New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

[fasterthanferrari]

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=EOlWE8pJx7w[/youtube]

GM (un-narrated) version below
YouTube - New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

 

[DoggieHowser]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

Hope it isn't a straightline hero

The engine is sweet tho... too bad the roadtaxes here will kill any chance of viability

 

[fasterthanferrari]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

You know, unlike the Z06, the ZR1 could very well turn out to be a straight line hero.

 

[centurion]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

You know, unlike the Z06, the ZR1 could very well turn out to be a straight line hero.

then it proves it that GM can't make use of US$100K properly....

reaching the limits of the chassis with all that supercharged power?

 

[fasterthanferrari]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

Did GM also get rid of the leaf springs with that $100K? Nothing wrong with using a a well tuned leaf springs for suspension, but for all its worth, a super car shouldn't have to share any truck parts.

 

[centurion]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

Did GM also get rid of the leaf springs with that $100K? Nothing wrong with using a a well tuned leaf springs for suspension, but for all its worth, a super car shouldn't have to share any truck parts.

I think basically the same suspension too ...

 

[fasterthanferrari]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

Corvette engineers say ZR1 will best Nissan GT-R's Nürburgring lap time


Nissan just announced that its mighty GT-R just lapped the Nürburgring in 7 minutes 29 seconds, but the boys over at Chevrolet aren't about to hand over the production-car track record. Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter says that a production version of the ZR1 will be able to beat the GT-R's impressive mark.

Up until now, only pre-production ZR1s have been lapping the Nürburgring. But with Chevrolet's 638 horsepower, 205 mph sports car now ready for production, Corvette engineers feel that the supercar from Detroit will have no trouble eclipsing the GT-R's time.
Juechter even told Edmunds that the ZR1 should be able to lap the track in "seven minutes, twenty-something seconds."
But even if the 'Vette can best 7 minutes 29 seconds, it still has to contend with the higher-performance GT-R V-Spec.

 

[Shaun]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

The leaf springs on corvettes are not the same as what go on trucks. The rears are independent (double A arm) but share a single transverse leafspring anchored at the centerline of the car. It is extremely distant from truck leaf springs you're thinking of where both are longitudinally mounted and share some big axle.

 

[fasterthanferrari]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

Thanks for the insight Shaun, why do you think GM (currently they are the only manufacture with the knowledge and understanding to make the springs work) kept the leaf spring design other than some of the advantages it possesses when coil springs are common and well understood? Would the corvette be better with coil springs instead knowing you can retro fit coils on the Corvette since the mounts can be shared with the regular shock mount?

 

[Shaun]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

It's all tradeoffs.. cost vs performance (as with all production cars) and I believe that the setup they use on the corvette is very good performing for the price. If somewhere along the development path they tried it and it worked just as well or better than alternatives, in the given package - then they really don't have a reason to change it.

The LMS and ALMS corvettes are converted to coilovers IIRC, but they use the production A arms (strong mofos). Easier to adjust ride height and preload with traditional coilovers, also easier to quick swap coil springs. IMO one of those areas where huge practical benefit outweighs the smaller theoretical benefit of alternative system. BTW the corvette leaf spring has been composite for a long time.. only about 25-35% the weight of equivalent steel leaf spring. And lower CG than any coilover system in use today.

I'm not saying leaf springs are the ultimate, but that it the corvette case it is not much of a disadvantage (if it is one at all), and meets the objective in a car where the buyer probably isn't going to be messing with set up factors listed earlier. I would have no problem buying a performance car running a transverse leaf spring, as long as I had confidence that the manufacturer had set it up well.

 

[MTM_Racing]

Re: New Corvette ZR1 Tops Out at 205 MPH

Read about the Corvette ZR1 which set to better Nissan GT-R Nurburgring lap record:

Corvette ZR1 Chief Engineer, Tadge Jeuchter, has said that the ZR1, "will be able to take the production-car track record at any racetrack,"

At the Nürburgring in Germany, The Corvette ZR1 has been spotted turning in trial lap times in the low 7:40s, a pace that puts it right up there with the world's fastest supercars. Given the damp conditions, we are expecting to see even quicker official lap times when Chevrolet goes public with its Nürburgring run.

Well, I must say either car is awesome in its own rights