Interesting ZR1 Read

[TFord]

this is an article that I like, so I decided to hand type it so you guys can enjoy it....and post your opinions...enjoy!

King Me!

-Milford, Michigan
You want us to tell you how brutally fast Chevrolet's new ZR1 is, dont you? You want to hear about its take-no-prisoners approach to performance. You want to know, know. Without a shadown of a doubt that it's the ultimate American response to the world's greatest performance cars. That it cuts glass, sprinkles the shards on a hunk of lion carcass for breakfast, then spits out nails that-when seen from above-perfectly outlines a cartoon Calvin pissing on the words "every other supercar."

Sorry. Not gonna do it
Wasn't the ZR1 supposed to be a ZO6 with a solid rocket booster strapped to its tail? It was supposed to be lightweight, high performance at all costs, and offered with the kind of option packages that really speak to its track-day nature. Right?

If thats what you've been expecting, you'd be wrong. And you wouldn't be alone-we were just as surprised as you are.

When we arrive at General Motors' Milford, Michigan Proving Grounds, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter gives us a brief walking tour of the car and describes the brief for the most powerful production car in GM's history.

"People have speculated that the ZR1 would just extend the thinking of the ZO6," says Juechter. "That's not what the philosophy of this car. We built a car that's awesomely easy to live with, but also awesomely fast."

It leaves us a little stunned. Why build it then? What's the point? There's no way the people at Corvette know more about what's good for the Corvette than us. Gaddamnit, they made a mistake! Surely the drive would bear tis out, right?

Standing next to the front straight of the Milford Road Course at GM's Proving Grounds, the sun starts to break through a hot Michigan morning. Fron uup here, you can see for miles in every direction. Its a fitting place to launch the car that will naturally inherit the title of "King of the Hill", given its connection to the C4 Zr1. But this is an entirely different car. You know the specs on the new ZR1: 638 horsepower, 604 pound-feet, supercharger, carbon fiber everywhere. But if Juechter says it's not a super ZO6, what is it?

Corvette development engineer Jim Mero-the guy from the now famous internet video of a ZR1 lapping the Nurburgring in seven minutes and twenty-six seconds, starts to explain a little more as he gives me an orientation lap of GM's private race track.

As it turns out, the key to the philosophical distance from the ZO6 centers around the ZR1's use of Magnetic Selective Ride Control---the valveless dampers designed by dlephi that are filled with a magical magnetic fluid that responds to suspension in a nanosecond. Using this MagnaRide system allowed the Corvette engineers to put in softer springs in the ZR1. Yes, you heard right the ZR1 has softer springs than the ZO6.

in the ZR1 there's a selector in the front of the gear shifter that allows either Tour or Sport mode. "I think I put more work into getting the Tour setting right than anything else on entire car." says Mero, pointing out that the braking distances and shift points around GM's track. The ZO6, on the other hand, dosen't run the MagnaRide suspension at all---it has fixed valve dampers, like on most standard cars---and its ride is much less forgiving on normal roads. Although nobody will confirm it publicaly, its commonly believed that the ZO6 will upgrade to this MR setup in the not-too-distant future.

Mero drops me off on pit lane and there's a yellow ZR1 waiting. It has the "#ZR" package---the only option package offered on the car other than wheel choice. It's $10,000 all in and includes things like heavier power adjustable seats, Bose audio, navigation, Bluetooth, etc. Buyers who want the lightest ZR1 they can opt for the standard "1ZR" trim, which saves twenty-six pounds.

Alright, here we are. I'm all alone now, sitting in the most expensive Corvette GM ever sold. Other than the boost gauge, you wouldn't really know you're in anything other than a standard C6 Corvette. Sure, there's likely a differen hue to the leather and embroidery on the seats, but there's not much else that's unique. Surprisingly, the hood bulge for the supercharger dosent impact the drivers view at all---only about an inch, according to engineers. thats now why we're here, though.

Pushing the keyless start button, the ZR1 unleashes a wave of sound. With its exhaust valves open during startup, you get a brief moment of untamed engine roar. It settles down immediatrly and at idle barely makes a sound. This makes me even more nervous now. I can hear my hands wrap around the steering wheel and feel the blood move through my temples against my helmet. Whatever Juechter and Mero said about the ZR1 being easy to drive had escaped me now---I'm sitting in a $105,000 rear wheel drive car with 638horsepower. I wll die on this lap? Worse I will completely embarass myself and then die on this lap? I look over and the bystanders along pit land are smiling and eating sugar cookies. Good thing I put my mom on the emergency contact form---she always loved me.

Pulling away from pit lane, the clutch depresses easily, there's no supercar-heavy feel that would intimidate first timers---it's just like a ZO6 or even the base car. I lay my foot down, charge up first gear, and away we go. Somewhere just south of 3000 rpm, the ZR1 opens its lungs and lays waste to the morning silence---that's roughly 700 rpm sooner than the Zo6 opens its valves. I'm picking up speed and entering the front straight, looking toward a right hander at the bottom of the hill. As I get into second gear the sounds become massive and various---completely different from the dirty, large displacement rumble of the ZO6's 7.0 liter naturally aspirated engine. in the ZR1, it's a combination of engine roar and the fast moving white noise of the supercharger, with just the slightest hint of whine. "Yeah, we wanted to keep that little bit so you can hear the supercharger, " Ron meegan, assistant chief engineer for the program, tells me later. "You figure the guy's going to pay for it and he knows it's gat a supercharger, so we didn't want to hide it."

I'm only a few seconds into my experience in the ZR1 and I'm already muttering sweet nothings to myself inside my helmet. I'm up over 100 miles per hour and the right hander is approaching. I remember during my orientation lap Mero told me it's a decreasing radius turn, so I prepare to get it slowed down in a hurry. I stab the brakes and the car comes almost to a complete stop. Of course, Ive stopped way too short, so much that I've got to get back on the gas to even enter the corner. I just. Stop. Too. Short. Every. Time. What the hell is wrong with me?

I should be asking what's so right with these brakes. There carbon ceramic disks from Brembo and they fill almost the entire diameter of the ninteen-inch front and twenty-inch rear wheels. Stomping over and over again through my first lap of the 2.9 mile private track, the braking response is supernatural. Everything that 638 horsepower can unleash, the Brembos can reel in.

Flying through the track's series of elevation changes and off-camber corners, the feedback is smooth lateral changes is not too far removed from the Z06---the do share nearly the same suspension, including the same aluminum upper and lower control arms. It's in those up and down motions and in response to pavement imperfections where the ZR1 and its MagnaRide setup breaks apart from the ZO6 pack. Couple the ZR1's ability to slough off rough stuff with a much more powerful engine and you end up with a vehicle that feels faster than the ZO6 in nearly every way---in a straight line, on the track, and on the road. It's heavier , though, which is why GM still intends on keeping the ZO6 positioned for those who favor track performance over creature comforts.

While the ZR1 won cover stories and headlines because of its engine, it's likely to win more fans due to its brakes, tires, and MagnaRide suspension. In a way, it's odd to praise Chevy for bits and pieces that they didn't even build, but when you think about it GM is as deserving of praise as Brembo or Michelin or Dlephi. Today's cars---and especially today's performance cars---aren't just engine jobs. pulling off a complete vehicle is more like conducting an orchestra, general contracting on a home remodel, or like art directing a magazine. It's the brilliance of knowing which pieces create a great whole, then pulling them together in a way that creates an entirely new experience. In that sense, chief engineer Tadge Juechter is likely the greatest creative director of all. And, well, his name sounds like creative director's, too. Somebody get this guy a black turtleneck, quick.

On the final, sweeping right hander before I have to exit for pit lane---GM isn't letting us do back-to-back hot laps with the full track, so we can have to exit and reenter each lap---I get it over 130mph but realive I've barely scratched the surface. Top speed is said to be limited at 205 mph, although GM engineers suggest that the car will hit 210 or 215 on a downhill runs.

It's the ultimate Corvette for people who love Corvettes, not some other thing that the Corvette "should be." The collective with of the internet-enabled public to make a ZR1 "more of a ZO6" is perhaps aligned with an inability to see the true spirit of the Corvette---it was never meant to be a supercar. It was always meant to go fast, but never at the expense of its inhabitants. It's the sports car for people who aren't race car drivers. As GM has proven for over fifty years, a lot people tend to agree.
They didn't build the ultimate Corvette. Live with it.

-Winding Road

[CamaroSpike23]

good read.

this is what caught me the most

As it turns out, the key to the philosophical distance from the ZO6 centers around the ZR1's use of Magnetic Selective Ride Control---the valveless dampers designed by dlephi that are filled with a magical magnetic fluid that responds to suspension in a nanosecond. Using this MagnaRide system allowed the Corvette engineers to put in softer springs in the ZR1. Yes, you heard right the ZR1 has softer springs than the ZO6.

MagnaRide....imma have to look into other applications....lol

[radz28]

That would be cool to have in a Z28. It sounds like it's pretty much optimal as opposed to regular valved shocks. I'm not sure I'd want to pay that much more for them, but who knows? Aren't there only two GM cars that utilize these dampers - 'Vette and CTS-V?

Great read and that is one bad@$$ car.