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I have been fortunate to own many cars, i.e. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. I bought my first Corvette (although drove many before) in 2002. Bought another in 2006, then in 2015, and 2020, and now the Z06.
The first cars smelled like glue inside, The 2015, going forward smelled like leather. My wife actually refused to ride in the previous models because the smell really gave her a headache. As for the overall quality, again, a big difference. With the C8 Z51, I found a car of good quality and the suspension unmatched. I liked the sound better than the Z06, and I liked throwing the car around. With the Z06,something new, a feeling of "substance", a weightiness , not cumbersome but substantial, like "real" supercar, costing much more. I would like more torque, and I do not like the drone sound in the cabin (ow partially mitigated by the adding of a Corsa Exhaust), but fit and finish is next to perfect, and I (although not as picky as some here), cannot complain about a car massed produced by people who produce the Trax.
For those who have put some miles on your car, what are you experiencing good and bad?
I have been fortunate to own many cars, i.e. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. I bought my first Corvette (although drove many before) in 2002. Bought another in 2006, then in 2015, and 2020, and now the Z06.
The first cars smelled like glue inside, The 2015, going forward smelled like leather. My wife actually refused to ride in the previous models because the smell really gave her a headache. As for the overall quality, again, a big difference. With the C8 Z51, I found a car of good quality and the suspension unmatched. I liked the sound better than the Z06, and I liked throwing the car around. With the Z06,something new, a feeling of "substance", a weightiness , not cumbersome but substantial, like "real" supercar, costing much more. I would like more torque, and I do not like the drone sound in the cabin (ow partially mitigated by the adding of a Corsa Exhaust), but fit and finish is next to perfect, and I (although not as picky as some here), cannot complain about a car massed produced by people who produce the Trax.
For those who have put some miles on your car, what are you experiencing good and bad?
Nothing bad on my end. 4000 hard miles, no engine ticks, no trans issues, no misaligned panels or stitching. Very well built car in my opinion.
I don’t consider it bad, but the drone can be annoying at times, but it’s a race car. If I get annoyed and want music, I just switch to tour mode. Still present, but not overly obnoxious..
But when I am by myself, i catch myself just listening to the motor and love paddle shifting. I mainly drive in Z mode. I get compliments everytime I take it out. I went to Home Depot this past fall, and parked it up front by the contractors doors, and a handful of employees came out and wanted me to start it up..
While I only have a few miles on my Z06, I concur on all points mentioned except the drone. I have seen mention of it on more than one thread but I don’t notice it in mine. I have also seen some mention the additional spring rates on the Z07 being a bit much….I have zero issues with the suspension on my Z06/Z07 and find it only marginally stiffer (in all modes) than my C8 Z51. Overall the new Z06 more than lives up to my expectations. Very happy with the car !!
Most people don't know this but tour mode is not the quietest mode. Go to "my mode" and turn the exhaust slider all the way down. This will get rid of all drone and have the exhaust valves completely closed. I have no cats on mine and still no drone when doing this.
The car is amazing. The more I drive it, the less complaints that I have. The only complaint is just that my wallet hurts from filling up with gas non-stop lol.
But it's pretty much everything I could ask for in a car. Modern tech, nice and comfortable interior, good materials, exotic looks, mid engine, and a sound that makes me smile every time I hear it.
Most people don't know this but tour mode is not the quietest mode. Go to "my mode" and turn the exhaust slider all the way down. This will get rid of all drone and have the exhaust valves completely closed. I have no cats on mine and still no drone when doing this.
Thanks for the tip.. Dont get me wrong, I love the sound, just sometimes that drone can get annoying..
4500 miles and enjoying all of them including 1-mile and 1/2-mile trap speed events and the 90 mile Silver State event averaging 150 MPH . The 500 mile drive over to NV and then back showed how nice a touring car it is, too. Next up in about 7 weeks is a road course day down in Casa Grande, AZ.
The car isn't perfect. I wanted this car because of NA goodness as well all know. Anything else that are the strengths to the car are just a bonus to me as i will never take this car to the track so i won't know if this car is capable. I will certainly be reading and watching others put this car to the test though.
For me the good right off the bat is the sound. I never experienced first hand a sound like this. I've ridden in friends cars that has an exotic sound but i never owned a car with an exotic sound before. So it's definitely an event every time i take the car out. The volume of the sound is another perk. There is NO NEED for an exhaust. However if i had to, which i probably won't because of the cost to benefit factor, would be the corsa. Nothing else out there makes the car sound better IMHO. More volume doesn't equate to better. A lot of the aftermarket stuff out there make the car sound like a 600cc bike. Which sound great. But not what i want coming out of a car. And especially not this car. I like how you feel like you're a race car driver when you drive it. I can only assume this is how porsche owners feel like when they drive their GT3RS. Basically a race car for the street. Which i still believe it is. GM gave us a race car for the street with AC, power steering and a warranty.
For the bad, and i wouldn't call it bad but perhaps not what i expected would be the DCT. It shifts fast for sure. But i guess depending on throttle input will determine how fast, smooth, jerky, or slow your shift will be. I wish it was consistent. I have driven my buddies GTR, which is ancient comparing to today's stuff and in manual mode, is SO MUCH better. In auto mode, i believe our DCT is smoother but in manual mode, something like the GTR DCT is better.
The drone also is kind of annoying but nothing like putting it to tour mode can't fix. If i'm on a short trip on the highway i'll leave it in sport and just leave the rpm's hanging out at around 3500rpm or so. Sounds perfect just buzzing along the highway like that drawing attention lol. But if i know i'm on the highway for 10 miles or more, i'll just put it to tour and shut the car up. In town, valves stay open all the time though. I want everyone to hear this car coming.
The low end torque not what i expect but i also did expect if that makes sense. I came from rx7's and hondas (turbo and NA) from 15-20 years ago so i know what it's like to have nothing below 4000-4500rpm. However i think because of the odd gearing, i wanted this to have a bit more pep down low. Perhaps i still have to get used to it after owning my C7Z for 7 years.
Overall i have zero regrets with this car. I wanted this car since day 1, before the announcement, before any HP figures or anything. If it was NA, i wanted it. No desire or want at all for an FI corvette. An EV corvette maybe lol. BUt we'll probably see that in the C9.
Nothing will be as raw and desired as this z06. Doesn't matter if the ZR1 runs 9.8 stock, has 788hp, TT and all that. It won't be as desired and loved like the z06.
Similar to the GT3RS being the most desired and loved over something like a turbo s (which is a lot faster than the GT3RS).
Over 5200 miles. 3200 on second engine. Sounds amazing. Slower than my 570s from a roll, but not that much different. Definitely feel the weight. Dct is good. Very comfortable. Love the vert. Gearing disappointing from seat of the pants. Will get on track this year to fully experience the handling. All these cars feel about the same on the street handing wise.
No complaints or regrets. 1800 miles in 6 weeks so far. Could not be happier - I do hear what some say about the exhaust drone in some modes but I have an HTC and dropping the rear window is a 'drone delete' option so I cant comment for the coupe guys on that
6300 miles. Coming from a 2021 Z51 I'll skip the basic C8 discussion. The LT6 is everything I hoped it would be. I drive in manual mode and find the car very engaging. The sound above 3000 rpm is awesome. I was pleasantly surprised about how well the car rides, which was my biggest worry about buying the car. It is definitely bit stiffer than my Z51 in sport was, but I adapted pretty quickly and have taken the car on a long trip and all day rides. It also feels more connected that my Z51.
As for negatives, the MPG sucks even when not beating the car. Welcome to 1978. The car has drone below ~ 2600 rpm, which forces me to use tour exhaust more often than I would. The wider tires produce a fair amount of road noise.
I love the car, but do have one small gripe. Because I have a HTC and live in Texas I drive with the top down 95% of the time. I have about 1,500 miles on it and have noticed that when I do drive with the top up, there are quite a bit more noises coming from the roof than there were when I bought the car 7 months ago.
I just passed 3,000 mile mark and zero issues so far. Came from a C8 Z51 ... but the cars are so different almost like a different manufacturer made it! To that point I am still surprised that GM made a car like this...it's the "anti-EV" IMO. Obnoxiously loud at times, terrible on gas, turns heads wherever it goes and makes me smile every single time I drive it!!
Is the car perfect? No....but then again give me one car that has every been built under $1M that is? I said this in a separate post. First of all I sincerely empathize with anyone who has had issues with their Z06. My experience (including the buying and service aspect) has been almost perfect. In comparison I bought a brand new BMW X5 M-Sport that I have only 2,100 miles on that has been in the shop 4 times now! Does that mean BMW builds junk? Of course not, sometimes regardless of the manufacturer you are going to have issues.
I love the car, but do have one small gripe. Because I have a HTC and live in Texas I drive with the top down 95% of the time. I have about 1,500 miles on it and have noticed that when I do drive with the top up, there are quite a bit more noises coming from the roof than there were when I bought the car 7 months ago.
That's one big issue with hardtop convertibles of all brands. I have a BMW hardtop convertible and I'm amazed how perfectly quiet the car is when the top is DOWN. But when its up, I get little squeaks and rattles all over when going over rough roads. Not too loud or bad but its annoying. My Z06 coupe doesn't have that issue so far but even those targa tops can squeak a bit too once the rubber starts hardening a bit.
I have 8K trouble free miles, no issues. My HTC has no rattles or squeaks with to up or down.
The Z06 gets better with miles on it, suspensions softens a bit, trans shifts smoother and exhaust gets quieter.
When I got it in May my intentions were to keep it 1 year and trade for the E-Ray, now after a few road trips I decided it's a keeper.
It's a great all around Supercar.
For context, I am 55 years old, and like many here, have owned many vettes in the past. Got my first C4 brand new off the showroom floor in my early 20’s… So, have owned C4,C5, C6, C7… Loved them all, didn’t own the C8 base stingray, waited for the Z06 so can’t compare it to that one… As to my personal experience… 2900 mi currently one trip to VIR for a track day so far. Drove car from museum to NC thru the mountains and the tail of the dragon. This car I will never sell. I do plan to use GM points to buy 8 yr 80 mile warranty through MM just for peace of mind.
My Z06 is not a Z07 model, it does have factory aero (not the big wing) mine is carbon fiber splitter and side skirts. Both my wife and I were astonished by how comfortable the car is on a long road trip. I have 3LZ HTC so it’s the GT2 seats, and wow are they comfortable. Drove 5 hours each day on the way home. The roads I was on in TN, KY, and NC are pristine, billiard table smooth and no pot holes so can’t comment on rough roads but the GM MSRC is truly amazing at making for a comfortable ride at the turn of a dial.
I have lots of track experience in my previous vettes and was worried about the diff in handling in the new mid engine car. Those fears proved to be unfounded. On just the ‘standard’ PS4S tires with no track alignment, I was able to drive 8/10ths and was shocked at how easy it was to drive. I have no interest in an electric car of any kind. I have no interest in force induction of any kind. THANK YOU, GM for giving us this ‘swan song’ to the ICE age… 8600 rpm FPC 670 hp in this day and age… Are you kidding me? How GM got this past the bean counters I will never know… This is truly a special car, got mine at msrp of 157K (heavily optioned with CCBs) through MM after a 3 year wait, I wondered if it would live up to the hype… For this long time vette owner, the answer is a resounding YES…. This is the most expensive car I have ever owned (by far) and it is a bargain for what you get, look at what the competition charges for anything near this, in fact, you can’t even get NA goodness from Ferrari anymore like this…. The EPA is killing everything off… Thanks Zora…. I know you are smiling somewhere….
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
Z06 Satisfaction
