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It was great talking to you not long ago, Jeff. You're a standup guy and I'm excited about joining the Essex family soon! Will send you more pics as soon as possible, perhaps leading to another C65 being sold!
Ken from KNS, thanks for the emails - you've got mail!
It was great talking to you not long ago, Jeff. You're a standup guy and I'm excited about joining the Essex family soon! Will send you more pics as soon as possible, perhaps leading to another C65 being sold!
Ken from KNS, thanks for the emails - you've got mail!
Thanks Ash! I am so darn jealous...one day I'll have one of those beauties! I'm looking forward to seeing it with the brakes installed (and hearing your thoughts on performance). Have fun and be safe out there. Hopefully I'll see you at the track later this year in my not-nearly-as-pretty C6.
I'll be at VIR for the two Trackdaze events this year! I think that's August and November. Will you be at either?
Not sure at this point. We're definitely going to try and get up to VIR for the NCM event in June. August could be possible. November is brutal for us because of SEMA and PRI prep. I still need to finish prepping my car. I bought it in December, and haven't even thought about it because we're so darn busy here at work. I'm just living vicariously through all of my customers right now.
This week it's Porsche time...991 GT3 and 997 GTS. I think we have a new McLaren coming our way very soon also...which could be fun.
Thanks Bruno! What pads in your opinion work well with the Cup2's? I tend to like a pad that doesn't do a torque rise as temp goes up, and I don't like a ton of initial bite. While I've never run the DS1.11's they seem to be a better choice for me given the preceding sentence than the DSUNO. There aren't a lot of options out there for these calipers and before anyone says it, I don't want to run Carbotechs. I prefer a pad with very low compressibility and the CTechs feel a little to "soft" for me.
I've been running Stoptech's own SR-33 compound in their BBK on my M3 and like them a lot, though I could use with a little less initial bite. Just throwing that out there for calibration if someone's used both.
Followup question: the C65 has very bright metallic blue calipers. With Ti shims and with the factory cooling, should I expect the paint to discolor? I am just not familiar with how well this platform cools. That might be a deciding factor too, on whether to get the AP BBK up front so as not to ruin the finish of the factory calipers and devalue the resale accordingly. Yes, I could repaint them but I don't like that hassle of color matching and getting the lettering back to OEM spec.
Thanks for all the responses so far! Very helpful!
I ran Hawk DTC 70 Fr and 50 R on cup2 on my GS with no drama, even at COTA.
Your calipers will definitely start to discolor on cup 2s. For $1000 you can get a set of OEM calipers. Then again, for $2500 or so you can get an AP BBK I think.
I haven't had any brake fade problems and I'm pretty hard on my brakes, as are the tracks I go to (ECR, COTA).
Your biggest problem will be Cup2 tires delaminating at high heat.
I ran Hawk DTC 70 Fr and 50 R on cup2 on my GS with no drama, even at COTA.
Your calipers will definitely start to discolor on cup 2s. For $1000 you can get a set of OEM calipers. Then again, for $2500 or so you can get an AP BBK I think.
I haven't had any brake fade problems and I'm pretty hard on my brakes, as are the tracks I go to (ECR, COTA).
Your biggest problem will be Cup2 tires delaminating at high heat.
Get with diety motorsports and buy their signature wheels. They have it all sorted. You can run a 315/30/18 front and 335/30/18 rear on the R888R. They'll get you light forged wheels with curled beads for like $3500 shipped. Or something close to that.
I run that setup. It's noticeably slower than cup tires, but about half the price, better balance and my tires don't melt apart.
I grabbed a quick pic of my car on signature wheels after I washed the car, popped the roof off and thought "I should grab a picture"
Last edited by village idiot; 04-16-2018 at 02:28 PM.
Last summer I sold my 2011 E92 (JB4 Map 5, flex fuel 28% ethanol, Quaife, ASTs, etc) to a buddy, and you'll remember me - I bought your used ASTs to replace (and have backups) for the leaking front one on the E92. Appreciate the great deal and speedy shipping.
Anyway, I've got a 2018 GS now (2LT, WGG with red comp seats, M7) and love it. No comparison to my former car. Knowing what I know now and if I could do it all over again, instead of getting that E92 back in 2011, I'd have picked up a used C6 Z06 without a doubt.
Also, I intensively sound proofed my C7...so now the NVH is much more like the BMW. Best of all worlds!
Great to see you on the forum and now in the C7 world!
Holy heck! What a small world! Great to hear from you Clif.
As a fellow convert from Bimmer to this platform I think you can relate to how ecstatic I am that I find myself again day-dreaming about driving my car! With the F80 I fantasize about tracking it, but in a weird way I find that it's more focused than the GS and so it's only really fun on the track when you are flogging it. It doesn't really come alive until you do.
With the GS it's fun to just drive to the store, and I can only imagine (and will experience soon) how fun it is to drive it on the track. I'm blown away by how tractable the gearbox and clutch are. The throttle is long but not slow. Taking off from a stop slow or fast or anywhere in between is like driving an automatic. It's really a well-designed, well-executed vehicle aimed at driving pleasure. It's like the BMW of yore, in the E46 days.
Do you find yourself experiencing the same things??
Small world alright!
I’m a true convert….every single day I look forward to driving the car. It is my daily driver. There’s absolutely no comparison with the BMW.
Far better steering feel, much more precise. I keep mine permanently set to “track” steering.
Grip 1000X better (and I was running Michelin pilot Super Sports 235 FR, 275 RR; full M3 suspension, ASTs, swift springs, heavier M3 bars, Quaife on BMW.) Cornering speeds are dramatically higher.
Handling is far more predictable, super flat cornering….never liked the BMW subframe set up, even after replacing with more solid subframe bushings, rear end still felt disconnected….BMW needs to use solid metal bushings, which I’m thinking may have been the new default on your F80. The C7 ediff is excellent. No comparison in handling IMHO
Re throttle: the BMW with tune & ETOH was almost like an on/off switch…not linear at all. Sometimes miss the crazy fun of it. The C7 is more controllable, but seems to require more throttle input. It’s just fine with me, and I just stomp harder when more power is desired. However, some add a Vitesse throttle controller to have a more aggressive throttle response. Overall, I love the NA V8
Re clutch & shifter: preferred the BMW…..C7 clutch has long throw and higher uptake, but I’m used to it. The C7 MT7 not as smooth shifting, and the cold 1 -> 2 shift could be better….but given how robust our trans has to be to handle all that HP/torque, I think overall the transmission is pretty darn impressive. Many replace their factory shift mechanism with an MGW shifter and report significantly better, more precise shift quality! Also, some report swapping to Redline D4 helps.
Footprint & visibility: The BMW seemed to have a far smaller footprint, and much better outward viewlines…but the C7 is easy enough to get used to.
Biggest negative issue for me was the high level of NVH as compared to the BMW, and other sports cars previously owned. Was aware of this before buying the GS and had planned to soundproof once I got the car home. Anyway, I undertook a science based, extensive soundproofing project which made the car perfect…most of the extraneous road noise, tire noise, rattles, vibrations, etc are gone and I can hear the pure, unadulterated engine and exhaust sounds….plus, easier to talk with passenger, stereo sounds a lot better, and car feels more solid and more like expensive sports cars.
Here is a link to my full write up on the soundproofing: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...and-sport.html
Anyway Ash, you are in for a real treat…it’s a daily blast…..comfortable for everyday driving and a monster on the track. Looking forward to hearing your impressions once you get on the track.
Great post and info! Yeah I was not a fan of the e92 platform for all those reasons. The F80 was MUCH better and actually I find the steering in the M3 a couple notches better in feel and “organicness” than the GS. I also run my steering in Track, which is still lighter than the F80’s in Comfort! If I could change one thing on this car so far, it would be the steering feel, but maybe that changes once on the track.
I definitely will be installing a CAGS eliminator as soon as I’m able. That “feature” is maddening when you’re stuck behind other cars in traffic.
Great to hear from you and looking forward to exchanging more information on this platform!
04-16-2018, 10:23 AM
