+1


In 2001 I bought one of the original Z06's. 385 HP (got 405 the next year).

It was so fast it was scary, much as the last poster said.

I've only had my Nismo for 6 weeks, but I will compare my old Z06 to both my Nismo, and my last "fun car", a built 94 MR2 Turbo.

The MR2 and Nismo are more enjoyable to just have fun with. On ramps/exit ramps always fun, get a bit of drift action without feeling like you are going to end up in the ditch. Both cars can/could be driven 9/10's without getting into "sweaty palms" mode.

The Z06 was a beast. I will use the freeway exit ramp closest to my house as an illustration. In either my old MR2, or my Nismo, I take this ramp at usually 50mph (no houses, kids, sidewalks within 1/2 mile); that is fast enough to get a bit of a drift going, and put a big smile on my face, but slow enough that it is very easy to control. The Z06 with it's 325 or 335 rear tires, stuck like glue up past 70. I took that ramp pushing 75-80 once with a friend in the car and when the rear broke loose suddenly with no warning it was more luck than anything that allowed me to keep it on the road. Simply put, that car was so much a "race car" that it was difficult to drive at 9/10's, and you missed out on the casual fun, of sliding the rear end around easily when accelerating into a curve, etc. Doing this in the vette required a major commitment of *****. And knowing that I was doing this with a car that cost more than the house I grew up in, and imagining myself off in the ditch, also killed the fun factor a bit.

 

The only way to drive the Z06 "sideways" is with the driver aids completely off. In "race" mode (I think if you hold the button down it says "high performance driving mode") the back end will step out a bit, but the stability control will step-in if it senses too much yaw. However, the car lacks feel, and getting the back end to step out intentionally without having the car swap ends take an immense amount of concentration and a bit of luck. Whereas, in the 350, I just turn the TC off and drive sideways all day long. I can hold a slide indefinitely with minute steering input, and the car is very forgiving. The Vette is about as far from "forgiving" as a vehicle can get. Most of the car mags achieve the fastest lap times with the TC system in the Vette turned to "high performance" driving mode. I cannot think of a single instance where the fastest time was achieved with the TC completely off in the Vette.

I have definitely imagined myself in a ditch driving the vette.

 

Cleaned up. If you guys want to argue llike little kids, please take it to PM. Don't crap on this guys thread. Thanks.