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I am new (obviously) to Corvette Forums but have been reading through much of the posts over the course of the last 6 months or longer. I appreciate the depth of information available from many of the members and have learned quite a bit about the C7 Z06.
With that said, I am the current owner of a 2014 Shelby GT500 that I am planning to sell in the late spring in favor of either a slightly used or new C7 Z06. The main reasons I am considering to depart from the GT500 is lack of tech (no rear back up camera, no heads up display, cheesy traction control/Advanced Track options), tired of dealing with a manual transmission particularly with clutch issues arising from higher hp/tq vehicles that are heavy, and no removable roof.
The Shelby is mostly stock, with slight modifications such as CAI, tune, axle back, suspension modifications, widened Shelby Supersnake wheels with Toyo R888 tires. It is mostly used as a cruiser with occasional car shows and is kept under cover in a garage. I would love to drag race the car from time to time at events or even participate in 1/2 mile events. But, I know I would be on borrowed time with the stock rear end and clutch.
I would look for the vette to fulfill a similar purpose; cruising, car shows, occasional drag race and/or 1/2 mile event. However, one thing I have noticed is that the after market appears to be a bit limited with the Z06 as far as bolt-on's go; CAI, ported throttle body, exhaust. I enjoy modifying cars to make them "my own", however rare that really is these days. But the point is, I typically never leave a car stock, even if it means a few bolt ons.
Appearance wise it is purely subjective, as I think both cars look awesome in their own respects, with the more sleek look going to the vette. I also love the removable hard top option the vette offers which is a nice balance between a convertible and T-top car.
So, any further advise to help me make a solid decision on a new or slightly used vette is more the welcome.
The Z06 is an awesome car from the factory. If you must mod the car then the biggest question is are you willing to for-go the warranty. You can probably get away with a CAI, ported Throttle body and X pipe but then after that you'll need a tune. Once that is done, you risk your factory warranty. Me personally I wish I would have gone to the Callaway package, bringing it to 757 HP and still have a warranty but that is +$18,000. That is plenty on the street. Another thing to consider is if you are going to track the car.
If the warranty issue doesn't bother you, then you can upgrade the the blower and other bolt-ons and bring the HP much, much higher but risk the warranty. The Z06 is a blast to drive in stock form or with a few bolt ons. I'd take a "wait and see" approach and see if you need more. Hope that helps.
Your GT500 has a bigger supercharger and port injection making it much easier and cheaper to make big power with bolt-ons. Other than that, the Z06 wins.
I would agree with your assessment of the Z06 vs. the GT500. I also like the GT350 and previous GT500 models, but the Z06 is truly a step up as far as innovation and items you already mentioned. Your comment regarding aftermarket modifications, here's my take.....the number of Ford Mustangs that have been sold over the years is light years greater than the Corvettes sold. The Mustang aftermarket is massive in size because they have a massive customer base to deal with. Their pricing for the most part is actually fairly reasonable mainly because the level of competition is so high. On the other hand, you can find a fair number of aftermarket suppliers for the C7 series Corvettes (nothing like the Mustang parts suppliers) but you'll also find the prices for similar items to be more expensive with the Corvettes. Be thankful...the Dodge Viper and Nissan GT-R aftermarket exists, but you need a bank loan to buy most of the aftermarket performance parts available to the owners!
Definitely go with slightly used to save some money and avoid the big depreciation they have+you can put that money into go fast parts for the future
Definitely agree with this, except that you can save a lot of money, not just some money. But this applies to any high dollar new car purchase these days. With a lightly used C7 (less than 10,000 miles) you can save a bundle and for less than $10,000 correctly spent in the aftermarket you can have a reliable high 9 sec or very low 10 second 1/4 mile car that is a daily driver. These C7 Z06's are not perfect but they are a amazingly capable car stock.
I am new (obviously) to Corvette Forums but have been reading through much of the posts over the course of the last 6 months or longer. I appreciate the depth of information available from many of the members and have learned quite a bit about the C7 Z06.
With that said, I am the current owner of a 2014 Shelby GT500 that I am planning to sell in the late spring in favor of either a slightly used or new C7 Z06. The main reasons I am considering to depart from the GT500 is lack of tech (no rear back up camera, no heads up display, cheesy traction control/Advanced Track options), tired of dealing with a manual transmission particularly with clutch issues arising from higher hp/tq vehicles that are heavy, and no removable roof.
The Shelby is mostly stock, with slight modifications such as CAI, tune, axle back, suspension modifications, widened Shelby Supersnake wheels with Toyo R888 tires. It is mostly used as a cruiser with occasional car shows and is kept under cover in a garage. I would love to drag race the car from time to time at events or even participate in 1/2 mile events. But, I know I would be on borrowed time with the stock rear end and clutch.
I would look for the vette to fulfill a similar purpose; cruising, car shows, occasional drag race and/or 1/2 mile event. However, one thing I have noticed is that the after market appears to be a bit limited with the Z06 as far as bolt-on's go; CAI, ported throttle body, exhaust. I enjoy modifying cars to make them "my own", however rare that really is these days. But the point is, I typically never leave a car stock, even if it means a few bolt ons.
Appearance wise it is purely subjective, as I think both cars look awesome in their own respects, with the more sleek look going to the vette. I also love the removable hard top option the vette offers which is a nice balance between a convertible and T-top car.
So, any further advise to help me make a solid decision on a new or slightly used vette is more the welcome.
stick with your gt500. While we generally like our z06 but there are caveats to that liking. — it’s technology is over the top silly, it has a silly looking dashboard with too many gimmicky doo dads —The e-diff makes for quirky and unpredictable handling., In the hands of a track expert the z06 might put down good numbers for 1 or 2 laps but overall gm skimped on a tiny supercharger for the lt4 that spins too fast and creates too much heat making for a lazy feeling experience up high in the rpm range. And the v8 to v4 displacement on demand feature of the c7z06 sucks. What the f— was gm thinking sticking that on this car. What a bunch of dumb f—ks.
your probably itching for a change and bored with what you’ve had for a while. Your mustang is a rarer car with as I recall 662 hp in the 2013 and 14’s. And you can more easily mod it and as such your stang would stomp a mud hole in the *** of z06 in a half mile drag race if that’s what your into. If you want a back up and front curb camera buy an aftermarket unit and have it professionally installed in your stang.
while your mustang is big and heavy the c7z is a big heavy pig too. . If you want a sports car you’d probably be better off waiting for a c8 to see what it’s like. or buy a nice stock c6z06 or c6zr1 they are faster then a stock c7z.
The automatic trans c7z’s put down some good quarter mile times as you can squeeze a good 60 foot time out of them which makes all the difference in this type of racing., But they have there fair share of owner complaints too. Search around the forum and you’ll see a lot Of complaints on the auto from sluggish shifting around town or to slow to shift and clunking and clanking and banging slowly into gear when shifting from park in to gear after the car sits for a while.
I do like the seats , the c7z seats are comfortable once your in and the heating and cooling feature works good. But the car is a pain in the *** to get in and out of .
The 7Z is on a different level. Mod-wise if you do not care about the warranty the mods are endless lol. HCIE/Ported Blower/Nitrous can be done and the stock short block can handle 1300 rwhp I think. The LT4 is stout and of course there are other blower options.
stick with your gt500. While we generally like our z06 but there are caveats to that liking. — it’s technology is over the top silly, it has a silly looking dashboard with too many gimmicky doo dads —The e-diff makes for quirky and unpredictable handling., In the hands of a track expert the z06 might put down good numbers for 1 or 2 laps but overall gm skimped on a tiny supercharger for the lt4 that spins too fast and creates too much heat making for a lazy feeling experience up high in the rpm range. And the v8 to v4 displacement on demand feature of the c7z06 sucks. What the f— was gm thinking sticking that on this car. What a bunch of dumb f—ks.
your probably itching for a change and bored with what you’ve had for a while. Your mustang is a rarer car with as I recall 662 hp in the 2013 and 14’s. And you can more easily mod it and as such your stang would stomp a mud hole in the *** of z06 in a half mile drag race if that’s what your into. If you want a back up and front curb camera buy an aftermarket unit and have it professionally installed in your stang.
while your mustang is big and heavy the c7z is a big heavy pig too. . If you want a sports car you’d probably be better off waiting for a c8 to see what it’s like. or buy a nice stock c6z06 or c6zr1 they are faster then a stock c7z.
The automatic trans c7z’s put down some good quarter mile times as you can squeeze a good 60 foot time out of them which makes all the difference in this type of racing., But they have there fair share of owner complaints too. Search around the forum and you’ll see a lot Of complaints on the auto from sluggish shifting around town or to slow to shift and clunking and clanking and banging slowly into gear when shifting from park in to gear after the car sits for a while.
I do like the seats , the c7z seats are comfortable once your in and the heating and cooling feature works good. But the car is a pain in the *** to get in and out of .
Man, you really do hate the C7! I've been seeing people say that about you for a while now in all the C6Z vs C7Z threads but just figured people were exaggerating and trying to discredit you a bit so their argument would be more "right", but dang, you straight up loathe your own car. I believe you said somewhere the ole ball and chain wouldn't let you get rid of it, but I think it's time maybe you arrange to have it stolen or maybe your brakes "stop working" and you put it in a ditch or something and pick up a C6Z so you can stop hating your car, and possibly yourself! Dang man!
To the OP - I'm a mustang fan. I've owned 3 and almost owned a 4th with the GT350, but couldn't get a dealer to give me the configuration I wanted or not charge me the ridiculous dealer markup, so I ended up getting a new stingray. This was back in 2016. Long story short, it wasn't fast enough for me so a year later I traded it in (at a HUGE loss) and got a 16 Z06 (also at a HUGE discount with it being 2 years old at that point with 4k miles, so it evened out). Best decision I've ever made. Even though I love mustangs (and my last one was a 13 GT, so similar interior to yours), the interior and tech just don't hold a candle to what's in the C7. It's SO much nicer even if you don't get the 3LZ package. Someone else mentioned that mustangs are a dime a dozen, and they really are. I hate to admit it, but a large % of people don't know the difference between a base mustang and an SVT. Since you can get a base mustang for like $22k, you see SO many more of them than a car you can get a base model of for $55k. The arftermarket isn't as cheap or convenient as hopping onto americanmuscle.com, but it's there and quite doable. Just look around the forum and ask questions if you have any issues finding what you're looking for.
Initially a warranty will most likely matter to me, so modifications would be kept to a slight minimum, although a lighter set of aftermarket wheels would potentially be something I would consider.
As mentioned, the manual in the Shelby paired with the archaic (weak) solid axle are really the two biggest flaws I have with the car. To remedy, it would cost several thousand in aftermarket parts to obtain a reliable rear end for drag racing, along with several grand for a clutch replacement that I most likely wouldn't like as far as behavior/feel. I've been banging gears for well over 25 years and am just tired of dealing with manuals in stop/go traffic, backing into the garage, and whole slew of reasons. With the technology in the auto trans today, it feels like almost a no-brainer to go with one.
There are companies that offer a swap to a 6R80 transmission for the Shelby, but it's well over $10K for the swap, and then you have a bastardized car with a different ECU if you ever want to sell it.
I have read where a few others have mentioned clunky or slow shifting with the A8 in the Z, but would this be something an aftermarket trans oil could help resolve or a simple reprogram by GM? I'm not overly concerned about this as the Hellcats shares the same A8 (I believe) as the Z, and I've had the opportunity to ride/drive in multiple of those cars without fault. Please do not think I am saying this doesn't happen, just trying to understand the frequency and resolution.
I have thought about the up and coming GT500 that will be released in the fall of 2019. Yes, it will be insanely powerful and probably have a DCT with an even bigger supercharger, but it will be still lacking the removable roof (yes this is a big deal to me), looks of the C7z, and Ford is notorious for hiking up ADM's on their vehicles. So you have a $75-80K vehicle with a $15-20K ADM on top. Yeah, that's hard to support.
Anyways, thanks again to all for the inputs. I've attached a copy of the current car as well.
I think you're a little misguided with the Shelby rear end. The whole reason they KEPT the live axle (or went back to it after the Terminator Cobra, however you want to look at it) is because it IS stronger than an IRS. A solid axle is better for drag racing, hands down. It doesn't really matter, as that's not the point of why you're here, I just wanted to give you that to consider if it at all swayed your decision to sell the Shelby. Feel free to fact check that on me as I may be mistaken. I don't have an auto Z06 and I will never own an automatic as long as I have all 4 limbs and haven't had a stroke, so I can't speak to it from a personal experience standpoint. I can tell you that numbers don't lie and the A8 is straight up faster than the M7, no matter how fast you are with the shift. If you're wanting to move to an auto, and wanting to do straight line racing (which it sounds like you are), the A8 is probably the drive train for you.
Man, you really do hate the C7! I've been seeing people say that about you for a while now in all the C6Z vs C7Z threads but just figured people were exaggerating and trying to discredit you a bit so their argument would be more "right", but dang, you straight up loathe your own car. I believe you said somewhere the ole ball and chain wouldn't let you get rid of it, but I think it's time maybe you arrange to have it stolen or maybe your brakes "stop working" and you put it in a ditch or something and pick up a C6Z so you can stop hating your car, and possibly yourself! Dang man!
To the OP - I'm a mustang fan. I've owned 3 and almost owned a 4th with the GT350, but couldn't get a dealer to give me the configuration I wanted or not charge me the ridiculous dealer markup, so I ended up getting a new stingray. This was back in 2016. Long story short, it wasn't fast enough for me so a year later I traded it in (at a HUGE loss) and got a 16 Z06 (also at a HUGE discount with it being 2 years old at that point with 4k miles, so it evened out). Best decision I've ever made. Even though I love mustangs (and my last one was a 13 GT, so similar interior to yours), the interior and tech just don't hold a candle to what's in the C7. It's SO much nicer even if you don't get the 3LZ package. Someone else mentioned that mustangs are a dime a dozen, and they really are. I hate to admit it, but a large % of people don't know the difference between a base mustang and an SVT. Since you can get a base mustang for like $22k, you see SO many more of them than a car you can get a base model of for $55k. The arftermarket isn't as cheap or convenient as hopping onto americanmuscle.com, but it's there and quite doable. Just look around the forum and ask questions if you have any issues finding what you're looking for.
the OP needs to hear other opinions besides the fluffy and puffy fluff girl accolades fan girls are giving. Will eventually **** can miss piggy. No big hurry. But for the time being will drive it until I think something better comes along. Corvettes for the most part are good. You like some better then others. The c7 I happen to not like as much. No big deal. And I am not buying a used c6z. I like having them from new.
Maybe the next will be a c8 or Porsche. Will cross that bridge when I get there.
I think you're a little misguided with the Shelby rear end. The whole reason they KEPT the live axle (or went back to it after the Terminator Cobra, however you want to look at it) is because it IS stronger than an IRS. A solid axle is better for drag racing, hands down. It doesn't really matter, as that's not the point of why you're here, I just wanted to give you that to consider if it at all swayed your decision to sell the Shelby. Feel free to fact check that on me as I may be mistaken. I don't have an auto Z06 and I will never own an automatic as long as I have all 4 limbs and haven't had a stroke, so I can't speak to it from a personal experience standpoint. I can tell you that numbers don't lie and the A8 is straight up faster than the M7, no matter how fast you are with the shift. If you're wanting to move to an auto, and wanting to do straight line racing (which it sounds like you are), the A8 is probably the drive train for you.
For a solid rear axle this is true but not necessarily applicable to the GT500's and here is why. Many owners are experiencing bent axles even with the stock 285 width Goodyears Ford put on the car. Given the weight of the vehicle, torque curve, and shock to the drivetrain when doing a hard launch with a stick shift on low profile tires, the axles tend to bend. Ford installed 31 spline axles, essentially the same parts found in the V6 and GT mustangs. Brilliant move in a car with 631+ ft/lb of torque and 3850lbs+. But, they most likely had to cut corners somewhere to keep cost in check/relevant to the market at the time.
Second, the rear differentials that are 8.8's have a tendency to have a whining sound once the car hooks hard from a stop. This could be on the stock tires or drag radials ran on the street, although is much more frequent on a stickier tire. My car exhibited this behavior as soon as I installed a set of Nitto 555r drag radials for the street and have read of countless other owners experiencing the same or worse. Some owners have grenaded the stock 8.8 when drag racing on a low profile drag radial and have had difficulties finding a true solution to fix the problem. Although going with a bias ply tire would probably help.
So how to remedy; some folks go with rear end bracing (CHE, torque arm, etc ) and axle tube welding to help strength the integrity of the rear end. Others go with a Truetrac or Wavetrac in an 8.8 but often these efforts are only temporary bandaids. What has seemed to work is either going with a fully built 9" rear and losing the carbon fiber driveshaft, or maybe welding 9" ends on an 8.8 Truetrac, but often they whine and howl all the same after several hard launches.
Essentially, an 8.8 isn't enough for the weight, torque, and drivetrain type of these cars to be reliable when drag racing.
I believe the 03/04 Terminators had problems with wheel hop and reliability in their IRS setups that resulted in some owners swapping in a solid rear axle.
The above "headaches" are avenues I do not want to go down. There simply is not a shop locally I trust to do much of the work, and I do not have the time nor desire to perform said work on my car like I did 20 years ago. A certain level of wrenching is cool, but I have to choose my projects wisely.
I agree the A8/automatic would be best fit for me at this point. I've simply lost the desire deal with slipping clutches, who to replace them, and finding a clutch that is acceptable for my style of driving. I've driving too many aftermarket clutches that chatter, are on/off, and do not allow any slipping ( I have to slip the clutch to back the car into my garage ) and cause driveability headaches.
All that sounds pretty reasonable. I actually didn't know the 13/14 Shelby had a CF driveshaft. That's pretty cool. I'm curious as to why you have to slip your clutch to back into your garage, but I won't derail the thread with that. Pick up a 17/18 A8 and call it a day!
OP the a8 in the z is NOT THE SAME as the 8 speed in the hellcat.
the zf trans in the hellcat is far superior. If you get a c7z get a manual in my opinion. Especially if it's a weekend toy. You wont get overheating issues and since it's a weekend toy you dont have to worry about shifting all the time. The manual in the z is very smooth and easy to learn.
Either way the gt500 is a monster. I'm actually in the market for a 18 gt but I want the 10 speed auto as it's amazing. Its gonna be my daily.
OP the a8 in the z is NOT THE SAME as the 8 speed in the hellcat.
the zf trans in the hellcat is far superior. If you get a c7z get a manual in my opinion. Especially if it's a weekend toy. You wont get overheating issues and since it's a weekend toy you dont have to worry about shifting all the time. The manual in the z is very smooth and easy to learn.
Either way the gt500 is a monster. I'm actually in the market for a 18 gt but I want the 10 speed auto as it's amazing. Its gonna be my daily.
Well if he gets a 2017+, he shouldn't have overheating issues either way, right?
12-11-2018, 03:25 PM
GT500 vs C7 Z06
