MartyB

If you haven't see the article, care to guess what came out on top? I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but for whatever a very subjective MT inquiry is worth, the GT3 RS beat out some pretty heavy metal.


http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...r/viewall.html

utkinpol

so all in all the car to own now is still 2012 z06 - if you throw out stock seats? 1:34.4 lap vs 1:36.8 in gt3 rs. quite a difference considering same pro driver was testing them.
i really wonder how good those LS7 motors are now. it`s so tempting to pick up a used Z06, strip it, put in proper seats and run hell out of it... i cannot think what other car in $50K total budget for donor and all mods can produce anything close to what z06/z07 now does.

nkhalidi

Probably the main issue in considering a Corvette - or any non-Porsche - for really serious track work is availability of after-sales support. Many of us go with Porsches because of the ease of maintenance, availability of parts, strong user/knowledge base, and durability.

It's one thing if you take your street car to the track twice or thrice a year; it's another thing if you're going twice a month. If the former, a Corvette is probably fine. If the latter, it's best to stick with a Porsche. And if you're going more than twice a month, it's probably time to remove the license plate...

TRAKCAR

Mustang Cayman and RS are the only ones that won't be done for and cooked after 10 laps at Sebring unless you modify and upgrade.

kaamacat

The corvette is a very well built car, and the drivetrain (especially the engines) are just about bullet-proof.

As was mentioned (and I can not fathom why GM never addressed it) are the seats. I remember testing a Z06 2yrs ago and the darn driver seat-back moved forward........and it was game over from there.

Jake951

Interesting quote in the article about the GT3RS: "I don't think this will be the fastest car after one lap, but it will be in the lead after 20."

TRAKCAR

Very important fact.

regarding Z06, a bunch went boom at Sebring, but they may have been the earlier ones before they fixed them.

utkinpol

C5 z06 had motor issues, LS7 since 2006 was quite better imho but i do not know.

realistically speaking, look - 2007 C6 z07 costs now $15-$17K or so for a donor car.
So for $25K top you get a complete track build. Or may be even for $20K if you do most of work yourself minus cage.

Newer faster 2009 C6 Z06 costs about of $50K now. New LS7 motor costs in average about of $15K and it is not exactly cheapest one out there for racing applications. So, if it goes, like, every 4 years it would still make it reasonable. If it goes like every season then it makes no sense financially no matter how many ponies it generates. I see newer Z06 cars quite often and in good hands they are a blast. But what really makes me think about it is a $25K budget considering MY2007 donor car. I am just afraid that in reality there will be some typical Chevy crap behind all that glamour, plus, I afraid that market $20K price mark for 2007 Z06 cars has some ugly reasons behind it.

kaamacat

Loved the write-up they did on the RS.......... which is exactly why I love this car like no other.

utkinpol

it was most ridicoluous thing in the article to complaint about considering track performance - who cares of stock seats? drop in recaro spg xl bolted to the floor and it is fixed. but for how long 2006+ LS7 block will live on a track?

does anybody know if chevy kept ls7 same since 2006 or did it have any important internal revisions?

TRAKCAR

They changed something with the dry sump I think.

ChrisF

2009+ have the updated dry sump. No more kabooms after that. Easy retrofit on older cars. The seats are truly terrible. Feel like they came from a Cadillac Cimaron It has amazing capabilities but has very little feedback.

GT-R shocked me as far as how high it placed. Yes, it's capabilities are amazing but it's a frigging PS3 with even less feedback than the Z06. I'd rather go slower and get a 1000 more subtle inputs and feel like I'm a participant not an occupant.

aussie jimmy

say's it all, really...

carcommander

On the street it comes down to what feel do you like and how much money do you have. The Ferrari is close to 300k. A GT3RS is really expensive at 150K and a Z06 is close to 100K. Most people cant afford any of them.

aussie jimmy

i buy the magazines coz i couldn't afford the cars. spent probably $50k in magazines though....haha