C8 ZR1

[_zOmbIE_]

They’re going after a different crowd with the C8 if you couldn’t tell. The DCT is a far superior transmission to any manual trans and GM’s tune on the DCT is outstanding. Now, are 99% of the buyers racing these cars to use said superior trans to the fullest? Not likely. But GM doesn’t care either

DCT is faster than a good manual, definitely.

Superior? No way.

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[MAGS1]

Superior? No way.

I like a good manual transmission but we’ll agree to disagree there. DCT is the superior trans IMO.

 

[Balr14]

I like a good manual transmission but we’ll agree to disagree there. DCT is the superior trans IMO.

I enjoy manual transmissions on older, classic cars. They just seem out of place on modern performance cars. I'm sure there are lots of people who don't care, but modern cars don't need your help shifting. They are better at it than you are.

 

[Prodigal]

I enjoy manual transmissions on older, classic cars. They just seem out of place on modern performance cars. I'm sure there are lots of people who don't care, but modern cars don't need your help shifting. They are better at it than you are.

I have the 6 spd in my M1 and after driving a performance designed, built and tuned, paddle shifted auto, I have to choice but to agree with you if we’re being honest.

 

[shogun32]

but modern cars don't need your help shifting. They are better at it than you are.

Except Ford is vastly worse at the essentials than GM. And you can't do much of anything about it.

But even with the GM tuning, it still can't read my mind. Sure sometimes it might guess right.

 

[Balr14]

Except Ford is vastly worse at the essentials than GM. And you can't do much of anything about it.

But even with the GM tuning, it still can't read my mind. Sure sometimes it might guess right.

The car is better at knowing what gear to be in under any circumstances than you are. It will never downshift into the wrong gear or pick the wrong gear for passing, or lug the engine. If it's not aggressive enough, you probably picked the wrong mode.

The biggest issue I have with the A10 is it has 10 speeds and uses them all by 50 mph, under normal driving. 7 or 8 speeds would have been more than enough and made programming easier.

 

[Balr14]

Porsche tested a racing version of the ZF transmission a few years ago, that used GPS to learn the race course and shifted into the correct gear, before reaching a corner. It was not allowed in competition because it had a significant advantage.

 

[Hack]

I enjoy manual transmissions on older, classic cars. They just seem out of place on modern performance cars. I'm sure there are lots of people who don't care, but modern cars don't need your help shifting. They are better at it than you are.

The better the automatic transmission is, the less I like it. I might as well have a self-driving car and read a book. So boring.

Yes, if I bought a car to race and my sole source of income was winning races with said car, I would have an automatic transmission in it. But I buy cars to have fun driving them, and an automatic doesn't do that for me.

 

[SheepDog]

The better the automatic transmission is, the less I like it. I might as well have a self-driving car and read a book. So boring.

Yes, if I bought a car to race and my sole source of income was winning races with said car, I would have an automatic transmission in it. But I buy cars to have fun driving them, and an automatic doesn't do that for me.

Or no transmission. Barf.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/modified-tesla-model-s-plaid-crushes-lap-record-at-willow-springs

 

[shogun32]

The biggest issue I have with the A10 is it has 10 speeds and uses them all by 50 mph, under normal driving.

The ONLY redeeming quality of the A10 on the f150 platform is that with a couple clicks you were able to do just that: prevent upshifts past your selection. So for around town I clicked down and locked out 7 and higher. Metro highway I locked out 9 and higher. Only on long distance open road interstate did I let it have all 10 to work with.

But of course the mustang was denied this feature. You may express your thankfulnesd to Ford powetrain.

 

[Balr14]

The ONLY redeeming quality of the A10 on the f150 platform is that with a couple clicks you were able to do just that: prevent upshifts past your selection. So for around town I clicked down and locked out 7 and higher. Metro highway I locked out 9 and higher. Only on long distance open road interstate did I let it have all 10 to work with.

But of course the mustang was denied this feature. You may express your thankfulnesd to Ford powetrain.

In Sport + mode, gear changes occur later, with the Mustang. Not by a lot, but it won't reach 10th gear at 50 mph.

 

[Balr14]

The better the automatic transmission is, the less I like it. I might as well have a self-driving car and read a book. So boring.

Yes, if I bought a car to race and my sole source of income was winning races with said car, I would have an automatic transmission in it. But I buy cars to have fun driving them, and an automatic doesn't do that for me.

I would have agreed with you 5 years ago, but after 60 years of driving manual transmissions, it isn't fun any more. At best it's something you don't notice yourself doing, at worst it's just a nuisance. Besides, I'm pushing 81 years old. I don't need any potential distractions when I'm driving. No matter how good you still think you are, you would be wrong.

 

[5550snotamerc]

I wouldn’t want to have to maintain any of them. I’m sure the Lambo and the Ferrari's are very costly and probably very finicky requiring specialty knowledge and proprietary tools just to work on them. The price of admission is just the beginning. I had a friend who once told me that even a used rolls Royce that is now $60k 10 years old is still a Rolls Royce when it comes to maintaining it. I’m sure it’s equally true with super cars.

The trouble with the 'Vette is that unless you live near a specialty dealer you are kind of in the same boat. Hell, a buddy who lives in a small town had a supercharged Buick and his local dealer didn't know how to do the maintenance on the 'charger because they had never seen one.

 

[Hack]

I'm not sure what the big deal is. Oil, coolant, brake fluid, filters, yada yada yada. Buy the stuff and change it. Especially on a Corvette. They make tens of thousands every year, so it should be easy enough to find info if you aren't 100% sure how to do something.

 

[moby4dick]

Well, I finally got behind the wheel of a C8 Z06 and can say unequivocally, it’s a faster and better handling car than the GT500. The drive by wire, mid engine, balance, braking all were amazing. It felt so light and nimble thru the corners yet the chassis was stiff and you could feel the power all being put to the pavement. The engine is a screamer. The flat plane crank and track mode open exhaust was music to the ears and the paddle shifted trans was instantaneous. I shifter at 8000 RPMs and the power and pull was awesome. I even felt the driving position and view were better that the mustang. The Shelby had recaros which held my fat ass nicely but the z06 was equally comfortable. The smaller corvette steering wheel had a quicker ratio which allowed me to make the hairpin turn without moving my hands. On the mustang I couldn’t. The view out the front of the corvette was fantastic. No hood and the fenders literally right in front of you. I felt like I could see everything better. My best lap in the Z06 was 4 seconds faster than my best in the GT500. So where does this leave me? Yes the Z06 is a superior car. It’s also close to double what a GT500 could have been bought for (past tense for now). While I woukd love to have a corvette I know almost none of what made it an incredible experience on the track could be used safely and legally on the street. Knowing what it’s capable of and not being able to use it sucks. My mach 1 exceeds what is permitted on the streets, adding more and paying a ton more to get nothing usable other than bragging rights and looks of envy at Cars and coffee each weekend is worth something, I just don’t enough to justify the cost. If I lived somewhere with great weather year round and decent roads, and had time to do some track days, I woukd probably be looking for a new C8 Z06.
As an aside I followed up the C8 with 12 laps in a Lamborghini Huracan STO, jeezus, you want to talk about a raw and brutal race car. It beat me up. Stiffest chassis and heaviest steering of any of the cars I drove. Power was amazing V10 at 8000 RPMs thru a beautiful set of headers straight out the rear fascia of the car. The shifting was so hard I thought something broke the first time I shifted just before the red line. The interior is sparse and minimal. You woukd think for almost $400k you’re get some comfort, nope. Carbon fiber everything and raw power with killer aerodynamics. Head room made the vette feel like moms sedan. Wearing a helmet made getting in and out for me at 6’ anything but graceful. If you have the bag and want the baddest Lambo they offer currently, go for it but ide take the Z06 everyday over it. I was also about .5 second faster in the Z06 than the Lambo. The Lambo was quicker to accelerate and had a higher top speed down the straight but the harder brakes and heavier steering cost me time in the corners. With practice it’s probably quicker than the corvette but after almost 30 laps I was getting wore out, so I’m sure that was part of it.

Looks like not a Z07 nor with aero. Guessing not the comp seats? At any rate, thanks for the detailed review. I wish a manual would have been an option. Sounds as if you could do an even trade for the Z06, you wouldn’t miss the M1 and stick?

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