Fell in love with C7 and was looking at getting one. Possibly Z06. Finally got to drive a C7 but only the Grand Sport or base model without Z51 package. So in track mode, I floored the manual trans car and was underwhelmed. It moved fast but I thought it would be more violent considering the 500+ HP, track mode and tons of torque. Now, this car was no slouch for sure but acceleration was somewhat aggressive at most. I was not thrown back in the seat and pressed into the seat as I winded through the gears. Is this normal? Now, I had a 130LB passenger and most of my hard acceleration experience has been with no passengers, but how much can 130LBs matter in terms of the viceral feeling under hard acceleration?


Now some context. My experience is somewhat limited. Most of my experience with high performance vehicles is on the extreme side; Gallardo, Murcielago, 458 Ferrari, V10 M5, Replica Cobra with Roush 500HP engines, or on the lower side like 320HP NA flat 6 Porche, 300 HP G35, Base model Camaro from 2016.. So I don't know what a "heavy" 500HP RWD sport car is supposed to feel like. Never driven a comparable Mustang or Audi or anything between 3200 and 3500 LBs with near 500HP. So are you surprised that I was underwhelmed? Maybe I need to look up power to weight on all these cars and see where the C7 stacks up?


Also, forget about power. If I want the most nimble and fast Chevy for really technical tracks. A car that does the best for a bunch of fast and tight turns (not sweepers but winding country roads that might make many drivers nervous without the right cars). Which is the one to get? C7 or Camaro ZL1? Let's say you were going to be forced to race at incredible speeds around a winding mountain road were if you slide of the road you will fall thousands of feet to your death....which car would you drive? Stock Z06 or Stock ZL1? How about if you were going to drive at safer speeds but would have your girlfriend in the car who would dump you if you scare her too much...which would you drive? This means...which care FEELS the most stable in sharp fast turns even if it's not necessarily ACTUALLY more stable? Just because a car maybe giving you a LOT of feedback that your mind takes as instability, that does not mean the traction levels are any less. What you FEEL is not a scientific measure of traction levels. So:


Which one has traction and stability levels that are like being on rails?

Which one FEELS like it's on rails even if it's not?


Thanks in advance!


BTW...as if this was not tough enough already...I just checked out the ZR1....damn!! I feel like I need them both!

Also, if I was to create a dream car, it would be based on a Lotus car as for handling, but pull to 60MPH in 3 seconds or less, be obnoxiously loud WHEN you beat on it, but reasonable at idle, have a reasonable street mode that feels OK for comfort, but driven hard in a "track mode" would give a lot of feedback and be very viceral (push you back in seat, aggressive gear shifts), put a smile on your face just cruising town. Priorities are in order: HANDLING (on rails, precise), HARD acceleration, loud (sounds angry).

 

 

IMO, the M7 is underwhelming. The A8 in Z51+ (Z06/ZR1) trims launch control is fairly violent 1-2 (I tend to keep TC on because of the 1-2 torque crush). Best thing to do: go to chevrolet.com and compare all the trims together.

Base C7 doesn't have the track cooling/suspension the Z51+ variants do. Base has a smaller front sway bar and ZERO sway bar in the rear (it does body roll without it). Caveat: even the 26mmF/24mmR Z51 sways will not put you on rails either, but better than none. I think ALL Vettes need beefier sway bars (35mm) to get on rails. Since I've never driven or seen specs on ZR1, I hope they got it right.

Loud/Angry - Maybe the ZR1. Some like the stock Z06 sound, but I think the popular opinion is to replace the exhaust anyway.

Meh, everything is subjective. GL!

 

WTF?! That's pretty harsh. Nice welcome to the CF community.

 

Thanks. That was very helpful. Awesome first response on this forum. Can only get better I suppose...

 

new here. Was trying to truly to vette pilot. Sorry

 

It's 460 hp, not 500 hp.

 

In response to a pretty harsh opening post I would say it is appropriate.

 

You said you're thinking about a Z06, but you could only test drive a Grand Sport or base model without Z51 What did you actually drive?

You said you were underwhelmed by a car with 500+ HP. If you drove a Grand Sport or a base model, then you didn't have 500+ HP, you had 460 HP, so that might explain a little the underwhelming feeling.

 

Wha...? Is everyone around here thin-skinned? These are LEGIT questions that I asked when I went shopping.

 

 

Any zl1 experience?

 

Sorry man, that's where you lose me with Camaro. Corvette's don't have 4 or 6 cylinder motors (yet?!). They look cool in my rear view mirror.

 

If you are underwhelmed with the acceleration, then no forum answer is going to change your opinion.

It sounds like you should look elsewhere for your performance demands. There are plenty of boosted cars out there that should fit your bill better than a stock Corvette.

 

IDK how you can say straight-line acceleration of a 280 HP G35 that weighs 3,500 lbs +/- is comparable to a 460 HP C7 that weighs 3,300 lbs +/-. I had a G35 Coupe once, and they're not remotely close.

Go test drive a Z06 if the Stingray/GS doesn't seem to be enough for street driving.

Finally, I can't fathom how a car with a center of gravity a foot higher (Camaro ZL-1) is going to feel more planted in any curve than any of the Corvette variants. That's just simple physics.

 

Look to the reviews that are out there. Many of the car magazines seem to really say the Grand Sport is the one for what you're describing. Too much power can be bad in those situations, the GS has been described as the goldilocks car, just the right balance. Disclaimer, I haven't driven both, but if you look at some test results from various mags you may have some answers. For example, the MotorTrend figure 8 times, tied for 2nd place: C7 Z06, C7 Grand Sport, Dodge Viper ACR, McLaren 720S. Only two cars ahead of those cars, just barely ahead, are the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Huracan Peformante.

http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/motortrend-figure-8

 

 

You could also view that first post as a trolling effort, but whatever. You guys hash this out, I really think that if you think the Stingray/C7 is underwhelming in the performance dept. - it just makes me wonder how fast the cars are that you drive? Are they LMP1 LeMans cars you picked up @ auction?

 

 

Why else would one come to a corvette forum, and start your posting career by saying you are underwhelmed by the cars performance? And then he says his driving experience is with Ferraris and v10 M5's, lol - so why is he considering a corvette? I'm not saying he lives under a bridge but he probably hangs out under one at least...