swmccarthy

1. I bought the tires and had them mounted at Discount Tires. I did not know this until I was in the shop, but Discount Tires acquired Tire Rack, so you can shop on Tire Rack and either buy there for shipping and mounting at a local Discount Tire store, or ship to your preferred tech. For what it's worth, the Discount Tire store near me is absolutely amazing. The shop is clean, the service is professional and courteous, they were fast (about 75 minutes) and did not scratch any wheels.

2. I had my tech at the local GM dealer align the car when I took it in for the initial service. I could have had it done at elsewhere (Discount Tire would have been my next choice), but this is a new model and I worried about getting it right. As it turned out, even the tech at the GM dealer had to have someone set up their alignment machine for this car. Secondly, I am fundamentally lazy and figured I would get service and alignment done during one visit.

3. On my last two Corvettes, the brakes faded badly until I replaced the lines. I was good for 8 or 9 laps before I started losing feel. I guess I will keep the OEM hoses for the first few days on track just to see how they do, but if history is a guide I will be replacing them at some point. It might have to do with where I live. Ambient temperature on the West Coast can be pretty high in the summer. I saw 114 degrees at Button Willow one day.

4. The burnish process is something you can absolutely do on a back road, which is what I usually do. I think it would be pretty hard to do on track unless you have the track to yourself. This is my first car with carbon ceramic brakes so I did not know what to expect. They dissipate heat pretty fast, so getting them hot enough takes a little more time and patience.

5. I honestly have had no luck with factory brake fluid. I always switch to HP or RBF 600/660. As with the lines, it may have something to do with where I live or my lack of driving ability. After reference points, braking is what I work on most. All that said, all previous track experience is with C6 and C7 cars (aside from racing sport bikes). Also, I should emphasize I am really not a good driver. I am very hard on brakes and tires. I go through a LOT of pads and rotors, and have broken a rotor before (Thunder Hill, Turn 9), so it really could just be my lack of ability that is the problem. Most guys I see in the paddock struggle with heat build up in their brakes, so I don't think its all me (but likely mostly me!). Maybe the C8 Z06 comes track ready. Either way, I will soon find out and let you know what I learn.

swmccarthy

Thanks! As to how I got the car so soon, all I will say is I am a very, very lucky person, and was in the right place at the right time. Like everyone else lucky enough to place an order, I had to wait for the books to open.

swmccarthy

Thanks!

Here's another pic taken at Mt Charleston, Nevada

swmccarthy

Thanks!

swmccarthy

Thanks. I really like this forum, partly because it feels like only real enthusiast post here, and feel free to do so without judgment. I figure most of what we post is experience based, which is inherently personal to the poster. We could drive the same car, on the same day on the same road and have very different impressions. Some of the Youtubers are so frustrating. When the C8 first came out, there was a Youtuber complaining because the steering wheel put your hands in the "wrong position", 3 and 9 verses 10 and 2. Then there are the folks that try to make you think they are slinging the car through corners, and you cannot even hear the tires, let alone see the car tracking-out. One of my favorites was a Youtuber (who I will not name) saying they could not get the back tires to break loose. I have no words. I am doing 180's at 4,000 rpms, and spinning them up in first and second gear (because I can). To be sure, this car has way more grip than my last front engine car with 295s, and low-end torque is very different than a push rod motor, but still spinning up the rear tires is no challenge at all.

swmccarthy

That makes a lot of sense. My VIN is 52. I have no idea where I was on the list.

RapidC84B

Been racing for a good bit… brake hoses have nothing to do with brake fade. You’d be surprised how good the factory DOT4 fluid does. I eventually flushed SRF in my Stingray, but had no issues with the factory fluid driving very hard at VIR in the instructor group.

swmccarthy

Thanks! The only Ferrari I have driven is a 488GTB, and if its anything like yours, you are one lucky person. I too keep spare wheels for two reasons. One, for my track tires, and two so I don't destroy the OEMs. I do quite a few tire changes every season, and eventually the tire guys end of scratching them. Plus, it only takes one off to tear up your wheels so I keep a set of unpainted wheels ready to roll.

As to understeer, I appreciate the advice. This is my first experience in a mid engine car, and I am taking it kind of slow, learning the car, what works and what doesn't. On past cars I have not driven enough on my street tires to show noticeable where from camber. As to the track tires, well they just do not last that long. As to Castrol SRF I will add that to my list. I have also tried Wilwood EXP and Brembo LCF on other cars but never really felt a difference. I'll try the Castrol though - thanks for the tip.

swmccarthy

Great questions!
Tire/road noise: At first, it was awful. Like, really, really loud. Even with the engine in mild setting, it was hard to hear music or phone calls. As noted earlier, I swapped the Cup tires for 4S ZPs and I don't know if that made a difference or I am just getting used to the car, but it seems much quieter now. It could also be the roads I was on. Honestly, I am not sure but my initial impression on tire/road noise was not positive. Coming home from the track last night (Spring Mountain) it seemed fine.

Engine Noise: I do not believe this car will pass sound at Laguna Seca, at least not in beast mode. I don't even want to try. I got black flagged in my C6 Z06 with stock exhaust. This car is significantly louder. I suppose, you could hit Z Mode going into 5 and short shift up the hill, then before 6 hit Z Mode again (the sound booth is between 5 & 6). But man is that painful. Everyone else is pulling you up the hill while you are cruising in 5th gear trying to not trip sound. On the plus side, if your passenger starts singing to your favorite song all you need to do is hit Z Mode and drop a couple of gears and trust me, you will not hear a thing. Problem solved!

Wind: I have he CHT, and I have to say the wind noise is much less than it was on my C7. I rarely drove the C7 with the top off because of wind noise. I drive this car with the top down pretty regularly. Big difference. I think in part because the rear window lowers and allows the wind to flow through as opposed to churning inside the car. Or not.

Cost: This is one of the hardest questions to answer because (I think) each of us has our own circumstances. For me, this is like a once in a life time thing (I have actually said that twice before, but this time I mean it!). I believe driving a car should be an experience, and we should engage and connect with our cars. Literally the only reason I did not get a C8 was I wanted a wide-body. That was it. If GM came out with a wide body in 2020, I would have gotten one. Its purely a cosmetic thing for me. When I got my C7 GM did not have have a wide body, and when I saw one a year later I was kind of sad. I will also say, I absolutely love push rod engines. I don't know why, but I just do. Maybe it's the low end torque, or the growl or both, but I have long loved those engines. Then again, I used to race 4 cylinder sport bikes (club level only) and I loved those engines. Back then my GSXRs really did not come alive until about 9,000 rpm and I just loved those high revving engines. So this car reminds me a bit of that. I guess when it comes down to it, do I like push rod engines or overhead cam engines? Yes. Do I like front engine or mid engine? Yes. Z51 or Z06? Yes.

For me (one of 8 billion people on this planet) it was not so much a cost based decision as one of what I want. I am getting along in years and I do not want to lie in my death bed regretting the things I did not do. So it is really hard for me to say if a Z06 is worth the extra cost over a Z51. I honestly don't have an answer. They are very, very different cars. But I will say, like every car I have ever owned, this car makes me smile and that is what it should do. I will also say if they made a wide body Z51 and I had garage space, I would probably own both.

XP882

Your car looks incredible. Question: is the paint quality really as good as it appears in these photos? That Red Mist looks so deep you could drown in it!

swmccarthy

Hyperbole aside, pictures do not do it justice. It actually looks better in person. It looks like the paint has metal flake so to me it looks better during the day. I am having Expel clear bra and ceramic coating done on the 13th.

CDNZR

Beautiful car. Thanks for sharing your experience. Drive safe. It makes me nervous seeing snow in the background in a high performance car eventhough the snows is not on the road.

dar02081961

Question Sir.
Are you putting Expel over the ceramic?
I am curious about this as my ceramic shop recommended not to do this but I really would like to.
What are you being told?

Thanks

thrilled

The writeup was so good, I’ve been patient these 2+1/2 years til now I can’t wait. The way you’re sounding I hope it’s not too much car for me. The C8 I have is peppy. So I imagine with 670 hp I will need to hold on. I probably will keep it out of Z mode lol.

Les

Beautiful car and great writeup! You covered a lot of ground, pretty much everything I would have asked about. I look forward to any future info you have to share. Enjoy the ride!

swmccarthy

Yeah, that looks a little sketchy in the photo but I think that snow is up around 9,000 feet. It was plenty warm down where I was and the roads were bone dry and clear of debris. It is a good point though. I always have a feeling I am driving on cold tires (which I am) so I drive pretty chill up there. Literally 35-45 mph.

fumbling

Are your wheels the satin graphite or the gloss black wheels?

c7gsmike

I rented a C8 back in July of 2021 and drove up to Mt Charleston and proposed to my now fiance. Beautiful up in the mountains. I will be driving my C7Z M7 until my number gets called from Ciocca. Going to be a few years till that happens. Anyways, congrats on your amazing new C8Z! Great write up too!

Let It Ride

Thank you me too. But according to this forum GM needs these you tubers, especially Streetspeed " yo dude listen how it sounds in this tunnel". Give me a fkn break!

JockItch

Wow! Stealing this picture for sure