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How hard do you drive your C7
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 11
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How hard do you drive your C7
Looks like this may have been asked before but not directly about a C7, how hard can you drive a C7 Stingray? I have a stock 2017 C7 Stingray A8 and drive it pretty hard, usually on the interstate when my commute hits the spots with no traffic or late at night. I would say max I ever get the oil temp to is about 225, they are usually shorter runs from 60 mph about 90-115 mph. Now I only drive it about two or three days out of the week and probably gun it two or three times out of the commute. Should I be worried about how I drive it or just the tickets I could possibly get?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 5,692
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The cars are pretty bulletproof as long as the temps arent at max.
I have money shifted my old supercharged c7 z51 several times. Ran up to 260 coolant and 300 oil and trans fluid several times and the worst it had was burned up spark plug wires. 50k miles when I moved on to my z06 which I drive just as hard except it runs cool. No issues.
nothing you do on the street especially to an automatic stock car will hurt it. Or even get close.
I have money shifted my old supercharged c7 z51 several times. Ran up to 260 coolant and 300 oil and trans fluid several times and the worst it had was burned up spark plug wires. 50k miles when I moved on to my z06 which I drive just as hard except it runs cool. No issues.
nothing you do on the street especially to an automatic stock car will hurt it. Or even get close.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,157
Likes: 522
From: Central Jersey
There is a thread on this forum somewhere that offered a way to actually measure how hard you run your C7 compared to others.
Basically, take the total revs off the DIC x 10,000 and divide by the actual mileage to get revs/ mile.
As long as i get to track mine 2 or 3 times a year and get the silliness out of my system, I tend to drive like an old lady on the street.
My revs/mile was right around 2000 while a friend who never races his C7 but drives aggressively was well over 3500 revs/mile.
And I'm the one who had the brkn valve spring that grenaded the motor on the highway at 55 mph in 6th gear!
That being said, I agree with Bruno and the others; with rare exceptions, C7 can be driven hard with confidence.
Basically, take the total revs off the DIC x 10,000 and divide by the actual mileage to get revs/ mile.
As long as i get to track mine 2 or 3 times a year and get the silliness out of my system, I tend to drive like an old lady on the street.
My revs/mile was right around 2000 while a friend who never races his C7 but drives aggressively was well over 3500 revs/mile.
And I'm the one who had the brkn valve spring that grenaded the motor on the highway at 55 mph in 6th gear!
That being said, I agree with Bruno and the others; with rare exceptions, C7 can be driven hard with confidence.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2016
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St. Jude Donor '17
I have 50,000 miles and over 30 track days on my 2015 Z51. Before I installed the auxiliary cooler, the oil temps went above 290 almost every session on track. One particular oil change (before the aux cooler) I had run 6 track days and the little oil change calculator showed only 5% life remaining. I sent the oil off to Blackstone labs to see if I was being too hard on the car. They said it looked great and they thought I could have gotten 2000 more miles out of it. Mobil 1 is a heck of a thing.
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Joined: Apr 2000
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From: Texas
Looks like this may have been asked before but not directly about a C7, how hard can you drive a C7 Stingray? I have a stock 2017 C7 Stingray A8 and drive it pretty hard, usually on the interstate when my commute hits the spots with no traffic or late at night. I would say max I ever get the oil temp to is about 225, they are usually shorter runs from 60 mph about 90-115 mph. Now I only drive it about two or three days out of the week and probably gun it two or three times out of the commute. Should I be worried about how I drive it or just the tickets I could possibly get?
Driving on the street and gunning it "two or three times" doesn't even remotely come close to "driving hard". Hit 300*+ with oil temps and 250*+ with coolant temps and then there might be something to address.
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I have not driven mine anywhere near hard enough to do any damage to the car, but do enjoy a little spirited driving every now and then. 
Pro
Joined: Mar 2021
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These cars are built to take a lot but no one can tell me that driving them hard does not equate to increased wear and tear. Tires, brakes, clutch, fluids , and pretty much everything else is susceptible to increased wear the harder you drive it. Nothing wrong with that though, just the cost of doing business so to speak. I have fun with my C7 and it will see some missing rubber and max rpm's on occasion. One thing I could not do is the launch control method with my manual car. It just goes against my instincts to do that and I have seen a video of a guy destroying something in his drive train doing the prescribed launch control procedure. Keep up the service, warm up before driving hard and avoid letting the car get too hot are good practices.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2022
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I've been 165 in my stock Stingray (closed course) and it wasn't much different than going to Wal-Mart (except the light poles go by slower on the way to Wal-Mart). The car didn't even blink and it was incredibly stable. No issues at all. I just pop the hood when I pitted to allow a little less "heat soak" but that was probably just a little overkill.