I may buy a Z06...Viper owner
 

Hello everyone!

I drove a Z06 that belongs to a friend of mine, and since Viper is discontinued, I am thinking about keeping the viper but buying another sports car to put the miles on. I enjoyed the corvette more than I thought I would.

My main concerns are overheating. I may take the car to the track occasionally, but most of my driving will be on the street. I am getting older, so just want to have a nice reliable fast car that rides well and my wife may also enjoy riding in. I am considering both a convertible or a coupe.

I have not made up my mind yet, I just wanted to say hello!

-Brian

Hello.

if you're buying a manual Z06 make sure it has the auxiliary radiator installed if pre 17.

you shouldn't have any issues.

the Z06 is much more civilized than the viper but you already know that. Good luck.

Overheating issue is known to be typically associated only with automatics, and although there may be a few cases, not generally manuals. Furthermore (and as far as I know), overheating issue is associated only with cars that are being heavily loaded in prolonged track sessions, not driving on the street. The aux radiator solution can be easily retrofit to earlier model years for a relatively modest cost if this proves to be a concern.

Hi and welcome!

If your not going to be a hardcore racer, then I wouldn't worry about it. I have an A8 with long tubes and cai and have zero issues. Even when it's over 200*, it still rips, lol. Good luck...

I've got a 16 A8, but have the DeWitt's cooling kit to handle the over heating. If you are mainly going to drive on the hwy, and not track a lot you should be ok. If you do track it you can adjust your driving style and get through the sessions you want to. Unless you are a track nut and worried about lap times it won't make that much difference to you.
Enjoy your new Z06 and welcome to our forum.

If you're considering a vert you may want to check with the tracks you're planning on running the car to see if they have a roll bar requirement.

Get the manual if you don't want to overheat. I do only street driving and even during summer with the AC on i push it, temps never break 220-225. Both oil and water. In fact sometimes i keep the revs up to test how well the car will do in keeping the temps maintained. All good. I'm sure if i tracked it i would see higher temps. But it's the auto's that constantly overheat.

Vipers only came in manual right? The last manual viper i drove, i think it was a 96 GTS. It was terrible lol. I'm sure they got better as the years went on.

The manual in the C7Z is A LOT better though. Almost porsche like. Can't say the same about the auto though lol. But drive both and make your comparison.

Welcome to CorvetteForum, Brian. I hope you pull the trigger and pick up a Z06.

Correct the auto's especially pre 2017 will run hotter.. they hold the rpm's high.. Even the 15, 16 M7 are not known to overheat..

16 Z Manual at the ring.. what overheating?

I have a 19 Z06 Manual rag top and love it, plenty of excitement and pure joy. Easy to drive and looks great. Mr Donuts may have had a few too many...........................

Way to make a person feel welcome, I appreciate all of the thoughtful responses :)

I will continue to read the forum and will ask further questions as I get closer to making a purchase.

Thank you all :)

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...120f4b623f.jpg
In spite of what some say the two can get along very well.

I think the corvettes handle better than vipers for the majority of driving.... both how they handle bumps, and also how they will pull lateral G around a curve. I think your wife will be much happier riding in the corvette.

I have an automatic, and i love it, my previous sports cars were all manual, but I wanted to switch things up, and I am glad i did. The auto trans does very well once one starts driving aggressively.

As far as overheating goes, we are about to solve that in a much simpler way than what has been done in the past, and ironically i pulled my knowledge from the viper and its oil cooler (corvettes dont really have one, it is an oil to coolant heat exchanger), not like the air to oil heat exchanger on your viper.

If you buy the automatic, then she can drive, which might come in handy on long trips. (but, she might also be capable of driving the manual, and if she can drive the viper, she will be more than able to drive the corvette's manual transmission with rev matching... it is magical)

Test drive both manual and auto if you can, and the auto, just know, there is way more too it than a salesman will be able to show you.

:iagree:

Both great cars. Viper gets more attention. Z just feels faster.
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please post the snake! there is a purple acr at the auction right now, absolutley in love...

I have a 2015 A8 that I track occasionally (running faster than almost all other cars except the well driven newer model GT3s on slicks). My 15 A8 should be one of the worst for overheating--the 17 A8s got some upgrades to supercharger to help a bit. 17 M7s come standard with an extra cooler and upgraded supercharger (the extra cooler can also be added to the 15/16s M7s).

I track my 15 A8 the same way I drive my 6 year old to Kindergarten, commute to work in traffic and take my wife to dinner: Cup 2s, stock brakes, and DSC controller (soft for street, firm for track). Never a heat issue on street, even when it was 110 the other day in traffic with AC blasting.

in my opinion, the z06 is the ultimate all around car, with minimal need to change up in between street and track.

A big question for the chance of overheating on track is where you live. I live in Texas, where we are frequently over 100 in the summer. BC tracking in high heat is miserable for me (and the car) I only track in spring and fall events. While I have never overheated on track, i definitely see elevated temps.

in sum: great all around car (comfortable for steeet) and very track capable (just dont expect to run long sessions on very hot days with the A8).

I agree with this. We need to see more beasts like the ACR!

What year Viper do you have?
I owned a few Gen V's and a 17 ZO6/ZO7. I agree if youre gonna track the Z, the manual is the better option...cooling mods cant hurt either. How good/hard of a driver you are matters as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't be that concerned. Only reason I preferred the Viper on track (other than ACR) is because N/A. The blown factor on the Z makes it more fun on the street however. For the Z, Id def go 17 or newer and ZO7. Good luck.