Silver05GTO

Anyone see this? Car & Drivers love of the C6 seems to have ended. In the comparison the C6 is faced off against a Porsche boxter, Audi TT, BMW Z4. Not many nice things were said about the vette other then the obvious straight line acceleration.

The most telling and interesting part of the comparison is that they tested a BASE suspension C6 automatic. Now I've been reading for years how the base suspension was "nearly" as good as the Z51 which recieved all the hype in reviews and comparisons. Many on this forum believed the stock brakes/suspension could just about match the Z51 if only someone would test it. Well folks, the vette did pathetically bad imo. GM was wise to opt to test the base with the Z51 all these years.

base suspension
Skidpad........0.83G
braking 70-0......171 feet

Compared with the last Z51 they tested...
skidpad.......0.99
braking 70-0....152 feet

C&D blasted the handling, other then saying the car soaked up bumps well.

This shows just how much of a performance option the Z51 has been since the 2005 C6 debuted. Independent test faired poorly for a base suspension car and in that comparison field it hurt the Corvette big time.

Couple disclaimers though......GM didn't have a vette to lend, thus C&D was only able to land an 08 base suspension auto with 15K miles on it.

mikez51c6

budgreen3564

let me guess....the BMW won

PAUZAO

SilverScorp

I dont believe the last sentence. With all the C6s out there not selling, GM could have easily donated a Z51. In fact, they could have rented a hertz ZHZ and did better. I think they are getting kickbacks from foreign car companies which is why I dont buy that magazine anymore.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

Wrote about this in this thread yesterday when someone "smartly" brought up the remarks which Car and Driver made with regard to the Z06 a few months back. Something about "limited reason for being".

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1570226639-post50.html

First they trash the Z06 in that prior article.

Give them a little bit of time, and a few days later, they trash the base car.

Poetic justice for those in here, who chose to quote that prior article, and refer to it as if it had any validity.


I wonder which Vette they will trash next. ZR...........

fyreline

Typical C&D jock-sniffer journalism. Nothing to get your knickers in a twist about, nobody reads that rag anyway.

Silver05GTO

Don't know about that. The competition continues to advance, the Corvette has added power only since 05. The interior is mostly the same, the C7 "was" supposed to be due out in 2011-2012 but is now on hold. The good times can't last forever, it's faults would eventually wear thin with reviewers.

C&D called the 3LT interior "rental quality." Couple this with a base suspension car and it led to a poor review. Not sure even the Z51 would've saved the Vette from last place but at least the performance results would've looked better in the handling department. This review makes the vette look like a horrible handling/braking imitation for a sports car. Ugly.

SilverScorp

Find a car that is all-around better than a Z06 for the price. I doubt you'll find one, believe me I looked. Even the Z51 is crazy good when compared to other cars in its class AND has 27mpg fuel efficiency. That last statement was quoted from a C&D article, which is why they are a bunch of hypocrites.

Silver05GTO

Poetic justice to a point. The Z51 "was" a great option. And was something the base vette needed to perform like a proper sports car. Now for 2010......no more Z51, just a much higher priced Grand Sport. People who opt for the base suspension if they want to get into a vette cheaply will be getting a car that can't out brake or out handle a Mustang GT!

'06 Quicksilver Z06

Going to a rental car place, and renting a car with 15,000 miles on it, and is a year old, a 2008, and then "testing" it against those other cars supplied by the manufacturers.

Corvette they rented, had 15,000 miles on it.

I wonder if those tires and brakes had 15,000 miles on them and that may have led to the poor braking results.

How much mileage did the other cars have on them?

That article, like some of the other articles in that rag, has no credibility

hawkgfr

DING.....we have a winner......

jschindler

Not true that there have been no advancements. The steering has been updated twice, the shift linkage has also been updated. The suspensions have been tweaked - but honestly they have always raved about the Z51 suspension.

The problem - as mentioned above, is that they tested a 15,000 rental car. I rent cars all the time - I know how they are treated.

But let's also not forget that the winning Porsche costs about the same as a Z06 when comparably equiped (only with nearly 200 less horsepower).

Vette Suspension

Very biased magazine. So biased it makes the New York Times look like it's on the up and up.

Silver05GTO

This is true. If C&D tested the car with bald tires and worn brakes they should be rightfully slammed for misleading the public. I would hope the car would have good tires and good brakes as part of their inspection before it was reviewed......

Have a feeling the vette community will be writing some nasty letters to C&D very soon. GM should investigate this as well, if the car was mechanically sound or not.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

The tires, brakes, shocks, did they all have 15,000 miles on them?

Would this have made a difference in not just the braking department, but the handling department as well, when tested up against that Porsche Boxster S, BMW Z4 sDrive35i and Audi TTS ?

I knew these guys had a screw loose when they made their remarks about the Z06 as compared against the Z51 and the ZR1.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

I certainly don't believe that they rented it and put a set of tires, shocks and brake pads and rotors on it.

Silver05GTO

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for buying a used C6 though

C6Buddy

BMW sucks. Period. I would have any C6 over any BWW no matter what.

SilverScorp

Not if its a hard driven rental. If its bought from an enthusiatist, then 15k cruising miles is not a problem at all.