Hello! I've put down 1000 miles in my C8 and while its an incredible grand tourer, it feels like it's soulless compared to prior corvettes and muscle cars I've had. Scat Pack, ZL1, SS 1LE...

Anyone else get this feeling? I just cant shake the feeling that its missing something.

 

Because the C8 is not a muscle car in any way and is a far more sophisticated sports car than the ones you mention! (i.e. Scat Pack, ZL1, SS 1LE)

 

right And my third corvette and it doesnt have the soul of those either.

Something seems just not...great?

 

Yep. Not a very exciting car to drive. At least I can drop the top and get some pleasure driving topless. I'm looking to trade mine in for an eRay sometime in the future. I'm betting on it being a fun street car. Not so much the Stingray.

 

Add AWE Track exhaust and get back to me, it transformed the car.
I had the NPP exhaust on my Z51 and still felt the car was lacking.
Added the AWE Track exhaust and it is so much better.
Speed does not equal fun - a great sounding exhaust even on a slower car is fun.

Here are some vids

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vij9sbH2iEk

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wrz9tJ8JY_k

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ijXLsJCes8k

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e0OuigIPIcI

 

You'll likely catch flame for this post here but I can understand what your saying. With refinement comes a loss of that raw feeling of previous gens. The c8 for better or worse is more of a computer aided driving experience. The plus is this makes it more accessible for more people to drive it hard... the pitfall is it becomes less engaging...

 

Oh I expected the flame. Im glad some get it.

 

It’s a great GT car. It’s definitely not a muscle car and it won’t scare you if you’ve had high HP cars. My 02 Saleen and my 17 Z06 were definitely much more thrilling to drive as you had to be careful. The C8 just has great balance and will go fast without much effort.

 

Sounds and looks great. Not sure decibels are going to up the fun factor. But maybe?

 

I think the lack of effort is the problem....

I don't know. I ordered the car. Its spec'd to me so its probably insane to consider getting rid of it.

 

I've owned C4, C5, C7 and now a C8 and even though the others were manuals I still find the C8 the most exciting and refined Corvette I've ever had....The C8 is also in an entirely different category of sports car than a muscle car...

But you know what you like and sounds like the C8 is probably not the type of car you're looking for...

 

Trade it in on a c6 zr1, doesn't get much more analog than that lol. I know if I had to make the choice which it would be

 

I'm with you 100% and I've owned 3 of them.

 

It makes it such a fun car to drive.
I had the same issue with my Turbo S until I added exhaust.

I have owned many Mustangs, Challengers, Chargers, Vipers, Vettes, etc...

The C8 with AWE is definitely fun, fast enough at 11.2@121+
The 911 Turbo S is a whole different animal, AWD is a game changer, mid 10s at 130, but until it had the new exhaust it was boring.

 

I love the driving experience/ride of the c8, I've driven the zl1 and hellcat and to me they arent even close to the c8 in terms of overall driving experience but thats just my personal opinion of course

 

Nothing wrong with selling at this time. You’ll make out fairly well. I’ve considered selling my 23 HTC as well. However I have been enjoying the top down experience this Summer. I just accept the fact it’s not a real fast car.

 

Funny, I got rid of my C6 ZR1 shortly after getting the C8, but then I also just picked up a C4 ZR-1. The only place I really feel the C6 ZR1 is better is for highway rolls and top end. Of course part of it is also where you live, if were were still in DFW are, I'd probably have kept the ZR1 as there was a lot of highway driving at high speeds where I could enjoy it. Being in Omaha now, it takes maybe 15 minutes from one side of the city to the other.

Back to the OP's question/comment, there are a couple of things that can make a big difference, one that costs money and one that's free:

1. The free one is to drive the C8 in manual mode 100% of the time. I drove the C8 for a couple of months only using manual when I wanted to play, and like you started to feel that it was a little boring. A great car, but not as engaging as I wanted. I then tried using Z-Mode all the time (with shifts set to track), and that helped, but still wasn't giving me what I wanted. I then decided to use manual shift mode all the time, and bingo, that was exactly what I needed. While different from the experience of a stick/clutch manual, the paddle shift manual mode is very engaging & enjoyable, while being a slightly different experience. Using it 100% of the time keeps you much more engaged with driving the car and thinking about what you're doing. Even the occasional issue of having to plan around when/how to shift when making a sharp (i.e. 90-degree) turn from a stop makes it more engaging. The only time I use auto mode anymore is if I want to do max acceleration runs or if I want to either engage V4 mode for highway cruising or just want to veg while cruising on the highway on a trip.
2. The one that costs money is the exhaust. The factory NPP is just a little too quiet at part throttle and mid-rpm. It's fine at full throttle and upper rpms, but while I don't want drone at cruising speeds, I do want to hear it above 3000rpm. Unfortunately for me, the wife doesn't want me to do an exhaust upgrade on the C8 (she tolerated the Corsa Xtreme on the C6 ZR1), so instead of buying an exhaust for the C8, I bought a C4 ZR-1 with long tube, no cats, B&B exhaust and aftermarket cams.

 

Currently own a 6th gen ZL1 and a C8 HTC. I fully agree the ride quality and handling of the C8 is far superior to my ZL1. But the brute force acceleration of the LT4 in my ZL1 especially when air is jammed into the cylinders is absolutely intoxicating.

I tell people after 2 1/2 years of ownership my C8 has yet to make my butt pucker. My ZL1 does it almost every time I drive it.

 

As others have said it is more about being a much better sports car.....it is fast and under control, rather than being on ragged edge. The reason older muscle cars "feel" faster is because the are on the brink of being out of control. I have had 5 Vettes and here is the differences:
1978 C3 nof quick, over 80 felt floaty. As speed elevated felt very light. Steering was old school GM...very light. Tight for the era but way soft. Driving the car was always fun though.
1996 LT4 C4 the last of the true sports car Corvettes. Very nimble, great handling, but very harsh ride. A fun car to drive really. Not sure why C4 always gets bad rap.
2006 Z51 C6 a very good car. Not alot of creature comforts of today, but very fun to drive
2019 GS C7 everything C6 lacked the C7 corrected. A great last front engine Corvette. GM seemed to get everything they could out of front engine platform. I think they should have kept C7 alive along with C8 as an alternative for those who preferred front engine.
2023 Z51 C8 C8 really ramped it up on this one. Once I got the feel of mid engine at Ron Fellows it was amazing how much better it handled. You can hang this car on rails and it won't give up. If you have NPP it is louder than my C7 was with NPP. When you get on it you can feel the Gs. This thing moves. As a devout stick driver I can say the transmission is incredible. No man can shift as fast and precise. The next surprise was Tour mode. With the wife in car on club trips the suspension is very smooth even on rough roads. It seems much better than C7 suspension. In the end those who feel it is not as fast it seems is because the car just doesn't give up in any way. It gives you confidence and never feels on ragged edge. Lastly I was concerned about stowage. At first I thought we could never travel in it. I was wrong. I can fit my entire C7 luggage set. The difference is you have to relearn how to pack. You have to pack vertical and split luggage, but there is more space than it looks. I can fit 2 roller bags, a Corvette 12 can cooler. C7 duffle and C7 backpack..The only rub is if traveling you just can't put something behind you. The passenger has good space but no place to stow smaller items. We need to develop a C8 console pouch or net set up!

 

I agree 100%, my '23 C8 Z51 is my 42nd Corvette (most being C2 and C3 steel bumper cars) and the C8 is far more refined and exciting to drive than the others. You probably just need to move on to another car.

Sports Car:
A general term for any nimble two-door car that favors performance over all else. Typically, 2-seaters, though a limited number may have very small back seat (2+2). Built to be quick and handle twisty roads with authority. Early sports cars came from legendary brands like Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Maserati, Porsche, Morgan and MG etc.. Many of these sports cars found their way across the ocean during the 1950s and ’60s. Corvette is widely known as America's Sports Car.

Muscle Car:
An American V8 coupe and sometimes sedan that prioritizes acceleration over handling. These cars starting appearing in the 1960s and early 1970s. They’re typically rear-wheel-drive, American production cars that are typically equipped with a large V8 engine, wide tires, flared fenders, and large hood scoops. They were often the top-performing versions of typical (read boring) daily drivers such as the Chevrolet Chevelle, Camaro, Ford Mustang etc.. Muscle cars existed primarily to go fast in a straight line, where as true sports cars also emphasize handling.