I currently have a 2019 A8 Z06, and one of the things I really like about it is the low RPM torque. I am considering a trade to a new C8 Z06, and have been looking at engine specs. With the peak torque and HP coming at much higher RPMs I am curious how "weak" the engine feels at lower RPMs, and I know that gearing can cover some of this. And I am not the type to go seek test rides at dealerships just to run the car hard to see how it compares. So here I am asking this group. Anyone here that went from C7 to C8 Z06s care to offer your experience?

 

I have both. C7 Z makes more low end torque. The C8 Z pulls hard to redline, 8600 RPM'S. The C8 Z revs so fast, you are in the sweet spot almost immediately. Just keep the revs up. The C8 Z hooks up alot better. Both great cars.

 

I have have owned and tracked a 2018 M6 ZL1 1LE for 7 years and now have a new C8 Z06... my ZL1 is a 650 lb-ft torque monster but the 460 lb-ft, lightning fast revs, DCT and mid engine sitting on the rear wheels make my C8 Z feel faster everywhere... it does 0-60 in 2.6 seconds and the C7 Z takes at least 3.5 if/when it hooks up. Are you worried you'll miss torque 0-40?

C8 Z06 is a beast, nothing weak about it at any speed. I get fast lap times in my ZL1 (like this last weekend at Sonoma), I can do same or faster lap times easier in the Z06 on any track.

 

I had my c7z M7 for11 years before going to the c8z. Its a transition that is for sure. TBO, The first thing you have to do is learn how to drive the car first. Find how it likes to be driven. Once you do that. You will be extremely happy. Down in lower speeds is actually where its lighting fast Hooks up and books. The only place you will see a difference is if you are on a highway and hit it and say sport mode. There may be some lag. Its best to have in manual mode and drop the gears and there is no issue you will experience. Its a great car. Just dont expect to be the same as the c7z. I did when I first moved over and didn't like thins at first. Of course I was loosing M7 as well

If ou get the C8z coming from c7z. I would say a must would be to get a throttle controller. It will make the car experience much better for you. Trust me here. Good luck on your new purchase.

 

Or consider a GSX.

 

Rent a Z06 from Turo for ~$600. Try it out. See if you like it. I rented this specific car before pulling the trigger on a Z06.



Personally, I grew up on motorcycles. Both peaky 2-strokes and 13,000 rpm street bikes with lightning fast sequential gear boxes. You just drive them different. You don't lug the engine down to 2,500 rpm and expect it to pull. You downshift multiple times in quick succession and whack the throttle.

So when I made the transition to my first V8, a 5.0 Mustang, as a young adult, I was sadly disappointed by how early the torque fell off and how soon the engine ran out of revs and how it felt like it should be powering a truck with that big, fat torquey midrange, not a sports car. Moving into my middle adult years, my first Corvette was a C6. It pulled a little better up high, but redlining at 6,500, it still didn't feel like what I expected for a sporting driving experience. After that, I had higher revving 911, then an R8 V10 and a Cayman GTS. And now a Z06. I'm addicted to the RPM.

My Z06 is never turning less than 3,000 rpm. It never goes on the freeway. And I never get more than 10 mpg with it. I don't even think of the Z06 in terms of low end torque, because I never drive it at low rpm, nor do I drive it in auto-trans mode. The engine is not quite lit at 3,000 rpm, but it is at 3,500. So if I'm at 3,000 rpm and want more power, I drop one gear in the blink of an eye and the engine is lit, just like with a street bike or a small displacement Ferrari. This is what I like. This is how I drive.

If you like driving around chill and want mountains of low rpm torque and a rumbly exhaust note, you'll probably be happier with an e-ray or Gran Sport X.

For me, I have no interest in that. I want all the revs, all the sound and all the fury. 🤣🤣🤣

 

Coming from a positive displacement blower feeding more cubic inches it’s not going to feel the same down low, but given it has a 2k increase in rpm’s it should be expected to keep it wound up a little higher to be in the powerband. The only downside to that is increased noise, if you do and try lugging the engine around then it’ll feel weaker.

 

I forgot to ask, do you track your C7 Z? As I mentioned in my previous post, the C8 Z is easier to drive fast on track (circuits not drag-strip) than the C7 Z. Stock for stock, same good driver back to back, a C8 Z06 is capable of significantly faster lap times than a C7 Z06 and that's the best measure of performance for these cars--that is what they were both designed for... they are track cars.

A stock C8 Z out-corners and out accelerates a C7 Z on any track, don't let magazine skid-pad numbers fool you, in real world cornering and handling the C8 Z is superior in all the key ways that make it amazing on track and that's why it's breaking C7 Z records on tracks everywhere. The mid-engine balance and feel is life changing for me and other track junkies--it puts down 992 GT3 numbers. Other measures people use like TQ vs TQ or low end acceleration to 30-40 only matter if you are only driving it (in illegal ways) on the street and freeway, which is not what it was engineered to do. If you want the fastest street car for ~$100k a Tesla Plaid will crush everyone in a straight line, but I don't think you want that, you want the best sports (track) car :-)

 

We had a 2016 Z06, loved it. Traded it for a 2025 SR.

The SR was nice, but we missed the extra power of the Z06. Just wasn't what we wanted.

Traded that SR in for a Z06.

MUCH happier. That engine is amazing!!!!

To each his own, but the Z06 really is a step up on the fun meter...at least to us.

Like I said, to each their own, whatever floats your boat is good. You can't go wrong with either.

 

I’m in the same boat, and the replies have been encouraging.

 

Another thing to mention is that the Z06 makes peak power at redline. What that really means is that it wants to rev. As it gets closer to the redline, the engine pulls harder and harder and is just trying to slam into the rev limiter, similar to a 4 cylinder sport bike. So you don't go faster by short shifting and you're not waiting around for the engine to lazily reach the redline, because it's well past the torque peak and the hp peak and the engine is running out of breath. It is just the opposite, the faster it spins, the more frantic it gets. And that is what makes it so much fun.

 

I had a C7Z M7 for over 3 years and it ended up with 675rwhp/650rwtq with just bolt ons and E50. Sold it to buy a C8Z and I can't stop driving it! First mod was a soler throttle controller. Gets rid of the throttle lag. Keep it in the power band and you'll eventually forget about the C7Z. Looks, sound, interior, tech, handling, GT3 race engine etc... You can get C8Z's for 10-15% off now!