My New Ride

[gtpvette]

I made a deal with the wife. Sell the GTM and the C7 and I can have this. It's a 1LT base model with no options. Bought in Atlantic City taking home on Auto Train as I write this. Put 200 miles on it yesterday getting to the Auto Train station. No stick is weird but transmission is silky smooth shifting and really quick. Seating is similar to the C7 but door sill seems wider and door shorter. The net of it is it's harder to get in and out of,, well at least for me. Yea, I'm old too. Haven't wound it up yet as need to get through break in. Should be snappy with 40 more HP than my C7.

I wanted one with the Z51 options which this doesn't have. The NPP Performance Exhaust are everywhere used so that's on the list. Z51 shocks, springs and swaybar as well. Still chewing on the brakes, really want them as well. Lastly that black side scoop trim will need to be painted body color.

[spike021]

Originally Posted by gtpvette

I made a deal with the wife. Sell the GTM and the C7 and I can have this. It's a 1LT base model with no options. Bought in Atlantic City taking home on Auto Train as I write this. Put 200 miles on it yesterday getting to the Auto Train station. No stick is weird but transmission is silky smooth shifting and really quick. Seating is similar to the C7 but door sill seems wider and door shorter. The net of it is it's harder to get in and out of,, well at least for me. Yea, I'm old too. Haven't wound it up yet as need to get through break in. Should be snappy with 40 more HP than my C7.

I wanted one with the Z51 options which this doesn't have. The NPP Performance Exhaust are everywhere used so that's on the list. Z51 shocks, springs and swaybar as well. Still chewing on the brakes, really want them as well. Lastly that black side scoop trim will need to be painted body color.

These things have grown on me a bit since the beginning. Still wouldn't say they're my cup of tea, but they definitely have a cool road presence. Nice get! Enjoy it.

[Captain Snooze]

@gtpvette
Stupid but serious question: Is 8 gears too many? That is, is the gearing so close as to make some gears superfluous?

[gtpvette]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

@gtpvette
Stupid but serious question: Is 8 gears too many? That is, is the gearing so close as to make some gears superfluous?

Fair question. My C7 had a 7 speed manual and I used 1-6 a lot and 7th only cruising on expressways. Yesterday on the expressways it was in 8th at around 1500 RPM, so it would seem the final drives are close between the two. I suspect the ratios are a bit tighter. Maybe it lends itself to the smoothness of the shifts. I'll need more time to tell though

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

Is 8 gears too many? That is, is the gearing so close as to make some gears superfluous?

Depends on the car, obviously. I find the C8 (non Z51 as well) to be geared quite similarly to my BRZ (when accounting for the lower redline and much more oomph in low RPM) - in manual mode I use the same gears as the BRZ (3rd in 25 MPH roads and 5th in 35 MPH roads). The revs are a little lower, but not by much. In auto it'll try for a gear higher, which is annoying, especially in tour with cylinder deactivation (feels like bogging the engine). 7th and 8th are pure cruising gears, so I treat it as a 6 speed anywhere except the highway.

[x808drifter]

Highly dependent.
For almost everyone. Yes.
Anything after 1:1 is just a MPG raiser. (except for the weird ass C7/8 Vettes.)
For a race car. No.
Also doing more research with the C8. WTF with the last gear being able to do 327MPH @6,500. 8th: 0.33 W/4.89FD.
#09 with a Z51 and its 5.17FD.

Does allow for cruising at 70-75 at a messily 1,500RPM.

Even when it comes to off-roading. Like the new Bronco's 10 speed. Great when your in L4.

[Kittykate]

Nice. I'm not sure it's possible to get more car for the money new. Maybe a used older McLaren would get into a similar price range but I'd take the Corvette 10 of 10 times.

[wbradley]

It must be.really easy to consume tires depending on your mood on any given day. I don't onow how guys with multiple high powered cars avoid tickets. So tempting. My daily is the opposite of a Corvette. But at least it isn't an SUV. lol

[Spuds]

Saw the picture first, and then read the first sentence as "I made a deal with the devil" lol. Nice car.

[gtpvette]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Saw the picture first, and then read the first sentence as "I made a deal with the devil" lol. Nice car.

Oh brother,, you have no idea LOL.

Originally Posted by wbradley

It must be.really easy to consume tires depending on your mood on any given day.

C8 non-Z51 cars come with all season tires which for me leaves a lot to be desired. Guys up north with Z51 are selling take off summer only Pilot Sport 4S tires pretty cheap as they need all season. That said, I'm not big on burnouts or drifting so I've gotten really great tread life on summer performance tires on the C7. I do like to run it up a bit on the highway and off ramps.

After getting off the auto train I had a 250+ mile trip home. I stretched it's legs a few time on the Turnpike, it's a great driver at speed. I did notice at 90mph doing about 1800-1900 RPM.

[Sapphireho]

How does getting in and out compare to a twin?

You said you want to do some suspension upgrades. Is it lacking out of the box?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by gtpvette

...Lastly that black side scoop trim will need to be painted body color.

AGGGHHH!

If anything, it needs more black accents not less. Just my humble opinion of course. Beautiful car. Enjoy it.

[gtpvette]

Originally Posted by Kittykate

Nice. I'm not sure it's possible to get more car for the money new.

Couldn't agree more and thought the same about my C7 which I got as a new leftover at 20% off MSRP. I had to go to NJ to get this one at MSRP at Ciocca Chevy, #2 corvette dealer in country. The local dealers don't really offer cars without some type of markup.

I recently got in the queue for a 2024 but Chevy just added an additional $2000 to the base price (10/1) as well as an increase in delivery charge. BTW, that's over and above what they raised it for 2023 model year. So the difference in a base model 2023 and a 2024 is now $4Kish.

I was grateful for the 2023.

[gtpvette]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

How does getting in and out compare to a twin?

You said you want to do some suspension upgrades. Is it lacking out of the box?

Well, my FRS hasn't run in a while but never really had and issue getting in and out of it. It was very much like the C7. Of course, I do it old man style now, put my ass is first swing legs around. No issues with either car.

In the C8 the distance from door sill edge to seat cushion is farther so it's a bit more difficult. Especially if the door isn't opened all the way. It also seems the leading edge of door opening is back a bit as compared to the C7.