C5Z vs. C6Z

[Zach]

Written by niphilli2, www.CorvetteForum.com
Original thread: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1378661

Let me just say that the C6 Z is FANTASTIC, nothing short of it .

Congrats to those of you who have been fortunate enough to call this vehicle your own.

I went up for the Skyline Cruise last night and briefly met a friend who had a Blue C6Z for the weekend. I did not get to drive it but had a pretty thorough test ride. Thorough like if you were driving someone else’s C6Z who did not care what you did with it; thorough like if you had enough money to buy a Z for each day of the week. Catch my drift?

So here are my (c5Z owner) impressions, my $.02:

The C6Z is an evolution of the C5z, better in almost every way.

Going through the gears:
1st gear~ Son-of-a-biiiiach: does not necessarily pull harder than the C5 Z, it is just a more sustained, fluid pull. This must be due to the higher gearing and higher redline. The car is very smooth in first gear and pulls relentlessly. It will literally make you ill in the passenger seat. Phenomenal

2nd gear~ Similar feel to the C5z just a longer more sustained pull.

3rd gear~ Feels the same as the C5z but builds speed much more rapidly.

4th gear~ No need for the purposes of this test drive.

More power than the C5: Hell yes

More refined than the C5: check

Better fit and finish than the C5: Check

Better ride than the C5: check

More Grip than the C5: check

Better brakes than the C5: negatory (the C5 units seem to bite a little harder). Not any worse, but not better.

Better balance than the C5: negatory, not any worse, not any better.

Here is where it gets interesting: where the rubber meets the road, the overall experience:

More fun than the C5Z: not a chance.

Somewhere in the process of evolution the car has lost a little bit of its 'raw' attitude and racecar demeanor. Feels a little more disconnected from the driving surface. Don’t get me wrong, the car still has a legitimate SOUL as if it were human, a very beautiful articulate human at that; The soul has just changed a little bit.

It’s as-if the car has been to BMW finishing school. I would be willing to wager that all of the corvette team has spent some time in the E46 BMW 3 series to observe the seamless balance between race car and touring sedan. The dash and door treatment remind me very much of a BMW 3, not quite on the level yet, still lacking heavily in some areas (center console, seats), but much more fit-and-finish oriented. Add three hundred pounds of sound insulation to the curb weight, swap out the tires for some 225/245s, insert a buttery inline six, and you would be driving a slightly less refined E46 BMW 330ci.

It took me a while to put my finger on why the fun factor has lost a little of its edge. I was quite perplexed and spent about an hour on the back roads of Southwest Virginia this morning in my ‘03Z to sort it all out. My conclusion was that the longer gearing of 1-2-3 in the MN6 as opposed to the M12 in my car, coupled with the longer stroke of the 427, and the higher revlimit sucked a little bit of the daily driver fun out of the car.

Notes to GM: Build this engine with a 3.62 stroke, same block, still Ti rods, same top end, same camshaft (will still make 500 with a little intake and exhaust work). Go back to the M12 tranny. Put a GHL rear section on from the factory. Decrease the grip back down to the C5z level or a smidge lower with a tire that predictably brakes away (ie more sidewall no EMT). Ditch the dry sump and big expensive brakes and offer the car at a base of $59,000. Together these changes would take this car from Fantastic to pure driving enthusiasm bliss.

Well I have rambled on long enough pretending like everyone else is hanging on my every word, time to wrap this thing up with the shortest conclusion I could think of:

If money is no object: Get up from your chair and Run to your friendly corvette dealer. This car has a character matched by no other vehicle on the market right now in any price segment.

If money is a definite concern but do-able (happens to be my situation right now) Drive your C5 for a while longer and meditate as to why you love the car. If it pure fun weekend back road racer, keep it for a while and enjoy, make an educated decision later when the frenzy has died down.

If it is not economically feasible: KNOW that you are having just as much fun in your C5z as the guy next to you in his C6z, maybe more because your payment is probably a lot lower

-Nick

Cool writeup!