drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
11-05-2004, 09:02 PM
#1
drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
There's been a lot of C6 reviews saying they're so great and people are trading in the Z for them etc. Well my dad just bought a new C6 corvette and we were both all excited. He got an automatic cause that's what he prefers these days.
First thing I notice is the steering wheel is big - really big. It feels like you're grabbing a baseball bat. The diameter isn't just big, it's like twice as thick as the Z and feels like cheep hollow plastic - which it is.
So I'm driving and of course floor it. It's pretty quiet - I mean it is somewhat loud, but it sounds really airy - not as punchy or as sporty as the Z. It has more of a roar to it - like a heavy breathing roar, but it doesn't sound throaty/hard at all. Just sounds like a lot of air. Something that's nice that I liked over the Z was the sound of the engine when doing WOT actually comes from the back more than the front. With my track model Z (that's almost stock right now other than an intake) you hear the sound coming more from the front of the car.
Now the transmission. Yeah this vette is an auto. First let me say that I owned a 2004.5 enthusiast auto for about 4.5 months before trading in for the manual track model. Flat out, the Z's auto is better. It shifts much quicker. When you floor an auto Z, you get almost instant downshifting. With the vette, it takes a sec. And it seems a little more jerky in its shifting - like at the top of 3rd gear - BAM, you're into fourth - but not a BAM like 'whoa hang on' No it's more like BAM 'whoa we kinda slowed down a lot' - then it picks up speed again a half sec later. Just saying the auto Z felt way more peppier and alive.
Ok, but aside from that, the vette is fast. Almost scary fast, but I sat there as passenger and driver and even though you know it's fast, maybe I'm just used to the Z's punchier, more alive sound, but it didn't make me feel like it was lightyears faster than the Z. I know it is, but something about the softness of the engine made it feel slightly faster, but not jaw dropping. I'm sure a manual vette might make you feel that - I mean, maybe it's the fact that it was an auto that it made it feel not as fast and more passive, I don't know. My dad used to own a corvette about 15 years ago and made the comment that this one is much quieter than the one he used to have. Also that the tires aren't as wide on this one as before.
Some things some of you might not know about the vette - It has GPS tracking, and a service where if you have a question about the car or how to get somewhere, the car has a sorta built in phone. Great idea! So if you're lost, you can either look on the LCD navigation map or call in and ask directions. If you get in an accident and the airbags go off, you'll get a call asking you if you're ok. If you don't respond, a 911 call is made.
The corvette is a V8, but when cruising at highway speeds, it actually cuts off 4 cylinders for better gas mileage - that's why its mpg is better than the Z. However, when cruising, you feel like you have a 4 cylinder car. The auto does not have a manual shift mode so you're stuck with whatever gear the car chooses. This combined with cutting 4 cylinders makes the car feel actually kinda sluggish at cruising speeds.
The vette has a million gadget things. All which have poor user interfaces. We couldn't get the LCD screen to go off - took like 3 min to figure it out and still didn't seem like an efficient way. Somehow we ended up getting the car operator on the phone accidently because we couldn't figure out how to stop it before it dialed the number. Before it dials in, the digital woman computer voice asks if you have a question so it's all voice activated. We couldn't get her to shut up - I'm sure it's just some button somewhere, but we kept saying "OFF, Turn off!" but wouldn't so then it dialed in to a real person and when he hung up it finally turned all off.
The car doesn't have a key. It has a FOB that detects when you're within 3 feet of the door. Then the starter works the same way. If you sit down with the FOB in your pocket or whatever, you push the starter button to start the car. You don't need the FOB to drive the car though - just to start it. The keyless entry doesn't always react super quick. It seems like if you were in a hurry and were walking up the the car really fast, you might have to wait a sec or two for the doors to detect the FOB and let you open the doors. BTW - maybe there's a way to stop this, but every time we turned the car off, it would honk 3 times really quick - ANNOYING
The interior doesn't feel "cheap" at all. Actually getting back in my Z, my Z felt a little on the cheap side. The C6 actually feels fairly high tech in a lot of ways. The door handles on the inside of the car are really kinda neat too.
I have a couple gripes with the heads up display. First of all, it's really pretty small. They cram a lot of info in a tiny space. The RPM meter is almost worthless. It's much easier to see the anaglog guage (which is HUGE) while looking at the road than the digital. The digital is really crammed close to the digital MPH readout - which is useful and nice size. Ok, now the G-meter. It's almost worthless. Why? Did I go around trying to do corners at 1 G or anything? No. I thought it was a great idea in concept, but for one thing, the readout is tiny! I mean way way way tiny. If you're actually taking a corner fast enough that you'd care to read it, well you probably shouldn't be looking at this stupid meter, you should be driving. Second, it's too damn tiny to read at any sort of speed! Not just that, but because it's so close to the MPH and everything else, it actually takes your eye a second to visually locate it. Maybe you can adjust the HUD to show specifically what you want it to show, but I found myself wishing you could just show either the MPH really big or the G meter really big
Driving it, it really does feel like a big boat. I didn't think it would, but it did.
The traction control I think is set up a little different than the Z. According to my dad - who might be wrong, the vette doesn't have independent braking like VDC in our Z's. Nor does it cut the engine. According to him, it turns the LSD on and off - and that sounded like BS to me, but I'm not a car expert let alone a C6 expert.
Granted I only drove it for about 20 min, spent 30 min as passenger, and stood around it looking at it for about an hour, but that's how the auto C6 felt to me.
First thing I notice is the steering wheel is big - really big. It feels like you're grabbing a baseball bat. The diameter isn't just big, it's like twice as thick as the Z and feels like cheep hollow plastic - which it is.
So I'm driving and of course floor it. It's pretty quiet - I mean it is somewhat loud, but it sounds really airy - not as punchy or as sporty as the Z. It has more of a roar to it - like a heavy breathing roar, but it doesn't sound throaty/hard at all. Just sounds like a lot of air. Something that's nice that I liked over the Z was the sound of the engine when doing WOT actually comes from the back more than the front. With my track model Z (that's almost stock right now other than an intake) you hear the sound coming more from the front of the car.
Now the transmission. Yeah this vette is an auto. First let me say that I owned a 2004.5 enthusiast auto for about 4.5 months before trading in for the manual track model. Flat out, the Z's auto is better. It shifts much quicker. When you floor an auto Z, you get almost instant downshifting. With the vette, it takes a sec. And it seems a little more jerky in its shifting - like at the top of 3rd gear - BAM, you're into fourth - but not a BAM like 'whoa hang on' No it's more like BAM 'whoa we kinda slowed down a lot' - then it picks up speed again a half sec later. Just saying the auto Z felt way more peppier and alive.
Ok, but aside from that, the vette is fast. Almost scary fast, but I sat there as passenger and driver and even though you know it's fast, maybe I'm just used to the Z's punchier, more alive sound, but it didn't make me feel like it was lightyears faster than the Z. I know it is, but something about the softness of the engine made it feel slightly faster, but not jaw dropping. I'm sure a manual vette might make you feel that - I mean, maybe it's the fact that it was an auto that it made it feel not as fast and more passive, I don't know. My dad used to own a corvette about 15 years ago and made the comment that this one is much quieter than the one he used to have. Also that the tires aren't as wide on this one as before.
Some things some of you might not know about the vette - It has GPS tracking, and a service where if you have a question about the car or how to get somewhere, the car has a sorta built in phone. Great idea! So if you're lost, you can either look on the LCD navigation map or call in and ask directions. If you get in an accident and the airbags go off, you'll get a call asking you if you're ok. If you don't respond, a 911 call is made.
The corvette is a V8, but when cruising at highway speeds, it actually cuts off 4 cylinders for better gas mileage - that's why its mpg is better than the Z. However, when cruising, you feel like you have a 4 cylinder car. The auto does not have a manual shift mode so you're stuck with whatever gear the car chooses. This combined with cutting 4 cylinders makes the car feel actually kinda sluggish at cruising speeds.
The vette has a million gadget things. All which have poor user interfaces. We couldn't get the LCD screen to go off - took like 3 min to figure it out and still didn't seem like an efficient way. Somehow we ended up getting the car operator on the phone accidently because we couldn't figure out how to stop it before it dialed the number. Before it dials in, the digital woman computer voice asks if you have a question so it's all voice activated. We couldn't get her to shut up - I'm sure it's just some button somewhere, but we kept saying "OFF, Turn off!" but wouldn't so then it dialed in to a real person and when he hung up it finally turned all off.
The car doesn't have a key. It has a FOB that detects when you're within 3 feet of the door. Then the starter works the same way. If you sit down with the FOB in your pocket or whatever, you push the starter button to start the car. You don't need the FOB to drive the car though - just to start it. The keyless entry doesn't always react super quick. It seems like if you were in a hurry and were walking up the the car really fast, you might have to wait a sec or two for the doors to detect the FOB and let you open the doors. BTW - maybe there's a way to stop this, but every time we turned the car off, it would honk 3 times really quick - ANNOYING
The interior doesn't feel "cheap" at all. Actually getting back in my Z, my Z felt a little on the cheap side. The C6 actually feels fairly high tech in a lot of ways. The door handles on the inside of the car are really kinda neat too.
I have a couple gripes with the heads up display. First of all, it's really pretty small. They cram a lot of info in a tiny space. The RPM meter is almost worthless. It's much easier to see the anaglog guage (which is HUGE) while looking at the road than the digital. The digital is really crammed close to the digital MPH readout - which is useful and nice size. Ok, now the G-meter. It's almost worthless. Why? Did I go around trying to do corners at 1 G or anything? No. I thought it was a great idea in concept, but for one thing, the readout is tiny! I mean way way way tiny. If you're actually taking a corner fast enough that you'd care to read it, well you probably shouldn't be looking at this stupid meter, you should be driving. Second, it's too damn tiny to read at any sort of speed! Not just that, but because it's so close to the MPH and everything else, it actually takes your eye a second to visually locate it. Maybe you can adjust the HUD to show specifically what you want it to show, but I found myself wishing you could just show either the MPH really big or the G meter really big
Driving it, it really does feel like a big boat. I didn't think it would, but it did.
The traction control I think is set up a little different than the Z. According to my dad - who might be wrong, the vette doesn't have independent braking like VDC in our Z's. Nor does it cut the engine. According to him, it turns the LSD on and off - and that sounded like BS to me, but I'm not a car expert let alone a C6 expert.
Granted I only drove it for about 20 min, spent 30 min as passenger, and stood around it looking at it for about an hour, but that's how the auto C6 felt to me.
Last edited by sentry65; 11-05-2004 at 09:15 PM.
11-05-2004, 10:35 PM
#4
Re: drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
something else I noticed that scared the crap out of me when driving was the brake pedal really sticks out toward you - about 2 or 3 inches closer to you than the gas pedal. In the 20 min of me driving it for the first time, for about 2 sec I managed to get my food wedged/caught between the gas pedal and the brake pedal effectively forcing my foot on the gas without being able to get it unstuck immediately.
When my dad was driving, he took a corner really fast and there didn't seem to have much body lean at all. He got the sports package BTW. Also we noticed that it doesn't seem too bumpy. We went over a couple 'inverted bumps' - like where water might run thru - went thru them at like 15 mph or so and really not too bumpy.
that front aero spoiler under the car will hit and scrape on everything at any speed. driving onto and off of the driveway - which has like hardly any incline, i dunno, maybe 10 degrees, that thing hits the ground going 5mph
I think the auto is a 4 speed, so that'd explain in part some of the BAM and then sudden jerky loss in power while stomping it.
The seats are all electronic and there's a settings button that remembers your exact chair settings in case anyone every changes them. The steering wheel retracts a little when you open the door.
and let me emphasize again, how cheep the steering wheel felt. I actually felt like I could maybe crush or break the steering wheel by grabbing it really hard (no you can't, cause I tried grabbing it pretty hard) but it still feels like you can.
and BTW, my dad loves the car
When my dad was driving, he took a corner really fast and there didn't seem to have much body lean at all. He got the sports package BTW. Also we noticed that it doesn't seem too bumpy. We went over a couple 'inverted bumps' - like where water might run thru - went thru them at like 15 mph or so and really not too bumpy.
that front aero spoiler under the car will hit and scrape on everything at any speed. driving onto and off of the driveway - which has like hardly any incline, i dunno, maybe 10 degrees, that thing hits the ground going 5mph
I think the auto is a 4 speed, so that'd explain in part some of the BAM and then sudden jerky loss in power while stomping it.
The seats are all electronic and there's a settings button that remembers your exact chair settings in case anyone every changes them. The steering wheel retracts a little when you open the door.
and let me emphasize again, how cheep the steering wheel felt. I actually felt like I could maybe crush or break the steering wheel by grabbing it really hard (no you can't, cause I tried grabbing it pretty hard) but it still feels like you can.
and BTW, my dad loves the car
Last edited by sentry65; 11-05-2004 at 11:13 PM.
11-06-2004, 05:46 AM
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Re: drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
Originally posted by sentry65
...but I sat there as passenger and driver and even though you know it's fast, maybe I'm just used to the Z's punchier, more alive sound, but it didn't make me feel like it was lightyears faster than the Z. I know it is, but something about the softness of the engine made it feel slightly faster, but not jaw dropping. I'm sure a manual vette might make you feel that
...but I sat there as passenger and driver and even though you know it's fast, maybe I'm just used to the Z's punchier, more alive sound, but it didn't make me feel like it was lightyears faster than the Z. I know it is, but something about the softness of the engine made it feel slightly faster, but not jaw dropping. I'm sure a manual vette might make you feel that
Oh dear lord.
I don't know where you got the idea that the vette doesn't feel fast. I've had my Z for about 4 months now, and I just recently had an opportunity to drive a C6 (6MT). Now, I've driven a lot of cars, and NOTHING has put a bigger smile on my face than to lay into that Vette. Getting right back into my Z after driving the C6, there was simply no comparison. The Z is a dog around town (it needs to be rev'd to go fast), but the C6 has instant power...and loads of it. Go drive a manual version...it will make you rethink this car.
Driving it, it really does feel like a big boat. I didn't think it would, but it did.
11-06-2004, 06:41 AM
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Re: Re: drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
Originally posted by wanderlust
Oh dear lord. I don't know where you got the idea that the vette doesn't feel fast. I've had my Z for about 4 months now, and I just recently had an opportunity to drive a C6 (6MT). Now, I've driven a lot of cars, and NOTHING has put a bigger smile on my face than to lay into that Vette. Getting right back into my Z after driving the C6, there was simply no comparison. The Z is a dog around town (it needs to be rev'd to go fast), but the C6 has instant power...and loads of it. Go drive a manual version...it will make you rethink this car.
That I argree with. It is a big car, and it was one of the biggest (no pun intended) things I didn't like about it.
Oh dear lord.
I don't know where you got the idea that the vette doesn't feel fast. I've had my Z for about 4 months now, and I just recently had an opportunity to drive a C6 (6MT). Now, I've driven a lot of cars, and NOTHING has put a bigger smile on my face than to lay into that Vette. Getting right back into my Z after driving the C6, there was simply no comparison. The Z is a dog around town (it needs to be rev'd to go fast), but the C6 has instant power...and loads of it. Go drive a manual version...it will make you rethink this car.That I argree with. It is a big car, and it was one of the biggest (no pun intended) things I didn't like about it.
Last edited by zland; 11-06-2004 at 06:44 AM.
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11-06-2004, 06:53 AM
#8
Re: Re: Re: drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
Originally posted by zland
I know people criticized me for saying it but I still like the idea of dropping a vette motor into a 350Z. 400hp, all motor, no blown FI worries and when it is all said and done, might be cheaper than building the bottom end of a VQ up and then TT it. It is just a thought but an awesome thought IMO. I wonder if the weight of the V-8 is much more than the weight of the added TT and if it is, how much it would effect handling?
I know people criticized me for saying it but I still like the idea of dropping a vette motor into a 350Z. 400hp, all motor, no blown FI worries and when it is all said and done, might be cheaper than building the bottom end of a VQ up and then TT it. It is just a thought but an awesome thought IMO. I wonder if the weight of the V-8 is much more than the weight of the added TT and if it is, how much it would effect handling?
When I look in JEGS or SUMMIT's catalogs and see 400hp + engines, some WITH A TRANNY for $4k, I can't help but think what a shame. It would cost $20k+ to get the 350Z engine to the same level of performance and reliability.
I think the low hood on our Z's would be a significant problem in getting a V8 to fit.
Remember the Car-Toons (comics and TV shows) where the engines always stuck out of the hood "big-time" ???
11-06-2004, 07:43 AM
#9
Re: Re: drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
Originally posted by wanderlust
Oh dear lord. I don't know where you got the idea that the vette doesn't feel fast. I've had my Z for about 4 months now, and I just recently had an opportunity to drive a C6 (6MT). Now, I've driven a lot of cars, and NOTHING has put a bigger smile on my face than to lay into that Vette. Getting right back into my Z after driving the C6, there was simply no comparison. The Z is a dog around town (it needs to be rev'd to go fast), but the C6 has instant power...and loads of it. Go drive a manual version...it will make you rethink this car.
Oh dear lord.
I don't know where you got the idea that the vette doesn't feel fast. I've had my Z for about 4 months now, and I just recently had an opportunity to drive a C6 (6MT). Now, I've driven a lot of cars, and NOTHING has put a bigger smile on my face than to lay into that Vette. Getting right back into my Z after driving the C6, there was simply no comparison. The Z is a dog around town (it needs to be rev'd to go fast), but the C6 has instant power...and loads of it. Go drive a manual version...it will make you rethink this car.
11-06-2004, 11:07 AM
#10
Its more than likely a 5 speed auto . The vett wieghs about the same as a Z or less . will have 120hp more . Some one said the car is big....ummm go sit your Z next to the vett , its not that much bigger , but it will feel like it because of the low front end and wider stance . I went and looked at the vett yesterday [waiiting for oil to be changed ] Very nice looking car ..there getting them better looking every year . Compared to the ugly , no hp years.....this vett rockkkkkssssssssss
Last edited by booger; 11-06-2004 at 11:11 AM.
11-06-2004, 11:14 AM
#11
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the 05' C6 auto is an algorithmic 4 speed modified to handle the 400 torque. it senses your driving patterns and if it detects what it considers "spirited driving or tracking" it stays in the lowest possible gear at all times
the 06's will most likely have the 6 speed auto GM is developing for its cadillacs
maybe we wernt driving the same car but the auto is damn fast with Z51 it does 0-60 in about 4.4 were the 6speed with z51 does arounf 4.1-4.2
the 06's will most likely have the 6 speed auto GM is developing for its cadillacs
maybe we wernt driving the same car but the auto is damn fast with Z51 it does 0-60 in about 4.4 were the 6speed with z51 does arounf 4.1-4.2
Last edited by **; 11-06-2004 at 11:20 AM.
11-06-2004, 11:41 AM
#12
Originally posted by mc350z
the 05' C6 auto is an algorithmic 4 speed modified to handle the 400 torque. it senses your driving patterns and if it detects what it considers "spirited driving or tracking" it stays in the lowest possible gear at all times
the 06's will most likely have the 6 speed auto GM is developing for its cadillacs
maybe we wernt driving the same car but the auto is damn fast with Z51 it does 0-60 in about 4.4 were the 6speed with z51 does arounf 4.1-4.2
the 05' C6 auto is an algorithmic 4 speed modified to handle the 400 torque. it senses your driving patterns and if it detects what it considers "spirited driving or tracking" it stays in the lowest possible gear at all times
the 06's will most likely have the 6 speed auto GM is developing for its cadillacs
maybe we wernt driving the same car but the auto is damn fast with Z51 it does 0-60 in about 4.4 were the 6speed with z51 does arounf 4.1-4.2
I did say a bunch of times the car is fast. It does the 4.5ish sec 0-60 that chevy advertises for the auto. Just saying that even though it's fast, I felt like the auto Z was way more responsive than the auto C6.
A manual C6 vs a manual Z - I'm sure the C6 would kill the Z
driving the the auto C6 at 40mph down the street at about 1300 RPM in what was probably 4 cylinder mode didn't feel like there's instant power available to you. If you'd give the gas a little tap, it really didn't do anything unless you held your foot down for about a full sec. I think the Z's auto transmission changes gears in .2 sec
11-06-2004, 12:30 PM
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With this new vette- feeling the diference between the auto and the 6mt in a 0-to 60 or even a 1/4 mile is going to be mostly mental.
Stock for stock the two rattle off almost identical times. The Z51 seems to help the 6mt a little better, but with out it, the two are with in .1 to .2 of each other.
Stock for stock the two rattle off almost identical times. The Z51 seems to help the 6mt a little better, but with out it, the two are with in .1 to .2 of each other.
11-07-2004, 02:26 AM
#14
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Re: drove C6 tonight, not as great as some people say
[QUOTE]Originally posted by sentry65
There's been a lot of C6 reviews saying they're so great and people are trading in the Z for them etc. Well my dad just bought a new C6 corvette and we were both all excited. He got an automatic cause that's what he prefers these days.
First thing I notice is the steering wheel is big - really big. It feels like you're grabbing a baseball bat. The diameter isn't just big, it's like twice as thick as the Z and feels like cheep hollow plastic - which it is.
The wheel is big, it has to be to avoid obscuring the large gauge cluster. It doesn't feel cheap to me, but I do miss the two "bumps" on the Z wheel.
Now the transmission. Yeah this vette is an auto. First let me say that I owned a 2004.5 enthusiast auto for about 4.5 months before trading in for the manual track model. Flat out, the Z's auto is better. It shifts much quicker. When you floor an auto Z, you get almost instant downshifting. With the vette, it takes a sec. And it seems a little more jerky in its shifting - like at the top of 3rd gear - BAM, you're into fourth - but not a BAM like 'whoa hang on' No it's more like BAM 'whoa we kinda slowed down a lot' - then it picks up speed again a half sec later. Just saying the auto Z felt way more peppier and alive.
Well, the transmission has an algorithm to limit torque loading at shift points to 350 ft-lb. This is to protect the transmission and the differential. To achieve that, the timing of the engine is momentarily pulled during WOT shifts. This protection isn't *really* necessary because they beefed up the tranny for the new LS2 engine. As soon as tuner software is available, you'll be able to change this.
Ok, but aside from that, the vette is fast. Almost scary fast, but I sat there as passenger and driver and even though you know it's fast, maybe I'm just used to the Z's punchier, more alive sound, but it didn't make me feel like it was lightyears faster than the Z. I know it is, but something about the softness of the engine made it feel slightly faster, but not jaw dropping. I'm sure a manual vette might make you feel that - I mean, maybe it's the fact that it was an auto that it made it feel not as fast and more passive, I don't know. My dad used to own a corvette about 15 years ago and made the comment that this one is much quieter than the one he used to have. Also that the tires aren't as wide on this one as before.
The tires are actually bigger than the 2004s. The car *is* deceptively fast. It is so smooth that you'll wind up going a lot faster than you think you are. [That's why keeping the HUD display up is important, without those big speed numbers always in front of you, you tend to drive much faster than you intend.] The handling is so good you'll be taking corners way faster too. The excellent ride, excellent seats, and the quiet make the Vette a *wonderful* sport touring car. You can drive it all day with little fatigue.
The corvette is a V8, but when cruising at highway speeds, it actually cuts off 4 cylinders for better gas mileage - that's why its mpg is better than the Z. However, when cruising, you feel like you have a 4 cylinder car. The auto does not have a manual shift mode so you're stuck with whatever gear the car chooses. This combined with cutting 4 cylinders makes the car feel actually kinda sluggish at cruising speeds.
This is *totally* false. The LS2 engine does *not* shut down cylinders. (Chrysler does this with the Hemi, but GM doesn't do this with the LS2.) The *excellent* MPG the Vette achieves when cruising is simply the result of some very good tuning work by the factory. The auto certainly can be manually shifted (that's what those numbers below 'D' are for). When cruising, the lock up torque converter gives you a direct connection between the engine and the drive wheels, just the same as any other modern automatic. Lightly punch that bad boy, and it jumps right now. Punch it harder and it downshifts too.
The vette has a million gadget things. All which have poor user interfaces. We couldn't get the LCD screen to go off - took like 3 min to figure it out and still didn't seem like an efficient way. Somehow we ended up getting the car operator on the phone accidently because we couldn't figure out how to stop it before it dialed the number. Before it dials in, the digital woman computer voice asks if you have a question so it's all voice activated. We couldn't get her to shut up - I'm sure it's just some button somewhere, but we kept saying "OFF, Turn off!" but wouldn't so then it dialed in to a real person and when he hung up it finally turned all off.
To turn off the screen, push the settings hard key, select screen settings, and push the screen off soft key. The screen is so useful, and attractive, though, that I don't see a reason turn it off. To disconnect from OnStar, simply push the leftmost button on the mirror. BTW OnStar can be used as an ordinary hands free cell phone too.
The car doesn't have a key. It has a FOB that detects when you're within 3 feet of the door. Then the starter works the same way. If you sit down with the FOB in your pocket or whatever, you push the starter button to start the car. You don't need the FOB to drive the car though - just to start it. The keyless entry doesn't always react super quick. It seems like if you were in a hurry and were walking up the the car really fast, you might have to wait a sec or two for the doors to detect the FOB and let you open the doors. BTW - maybe there's a way to stop this, but every time we turned the car off, it would honk 3 times really quick - ANNOYING
You can turn this off in the personalization settings. The honks are to caution you that you're exiting the car without turning it off properly. The car must be in park (reverse for a manual) before turning off the engine. Otherwise, it doesn't really shut down, and can drain the battery.
I have a couple gripes with the heads up display. First of all, it's really pretty small. They cram a lot of info in a tiny space. The RPM meter is almost worthless. It's much easier to see the anaglog guage (which is HUGE) while looking at the road than the digital. The digital is really crammed close to the digital MPH readout - which is useful and nice size. Ok, now the G-meter. It's almost worthless. Why? Did I go around trying to do corners at 1 G or anything? No. I thought it was a great idea in concept, but for one thing, the readout is tiny! I mean way way way tiny. If you're actually taking a corner fast enough that you'd care to read it, well you probably shouldn't be looking at this stupid meter, you should be driving. Second, it's too damn tiny to read at any sort of speed! Not just that, but because it's so close to the MPH and everything else, it actually takes your eye a second to visually locate it. Maybe you can adjust the HUD to show specifically what you want it to show, but I found myself wishing you could just show either the MPH really big or the G meter really big
Select Street mode on the HUD for a big MPH reading. I don't find the HUD obtrusive or hard to read at all. It is focused at infinity, so it is very easy to read without resorting to bifocals. I wouldn't want it bigger.
Driving it, it really does feel like a big boat. I didn't think it would, but it did.
It felt that way to me at first too. But the Vette is only slightly larger than the 350Z. You pretty quickly get used to it, and it doesn't seem so large anymore. I think the illusion is mainly due to the large fender flares in your forward field of view.
The traction control I think is set up a little different than the Z. According to my dad - who might be wrong, the vette doesn't have independent braking like VDC in our Z's. Nor does it cut the engine. According to him, it turns the LSD on and off - and that sounded like BS to me, but I'm not a car expert let alone a C6 expert.
He is wrong. The Vette has what GM calls Active Handling, which works similarly to VDC on the 350Z. It also has Traction Control which also works similarly to the traction control on the 350Z. The Vette systems let you push harder before taking action, so they aren't as obtrusive.
It has 3 driver selectable operating modes. Tap the button once to just turn off TC, press and hold it for 5 seconds to just turn off AH. Tap it twice within 5 seconds and you're in "competitive driving" mode, which turns off TC and raises the activation limits of AH so you can drift corners without the AH system intruding, but it is still there if you get way out of shape. It works wonderfully well, but you really have to push the car to get it to kick in, because the car has such high handling limits.
You and your dad need to spend some time watching the DVD, listening to the 2 CDs, and reading the manuals. This is a very complex and sophisticated car, and it works somewhat differently from cars you may be used to driving. I've just passed 1200 miles on mine, and I'm just now getting completely comfortable with all the systems.
After living with the car for a while, I have a few gripes. The Bose stereo, while better than the one in the Z, still has a poor sound stage and a muddy midrange. I will be making changes (Eclipse mids and tweeters). Also, the exhaust midpipes pass through the center tunnel, and the tunnel does get warm on long drives (heats up your right thigh). I think some extra heat shielding will be needed there.
There's been a lot of C6 reviews saying they're so great and people are trading in the Z for them etc. Well my dad just bought a new C6 corvette and we were both all excited. He got an automatic cause that's what he prefers these days.
First thing I notice is the steering wheel is big - really big. It feels like you're grabbing a baseball bat. The diameter isn't just big, it's like twice as thick as the Z and feels like cheep hollow plastic - which it is.
The wheel is big, it has to be to avoid obscuring the large gauge cluster. It doesn't feel cheap to me, but I do miss the two "bumps" on the Z wheel.
Now the transmission. Yeah this vette is an auto. First let me say that I owned a 2004.5 enthusiast auto for about 4.5 months before trading in for the manual track model. Flat out, the Z's auto is better. It shifts much quicker. When you floor an auto Z, you get almost instant downshifting. With the vette, it takes a sec. And it seems a little more jerky in its shifting - like at the top of 3rd gear - BAM, you're into fourth - but not a BAM like 'whoa hang on' No it's more like BAM 'whoa we kinda slowed down a lot' - then it picks up speed again a half sec later. Just saying the auto Z felt way more peppier and alive.
Well, the transmission has an algorithm to limit torque loading at shift points to 350 ft-lb. This is to protect the transmission and the differential. To achieve that, the timing of the engine is momentarily pulled during WOT shifts. This protection isn't *really* necessary because they beefed up the tranny for the new LS2 engine. As soon as tuner software is available, you'll be able to change this.
Ok, but aside from that, the vette is fast. Almost scary fast, but I sat there as passenger and driver and even though you know it's fast, maybe I'm just used to the Z's punchier, more alive sound, but it didn't make me feel like it was lightyears faster than the Z. I know it is, but something about the softness of the engine made it feel slightly faster, but not jaw dropping. I'm sure a manual vette might make you feel that - I mean, maybe it's the fact that it was an auto that it made it feel not as fast and more passive, I don't know. My dad used to own a corvette about 15 years ago and made the comment that this one is much quieter than the one he used to have. Also that the tires aren't as wide on this one as before.
The tires are actually bigger than the 2004s. The car *is* deceptively fast. It is so smooth that you'll wind up going a lot faster than you think you are. [That's why keeping the HUD display up is important, without those big speed numbers always in front of you, you tend to drive much faster than you intend.] The handling is so good you'll be taking corners way faster too. The excellent ride, excellent seats, and the quiet make the Vette a *wonderful* sport touring car. You can drive it all day with little fatigue.
The corvette is a V8, but when cruising at highway speeds, it actually cuts off 4 cylinders for better gas mileage - that's why its mpg is better than the Z. However, when cruising, you feel like you have a 4 cylinder car. The auto does not have a manual shift mode so you're stuck with whatever gear the car chooses. This combined with cutting 4 cylinders makes the car feel actually kinda sluggish at cruising speeds.
This is *totally* false. The LS2 engine does *not* shut down cylinders. (Chrysler does this with the Hemi, but GM doesn't do this with the LS2.) The *excellent* MPG the Vette achieves when cruising is simply the result of some very good tuning work by the factory. The auto certainly can be manually shifted (that's what those numbers below 'D' are for). When cruising, the lock up torque converter gives you a direct connection between the engine and the drive wheels, just the same as any other modern automatic. Lightly punch that bad boy, and it jumps right now. Punch it harder and it downshifts too.
The vette has a million gadget things. All which have poor user interfaces. We couldn't get the LCD screen to go off - took like 3 min to figure it out and still didn't seem like an efficient way. Somehow we ended up getting the car operator on the phone accidently because we couldn't figure out how to stop it before it dialed the number. Before it dials in, the digital woman computer voice asks if you have a question so it's all voice activated. We couldn't get her to shut up - I'm sure it's just some button somewhere, but we kept saying "OFF, Turn off!" but wouldn't so then it dialed in to a real person and when he hung up it finally turned all off.
To turn off the screen, push the settings hard key, select screen settings, and push the screen off soft key. The screen is so useful, and attractive, though, that I don't see a reason turn it off. To disconnect from OnStar, simply push the leftmost button on the mirror. BTW OnStar can be used as an ordinary hands free cell phone too.
The car doesn't have a key. It has a FOB that detects when you're within 3 feet of the door. Then the starter works the same way. If you sit down with the FOB in your pocket or whatever, you push the starter button to start the car. You don't need the FOB to drive the car though - just to start it. The keyless entry doesn't always react super quick. It seems like if you were in a hurry and were walking up the the car really fast, you might have to wait a sec or two for the doors to detect the FOB and let you open the doors. BTW - maybe there's a way to stop this, but every time we turned the car off, it would honk 3 times really quick - ANNOYING
You can turn this off in the personalization settings. The honks are to caution you that you're exiting the car without turning it off properly. The car must be in park (reverse for a manual) before turning off the engine. Otherwise, it doesn't really shut down, and can drain the battery.
I have a couple gripes with the heads up display. First of all, it's really pretty small. They cram a lot of info in a tiny space. The RPM meter is almost worthless. It's much easier to see the anaglog guage (which is HUGE) while looking at the road than the digital. The digital is really crammed close to the digital MPH readout - which is useful and nice size. Ok, now the G-meter. It's almost worthless. Why? Did I go around trying to do corners at 1 G or anything? No. I thought it was a great idea in concept, but for one thing, the readout is tiny! I mean way way way tiny. If you're actually taking a corner fast enough that you'd care to read it, well you probably shouldn't be looking at this stupid meter, you should be driving. Second, it's too damn tiny to read at any sort of speed! Not just that, but because it's so close to the MPH and everything else, it actually takes your eye a second to visually locate it. Maybe you can adjust the HUD to show specifically what you want it to show, but I found myself wishing you could just show either the MPH really big or the G meter really big
Select Street mode on the HUD for a big MPH reading. I don't find the HUD obtrusive or hard to read at all. It is focused at infinity, so it is very easy to read without resorting to bifocals. I wouldn't want it bigger.
Driving it, it really does feel like a big boat. I didn't think it would, but it did.
It felt that way to me at first too. But the Vette is only slightly larger than the 350Z. You pretty quickly get used to it, and it doesn't seem so large anymore. I think the illusion is mainly due to the large fender flares in your forward field of view.
The traction control I think is set up a little different than the Z. According to my dad - who might be wrong, the vette doesn't have independent braking like VDC in our Z's. Nor does it cut the engine. According to him, it turns the LSD on and off - and that sounded like BS to me, but I'm not a car expert let alone a C6 expert.
He is wrong. The Vette has what GM calls Active Handling, which works similarly to VDC on the 350Z. It also has Traction Control which also works similarly to the traction control on the 350Z. The Vette systems let you push harder before taking action, so they aren't as obtrusive.
It has 3 driver selectable operating modes. Tap the button once to just turn off TC, press and hold it for 5 seconds to just turn off AH. Tap it twice within 5 seconds and you're in "competitive driving" mode, which turns off TC and raises the activation limits of AH so you can drift corners without the AH system intruding, but it is still there if you get way out of shape. It works wonderfully well, but you really have to push the car to get it to kick in, because the car has such high handling limits.
You and your dad need to spend some time watching the DVD, listening to the 2 CDs, and reading the manuals. This is a very complex and sophisticated car, and it works somewhat differently from cars you may be used to driving. I've just passed 1200 miles on mine, and I'm just now getting completely comfortable with all the systems.
After living with the car for a while, I have a few gripes. The Bose stereo, while better than the one in the Z, still has a poor sound stage and a muddy midrange. I will be making changes (Eclipse mids and tweeters). Also, the exhaust midpipes pass through the center tunnel, and the tunnel does get warm on long drives (heats up your right thigh). I think some extra heat shielding will be needed there.
11-08-2004, 08:36 AM
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Drove a C6 at a track course. Granted, it did not have the Z51 package. I can say that it is fast, BUT it has a tendency to oversteer to much and the handling was not what I thought it would be. This is in comparison to a Z06, which I have driven at the same events a few times before.
11-08-2004, 02:04 PM
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I drove the Vette at the auto show in motion (www.autoshowinmotion.com) this Sunday and for the brief amount of time that I was in the vehicle, I was nothing but impressed in every aspect of the car.
400ft/lbs torque...are you kidding me, this is insane and it will make you a believer. You can have turbos and things like that but there is no substitute for engine displacement. This thing is a monster.
Not only is it "supposed" to be insane fast, but it is! This is accompanied by an awesome exhaust sound. Easily made louder and deeper with an after market exhaust.
Steering wheel is a little larger in diameter, but who cares? It didn't take anthing away from the car, and it definately didn't feel cheap.
The problems mentioned above with some of the luxury functions like the ignition and the voices are easily correctable with the proper knowledge of how they work. Definately takes some time with the nose in the manual, but awesome none the less
My over all impression of this car is nothing short of amazing...well worth every penny.
Oh yeah...driving/buying an automatic Corvette is the wrong answer. Just wrong...does it no justice and I don't think there is any way to judge this car by that version.
P.S. Two notches on the steering wheel would be nice to have on the vette.
400ft/lbs torque...are you kidding me, this is insane and it will make you a believer. You can have turbos and things like that but there is no substitute for engine displacement. This thing is a monster.
Not only is it "supposed" to be insane fast, but it is! This is accompanied by an awesome exhaust sound. Easily made louder and deeper with an after market exhaust.
Steering wheel is a little larger in diameter, but who cares? It didn't take anthing away from the car, and it definately didn't feel cheap.
The problems mentioned above with some of the luxury functions like the ignition and the voices are easily correctable with the proper knowledge of how they work. Definately takes some time with the nose in the manual, but awesome none the less
My over all impression of this car is nothing short of amazing...well worth every penny.
Oh yeah...driving/buying an automatic Corvette is the wrong answer. Just wrong...does it no justice and I don't think there is any way to judge this car by that version.
P.S. Two notches on the steering wheel would be nice to have on the vette.
11-09-2004, 01:20 PM
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If I was rich I'd buy one and keep the Z...sorry to say that I'd have to trade the Z though. This is probably the only car that I've ever had that I'll actually miss. The vette will console me though. 
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