I have 2021 coupe (Z51, 2LT) with the ECS twin turbo kit (~625RWHP). The car is amazing. The TT power delivery is so smooth that acceleration is almost turbine like and deceptively fast. This car is clearly fast than my previous C7 Zo6 - it puts the power down better below 60MPH and has more power in the 60-120MPH range and pulls strong even in 4th/5th gear (turbos are spooled and making boost from very low rpm in these gears).The car is also faster in that upper range than my daily driver (2023 Cadillac Blackwing) which is powered by a 668HP (crank) version of the C7 Zo6's LT4 paired with the very well geared GM 10 speed.

I do miss two things about my C7 Zo6 - 1 MSRC (it was on constraint when the C8 was built) and 2) the overall "rawness" and "frenetic-ness " of the car. Not just power delivery but steering and braking response. While it is fatiguing, it is also exhilarating. That being said, I will easily drive the C8 TT car hard twice as long as the C7 Zo6 before needing a break and never inadvertently scare self.

An opportunity to buy a C8 Zo6 at MSRP (with trade of the C8 TT) just came up for me. The pitch goes " what you are missing from your C Zo6 is its "Zo6" traits more so than the specific engine or even layout (front-mid engine vs rear mid-engine)".

Super interested in what forum members would choose, and extra interested in who folks who have own/driven both C7/C8 Zo6 and Twin Turbo or Supercharged C8s. I haven't driven a C8 Zo6 yet.

Don't know if can negotiate a test drive as a pre-req of purchase (car has <10 miles on it). And not sure how much that would get me at test drive speeds and RPMs on am unbroken in engine of the LT6's nature.

 

my neighbor has a c8 z06 that I have driven/I currently have a c8 stingray,a 757 c7 Callaway,z06/z07 platform,and a c6 twin turbo Lingenfelter car/my Eray will be built next week//I am not that impressed with the Z06//Unless you plan on running around at 5,000 and above rpm/on a racetrack probably a great car//a regular c8 495 hp car pulls as well down low//The c8 z06 reminds me of my LT5 c4 Zr1//pulls forever and makes nice sounds//I am interested in a Twin turbo setup on the Eray/both Lingenfelter and now Callaway are putting pd blowers on Erays//I believe a turbo system might be a better arrangement as Erays stock make big torque down low/The c8 platform is more refined than the raw c7 z06/zr1 cars//If you like your twin turbo c8 it might be a better street car//as Mickey Thompson said Too much hp is never enough

 

If you like "rawness" and "frenetic-ness", you'll love the Z06. The car is stiff (over 3x the Z51 spring rate), loud all the time (even in Tour it's a lot louder than a Stingray in Track), and revs to the moon. It's "always on", and demands to be driven like a Hoonigan. Preferably in manual mode 100% of the time, and you'll find yourself cruising at 3500-4000rpm to hear the beautiful exhaust and be right in the torque band to romp on it frequently.

I came from a 700+whp C6 ZR1, to a 23 Stingray for 10 months & 8K miles, then to the Z06 (which I've had for 8 months, 5K miles and 2 track days). The one big thing you're going to miss with the C8 Z06 is the immense torque of forced induction. The Z06 doesn't have any more torque than the base Stingray (and actually has less below 3500rpm), which means you have to rev the snot out of it to get the performance, and it doesn't have that huge hit of midrange torque that FI cars will. I had a buddy that recently sold his Z06 because it just didn't thrill him because he likes the feel of that torque (he's on multiple ZR1 lists and is considering an ERay in the interim). I personally love high rpm eninges and always wanted the high-revving FPC experience, and love my Z06. But I will admit, there are days that I miss the freight train torque of my C6 ZR1. I'm also on the list for a C8 ZR1 , and I've also considered swapping the Z06 for an ERay as it would be a better "us" car for me and my wife, whereas the Z06 is 100% a "me" car (she'll ride in it, but doesn't enjoy it as much as our previous 23 Stingray).

 

I agree that twin turbos compliment both the LT2 and electric motor power curves. My TT car is a freight train in higher rpms and in mid-range in higher gears as fully spooled producing boost through the shifts. My big hesitation on the C8 Zo6 would be the power curve vs forced induction cars. I even find the twin turbos making 50-75+ more RWHP and RWT than the C7 Zo6 almost too civilized. I suspect steeper and longer power curve along with less peak power/torque will be more of that, albeit offset by the sound. You making me want to stick with the C8 TT.

 

And now a great argument for the Zo6, but with a caveat about my biggest concern with going to NA from FI. I have had FI LS/LT motors in my cars for nearly 15 years. And most of those were positive displacement blowers. So, the twin turbos don't hit as hard (you also don't "blow the tires" off) as those PD cars even when making more power and being faster. Granted some of that might be C8 having been engineered for 1000HP+ from day one; Tadge said they worked backwards from the ZR1 at the reveal.

My fun cars are primarily street toys. And from your comments and my own research, the C8 Zo6 really needs to be taken to track (or at least driven as if n the track) to truly enjoy it. From the threads on 60-130MPH times, it looks likely nearly any C8 FI 'beating" times (<7.5s) by C8 Zo6s are mostly due to 120-130MPH advantages. And the majority of C8 FI 60-130MPH times have seen are for SC cars which appear to be more impacted by the 4th/5th change/ratio than TT cars. Target 60-130MPH for my car (on ~6lbs boost/625 RWHRP) is ~7s.

The cash required on top of my trade for the C8 Zo6 is almost enough to pick up a lightly used C7 Zo6.

 

I had this exact conversation with Peitz. A Turbo on a pushrod engine will always have more torque than a flat plane. Peitz recently did a TT build on a Z06 and the 60-130 time improvement was maybe a second. The same energy and $$ on a stingray is getting folks 60-130 in the high 4s and 5 second range. If you are going for speed, TT stingray wins. If you need sound and exotic, get the Zo6 and TT it.

 

Yes. Doing axles and clutch upgrade would let me turn the bust up to ~8lbs which should produce nearly 700RWHP on stock fueling. My kit also supports adding port injection which makes 900RWHP possible.

 

Yep, the Z06 is a track car that can be used on the street. The place it's really going to shine is on track, those using it on the street only would honestly be better off with something else. You have to absolutely love the sound & rev range of the FPC LT6 to do the Z06, otherwise you're much better off doing something else. If I were you and had already invested into the Stingray with the TT kit, I'd honestly just stay with that. Like you said, throw a few mods at it and turn up the boost.

 

While I was leaning toward keeping the C8 TT over getting the C8 Zo6, I didn't really get to make a decision. Someone bought the car. This was my fault as didn't put a deposit down when dealer offered to me first. But I have a line on a few other C8 Zo6s.

In the meantime, I would like everyone's opinion considering another factor. My daily driver is a 2023 Cadillac CT5 Blackwing (4th generation CTS-V) that is powered by the same LT4 (with a few tweaks) as the C7 Zo6. Coincidently it makes an effectively C8 Zo6 matching amount of HP (668).

I think the C8 Zo6 would be a better compliment to the Blackwing. My going C8 in the first place, was in part based on it being more complimentary than the C7 Zo6 to the Blackwing.

The C7 Zo6 and Blackwing are both LT4 powered front engine rear drive cars. I know the C7 is technically mid front engine. Likewise for my thinking in going twin turbo vs supercharged with the C8. I also had two other 3rd gen CTS-V's (LT4 powered) as daily drivers during my time with the C7 Zo6. So, it had been all LT4 all the time for 7+ years, and a supercharged LT1 C7 and LSA powered 2nd gen CTS-V going even further back.

So, would you take the C8 Zo6 as a street car that was driven exclusively for pleasure where got to ring it out for much of driving time (albeit in only the first 3 years, mostly 2nd gear) if had something rumbly and torquey in garage next to it?

 

^^^ The Z06 is a good compliment to your blackwing. I agree with Evan ZR1's write-up. The z06 is going to have the raw, "i'm in a sports car" feel missing from your stingray. But it's going to feel dog slow compared to your stingray until you drive it hard in the upper rpms. You need spend time on the street in 2 and 3rd gear and wind-it-out to get that rush your turbos will provide. I think for you that will be fine if it is used as a toy and not a daily driver.

I also could see keeping the stingray and turning up the boost as you will easily exceed Z06 power. Maybe tightening up the suspension a bit with stiffer springs to get a more direct handling feel that the stingray lacks compared to the Z06.

 

Good points. I wonder if a supercharged C8 Stingray with Z51 + MSRC would have given me of what miss from the C7 Zo6 along with the benefits of the C8. My C8 TT has Z51 but not MSRC. It both rides and handles great, but my understanding is track mode on a Z51 with MSRC car would a bit more responsive while being more buttoned down than the "analog" Z51 shocks. Granted, after market coil overs might offer an even more responsive set up. But I like being able to dial it back from right inside the car, and also deal with many less than perfect roads even when pleasure driving and staying as much as possible to the smooth flat (but curvy) backroads. I wonder if anyone on here in the NJ has a supercharged Z51 MSRC and would like to drive a C8 TT Z51. And maybe trade if we both like the other car better. Of course, then I would wind up with two positive displacement supercharged LT1/LT2 derivatives again.

 

For those wondering, I went with the C8 Zo6!

I am super happy with my choice. It is a much better fit for my driving style, particularly the type of driving I do with the Vette, and great compliment to my Cadillac Blackwing. The caddy also now "feels" like a caddy again compared to the C8 Zo6. The Blackwing had closed a lot of the "aggressiveness" gap between the C7 Zo6 and my previous 2019 Cadillac CTS-V. And the C8 Z51 was arguably "softer" then the C7 Zo6, even if nimbler due to its mid-engine lay-out. C8 Zo6 re-opens that gap.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I will post more thoughts pics over the C8 Zo6 section, as soon as take a break from driving it so much.

I am still curious to see what the future brings for C8 forced induction. I think the next big hurdle will TCM tuning.

 

You can still mod the Z to get better 60-130’s, 1/4 mile etc. So, your choice still has great options 😎 No more rpm’s are needed to be quicker and faster. And after bolt on’s … add nitrous 😃

 

I am leaving this thing stock! I truly feel it is a work of art in how everything comes together in terms driving experience. If I get the bug for big power, then I would add a C7 Zo6 with a built engine vs touching the C8 Zo6.

 

Agreed. I came to the same conclusion and decided my C8Z and a LT4 was the combination for me as well.
How much did you have invested in your TT C8, and what were you able to get in cash or trade on your 2025 ZO6 at MSRP?

 

I was in about $30K. I had a thread here under C8's for sale and also socialized it a few other places. A private sale may have gotten me 15-20K of that back (on top of car). I did a trade in for convivence's sake. Given used C8 Stingrays have come down a bunch in the last year, I did ok on the all-up deal even if on paper there was no "premium" for the turbo kit. But private seller is the way to go with TT cars, many dealers are reluctant to take modified cars in on trade regardless of quality of kit or installation. ECS's reputation and having all the documentation helped. Dealers seem a bit more open to the supercharger kits, apparently due to their coming from "national brands" (LPE, Henessey) being perceived as making them easier to sell.

With the C7/C6, the supercharger kits were truly bolt-on/bolt-off (centrifugal in particular). So, it was an option to "de-mod" and trade car + sell kit. That isn't really practical with the C8.

 

I've driven two TT cars (apparently making 800-900) on the street and a C8 Z06 on the NCM track.

The Z06 definitely felt more raw, and capable IMO. It could handle pretty much anything I'd throw at it in a track setting, even on PS4S tires and non-Z07 (but did have CCBs). Braking and turn in are phenomenal and the powerband is nice and linear. I can only imagine Z07, Carbon wheels, Cup2Rs

The TT C8s honestly felt stock until you really got on them in the higher RPMs whereas the Z06 felt "special" from the start up. Plus the widebody and exhaust note...

Now I'm by no means talking down on the C8 - it's more car than most will ever need or want, especially with the right upgrades, and arguably the best bang for your buck on the market right now but it all boils down to what you're looking for out of the car.