The Durability and Performance of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06: A Mixed Bag

When it comes to high-performance cars, the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is often at the top of many enthusiasts' lists. However, in our latest review, we were left with mixed feelings about this powerful machine. Our test car was fitted with stock turbos, which, while not ideal, still managed to deliver impressive power and attention-grabbing sound. The internal setups of servos and other mechanical components seemed well-suited for the task at hand, but there's no denying that the automatic transmission is a major letdown.

The Transmission: A Source of Frustration

One of our biggest frustrations with the Corvette Z06 was its automatic transmission. We've driven numerous performance cars in the past, but none have been as woefully disappointing as this particular unit. The shifting pattern is clunky and unresponsive, making it feel like a chore to drive on the street or even more so on the track. Even with the magnetic ride system, which we'll discuss later, we couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

The Magnetic Ride System: A Mixed Bag

We've encountered magnetic ride systems on several cars in our testing, but none have been as underwhelming as this one. The system is supposed to provide exceptional grip and handling, but in reality, it felt like a band-aid solution at best. We couldn't help but wonder if the engineers had simply thrown more technology at the problem without truly addressing the underlying issues with the car's chassis and suspension.

The Aerodynamic Package: A Promising Start

On the other hand, we were impressed by the aerodynamic package that comes standard on the Z06. The big splitter and diffuser in the back create a healthy amount of downforce, which would be beneficial for high-speed cornering or track driving. However, when we spoke with the engineers about this package, they revealed that it's adjustable, but only in one direction – downward. We were disappointed to hear that there aren't more options available.

The Wheels and Brakes: A Silver Lining

One area where the Corvette Z06 truly shines is in its wheels and brakes. The lightweight units provide excellent grip and handling on both pavement and track, making them a joy to drive. Meanwhile, the brakes are responsive and effective, with plenty of feel and fade resistance.

The Verdict: Potential Unfulfilled

After spending several days behind the wheel of the Corvette Z06, we couldn't help but feel that this car's potential had not been fully realized. While it's certainly a powerful machine, its numerous shortcomings – including the automatic transmission, magnetic ride system, and limited aerodynamic options – make us wonder if there's more to be done. We can only imagine what this car could have achieved with a bit more attention to detail and a willingness to take risks.

A Comparison to Other Performance Cars

To put our experiences into perspective, we drove several other high-performance cars in the same period, including the Ferrari 488 GTB, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and Nissan GT-R Nismo. While each of these cars had its own strengths and weaknesses, they all shared one thing in common: a focus on performance that was unbridled and uncompromising. In contrast, the Corvette Z06 felt like it was living up to expectations, but never truly exceeding them.

The Value Proposition

Perhaps the biggest question surrounding the Corvette Z06 is value. At $75,000, this car is already positioned firmly in the realm of performance luxury cars. However, when you factor in the cost of modifications and tuning that can elevate its performance to truly exceptional levels – think $100,000 or more – we start to wonder if this car is truly worth the investment.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, our experience with the Corvette Z06 was a mixed bag. While it delivered impressive power and attention-grabbing sound, its numerous shortcomings – including the automatic transmission, magnetic ride system, and limited aerodynamic options – made us question whether there's more to be done. If you're looking for a performance car that will deliver on its promises without compromise, we can't say that this is it. However, if you're willing to put in the work to tune and modify your own vehicle, then the Corvette Z06 might just be worth exploring further.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmorning everybody welcome to the Angeles forest Seema has come to me this year and so we finish it off with our last SEMA car of the year this is the Rennick performance cadillac ats-v coupe Renick performance is a GM dealer affiliated tuning shop in Newport Beach California and they've taken this 2016 ats-v coupe and have had their way with it this has a Rennick Performance Intake downpipes x-pipe delete and a Rennick performance tune which is good for 520 horsepower and 516 torque at the wheels has stock mufflers but gutted and that has a valve delete so it's always loud there's an available on off button for the exhaust it has Rennick performance coilovers with Swift Springs thirty two millimeter adjustable sway bars billet adjustable end links reading performance d-o-t stainless steel brake lines the GT 250 APR wing on the back as well as porterfield pads and torque 700 fluid in the brakes stock hardware there so there's an interesting car we drove the ATS recently and we found that it has an amazing chassis great steering but the interior doesn't quite live up to its price and it didn't sound great and the automatic wasn't very good this one doesn't really fix any of that let's go for a drive and talk about it manual tracfone traction control in sports okay so start with a $17,000 eight yet and then this thing is pretty much being turned into the track car James ran a competitor for holding that this car sped says the majority of its nine thousand miles on the race track which says good things about the durability of the beast attention underneath that extra boost these are stock turbos but they're working on a machine internal setups of servos and the next area okay good power strong stuff come on Annihilator is not like the Ford EcoBoost where you get a big shove down low or even like Christine / momentum it really does come online for grand enough that's where you get loose that there is the automatic transmission which is terrible I give it way too much credit Clara's plane yes till it takes especially after driving the Ferrari 48 the Porsche gt3 RS and even you learn any of w-4 35 the S lock Oh big shift like crap it's just like crabbin on the panic mode it's just like crap in manual mode there is no way to make it better or even bearable it sucks the life out of the entire rest the corner night shift that was awful it often likewise awful exhaust and not saying reading fault necessarily it could just be an edges it's out terrible and it sounds awful and the automatic transmission only emphasizes that sound as on the object out ship it screams when you give me the gear 4,000 rpm in third and it won't give me second even though that's only an island arc is different this year now credit where it is due the turbo sounds cool so you could make an exhausting really is down quiet where you heard a lot more turbo noise vacuum chance this is now the third car I've driven that came with magnetic ride magnetic ride and I can conclude that unless you are building a race car not in the track RV race car leave the magnetic ride in because and far they have a lot of gripping strap and I thought at the track so I couldn't tell you but on the street the bride is no plan fit and it gets passed around and then there is the aerodynamic package big splitter is a broad big diffuser in the back and that big a PR team leg the funny thing on the Linea if you actually look at how its mounted it basically zeroed out right now so not creating any downpours but it's adjustable and there's only one adjustment it for more down but there are four adjustments left so what that means is it something Universal wig mounted on here but you can't really get much downforce out of it it's really just kind of extract now you need to take new uprights that have the correct name action looks pretty cool but it does scrape on everything I told them that I was going to beat that thing up if I take this car for a couple days and I was right I did really well lightweight wheels brakes are excellent and they have another nightmare you know it has potential but there's a lot to like it's really kind of bargaining the main issue I have with the card is not what they've done to it per se because I imagine it is quite a bit faster around the track than insanity yes like she was in Vegas $75,000 car like this or an m3 for that matter and then you're going to go miracle pushing and if suspension and arrow and chipping in and all of that stuff by the time you've done that you could have had a 911 honestly where you could have had a co six or you could have had something that from the factory got the performance that you desired out of this and without engineering all the refinements out of your luxury car I get going full track built with a Mustang or NSD I like I get that because of the huge gap you're starting with $75,000 for turning it into $115,000 ours that's into real sports bar territory that would provide the performance you get from it it's much much less compromised and much less heading so I just kind of don't get it and I know it sounds like I'm crapping on the guys inventing performance to tune this car and and it's not their fault they're nice people they they built a car that is what you do to a car that you take a track suits with tracklist fundamentally leave the automatic gearbox the sound of it and the fact that you sacrifice ride quality and and luxury or track readiness and end up in kind of the same places of vo6 I just don't get it and so I do want to thank them for we're looking it up and letting me take this car for a couple days I'm sorry to that if this seems mean but I feel it's important to be honest these videos for better or worse and and there is some potential with this car I just don't think it's been quite found yet and certainly if you want to make your ats-v go fast all the stuff that's happening with the engine is working we just needed to not sound like this but that's not good it's not good for me it's not good for anybody but thank you for watching and see you guys latermorning everybody welcome to the Angeles forest Seema has come to me this year and so we finish it off with our last SEMA car of the year this is the Rennick performance cadillac ats-v coupe Renick performance is a GM dealer affiliated tuning shop in Newport Beach California and they've taken this 2016 ats-v coupe and have had their way with it this has a Rennick Performance Intake downpipes x-pipe delete and a Rennick performance tune which is good for 520 horsepower and 516 torque at the wheels has stock mufflers but gutted and that has a valve delete so it's always loud there's an available on off button for the exhaust it has Rennick performance coilovers with Swift Springs thirty two millimeter adjustable sway bars billet adjustable end links reading performance d-o-t stainless steel brake lines the GT 250 APR wing on the back as well as porterfield pads and torque 700 fluid in the brakes stock hardware there so there's an interesting car we drove the ATS recently and we found that it has an amazing chassis great steering but the interior doesn't quite live up to its price and it didn't sound great and the automatic wasn't very good this one doesn't really fix any of that let's go for a drive and talk about it manual tracfone traction control in sports okay so start with a $17,000 eight yet and then this thing is pretty much being turned into the track car James ran a competitor for holding that this car sped says the majority of its nine thousand miles on the race track which says good things about the durability of the beast attention underneath that extra boost these are stock turbos but they're working on a machine internal setups of servos and the next area okay good power strong stuff come on Annihilator is not like the Ford EcoBoost where you get a big shove down low or even like Christine / momentum it really does come online for grand enough that's where you get loose that there is the automatic transmission which is terrible I give it way too much credit Clara's plane yes till it takes especially after driving the Ferrari 48 the Porsche gt3 RS and even you learn any of w-4 35 the S lock Oh big shift like crap it's just like crabbin on the panic mode it's just like crap in manual mode there is no way to make it better or even bearable it sucks the life out of the entire rest the corner night shift that was awful it often likewise awful exhaust and not saying reading fault necessarily it could just be an edges it's out terrible and it sounds awful and the automatic transmission only emphasizes that sound as on the object out ship it screams when you give me the gear 4,000 rpm in third and it won't give me second even though that's only an island arc is different this year now credit where it is due the turbo sounds cool so you could make an exhausting really is down quiet where you heard a lot more turbo noise vacuum chance this is now the third car I've driven that came with magnetic ride magnetic ride and I can conclude that unless you are building a race car not in the track RV race car leave the magnetic ride in because and far they have a lot of gripping strap and I thought at the track so I couldn't tell you but on the street the bride is no plan fit and it gets passed around and then there is the aerodynamic package big splitter is a broad big diffuser in the back and that big a PR team leg the funny thing on the Linea if you actually look at how its mounted it basically zeroed out right now so not creating any downpours but it's adjustable and there's only one adjustment it for more down but there are four adjustments left so what that means is it something Universal wig mounted on here but you can't really get much downforce out of it it's really just kind of extract now you need to take new uprights that have the correct name action looks pretty cool but it does scrape on everything I told them that I was going to beat that thing up if I take this car for a couple days and I was right I did really well lightweight wheels brakes are excellent and they have another nightmare you know it has potential but there's a lot to like it's really kind of bargaining the main issue I have with the card is not what they've done to it per se because I imagine it is quite a bit faster around the track than insanity yes like she was in Vegas $75,000 car like this or an m3 for that matter and then you're going to go miracle pushing and if suspension and arrow and chipping in and all of that stuff by the time you've done that you could have had a 911 honestly where you could have had a co six or you could have had something that from the factory got the performance that you desired out of this and without engineering all the refinements out of your luxury car I get going full track built with a Mustang or NSD I like I get that because of the huge gap you're starting with $75,000 for turning it into $115,000 ours that's into real sports bar territory that would provide the performance you get from it it's much much less compromised and much less heading so I just kind of don't get it and I know it sounds like I'm crapping on the guys inventing performance to tune this car and and it's not their fault they're nice people they they built a car that is what you do to a car that you take a track suits with tracklist fundamentally leave the automatic gearbox the sound of it and the fact that you sacrifice ride quality and and luxury or track readiness and end up in kind of the same places of vo6 I just don't get it and so I do want to thank them for we're looking it up and letting me take this car for a couple days I'm sorry to that if this seems mean but I feel it's important to be honest these videos for better or worse and and there is some potential with this car I just don't think it's been quite found yet and certainly if you want to make your ats-v go fast all the stuff that's happening with the engine is working we just needed to not sound like this but that's not good it's not good for me it's not good for anybody but thank you for watching and see you guys later\n"