Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

Driving the C5 on Mt. Akagi at first, I couldn't actually feel any understeer as @MidFieldMaven stated. It had quick and responsive turn in and it was powerful and fast on the straights. I actually had a decent amount of fun on Akagi.

.....Then I hit Spa. The very first corner from the start line, was far too tight, and I understeered off immediately. Okay, fair chance, I was taken by surprise at first. It hit 151mph on the back straight, which is alright. But it goes off wide way too easily if it's not happy, and if you don't take corners at exactly the speed it wants you to.

Truthfully, I never liked the C5 in the first place. I thought the C4 looked much sharper and the C5 just looks bloated, like the C4 past retirement. Thank God the C6 brought the 'Vette back from the brink.
 
All I can say @MidFieldMaven is regardless of what you thought of the car that was a pretty impressive laptime. After watching it I went off and tried the same in the '05 version which is actually rated 4PP higher and I was 3.5 seconds off your time and I really couldn't go any faster.

What this says about my driving is probably far more relevant than what it says about the two different models of the car of course :D. I'm with you though, I don't really like driving it, it feels like a blacmange pig in stock trim. I also now know for sure that if I manage to participate in any of the COTW races this week, my performance is likely to be even worse than usual - I AM Captain Slow! :eek:

(EDIT) I was running CS tyres and all assists off so maybe that makes it a bit better ;)
 
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But, but... You won't be able to get VTEC kicking in if you buy a Corvette! That's counter intuitive; VTEC kicks are one of the best feelings in the automotive world, how do you expect a non-VTEC Chevy V8 to do that for you!?
Also, the Type-R still has more polish in its interior than the Z06 does, and that's not much when you consider that the NSX barely has anything inside due to its agressive Atkins' diet... :lol:
 
MidFieldMaven
I just spent a solid hour with this 'Vette at Mid-Field Raceway, and while I went into the experience with feelings of excitement and confidence, I came out of it with feelings of disappointment and frustration. Let me explain...

Understeer. You're going to see a lot of it. With a weight distribution of 53/47, the Z06 could use some more weight in the back. It has quick and sharp turn-in abilities, but can't hold the line whether you're on the gas or not. The only time I kicked the back end out was in slow, tight corners when the sheer amount of torque helped shimmy the car towards the apex.

Z06 means business in a straight line. A maximum speed of 150 mph on the front straight is certainly nothing to scoff at. Overall, the Z06 feels like a muscle car for the 21st century. Not a supercar by any means, and not a sports car because it can't corner at least as well as it can accelerate. I hear things are different for the C6 and C7 versions. Maybe they worked out the kinks 💡

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
378 hp / 6,000 rpm
358 ft-lb / 5,000 rpm
1,409 kg (3,106 lbs)



Cars within 0.500 seconds:

1:19.452 - 522 - Ferrari California '08
1:19.454 - 558 - Ford Shelby GT500 '13
1:19.460 - 477 - Opera Performance S2000 '04
1:19.461 - 526 - RUF CTR "Yellow Bird" '87
1:19.475 - 516 - SRT Viper GTS '02
1:19.551 - 512 - Mine's Lancer Evolution VI '00
1:19.573 - 497 - BMW M3 GTR '03
1:19.593 - 486 - Shelby Series One Supercharged '03
1:19.598 - 513 - BMW M5 '08
1:19.612 - 521 - Aston Martin V12 Vantage '10
1:19.743 - 493 - Lotus Esprit Sport 350 '00
1:19.880 - 490 - BMW M3 CSL '03
1:19.885 - 531 - High End Performance G37
1:19.890 - 483 - Spoon S2000 Race Car '00
1:19.894 - 500 - TVR Tuscan Speed 6 '00
1:19.900 - 497 - TVR Tamora '02
1:19.952 - 504 - Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
1:19.989 - 500 - Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione '08
1:20.207 - 474 - Mazda RX500 '70
1:20.404 - 483 - Oullim Motors Spirra Prototype '04
1:20.418 - 482 - Lotus Esprit V8 '02
1:20.423 - 488 - Mitsubishi CZ-3 Tarmac Rally Car

Both the TVR Tamora and especially the Tuscan Speed 6 are prime targets for this car. Perhaps the Lotus Esprit's as well. The Viper '02 is half a second quicker.

I wanted to like the Z06, but its understeer quality in stock form just ruins the car for me. It needed more oversteer dialed in. With upgraded suspension, this car would be a dream to drive. As it stands, BEATER :scared: :sly:
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As much as I hate to admit it, the thing does understeer pretty bad in the game. I wonder if it steers that poorly in real life too...
I mean, PD has a tendency to make cars not handle even remotely close to the way they drive in real life. Or at least that's what I hear.

I'm no car guru. :P
 
McClarenDesign
I'm sure there are people I can count on when the time comes. No one likes giving up their seat, but I know they'd rather us grow than be limited simply by room size.
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Lucky for you, I've recently been made unemployed again due to business closure again. I have a habit of joining sinking ships, or maybe I carry a curse.

So I'm free to host a second room for both your Tuesday and Saturday sessions should they be needed.
 
Niku Driver HC
"raises hand awaiting a high-five from Jack" I like the way this guy thinks. :cheers:

You can argue about the "accountants image", you can argue about the engine overheating and power losing issues, but when the C7 ZO6 works properly, all that goes out the window. That can indeed kill supercars dead, or at least be a more than even match for them. And isn't that wonderful for a car which can cost you only a fraction of a Mclaren? :D

Also, do you have that magazine yourself, Jack? I'd like to see it, if you could share more pictures of the 'Vette's article...
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I do and this was last month's issue featuring the magazine's annual "Lightning Lap" competition, where the C/D editors gather the fastest new cars they can get their hands on at Virginia International Raceway and try to set the fastest possible time in each car. The new Corvette Z06 not only took the top honors this year but set the second fastest time ever in 9 years of Lightning Lap, only beaten out by a Porsche 918 Spyder's 2:43.1 run last year. The Corvette clocked a 2:44.6 compared to 2:45.8 for the McLaren 650S and a 2:47.5 for the Lamborghini Huracan. Not bad for an "accountant's car," I'd say. ;)
 
OGGamer
The guys were pretty understanding for the most part, although I think one or two may not have realized that there was a technical problem. McD knows I'm slow but hopefully he also knows I'm nothing if not clean (ish) :)
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That was me, I apologize. I didn't see a technical problem on my end, all I seen was you go low and hit another driver and I was smashed by the one hit. And I had no idea the game had a bug like this.
 
OGGamer
My video illustrating the problems I had in the lobby on Saturday - any of you who were there will probably remember : If you weren't racing or would like to know more the video description contains all the details.



So, if you thought I was driving like a ****, now you know :P
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That's surreal - especially the leaderboard at the end. Never seen anything like it - though I was once timed out with that same 'blackhole' leaderboard and disconnected. I never experience lag but tend to mostly get disconnected at the end of the race at COTW races. And that only when there's an excess of eight people in the lobby. I've noticed when it's six or less - and it may not be an official COTW Event, but even just MC's 'Clean and Casual' room - there usually is no problem.
Same problem in other online rooms I've been in; heavy crowd (especially from around the globe) and the stuttering starts.
 
NeroTrinityX
That was me, I apologize. I didn't see a technical problem on my end, all I seen was you go low and hit another driver and I was smashed by the one hit. And I had no idea the game had a bug like this.
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No worries @NeroTrinityX I had no idea at the time either, no need to apologize, you only see what you see after all :) Anyway, I'm sorry too for causing the accident(s), albeit unwittingly :ouch:
 
photonrider
That's surreal - especially the leaderboard at the end. Never seen anything like it - though I was once timed out with that same 'blackhole' leaderboard and disconnected. I never experience lag but tend to mostly get disconnected at the end of the race at COTW races. And that only when there's an excess of eight people in the lobby. I've noticed when it's six or less - and it may not be an official COTW Event, but even just MC's 'Clean and Casual' room - there usually is no problem.
Same problem in other online rooms I've been in; heavy crowd (especially from around the globe) and the stuttering starts.
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@photonrider Yeah, trust me to find a unique glitch! I felt particularly bad as it was only my second time running in the COTW races and it must have looked real bad at the time - the NOOB from hell crashing the party and being a real **** :eek:. After @McClarenDesign had been kind enough to invite me along, (despite my slowness) I was wincing at the thought of how it must have looked.

I guess it was fortunate that I was recording at the time so at least I was able to show everyone what happened. Anyway. hopefully now I can return on another occasion as your friendly local backmarker :D
 
JackRyanWMU
I do and this was last month's issue featuring the magazine's annual "Lightning Lap" competition, where the C/D editors gather the fastest new cars they can get their hands on at Virginia International Raceway and try to set the fastest possible time in each car. The new Corvette Z06 not only took the top honors this year but set the second fastest time ever in 9 years of Lightning Lap, only beaten out by a Porsche 918 Spyder's 2:43.1 run last year. The Corvette clocked a 2:44.6 compared to 2:45.8 for the McLaren 650S and a 2:47.5 for the Lamborghini Huracan. Not bad for an "accountant's car," I'd say. ;)
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Quite, an accountant's car normally doesn't outrun Lamborghinis at the Virginia International Raceway, nor is able to defeat Mclarens. Again, much like the SRT Viper's renaissance, it's a proof that those taxpayers' Money didn't necessarily go all to waste. The old Z06s could do good to a certain extent, but not as good as the new C7 Z06.

As I said before, it would be nice to see pictures of that test; think you could scan the test's pages within your magazine? If it's not asking much, that is...
 
Well, not quite the magazine article (I'm a sucker for car-related books and/or magazines, reading is just something I dedicate a lot of time to, that's all. And whenever I can read non-Portuguese magazines, I'll be sure to read them over and over again), but that works too. Thanks for the link, Maven, much appreciated. 👍

And if I'm sounding reptitive with my "request", I apologize, it's just that I don't get to read Car & Driver (or most American car magazines for that matter) often, the single one I own is a Brazillian version...
 
Fire Yoshi
As much as I hate to admit it, the thing does understeer pretty bad in the game. I wonder if it steers that poorly in real life too...
I mean, PD has a tendency to make cars not handle even remotely close to the way they drive in real life. Or at least that's what I hear.

I'm no car guru. :P
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With the correct tires the C5Z06 is a very capable car and should run with any other similarly aged high performance car.

It understeers in game because of poor front grip. With over 100,000 miles in a real life C5Z06 on road and on track (and ranging from bone stock to 600rwhhp track suspension with aero) the car is far more capable than anyone gave/gives it credit for.

Back in 2001 we where running lap times right with the GT3, Viper ACR and F360 of the day.

The stock GY Supercar non-run flats are very good tires when new and any tire upgrade from there - Michelin Sport Cups, Toyo or Hoosiers - just ups the ante even more.

Another thing the game fails to represent correctly is that the C5Z06 has a completely adjustable suspension even in stock form - ride height adjustment (just turn a bolt) and camber adjustments (by way of eccentrics and shims) is a simply process.

It is not unusual to run -2.5 front camber and -1.5 rear camber with stock suspension components and sticky tires.

Off and on throttle over steer on demand - the car rotates like a dream in real life.

*edit* One more thing, I find in game the premium C5 Z has a closer feel to "real life" than the standard C5 Z. Just dial back the power to 385bhp for authenticity - although headers and cam swap in the 2001 put it right with the 2002-2004.

BTW, that 2000 C5 Z06 is supposed to be the 2001 C5 Z06. There is no "2000 year model" - it debuted in August 2000 as a 2001 model with 385hp/385tq and then for 2002 through 2004 got 405hp/400tq.
 
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I performed a quick ebay search to find that the going rate on these 2001 Z06's is over $20,000 for one with less than 50k miles. In my testing, the Camaro SS '10 is less than 8 tenths slower. Another quick ebay search and the going rate on that car is in the same ballpark as the much older Z06.
 
So they said the Corvette was 1 second faster than the Mustang and 2 seconds faster than the Viper. Interesting! In my testing, the Viper was faster than both cars and that's not even the ACR version since we don't have that option, with the Mustang being 3 seconds slower than the Corvette. Looks like I'll be re-testing the Mustang and Viper today, but there's no way the Mustang will come close to the Corvette's lap time.

The smiles-per-dollar ratio is strong with the Z06, being $6,500 cheaper than the Mustang and $37,500 cheaper than the Viper.
 
This is because PD have always poorly represented the Corvette - understand that the conventional wisdom of the day was always that Corvettes sucked - period. Vipers where the be all and end all and the Cobra R was just a fat pig.

In the early 2000's people would get banned from Euro-centric car forums for being trolls if they promoted the virtues of the C5 Z06 ;)

The C5Z06 was able to chase and beat the 360 Challenge and 911 Turbo as well, that never went over well with the Euro set - but 3100lbs, 385bhp (later 405) & 385 torques (later 400) makes for a very capable platform when paired with a well designed and sorted chassis.
 
OGGamer
@photonrider Yeah, trust me to find a unique glitch! I felt particularly bad as it was only my second time running in the COTW races and it must have looked real bad at the time - the NOOB from hell crashing the party and being a real **** :eek:. After @McClarenDesign had been kind enough to invite me along, (despite my slowness) I was wincing at the thought of how it must have looked.
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Don't worry about it - MC is a great host and knows when to rein in the wild ones - or send them packing. Regulars are used to the glitches; we try to work around them - some days we've hopped from the States to UK then back to Canada then back to the States to find a stable room - but that's not too often. Most times it's a great run for several hours. in MC's original room or he may scrap the room and rebuild a new one again and everything's okay. We follow the leader. :lol:

OGGamer
I guess it was fortunate that I was recording at the time so at least I was able to show everyone what happened.
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Interesting recording set-up - may I know what you are using, and how you are capturing the post-race on-screen data?

OGGamer
Anyway. Hopefully now I can return on another occasion as your friendly local back-marker :D
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I'll be looking forward to your company 👍 :lol:

There have been some days when the field was very well set - 2 or 3 leaders battling up in front - then a sizeable gap before the clump of mid-packers fighting to get away from each other - and then maybe two or three back-markers duelling it out quite excitedly at the back.
Those were some of the best COTW races I've had (and actually some of the best races I've had online in general) as I fought my way up from back-marker to mid-packer. Patience is the key - sometimes mid-packers, or even the leader push it and spin out - that's when you pass them and keep that steady pace going. I even had a podium once. (And that's not talking about the one MC and I were racing alone and he let me win. :embarrassed: )
As MC and the Baron and I were discussing once - racing online with the regular COTW gang can help improve your skills tremendously. It's quite a workout that MC puts us through, and because there are always some very good drivers up in front setting the pace it pushes us to do better - not only in our driving and racing but in learning to race cleanly - as cleanly as one would IRL - with others who are of the same mind-set.
This is important, especially online, where it is easy to lose sight of the great technical and super social aspects of the game, and start banging our way through the pack. Replays show some really intense and very clean racing, often between various sets of racers during a COTW race.
Race COTW regularly, and you'll not only get to know your cars stock and untamed, but how to drive and race and interact online a lot better.

___________________


This Corvette blows. Sleeper, sleeper, sleeper. Land-based space shuttle. Hope I can be Ted tonight.
 
@photonrider Thank you first of all for your kindness and consideration and the general advice about the whole COTW scene which is genuinely appreciated. :cheers:

As I live across the Pond, I am rarely able to make the Tuesday sessions as it means being up in the wee small hours before a work day but Saturdays are a bit more manageable, provided I keep some matchsticks handy to prop open my eyelids :D.

My recording setup for the PS3 is pretty straightforward and the best solution I found after a fair bit of research. I use the Avermedia HD C281 capture card (now discontinued I believe but remarkably cheap if you can find one) This neat little box of tricks does not require a connection to a PC as it records directly to either an internal/external HDD or a USB Flash Drive. All the user needs to do is hit the record button on the remote and it will capture whatever is playing on the PS3/TV in real time. Once I'm done I can quickly transfer files (usually from a 64GB flash drive) to the PC for editing/uploading. Job done. For ease of use it doesn't get much better than that.

There are some limitations compared to more modern and more expensive devices, one being that it cannot cope with live streaming and it won't record voice chat in-game either. It connects to the PS3/TV using component cables as opposed to HDMI but this is not really a deal breaker as it will happily record at 720P or 1080i.

Hopefully I will see you on track soon 👍 God bless all backmarkers!
 
Insert Catchy Title Here...

So here I am, catching up on some of the cars we have raced, discussed and reviewed over the past couple weeks. Oh how life gets in the way some times, if you let it of course. ;)

Threepeat!

Some cars are worthy of doing over again, and some just aren't. As TVR was my favourite brands from across the pond, I'll never go: "Oh man, not again!" where these cars are concerned.

jkkPSTa.jpg


"A car for real men" as fans of TVR would put it, this car alleviated concerns of the famous auto maker losing their vision as founded by Trevor Wilkinson. This is a true sports car in typical English fashion. Lightweight with lots of power and great sound. Something America could never do properly. Sure, England has their fair share of heavy and expensive land barges from Jaguar and Aston Martin, but nothing like American Sports cars where everything is fat and heavy.

Does the V8S have its issues? Sure, most sports cars do... but not enough for me to call it a Beater. It might understeer and be tail happy which is why it gets a Neutral verdict from me, but it's nowhere close to our next victim...

Transvestite on Wheels!

tInOCp0.jpg


A star of the original Gran Turismo game, the Sileighty is another car that confuses me. I really want to like it, BUT... How do you turn off Drift Mode??? GRRRR!!!

Another lightweight JDM, with some reasonable power from a four banger gives decent performance, but like the TVR, a little too much of a flick of the steering wheel sends you facing the wrong direction. There were times, getting a great lap in against the COTW crew would let me pull away and then... drift mode kicks in... NOOOOOO!!!! Any lead I had disappeared quicker than the smoke my tires left behind.

It's a fun little car, and it has potential to be a Sleeper until that evil little gremlin hits the Drift Mode switch that I just can't find. For that hidden piece, it also gets a Neutral rating from me.

Cheers
 

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