Hot Rod Magazine interview with Tadge

[meyerweb]

Not much here, but a couple of interesting tidbits:

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1907-2020-c8-corvette-engineering-interview-tadge-juechter/

Vette: What inspired this C8 design?

TJ: Many of the people on the C7 design team were involved in developing the C8. The great thing about the C8 development is that it began while they were working on the C7. If they discovered limitations with the C7 architecture they would incorporate those new ideas into the next generation design. The development team kept a check list when this happened. This list was our guideline for the C8 development process, in other words how were we going to top ourselves? One of the things on that list was how the ZR1 pushed the limits of the front engine architecture, the team felt that the mid-engine design would offer a lot of new performance options.


Vette: What inspired the flat top steering wheel?

J: Well we had a flat bottom wheel for a while and the curved top did not do anything to improve visibility. You really drive the car from both sides of the steering wheel and this design feels very natural whether you are on the track or the street. We talked about squaring off the top so we could improve the view of our 12” display. To prove the concept, we built early prototypes and drove them around on a daily basis to prove that it would work and it did. The steering wheel paddles on the side are magnesium and they are wired directly to the transmission. When a driver commands a shift and instantly gets it.


Vette: How is the turn-in into a corner on this car compared to the C7?

TJ: It is lightening quick, we were really paranoid about it, too much mass in the rear causing a classic handling problem. We knew all of the bugaboos that other brands had to discover and correct over a period of many generations. This included the rear wheels breaking loose and causing oversteer or closed throttle snap that caused the real wheels to react and also create oversteer. We were always sensitive to the car’s rear mass with the mid-engine placement. We had to do it right the first time. There were many little details we had to design into this chassis to correct that, but the driving experience is amazing. The car is very linear and it was a surprise to us how the frame architecture allowed us to reduce higher tire pressures and sticky compounds. We were able to back away from some of the extreme tire compounding we used in the previous generation. This has allowed us to equip this car with all-season tires. These tires do not have the chatter that the previous tire did and their temperature transition and performance is exceptional.


Vette: We have been asked the question why did you not keep building the amazing C7 and make this Corvette’s halo car in the $160,000 range?



TJ: We thought about it for a while, but as the design of this car evolved we realized that it was so good we could offer it for $60,000. Our state of the art Bowling Green Production facility is fully capable of producing this new Corvette. It will be built with exceptional quality at this price point.

[ZORA 69]

I am sure the design team paid very close attention to the design of this car with special attention to other manufacturer's issues. The time was right for this car and to make it more right they had to do their homework and DID. Thank You Tadge and all the GM folks that worked on this car.

[JDMilw]

I'm thinking the C8 will do very well on a track like Spring Mountain for instance. In fact I think it would give the current Z06 a run for it's money except maybe on the long straight.

[electroVette]

Short and sweet! I liked his discussion of how there are little details to the chassis design to correct for lift throttle oversteer. Not that I didn't expect it, but some naysayers have been claiming the ME design was a mistake and then citing examples of 911 models from the 1970s that liked to try to kill their owners. It was nice to hear Tadge address this directly.

[John]

I'm thinking the C8 will do very well on a track like Spring Mountain for instance. In fact I think it would give the current Z06 a run for it's money except maybe on the long straight.

We are going to hear some amazing news in the future that echoes JDMilw’s comment.

[Klinn]

Short and sweet! I liked his discussion of how there are little details to the chassis design to correct for lift throttle oversteer.

Not just chassis design in the sense of the mechanical bits & pieces, but also the software running in various modes, controlling the e-Diff and such. It's getting like fighter jets where you need computer systems to make a plane flyable.

[Phil1098]

some naysayers have been claiming the ME design was a mistake and then citing examples of 911 models from the 1970s that liked to try to kill their owners.

Which always made me smile, because the trailing throttle oversteer was driver error. It was "oh no I'm going too fast for this corner" and jump off the gas and turn the wheel. Car went off the road rear end first. If you could hit your brake point, slow the car, roll back into the throttle and load the drive wheels and go through the corner they were amazing. It's so funny, just because people sit behind the wheel of a car they think they have skills, most don't. I've gone through long sweeping corners in a 911 and carried the inside front tire to the point the brake pad drag stopped it's rotation before touching back down.

[JB]

People referring to 1970 technology and some lift off handling issue is crazy....

suspension technology not to mention electronics like ptm and active handling make those concerns outdated...

we are talking almost 50 years of advancements...

many people especially those loyal to previous generations are needlessly concerned about snap oversteer...

thats really a thing of the past.

[MikeC8]

Which always made me smile, because the trailing throttle oversteer was driver error. It was "oh no I'm going too fast for this corner" and jump off the gas and turn the wheel. Car went off the road rear end first. If you could hit your brake point, slow the car, roll back into the throttle and load the drive wheels and go through the corner they were amazing. It's so funny, just because people sit behind the wheel of a car they think they have skills, most don't. I've gone through long sweeping corners in a 911 and carried the inside front tire to the point the brake pad drag stopped it's rotation before touching back down.

When I first got my 911SC back in the late 80’s I did exactly that. Went off the road backwards. Didn’t do any damage except a blown rear tire. But until you understood the quirks of the car it could bite you real fast. Never lift and know your braking points before the curve. Practice practice practice. Or sell the bloody thing and run away as fast as you can.... lol.

[Phil1098]

I'm a bit odd in the fact I don't mind things that bite, as long as they bite because the operator lacked skill or stupidity. I really don't like electronic nannies and such, not even that big on ABS. I would rather have a lawn mower that keeps the blade spinning without holding onto the handle.To me, there should be a price to payed for stupid, mower's running don't stick your hand under it. I think those early Porsches were like that too, they were honest cars that required the driver to have a real skill set to operate them, not just a fat wallet. If you did have the skill set they paid you back in spades, if you didn't they could also punish you for it. It kind of made you try harder to improve as a driver, today everything is so PC and give everyone a trophy that there is no reason to try and improve because the engineers have done it for you. I KNOW I'm a dinosaur and all dinosaurs die off.