ORIGINAL: Birdieman4

Ok. I have a lot to talk about regarding this car. First of all, I drove it only in competitive driving mode, with the trac control off. I didn't play around at all in trac control mode. Lets start with this car's strengths. Hands down, the best part of this car is the motor. It is very smooth and pulls quite well to 7000 rpm. But, all this engine's glamour is ABOVE 4000 rpm. Under 4000 rpm, it is a little doggy. The motor just begs you to take it to redline, but punching it at 2000 rpm, things don't really start to get good until 4000 rpm. On a side note, I seem to have a lot of new 'corvette' friends, as every vette that passed me gave me the little 'corvette' wave. The exhaust note is nearly non existant til about 4000 rpm as well, but after that, it is pretty nice.
In handling performance, the reason this car shines so much is because of it's balance. Understeer becomes oversteer very smoothly, but very possibly too smoothly, as I will get into that in a bit. It's cornering limit is good, and nearly unapproachable for the faint of heart (as with most high end sports cars). I liked the dash setup, as it has a very large tach and speedo, making it very easy to see that you are going 140 mph .
Let's talk about the brakes. The car brakes well, but it is very difficult to modulate them effectivly. The brake pedal travel needs to be more to race this car most effectivly. Though I couldn't get them to fade, at times the brakes seemed a little bit inconsistant. They could use more modulation ability. For a daily driver they are fine; for racing they are just ok. The feel could be improved. (GM might consult with Saleen on that )
The clutch was actually better than I thought it would be. Not much vagueness, but the disengagement point is just off the floor; WAY too low for a car of this stature. But, all in all, i was pleased with the clutch feel.
The thing I disliked the most on this car was the shifter. GM positioned it at a slight inverted angle, and very close to the driver's seat. Unless you are a midget, shifting this car competitively and effectivly is not only tricky, but difficult as well. The longer your arms, the harder it is to find each gear. It was designed extremely poorly to be driven competitivly, unless you are an oompa-loompa. It was so bad, that I found myself having to hold my right hand at a 90* angle just to be able to get 2cnd consistantly and efficiently. And on top of that, the top portion is plastic, and allows for hand slippage. The steering wheel is too big, and at 6 o'clock there is a very thick bar, forcing you to hold the wheel to the side. The seats are also just marginal, with fairly minimal lateral support for a car of this statue. Good thing I fit snug in it, or else I'd have been throw around a bit. And visibility out the rear is extremely poor.
I really felt like the transition from understeer to oversteer was a bit numb, making it hard to keep it at it's limit. I think stickier tires would help a lot. Under extremely hard cornering, it felt at times that the car was flexing slightly. I think It could stand to be stiffer. (If I owned this car, I'd probably stiffen it up some). Once the car is past it's cornering limit, It's not particularly easy to get it to re-civilize itself. Again, better rubber would help a lot. I purposly spun it out to see how it was well past it's limit. Again, the car's balance is what helps it the most. I actually got a race with an 04 cobra with exhaust, if you wanna call it that.. It was pretty ugly for the cobra.
The car is really happy to it's limits, but becomes very cranky past it's limits, almost as if it is trying to punish you for your 'error'. Pedal placement is good, good job Gm. But, I truly prefer the feel of an S281E or a Viper once the car EXCEEDS its limits. It could provide more feedback to the driver in high performance situations.
All in all, GM has a winner. Overall, I liked the car, but there is certainly room for improvment. It is certainly more civilized than a Viper, but maybe too civilized for limit seekers such as myself. If I owned one, I would immediatly address the shifter, the steering wheel, stiffen it up a bit and probably put better shoes on it. Could it use more power? Hell yes. Especially below 4000 rpm, but this motor begs you to take it up higher all the time. Also, I can very much see how the 1/4 mile times have so much variation. An average driver will have trouble 'feeling' the launch and clutch modulation, as it has a wee bit of numbness to it. But a proffesional driver could overcome this fairly quickly. What a fun car; I can see why my dad hasn't been above 5000 rpm with it. -But, to steal a line from Manfred Mann's song, 'Blinded by the Light', "....But mama, that's where the fun is".

Give him a few days. He took it past the rev limter and accidently went back in time. I hope he talks to GM about the GTO project.

ORIGINAL: Birdieman4

I am nominating this post for 'best internet post of the year' [sm=happybounce.gif]

ORIGINAL: Grn N Gry 5OH

NICE review Rick. simple and to the point. i loved it.

now, for the real question, which do u like better ?? the S-281, or the Z06 ?

ORIGINAL: Birdieman4

I actually have written for a couple magazines. I currently do a column in IHRA's Drag Review. BTW, I can't wait to get in the car tomorrow and give it another whirl. It is certainly fun to drive and gets a lot of attention. It is black; I'll try to get some pics up, and if ya'll are lucky, I'll get some vid if I have time. One other thing I forgot to mention about the car was the gearing. It seemed a little on the tall side. But I was still able to get it to break loose out of second gear on the freeway going 50 mph @ 5000 rpm.