Misha analyzes the C8 Z06 Sport Auto disappointing Nurburgring lap times.
Posted by Juicyjackson@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 114 comments
Misha watches and analyzes the lap of Sport Auto Magazine on the nurburgring in the C8 Z06 and discussed what happened and why the car didn't post a very good lap times. Skip to 1:30 for the start of the commentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYrk8kZqeJs
olov244@reddit
I never thought the factory Nürburgring time attacks would die out so quickly, guess there's some james may fans in charge
caterham09@reddit
I know it was surprising that this car didn't run faster, but it's absolutely wild that we're at the point where a 7:10 could be considered dissapointing for a Corvette.
thisisjustascreename@reddit
It's mostly Porsche fanbois / GM haters trolling because this lap didn't come anywhere close to the 6:45 that the GT3 RS did. With FIA Platinum pro 5x American Le Mans series champion, WEC champion Jorg Bergmeister behind the wheel and (probably) a license to wreck the car for the lap time.
caterham09@reddit
Yeah I mean it's pretty surprising considering the lap time delta we've seen at other tracks, but the Vette had been consistently slower than the gt3rs pretty much everywhere.
Honestly it should be though considering it's almost 1/3 of the price
UltimaRS800@reddit
Z06 is not a GT3 RS competitor. It's a track focused GT car. GT3 RS is basically a speedboat with a wing.
LeBaus7@reddit
the GT3 has a sub 7 time on the nordschleife. not entirely comparable with lars kern and factory support to sport autos time but that is 10 seconds faster.
UltimaRS800@reddit
Z06 does not have a factory Nordschilfe time.
londonprofessional@reddit
If you look at the story auto test it does, GM told them it's 7:10. Understandably they haven't released it because people would laugh
UltimaRS800@reddit
7:10 was not their actual attempt.
londonprofessional@reddit
Sport Auto are on record as being told by GM engineers that's the best time they've got out of it.
UltimaRS800@reddit
In testing. Not an official lap attempt.
221missile@reddit
Sounds like bs.
Shomegrown@reddit
...it's probably more BS to think a magazine and pro-driver driver would risk their reputation over making something up like that.
AcanthaceaeNo948@reddit
And that’s the old GT3! The new one is unquestionably much faster!
DanielG165@reddit
False. The Z06 is very much a GT3 RS competitor, per the lap times and performance metrics in which it either matches the RS, or outright beats it.
Lemantech@reddit
Are you able to post the tracks which the z06 outright beats the gt3 rs? I just compared them on fastestlaps and I only see 1 where’s it’s decidedly faster.
Phesmerga@reddit
I know an instance of one - the Throttle House track. It's on the top of the leader board.
https://www.thethrottlehouse.com/leaderboard-and-track-times/
LCHMD@reddit
I don’t think there’s any track without a considerably long straight where the Z06 is faster.
V12MPG@reddit
Bro are you even on TikTok? Everybody knows the GT3 RS is literally a race car. My favorite YouTuber told me so. Wow this is so embarrassing for you. Consume more social media and you’ll learn eventually.
LCHMD@reddit
Except the Nordschleife and other tracks that don’t have long straights.
triplevanos@reddit
The Z06 is not a GT car. GT = grand tourer = designed for long drives and comfort.
It’s a daily drivable sports car.
boachl@reddit
No and the Z06 Suspension and tires make this likely a very medicore daily. On a back road it transforms into a beast
strongmanass@reddit
"GT" in this case refers to road cars inspired by the GT racing series, not "grand tourers" which are luxury sports coupes.
triplevanos@reddit
Ah, my bad. Thought it was another one of those “it’s not a real sports car, it’s a GT car” statements
TorpedoSandwich@reddit
Not around the Nordschleife. The GT3 goes sub-7 minutes there.
Pahlevun@reddit
It’s not supposed to be anywhere close. A Z06 is not a GT3 RS competitor, more a GT3 one.
But even the GT3 is at 6:55 I believe.
Then again I think the fact that this wasn’t the best lap out of multiple runs plays the biggest factor. I think you can get ~7 out of this car, then again what the fuck do I know I’ve never driven a car on the ring
LCHMD@reddit
You realise how much MORE POWER the Z06 has? If it’s still considerably slower everybody knows what that says about the chassis.
zxrax@reddit
More what it says about the transmission than chassis. Gives me the impression that the Z06 gearing was designed for the ZR1, which will have enough torque/power at the revs needed to overcome the drag in 5th gear and keep pulling unlike this Z06.
megacookie@reddit
They did not change the spacing of the gear ratios compared to the transmission in the base model C8 at all, only the final drive ratio. The final drive ratio is 5.56 in the Z06 vs 5.17 in the Z51 pack and 4.89 in the base Stingray. That's likely a case of cutting corners for cost savings by not developing a new transmission and also relying on ultra tall ratios for at least somewhat passable highway fuel economy and noise while cruising.
llamacohort@reddit
Is it? The 911 GT3 starts at $222.5k. The Corvette Z06 starts at $112.1k. It could have has the $9k Z07 package, but Porsche offers far more money in options, so it's really not going to do the comparison any favors to go deeper than saying the Porsche is about double the price of the Chevy and they really aren't competitors.
Kagerou_Daze@reddit
Which isn’t a good thing because in 2017 the C7 grandsport was matching GT3 times.
londonprofessional@reddit
I mean it's not just that is it. It's also the fact that the AMG GTR, a 7 year old car on substantially slower tyres and 100bhp less did the same time with the same driver back in 2017.
Kagerou_Daze@reddit
It’s not just GM haters. On the corvetteforum there is a long discussion. Any feel the car is underperforming. The c7 z06 using a manual and non r compound tires from 2014 is only 3s slower.
hi_im_bored13@reddit
This is thr biggest thing for me - it is disappointing for a corvette, on the same tires the c8z might just be slower than the c7z.
SerialExperimentLean@reddit
Nurburgring times always bring out the worst of the benchracers
TookEverything@reddit
The amount of times people tried saying the CTR, with weight reduction, full factory support, and pro driver, was faster than a Supra with a rando driver.
toad_salesman@reddit
It’s a massive delta and commensurate cope in here
zipciofounder@reddit
Most of the Nurburgring times have become a bit moot as of lately in regard to using lap times to choose a car due to zero standards on Nurburgring lap times….
As a side note, if someone’s cares to explain, I would like to know why this Z06 is being compared to a GT3 RS in the first place?
Anyway, back to the meat and potatoes….
Companies are using Nurburgring lap times to boast their product against other manufacturers, but those same manufacturers will be in wildly different conditions on their track day, compared to their competitors.
Manufacturers will also use different tires. There is a huge difference between using a sport cup 2, a PS4S, a P Zero Trofeo R, a P Zero, or tires designed by a tire manufacturer specifically for a models road use.
A notable case of this as of lately is the BMW M2 vs the Audi RS3.
Audi is boasting fastest lap in its class vs the M2, yet they used a pre-production model with tires that are more capable than the M2, with ceramic brakes, and a roll-cage, with non-stock carbon buckets. Audi beat an out-of-the-box M2 by 2 seconds with a car that isn’t quite comparable (their RS3), and is tooting their horn over it.
Of course lap times are fun, but this is so unregulated that it’s meaningless at this point.
Pahlevun@reddit
To the RS3 vs M2 point, I agree that it’s cheap (but expected) of Audi to boast that feat.
But to play devil’s advocate, the mere fact that a car based on the MQB platform, which is an ECONOMY platform, not forgetting that the A3 platform is essentially a Golf GTI/Jetta GLI platform with AWD, the RS3 even competing so closely to a full on dedicated sports car from BMW with no compromise, no four doors, no transversely mounted engine for packaging purposes, is impressive for the RS3. Even if the M2 ultimately is the real sports car between the two.
yobo9193@reddit
The M2 is not a "dedicated sports car", it's built on the same platform as the base 2/3/4 series, with some extra modifications by M division, similar to how the RS3 is based on the MQB platform. Audi used a lot of technological trickery to compensate for the humble underpinnings of the car, but to pretend that the M2 is on a bespoke platform is laughable at best
Username_Taken_65@reddit
The RS3 is a great car, but I wouldn't consider it an M2 competitor. The M2 is a true sports car, while the RS3 is a super hot hatch that trades performance and luxury for practicality.
yobo9193@reddit
An M2 is a spicy sedan, not a sports car
Username_Taken_65@reddit
Do you consider the current Supra a sports car?
yobo9193@reddit
Yup, 2 doors and 2 seats means that performance was the focus of the vehicle. Adding two more seats compromises performance for the sake of practicality, which goes against what a sports car is.
Username_Taken_65@reddit
A sports car has to have 2 seats? So the Porsche 911 isn't a sports car? Not the M4, M6, or M8? Not the old Supra or the GR86? Not the Nissan GT-R? Not American muscle cars?
If compromising any performance at all for practicality disqualifies something as a sports car, then the only true sports cars are stuff like the BAC Mono.
I'd consider a sports car to be any performance-oriented longitudinal-engined 2 door car. "Performance-oriented" is a bit ambiguous, but I'd say a Miata or a 430i with M Sport package count while a Bentley Continental or Ford Thunderbird doesn't.
The M2 shares a platform with the Supra and is significantly faster than it.
yobo9193@reddit
Porsche 911 is more of a GT car; anyone who’s driven either knows the Cayman/Boxster are better sports cars that have been intentionally neutered by Porsche.
A sports car isn’t defined by its level of performance, but the intention of the engineers. It’s funny that you say a 430i would be a sports car, because I own a 230i (same engine, but smaller and less weight) and I can say without a doubt that it’s not a sports car. I’ve driven it across the US and it’s a wonderful car, but if I were going to take a car to the Tail of the Dragon, along the Pacific Coast Highway, or anywhere with a lot of curves, I would take my Miata over any of the cars you mentioned 10/10 times
Username_Taken_65@reddit
Bruh, the 911 is like the quintessential sports car. I also don't think sports car and grand tourer are mutually exclusive.
Yeah okay, maybe the 430i Coupe M Sport isn't a sports car, but the M440i totally is. It's no Corvette, but it's definitely designed to be fun to drive, it's not like the coupe/convertible versions of euro economy cars.
The Miata is widely regarded as one of the best handling/most fun attainable cars of all time, I think a lot of people would take one over a Supra, a Corvette, or a even a GT-R. It definitely isn't a good bar for what counts as a sports car.
Pahlevun@reddit
Cool, even being on the modular CLAR platform, it’s still on a longitudinal RWD platform vs the Audi’s Golf MQB transverse FWD platform. The BMW has a fundamental and design advantage in terms of performance due to its architecture. The engine is mounted the right way, the weight balance is close to a perfect 50:50, the primary powered wheels are the rear ones.
zipciofounder@reddit
I’m failing to see how that same argument can’t be made by BMW.
The whole 2 series lineup is designed for daily driving, even the peak M car is daily driver friendly, just like the RS3.
You lose 2 doors in the BMW, but that seems rather irrelevant.
If you take any high HP economy car (which seems contradictory) and slap on semi-slicks, carbon ceramics, carbon buckets, and a roll-cage, I feel as if that vehicle has definitely far exited its “economy” based platform.
LCHMD@reddit
It’s a 2+2.
Username_Taken_65@reddit
The 2 Series coupe, and by extension the M2, are entirely different cars than the 2 Series Gran Coupe and Active Tourer.
The coupe is basically a shrunken 4 Series or Toyota Supra, while the four door models share a platform with the 1 Series and Mini Countryman.
The RS3 is transverse engined, shares a platform with the Golf, and has 80 HP less than the M2.
zipciofounder@reddit
Is the point that the RS3 is “harder to make happen” whilst compared to the M2?
I don’t see how any of that matters. The price of both are relatively the same, and both are upgraded in their class, even if they’re designed using different starting points.
It seems like the argument is equivalent to saying, “Bobby started with less resources than Billy, but Bobby is just as successful as Billy now, therefore, Bobby is more impressive than Billy”.
However, in this case, the engineering of each car regardless of starting point doesn’t seem relevant. Audi could make that BMW, and BMW could make that Audi, and both manufacturers could make them from the same starting line.
Pahlevun@reddit
The 2 series coupe is a RWD longitudinal platform. You cannot make the same argument. By nature a RWD Longitudinal platform is more performance oriented than a FWD transverse one which is more oriented towards maximizing interior space and being efficient and cheaper to mass produce.
So no, the same argument cannot be made for the 2 series coupe.
RevvCats@reddit
That’s why I love that C&D is still doing lighting lap, they’re testing cars as you’d get them new off the lot. Tires are still an issue because companies like BMW won’t equip M cars from the factory with Cup 2 or an equally aggressive nonsense tire but hey that on them. Motortrend with Randy Pobst behind the wheel at Laguna Seca was, emphasis on was, also a great series of track tests.
zipciofounder@reddit
I believe the tires range by country.
In Canada (even though I’m not from Canada), I know you can spec an M2 with cup 2’s.
caterham09@reddit
Yeah they do change. C&D just use whatever you can spec in America. They've talked about it excessively but they have pretty good reasons why they just use whatever you can get from the factory
supereuphonium@reddit
That still kind of sucks because you should not be taking ps4s or equivalent on the track anyway, unless your pace is very slow. There are too many instances of theoretically comparable cars but one car gets cup 2s and therefore the times are completely different.
GotLost@reddit
I would love to hear your reasoning on why the PS4S is only a slow pace tyre.
supereuphonium@reddit
Because those tires will absolutely destroy themselves on track. They are useable but not generally recommended. Most people use endurance 200 treadwear tires.
RevvCats@reddit
If you’re a beginner they work fine. I’ve seen lots of PS4S hold up fine over a weekend, you’re not going to be setting any records but they don’t explode from some hard use. Mine didn’t and they had the extra abuse that I drove on them during the winter in below freezing temperatures. But yeah that’s something you’ll be looking to upgrade once you get into it.
SouthBound2025@reddit
No they don't have good reasons. They have BS reasons that people without actual track experience think sounds plausible.
The real reasons are cost and not wanting to piss of advertisers.
HughMongusMikeOxlong@reddit
Or Honda cheats, and claims cup 2's are a "dealer option", that no one has ever had the option of doing because it's way more expensive than actually buying the tires yourself. They can claim it's a stock car though.
Counter argument, the GRC came on ps4 instead of ps4s like it's competitors, and owners wanted to see how it performs on the same time, only for the diff to overheat more easily on stickier tires.
It's not easy to just benchmark cars, but IMO most accurate is just see how the car performs in HPDE at your local tracks, and see how respected orgs class the cars.
RevvCats@reddit
The GRC example is exactly why it’s easier for folks like C&D to test things as they’re sold off the lot. Well that and the extra cost to buy tires. Upgrade the tires and all of a sudden the diff overheats, oil pressure drops too low when taking a corner, fuel cuts out, etc and the manufacturer is going to flip saying you unfairly tested the car with modifications they didn’t guarantee would work.
Now it’s also pretty bad if a car being sold as a track toy can’t handle 200 tread wear tires.
caterham09@reddit
Yup the Rs3 lap times have been some of the funny ones in recent memory. I know the car and driver lightning lap times had the Audi almost 9 seconds a lap faster with its Trofeo R tires vs more traditional summer tires.
TurboFucked@reddit
It was also a "dealer installed addon." So the car didn't technically come from the factory with the tire, instead, buyers had to buy the tires and have the dealer put them on. In my eyes, pretty much any tires is a "dealer installed addon" since most dealerships will install any tire you bring to them (within reason).
It's cheating. And it knocked the RS3 out of the running for my next car. Since i couldn't drive one myself before purchasing, I basically had to infer that Audi was band-aiding over poor driving dynamics.
RandosaurusRex@reddit
The fact they have to run a reverse stagger with wider tyres up front and narrower tyres in the back wasn't a giveaway for that? :P
zipciofounder@reddit
I’m quite surprised by how many car fanatics fail to realize how big of a difference tires make.
I’m not talking about the person that knows nothing about cars here. I’m talking about the person that wields a somewhat decent amount of car knowledge, yet just has a huge missing gap of knowledge on tires. These people don’t know that different tires will shave multiple seconds off of even a short track lap.
You also don’t need to be Queen of the Nurburgring to feel tire performance on the road. You go out with a few friends for a spirited Sunday morning drive, and you’ll feel tire performance if you had the ability to switch week by week.
Trollygag@reddit
To me, the bigger issue is that multiple people already did 7:10 in the C7Z from 10 years ago and last generation's tire.
The C8ZZ has a much faster tire compound, more power, more downforce, better balance, everything going for it.
Soggy_Head_4889@reddit
Yeah kinda wild that a time between a 600LT and AMG GTR is considered bad.
DanielG165@reddit
Credit to markw9512 for this amazing comment, and although long, I feel like it does an incredible job of highlighting just how potent the Z06 truly is, and how the Norschleife lap done with it absolutely did not properly showcase its full capabilities. Many errors were made during that lap by Christian, including not shifting the car manually himself. The 5th gear is a little long, yes, but not in such a way that it would help to tarnish an entire lap. In any case, here’s the comment from said gentleman:
*“Z06 vs Porsche GT3 and others:
Car & Driver Lightning Lap 2023: Corvette Z06: 2’38”6 Porsche GT4RS: 2’40”5 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica: 2’43”9
From past few Lightning Laps, same track: 2022 Porsche GT3: 2’40”6 2019 Porsche GT3RS: 2’41”6 2021 Porsche Turbo S: 2’42”5
The fastest cars from all of Car & Driver’s Lightning Lap comparisons:
2021 Corvette Stingray 2:49”0
2012 Ferrari 458 Italia 2’49”9
Road & Track Performance Car of the Year, 2023: Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica: 1’23”1 Porsche GT4RS: 1’22”7 Lamborghini Huracan STO (2022): 1’21”9 Corvette Z06: 1’20”6
Autobild Sportscars Supertest Lausitzring lap times: AMG GT Black Series: 1’25”23 ABT XGT 1’25”76 Ferrari 296 GTB: 1’25”88 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991): 1’25”91 Corvette Corvette Z06/Z07: 1’27”41 Lamborghini Huracan STO: 1’27”94 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ: 1’28”05 AMG GT R Pro 1’28”39 Lamborghini Huracan Evo 1’28”82 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica 1’28”96 Ferrari F8 Tributo 1’29”06 Porsche 911 Turbo S (992): 1’29”95 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991): 1’30”60
Quattroruote magazine Vairano Pro track 1. Pagani Huayra BC Roadster 1’20”71 2. AMG GT Black Series 1’20”93 3. Ferrari 296 GTB 1’20”93 4. Ferrari SF90 Stradale 1’21”72 5. Porsche 911 GT3 (992) 1’22”79 6. Corvette Z06 Z07 Package 1’23”73 7. Lamborghini Huracán STO 1’23”82 8. Lamborghini Revuelto 1’24”39 9. Maserati MC20 1’26”55 10. BMW M4 Competition Coupe 1’28”61 11. Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo 1’31”75
Savagegeese same day/same driver/same track comparison of Z06 w/Z07 vs GT3. Corvette and GT3 manufacturer teams on hand making sure both vehicles’ setups were optimal: Times: Z06: 1’27”240 GT3: 1’27”329 Tight, short track. Pro driver said GT3 would definitely lose advantage on longer tracks and Z06’s lead would grow on them. This is an excellent, very well put together comparison video which goes into great detail explaining the strengths and weaknesses of both cars. Highly recommended.
From fastest laps site: Sport Auto Fr. Val de Vienne lap times Rank Vehicle Time 1 Ferrari 296 GTS 1’37”70 2 C8 Z06 (Z07) 1’39”30 3 992 GT3 RS 1’41”60 4 992 GT3 1’42”80 5 M4 CSL 1’43”28 6 GT4 RS 1’44”65
Motorsport Magazine (chart at end of vid shown w/times): McLaren Senna 1’14”93 (TrofeoR) C8 Z06 (Z07) 1’15”23 (Cup 2R) 991.2 GT2 RS 1’15”91 (Cup 2R) 992 GT3 RS 1’15”96 (Cup 2R) Ferrari 488 Pista 1’16”06 (Cup 2R)
Montecello Motor Club North Course Fastest laps: AMG GT Black Series: 1’19”42 C8 Z06 (Z07): 1’20”55 911 GT3 (992): 1’21”69 Huracan STO: 1’21”9 718 Cayman GT4 RS: 1’22”70 Huracan Tecnica: 1’23”10 M4 CSL: 1’24”20
Sport Auto Mendig AFB Circuit: Lamborghini Huracan STO: 1’45”57 C8 Z06 (Z07): 1’45”91 McClaren 650 S Spider: 1’45”35 911 GT3 (992): 1‘47”16 GT4 RS: 1’48”16
C8 Z06 set production car record at Canada’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, 2023.
Throttle House Track Test: 1. C8 Z06: 1’06”56 2. 992 GT3 RS: 1’06”67 3. BAC Mono: 1’07”52 4. Viper ACR: 1’07”55 5. 992 GT3: 1’07”77
Hagerty test of Z06 vs 992 GT3 RS & M3 CSL, Jason Camissa with Randy Pobst driving. Willow Springs, high speed track with 992 GT3 RS’s active aero winning the day here, near freezing track temps. Times: GT3 RS: 1’24”3 Z06: 1’24”9”*
SireEvalish@reddit
Better formatting
*“Z06 vs Porsche GT3 and others:
Car & Driver Lightning Lap 2023:
From past few Lightning Laps, same track:
The fastest cars from all of Car & Driver’s Lightning Lap comparisons:
Road & Track Performance Car of the Year, 2023:
Autobild Sportscars Supertest Lausitzring lap times:
Quattroruote magazine Vairano Pro track
Savagegeese same day/same driver/same track comparison of Z06 w/Z07 vs GT3. Corvette and GT3 manufacturer teams on hand making sure both vehicles’ setups were optimal:
Times:
Tight, short track. Pro driver said GT3 would definitely lose advantage on longer tracks and Z06’s lead would grow on them. This is an excellent, very well put together comparison video which goes into great detail explaining the strengths and weaknesses of both cars. Highly recommended.
From fastest laps site:
Sport Auto Fr. Val de Vienne lap times:
Motorsport Magazine (chart at end of vid shown w/times):
Montecello Motor Club North Course Fastest laps:
Sport Auto Mendig AFB Circuit:
C8 Z06 set production car record at Canada’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, 2023.
Throttle House Track Test:
Hagerty test of Z06 vs 992 GT3 RS & M3 CSL, Jason Camissa with Randy Pobst driving. Willow Springs, high speed track with 992 GT3 RS’s active aero winning the day here, near freezing track temps.
DanielG165@reddit
Thanks brother, I appreciate that lol.
SireEvalish@reddit
I gotchu fam
cach-e@reddit
I like these times.
fishingforgains@reddit
How in gods name did the original person gather all this info lol
samurai1226@reddit
The comments in the video do a good job of analyzing the lap. There are multiple big mistakes in this lap like breaking way too early, oversteer correcting and relying on the automatic instead of shifting manually to keep the revs high for the flatplane. Add that Midha reached higher top speed in some sectors of his lap and it should be clear that this should have never been released as a real time attempt. It seems like the driver hadn't enough time to get used to the car and fulfill a somewhat clean lap.
ReducedToMereFilth@reddit
braking* brother
imped4now@reddit
I didn't see any breaking, but I did see braking.
Oockland@reddit
Well perhaps but Sport Auto say the manufacturer times were also around 7:10. In the end, it doesn't really matter though.
Lone_K@reddit
Yeah but then that means there's a lot of room to properly show the car's potential at least.
leTrull@reddit
That's the entire point of sport auto hot laps. They're not perfect and aren't meant to be. They only have one time slot on one day. The tires weren't quite at optimal temperature at the start of the lap (even though they did warm them), which lead to the oversteering in hatzenbach. You can also see that he's not super familiar with the car.
That's why generally the sport auto lap times are around 10 seconds slower than a full factory effort with a pro driver that is used to the car. It's probably even a bit more with this car, as the lap was done in september and it was fairly cold.
Concerning the lack of manual shifting - GM engineers recommended to use auto mode.
JustThall@reddit
This.
Sport Auto gave us lots of lap times to compare production customer cars. Not over optimized factory builds we above-human factory drivers.
As a result you don’t compare factory times with Sport Autos directly
fcman256@reddit
The problem is when you start talking about non-optimized runs in uncontrolled settings you’re essentially saying the results are pointless and can’t actually be used for comparison at all
Shomegrown@reddit
Exactly. It's the "wrung what you brung" test, not tediously optimizing every car.
lowstrife@reddit
It's literally a pro driver's job to get an inhuman lap. Randy Pobst and dozens of others are out there doing the impossible and are paid to do so. Jason Cammisa is on the record so many times saying that Randy can get into a car he's never been in, do one sighting lap, and the very next lap is hot and it's by far his fastest. Then the tires fall off and he's never any faster.
And yet the transmission is making a ton of shitty decisions.
Independent_Syllabub@reddit
Why doesn’t every driver set a world record on every lap? Are they stupid?
SerialExperimentLean@reddit
You should probably let all those race teams know they're wasting their times with practice laps then, you'd save them a fortune
boachl@reddit
Unlike some Random youtubers the driver is a very respected professional journalist AND race driver doing 24h endurance and more. He laps dozens of cars a year and always gives them the same treatment and time investment. So These laps will never be perfect but they also show weaknesses in cars that are not as easy to drive at the limit compared to some easier cars (like a 911 turbo s). The Nürburgring Nordschleife is called the green hell for a reason and there is a reason it is the proving ground for every serious race car in the world. No "holy" Laguna Seca or whatever Americans think is a hard race track comes even close.
I critiqued Sport Auto in the past very openly that every comparison test they did was won by the Porsche and back when the C7 Z06 released I was hoping that someone would dethrone the mighty GT3 but the car proved to be not perfect enough (and having overheating brakes), we would have to wait for the AMG GT R to take that titlefor a few months. Now we have the New Iteration of the Z06 and it is an awesome car but it is just not good enough to be the best....
LilBirdBrick@reddit
Both Christian and Misha (random YouTuber) have raced in NLS and the Nurburgring 24 hours this year and they have both picked up wins in their respective classes.
zxrax@reddit
you're replying to misha lol
Shomegrown@reddit
Yes, but these are minor issues that would amount to just a few seconds, not 10+ seconds. You clearly see the car struggling over 250 km/h in the Sport Auto video, which is a combination of the high downforce configuration and the gearing.
dam_sharks_mother@reddit
Just to put this in perspective, this 7:11 is the same time set by a MANUAL 991.2 GT3.
Still impressive. Especially now in 2024 where Z06s are sitting on dealer lots and can be bought for below MSRP. Total performance bargain.
travortz@reddit
The 991.2 GT3 with light weight modifications, AC delete and driven by a porsche racing driver. Can't compare the two.
Short-Display-1659@reddit
My first thought when reading comments is “why did Chevy not use a more experienced driver who could get the most out of the car. “
Then when I went to the video it does not appear to be an official “Chevy” lap claim. The video was done by sports auto.
Which makes me wonder “why Chevy does not post its own lap videos with its own drivers who can get the most out of the car on the track?”. Are they embarrassed with its result and that’s why? Porsche frequently posts its official onboard lap time videos to YouTube.
slpater@reddit
It may just be as simple as they don't care that much about an official ring time. Or that most of their buyers won't care.
Ghost1k25@reddit
lol they definitely would care if it was on GT3 level. Bragging rights are pretty important when you are selling a car like this
PanGalacGargleBlastr@reddit
They care more about the time for the next New Balance release.
PanGalacGargleBlastr@reddit
Porsche, Lamborghini and Audi all post official ring times and videos. These are from factory teams with engineers doing tuning, etc. Porsche even used Manthey Racing team to get the times for the GT2RS-MR.
Then you have the CTR. Also a factory effort.
The Mustang and Chevy efforts recently are new. It will take a couple of tries for them to get the right recipe to follow VAG and Honda.
fcman256@reddit
You’re also forgetting 1 major aspect. Porsche/Audi/BMW/Lambo are all Germany based (lambo more indirectly but still, it’s very easy for them to test at the ring)
JBoy9028@reddit
They wrote off a lot of C7 ZO6s and ZR1s chasing a ring time, as well as sacrificing their allotted empty track time to other manufactures. It could very well be that top brass decided chasing a ring time wasn't worth the cost.
Makeitquick666@reddit
how tf is a 7 min sth lap disappointing? That’s race cars’ territory not too long ago?
Juicyjackson@reddit (OP)
Because of what Chevy has made in the past, this car was expected to do a lot better given the advancement in tire technology, engines, aerodynamics, etc.
The Manual ZL1 1LE in 2017 did a 7:16, the C7 Z06 did a 7:14.
Making up only 6 seconds with a DCT, a brand new Flatplane V8, brand new tires, and way better aerodyamics is not what we should have seen.
JBoy9028@reddit
It should be noted that Corvette didn't officially set a Nürburgring time for the C7 generation. That 7:14 was also set by the car magazine that did this test. Which everyone is comparing to factory efforts.
opeth10657@reddit
Because everybody else has faster times in their road cars?
Makeitquick666@reddit
I mean yeah, but that’s still major fast and I’d still argue it to be faster than most people could ever hope to be. Like how many people can actually do 6:45 in a GT3RS?
PanGalacGargleBlastr@reddit
I'd be challenged to beat 8 minutes with a full weekend, a coach, and a Mercedes Project 1.
TurboFucked@reddit
Porsche has home field advantage when it comes to Nurburgring. Many of their chassis engineers probably have countless laps under their belts. And it's pretty easy for Porsche to develop their cars on The Ring, since it's right there. They can put their cars on a truck and trailer them over. Chevy has to ship their cars and engineers across the world in order to do any sort of development on Nurburgring, so they are at a serious disadvantage.
However, as we've seen in countless reviews, the C8 Z06 is extremely competitive with GT3 cars on American tracks.
Charming-Loan-1924@reddit
Who drove the car when the time was set?
I would say somebody needs to get one over there and get one of the team Corvette drivers in it .
Noobasdfjkl@reddit
Christian Gebhardt has done all the Sport Auto laps for like the last decade
HOONIGAN-@reddit
I can't be bothered to find the link/source right now, but apparently, Corvette engineers have already run the Z06 and didn't do much better. The main excuse I've read is the gearing is wrong for the 'ring.
DanielG165@reddit
The Corvette guys weren’t going for a record when they ran the 7:10, apparently; that was merely during testing on a crowded track.
Charming-Loan-1924@reddit
When they say engineers, do they mean guys who help build and program the car or actual race car drivers because I’m saying go get the guys from Pratt and Miller to run a couple of laps with it.
-Racer-X@reddit
From what I read they didn’t really put a full effort into getting a lap time for the car
There was a thread in this subreddit when the time came out and it seems like GM used the time more as learning setup for the zr1 / zora than actually getting the best time for this car
-Racer-X@reddit
I found this really insightful and a good breakdown
Lots of thing could be causing the time delta besides a long final gear as everyone assumed