Originally Posted by TBIRD57

wish i could have been there to join in the discussion

maybe the corvette forum could do a scheduled interactive chat room
event with a guy like this.....give us a real chance for feedback.
his comment about their seat reasoning NOW makes sense!

wonder what top 5 questions members would ask.
well?

Originally Posted by bilderguy

My dad and I went to the Detroit Auto Show on Friday. My dad happened to be sitting in a Dodge Challenger in the drivers seat and started up a random conversation with a guy who was sitting in the passenger seat just checking out the Dodge. After some small talk about the car my dad learned he was a senior gm engineer who works in the corvette division. He talked with us for about 30 minutes. My dad and I had told him we got a ZR1 the day after xmas. He was really surprised considering there are not many people in Detroit that currently have a ZR1 (or anywhere considering there are only 610 produced so far). That really sparked his interest in speaking with us. Here is what he told us (in no specific order). BTW - if I am posting things that members already know please don't blast me. I am new to this forum.

1. The corvette engineering team within GM has the highest level of commitment to product development and execution. Second to none. They listen to the buyers who purchase these cars and do their very best to satisfy the wants of all corvette enthusiasts.
2. The seats (and there lack of lateral support) that everyone complains about have not been changed because they do not want to limit the range of the perspective corvette buyer by introducing more side support on the seats thus limiting who can fit in them. Larger people would not be comfortable with those type of seats and they don't want that.
3. Exhaust note and the valves opening at 3000 rpm on the ZR1 are designed that way because of federally regulated noise restrictions. He was very aware of all the aftermarket devices that are available that leave the valves open all the time (he was smiling about it).
4. The 2010 ZR1's will not have more horsepower. The engines are engineered, designed and assembled at their peak.
5. He said Chevy is not going to come out with another bigger horsepower successor to the ZR1. He stated the government regulations on gas economy has put an end to the horsepower wars. As Chevy moves forward they will put their emphasis on lighter weight materials along with less horsepower to still achieve performance standards along with gas economy restrictions.
6. The ZR1 will always remain as the flagship model for Corvette. They are not planning on building more than 4,000 units (and possibly less depending on plant closures, the bailout etc.). He used the word "icon" when describing how they want the c6 ZR1 to be perceived in the GM history books. They purposely do not want to saturate the number of ZR1's and reduce the exclusiveness of the model. They want to keep the numbers low. Good news for those who have already purchased one and those who will get one.
7. He sort of chuckled when I asked him if he liked about the Viper ACR sitting 50 feet from us. He very much respected the car but he felt the comparison of the ring times to the ZR1 are not exactly apples to apples based on the fact the ACR is not a street legal car and it was tested using the factory supplied racing slicks (not exactly the type you find on a normal vehicle). He was not bashing it at all though, he just wanted to be sure we knew the ACR's specifications.
8. He even gave me his name and contact information if I had any questions or concerns with my ZR1. I could tell he was a very dedicated and sharp guy just by the way he talked about the ZR1 and corvettes in general. I also felt that he genuinely wanted to make sure that I felt the money spent on my ZR1 was justifiable.
9. He wanted to know what dealership I purchased it from and if I was able to get it for sticker price. I couldn't express to him enough about Jeff Cauley and Cauley Chevrolet and the way they handled my purchase. Absolutely the best dealership I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with. I told him Jeff was truly a man of his word and GM should be proud to have him represent great products such as the ZR1 and chevy in general. He was well aware of the positive Cauley reputation and the level of integrity at which they operate.

Unfortunately because I live in Michigan I told him I literally have only driven it 40 feet. I pulled it into my heated garage after the covered flatbed rolled it off onto my driveway. He smiled and said when I drove it in the spring that I would not be dissapointed. Very ironic to run into this fellow and I feel lucky that I did. Hope you find this information useful.

Originally Posted by Onerareviper

For the extreme performance the ZR1 provides, it deserves a 'drivers' seat. At least as an option.

Originally Posted by Bwright

Excellent post.

Having spoken with some of the Corvette engineers on the subject I think I get what he really meant as regards the ACR. The ACR’s Sport Cup tires are in fact street legal. However, they trade ferocious grip for very poor longevity. As such, (IIRC) on the punishing Nurburgring the Viper ACR in question needed to use four (!) different sets of tires (one set for every lap) to set its time. I believe this is in the print edition of the Motor Trend piece. The Z06’s Ring lap times were run with eight consecutive laps (four in anger and four cool downs to pit dead stop) on a single set of tires. But then the treadwear rating on the Z06/ZR1s tires is 220. For the Viper, the Sport Cups have a treadwear rating of 80. Track meets between the cars will come down to distance run.

The ACR was also lowered a material 0.5 inches below stock ride height which is set as low as Dodge can get and still pass the Federal requirements. By then lowering the ACR the car was both no longer stock and no longer street legal. Remember that the Porsche 996 GT3 RS was not sold here because it was too low to pass our Federal ride height laws. The relative ease with which the ACR can be lowered is irrelevant if you are comparing street legal Ring times. ALL cars can be lowered. But rest assured that Viper owners would summarily dismiss both the ZR1 and Nissan GT-R’s Ring lap times, as well they should, if it were revealed that those cars were lowered a material 0.5 inch below stock ride heights. But if a Viper is lowered below stock, well, then it’s all good.

But of far greater concern on the ACR’s lap is that the car was run with a front splitter which is explicitly illegal for use on public roads in any state as it runs afoul of Federal road use laws. Full stop. Dodge’s engineer’s were fairly specific about that in this Autoweek piece.

According to the Viper’s engineers, the front splitter contributes fully one third of the front downforce of the car and is tightly integrated with the overall aerodynamics. Dodge has to deliver the ACR with the splitter unattached because it is not street-legal. As such, Dodge’s engineers refer to it as a “track extension.” In Car and Driver’s November 2008 issue (page 24) in responding to a reader letter asking why CD had said the Viper’s splitter was illegal, CD pointed to the relevant Federal statute and specifically how the splitter was in violation. Non street-legal components and/or setups cannot seriously be referenced to compare to a fully street-legal car. Again, rest assured that Viper owners would dismiss as invalid any Ring times set by a Corvette which was merely lowered let alone one fitted with non street-legal parts even if those parts were sourced directly from GM Performance Parts.

On the seats, that’s also something I have heard. The Vette’s seats are quite comfortable for hours of highway driving but a bit less so for extreme cornering. But redesigning them, especially with integrated airbags, would be very, very expensive. Caravaggio’s least expensive nice seat is $4,295 with no side airbags. Good luck with that. Note that Porsche says that design of the seats on the 997 GT2 was the most time-consuming part of the car’s development. These seats cost $3,485 as an option on a base 911. In addition, note what Car and Driver said of the comfort level of the Viper’s heavily bolstered seats. See also Automobile Magazine’s Ezra Dyer’s comments about Porsche’s Comfort seats in the February 2009 Automobile magazine. You just can’t please everyone.

Originally Posted by blazeone

To bad Chevy doesn't offer a track orientated version of the vette like Dodge does with the ACR Viper

Originally Posted by Tom400CFI

Too bad it's just another super lame decal package. As I said in another forum, this is the kind of 'Vette, that gets 'Vettes made fun of, by other car owners.

Originally Posted by mdj89

Is the ZR1 really made for the track, road or both?

Originally Posted by Jaxian

Even as an option, because of liability issues, wouldn't a sport seat require complete retesting of all crash tests? I am assuming thats the case, side impact, with and without side airbags the whole nine yards. It would cost a fortune.

Originally Posted by mousecatcher

would have been nice (for lots of reasons) if the side impact bags were in the pillars or door panels instead of the seats. i wonder if that would have addressed crash testing?

Originally Posted by bilderguy

I just dont understand why all the negativity and blasts. I figure some people just always have some kind of point to prove I guess.