BarneyZ

It strikes me that the base car with MSRC would make the ideal street machine.

Losses:
Dry sump (unnecessary pita)
Bigger brakes (can't tell the difference anyway)
standard transmission ratios (bummer)
electronically controlled differential (???)
Will probably lose resale value vs. Z51

Gains:
Selectable ride and handling characteristics (which is what I want anyway).
$1500 cheaper, (waste not, want not!)

Thoughts?

kp

Recently discussed here:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ol-vs-z51.html

As far as resale, if you trade to a dealer it wont matter, they can care less. May be a bit easier to sell private party if someone WANTS a Z51. Other than that if you pay a couple grand more for a Z51 you should get a couple grand more when you sell it

Mag ride also gets you the Z51 tires/wheels and rear spoiler. But you also have to buy the NPP exhaust with the mag ride (something you should buy), comes standard on Z51. Mag ride base with NPP is ~2K cheaper than Z51 with mag ride.

JoesC5

Unless you routinely drive on bad roads, the need for the mag ride is wasted money, if you're just looking for a soft ride. The base Stingray is pretty soft as it comes from the factory.

I drive my C6 Z06(with a pretty stiff suspension and no mag ride and huge run flat tires, compared to the Stingray's) all over the country. Sure, every once in a while I hit a bad section of highway, but it is minimal.

With the smaller 18/19 wheels on the base Stingray, you can get A/S run flats that will improve the ride quality a little bit, plus allow you to drive the car deeper into winter, etc. I see you are in Dallas, so the advantage of A/S tires might not be of importance to you, but might be to some that live in colder climates.

Rebel Yell

And there it is. My C7 base car w/o mag ride is as smooth, and comfortable as my C6 with mag ride.

However, one must buy what one wants, or he will always second guess that buy. IMHO, listen to all of our ramblings, and then get what you want. You'll be much happier, and forego any disappointment.

B-STOCK

If GM made Mag Ride without Z51 in 2015 I would have snapped it up. Wanted the mag ride and looks of the Z51 so that's what I ordered. If Chevy still offered DSOM and Brownstone I would trade my 2015 in for a non Z51 with mag ride. Same looks and on RI roads (# 50 in that dept.) I would prefer the Mag Ride option with Z51 looks. Rods and gassers were great 50 years ago but at 70 I prefer a more gentle ride. Been there done that with bouncing around. Enjoyed it at the time too.

Nosferatu

That's a huge plus if going forced induction or high power. Taller gears are better in that area. Trust me I know coming from C6 land. I was glad to have a wider spacing to really pull a gear. Also better for traction with the wider ratios.

Just something to think about.

With that said, I enjoy our C7 Z51 and have no intentions of putting well north of 600 RWHP this time around.

Wadoka

I haven't yet seen anyone take a set of the 3 cars (4?) to a track, on the same day, with the same driver, and run a standard car, versus a MSRC car, for times.

I know that up *UNTIL* C7, the user-selectable suspensions (FX3, FE3, I can't remember all the codes - but everything C4 - C5 - C6) - the electronically-controlled suspensions suffered a dynamic handling/performance penalty, compared to the standard suspension.

You got the electronically-controlled suspension because it could give you a (slightly) broader comfort range - not because it gave you a better-handling car.

I don't know if C7 solved that equation.

jcp911s

I can tell you the MRC offers great benefits on the track.

On the road, I doubt you'll really see much of a difference, but again, its all on your budget.

I ordered a 1LT Z51 with MRC because I wanted a no-frills track-oriented track car. IMHO, for a street car, a 3LT interior will give you more day-to-day benefit than MRC.

But its your money.... your choice.

CP

How much less would they care?

Skid Row Joe

BarneyZ, I'm in the process of dialing - in which way to outfit a new C7, so this thread discusses where my quandaries are too. I have no intention of racing the car on the track or street, as many are obsessed with. But that doesn't mean I want to be 100% isolated from the road or wanting "body roll," in it's handling characteristics. However, like you, I'm not looking for the late '60s muscle car bone-jarring ride.

Joe, the A/S tire talk/aspects are dead on important to me, as I will use my C7 from border to border in Winter and Summer driving. Thanks for the valuable input regards tires.

AORoads

Very good advice imo, esp. that last part.

DCortez

I bought everything that was offered for two reasons. I didn't want any regrets and it all fit into the 75k budget The Wife was comfortable with.

Steve Carter

Just me..... I don't have to have the best but I don't want the "base" anything. I'd pay the extra money for the dry sump oil system and brakes alone. All the other good stuff is just extra nice. Do like the MSRC but if I could only have one, I'd get the Z51.

joemosfet

I bought my C7 used. As many people know, features and options don't hold their value nearly as much as major features, so I got mine fully loaded, limited edition, probably not something I would have done with a new car.

goec2468

The price fifference between the Z51 and the base model with MSRC is so small, I wouldn't even think about it.
You said you don't need the extras of the Z51, but you might regret that later.
I own a Z51 and even the bigger brakes come to their limit when I drive fast on curvy roads (my car never sees a track and I am certainly not racing on the roads, just going fast occasionally).
Therefore I will upgrade to the Z06 front brakes.
I can only imagine what happens on a hot summer day with the even smaller brakes of the base model ...

Similar the dry sump system, you just have a much bigger oil reservoir that helps the engine to deal with the massive amount of heat the engine produces.
Also I am not sure if the base model has the transmission and differential cooler or not.
If not, I wouldn't even consider the base model.

Of course that is my opinion and is valid for me and my driving style.
If you cruise only and maybe a fast stiolight race every now and then, you don't have to worry about brake and cooling.

Regards

Götz

Larry/car

I am on my second Stingray convertible, have not reached the performance limits yet, probably never will (it is that capable in base configuration). I looked into magnetic ride; $3,500 is a heck of a price to pay for shocks. In all fairness you do get the bigger wheels, tires and a spoiler. Was going to get the Z51 option, went to a GM presentation at Carlisle in 2013, they talked me out of it saying the option was not designed for street use. So I went with the base car, totally satisfied. Financially; saved $5,000 Z51, $3,500 magnetic ride plus 6% tax.

thill444

I wanted the ediff. And I do plan on tracking the car occasionally so the Z51 made more sense, but even if you take the track equation out, the ediff was important to me and not something I wanted to try to add aftermarket.

jwreed50

I was recently faced with that same choice. Ended up ordering a 3LT Base with MSRC instead of the Z51. I have no intention of tracking the car. I didn't want the dry sump, and I decided to put the money into options that were more useful or meaningful to me than to get the Z51 features that I would never really notice. I'm very pleased with the choices I made for myself.

But as I think about it, we're a pretty lucky good of guys and gals if these are the types of life decisions that we are wrestling with! Either way you go, you'll be happy.

MGreg

I went through pretty much the same decision dilema as you. Mine was made easier because after a lot of looking around at the local big box dealer I wandered into an excellent price on a 2LT mag ride car at a smaller dealer that had never left the showroom floor.
All the advice you're getting is excellent and any Vette you choose is going to make you very happy. Coming from a C6 3LT, mag ride, big brake car, I notice a big difference in the two. Mag ride changes and steering modes are immediately evident in the C7. Night and day between it and my '07. I'm a street daily driver so the brake difference is a non issue for me. I can't tell them apart in daily use. Aside from the 2017 sticker shock on MSRC I'm very pleased having it.
Good luck and enjoy
Mike

B-STOCK

The only reason I bought the Z51 option on my 2015 is you could not get MSRC without Z51. If I had known that would change for 2016 I would have waited a year. We all know in our minds if we need bigger brakes or dry sump or if the stiff ride of the Z51 will be warrented for our driving style. IMHO a lot of people buy the Z51 b/c it looks cool and they can say they have the performance package.