lemming
04-12-2004, 11:56 AM
exterior: the car is what it is. it is not subtle and it very wide and long. the butt is too thick. the wheels, while lightweight, are plain-jane. the fender curves up front are voluptuous enough. typical GM paint. nothing to rave about.
interior: the interior is a fair bit nicer than i thought it would be. people cry about the corvette interior so much and a big selling point of the c6 is going to be an XLR-type interior. maybe it's because my daily reference is a Fuji Heavy Industries car? the interior leather feels as rich if not better than any BMW leather i've experienced. the dials are cool because they're right there and nothing fancy. the switchgear is corporate GM parts bin, again, i like it. it has a decent feel to it. not quite as upscale as BMW as far as buttons "feel" but as nice as anything else i've owned. the seats need some side bolstering, though --i guess they don't do that because a lot of big dopey good ole boys need to fit into these cars.
shifting: ack. you can feel the tremec transmission is robust and engagement is usually positive, but notchy as hell. the thing is, it just does not like to be rushed. there isn't a huge need to rush shifts, either, as i'd never drag race the car. it falls easily to hand, though. it's the right level for me. the clutch is amazingly easy to modulate. oh, the wonders of modern cars that this clutch is a far cry from those stiff, heavy units in the rustangs (gt or cobra) at bondurant.
brake feel is decent, which is very non-GM-like. the brakes pull the car down quickly but i could not comment about fade just yet. i'm sure it is a concern and the calipers are just the two-piston front/single piston rear. the car has a lot of brake ducting which is well thought out ahead of time, but it's still probably just sufficient braking power and not an excess for this car.
the engine:
this is why people pay the big bucks (LOL). it's funny because some days i think it feels and sounds agricultural, but more often than not, it's the sound i always sought in the M3 or the M coupe. quiet until you get on it and then it positively growls and barks.
things happen so fast with this engine. basically any gear held for longer than 4000 rpms is going to get the rear end a little squirrely and the car will rocket forward (okay, not 5 and 6th gears). it's bloody fast. really, really, really, really scary fast. not really refined power at all and i like it that way. it's brutal. if ray lewis were a car, he'd be a z06. i think i looked at a torque curve and the minimum torque is 322ft#'s. you can feel that torque everywhere.
it does that typical v8 ohv gurgle when you get off the gas, too. it's addictive and clear after this car, there cannot be going back.
handling: this is what surprises me the most. it is a supple ride for the car's stated intent. the fellas who tuned the suspension are geniuses or did a lot of work. obviously they did a lot of tuning at the 'ring so it's a well rounded suspension setup. i can, in fact, feel a huge difference with this car and an '01 car. while there may be initial understeer, the car really is a neutral, neutral car and it sticks like glue. no body roll, it soaks up bumps with ease. no pitch or dive, either.
the only time it gets jiggly is under really hard acceleration. it feels like bushings flex and the rear end twitches just a tad as the power gets laid down on the tarmac. i'm guessing a T1 SCCA suspension kit will dial that out. :-)
active handling is interesting. you can leave it on with traction control or w/o traction control and it really is like PSM that 911s have where it does not come on until late and it is very unobtrusive.
SUMMARY: if you haven't driven a c5, maybe you might want to. just for something different but also to see a completely different, brutal approach to performance. stuffing 405hp in a 3050 pound chassis for the street is clearly insane. the car is ALWAYS bored. i've been on the car quest for some time now. for $40k, there is nothing in the universe that is better than this using my search parameters.
interior: the interior is a fair bit nicer than i thought it would be. people cry about the corvette interior so much and a big selling point of the c6 is going to be an XLR-type interior. maybe it's because my daily reference is a Fuji Heavy Industries car? the interior leather feels as rich if not better than any BMW leather i've experienced. the dials are cool because they're right there and nothing fancy. the switchgear is corporate GM parts bin, again, i like it. it has a decent feel to it. not quite as upscale as BMW as far as buttons "feel" but as nice as anything else i've owned. the seats need some side bolstering, though --i guess they don't do that because a lot of big dopey good ole boys need to fit into these cars.
shifting: ack. you can feel the tremec transmission is robust and engagement is usually positive, but notchy as hell. the thing is, it just does not like to be rushed. there isn't a huge need to rush shifts, either, as i'd never drag race the car. it falls easily to hand, though. it's the right level for me. the clutch is amazingly easy to modulate. oh, the wonders of modern cars that this clutch is a far cry from those stiff, heavy units in the rustangs (gt or cobra) at bondurant.
brake feel is decent, which is very non-GM-like. the brakes pull the car down quickly but i could not comment about fade just yet. i'm sure it is a concern and the calipers are just the two-piston front/single piston rear. the car has a lot of brake ducting which is well thought out ahead of time, but it's still probably just sufficient braking power and not an excess for this car.
the engine:
this is why people pay the big bucks (LOL). it's funny because some days i think it feels and sounds agricultural, but more often than not, it's the sound i always sought in the M3 or the M coupe. quiet until you get on it and then it positively growls and barks.
things happen so fast with this engine. basically any gear held for longer than 4000 rpms is going to get the rear end a little squirrely and the car will rocket forward (okay, not 5 and 6th gears). it's bloody fast. really, really, really, really scary fast. not really refined power at all and i like it that way. it's brutal. if ray lewis were a car, he'd be a z06. i think i looked at a torque curve and the minimum torque is 322ft#'s. you can feel that torque everywhere.
it does that typical v8 ohv gurgle when you get off the gas, too. it's addictive and clear after this car, there cannot be going back.
handling: this is what surprises me the most. it is a supple ride for the car's stated intent. the fellas who tuned the suspension are geniuses or did a lot of work. obviously they did a lot of tuning at the 'ring so it's a well rounded suspension setup. i can, in fact, feel a huge difference with this car and an '01 car. while there may be initial understeer, the car really is a neutral, neutral car and it sticks like glue. no body roll, it soaks up bumps with ease. no pitch or dive, either.
the only time it gets jiggly is under really hard acceleration. it feels like bushings flex and the rear end twitches just a tad as the power gets laid down on the tarmac. i'm guessing a T1 SCCA suspension kit will dial that out. :-)
active handling is interesting. you can leave it on with traction control or w/o traction control and it really is like PSM that 911s have where it does not come on until late and it is very unobtrusive.
SUMMARY: if you haven't driven a c5, maybe you might want to. just for something different but also to see a completely different, brutal approach to performance. stuffing 405hp in a 3050 pound chassis for the street is clearly insane. the car is ALWAYS bored. i've been on the car quest for some time now. for $40k, there is nothing in the universe that is better than this using my search parameters.