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The debate has raged on for years. Finally, after reading thread after thread comparing these two great cars, I decided to address the debate head-on. Both are great cars, and after seeing so much incorrect information continue to pop up on these threads, I have to take action. Please look out here for a series of videos, and I welcome your feedback. BTW - the content will be mirrored in the C6 Z06 forum, and we will see how differently it may be received. You may want to subscribe to this thread and the YouTube Channel so you don't miss any updates.
The cars: 2007 C6 Z06 (2LZ/TT). 2016 C7 Z06 (A8/Z07/3LZ).
I believe they are both Sports Cars. I had a 2008 JSB Z06 3LZ which had the ebony and linen leather interior. Fabulous looking car. The white seats, door panels and dash really made it look different than other cars. I tracked the car for 7 seasons and made several long trips in it from UpState NY to South Carolina one time and UpState NY to Key West another time. Excellent road car, excellent track car. Seats were upgraded to the late C6 versions from just heated seats to full sport seats by adding lumbar and bolster supports and passenger side power seat track from a 2010 GS. Car rode great and drove great.
I drove the car 160 miles through a pouring rain to the dealership to trade it in for my 15 3LZ M7 Z06/Z07. Interior was about the same from a leather standpoint but it had the black interior so didn't have that nice contrast the C6Z had. Ride was a little stiffer but the car ran through the pouring with no issues even though ambient temps dropped to the low 40s. I haven't done any long trips in the car, I imagine it won't be an issue for me.
I have tracked this car for 3 seasons and find it is a much better track car than the C6Z which overall I found to be better than the C5Z I ran for 6 seasons. It handles bumps in turns much better than the C6Z did. There are turns where I couldn't put pedal down with the C6Z until the rear wheels came off a series of bumps. With the C7Z I don't have to hold a maintenance throttle until the rear wheels come off the bumps I can just start adding power like I did with my previous C5 Z. Thus the C7 Z comes off those corners harder than the C6 or C5 Z. Faster than the C6Z because I couldn't use the LS7's torque and faster than the C5Z because it didn't have the gonads the C7 Z has.
One of the biggest differences between the two cars is GM finally resolving the voice of the Customer. Seats in the C1, C2, C3 cars were basically seats. Not very comfortable and not very good for holding a person in place during hard cornering. The early C4s had great seats but large butt Customers complained and GM evolved the seats toward the seats we had in the C5 and C6 that contained large butts but didn't provide lateral support. I had to add race seats to both my C5 and C6 to get the full cornering capability out of those cars. I don't need to do that with the C7 Comp Seats, they hold me in the seat very well when going around corners.
Another big difference between the C6 and C7 is the eDiff which enhances the capability of the C7. I had the joy of learning the CMP track by following a 14 Z51 A6 around CMP in my C6Z the first time I went there. That car could come off corners much harder than my C6Z. Some of that was the automatic but most was probably due to PTM and the eDiff and how it distributed power to the rear wheels. I could catch him further down the straight but even when I was on his bumper through the apex of the turn he could just scoot away from that point on until I could go wide open with the LS7. When it gets right down to it a stock C6Z going up against a stock C7 Z51 has its hands full.
Then we get to brakes. The C6Z (other than the 2011 or newer Z07 version that had CCM brakes) had lousy brakes. They just weren't track capable. Every C7 comes with vastly superior brakes compared to the C6Z or any of the C5s.
I also really appreciate the PDR in the C7. It is an amazing piece of electronics and cost less than a comparable aftermarket solution. Sure Harry's Lap Timer, a cell phone and an OBD dongle may provide some of the data seen on the screen but it can't match the other data which isn't on the screen. To do that you need better equipment and by the time you put it altogether you have a couple $K tied up in it.
In the final analysis my C7Z is letting me lap tracks like VIR an average of 5 or 6 seconds faster and when I get a really good lap in I am close to 8 seconds faster than I ran in the C6Z. The other thing the C7Z does is get attention. Although my JSB Ebony/Black C6Z was commented all the time about being the best looking Corvette in the group it didn't get the mouth watering attention my Black on Black C7 Z with full aero gets. I never had fast food restaurant employees drop what they were doing behind the counter to go out and take pictures of the car like happens all the time with the C7. If you want to be anonymous a C6 is a better car for that than a C7.
The C7Z is a better car period. Because that's just how evolution works.
You have to get a third party to do both cars and make the comparison, you can't ask any owner who's had both, or currently own both and make a decision. Because whatever emotion and attachment they feel for either car at that moment is the one they'll pick.
The C6Z is legendary, kinda like a teacher of a martial art. Then the C7Z came around, a student, and learned everything but in the end is BETTER than the teacher in every way shape or form. Of course respect still goes to the teacher, but that's not to be mistaken for what's actually reality. The student (C7Z) is better now.
Give me new over old any day. My C6 i had was an amazing car. But i obviously upgraded because i did just that, i UPGRADED. To a better car.
They are very different cars. The C6Z was first and foremost a sports car. Less frills and more pure content. No A6 or A8, only an M6. Less weight particularly over the nose. BIg 7 liter NA motor.
The C7Z is definitely a better car with more content, but it is a GT car not a pure Sports Car. Nicer interior, many more electonics and gadgets. A well thought out design but a design with a different result in mind.
Sometimes I miss my C6Z, but all I have to do is go get in the C7Z and take a drive and that longing goes away. Definitely an improvement and the better car overall.
If the c6z is the better car, they never should of stopped putting a cobalt steering wheel in the corvette. If I want something that rides harsh with dated interior I just hop in my highly modified 4th gen f body. C6z is a great car. Not sure how the C7Z has all kinds of gadgets. Maybe compared to a corvette that has an lcd screen comparable to your local flea market. My 1lz C7z has plenty of amenities without having all the extra BS that would make it a “Cadillac.” Also making it lighter.
Im not sure how you can even compare a c6z to a C7z considering the LS7 will blow up from the factory if the valve guides don’t get fixed. They say the C7z overheats but even if it happens, it can be mediated fairly easily.
I'm quite surprised Gizmo wasn't the 1st post after the OP!
Subbing to the youtube channel. Curious to see how it turns out
hey I would have been first but I was out slipping and sliding in miss piggy. She’s a handful. Don’t want to be on the iPhone and drive her at the same time. This pig ain’t fast but she bites.
I believe they are both Sports Cars. I had a 2008 JSB Z06 3LZ which had the ebony and linen leather interior. Fabulous looking car. The white seats, door panels and dash really made it look different than other cars. I tracked the car for 7 seasons and made several long trips in it from UpState NY to South Carolina one time and UpState NY to Key West another time. Excellent road car, excellent track car. Seats were upgraded to the late C6 versions from just heated seats to full sport seats by adding lumbar and bolster supports and passenger side power seat track from a 2010 GS. Car rode great and drove great.
I drove the car 160 miles through a pouring rain to the dealership to trade it in for my 15 3LZ M7 Z06/Z07. Interior was about the same from a leather standpoint but it had the black interior so didn't have that nice contrast the C6Z had. Ride was a little stiffer but the car ran through the pouring with no issues even though ambient temps dropped to the low 40s. I haven't done any long trips in the car, I imagine it won't be an issue for me.
I have tracked this car for 3 seasons and find it is a much better track car than the C6Z which overall I found to be better than the C5Z I ran for 6 seasons. It handles bumps in turns much better than the C6Z did. There are turns where I couldn't put pedal down with the C6Z until the rear wheels came off a series of bumps. With the C7Z I don't have to hold a maintenance throttle until the rear wheels come off the bumps I can just start adding power like I did with my previous C5 Z. Thus the C7 Z comes off those corners harder than the C6 or C5 Z. Faster than the C6Z because I couldn't use the LS7's torque and faster than the C5Z because it didn't have the gonads the C7 Z has.
One of the biggest differences between the two cars is GM finally resolving the voice of the Customer. Seats in the C1, C2, C3 cars were basically seats. Not very comfortable and not very good for holding a person in place during hard cornering. The early C4s had great seats but large butt Customers complained and GM evolved the seats toward the seats we had in the C5 and C6 that contained large butts but didn't provide lateral support. I had to add race seats to both my C5 and C6 to get the full cornering capability out of those cars. I don't need to do that with the C7 Comp Seats, they hold me in the seat very well when going around corners.
Another big difference between the C6 and C7 is the eDiff which enhances the capability of the C7. I had the joy of learning the CMP track by following a 14 Z51 A6 around CMP in my C6Z the first time I went there. That car could come off corners much harder than my C6Z. Some of that was the automatic but most was probably due to PTM and the eDiff and how it distributed power to the rear wheels. I could catch him further down the straight but even when I was on his bumper through the apex of the turn he could just scoot away from that point on until I could go wide open with the LS7. When it gets right down to it a stock C6Z going up against a stock C7 Z51 has its hands full.
Then we get to brakes. The C6Z (other than the 2011 or newer Z07 version that had CCM brakes) had lousy brakes. They just weren't track capable. Every C7 comes with vastly superior brakes compared to the C6Z or any of the C5s.
I also really appreciate the PDR in the C7. It is an amazing piece of electronics and cost less than a comparable aftermarket solution. Sure Harry's Lap Timer, a cell phone and an OBD dongle may provide some of the data seen on the screen but it can't match the other data which isn't on the screen. To do that you need better equipment and by the time you put it altogether you have a couple $K tied up in it.
In the final analysis my C7Z is letting me lap tracks like VIR an average of 5 or 6 seconds faster and when I get a really good lap in I am close to 8 seconds faster than I ran in the C6Z. The other thing the C7Z does is get attention. Although my JSB Ebony/Black C6Z was commented all the time about being the best looking Corvette in the group it didn't get the mouth watering attention my Black on Black C7 Z with full aero gets. I never had fast food restaurant employees drop what they were doing behind the counter to go out and take pictures of the car like happens all the time with the C7. If you want to be anonymous a C6 is a better car for that than a C7.
hey I would have been first but I was out slipping and sliding in miss piggy. She’s a handful. Don’t want to be on the iPhone and drive her at the same time. This pig ain’t fast but she bites.
you should definitely never ever ever buy a challenger
Hey Tony, cant wait for more!!! Hold on, are you saying that the C7Z isnt the overheating slow POS that some say it is?? Could it be actually better than the outdated look dropping valves mid 60's interior C6Z!!??? Nah it can't be!!!!
Hey Tony, cant wait for more!!! Hold on, are you saying that the C7Z isnt the overheating slow POS that some say it is?? Could it be actually better than the outdated look dropping valves mid 60's interior C6Z!!??? Nah it can't be!!!!
Well...LOL...those are worth discussion points, for sure!
Okie dokie...I’m sub’ed to your YouTube channel. Looks like you are going to create some great Corvette content. The Corvette Forum video is dead on the money. This place is a great resource if viewed within the correct lens. Hey, what’s up with the T-shirt on the passenger seat? Does it add horsepower?
01-01-2019, 11:05 AM
C7 Z06 vs C6 Z06 - My definitive position
having had both in stock form my opinion;
