Quote:
Originally Posted by Norm Peterson
A ZL1 with such an uprated wheel and tire package might well be faster around many road courses . . . for the first one or two hot laps. But not over the course of a 20 minute session and definitely not on the last full hot lap before the end of the session. Think heat soak and pulled timing here, same as what the drag racers were griping about all last summer.
Yes, the ZL1's cooling could be upgraded and I guess a few other things could also be done, any of which would cut into the price difference.
The NA Z/28 will still be a more nimble car, even if the ultimate lateral grip could be made exactly equal (which I still doubt even though the Z/28 and such a ZL1 would be very close).
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Certainly the Z/28 as currently configured would not be a good DD choice for james, as he's still trying to make the Z/28 make sense in the same $ to physical content fashion that people make with any other DD.
With only a separate and more streetable set of tires, there is little reason this car couldn't be a daily-driver. Once that's done - and this is common enough within the autocross and track day world - It's the nut behind the steering wheel that's really the limiting factor.
Norm
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Thx for your posts Norm - you certainly offer a lot of valuable perspectives.
I totally agree, that at then end, it is the "nut behind the wheel that's really the limiting factor". Indeed that's the biggest "mod" one can make!
But all things being equal, I still have "heart burn" dealing with Z28's price tag. After all, its engine's r+d and tooling cost have been paid off many times over during the mutli year (and very successful) C6 Z06 production run. CF brakes are extremely expensive for sure, but they are not close to being a necessity for a road racing car and personally I view them as an effective marketing and likely a high profit margin "exotic" part. Multimatic suspension is interesting, yet comparing its capabilities vs the best of what GM has to offer from its own parts bin (some of which is being licenced to Ferrari as I understand?) would surely be a scientific challenge to translate into lap times (albeit I am sure GM has a good idea). Unsure how it compares cost wise, but I am not going to automatically assume it is MORE expensive as better doesn't necessarily need to be more expensive.
Bottom line, the car costs pretty much the same as a (much?) faster C6 z06 with the same motor, but 700lb les weight. For track supremacy, who on Earth would buy anything else and why? Back seat? Unlikely, if we are talking about "pure", "attack" track cars.
So it must be the badge then, as even the very track capable Z51 is priced at almost 20Gs less. Too bad there are no direct comparos between it and the z28 yet. It will be interesting how the new Z06 gets priced and how the z28 places in the performance per dollar line up. Clearly we won't know it until more tests and comparos are done at various tracks. It will be fun to observe for sure, especially given there is some new competition (some of it already here, like the GTR and some just around the corner).