Ask the Car People.SM


Corvettes and all things about them

2035 messages,  Last post on Jun 11, 2013 at 6:16 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Corvette Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Corvette, Coupe, Convertible

Messages Page 177 of 204

#1757 of 2035 my C6 A6 07 @ 1 year... by rayainsw

Nov 06, 2007 (8:46 am)

Today is the 1 year point, and just over 15,500 miles of Daily Driver Duty + a couple of longer “out of town” trips in my C6. So, I decided to share the experience and my expectations of the next year of C6 driving here.
 
Car: 2007 C6 Coupe, 3LT, A6, ‘Base Suspension’.
 
Use: 75+ percent = commuting in & out of Mid-Town HotLanta. The rest has been primarily the typical errand running, shopping, out-to-dinner and a couple of longer runs – 500+ miles in a long weekend.
 
Overall MPG: Current average for all use: 22.37
Highway MPG: Consistently over 28.
 
This is my first Corvette, and my first sports \ GT car – in over 38 years of buying cars.
 
There is much to commend the C6, and I have largely enjoyed the driving experience. I am glad I [ finally ] decided to buy a Corvette. A confluence of personal circumstances & the additional refinements of the ’07 C6 made this a viable choice – for me.
 
The fact that this very high performance GT car can actually be used as a Daily Driver & commuter is still rather surprising to me. The actual, average fuel mileage continues to be remarkable, though I had read accounts here & elsewhere regarding similar mileage before purchasing mine.
 
The acceleration is certainly exceptional. Under most driving conditions, the C6 is docile & not nearly as demanding, as noisy or as stiff riding as sports cars I remember driving & riding in as recently as 10 years ago. I find the ride and the seating quite livable, in both commuting and longer trips.
 
I have great respect for the Corvette team. They have developed an extraordinarily capable and rewarding vehicle to drive – at what I see as a very reasonable price.
 
And yet, when the time does come to sell or trade my C6, I expect that I will not replace it with another Corvette.
 
The reasons for that have more to do with my personal preferences and my use of the car as a Daily Driver than anything I’d describe as inherently ‘wrong’ with the C6.
 
For those who may care, my reasons to choose a different car than a Corvette next time include:
 
Life’s just too short to ( with rare exceptions ) repeat such things as car ownership. The selection of interesting vehicles available continues to grow each day, it seems. I enjoy variety, and even a significantly enhanced C6 will not likely be ‘different enough’ to sway me. But that’s just me & just my opinion . . .
 
More seriously: I had a significant trans. issue ( described elsewhere ) that finally resulted in ‘only third gear’ & a CEL at approx. 12,000 miles. The preliminary symptoms of that issue appear to be re-surfacing recently. This re-occurrence of a major ( supposedly ‘fixed’ ) problem, I find rather discouraging, troubling & very irritating.
 
I remain concerned each time I drive this car that I will smack something vulnerable under the front end. I am very careful at intersections & driving over \ through abrupt transitions – yet even the 2” drop, backing out of my garage scrapes the front spoiler every time. I understand that the lowness is an integral part of the Corvette Experience – and clearly contributes to the nimble and ‘confidence inspiring’ handling. I have seen threads here about raising the car – and it also appears that somewhat more aggressive damping ( Koni FSDs, perhaps ) might also help. But I doubt I’ll do either. I will just live with this until I trade. It annoys me that I have to.
 
The ongoing issues with properly lifting a C6 amaze me – and I am very glad that I have so far not had to take my car for service to any but “my” ( selling ) dealer. Seems to me that, at this point in the Corvette model year(s) cycle, taking a C6 to most any Chevy Dealer should not be a cause for nervousness & trepidation. But it certainly is, at least for me.
 
Although I had no problem with hand washing my C6 in my driveway every weekend, I cannot now ( legally ) do that. And with the current ( and likely future ) water restrictions here in North Georgia, I do now rue the fact that I cannot take the car through even a “high-end” car wash, occasionally.
 
I really miss a true sunroof \ moonroof. Much more than I expected that I would. I have had a tilt up or slide back clear roof on every car I have purchased since 1985, and several sedans I had before that had solid sunroofs. I have the clear top & purchased the headliner from DSVettes. The fact that I cannot tilt up the rear of the roof, for additional ventilation & the fact that when the top is removed, the resulting buffeting reduces the comfortable top speed ( for me ) to well below my typical highway pace combine to mean I really do miss the convenience a more traditional moonroof with sliding sunscreen offered – and a switch that conveniently & instantly allowed a number of combinations of sun, shade & additional fresh air. While driving. Oh, well. Having to re-apply silicone monthly to all top mating surfaces, to avoid annoying creaks, snaps & groans is a minor ( related ) annoyance.
 
The one time I had an issue with an OEM run-flat Goodyear ( even having done research on this here prior to purchase ) I was still amazed at the mis-information and lack of help I received from both Chevy Dealers and Goodyear stores.
 
I was and I remain annoyed that I had to spend additional $$s to make my Corvette sound like – well, like anything, really. The OEM system on my 2007 allowed virtually none of the characteristic heterodyne beat of a V8 motor to escape. And the ‘drone’ issue on any aftermarket A6 system makes this doubly aggravating. If I’d waited & bought a 2008, I’d have bought the new NPP \ dual mode OEM system. And a Mild2Wild ‘switch’. As it is, I have had a compromise \ hybrid system installed, that is “OK”.
 
I miss having more storage space in the passenger compartment.
 
I miss having a back seat. Though I rarely have used one for passengers, the additional room was useful for ‘stuff’ I typically carry.
 
Now I hasten to add here ( again ) that none of this is meant to disparage or ‘disrespect’ the C6. It is a commendable effort. Overall, it is a terrific GT car - and if any car with an MSRP over $50K can be termed ‘a bargain’, then I consider it to be a bargain. And it is the only GT car I can imagine that I could actually use as a Daily Driver. And I do recognize that any sedan I might choose will ( stock ) not be in the same acceleration or handling class as the C6. (( sigh ))
 
If I could justify having a car that was exclusively devoted to weekend “for fun only” duty, it would almost certainly be a Corvette Coupe.
 
Cheers,
- Ray
Hoping the next 15,500 miles will be even better . . .

#1758 of 2035 Re: my C6 A6 07 @ 1 year... [rayainsw] by fedlawman

Nov 06, 2007 (1:34 pm)

Replying to: rayainsw (Nov 06, 2007 8:46 am)
Great post Ray. Thanks for sharing.

#1759 of 2035 Re: my C6 A6 07 @ 1 year... [rayainsw] by starrow68

Nov 07, 2007 (8:38 am)

Replying to: rayainsw (Nov 06, 2007 8:46 am)
Another thanks for sharing. We are all individuals and have
different experiences that arrive at the present, so the
Corvette my be perfect for some and maybe have some issues
for others.
I really relate to your comment about newer cars vs. older
sports cars. I drove an MG for a dozen of more years in
the 70's/80's before commuting in a Nissan for 15 years, and
when I got the C5 I thought I would keep the mileage down by
going with a low mile C4 for the 5 mile commute to the BART
station. After a year, it was so much less satisfying to
get into the C4 that I unloaded it so I could drive the C5
more. 73k miles later I'm still pretty happy.
Randy

#1760 of 2035 Corvette Museum track event in Pahrump, NV by starrow68

Nov 14, 2007 (7:12 pm)

The National Corvette Museum held a track event last weekend at the
Spring Mountain Motorsports Park in Pahrump, NV, about 55 miles to
the NW of Las Vegas. There were about 100 Corvettes on track for
the weekend in 5 different classes. Some very fast race cars driven
by folks that compete nationally with SCCA and NASA as well as folks
who were out for the first time on track with instructors. The NCM has
several folks that organize and run events and with some support and
entries from GM staff it makes for a great weekend of meeting folks
from all over the country. Got to do some laps with one of the GM brass
and then provided rides to several folks and one spouse who wanted
to see the track.
 
Spring Mountain is the home to a Corvette driving school so they are
very familiar with the cars and the best line to get around the 3.1 mile
course we were driving. They provided some late Friday laps at lower
speeds to get folks up to speed on the upper Radical loop which is
new to most of the folks not from the So. Calif area. It is a portion of the
track not used in the regular school and is much tighter than the main
course. This resulted in a few offs during the weekend but nobody did
any thing fatal to their car's for the whole weekend. There were a few
mechanicals, but considering there were some GM staff cars that
were driving in four out of five sessions, the cars got used heavily.
 
The turn out was truly national as I got to talk to several folks from the
Bay Area, like me, and also three black Z06's that were towed in from
GA on a single 5th wheel rig by three couples. There were also guys
I talked to from WA, Chicago, NY and Maryland. It was worth the 1000+
mile round trip just to meet some of the top Corvette folks from GM.
Hopefully they will come out to the Bay Area one of these days.
Randy

#1761 of 2035 Well, even a surprise to me ... Corvette resale value by starrow68

Nov 21, 2007 (1:46 pm)

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/11/20/corvette-tops-list-of-10-best-re- sale-value-cars/

#1762 of 2035 Gas Cap warning question by one_roadking

Dec 22, 2007 (4:13 pm)

I have a 2005 Corvette coupe. The warning light saying "check gas cap" just came on and despite resetting it several times it comes back. I can't get a new one until Monday. Any problem with driving it that way? Would it change mileage or anything?
 
Car seems to run fine. Thanks

#1763 of 2035 Re: Gas Cap warning question [one_roadking] by mickeymouse2

Dec 22, 2007 (8:03 pm)

Replying to: one_roadking (Dec 22, 2007 4:13 pm)
Its not going to hurt anything, unless, unless you try and get a smog check done with that stupid light on. lol Couldn't resist! The only time you need to worry about a warning light, is when your check engine light starts blinking while driving. When its just on, its telling you to have something checked out. When it starts blinking, the PCM fears serious engine, or smog equipement damage. Don't worry about the gas cap light. Either you have a bad gas cap, or a small leak has fooled the PCM into thinking you left it off.

#1764 of 2035 Re: Gas Cap warning question [one_roadking] by bolivar

Dec 24, 2007 (1:52 pm)

Replying to: one_roadking (Dec 22, 2007 4:13 pm)
Replace the cap. The system needs it on there to function correctly. I think the 2005's had more problems than the later models. If the car is still underwarranty it will not cost anything. In any case, it will not be horribly expensive.
 
But, yes, it could be something else in the fuel system rather than the cap. If the system is not air tight because of another leak, this message will be displayed.

#1765 of 2035 Re: Gas Cap warning question [one_roadking] by one_roadking

Dec 24, 2007 (7:40 pm)

Replying to: one_roadking (Dec 22, 2007 4:13 pm)
Thanks for the info. I stopped today at a dealer and got a new cap. It didn't seem to help. They too said it would be fine to drive until I have time for a smoke test to find a leak.
 
It does seem the gas mileage is running a little behind right now.
 
Appreciate your insight

Messages Page 177 of 204

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement