Has there ever been a more widely anticipated Corvette reveal than the mid engine Corvette? Most would say “No” I believe. Are most expecting a phenomenal car? Most would say “Yes”. Is the performance of the C8 expected to surpass that of the C7. Again, “yes”... in fact, GM has pretty much guaranteed it. See whats happening here? Expectations are through the roof for the C8 to be a significant improvement over the C7... all C7’s including Z06’s and ZR1’s. But will it?... the Z06 and even more so the ZR1 now run toe to toe with the worlds best sports cars including much more expensive exotic mid engines, beating many of them. Now having spent a lifetime in the financial services industry, I learned over many years the easiest way to disappoint is to “over promise”. It can happen without intent. I definitely see that is the likely case with the C8. Near everyone is expecting a home run when it comes to the plate, right out of the box. Many are expecting the value of the C7 to tank with the C8’s arrival. I would make a counter arguement. IMO, despite believing the C8 will be a wonderful car, I think its impossible for GM to deliver something the lives up to the expectations. They have painted themselves into a box here, albeit unintentionally. Anything but pure perfection will be criticized. It is almost impossible for there not to be reliability issues in the early models... and counter to what is generally being anticipated, the values of the venerable front engine Corvette will hold strong and some models will even appreciate. I’m not “talking my book” here as we used to say in the securities business, simply trying to provide a counter point of view to people trying to decide whether to buy a current FE or wait for the ME. I hope this sparks arguements from the other side.

To me I am not even worried about the C8. Subconsciously I dont even care because it will be a twin turbo car. It doesnt matter if it beats chiron, I wont buy one because I just cannot stand the sound and the overall other characteristics of a turbo car. This is after owning very advanced turbo cars (M3 and M5) which have pretensioned turbos to reduce lag as well as having a very natural powerband so the cars dont feel like turbo. I know it all. I know GM will do the same and will say their car doesnt feel like turbo yada yada yada. But it will. I clocked 60,000-70,000 miles on BMW’s turbo cars and I am telling you, its not a good experience. They also sound absolutely terrible compared to N/A V8. Even mclaren does. Even watching a video of Senna, I dont feel like I want that car although watching GT3RS, I do want that car.

The ME Corvette will definitely outperform the FE Corvette. The Benchmark for the ME Corvette should be the super car series Mclaren’s which have destroyed Ferrari and Lamborghini.

No effect. 2 different philosophies of car design. Rear engine and mid engine has not intrigued me. The front engine with the motor set back and the transmission/transaxle in the back is as close to 50/50 weight distribution as you can get. The issue as we all know is lack of traction with front engine and 500 hp plus with only 2 wheel drive. I think mid engine and rear 2 wheel drive only will have traction issues as well with 600+ hp. I think some of the traction issues would be overcome in the cars whether they are front, mid or rear engine if the cars had tires with taller sidewalls. Indy cars still run a 15 or 16 inch wheel with tall sidewalls.

How come these cars have not gone to big rims 18,19 20, inch rims with little skinny donuts ?

To your question: Less sidewall flex when cornering and “Looks”... but as you astutely pointed out: less “power down traction”, and (harsher ride and greater tisk for wheel damage from pot holes.)

Great information, thanks. Is that change promted by a move to larger regen brake systems?

Turbo BMWs lag. Same with the current Audi’s. There is no one that can claim otherwise. The c8 TT will also lag, probably more so.

great reply right here... having driven an open wheel car, with downforce ( a formula Atlantic car) they are very different from street cars (even w downforce) in braking and the way they handle. The high sidewall tires let you feel that the tires are near the limit before letting go completely. I was concerned w that w the pilot sc2 ZP tires when I got my zo7, which of course was mostly an academic or potential worry, as it’s only really possible to explore this limit on a track, with a big tire budget. I thought that they might have an abrupt limit, they don’t seem to in cornering, but do w temperature and power delivery. Open wheel cars w wings and high sidewall tires actually INCREASE grip w speed, due to aero grip. Not being a pro racer, team engineer, or tire designer/engineer, I didn’t realize that “slip angle” was a variable engineered into the tire directly, but after the above great explanation it’s clear. Without thinking, I just imagined that tires are built trying to maximize traction and lifespan, within the limits of the regs, but this makes perfect sense, now!
again, thanks for the great response!

are tire flex and slip angle directly related, the same thing essentially, or does slip angle refer to the whole of the car? I suppose there’s one for the tire and one for the entire suspension system or corner, and yet another for the car as a whole? It makes us seem silly thinking we can happen on to a better system by changing to a different tire wo tons of validation... you might like the way it feels, but it would be hard to imagine it’s objectively better. I’ve not put racing slicks on mine, but most guys seem to see their lap times drop. I wonder if it’s because they move to 18’s, resulting in a wider sweetspot before they let go, or implied higher max grip giving you more bravery to exploit limits that were scarier to the driver w the stock rubber, but hasn’t moved? Love that Cosworth toolbox tho. It shows how inconsistent I am!

is there a tire subforum on here? I gotta look. We all talk, but the threads seem to be all over.