davidfarmer

at the NCM driving school. The factory sent a car, and was kind enough to let a bunch of us racers do some hot laps.

Car was impressive, especially in the higher revs. Brakes were consistent, and the car was very light and balanced on track.

One big issue, however, if the traction control system. Appearantly it is this way in all C6's, but you cannot power-oversteer this car. I tried using the second gear on the tight CMP circuit, and the car absolutly WILL NOT let you slide the rear around. I'm very dissapointed that even turned off, the TC (or torque management) are still quite intrusive. I felt it several times at high speed corners in 3rd as well, and as these cars slowly make it to the track, there are going to be some very dissapointed drivers.

Granted GM is "dumbing down" cars for the average driver, but there should be an option to shut the system down for those capable of driving the car beyond the computers programmed limits!

THANKS to GM for allowing us the chance to drive the car that their dealers won't let us buy!

vette6799

I am surprised...thought you could turn the whole thing off or leave it in competition mode.

ivan111

Me too, the Corvette system is one of the least intrusive of any car....

None of the Mags that have tested the Z have reported that kind of problem....

Must be a problem of this specific car

RandyVettes

How did you find the runflats? Today I took my new C6 Z06 on the track in Joliet. Before today I thought I knew what I was doing but after the first session I was feeling out of my element. Between learning a new track and figuring out the new gearbox I had my work cut out for me. The tires felt hard and un-grippy and I was sliding more than I'd like. I had my first ever totally off-road excursion! (5 years at Road America, Gingerman, Putnam, and Blackhawk and I never put more than 2 tires off with C5's on sticky rubber!). As the day progressed I learned the lines and the track temp warmed up so I did a lot better, but the tire grip sure felt like the weak link between my butt and the track. Your thoughts?

Cobra4B

Hm... are you sure it was completely off? I thought on the C6 you had to hold the button down for 6 seconds or something? One push and it's in comp mode. Better than the C5 where it was one touch TC off, but 6 seconds for Comp Mode.

Woodyman

Maybe the factory was trying to protect the car and restricted the computer from entering comp mode...........

BRIAN60x

I am an inexperienced runflat driver. I have noticed huge differences in traction when on colder pavement. You might think, "of course stupid, you will always get less traction on colder days". Well this is unlike anything I have ever seen. This car drives like your driving in the snow when its cold out. Very loose! Has anyone noticed this? Is it the runflats?

RandyVettes

It was about 45 degress in the morning and hit about 60 in the afternoon with part sun. 20 minute track sessions but with 30 in the tires they never heated up past 32....

Tom Steele

I don't know, the runflats may be worse than usual, but my Michelin Pilot Sports are a lot looser right now as the temps are coming down.

You get a triple whammy.

1. Your tire pressure drops significantly, which might help on drag racing starts, but hurts lateral grip.

2. You have harder rubber.

3. You have more hp.

Short-Throw

I don't have my Z yet, but I sure do know what you are talking about.
I reported this last year being one of the first ones to get my vert Z51.
The runflats do not grip in weather that isn't bone freezing.

gabbagabbahey

The most recent C&D comparison between the Z and the Viper Coupe mentioned that the suspension / tires made the Z a bit squirrely / scary under mid corner bumps, but not the Viper. Did you experience any suspension issues also? Perhaps more forgiving, i.e., non-run flats are the answer. (assuming properly warmed tires / pressure)

JimBacus

AmericanAutobahn

David,

If this were your own car, you probably would have had some time to get through the owner's manual. In it you would have found that all electronic driver aids can be switched off by pressing and holding the traction control button. Pretty important thing to know for a racer-type like yourself. Particularly at a track day event.

Hopefully you'll get another chance sometime soon, so you can tell us how great the car was.

Cheers.

pkincy

All reports I have heard is this is not true for the C6s. It will tell you the TC (traction control) is off but TM (torque management) is not. It is hard wired in the computer and you will need editing software to defeat it. Rather than using the brake and throttle like TC, the TM pulls timing when it wants you to be nicer to the parts of the car it is protecting.

Perry

SteveL2

I dunno. I went out with John Page (21st Century Muscle Cars) this weekend and he 'broke in' his new Z06. At the risk of swelling his ego , he had no problem pushing his car and after a session several drivers of other fast cars (including I think a Panoz that had race tires and chased him around the track) came over to drool all over him and his car. They all wanted to see up close what kind of tires he was running, and each expressed shock to see it was the Goodyear stockers.

Maybe this was an issue with the car you were driving?

1Day

Offtopic:
Randy, how do you go about using the autobahn circuit, dont you have to pay an annual or are you are part of some club which does events there? Just wanted to find out..thanks..

Z-Rated

To turn everything "off" you must hold the TC button down for 6+ seconds. The competition mode will then shut down.

Axelrod

No. (and not to answer for David)

The issue as I interpret what David said in the original post is that when the car exceeds it's limits.. he was trying to steer the car with the tail end with "full power on". Unfortunately, he experienced that the ECM was invading his driving prowess. Right David?

AU N EGL

YES - I also drove the new Z on track. The new Z has a slightly Differnt approch then other C6s. The C6 Z does not have three settings, only Two, Competion Mode and Off. But OFF is only turning traction control off and not the ECM torque managment. Where as other C6s have three settings.
per one of the Corvette engeineers on site. I do believe that is what he told me when he was in the right seat.

Trail Braking Thottle Oversteering, or slight braking into a corner to allow the rear of the car to slide slightly inorder to point the nose ( or steering with out the front wheels) while under 80-100% throttle was not an option. the ECM and TQ managment took over and did not allow this to happen. Which I can understand for NORMAL street use and safty.

Tire grip was very good for not being R compounds. I did find that I had to reduce the tire pressure to 30r-32f before my run to make them work better.

Overall I was extreemly impressed with the new Z

68roadster

Cool! Thanks.