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There was one issue early on with C7 springs falling out of the dual mass flywheel. Pic below is not from a C7 but it is similar. Especially needed when it goes into 4 cylinder mode to smooth things out. As I recall sounded more like a rattle.
I don't have a lot of miles on my C7 yet. Also have a RX7 I've owned for 20 years. I hadn't driven the RX7 since I got the C7 and last weekend pulled it out for pics to sell it. As soon as I started to let out the clutch I realized that was something the C7 was missing. It engages nearer the floor and the feel is much better. I'm sure I'll become more used to the C7, but I know I'm giving up a really great driver.
I had an '87 RX7 Turbo II that I drove for 10 years; that car had a great clutch and transmission. Terrific daily driver; traded it (with it's still perfectly functioning original clutch after >70K miles) in on the last model RX7, which also had a great feeling clutch and gearbox.
Clutch action on my '08 C6 ZO6 was horrendous (swapping out the clutch pedal spring for one from the previous gen C5 Z06 helped a bit, but it still sucked). Ended up trading the car for a 2011 911 GTS with a PDK; much better daily driving experience, albeit at quite a cost. That C6 Z06 has made me skittish about buying another manual Corvette.
Been driving manual cars since I was 16 (I'm 58 now), so a bit of relevant historical perspective:
First: '75 MG Midget- worst clutch and gearbox I've ever encountered. What a turd.
Second: '74 Porsche 914- fine clutch, sloppy gearbox, crappy (to the point of being dangerous) car. ( I flew F-14's for the Navy for a number of years, and I was never as scared in one of those as I was driving that 914 in heavy rain at night on a back Texas road- well maybe except for a few foul weather night landings in the south Pacific.)
Third: '85 Honda CRX Si (needed something to keep me from being killed in the 914). Easy clutch, good gearbox, boring car.
Fourth and fifth: the two RX7's- the '87 was my favorite car I've ever owned- kind of like a mini- corvette: great daily driver, loads of cargo space, awesome handling automobile, very reliable.
Sixth: '03 Lexus IS300. Easy clutch, good gearbox, boring car.
Traded that for an '05 A4 C6. Crude transmission, great car. Thought I'd be a Corvette driver for life.
Traded that for the '08 C6 Z06- worst clutch action since that MG years ago. Ditched it after 18 months for the Porsche, which I still own.
Aside from the clutch, I thought the C6 Z06 was an awesome car.
I'd like to pick up a C7 of some variety for a new daily driver, but unless the clutch is a vast improvement over the C6 Z06, the manual ain't happening and that A8 has issues.
JMHO, YMMV, etc.
I liked the heavy-duty, high performance, manual transmission like the one in my '66 big block Corvette. I hate the newer "softer" feel of the hydraulic clutch.
