gears to work with. This is an overall con to the Z51 package in general (on both the C6 and C7).

Suspension - Absolutely zero contest C7 wins this hands down. I've driven of the C6 generation my upgraded setup, Grand Sports, and Z06s. None of them match the C7's Z51 setup with magnetic ride. The reason I'll take the C7 out to drive over the C6 is to enjoy the corners. Toggling from Tour to Sport to Track and just feeling how different the car behaves is just unbelievable. Throw it in Tour and you'll have some mild body roll and the car will just eat a rough road nicely. Throw it in Track mode and roads I thought were smooth you can feel bumps in. The car handles absolutely like a go-kart. Even a friend of mine who swears by AWD vehicles was in shock when I had him throw it in a few corners. His comment "I've never seen a RWD setup take corners that confidently and at speed." I tend to agree.

Seats - ...let me say it again...wait... C7 hands down. I don't own the performance seats but the base seats for the C7. The seats are so much better seat when you start pushing lateral G loads. You don't shift around in the seats like you do in a C6. It's almost an embarrassment how bad they are in the C6. Even under high G loads in general (corners, acceleration, or braking) the C6 seats tend to "shift" a bit on their actual frame. The C7 hugs you and you don't move in the seat. Comfort is a tad higher in the C6, but not enough to justify how horrible they are for a performance car.

Interior - It's a nice generational upgrade going to the C7. The instrument cluster and HUD are light years ahead and very easy to read from a visual presentation standpoint. Do you like 80s green or modern color for your HUD? The C7 has a built in shift light on the HUD (and instrument cluster) when in track mode. Nice touch. The C6, to it's credit, is a more practical HUD. It tends to show more information than the C7 does (e.g. turn signals for one). The C6 has less blind spots with better visibility out of the cockpit. This is evident if you're looking behind the shoulder for oncoming traffic while turning left onto a main street. The back pillars are right smack in the way on the C7. The usability of interior components is a tad more intuitive in the C6 owning to less complex systems. It's easier to see a lot more information in the C6 with all the analog gauges right there in plain view at all times. It's probably one of the best analog set of gauges I've used. Both navigation systems are buggy but the C6 is snappier due to less complexity. Space is about the same in both cars but my wife and I are both under 6' tall. Lastly, the rear view camera took some getting used to but it's a nice tool when in tight spaces.

Toys - I can play with the gadgets in the C7 for hours. There's plenty of settings to tinker with through the entertainment center to configure multiple vehicle systems. The C6 is a car designed over 10 years ago and it shows. It takes a more utilitarian approach and is more limited.

Attention - The C6 attracts attention, but then again it has a loud blower whine, upgraded rims, lowered, etc. It's different than the thousands of others on the road. I'll attract attention of the "car people." The C7, on the other hand, gets attention from EVERYONE. People at traffic lights, at gas stations, in parking lots when getting into the car, etc etc etc...people will stop you to talk about the car or comment about it. Still even a year later it still happens, albeit to a slightly lesser degree. Is this what it's like to own an exotic car?

Overall - Well...this is tough. I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to have two awesome vehicles in the household. It's a significant generational upgrade going from a C6 to a C7 and then back down to the C6 depending on the day of the week.

Do you want to carve corners or do you want to do straight line blasts?

Do you want a sledge hammer or a sports car?

What kind of attention do you want to attract today?

At the end of the day, I find myself going back to the C6. I'm heavily biased on it because it makes over 200RWHP more than our C7. That raw power is just flat out intoxicating. Sure it has some flaws like junk seats and a lackluster interior, but it was the model that got me into Corvette back in 2005. It's the car I always wanted to own and was happy the day I got it.

In closing, if the C6 wasn't modified to the extent I modified it, I would have probably sold it. The C7 is a much more advanced vehicle in just about every area. The C6 is Corvette nostalgia for me and why I enjoy it so much still. To both of their credit, the C6 and C7 will always catch me looking back at them when I walk away. Internally I'm smiling on the inside about what awesome rides they both are. Someone told me the day that stops happening, that's the day you sell the car. I guess that day hasn't come yet for the C6. It's a great car, but the C7 is just that much more...

Happy reading!

mikez06

Very nice write-up.
I very much love your Black C6, just can't beat that! Great job on it.
Enjoy!

Jedi-Jurist

Great comparison!

GotVett?

Thanks and good for you having both to enjoy. While the C7 is more technically improved, I'm still fond of the lines of the C6 (ha, and round tail light gen guy). But I do like the C7 too. Anyway, love my C6 and maybe in 2 or 3 years, the C8 may get a looksee.

Red08

Ok, I admit that I am confused. You had a 2010 C6 back in 2005?

Litfuse

I can’t believe the amount of Back to the Future posts our made on this forum. Just when I thought the literacy rate was high in this country...

Corpsvette

Enjoyed the write up and good comparison as others have said. While I also had both, but not at the same time, can you confirm one thing. I am a bigger guy and understand everyone's complaint about the C6 seats but when you move between the C6 and C7, does the C6 provide a little more room, say for a bigger guy (shoulders and butt) or did I just get that much bigger after retirement between owning my C6 and C7?

dvilin

Good review, thanks for sharing.

Vetteman Jack

Very good comparison between the two generations, even with the C6 being modified. As you say, nice to have two good choices in cars to drive.