Buying questions-Z06 vs Z07
 

Looking at taking advantage of the current offers on 2016 models.

2 Cars I am interested in one is a z06 and the other a z07. The only reason I am looking at the z07 is because of the color/colors and other options and WILL NOT be tracking the car at all.

I realize the price difference between the 2 but I would like feedback as far as $$$$ moving forward, and/or any additional care etc... needed since it is a little more "exotic" over a regular Z.

1) I know the tires will need to be changed. Has anyone had the dealer do a swap at purchase so you do not have to once you get the car home? If so what costs were involved?

2) The ceramic brakes, I realize this is over kill for the street but is there any additional care or $$$$ needed to upkeep these? With street driving can you go 5-7 years without needing anything etc....

3) Is the stage 3 front splitter on the z07 any lower than a stage 2? With the added height on the sides of the stage 3 does that pose any additional problems with road debris, bugs, etc....?

I appreciate any insight into this.

I have the Z07 package. I sold my Cup tires with 1500 miles on them to a track guy for $1300. The new Michelin Pilot Super Sports were about $2,000. The CC brakes are amazing. They need no extra care and the thing you will notice the most is NO brake dust on your wheels. I have heard predictions that if not tracked they will last 100,000 miles. The stage 3 splitter is no lower. Only the side wings are taller and catch a lot of air for downforce. I never find anything caught in them. You will not get great gas mileage with stage 3. Probably 2 mpg less than stage 2 and top end is reduced about 9 mph over stage 2 because of the drag from the aero pieces. I love the look of the Z07 stage 3 and don't care about the perceived disadvantages for street use.

I agree with the above. I have a 2015 Z06 with the Z07 package. I tried to change the cup tires to super sports the day I took delivery but the tires were on back order. I still have the cup tires with about 8,000 miles on them. I will replace them with super sports when they need replacement. I love the brakes and the lack of brake dust. I don't track the car so I will probably never have to replace the brakes. I keep the stage 3 winglets on because I love the look. If money isn't a factor and you like the color combination, go for it!

Good luck.

Mine is a complement to my 2010 ZR1 and seems to be the most close comparison in the new Z lineup. Have done a few track sessions with the ZR, but otherwise have about 22,000 of highway and local use. Brakes are fine and wheel upkeep is easier with no brake dust. Expect the Z to be the same with street use. Hope that helps.

I have had both, my 2015 Z was without the Z07, and my 2016 Z has the Z07 package, I can tell the difference in the brakes, its night and day. And to add the Aero or the brakes afterwards would cost allot more. And now having the Z07, it gives the Z just a more aggressive, "come on, lets play look", than a Z without the Aero kit. And, silly as it sounds, every time I walk out to the car and I look at those front rotors and brakes, it reminds me of how badass the car looks.. And it seems to me that, although I got a ton of thumbs up and "nice car" comments on my 2015 non Z07, everywhere I go in my 16 Z07, it garners more attention.... AND, the Corsa Xpipe probably has something to do with that also. Either way, this is by far, the best Corvette I have ever owned, now that I got one that isn't overheating. I have no regrets... That is, until they come out with the mid engine Corvette...

By the way, on a side note, a friend of mine, who has a 2009 Ford GT and is a well known car collector in Florida, got a call from a rep from Ford to see if he wanted to be one of the first to purchase the new Ford GT. They wanted him to be sporting one around. Of course his first question was how much, they stated they didn't have an exact figure yet, but they are anticipating somewhere between 400K and 450K... Is that insane or what ???? He declined. Just to lend credence to his notoriety, when Jay Leno was doing a show in Jacksonville about a year ago, He stopped by this gentleman's house to see his car collection, and tried to buy an old Mercedes Gull Wing he has.

Your friend must have some pretty close friends at Ford too. A 2009 Ford GT is definitely a rare find.

How is the tighter Z07 suspension on the street? I'm sold on the Ceramic brakes but thinking about ordering a 2017 Z06 with just the optional brakes instead of the full Z07 package. I know the price difference is only about $500 but I would also have to add in costs for new tires or a full tire/wheel package minus the selling costs of the Cup tires. I only plan to track maybe once per year so it will be mostly street driven. I also like the Stage 2 aero look a little better.

It has been posted before, but the front springs are about 60% stiffer and rear about 40% in the Z07 Track Package over the car without that package option.

So, the Track Package option will provide for the street a stiffer suspension, worse wearing tires, same aero can be had after sale, and overkill brakes....... carbotech for a few hundred bucks solves any dust issue:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...rotor-zo6.html


Totally unnecessary for the street.

I feel like it does ride a little stiffer. On the street, I keep it in touring mode. Every now and then, when on the street, I will turn on the track mode just to remind me of how much stiffer track mode is than touring mode, that is when I think the car is riding stiff. That being said, if I were to do it over, I would do just the opposite, I would order the Aero kit, and not the big brakes, because I love the look of the Z07, and when I track, I am not that aggressive, so I don't really need the monster brakes, and when it comes time to change them, its going to be ugly financially. And, as a side note, I went to Roebling Rd labor day weekend, I followed the hurricane up to Savannah from Jacksonville on Friday, and I did not want to drive in the rain with the Cup 2 tires, so I ran the car with the Pirelli P Zero's, and I was pleasantly surprised on how well they did. I expected allot less from them, but the car never, ever felt like the tires weren't going to hold. Point is that the Cup 2's are nice if money isn't an issue, but again, if I were to going to do it over, I would just get the Aero kit, and the Michelin SS's are fine for my driving style anyway, and they last allot longer than the Cup 2's. But again, having had both, the look of the Z07 makes the non Z07 look just plain to me.

In my Z07 package 2015 Z06 I keep it in sport mode most of the time. It seems very comfortable to me and I came out of a 2010 Grand Sport. On nice smooth roads I will use track mode occasionally because I like the feel of the stiff suspension and tighter steering. Be very careful in track mode, with the stiffness of the suspension, hitting a pothole could be disastrous and expensive.

Definitely stiffer than my previous FRC, C6Z, and current ZR.

Whatever you do, be sure to get the CC brakes -- even if you never track the car.

Get the Z06 and add any cosmetic items (aero) that you miss from the Z07.

I would say get the CCBs, but I'm a little ambivalent about it. Had they been available as a line-item option I would have done it, but now I'm kind of glad I didn't. I've seen them delaminating from a number of members, they're brittle if you knock them during a tire change, and I think the silver steel rotors are actually more attractive visually. The fact that they don't fade won't effect you, as you're not on the track.

I just don't see any upside for you in the Z07, unless it's in the deal terms.

I bought the Z06 and added the Stage 3 spolier package from ACS at Carlisle last month and love it.so I have the smoother ride of a Z06 and now it has that sinister look of the Z07.Best of both worlds!

I love my Z07, I use it as my daily, not because I have to, but because I want to. :D

Never once have I thought the suspension too stiff. The brakes are certainly amazing.

In the past I have never regretted the option I did purchase, only the one that I didn't. :cheers:

If you aren't going to track it don't bother with the Z07. The standard Z06 brakes will go many years and miles before they need to be touched. They will probably still be on the car when you sell it if you sell the car before 10 years of ownership.

I have a 2015 Z07 and I track the car quite a bit. The Ceramic brakes feel good and don't fade on track but on the street there just isn't that much difference. Some people may think they grab more but they really don't feel any different on the street than any other Corvette I have owned over the last 19 years. They also require more care when the car is being maintained. The car comes with rotor protectors since the rotors can be damaged when servicing the car. Without the protectors drop a wheel on the rotors while you are removing the wheel and you have a good chance of purchasing a new $1300 rotor. Mechanics unfamiliar with ceramic rotors (like in a tire shop) may damage a rotor and you won't even know it. When they are chipped they are ruined and are not safe.

You can add the Stage 3 Aero to a non Z07 if you want but it will cost you gas mileage. The Z07 comes with both Stage 2 and Stage 3 Aero. The front splitter is delivered from the factory with the Stage ends and the Stage 3 end caps are in the car as is the center wicker for the rear spoiler. Dealer prep includes swapping the front splitter end caps and installing the center wicker but then the OM tells owners not to use the Stage 3 pieces on the street. This is probably done so GM can satisfy the regulators since the Stage 3 Aero really impacts gas mileage. I saw 1 mpg difference by just removing the center wicker which by the way also makes it safer to drive the car because sometimes it is very hard to see through the wicker when the sun hits it the right way or you are driving in the rain especially at night.

I don't really notice any extra roughness in the Z07 Touring ride over the ride in my C6Z. Now in track mode it is quite a bit stiffer. But only a knucklehead would use track mode on the street.

As for trade in or private sale when you want to sell the car the options don't mean that much. People will pay what they will pay and one Z06 if pretty much like any other Z06. They aren't going to pay big $ more for a car just because it has the Ceramic Brakes as brakes are just brakes. If somebody is interested in tracking the car they more than likely won't care about the ceramic brakes as most of the heavy duty track people are changing over to some sort of iron brake due to high replacement costs of both the rotors and the pads.

After 13 track days I just spent $5K putting an Essex Parts AP Racing front BBK on my car because the rotors were shot, ruined a new set of pads and to replace them was going to cost me ~$3K. Replacement rotors on the new kit are half the price of the Ceramics, the brake pads are about the same price but almost twice as thick and will last longer. In about a year and a half I will break even on replacement costs and then the cost of consumables will be much less. Same goes for the rear brakes. Essex even suggests swapping out the rear Ceramics for the base Z06 rear iron brakes and using an AP racing brake pad.

If I had made the switch to the Essex kit earlier I would not have spent $1K on replacement brake pads for the front, would have a good set of used Ceramics to reinstall on the car when I sell it and would have been much closer to the break even point.

Bill

Same here! Caravaggio rocks........
:rock:



https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...21202348e0.jpg

z
 

"The Z07 comes with both Stage 2 and Stage 3 Aero. The front splitter is delivered from the factory with the Stage ends and the Stage 3 end caps are in the car as is the center wicker for the rear spoiler. Dealer prep includes swapping the front splitter end caps and installing the center wicker but then the OM tells owners not to use the Stage 3 pieces on the street."

So it comes with the stage 2(smaller ends) on the front splitter and then the dealer adds the larger ones? Do they give you back the smaller ones and if so can they be put back on?

Secondly, is the suspension different in the z07 different than a regular z06?

Yes, they should give you the smaller splitter end plates back.

The Z07 suspension is different. Details direct from the Corvette team in this thread.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fferences.html

... One can now order CCB w/o Z07 option...


... I have steelys and have had (2) flats ... W/ CCB I'd worry in waiting rm.

:chill: