Shurshot

I was not even replying to you so don't be so defensive!

See post 21

Fair enough?

tws

I thought he was just saying carbon fiber shafts are not good for drag racing..

Shurshot

This is true

The CF shafts I was referring to consisted of one solid piece of CF within the U joints, and were made for the C2 and C3 cars. They were light and strong but came with warnings to not be used for drag racing.

dcbingaman

A GM source told me in early Dec. that the Z06 body panels are all carbon fiber except for the rear quarter panels to save weight. This may be to make up for heavier tires and wheels and the LT4 supercharged engine.

I also expect it will have both the M7 as standard and the new A8 as an option. They want to sell 3000 a year, and can't get there without an auto. tranny. I suspect you will be able to order ceramic brake rotors, but the base will use the Z51 iron rotors to save $.

bob53

I too am very curious what GM has up their sleeve. Many of the strategies used to shed weight in the C6Z06 platform are already in place with the base C7. The larger tires, larger brakes, more robust suspension, and supercharger (presumably) will add ~ 150 lbs. It would be nice to offset these gains using technologies outlined by Runge_Kutta. Doing so cost-effectively remains the most important point - there is a very small market for 100K dollar cars. If GM repeats the pricing scheme of the C6 Z cars, they are not going to meet sales goals beyond the first year or two.

dcbingaman

The way to do it is the same strategy as on the base Stingray - provide a base Z06 at about $ 80K MSRP and then provide an extensive list of options for those with a few more $ to personalize their ride, and / or set it up for their track preferences. The A8 and ceramic brakes would fall into this category. So would the trick Z/28 shocks, (lighter than the MRC and probably more robust.)

You may also see delete options (audio system, etc.) to save weight for those who want to only track the car - like the Z/28.

Tooling for body panels is expensive, so I would bet if they change panels from nano-carbon whisker composite to true carbon fiber weave composites for weight, it will be for all Z06 cars. Since the front fenders are bigger, it makes sense to make these out of carbon fiber to match the hood and save weight. The back end is bigger and more complex, and they don't necessarily want to save weight back their and throw off the fore-aft balance, especially with the bigger, heavier motor.

NytmereZ

I think you are more accurate than 98% of the posts here, with all the wild ideas people are throwing out there, the price of the car would be 150+k, which isn't going to happen .
GM will make up some of the the weight gain the cheapest way they can, the rest will be offset by technology , weight is important, but not as important as it once has been.
The numbers will prove it when they are released , it will be the "best vette yet", until the next best vette is released.

NemesisC5

Mercedes AMG SLC to go multimatic as well

http://www.camaro5.com/camaro-z28-mu...cedes-amg-slc/

Shurshot

Do they have to be CF wheels to acheive great weight savings?

Already there are "reinforced composite plastic wheels" appearing on production cars with similar weight savings. I will bow to your recogninized superior knowledge in this field, however technology conscious Audi has already left CF behind in favor of other weight saving materials because of positive cost comparisons.

I am not suggesting CF is not a better material but it does not seem to be the best bang for the buck needed in production cars.

Bottom line is, "reinforced composite plastic wheels" IMO sounds like a win/win for the C7 ZO6

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...w-2015-audi-a8