CarAholic

Just curious if there are any GT4 owners that have either came from or currently own a Gen V viper or C7 Z06? Always have the itch of what's on the other side of the fence. Would love to hear people's personal experience with them and how they compare to your gt4.

4carl

Driven them both and their both rockets and pull big G's. The viper i thought did a better job of putting the power down. The worst car ive driven for putting the power down was a Shelby GT500. It was like putting 650hp on a lawn mower chassis.

The GT4 is just a different kind of car . A better balanced set up . Not the fastest or pulls the most Gs but does everything well. carl

Quikag

I have a C6 ZR1 and it's somewhat similar to the C7 Z06. Just a totally different car than the GT4. I love them both for very different reasons.

For track work, a Viper won't overheat nearly as easily as the C7 Z06. For cruising around town, a nice C7 Z06 is hard to beat for comfort, amenities, decent handling, and big power.

The feel is very, very different though with those cars compared to the GT4. Honestly, drive all 3 of them and you can't go wrong with any of them as they all have good strengths and weaknesses.

It's a good time to be a car enthusiast for sure.

myBailey07

I traded my C7 Z06 with Z07 track package for the GT4. Main reason was that I had horrible heating issues on the track with the Z06. I could not get more than a few laps out of it at almost any ambient temperature here in Texas without either the power steering overheating and losing all assist without any warning, or assist becoming erratic, which is super dangerous on the track if it suddenly happens while going around a sweeper at the limit (ask me how I know?), or the engine overheating and the car going into limp mode. I never got a single, complete track day out of it in almost a year that I had it.

When it was working it was an absolute beast. 650/650 is an absolute hoot and the sound was crazy. When you stepped on the gas it was like you unleashed the hounds of hell. Probably the best suspension I ever drove. Nice interior, although I think the GT4 is a bit better in terms of material. Well optioned for the same price compared to GT4. If on, it would eat almost everything at the track alive. Actually not too hard to drive fast at the track. GREAT traction/stability system.

Outside of the heating issues, the biggest issue for me was that the Z06 attracted a crazy amount of the "wrong" attention. Unfortunately all from men. Every time I would stop for gas, at least two hillbillies would stop me, want to make out with me and/or marry me.. LOL!

Car never gave trouble on the street and unless you wanted to spend materially more, I could not see anything matching it on the street. Substantially more performance and luxury/dollar than the GT4.

I would say if your are looking for an absolute beast of a car on the street and you can get over the fact of the "wrong" attention, the z06 is a nice option. I love the GT4, but performance wise the Z06 will run circles around it.

That said, I am super stoked about my GT4. It is all about BALANCE and FUN vs. RAW PERFORMANCE. And I am stoked that even though I will be a few secs slower I will have a dance partner that can dance all day long. And the GT4 is no slouch itself, you just gotta grab it by the neck and wring the revs up well above 4k for it to kick hard and bring you all kinds of smiles.

I can also pull of a Chris Harris kind of slide in the GT4 in my sleep and that is fun! Now, try that with 650 torque and not needing new pants.

In total I would say that the GT4 is like my dog, Bella. She wants to play, have fun, run fast, chase things, wag her tail at me, jump up and lick my face - all just to bring me a smile. The Z06 was more like that guy in high school that wanted to kick me in the ***** - just 'cause he could. And he knew that there was nothing I could do about it.

mm1

Thanks for the total review and summary above. Fits in with what I expected. The Z06 is a monster and was signed off by my wife but I just couldn't pull the trigger. I won't be a track rat but I want to at least go out and know I won't have issues. GT4 seems much more fun on the street (to me).

user1029

The GT4 is like the petite, fit European model and the Z06 is like the busty, buxom all American girl

CarAholic

Thanks for the write up and sorry to hear about all your troubles with the Z. Curious though how is the feel of the Z06 compared to the GT4? I drove the Z51 and it was lacking in this department especially compared to the GT. Also does it feel as tossable and as balanced as the GT?

myBailey07

Not sure what you mean when you say the Z51 lacked in “feel” compared to the GT4, as “feel” is very much a subjective term for how each one of us would experience a car.

I’d say between the GT4 and the Z06, for me, each is very different in feel. Each is a wonderful performance car in a different way. The GT4 feels a lot more tossable and agile to me. I think a few things contribute to this: It is lighter and you can definitely feel the weight difference. You also have the mid engine which puts you forward in the car and you feel like you can “point” it better, or more instinctively, and it will go where you point it. You can toss the car around more as you don’t have to constantly worry about the immense power of the Z06 biting you. It is as you have a wider margin of error with the GT4 which is fun. The GT4 just feels more like a glove and it feels easier to become one with the car. It feels easier to drive instinctively.

On the other hand the Z06 feels a bit more disconnected. I think it being heavier, the seating position being further back in the car with the long hood and the constant awareness of the incredible power contributes here. The great things about the Z06 are that I felt the magnetic suspension was slightly better than the GT4 and the grip is insane. Whenever you feel like you are right on the edge, nope, there is more grip to be had. Grip and power in the Z06 is truly mindblowing. I did not have any understeer and if you wanted to turn, it will bite, grip and turn. The power in the Z06 is an overwhelming experience, it is always there, and it dominates the driving experience. Power in the GT4 builds. Very different in power delivery than the Z06.

Both is a LOT of fun. GT4 is all about BALANCE and FUN in all aspects. With the GT4 I feel like we are one, it works with me instinctively and I never fear it, but it is slightly slower and not as visceral. Z06 is all about POWER and GRIP and it dominate everything else. With the Z06 I never felt like we were one. I always felt like it would work with me and reward me with a great driving experience, as long as I knew what I was doing and was respecting it.

You just have to drive both to really understand. These two cars, in my opinion, clearly represents how two very different schools of thought in terms of car design, European vs American, both can deliver great, but different, driving experiences.

If they ever sort out the heating issues on the Z06 I can see myself going back. Ideally, my stable would have the GT4, the Z06 and an M4. Now, that would make me happy ;-)

Rac10000

I know it seems odd, but I'm a little torn between the GT4 and the Gen 5 Viper.

Both fantastic machines in their own right.

texasviany

I can speak for the Gen 5. I have a '15 TA 2.0 that I cancelled my GT4 order for. The car is fast as hell. 2:24 at COTA. I can run with all the new GT3s no problem. I put money into a suspension and brakes. The problem is that the car runs hot after 15 minutes and I have to back off a bit. The build quality is fine and parts are super-cheap. I have tracked 9 Porsches...you name it TT, GT3 RS, etc. I will go back to Porsche eventually.

Maverick1

I wonder why the Vettes and Vipers have overheating issues because wouldn't the engineers have known they would be taken to the race track on a regular basis and thrashed.

Ochocoronas

I wonder if the Camaro zl1 overheats as well ?

Quikag

Do birds fly?

Do fish swim?

Does GM cheap out on cooling systems for every single of one of their sporty/sports cars?


Hint: answer to above all 3 questions is the same.

user1029

It's inevitable some things in life will go limp in 15 minutes but horsepower should not be one of them

DeerHunter

In my recent track day, one of the things I enjoyed was how the GT4 performed the same at the end of a 20 minute session as it did at the beginning. I even did a couple of back-to-back sessions, with the same result. I've never had a car that could do that.