mammoth713

what?? Bit confused why he's saying GS was the best-handling car. If I was a c7z owner I'd be pretty upset with how Juechter has seemingly downplayed c7z performance the past few press interviews I've read...

Hirohawa

Guys in C7Z06 section are going to love this.

arizonaZ0612

My guess is Tadge feels the Grand Sport handles better because it basically has the less mass, better weight distribution, the same tires and aero as the Z06 with 200 less horsepower. That would make the Grand Sport naturally easier to drive at the limit.

JoesC5

So, we take a GS with less mass, better weight distribution, the same tires and aero and then add 132 pounds of additional mass on the front tires(to get that additional 305 more horsepower that Tadge talks about, you have to add a heavy supercharger and more heat exchangers that are all on the front of the car), resulting in more mass and worse weight distribution and call it a ZR1.

Now, if that additional 305 horsepower came with the GS's 3428 pound weight and the GS's 50/50 weight distribution, then I would agree with Tadge's remarks about the ZR1's handing being the same as the GS's.

PS- the ZR1 has 295 horses more than the GS, not 305 as Tadge stated. 755-460(with performance exhaust)=295.

DebRedZR1

Girls are not amused either. Tadge's constant put downs of the Z

moose.b3

Maybe Tadge could explain this in the "Ask Tadge" section.

jagamajajaran

Is Tadge actually putting down the Z06 here? I personally do not see that in this particular comment. The team came our with the Z06 two years before the GS and had additional time to work on the handling of the GS. If the GS didn't handle better on the track, then the team wouldn't have done their job. Every new product should be more capable than the one before it.

rob62

It's almost as if the Z06 was built by Dodge.

stevebz06

You guys are so sensitive! I didn't see a put down. What do you think is going to happen to a car's handling when you throw 80 pounds on top of an engine and then start turning the wheel?

Z06 1of38

A new model is hyped as being better than another model with older technology and not as fresh R&D...?


That's simply product development and advancement.

Nothing to see here.

mammoth713

I'm not sensitive... I'm just pointing out his statement is odd. The zr1 is not NA, and it has the zillion heat exchanges and a supercharger just like z06 but yet in his statement he claims A) GS is best handling car, and B) that zr1 somehow more related to GS handling than z06

What that says to me, personally, is he does not feel the z06 suspension was ever tuned perfect for the supercharged setup with that product.. but now with the zr1, GM put the perfect suspension tuning mated for the zr1 product.

In other words, it sounds kind of like saying... Ya GS was best handling car and we really nailed the overall product for that. Z06 on the other hand, we just shoved bigger HP and didn't spend as much time trying to tune the chassis to handle that extra power. Now, here, we have the zr1 where we HAVE spent a lot of effort tuning the zr1 product and it's much more refined, a la the GS product.

It implies to me at least, that their efforts to tune the z06 handling from factory were not as successful as they are now with the zr1. And that would make me mad hearing that if I was a c7z owner. It implies they rushed the c7z product IMO. And if that was the case, they could have updated the c7z to have an updated suspension tuning similar to how they did with c5z in 2004 vs 01/02/03

I think it was one of the reviews the motor trend guys did of the c7z where they said they loved the power but it didn't seem like the chassis was tuned to adequately handle it on a track; it was very squirrelly. That review lined up with what I am getting from tadges comments here

And my last point I'll make - even if the c7GS IS the best handling car out of the c7 lineup, fine, it weighs less and etc then ya makes sense. However, to draw a similarity to it with the zr1 rather than referencing the z06 in and of itself implies the z06 handling alone is inferior to the zr1, regardless of HP. Historically the z06 has always been marketed as THE TRACK CAR, and this statement implies tadge believes the GS is the track car to buy. So if the z06 is marketed as THE TRACK CAR, I would assume it's suspension tuning should be on par with the zr1's tuning.

Get what I'm saying?

I just created the post to point out his comments on the handling because I thought it was strange. If you guys happen to think it's not a big deal then whatever, who cares.

From my seat, it just seems like c7z will go down in history as bastardized z06; it did not live up to the c5z and c6z products relative to their own respective time periods and markets they were sold in. It just seems like GM threw a supercharger on the c7z, tuned the chassis a little and threw it out the door to market. Doesn't feel as refined of a product as the c5z and c6z were in their respective time periods of sale.

timmyZ06

Like i said, its a giant middle finger to anyone who was dumb enough to buy a C7z! THE MOST CAPABLE TRACK CORVETTE, they said numerous times! They over hyped this car sooo much...now they bashing it! Oh wait , they're still selling it! Im not a marketer pro, but i dont think bashing the previous supposely top dog, is the right way to promote the new one!!

64drvr

In related news Tadge ordered a cheeseburger and said “hold the pickles”. Pickle eaters are furious at his insults to not also eat pickles.

You guys need crying towels for Christmas.

Kappa

I'm pretty sure they are aiming for the same thing the team did with the C6 models. They said as much during the intro of the C6 ZR1 in '08.

The GS and ZR1 were supposed to aim for a softer, more compliant ride than the Z06 while offering comparable balance. The Z06 was and is the hardcore, quick to snap wild ride.

But once again, Z06 owners will be triggered that Tadge "put down" their baby.

mammoth713

​​​​​​Why are you such a dick?

timmyZ06

Go ahead, spend 145k on a loaded zr1 and in 2 years being told that your car is so shitty finally!

Torch Red Z06

When did Tadge make those comments and where is it posted?

Kappa

Why are you so angry that Tadge has different handling profiles for different vehicles?

Supersonic 427

Hmmm...so far this week, I have heard that my Z06 is "sluggish" compared to the ZR1, not as track ready as a GS, (skittish handling) also that it will overheat and go into limp mode if driven on the track!
Maybe they should just discontinue production of the Z06! Sounds like they GM rushed this model and built a mistake!

johnglenntwo

The ZR1's COG is what and he's comparing it to the NA GS!
But, again, we saw that computer controlled monster tail happy type Porsche. Its coming - NOW!? Looks like, autonomousness more in the chassis and drive train!