Z06 C7 "Too Much Power?"

[Cobravenomous]

My dealer called me this week with exciting news. I ordered my Z06 back on October 04th, but due to living in Northern Ontario they told me that the order would sit until spring. Well Tuesday I was advised that my car is scheduled for production May 06th, so I'm hoping that I'll see it late May.

I'm still disappointed that factory tours are closed because I would have purchased either the build tour or photo album package. Unfortunately both remain temporarily unavailable.

I've watched a number of YouTube videos on all things C7 however two recent viewings have me concerned. I would like to add, I've fooled around in high performance cars my whole life, and I believe that I have strong, well above average driving skills, but I'm actually scared about losing control of my soon to be delivered Z06!

Both videos say that the C7 Z06 has way too much power for the car and one indicated that at 70 mph in second gear (manual transmission) if you throttle it, the rear tires will break loose. Wow, wheel spin at 70 mph with simply applying power, that's unreal! They also said in the video where they compared a Z06 to a Viper ACR, that if you take the driver aids off of the Z06 and take the car to its limits that you'll kill yourself! This was a professional driver who stated that he would even kill himself with the driver aids turned off and driving the Z06 to it's limits.

Yikes......any comments? I would love to hear from my fellow Z06 forum members!

Cobra

 

[ddgermann]

My dealer called me this week with exciting news. I ordered my Z06 back on October 04th, but due to living in Northern Ontario they told me that the order would sit until spring. Well Tuesday I was advised that my car is scheduled for production May 06th, so I'm hoping that I'll see it late May.

I'm still disappointed that factory tours are closed because I would have purchased either the build tour or photo album package. Unfortunately both remain temporarily unavailable.

I've watched a number of YouTube videos on all things C7 however two recent viewings have me concerned. I would like to add, I've fooled around in high performance cars my whole life, and I believe that I have strong, well above average driving skills, but I'm actually scared about losing control of my soon to be delivered Z06!

Both videos say that the C7 Z06 has way too much power for the car and one indicated that at 70 mph in second gear (manual transmission) if you throttle it, the rear tires will break loose. Wow, wheel spin at 70 mph with simply applying power, that's unreal! They also said in the video where they compared a Z06 to a Viper ACR, that if you take the driver aids off of the Z06 and take the car to its limits that you'll kill yourself! This was a professional driver who stated that he would even kill himself with the driver aids turned off and driving the Z06 to it's limits.

Yikes......any comments? I would love to hear from my fellow Z06 forum members!

Cobra

Relax Cobra.
It’s all true. Your Z06 with an M7 will do 100 KPH in first. However pulling it into 2nd at 70 kph will definitely be a full on loss of traction. Pulling it into 3rd at 110 will be the same. and 4 too.

But!
With the active handling on you will not see more than a glimpse of this. The car spin the wheels slightly then lay down all the power it can without spinning the tires.
It is totally manageable and feels fantastic. Not at all scary. You will be amazed at your speed at the end of 3rd gear

My only advice for driving a Z06. Don’t be a YouTube dummy and keep the active handling on. The traction control
You can take off for a nice burnout If you want as the active handling is still looking out for you but it’s pretty wild if you are not on it.
Taking it all off is something I wouldn’t do unless I was on a big area with no obstacles. Never on the street or highway as dropping a gear and hammering it will be more than interesting without the Active Handling.

So relax and prepare to have the best ride you’ve ever had man.

 

[MikeysZ06]

So relax and prepare to have the best ride you’ve ever had man.

What he said !! This is the most docile car I’ve ever owned. It don’t go until your foot tells it to go.

 

[ddgermann]

What he said !! This is the most docile car I’ve ever owned. It don’t go until your foot tells it to go.

I noticed a little difference between my 13Z and my 15 and 17Zs Mike. Well big difference actually.
Nothing docile about the C7Zs. Well except the annoying volume button on the steering wheel.

 

[MikeysZ06]

What I mean is that it isn’t intimidating to drive at all under normal driving conditions. Not for me anyway. I stopped dropping the clutch in my manuals when I was 20? 21 maybe. Watching some bozo cook off a set of rear Michelin pilots would have me pissing myself laughing as well,I’d be hoping to see it around a tree. That would be a vid I’d leave up on my YT channel.

I’m not ignorant to the fact that I can break the rear tires loose at 70 MPH with 505 HP if I wanted to. Just don’t see the need really. Hwy 40 isn’t a race track and I’m not a factory driver.

 

[ddgermann]

What I mean is that it isn’t intimidating to drive at all under normal driving conditions. Not for me anyway. I stopped dropping the clutch in my manuals when I was 20? 21 maybe. Watching some bozo cook off a set of rear Michelin pilots would have me pissing myself laughing as well,I’d be hoping to see it around a tree. That would be a vid I’d leave up on my YT channel.

I’m not ignorant to the fact that I can break the rear tires loose at 70 MPH with 505 HP if I wanted to. Just don’t see the need really. Hwy 40 isn’t a race track and I’m not a factory driver.

Well you can see why Cobra was concerned about doing that with around 600 HP to the rears.

 

[Cobravenomous]

Relax Cobra.
It’s all true. Your Z06 with an M7 will do 100 KPH in first. However pulling it into 2nd at 70 kph will definitely be a full on loss of traction. Pulling it into 3rd at 110 will be the same. and 4 too.

But!
With the active handling on you will not see more than a glimpse of this. The car spin the wheels slightly then lay down all the power it can without spinning the tires.
It is totally manageable and feels fantastic. Not at all scary. You will be amazed at your speed at the end of 3rd gear

My only advice for driving a Z06. Don’t be a YouTube dummy and keep the active handling on. The traction control
You can take off for a nice burnout If you want as the active handling is still looking out for you but it’s pretty wild if you are not on it.
Taking it all off is something I wouldn’t do unless I was on a big area with no obstacles. Never on the street or highway as dropping a gear and hammering it will be more than interesting without the Active Handling.

So relax and prepare to have the best ride you’ve ever had man.

Gotcha......"active handling" stays on! Traction control off for a burnout! Im not sure now that that will be coming off either considering the price of those tires......ha ha!

I guess the cars a beast with active handling off. The YouTube driver comparison video whereby they took active handling off showed clips of the car getting easily out of control when simply applying the power when exiting a corner, which then required aggressive steering input and I would like to reiterate they were simply applying throttle, they weren't dropping the clutch!

Regarding another posters comment, I always was of the opinion the technique of "dropping the clutch" was for those that were trying to impress and demonstrate that they had a powerful car, when in fact they didn't!

Thanks for your input ddgermann!

Cobra

 

[Cobravenomous]

Watching some bozo cook off a set of rear Michelin pilots would have me pissing myself laughing as well,I’d be hoping to see it around a tree. That would be a vid I’d leave up on my YT channel.

Hmmm.......I actually grew up in the late 60's and early 70's when my buddies and I would look forward to going (walk) downtown on Fridays and Saturday's to watch the muscle cars duke it out on the main drag. The exhilaration of smelling burning rubber, or listening to the motors rumble for those who had the "caps" off their headers was resonating!

Battle for bragging rights, right there smack dab in front of you! Ford, Chevy, Pontiac, Dodge and Plymouth going at it at almost every light.......one would even cruise at 1-2 miles an hour to get set up for the next light.....stalling for that red......it brings back great memories.

So sorry, I don't share your same vision, as I enjoy watching a muscle car being let go and I wouldn't wish him bad will, nope no tree for me........just thanks for the enjoyment!

 

[Cobravenomous]

I’m not ignorant to the fact that I can break the rear tires loose at 70 MPH with 505 HP if I wanted to.

You seemed to have missed my point. My comment was in reference to a comparison video of the C7 Z06 and the Viper ACR with the complaint about the C7 Z06 being that the car was too overpowered, demonstrated by the fact that the tires would break loose simply under acceleration, even "when the driver didn't want it to".

Thanks to "ddgermann", I now understand that that was a result of the "active management " obviously having been turned off. Not sure why someone would even want to break the tires loose at 70mph. Hope that clarifies my earlier comment?

Cobra

 

[Rruuff Day]

I noticed a little difference between my 13Z and my 15 and 17Zs Mike. Well big difference actually.
Nothing docile about the C7Zs. Well except the annoying volume button on the steering wheel.

.... 585 compared to 440 at the wheels.... Not a lot of anything to compare...

 

[Black 03 Z06]

I think it comes down to using common sense. My Z06 only has 405 flywheel horsepower but I can break the tires loose without much trouble. Just look for a patch of black ice and hammer it!!

Can't imagine driving a car with as much horsepower as the C7 and the C7 Z06 cars. Just respect what it is capable of and drive accordingly.

Cobra, I bet you would feel a lot more confident if you went to the Ron Fellows School. A number of members here have been and given it glowing reviews. A solid investment I think.

Enjoy that new Corvette.

 

[lupo]

Cobra--
I had similar questions as I moved to the Z06 from other performance cars and @ddgermann wrote me a great post that I have dug up for you. I have SC2's tires which are even more sensitive to temperature, but you still need to pay attention to tire temp in a 650hp car regardless--especially if you are trying to extend your driving season.
Also, roll into the throttle--really no need to mash it and far more predictable results. Don't recall if you got an Auto, but a quick little punch will activate performance shifting and then you just worry about having two hands on the wheel.

He assessment was spot on:

"You are no stranger to high performance cars so I won't bore you with novice cliches here. This is a very fast car you just bought and the best things you can do in my opinion is:
1) know the water and temperature limitations of the tires.
2) learn and use the active handling management as we need it on this car. It is normally very subtle and you can't tell it's doing its job for the most part. You suspect it but is intervening when you think there should be a bit more under the right foot but its not obvious. I encourage you to take it all off and try your pedal in a big safe place so you have an understanding of just how much it actually is doing for you routinely. It becomes very obvious just how much it actually does. The number 1 butt saver in Corvettes. There is so many modes to the AHM system that it seems like overkill in complication but after a few months of playing with it you will appreciate the flexibility as it can be set for any type of driving weather and driver skill level. It's a very good system.
3) relax and wait for the tach to release the car to you at about 1000km. The redline will shift up to 6500 automatically as your driving along once the car is happy with the initial breakin.
4) Have a great time. "

 

[lupo]

Yes, you will get a red flash around the tach warning you if you exceed 4000rpm before 500mi or 800km is on the odometer.
The tach will open up to 6500RPM once you pass the 800km mark, and from that point forward when the car is warmed up to operating temperature.

 

[YFCvii]

Easy solution. Regardless of driving capability. Spend that USD$1000 and get yourself to Spring Mountain. You will not regret learning as little or as much as you need and enjoy the hell out of yourself at the same time. There is not one person I know who has said anything terrible about the idea. You will come back with many of your “questioning feelings” gone.
Both my wife and I have gone ... my Wife can’t stop talking about wanting to do the next step in the program. I’ve created a monster
April is a long month for many ....
I was just told yesterday that my Dealership in Edmonton has 44 coming in the next few months so looks like they might have a Canadian Build lined up in Bowling Green.

 

[Cobravenomous]

[/QUOTE="lupo, post: 158422, member: 3891"]
Cobra--Don't recall if you got an Auto, but a quick little punch will activate performance shifting and then you just worry about having two hands on the wheel.[/QUOTE]

I ordered a M7. No automatic for me thanks! I just like the connection to the car with shifting gears!

[/Quote]"relax and wait for the tach to release the car to you at about 1000km. The redline will shift up to 6500 automatically as your driving along once the car is happy with the initial breakin."[/QUOTE]

I'm not quite sure what your saying here? Are you stating that the computer limits higher rpm's until the car has 1000kms on it?

As well, regarding the comment to water and temperature, are you advising me that with the factory tires, that when driving that car at highway speeds in the rain that it is more prone to hydroplaning than traditional cars?

Cobra

 

[Jeffer2013]

.... 585 compared to 440 at the wheels.... Not a lot of anything to compare...

my base has 440 at the wheels

 

[Cobravenomous]

my base has 440 at the wheels

What does DSOM stands for?

 

[Jeffer2013]

DO SEARCH 4 OTHERS MATTER

it means to look for the corvette truth in what others may say from time to time

the manual & paint code says DAYTONA SUNRISE ORANGE METALLIC

luv ya all

 

[lupo]

Dark Side Of the Moon--Pink Floyd

 

[AxeZ06]

[/QUOTE]
I'm not quite sure what your saying here? Are you stating that the computer limits higher rpm's until the car has 1000kms on it?

As well, regarding the comment to water and temperature, are you advising me that with the factory tires, that when driving that car at highway speeds in the rain that it is more prone to hydroplaning than traditional cars?

Cobra
[/QUOTE]

Yes. The redline on the tach is limited until the mileage stated is reached. When you get there, 1st oil change required, and yes, you will visually see the redline "jump" to its permanent placement.
As for the tires......they are basically 'slicks'. Very little siping for wet conditions. There's a 'wet' setting on the mode selector.