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this is representative of the typical Corvette owner. They only care about how they look as they drive around town and never exercise all the great engineering built into the car they bought.
it's perfectly fine buying something for how it looks, people do that all the time with all sorts of purchases. But don't tell everyone how great a performance car you have if all you do is press the throttle down on the highway a couple of times a month, LOL.
for the OP, there are some people on this forum who are excellent drivers and have logged hundreds of hours at the limit on the track. Some of them have experience in both cars and there are posts where they discuss the pros and cons based upon many track days. I would search for those posts to get some additional insight.
The "manly" forum members here won't acknowledge that the Miata is the most raced street car in the world. The guys here with significant track experience will admit that and have a healthy respect for both vehicles. There aren't many of these guys here on the Forum but they're around.
Do You think you know me? You know how I drive? Who gives a crap about the Miata? This is a Corvette forum and the last thing we want to read is some trash about how the OP would rather drive a Miata than a Corvette. Maybe he should go on the Miata forum and tell them?
This is a Corvette forum and the last thing we want to read is some trash about how the OP would rather drive a Miata than a Corvette. Maybe he should go on the Miata forum and tell them?
Welcome to the "you're a complete tool" club, bro.
What sealed the deal to sell it was when a mom in a baby hauler wouldn't let me get ahead of her when the lanes went down to one. She went full throttle in the SUV to stay ahead of me and the miata had nothing for her. I will never have that problem in the vette.
Ditto!
The C7 shuts down all the posers that think and try to out-accelerate you. There's no contest. .
WOW I just checked out the Miata! My turbo charged snowmobile has 25 more hp than the Miata and it weighs under 600 lbs.
Hmmmm that Miata is a real head turner makes me wonder why I didn't save a boat load of cash and just bought one of those instead of my Vette. The Miata is now my new dream car.
I currently have a '16 Miata and last weekend I took a test drive in a Corvette Grand Sport convertible. I did this for two reasons. First, I have never driven a Corvette (even though I have owned two Z/28's in the distant past, one of which could do low 12's in the quarter) and I felt I owed it to myself to consider one. Second, I have been very seriously considering doing the LS swap in my Miata from Flyin Miata.
Well, after driving the Corvette, I think I just cured my desire to do an LS swap, as I felt the Grand Sport had a totally ridiculous amount of power for the street. There was no way you can ever drive that car flat out often enough, on the street, to get comfortable with how it reacts at the limit. It also wanted to light up the tires from a rolling start in first gear when I put the pedal down.
What was really interesting was how fast things happen when gunning it. Time and distance seem to contract and I really questioned whether I could react fast enough if I a car next to me decided to do something unexpected.
I can only assume that a Miata with similar power would be even more ridiculous.
After the test drive, I got back into my Miata and, while certainly slower, the difference didn't feel as stark. I attribute this to the fact that I could give myself a feeling of "driving" the car, given the lower power level, a lot more than just feathering around in the Corvette. Yes, at WOT, the Corvette was a totally different experience, but one that could only be enjoyed in small bites.
Put simply, I feel like I would have more fun driving my Miata flat out all the time than I would driving the Corvette around most of the time at 20%. I guess for me I would rather have a huge cheeseburger as opposed to just a fork of filet mignon.
I plan to take another drive in a C7 convertible, just to see if I feel the same after another test drive.
Am I just getting old? Have you ever had these thoughts with your car?
Again, this is purely driving on the street. Obviously track driving is a totally different environment and one where the Corvette is at home.
I would really like to get some feedback from the owners here to see if they ever feel this way. Perhaps it is just my preferred driving style that is not necessarily conducive to driving a Corvette?
The answer to your question is NO! You are obviously a troll with your 6 posts...why don't you just get back in your POS Miata and pedal on down the bike path.
A friend is a Miata fan and owned several Miata's and in 2010 he bought a 2010 C6 GS. He is now on his third C7 Z51. He, and his wife, are around 80 years old and do not think the C7 Z51 is too much car for him and his wife(especially when they pack their C7 Z51 coupe for a road trip). He says he won't go back to the Miata.
I'm 76 and do not believe that my slightly modified(high flow aftermarket heads and tune) C6 Z06 is too much for me to handle(and I have driven it on road trips through 40 states). I do have to respect it's power but that does not cut down on the enjoyment of driving the car one bit.
Heck even my daily driver(Mercedes 4 door sedan) has to be respected. A couple of days ago I had to get an echocardiogram and when I left the hospital, the streets were wet and I pulled out onto a fairly busy street. All of a sudden their was a car pulling out of another driveway on my tail of, so I slightly goosed my car to get out of his way. Unfortunately, I went past the point where I was running naturally aspirated and the supercharger kicked in, I was going nowhere as I was sitting there spinning my rear tires. I calmly let off the gas enough to get traction, and then continued on my way. BUT, when I'm behind a slow car on a two lane highway, and I want to pass him quickly. the extra horsepower from that same supercharger sure fits the bill.
I didn't buy a C7 to become more of a man. I appreciate the technology, love the sound and pull of a V8, and love the looks. I didn't buy a ND Miata because I'm less of a man. I bought it because it handles like a slot car, is a blast to drive, and I love the looks. I buy what I like. Not too worried about what other people think. Anyone who puts down a Miata has probably never driven one.
Today, many and trending many more will see their 'car' as nor more than a utilitarian tool. No different than a hammer or a coat hanger. Something to get a job done. In this case, moving one and/or one's stuff from point A to point B. If you drive a C7 as a DD, you believe your car is meant to be a passionate experience. Fun to drive fun to be seen driving. And yet, very much a tool as well. Being far past AARP status, I'll never see the future's all electric autonomous transportation grid come to fruition. Good or bad, I'm just driven to be Old School.
Performance is just one vector. The stylish looks and the luxurious comforts add up quite well to produce one of the best GT's on the road today. My commute is 30mi one-way and I love every mile of it.
The OP states that the Corvette has way too much power for running all out on the street & his ability to handle the car at its limit....Who is driving their Corvette "at its limit" on the street? You are an idiot if you do & will most certainly be involved in a crash or kill somebody or both....geez
I think that was the OP's point after all. I bought my C7 for it's looks (first saw one and it reminded me of a F12 Belinetta) and knowing its performance potential. I was blown away by the published performance numbers.
Personally, I'll never test it's extremes as I can admit to myself, I'm not that good a driver to ensure I wouldn't kill myself of wreck the car (also of an age where I consider consequences before doing something stupid).. Goosing the throttle here and there is about all care to (or am comfortable) doing. Unfortunately, those times are pretty infrequent due to traffic and police presence, and of a short duration since just blipping the gas pedal puts the car well over the posted speed limit. (1/2 throttle from a stop light puts me over the speed limit in a couple of seconds). Fun? Yes, Short lived? Unfortunately, yes also.
Corvettes are great cars as are Lambo's, Ferrari's, Konnisegg's and McLerans. Beautiful to look at, an envy to own, high tech, but way more power than I can safely use on the public roadways ( I won't speak for those road warriors that post Youtube vids of 180MPH interstate runs or the crushed hulk on the roadside). Most of the other C7 owners I see are staying w/ traffic as we exchange a smile and knowing "wave".
Thinking this thread would have been better received if if the term "Waste" was substituted with "Over Powered".
Decades ago I took a 2nd job maintaining the go-karts at an oval track. Why? I knew how to repair small engines, and all the free laps, of course.
Every teenage male would come in and beg for the "fastest" kart. I and the other employees would point to any kart and "assure" them it was the fastest.
Of course, those of us who worked there, young or old, could climb into the "slowest" kart and lap them. It was about smoothness, taking the correct line and all that jazz, not a minor variation in throttle cable tension.
We organized a Gran Prix for charity one time and some guy from out of town, clearly a highly skilled driver, beat the best of us. LOL
The typical American male is convinced they could drive the Indianapolis 500 if someone would just lend them a race car. Lotsa guys don't know what they don't know until they actually go to the track a few times. Suddenly it IS a guy --- or a girl --- in a Miata schooling them.
I have no ******* clue how to drive a powerful car fast. Sure, I had a GTO in high school and could slide the rear end around in a predictable fashion.
The title of this discussion included "Daily Street Driving." Seems like a whole lot of commenters missed that. .
I spent 18 years driving an MR-2, a gutless wonder if there ever was one. In MY mind, driving an underpowered car fast is indeed more fun than driving a high powered car slow.
To pass an 18 wheeler going uphill in that MR-2 I had to downshift, put that motor on a boil and unleash every pony it had, letting the rpms climb right up to that 7000 redline and maybe a little more. And pray.
You could redline your way through the gears IN TOWN, and be doing 75 when you were done, far short of "go to jail territory"
To drive a high powered car in that manner you'd A) need to be a lot more skilled driver, and B) You'd probably crash a few more cars over 18 years of aggressive driving. C) You'd probably have lost your license a few times. The limits are much higher.
Back to "Daily Street Driving." If redlight to redlight, a la "American Graffiti" or Grand Avenue in Phoenix is what you're all about, yeah, raw horsepower is the thing. I regularly see this blue 68 Fastback Mustang out on Grand, putting on a show for all us geezers in Sun City.
The vast majority of C4 and newer Corvettes I see in Arizona are in the left lane of the freeway, doing 5-10 over. Kid in the Hyundai behind them wants to go faster. Coming through the "Bumblebee" twisties on I-17 I have never once seen a Corvette appear in the rear view mirror, thread its way through traffic and leave the pack behind.
I'm truly disappointed in some of the comments here, the whole "Miatas are gay" etc. Even in jest. I wonder how many of the "he-men" making them really know how to drive their Corvettes in a safe AND sporting fashion. I'm sure there are a few. They're probably the ones keeping their mouths shut.
I'm an old dude. I got nothing left to prove. I enjoy my small block C3, making a little noise, getting on it. But there is no way I would demean those who aggressively drive Miatas or MR-2s or even Honda Fits in a skilled and safe fashion.
The comments here, I feel, say a lot more about the people making the comments than the folks who enjoy putting lower-powered cars through their paces.
Last edited by wadenelson; 12-15-2018 at 12:25 PM.
I keep hearing people talking about the new Miata. Bah! This is the only true Miata. Grab one for under 4K pretty easy and combine it with a C7 and cover all bases.
12-14-2018, 09:02 PM
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