My Z51 C7 detailed report

[Ezio]

why a C7 ? why not Z06 ?
- My M3 is a lease and the lease is up at the end of this year. I am also over miles on it. So I was looking into getting a car this summer and let my mom or sister finish out the lease because they drive very little.

we got a great deal on my corvette because of my grandfathers GM discount. A Z06 doesn't qualify for GM discount. Plus it was just little to much car for me, and my daily drive. Not to mention i am 23.

I landed on a c7 because it fit my budget, had N/A V8 engine, and cool looks. Also getting back into a manual transmission was very exciting.

I ordered a white z51 2LT manual in may. thought all was fine to later find out my local dealership couldnt get a allocation for the car. Long story short i switched to my fathers friends dealership and was able to do a dealer trade on a black Z51 1LT. I ended up wanting a all black car anyways. The 1LT was actually more money than the car i ordered because of the options it had.

2015 Corvette Stingray Coupe with Z51
Black Exterior
Black Interior
1LT Trim Level
Competition Sport Seats –sueded inserts, steering wheel and gear shift
Transparent Removable Roof
Battery Protection Package
Yellow Calipers
Black Painted Aluminum Wheels
Jake Logo Center Caps
Performance Data Recorder with Navigation

going into buying a corvette i thought the power would be the most impressive thing, and the interior would be the least impressive aspect. turns out i love the interior. the interior just feels and looks great. The audio is actually A LOT better than i thought it would be.

hows the power?
-The engine pulls for days. Its got the power and torque and you feel it. i grew up around fast cars. In my teen years i was driving a 470WHP camaro SS (cammed, heads, headers, custom tune etc). So after driving the c7 around felt i was back to those days. the power for me is something i have already had in the past. So i wasn't blown away by it.

with the M3 i could feel when it was hitting its power. Its different with the c7 because i feel like it hits the power so early on then it just pulls from 3K RPM up. thats the different between high revving and not high revving setup.Do i think one is better than the other ? nope just different style.

sound/drama
- I love the sound, and with the Exhaust set to sport it rumbles. It makes those popping sounds with deep v8 sound. Would love to add headers and cam at some point in time. although more power is not needed.

handling
-the car feels insanely good in this sense. its by far the most impressive thing in terms of performance.

steering feel
- My e92 feels better, the vette is more loosey goosey. although in track or sport its decent. Nothing to really talk about there.

What i dont like ?
-I found the eco mod not to my liking. While on the highway i could feel a slight kick to 4 cylinder mode and back to 8 cylinder mode. On the manual c7, the car will only this do with eco setting. with auto guys it will do it when ever it wants with no care to what setting you are in. unless you are manually using the paddles.

because of this the exhaust system and engine is more complex for a setting i am not going to ever use.

I also HATE CAGS its by far the worse thing to come out of the corvette. Under certain conditions it will lock out second and third gear to MAKE you shift from 1st to 4th for better MPG. This doesn't pop up as often as you could think. it takes certain conditions of how warm is the motor, how much gas you give, what RPM you shift etc... If it does pop up you can give it little more gas and it goes away. They make a 10 dollar part to disable this. Not a huge deal to me. but still i think its a stupid thing.

so the eco stuff is what i dont like... go figure

[swanson]

Congrats. Looks great

[e92livin]

Looks awesome! Always been a huge Vette fan

[rjd598]

what do you do for a living

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by rjd598

what do you do for a living

I worked for my father`s construction company for many years. as of right now i am working for another construction company(electric engineering) for the time being. Then heading back to college this fall to get a masters.

having no college debt and having connections in the work place is why i have this.

[car_fan]

Originally Posted by Ezio

why a C7 ? why not Z06 ?
- My M3 is a lease and the lease is up at the end of this year. I am also over miles on it. So I was looking into getting a car this summer and let my mom or sister finish out the lease because they drive very little.

we got a great deal on my corvette because of my grandfathers GM discount. A Z06 doesn't qualify for GM discount. Plus it was just little to much car for me, and my daily drive. Not to mention i am 23.

I landed on a c7 because it fit my budget, had N/A V8 engine, and cool looks. Also getting back into a manual transmission was very exciting.

I ordered a white z51 2LT manual in may. thought all was fine to later find out my local dealership couldnt get a allocation for the car. Long story short i switched to my fathers friends dealership and was able to do a dealer trade on a black Z51 1LT. I ended up wanting a all black car anyways. The 1LT was actually more money than the car i ordered because of the options it had.

2015 Corvette Stingray Coupe with Z51
Black Exterior
Black Interior
1LT Trim Level
Competition Sport Seats –sueded inserts, steering wheel and gear shift
Transparent Removable Roof
Battery Protection Package
Yellow Calipers
Black Painted Aluminum Wheels
Jake Logo Center Caps
Performance Data Recorder with Navigation

going into buying a corvette i thought the power would be the most impressive thing, and the interior would be the least impressive aspect. turns out i love the interior. the interior just feels and looks great. The audio is actually A LOT better than i thought it would be.

hows the power?
-The engine pulls for days. Its got the power and torque and you feel it. i grew up around fast cars. In my teen years i was driving a 470WHP camaro SS (cammed, heads, headers, custom tune etc). So after driving the c7 around felt i was back to those days. the power for me is something i have already had in the past. So i wasn't blown away by it.

with the M3 i could feel when it was hitting its power. Its different with the c7 because i feel like it hits the power so early on then it just pulls from 3K RPM up. thats the different between high revving and not high revving setup.Do i think one is better than the other ? nope just different style.

sound/drama
- I love the sound, and with the Exhaust set to sport it rumbles. It makes those popping sounds with deep v8 sound. Would love to add headers and cam at some point in time. although more power is not needed.

handling
-the car feels insanely good in this sense. its by far the most impressive thing in terms of performance.

steering feel
- My e92 feels better, the vette is more loosey goosey. although in track or sport its decent. Nothing to really talk about there.

What i dont like ?
-I found the eco mod not to my liking. While on the highway i could feel a slight kick to 4 cylinder mode and back to 8 cylinder mode. On the manual c7, the car will only this do with eco setting. with auto guys it will do it when ever it wants with no care to what setting you are in. unless you are manually using the paddles.

because of this the exhaust system and engine is more complex for a setting i am not going to ever use.

I also HATE CAGS its by far the worse thing to come out of the corvette. Under certain conditions it will lock out second and third gear to MAKE you shift from 1st to 4th for better MPG. This doesn't pop up as often as you could think. it takes certain conditions of how warm is the motor, how much gas you give, what RPM you shift etc... If it does pop up you can give it little more gas and it goes away. They make a 10 dollar part to disable this. Not a huge deal to me. but still i think its a stupid thing.

so the eco stuff is what i dont like... go figure

Congrats man I know you have had your eye on the C7 for a minute. Nice ride.

[fusionchicken]

Nice! I, too have read your posts here and there regarding getting into a C7, congrats on finally making it happen. Can't go wrong with a C7!

[///M Power-Belgium]

Ezio excellent and detailed write up , and congrats with your new C7 !

[LarThaL]

Congrats. A great drivers car for sure !!

[Rambler]

Nice choice Ezio, congrats! Now that I have a beater suv for everyday stuff, I've been longing to get back into a 2 seater again (previously had a 987S). So the C7 is on my short list if/when I do.

[Doc Oc]

I've owned 5 corvettes and loved them all even though they were all terribly built and rattled like a box of rocks. I haven't been in the c7 so I hope they've improved it. Looks absolutely awesome. I'm sure you'll love the torque. GM has come a long way it seems in the interior and fit and finish dept. Too bad 95% of the people around here who drive corvettes are 60+ and have given the car a mid-life crisis/old man stigma that I don't appreciate! You don't have to worry about that at 23 but when you're 40 driving around in one it's different

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by Rambler

Nice choice Ezio, congrats! Now that I have a beater suv for everyday stuff, I've been longing to get back into a 2 seater again (previously had a 987S). So the C7 is on my short list if/when I do.

the two seater is a life style. its so badass i love it.

the c7 is a great choice i really mean that. its not a 911S in terms of fit and finish. but its got to be ever bit as fun i would guess.

[pooyab]

Very nice car

[Joe S]

Congratulations Ezio! Nice car!

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by Doc Oc

I've owned 5 corvettes and loved them all even though they were all terribly built and rattled like a box of rocks. I haven't been in the c7 so I hope they've improved it. Looks absolutely awesome. I'm sure you'll love the torque. GM has come a long way it seems in the interior and fit and finish dept. Too bad 95% of the people around here who drive corvettes are 60+ and have given the car a mid-life crisis/old man stigma that I don't appreciate! You don't have to worry about that at 23 but when you're 40 driving around in one it's different

its kind of funny how many 60+ corvette guys are out there. I really can understand not wanting to be put into that crowd.

I think people are shocked when they see me driving now the road and i dont have grey hair.

[MDREDev]

Congrats Ezio. Looks quite sinister. Thanks for the write up and comparison.

[New2Roundel]

Nice write-up! I really like the C7 quite a bit. My next car will likely be a c6 z06 or c7+z51 or some type of P car. But I would like to own a vette at some point. And a P-car. And a Viper. I'd die a happy man if I could get those three cars.

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by New2Roundel

Nice write-up! I really like the C7 quite a bit. My next car will likely be a c6 z06 or c7+z51 or some type of P car. But I would like to own a vette at some point. And a P-car. And a Viper. I'd die a happy man if I could get those three cars.

thanks.

Ya i think all car guys at some point in life should get a "real" sports car. corvettes, viper, certain porsche models etc... Again the thing i was most impressive by wasnt the power. It was the handling! so incredible how fast i can take a high speed turn.

You can really tell the difference when you get into a lower, lighter, more balanced car.

[Longboarder]

damn that's mean looking...congrats man.

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

damn that's mean looking...congrats man.

Originally Posted by pooyab

Very nice car

Originally Posted by LarThaL

Congrats. A great drivers car for sure !!

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Ezio excellent and detailed write up , and congrats with your new C7 !

Originally Posted by car_fan

Congrats man I know you have had your eye on the C7 for a minute. Nice ride.

Originally Posted by e92livin

Looks awesome! Always been a huge Vette fan

Originally Posted by swanson

Congrats. Looks great

thanks a lot guys.

if any of you ever wanna check out a vette and you are in Michigan let me know.

[Killerfish2012]

Grats, but doesn't that thing have an open diff, and leaf spring rear suspension set up?

[sgrinavi]

Congrats - you can't beat the Bang/Buck of a vette. You get a lot of car for the money.