Idle Exhaust Note - Honesty required
 

I would like you to stand behind a Ford GT 500, a Ferrari 458, or a Lamborghini Huracan, for starters. There are others.
Then stand behind the Z06 idling. What do you hear?

I hear nothing sounding like the exhaust of a race or tuned car. As I have repeated ad nauseum, owning a coup, I have to counter act the drone inside the car (installed Corsa Exhaust which helped to mitigate the drone a bit and I can hear a few pops better)..Sure, those owning a HTC can "cheat" and roll the rear window down, so they find the driving experience different. But I am speaking of "idle"

What I hear standing outside the car and next to the rear wheels of my Z06 is a humming drone. Maybe something is wrong with my hearing (been racing cars for 40 years, so who knows),, but I seem to be in the minority since all I read is how much people love the sound. . I suspect the only people enjoying the sound of my car are those on the street as I go by.

Before someone says I am putting down the Z06, let me say the quality of the car is outstanding, and I do not regret buying it. But , after owning a 458 and presuming the motor was virtually the same, I expected something more exciting.

Why does the sound of the idle matter?
The car is made to be raced/driven.
Not sure if you’re complaining or what?
People always find the silliest things to complain about. Drive the car and enjoy it.

Gonna be totally honest - I don't much care about the sound of the car idling. I haven't ever thought about just turning the car on and then standing behind it and listening to it putter on at 1k rpm's.

Every FPC V8 sounds like dog shit at idle.

The lambo V10 sounds better.

But FPC V8s in IMO all sound horrid at idle. The 458 in particular with its weak, flatulent, tinny note.

The idle of the z06 sounds amazing.

the idle of previous corvettes all sounded like ups trucks.

the car sounds like a race car at idle, part throttle and full throttle.

I have a coupe and it’s insanely loud. So much that I use tour mostly now because when the exhaust is open people think I’m racing since the revs have to be brought up to get going. The car has some pumped in sound with the windows up but all I have to do is crack it an inch and I hear all the glory of the masterpiece of the engine coming out of the exhaust. That’s why the engineers spent years on the exhaust.

Wife: “why does it sound like a tin can?” upon approaching car.

me: “cuz its badasss”

wife: “ why is its nose squished”

me:”also cuz its badasss”

wife:”why are you driving like an idiot?”

me: - sigh…

everyone is different.

The best sounding idle is a 1969 Z28 with the .30/.30 flat tapped cam with chambered exhaust.

Sounds like you just need to sell the car....

naw, 1967 w/ 427tri power with high lift cam

I think it sounds great. Almost as good is my GT350, also FPC. Friends tell me that sounds the best of all my cars.

he was complaining about the gas mileage the other day. I heard Toyotas get 35 mpg..

I agree with the sentiment that the Z idle is disappointing. No nice low growl indicating the beast within. I think as loud as the cold start is, they could have dialed up the idle a bit.

Cold idle, shortly after it fires up, the Z06 is not a pleasant sound. Even when warm, the Z06 idling doesn't sound that special. CPC V8 engines tend to sound better at idle. A Mustang GT with an exhaust sounds good at idle. A cammed LS/LT engine sounds good at idle. I'd occasionally get positive comments on my C6, which had a mild cam. Just enough lope to know its cammed, but smooth enough to daily drive.

Idle sound only really matters at car meet-ups and club events, where everyone hears the rumble as you creep through the parking lot. As I approach the parking lot, I downshift to 1st and let the high rpm wail announce that a Z06 is arriving. :D

OP makes a legitimate observation (which I agree with completely) and some keyboard warriors offer absurd, useless and unsolicited advice.

The Z at idle or creeping through a parking lot sounds like a lawn mower. Ripping at high rpms near redline, it sounds cool. Side note, the Stingray doesn't sound good either. They need to figure out the mid-engine layout from an exhaust perspective to improve the sound.

Im still trying to figure out why the OP says there is a drone at all times. There is a drone at 2500 -3100 rpm in my coupe, but where is it?

As for the idle? To me, knowing what the engine is, it sounds more exotic than the regular corvette V8. To some, they will say a V6.....

I love it.

Tried to go out of the way not to appear "complaining", just sharing my own observation and curious how others see it.

Open the valves on a 458 and let me know.

Unresponsive and irrelevant. I buy and sell as I please. The Corvette has its slot in my garage and will be replaced by the ZR1 and it replace the C8Z61.

I find this forum and many others often populated by those who cannot honestly critique the car. I have said I like the car but ask about aspects of it, gas mileage (small tank and frequent stops), the lack of enjoyable sound in coupes, the fact the idle is not melodious, the steering wheel with both carbon Fiber and Alcantara feels uncomfortable, I have been fortunate that my car has had zero issues, but always interested in others experiences. What else do you need to do on this forum. The manual tells you all you need to know about the car, so what are we doing here.