C8 z51 vs c7 zo6

[Rick M]

Here’s a hypothetical question, C8 Z51 VS C7 ZO6 out on track day. Who will have the lower lap time?

[SheepDog]

Here’s a hypothetical question, C8 Z51 VS C7 ZO6 out on track day. Who will have the lower lap time?

That great question will start a food fight. Which track are you thinking about. The knowledge guys will want to know that.

Which track:

New York City					Meadowlands, Bridgehampton, Trenton
Los Angeles	Fontana	Long Beach	Irwindale		Ontario, Riverside
Chicago	Chicagoland			Autobahn	Cicero
Baltimore / Washington				Summit Point	Baltimore, Marlboro, RFK Stadium
San Jose/San Francisco		Sonoma, Laguna Seca			San Jose, Altamont
Boston	New Hampshire		Thompson
Philadelphia	Pocono	New Jersey			Langhorne, Flemington, Nazareth
Dallas / Fort Worth	Texas				Dallas
Miami	Homestead			Palm Beach	Miami, Miami, West Palm Beach
Houston				MSR Houston	Houston, Texas
Atlanta	Atlanta	Road Atlanta
Detroit	Michigan	Belle Isle
Seattle			Evergreen	Pacific
Phoenix	Phoenix			Firebird	Phoenix
Minneapolis / St. Paul					Minneapolis
Cleveland					Cleveland
Denver			Pikes Peak		Denver
San Diego					Del Mar
Portland				Portland
Orlando	Daytona				Walt Disney World
St. Louis	Gateway
Tampa Bay		St. Petersburg			Tampa
Sacramento					Sacramento
Charlotte	Charlotte
Kansas City	Kansas
Salt Lake City		Utah
Columbus		Mid-Ohio			Columbus
Indianapolis	Indianapolis		IRP		ISF
Las Vegas	Las Vegas				Vegas GP, Caesars Palace, Stardust
San Antonio					San Antonio
Cincinnati	Kentucky
Milwaukee	Milwaukee	Road America
Austin		Circuit of the Americas
Raleigh-Durham					Raleigh
Nashville			Nashville USA		Nashville SS
Piedmont Triad	Martinsville		Bowman Gray
Grand Rapids					West Michigan
Memphis			Memphis
Greenville			Greenville-Pickens
Richmond	Richmond
Birmingham		Barber
New Orleans		NOLA			New Orleans
Albany			Airborne Speedway

[John]

I will take a stab and saying first, With an an identical driver on an identical day/weather, on a tight/technical track like Lime Rock, the C8 Z51 will be only fractionally slower than the C7 Z06, but on most tracks the C7 Z06 will always be quicker, with the longer the straightaways and the fewer tight corners, the greater the Z06’s margin.

[SheepDog]

The C6 Z06 with 505 HP and 475 TQ did the Nurburgring in 7:21 in 2009 . The Z06s and ZRs with 150-250 greater HP did not do it much faster in all the years since. The 2020 C8 Z51 is about similar engine power to the C6 Z06, which was also Naturally Aspirated. In fact the C8 is essentially an updated C6 Z06 with the engine relocated and a DCT and the other update goodies. The 2020 C8 is the C6 Z06 reincarnated with a twist or two. And a bit heavier too.

Here’s a hypothetical fantasy: The C8 [an updated C6 Z06] can now go around the Nurburgring in 7:21 minus 20 seconds, thanks to 10 years of updating, DCT and ME. that's 7:01. That's a result that is fantasized by comparing the C8 to its direct predecessor the C6 Z06.

And for an alternative hypothetical, just ignore the C7 Z06 and ZR1. There is so much love and respect for the C7 Z06 and ZR1. People do not want their image diminished. Why Compare Rocky Marciano to a modern heavy weight. Too much emotion. Leave it alone.

Could the C6 Z06 run 20 seconds faster around the Nurburgring if it had a DCT, a ME, modern Z51 and mag shocks etc. etc, etc. and 10 years of development. Think maybe yes it could? Then thats your fantasy answer.

The answer to the other, the alternative hypothetical question answers the "C8 v C7 Z06 question" without a direct comparison, without directly tarnishing the the reputation of the retired champion.

[Rick M]

Thank you for your feedback SheepDog, the C7’s are amazing and beautiful cars and much improved over the C6. After asking that question, I wondered if people were thinking if I was putting down the C7. (I was not) But, Chevrolet is moving forward and trying to build a better mouse trap. We will certainly see in a few months how it holds up on the track. Once again, I would love to own either one; my order is in for a 20 Z51.

[JB]

Different drivers, different days...id say its a hard call.

Id suggest the longer tracks the c7 z06 and the tighter tracks the c8 z51 but its just a guess...

i think a better call will come when the top auto mags do comparison testing...same day same track...with say mclarens 570..

we know at vir with car and driver the c7 gs and the 570 were about equal while the c7 z06 dominated...

will the c8 z51 surpass the 570s?

Might be insightful.

[Meldoon]

Z06 vs the world is what I’m looking forward to! That will be interesting.........and fun!

[Fasttoys]

Here’s a hypothetical question, C8 Z51 VS C7 ZO6 out on track day. Who will have the lower lap time?

Is the C7 Z06 a manual or Auto. The DCT mated to the engine is hard to beat, it’s incredibly fast, the C7 Z auto had many complaints of shifting slow and I agree. The issue with the C8 is weight, with a benefit of DCT, ME, no drive train loss ieTQ tube and getting power to the ground. we won’t know till magazines test the car?

[John]

Z06 vs the world is what I’m looking forward to! That will be interesting.........and fun!

Every car that can go under 3.0 seconds to 60 MPH and in the process looks as exciting inciting and out as the C8, will be big fun!

[electroVette]

C8 Z51 dominates the C7 ZO6 on all the but the highest speed tracks.

There's also a limp mode joke to be made here, but I'll leave that to someone else.

[ZORA 69]

Here’s a hypothetical question, C8 Z51 VS C7 ZO6 out on track day. Who will have the lower lap time?

The Better drive will win..

[CaryBob]

I'll let you know. My current C7 Z06 will be replaced by a C8 Z51. I don't actually know how the tires compare to the Cups, but if the grip is similar I would think the C8 would give me a run for my money.

[Rick M]

CarBob, Obviously it will depend on the track, a tight twisty track the C8 will have an advantage. If there are a lot of straight-aways, the horsepower of the ZO6 will come into play. When my car comes in, probably next year, I plan on going to Pocono and New Jersey Motorsports Park.

[TtiME]

Driver will be biggest difference. I bet average corvette drivers will be faster in C8 as turn in will be much faster and the added balance and traction will allow much quicker and confident exit acceleration. However for a guy like randy pobst where a manual is barely a difference in track time I’d say he will still be faster in a Z06, my guess by around 1-2 seconds.

[Racer86]

Manual shifts takes 300- 400 milliseconds to complete by the best drivers. DCT takes 100 milliseconds or less to complete. Also manual shifting, the car is not accelerating durning that manual shift. The DCT is always in a gear. (At times it is in 2 gears with the clutches doing there magic)Road race tracks vary, but if you shift 15 to 20 times per lap, (normal at most tracks) times the number of laps, the DCT will have a huge advantage. Fact!