If you read the marketing done by Chevy, the Z/28 IS built to last lap after lap without overheating. Only one way to find out for sure.

 

I am going to have to wait and see and let others report in on how well it really does. I can usually go a season of DE on a set of new brake pads and tires. I wouldn't want to get into a car that burns out a set of 2k+ tires every weekend and pads every other weekend. The only good thing I see is that the cost of pads and rotors are way cheaper then Porsche's version.

 

How many people run stock equipment tires these days anyways. It's good to know what it can do bone stock, but no need to continue burning a hole in the wallet. I would opt for 18's if they fit and NT-01's or R888's. Or better yet, some scrub continental slicks for cheap on a set of track wheels. Stock wheels and tires would come off immediately. And for me, I would probably try to find a steel replacement rotor (or have one made). IMO Carbon brakes on street cars is ridiculous for the money that goes into them. I'd put some pagid yellows or equivalent PFC pad and steel rotors and go to town.

 

I think scrub slicks would be the hot ticket on the Z. I'd not want to go to less sticky tires like the nittos or toyos out of cost reasons, but that's just me.

 

Any thoughts/data on how Trofeo R compares with NT01? I've never used the Trofeo R, but a recent student had them, and the grip seemed a bit better than my NT01s on the same track (VIR) on the same day.

 

I've said it before in this thread : Chevy has done a great job with this car and it might prove to be one of the best choices for the track. But do any of you even care about how this thing looks?! I'm just curious. Yeah,it's subjective...Do you actually think it looks good?
I don't see any difference between this and the 25K Impala...
Yeah,it's cheap...but I'd still be pissed spending 75K and having to look at this...
Will you look back at the car after you've parked it in your garage? I know I wouldn't,just like I wouldn't look for a dump truck.
I mean the other Chevy,the Corvette is " gorgeous " compared to this...and yet we all criticized its rear etc...yet nobody is mentioning anything in terms of looks about the Z28!

 

Not exactly. But I've compared NT-01 to MPSC on the same day on my car. Not N-Spec MPSC mind you, the FAST MPSC off the shelf. On the same day at Road Atlanta, the MPSC were .7 faster (1:33.6 - 1:34.3) and I had traffic killing all of my fast laps on the MPSC and clean laps on NT-01. I really think it's closer to a second. The corner speeds on the MPSC were clearly superior.

It's really hard for me to fathom a true treaded street tire that could be much faster than those MPSC but the Trofeo R is rumored to be. I think Savyboy had some same day testing data between off the shelf MPSC and Trofeo R.

My guesstimate would be 1-1.5 seconds from NT-01 to Trofeo R. But the car is so fast, there aren't many that will give you a run. You either drive for your hottest of hot laps, or you drive for consistently fast laps. I would probably use NT-01 in summer and Trefeo during cooler months when personal bests are more likely.

 

I would be careful not to use such strong wording.
Z/28: 3850lb/505hp = 7.62lb/hp
6GT3: 3000lb/380hp = 7.89lb/hp (or only 3.6% more)
That 6GT3 has Motons, too.

It's also weighed down with all that extra cooling which it needs because it weighs so much so it needs the extra cooling which weighs even more... Beyond a certain weight, a vicious feedback cycle starts whereby the things you add in order to handle the extra weight only add more weight. 3850lbs is way beyond the point where this vicious cycle begins, IMO.

On the other hand, Chapman's (and old Porsche's) philosophy of "simplify, then add lightness" starts the virtuous cycle whereby simplification subtracts weight which allows for many other components to be lighter as well.

 

Disagree, the Camaro has received more universal acclaim for it's retro looks than the C7 has for it's very polarizing edgy appeal. Some days i love the vette, some days I can't stand it. I have not found myself wanting a C7 after seeing them at the track whereas the Camaro has a very intimidating presence IMO. It's part of the reason I don't really want the new Z06 any more. I'd rather have the Z28. The viewing angles look like they will be awful as reported and I hate the boring taillights on the Camaro. But other than that......sex.

 

I'm with wanna on the subjective looks dept. Maybe b/c I've never really liked vettes beyond the classic mid year vettes.

I'm a redneck at heart and have always been a Camaro fan, and immediately drove an SS when it came out but didn't like the way it drove.

Viewing angles are indeed terrible out of the Camaro. Hideously bad.

@hf1, as wanna already stated, the chassis is a heavy steel box built for 25k 6 cyl models, with no use of unobtainium, etc. Amazing what Chebbie did with the car given its origins.

I think it'll stay properly cooled even in hot TX weather. Brakes might require some aftermarket ducting. Biggest issue will be preserving tires. At a 110 degrees on track, how many fast laps can you get on a technical course before the tires go off and get all greasy?

Braking power + uber tires + fancy dampers have conspired to hide the weight according to reviews, but obviously tires are going to be a cause for concern.

 

You guys might have misunderstood my point. I don't like the Corvette either. I've called it " gorgeous " (between " "). But if I had to pick,I'd say the Corvette looks better,more refined,more European-sports car look.
The Z28 is a hunk of meat,while the Corvette could be a decent porterhouse and the 991GT3 with a good engine and a manual is a filet mignon for sure.

 

To my eye, 991 GT3 looks great and sophisticated (upper middle class+), new Vette is OK but has a bit of an identity crisis (middle class), Z/28 is ugly and defiantly redneck (working class, though obviously not affordable by that group). But if it's everything it's cracked up to be, I could still see myself buying the Z/28.

 

Oh, you meant the modded GT3. Hmm, I suppose that would be a pretty close matchup on mixed track (hp and handling). But the relative closeness to the 991 GT3 leads me to believe the Z28 would still come out on top, especially on HP tracks.

As I've said before, this is DE, not competitive endurance racing. And this is GM, not Porsche. lol. My Turbo heat soaks less than C6Z's. But I'll throw some blind faith in GM that since they helped develop the car to run for some distance, and race the platform regularly (the Continental cars are no lightweights either, and are on slicks, and race endurance, with 4 piston calipers and steel brakes, and WIN) that they know what they are doing. If it's a monumental fail like early GT-R's, I'll eat crow, but I doubt that will happen.

At 8-12 laps on an average track, I have no doubt the car will be fine. I'm more concerned about the LS7, of which some are still failing to this day. But with a track warranty, it's far less of an issue.

Looked it up, the GSR Camaro's have to weigh ~ 3300 lbs after a race with no fuel and no driver, that means add 200 lbs in fuel and 170 in driver and safety gear and that's almost 3700 lbs race weigh, for 1.5-2.5 hrs on slicks with 4 piston brakes.

It can be done.

 

Hunk of meat.....

I suppose, but big girls need love too.

I think the Corvette looks like a hollywood actress with 10 too many plastic surgeries. Too much going on. That said, I still may get one, but I'm not in love with the C7 by any means.

 

I'd be very surprised if anyone has an issue with brake fade. From the latest Automobile Mag review:

"Barber has a few constant-radius corners where I can push the limits of the Z/28’s cornering abilities, which are completely neck-straining, stomach-punishing, and happily neutral. But I never quite master the brakes. Every time I’m going white-knuckle into a corner, certain that this time I’ve overdone it, the Z/28 simply hangs me against the shoulder belt with those 1.5-g Brembos, and it turns out that I braked too early. Again. Coming off the faster straights, I’m usually ready for the next corner about 100 feet before the turn-in point. I’ve never driven a car with brakes like this, and my brain is just not calibrated. My lap times are about six seconds slower than the pros’, and I’ll wager that most of that is attributable to my inability to figure out when to brake in a car that seems to throw the universe in reverse."

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...ro-z28-review/

Always been a fan of the early Z/28's ever since Mark Donohue and Roger Penske got together in the glory years of Trans Am racing.


I think this latest Z/28 plays off that heritage perfectly as well as off of modded cars from that era as seen in movies like Aloha Bobbie and Rose. Also like the fact that the Z/28 will be a sleeper relative to the C7 Z06.

Since I mainly care about tracking it, at half the price or less of a 991 GT3 or incoming RS and with parts a fraction of the cost it's an absolute no brainer. Plus, it means I'll push it a lot harder and care way less about track incidents.

And comments like this only add to the appeal:

"This, the new ne plus ultra of Camaros, is the most barbarically analog car on the street."

"The Z/28 is uncompromising in ways that will severely limit its appeal. It’s also wonderful for all the same reasons. It’s like a homologation special for a racing series that doesn’t exist."

Sounds exactly like the stuff that used to be written about the RS and that ticks a lot of boxes for me.

BTW, that Camaro at the bottom is not mine.