Anyone here also debating a Corvette Z06? Anyone own one or driven one?

 

I have a friend that has one in Arizona. I drove it out there a couple of days ago.

His is a 3LZ trim,.. and has the ZO7 package, the flash painted CF ground effects package, and the flappy-paddle 8 speed.

It's awfully quick and loud. The rear 335 Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tires look like slicks,.. and are hard to keep hooked up. The dash tells you when they're warm enough.

The carbon brakes are even more impressive. I didn't really get on them,.. but I imagine a neck brace would be good to have. Just light presses of the brake pedal are max braking for some cars.

The stealth mode is really cool. There's like 4 exhaust modes,.. and in stealth the car is no louder than a Camry,.. but will still out-run about anything.

Egress is a bit tight though,.. but I'm large.

He only bought it to re-sell though. $105k sticker. He's asking $90k with 1,500 miles.

 

So you wouldn't trade your 997 for one? Thing looks mean...

 

Personally,... I don;t fit in Corvettes. I have a tall torso,.. and my head is on the roof of all of them.

Even infected with a sunroof,.. I have a couple inches of headroom in the 997.

If that wasn't the case? Hmmm,.... I've only had time to put 1,000 miles on my 997,.. and only drove the Zo7 for 15 minutes,.... so it's hard to say.

Both are very nice,.. the Vette is VERY in your face. Loud exh, shouty bodywork,...

By contrast the 997 TT seems to be trying to belie what it is.

The 997 would be much better day to day,... and you know how GM things age. The new cars are so much superior to the old ones,.. and the chassis of the new Vette is incredibly stiff,... but still,.. I suspect after 30,000 miles it will have creaks and bad seat bolsters etc.

Also,.. the performance is there in the Vette on a 75 degree day,.. in Arizona, with sticky wide tires,.. nearly slicks. In Michigan it would be a rare day you could get full throttle in that. The 997 will do what it does here 9 months a year,.. even in the rain.

Then there's cost of ownership,.. 997's have perhaps bottomed out price-wise,... the Vette will drop $10 + k a year for the next few I suspect.

Oh, and visibility,.. the Vette has a long hood,.. big voluptuous front fenders,.. and small side windows. It makes driving through a parking lot a bit nerve racking. I'm sure you'd get used to it,.. I just didn't have time.

Personally I think it's a car I'd buy in 3 years,.. when a 20,000 mile example of a Zo7 can be had for $68k,.. or a Zo6 for $60k.. That would be super performance to dollar.

 

Thanks for your input Duckstu. I agree with what you are saying.

 

I should add,.... that on the excitement front,.. the Vatte has it all over the Turbo.

"IF" the 997 TT has a fault,.. it's that it is SO well engineered,... and SO well built,... and SO capable,.. and AWD etc,.. that it belies it's speed. Every time you look down and think you're probably doing 70,.. the speedometer has 3 digits showing. So to get your kicks,.. you have to find a big road and do something very illegal.

The Vette by comparison has that instant kick in the pants,.. and shouty exhaust,.. and is tail happy, etc. So you get more thrills for a given speed.

I came from the Subaru world,... where the STI is basically a rally-car drive-train stuffed into a $12,000 econo-box chassis. So at 70 you feel like you're doing 85. I would tear it up and have my thrills,.. yet in 9 years I never got a speeding ticket.

The Vette is in-between those two extremes.

I consider the 997 TT the ULTIMATE way for an executive with a good lawyer to get places FAST, and in comfort. But it's not the most exciting platform on the market. It's too solidly built.

 

I drove my friends 14 Z51 and didn't care for it. He drove my 09 TT and then bought his own. He's selling his vette.

 

Ask on the 991TT side too. A few guys still have both! IMHO its a badass car but still not quite as good as a 997+ TT especially tuned up a bit.

 

You be better off getting a c6 zr1 than a c7 z06. The c7 has had cooling issues which cause the motor to drop power and can happen in as little as 2 laps on the track on hot days. The c6 zr1 is pretty close to the bottom of its depreciation I believe and can be drive hard lap after lap with zero issues. Only thing is the seats don't have very much support. Pulley, injectors and e85 tune also gets you about 750whp

 

Awesome. Yeah I think I have to get the exhaust on my car to uncork some sounds and thrill the senses. I agree with getting to triple digit speeds and not hearing or feeling much, being a dangerous thing lol.

 

I came from a c6z06.

I agree exactly with what was said above. The vette is more exciting to drive. It is just as fast and a crazy ride even at sub 100 speed. Also i felt like i could trust my vette more to go driving. I really havent had any problems on either but in the back of my mind i would worry about a break down on a long trip in the 997 vs the vette. It may have to do with mechanic availability that if something did happen i could hopefully fix it easier in the vette.

All that being said the 997 is far more rare and nicer. You can tell it is a higher quality car (although unlike everyone else i never thought the vette was that bad).
For the record i had to get an exhaust and tune to make my 997 feel like the vette did in acceleration. And ref your quote above, the exhaust on the 997 did not make it any more exciting/thrilling, when compared to the vette at least. But it did make it faster.


I imagine i will get a c7z06 someday because it sounds like a great car. While the cooling thing may be an issue if hammering on the car at a track all the time i imagine a little timing pull here and there in the real world isnt that big a deal. I mean ever car does it.

 

Now that is a *****in' Camaro.