My rant on the front end lift

[WillRockwell]

This front end lift system, which seems like such a breakthrough at first glance, seems to me to be a poor way to avoid a common issue. If you keep lowering your front end by adding air dams and spoilers, of course you're going to be hitting things.
A front-end lift doesn't solve the problem. You will probably hit every one of these thousand bumps that the lift is designed to avoid before you program it to get over them.
Also, the lift seems rather slow, what do you have to do to make sure you get over a speed bump before you get to it? Do you have to drive slower? Do you have to stop in front of the bump to give the lift time to activate?
My solution to all this is not to have any additional spoilers or air dams on the front of the car. The basic height is supposed to be the same as a C7, and I didn't hear any C7 owners crying for a front-end lift.
I'm just going to drive carefully, remember where I had problems, and drive diagonally across bumps and dips.

[meyerweb]

I would guess that if you have a location programmed, the system will take your speed into account (within reason) and begin the lift early enough to complete it before you get to the spot.

[JB]

Go see the c8 in person...from what I saw at regular c8 the point of the c8s nose was about a half inch higher than my cell phone from the ground to the nose.

i came home measured it with a ruler and its about 7 inches total space ground to the bottom of the splitter...

im mit buying the front end lift system so I was curious...

as far as I could tell we are good to go without E60..

for those getting a 2 or 3 lt..id recommend the E60 system...but Im nit dropping the estimated five grand for the wonderful 2LT option just so I could order the approximate estimated total guess price of the E60...$1500 (mclarens price of front end lift system)

i have the HUD in my present corvette and its nice but its not a must have etc...

dont sweat the E60 ...it ll be awesome and if anyone finds they need that to get in certain driveways or roadways from their current vette...then definitely E60 will meet your needs.

if GM would have offered E60 as a standalone luxury option on 1LT I would have dropped the cash... i wouldnt even expect the gps driven system but gm doesnt offer it...

fwiw im sure with a top speed of e60 at 24 mph...the higer functioning E60 computer alert through gps calculates the spot the car needs to lift along with the vehicle speed...its a pretty simple calculation ..

just dont be driving above 23 or 24 mph ..

considering i have to drive at 4 or 5 mph to get my current corvette without any front end lift to get over a 10 mph speed table just installed in 3 spots...i would have just driven 23 mph off my block...but no...i have to go 25 then down to 4 or 5 mph...up to 25 down to 4 or 5 mph...

pain in the butt but not worth a estimated price of 5 grand for 2LT to 1500 for E60..

so like everything else in life...ill just deal with it and smile.

[Mobius]

My solution to all this is not to have any additional spoilers or air dams on the front of the car.

I've got about 38,000 miles on my C7 and I can recall only one time "touching down" while leaving a downward sloping parking lot to the main road. Even then, I think only the air dam scraped.

Part of this is being cautious about the road situations that can lead to a touch down - the incident above could have been avoided, but I happened to be chatting with the wife and was distracted to a degree. It wouldn't have happened otherwise.

My air dam also scrapes every time I enter and leave my own driveway - no big deal, and the air dam tolerates it (even after 5+years now).

Having said all that, in the C8 pics I've seen I don't recall seeing any air dams present. There are C8 splitters, and these can be more of a problem with regards to road contact and splitter damage.

[JB]

The front end with the splitter in person...looks pretty high off the ground...

one I saw at Atlantic city i thought i saw a flexible spoiler like the previous corvettes but i wasnt sure.so I looked again in little falls display car and I didnt see the flexible hinged front spoiler under the car.

[Ace]

I love the front end lift. My garage has a pretty steep ramp so for every sportscar it's just a pita. With the lift system you easily have enough space to not care about steep ramps/driveways.

From what we can see on pictures, the normal height should be fine for daily stuff like speedbumps. So front end lift is definitely not a must-have

[Heidi]

I am still confused on how this front lift works. Question 1: Once I operate the lift button and drive over a speed bump, do I have to activate another or the same button to lower the front end again? (I know this can be pre-programmed into the GPS; I'm curious about the manual operation because in our area GPS is not always functional.)
Question 2: If I leave the front lift in up position, will that cause unnecessary strain on the lift system?
Heidi
Save the Wave

[Milliwatt Rob]

I believe it adds about 16 pounds to the weight of the car, at the front axle, and some of that additional weight must add to the unsprung weight. Other than the $$$ cost, this is part of the additional price to pay.

[P-Tree]

No front air dam = less aero. Less aero = less downforce = reduced handling capabilities = slower track times = less prestige = less sales.

I highly doubt any sports car manufacture is going to do away with front aero. You can get the car without Z51 package, no front splitter! Also, can not order the front end lift. Seems like non Z51 and no lift is an option for you. I would not get Z51 and remove front splitter, as that will upset the balance of the car. As for the front end lift, I think it's quite nice that they add that option to the car to help out. I know with previous cars there were off limit places, specifically because of odd ingress / egress angles, pot holes, abnormally large speed bumps, etc.

[ZoraC2]

I thought I read that the C8 was the same exact height as the C7 off the ground. Please correct me if I heard wrong.
Ferrari, Lambo & Exotic owners deal with this all the time. If you're mindful you will remember to be on the lookout MOST of the time. There will also be times where you either just forget or don't see it at all. It's def cringe worthy as the sound of scraping goes through your spine. Even happens on occasion to my BMW coupe. I will be getting the lift on my C8.

I love the lift system on the Ford-GT as it has near instantaneous hydraulic system to lift the front-end and inversely can slam your car to the ground for track use. BUT it also costs a half million dollars so...

[WillRockwell]

No front air dam = less aero. Less aero = less downforce = reduced handling capabilities = slower track times = less prestige = less sales.

I highly doubt any sports car manufacture is going to do away with front aero. You can get the car without Z51 package, no front splitter! Also, can not order the front end lift. Seems like non Z51 and no lift is an option for you. I would not get Z51 and remove front splitter, as that will upset the balance of the car. As for the front end lift, I think it's quite nice that they add that option to the car to help out. I know with previous cars there were off limit places, specifically because of odd ingress / egress angles, pot holes, abnormally large speed bumps, etc.

The basic design of the car is aero, there is downforce in the front, and there is a lip in the back.

I didn't know that the maximum speed for the lift was 24 miles per hour. I could easily see approaching a speed bump at 26 miles per hour and having it not work

[Prince]

It's all about peace of mind IMO. $1500 estimated is a small price to pay.

[Meldoon]

The basic design of the car is aero, there is downforce in the front, and there is a lip in the back.

I didn't know that the maximum speed for the lift was 24 miles per hour. I could easily see approaching a speed bump at 26 miles per hour and having it not work

It is an option. If you don’t want it, don’t buy it. If you have driven a low slung car, you’d understand why some would want it. My understanding is that there is more car in front of the front wheels , meaning more overhang than the C7. If that is the case, it would potentially touch down sooner. It won’t be a cure all. If you speed over speed bumps, you’ll have a problem.

Personally, I prefer the “lowered” look. My C7 is “lowered on the bolts”. I could use the lift system at times. I suspect GM either got requests for the system, or, saw a need for it, or both.

”PRAISE THE LOWERED”. 😎

[John]

Will, one misplaced rant IMO. Just do not buy it, but why tear down GM and the happy customers that E60 is coming. Have you forgotten that the lower a sports car can be, the better its performance and its fuel economy will bet. You can rant all you wish (within reason), but there are tens of thousands of us who asked GM to include it as an option — which they thankfully did. As an option, doesn’t cost anyone who does not want it, yet allow me and the many others who do want it and willing to pay extra for it, to have and enjoy it.

Sitting within hundreds in the front section at the reveal, the roar of approval when lift system was announced was the third loudest night roar of the night, behind only its incredible below $60K price and its below 0-60 in 3.0 seconds performance.

In my C8, which I can not in my C7 without one, I will now be able to go into my favorite restaurant in my Corvette, get gas at the Chevron gas station in my home town (the only one, and there is no Texaco or Shell in my town either — my other two chosen gas stations).

[John]

Addressing two others things raised above, just like other exotics which have a front end lift, there is a max speed limit; in the case of the C8, it is 24 MPH. The height of the C8 has been repeatedly reported to be the same as the C7. However, I have yet to hear that as an official GM statement.