[The HACK]

Originally Posted by baege

interesting, many report that throttle controllers fix the laggy response so they must convert that first 30% to the first 50%...I always wanted to drive a c7 with one of those to see if it really worked..

(I think we might be turning this into a corvette forum )

So that’s the thing that drives me nuts about GM engineering. The engine has an electronic throttle with direct injection. Why design a TB with a mechanical offset and a bore that basically eliminates the first 30% of throttle travel when you can precisely control throttle position AND fuel injection?

It’s almost like 2 different teams were give the directive that they MUST meet a certain EPA testing number, both teams (software and hardware) came up with a solution and BOTH were implemented for sh*ts and giggles.

End result is you have to remap the throttle AND change the TB to get some decent throttle response and tip-in. Sure the car goes like stink when you Hulk on the pedal, but when you drive like a normal person on the street, it feels like a f**king Prius.

I mean, the throttle feels fine in Track mode, but I don’t want to drive on the street in track mode all the time.

It’s stupid sh*t like that that makes you scratch your head and wonder how they managed to actually get 90% of the car right, make a car that rivals Porsche GTx in performance for the price of a base model BMW, and still manage to f**k up that last 10% of the car like this. I guess it’s the car god’s way of balancing things out, I suppose.

If they can make a GM sports car that runs circles around 911s, be moderately reliable, and cost less than a Z4 M40i, then there’s no reason to buy any other sports car, no?

[baege]

Originally Posted by The HACK

So that’s the thing that drives me nuts about GM engineering. The engine has an electronic throttle with direct injection. Why design a TB with a mechanical offset and a bore that basically eliminates the first 30% of throttle travel when you can precisely control throttle position AND fuel injection?

It’s almost like 2 different teams were give the directive that they MUST meet a certain EPA testing number, both teams (software and hardware) came up with a solution and BOTH were implemented for sh*ts and giggles.

End result is you have to remap the throttle AND change the TB to get some decent throttle response and tip-in. Sure the car goes like stink when you Hulk on the pedal, but when you drive like a normal person on the street, it feels like a f**king Prius.

I mean, the throttle feels fine in Track mode, but I don’t want to drive on the street in track mode all the time.

It’s stupid sh*t like that that makes you scratch your head and wonder how they managed to actually get 90% of the car right, make a car that rivals Porsche GTx in performance for the price of a base model BMW, and still manage to f**k up that last 10% of the car like this. I guess it’s the car god’s way of balancing things out, I suppose.

If they can make a GM sports car that runs circles around 911s, be moderately reliable, and cost less than a Z4 M40i, then there’s no reason to buy any other sports car, no?

you nailed it, for me the C7 just left me in a little wanting in the finer points of the driving experience, it's fast, sounds and looks great and handles great, but I didn't feel nearly as connected and engaged in the driving experience as I did with my cayman.
apparently getting those finer points right is expensive

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by baege

you nailed it, for me the C7 just left me in a little wanting in the finer points of the driving experience, it's fast, sounds and looks great and handles great, but I didn't feel nearly as connected and engaged in the driving experience as I did with my cayman.
apparently getting those finer points right is expensive

Funny you should mention that.

The OP posed the question about experience of moving on from a BMW M to a Corvette, and I don’t think I’ve moved on from my Z4 M Coupe yet. They really are apples and oranges, despite the fact on paper there are similarities (2 seat performance sports car is where it ends, IMO).

I suspect it’s mainly because they’re being sold to two completely different set of enthusiasts.

It’s not that one or the other is a superior sports car. The Germans (BMW and Porsche in particular) gives you a scalpel. The Americans gives you a cleaver. Sure they both cut meat, but they cut meat differently. Even in the important categories like handling and lap times for a sporty or sports car, both approach from an absolutely different angle.

Having taken the C7 Grand Sport to a couple of track events, and having the Z4 M Coupe as my primary track car for the last 13 years, I can say that the Corvette is about 8-10 seconds per lap faster on a 2 minute track. But the cornering speed for some of the tighter and more technical sections are roughly the same. The Corvette shines on the straights, of course, and has a huge aero advantage on fast sweepers. It goes about achieving the faster lap in a brutal way...130 more horses and 200 more ft*lbs of torque, front tires that are 30mm wider than the rears on the Z4 M, and rotors the size of a large Domino’s pizza with more pistons on one corner than all the pistons on the Z4 M combined.

But the BMW dances through tight turns while the Corvette tip toes. The BMW glides through fast sweepers while the Corvette FLIES through them. The way both cars approach a fast lap time is simply different. And this is with the Z4 M Coupe being the most raw, unassisted and razors edge of a car BMW produced in the last 20 years (outside of the Z3 M Coupe), and the C7 Corvette being the most refined Corvette ever with more high-end tech stuffed into it than any Corvette before it.

Their approach to the simple problem of building a car can not be more diameteically opposed, if you ask me. It’s hard to compare the two, a BMW M vs a Chevrolet Corvette, because even though on paper they should be competitors, in real life, they’re nothing alike.

That’s why I’ve kept both at the risk of spending the foreseeable future in the dog house. They’re really two GREAT cars, both pushing the envelopes in different ways. And strangely they compliment each other.

Especially since I have a diesel and a plug-in electric for daily and long trips. But if you ask me to keep one or the other? I’d keep the Z4 M Coupe.