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6,305 Posts
......vs Corvette!!
Corvette vs Corvette..........
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23 Posts
Great cars. Too bad they couldn't spring for better seats in the ZO6 and ZR1.
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1,256 Posts
This is timely. I test drove a C6 coupe and a Z06 this evening and paid special attention to the seats because I've heard the complaints, and I didn't find a thing wrong with them. I was actually liking the lower back and bottom pad comfort. It maybe, maybe, maybe could have used better side bolsters for hard cornering, but what is wrong with these seats? Nothing in my book.
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1,631 Posts
Corvette is proof that somebody inside GM gets it. It is proof that if you build an outstanding product, and improve it year after year after year INSTEAD of doing a clean sheet design every 6 years, you end up with an incredible car. It is proof that racing really CAN improve your street cars if you spend the money on the RIGHT RACING PROGRAMS (the C5R and C6R instead of the wasted money on NASCAR).
Outstanding.
Outstanding.
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1,049 Posts
Although I doubt the Corvette would ever feature AWD due to the difficulty of packaging a front differential and an engine under that extremely low hood combined with the undesirable rise in price and girth, it is possible. The GT-R uses a rear transaxle with front engine like the Corvette. The Nissan has a second drive shaft that runs parallel to the first, returning power up to the front again.
I really hope they offer the ZR1 suspension on base and Z06 Vettes. The base model already has MR shocks available, but apparently their 1st gen tuning isn't nearly as capable as even the Z51, let alone the might ZR1. If this was simply replaced by the superior ZR1's setup, I'd bet there would be a lot of takers. Are you listening GM?
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1,108 Posts
You have to look at this from a business sense. Why would they offer the ZR1 suspension in two other models that cost around $74,755 (Z06) and $50,000 (Z51) and then expect people to continue to pay $30,000 for only 100 extra horsepower or $50,000 for 200 extra horsepower; Something people could easily do themselves for much cheaper, especially with the Z06 by buying an aftermarket supercharger.
You can't modify a suspension as easily as adding a supercharger and modifying the engine output.
Giving all vettes the same suspension would make the ZR1 useless. It would make the ZR1 a little better then a trim upgrade. In other words: Not worth the money.
You can't modify a suspension as easily as adding a supercharger and modifying the engine output.
Giving all vettes the same suspension would make the ZR1 useless. It would make the ZR1 a little better then a trim upgrade. In other words: Not worth the money.
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4,954 Posts
if there is a better 1-2 punch in the automotive world then the Z06 and the ZR1 I sure as hell haven't seen it. You can't beat these cars with there price and performance.
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1,049 Posts
Or you can look at it as a way to capitalize on development costs for the ZR1, which will never pay for itself in sales. It is such a limited production car, and so much effort has been put into every aspect of its development, that it will always command a high price, even used. The Z06 and ZR1 use an aluminum frame, so it would essentially be impossible to "build your own ZR1" out of a base Vette without reaching near XLR levels of weight. The Z06 would be a lot closer, but it lacks the carbon fiber bodywork of the ZR1 and the huge carbon-ceramic brake package in addition to an extra 133 hp and 134 lb ft of factory warranted, emissions-legal torque. You could probably build something similar, but in the end, I doubt you'd save enough of the $30K difference to make it worth your while.
GM will sell every ZR1 it builds, I have no question in my mind. Why not make some money off of its development by offering the best Vette suspension calibration as an optional upgrade to the other two Vettes? No need to dumb down the base models to upsell to the ZR1 which people will buy anyway. The Vette was always about offering the best to just-within-the-means-of-the-working-man-incomes with few compromises. Now it's available as the most expensive car GM sells, and it would be a low cost, wise decision to let the knowledge gleaned from the ZR1's development trickle down to other models. For example, the greatness that is the CTS-V would never be possible without the ZR1, and even though it costs considerably less, it will probably make more money than it will lose in potential ZR1 sales.
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2,763 Posts
Further proof the Corvette is the best car in the world.
Your argument seems counter-intuitive. Assuming GM has a larger profit margin on the ZR1 than the Z06 and that the Z06 margin is larger than the base car, and that GM continues to sell every corvette that they can make => Any move that increases the appeal of the base car with respect to the other two actually lowers their revenue and profit for the plant.
I'm also not sure that there wouldn't be extra development resources to use the ZR1 suspension calibration in a car 200 lbs lighter, or one making 200 horsepower less. I do agree with your statement that the tech should EVENTUALLY trickle down to other models. The CTS-V is not a good example of this however, since the Cadillac is a clear-cut case of a customer who places a very high value on compliant ride.
I'll admit I don't know what the actual difference is between the base Corvette MR shocks and the "more capable" ZR-1 setup. If it's just software or slightly more expensive magnetic fluid, I'll agree that it's a no-brainer, and I'm sure GM would too.
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4,660 Posts
AWESOME video! The sound of the ZR1 is so angry....I love it. I really think a base Corvette has enough power/handling/braking to get me in plenty enough trouble on the streets, and it's value is unheard of. I would probably buy a base (well Z51 pckg) Corvette.....but I wouldn't doubt if sometime later I would have Z envy only to find myself wanting to upgrade.
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