Newest Comparisson Test with the 2011 GT500

[Madlock]

GT-R is a phenomenal technological achievement. It does everything known to man to connect the crank directly to the pavement and eliminate any of the traditional ways the less efficient and accurate human gets in the way. For all its marvels, you might as well program a drive as a macro, run it on a laptop and save yourself gas, tires, and insurance. If I want to strap myself in and be taken for THAT kind of physics-defying ride, I'd pop for the additional upcharge to ride Virgin Galactic - or Space Mountain.

 

Z06 had damn well ought to be fast. Charging $100K for a car that was developed with the budgeting of crack fiend on the 1st and 15th on top, and it's hardly an accomplishment. For that money, I'd go back to school and learn the engineering required to make the damn thing myself. I particularly like the $7K 3LZ Equipment Group - which apparently omits the $2K Navigation system - but gives heated seats and, of course, OnStar is included free of charge. The fact of the matter, from all but an enthusiast perspective, anybody who can afford a Corvette nowadays looks just plain tragic driving one - which probably accounts for sales being at an all-time low.

 

And then comes the most honest, best value and continually-cool member of the bunch. And you can even buy a second one to park in your garage and just look at for the difference. The other two DO make some good points - a proper dual clutch with launch control would be nice for the additional bit of fun they provide, but the trusty 5.4, S197 and its solid axle shows that you don't need magnetic suspension or a large hadron collider to go fast - in fact, I like the idea that I have to BE right for the car to GO right - rather than having it ignore me and go however it thinks is best.

 

What pisses me off most, however, is that heated seats and a backup camera remain unavailable - at any price. That aside, I sure wouldn't mind a dual-clutch or AWD option - but otherwise, this has only proved-out the Biblical maxim - he who is last shall be first.

 

And just one more piece of evidence about those damned F-1 G: 2's which, unless you're on a track or live in Arizona - are an albatross. The sooner I get them off the car, the happier I'll be.

[JWG223]

GT-R is a phenomenal technological achievement. It does everything known to man to connect the crank directly to the pavement and eliminate any of the traditional ways the less efficient and accurate human gets in the way. For all its marvels, you might as well program a drive as a macro, run it on a laptop and save yourself gas, tires, and insurance. If I want to strap myself in and be taken for THAT kind of physics-defying ride, I'd pop for the additional upcharge to ride Virgin Galactic - or Space Mountain.

 

Z06 had damn well ought to be fast. Charging $100K for a car that was developed with the budgeting of crack fiend on the 1st and 15th on top, and it's hardly an accomplishment. For that money, I'd go back to school and learn the engineering required to make the damn thing myself. I particularly like the $7K 3LZ Equipment Group - which apparently omits the $2K Navigation system - but gives heated seats and, of course, OnStar is included free of charge. The fact of the matter, from all but an enthusiast perspective, anybody who can afford a Corvette nowadays looks just plain tragic driving one - which probably accounts for sales being at an all-time low.

 

And then comes the most honest, best value and continually-cool member of the bunch. And you can even buy a second one to park in your garage and just look at for the difference. The other two DO make some good points - a proper dual clutch with launch control would be nice for the additional bit of fun they provide, but the trusty 5.4, S197 and its solid axle shows that you don't need magnetic suspension or a large hadron collider to go fast - in fact, I like the idea that I have to BE right for the car to GO right - rather than having it ignore me and go however it thinks is best.

 

What pisses me off most, however, is that heated seats and a backup camera remain unavailable - at any price. That aside, I sure wouldn't mind a dual-clutch or AWD option - but otherwise, this has only proved-out the Biblical maxim - he who is last shall be first.

 

And just one more piece of evidence about those damned F-1 G: 2's which, unless you're on a track or live in Arizona - are an albatross. The sooner I get them off the car, the happier I'll be.

 

 

$100K for a Z06?

 

Loaded with CF and Z07 package you are looking at 85K with the 3LZ and NAV.

 

As to the G:2's, I am really wondering why they went with them on the GT500 and the 'vette. Did they just not test this stuff?

[Madlock]

$100K for a Z06?

 

Loaded with CF and Z07 package you are looking at 85K with the 3LZ and NAV.

 

As to the G:2's, I am really wondering why they went with them on the GT500 and the 'vette. Did they just not test this stuff?

 

 

MT's prices - not mine. Probably due to the Carbon Ceramic and Fiber package. Dunno.

[JWG223]

MT's prices - not mine. Probably due to the Carbon Ceramic and Fiber package. Dunno.

 

 

MT is about $15K above going price.

[Dubstang]

MT is about $15K above going price.

 

 

So then that means the GT500 is only $40k if MT is $15k high. And to your comment about Griggs, have you driven a Griggs equipped GT500? I'm guessing not because if you had you would know that their SS package is as compliant if not more than the OEM suspension. I know that for a fact because I have it on my car. The Z06 is a bad ass ride, but $100k? Wow! That's ridiculous.

[JWG223]

So then that means the GT500 is only $40k if MT is $15k high. And to your comment about Griggs, have you driven a Griggs equipped GT500? I'm guessing not because if you had you would know that their SS package is as compliant if not more than the OEM suspension. I know that for a fact because I have it on my car. The Z06 is a bad ass ride, but $100k? Wow! That's ridiculous.

 

 

No, not really. Ford just doesn't sell below invoice like GM is happy to do. They tend to stick to MSRP on cars that you order.

 

100K would be ridiculous for a Z06, I agree.

[Cdvision]

$100K for a Z06?

 

Loaded with CF and Z07 package you are looking at 85K with the 3LZ and NAV.

 

As to the G:2's, I am really wondering why they went with them on the GT500 and the 'vette. Did they just not test this stuff?

 

$100K is a bargain in Canada. Lol Funny thing is our dollar is worth more than the US buck right now.

I did add in the "engine building experience" a $5800 option.

[OneTrickPony]

Nice find, enjoyed the read and the video.

[dbowles22]

And you were complaining so much about insurance for just the GT500 in other posts.....lol. Ouch!!!

 

Hahaha for an 18 year old? Plus it's not wise to drop half my savings on a GT500. I'm not that immature

[Madlock]

And you were complaining so much about insurance for just the GT500 in other posts.....lol. Ouch!!!

 

 

I was actually shocked by how banal my carrier seemed to view the GT500. Granted, I'm about as milquetoast a risk as they come - mid-40's, married, a homeowner, multiple vehicles and no negs, but my GT500 with enough coverage to choke a horse and a $1,000 deductible is less than $1,000 per year in incremental cost.

[JWG223]

I was actually shocked by how banal my carrier seemed to view the GT500. Granted, I'm about as milquetoast a risk as they come - mid-40's, married, a homeowner, multiple vehicles and no negs, but my GT500 with enough coverage to choke a horse and a $1,000 deductible is less than $1,000 per year in incremental cost.

 

 

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they perceive the car will only be driven in fair weather, and at your leisure, instead of hustled through traffic when you are late for work Monday morning.

 

It has a lot to do with your carrier as well.

 

State Farm wanted $242 a month to insure my Z06.

Allstate did the same coverage for $142 a month, and for a few more dollars, they are giving me a replacement policy which will replace the car with a comparable NEW car at no cost if it is totaled within 3 years (EX: drunk totals my Z in Jan, 2014, I go pick out a new Z (or whatever 'vette is then comparable) and they cut a check.). Excellent bargain for a single 25 y/o non-home owner with only no tickets/at faults and a multi-car+renter's insurance discount going for me.

[AlexVogel]

GT500 v Z06 v GTR

 

Thats pretty obserd but its nice to see a shelby being considered as a "Supercar"

 

 

for 3500 into a blower upgrade, my car is faster than that Z06....savings ~40k

 

I think the whole..the Z06 and GT-R was in a different league mentality some have is kind of ridiculous. for almost twice the price of the GT500 lets see what you really get...

 

roughly 3 seconds faster around the track...stop in 2 feet (z06) and 3 feet (GT-R) shorter distance, and the 2 feet less with the z06 is with it having the carbon fiber brake pads/rotors and 500lbs lighter....GT500 has awesome brakes this year

 

I would look at it glass half full and say for 1/2 the money, they are a hell of a lot closer than people want to admit given real world driving conditions, especially day to day. For a small fraction of the difference in price, suspension/blower upgrades would easily match or beat them both with a heck of a lot of money left over.....

 

Plus the car looks Pure Sex!

[JWG223]

for 3500 into a blower upgrade, my car is faster than that Z06....savings ~40k

 

I think the whole..the Z06 and GT-R was in a different league mentality some have is kind of ridiculous. for almost twice the price of the GT500 lets see what you really get...

 

roughly 3 seconds faster around the track...stop in 2 feet (z06) and 3 feet (GT-R) shorter distance, and the 2 feet less with the z06 is with it having the carbon fiber brake pads/rotors and 500lbs lighter....GT500 has awesome brakes this year

 

I would look at it glass half full and say for 1/2 the money, they are a hell of a lot closer than people want to admit given real world driving conditions, especially day to day. For a small fraction of the difference in price, suspension/blower upgrades would easily match or beat them both with a heck of a lot of money left over.....

 

Plus the car looks Pure Sex!

 

A car is more than its 0-60 or 1/4 mile time.

 

For a GT500 to hang with a Z06 around a track like VIR takes about $20K in suspension and 600rwhp. That's a stock Z06, and that's not saving much money over buying the Z06 in the first place, and there is precious little room to grow from there after dumping $20K into a full Griggs suspension.

 

 

This post reminds me of some of the guys around here with 11 second neon SRT-4's who feel that they saved $40K and got a way better deal than the guys who bought GT500's.

[Madlock]

Plus the car looks Pure Sex!

 

 

True - but impure sex is even better.

[Dubstang]

A car is more than its 0-60 or 1/4 mile time.

 

For a GT500 to hang with a Z06 around a track like VIR takes about $20K in suspension and 600rwhp. That's a stock Z06, and that's not saving much money over buying the Z06 in the first place, and there is precious little room to grow from there after dumping $20K into a full Griggs suspension.

 

 

This post reminds me of some of the guys around here with 11 second neon SRT-4's who feel that they saved $40K and got a way better deal than the guys who bought GT500's.

 

 

 

Actually full Griggs SS suspension is going to run you around $10k tops and for another $2k you can get a pulley, tune and CAI and have about 550 rwhp. Pretty sure that would keep up with a stock Z06 at VIR.

 

Jim

[Cdvision]

Actually full Griggs SS suspension is going to run you around $10k tops and for another $2k you can get a pulley, tune and CAI and have about 550 rwhp. Pretty sure that would keep up with a stock Z06 at VIR.

 

Jim

 

2010/11 already have a very good factory CAI. So you can knock that off the list. Pulley/SCT and tune runs under $800.

[supersnake94]

And this is why I hate Motor Trend. They do unfair tests by bringing in cars from third world countries and shove it in our faces saying that it is better.

 

You don't put a ricer and a supercar up against a Muscle car. Allthough I like that they used another American car too. But it's still a unfair fight and that's how motor trend does marketing.

[darthracer777]

A car is more than its 0-60 or 1/4 mile time.

 

True, but it sure helps. Especially for those of us more into drag racing that road racing.

 

This post reminds me of some of the guys around here with 11 second neon SRT-4's who feel that they saved $40K and got a way better deal than the guys who bought GT500's.

 

 

Well, let them feel that way. Can't they be proud of their accomplishments? In their eyes, they got a better deal. So be it.

[JWG223]

Actually full Griggs SS suspension is going to run you around $10k tops and for another $2k you can get a pulley, tune and CAI and have about 550 rwhp. Pretty sure that would keep up with a stock Z06 at VIR.

 

Jim

 

Then maybe it takes more than a full Griggs to keep up with a stock Z06. The guy in my link dropped nearly 20K on his suspension and was pushing 600whp and everyone's consensus and experience with the car was that it ran the same lap times as a Z06. See mid-way down on page 2 for his build and track times.

[JWG223]

And this is why I hate Motor Trend. They do unfair tests by bringing in cars from third world countries and shove it in our faces saying that it is better.

 

You don't put a ricer and a supercar up against a Muscle car. Allthough I like that they used another American car too. But it's still a unfair fight and that's how motor trend does marketing.

 

Japan is so far from a 3rd world country it would make your head spin.

 

Their literacy rate is higher, their lifespan is longer, and their poverty rate is within 1% of that of the USA. Even though they are within 1% of the US regarding people living in poverty, their obesity rate is still hovering at around 5%, while America's waistline pops in at over 25%. So congratulations, this "3rd world" country's citizens, as a whole, are fitter, smarter (or just better educated), and just as well off economically as Americans.

 

What kind of drivel is this "3rd world" business?

 

I am just as proud as you are of living in America and having the freedom to do what I do, but you can't just go around blindly thinking that this country is superior in every way to every other nation and that they must all be "3rd world" in comparison. That's what got is in sad shape we are in now. That feeling that we need to be the Welfare of the world because we must be God's gift.

 

BTW, that GT-R is just as much a "Supercar" as the 'vette is. It really is a marvel of engineering and lays down some absurd times. 11.1@124 mph is the best stock 1/4 mile I have seen from it. 0-60 in 2.85 seconds. 'Ring times right up there with the Viper and ZR1 and the best Porsche has to offer.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to point out that having national pride and sounding like an ignorant hick aren't necessarily something that need to go hand in hand.

[AlexVogel]

A car is more than its 0-60 or 1/4 mile time.

 

For a GT500 to hang with a Z06 around a track like VIR takes about $20K in suspension and 600rwhp. That's a stock Z06, and that's not saving much money over buying the Z06 in the first place, and there is precious little room to grow from there after dumping $20K into a full Griggs suspension.

 

 

This post reminds me of some of the guys around here with 11 second neon SRT-4's who feel that they saved $40K and got a way better deal than the guys who bought GT500's.

 

 

 

Not sure how VIR came up, this comparison was actually at Willow Springs and we were talking about that article/comparison test results....

 

What I said holds true, for the money spent, you get a thimble full more performance for nearly twice the money. I looked up that Z06 with those options....its right at 98k..that is 45k more that a GT500 with SVTPP. Inside, GT500 has seating for 4 and is a lot more refined than it used to be. I and many others would consider the cockpit of the GT500 to be on par or superior than the Z06.

 

My bottom line up front is..my car is a hell of a lot more bang for the buck. That was my basic point and I don't know how that can be argued because there is no scenario I can think of where you could spend 45k more on the GT500, having spent dollar for dollar the same, and not have a superior car than the Z06.

 

Saying the Comparison of a SRT-4 to a GT500 is like comparing the GT500 to the Z06 is some pretty flawed logic....

 

 

[SVT NAJA]

Not sure how VIR came up, this comparison was actually at Willow Springs and we were talking about that article/comparison test results....

 

What I said holds true, for the money spent, you get a thimble full more performance for nearly twice the money. I looked up that Z06 with those options....its right at 98k..that is 45k more that a GT500 with SVTPP. Inside, GT500 has seating for 4 and is a lot more refined than it used to be. I and many others would consider the cockpit of the GT500 to be on par or superior than the Z06.

 

My bottom line up front is..my car is a hell of a lot more bang for the buck. That was my basic point and I don't know how that can be argued because there is no scenario I can think of where you could spend 45k more on the GT500, having spent dollar for dollar the same, and not have a superior car than the Z06.

 

Saying the Comparison of a SRT-4 to a GT500 is like comparing the GT500 to the Z06 is some pretty flawed logic....

 

 

 

 

+1... This article comparing these 3 vehicles is the equivalent logic of how congressional districts are formed and appear on a map. You can slice and dice any data to arrive at the conclusions (or votes) you wish to draw. If money is no object, none of these 3 vehicles are "supercars". On the other hand, if you ask "what fully optioned vehicle is a similarly performing supercar to a fully optioned Z06 or GT-R for approximately half the money"... the answer is the 2011 Shelby GT500 SVTPP.

[Shelby.GT500]

You don't put a ricer and a supercar up against a Muscle car. Allthough I like that they used another American car too. But it's still a unfair fight and that's how motor trend does marketing.

 

 

Why can't they put a ricer (GT500) and a supercar (Nissan GTR) up against a muscle car (Z06)? lol! If we go by the definition of what a ricer is- a car with more "show" than "go", based on the test results, our GT500 is the ricer

 

Oh and you seriously need to travel to see the world man, it looks like you are not updated. You only live once, enjoy all the land God gave us! :happy feet:

[JWG223]

You don't need to spend over 65k to get a z06. All this 98k is for s fully loaded car. Even then they sell for 85k in the real world.

[jsarkis]

You don't need to spend over 65k to get a z06. All this 98k is for s fully loaded car. Even then they sell for 85k in the real world.

 

 

Fyi, just about everyone compares prices of cars with fully loaded versions. Also putting new shoes on a perfomance car doesn't mean you modded the hell out of it or "Frankensteined" your car, as you have mentioned in previous posts. I can just about guarantee 99% of performance drivers change their stock tires at some point (cheaper, wider, taller, softer, harder, wet / winter you name it, everyone changes their tires), just saying....Spending $1,200.00 on new tires for the GT500 would put it much closer in comparison to these other cars, and still be considered a stock car for much less money with better looks.

[JWG223]

Fyi, just about everyone compares prices of cars with fully loaded versions. Also putting new shoes on a perfomance car doesn't mean you modded the hell out of it or "Frankensteined" your car, as you have mentioned in previous posts. I can just about guarantee 99% of performance drivers change their stock tires at some point (cheaper, wider, taller, softer, harder, wet / winter you name it, everyone changes their tires), just saying....Spending $1,200.00 on new tires for the GT500 would put it much closer in comparison to these other cars, and still be considered a stock car for much less money with better looks.

 

 

When did I say putting different tires on a car was any of the above?

 

I think you are referring to when I said to do that to a GT500 PROPERLY, it is going to require a Watts Link, wider rims, and possibly better control arms, if you want to keep the rear-end centered and fit a wide tire under it without risk of a fender-well eating that tire. Then you have to remove the bump-stops and other things.

 

Just swapping rubber? That's not even a mod in my book really, except I wouldn't want to run a DR on the street.

 

I understand most people compare cars loaded, but I thought someone was crowing about a "bargain"? Bargain cars aren't loaded. Even so, I think a loaded Z06 with Z07 package and CF for $85K is a pretty good "bargain".

[Crushinator]

JWG - what year Z did you get? I didn't realize you bought one. Did you post pics? My Father has an '06 and it is a BEAST! I knew the C6 Z would be

faster than the 3 C5 Z06's I had, but had no idea they were the beast they are until I drove his. Had I not had 6 Corvette's and 2 Vipers previously, I may

have bought one. But I wanted something besides the typical two seat sportscar. Awesome cars none-the-less. I think when I have the GT500 paid off

I'll look for a used ZR1.

[JWG223]

JWG - what year Z did you get? I didn't realize you bought one. Did you post pics? My Father has an '06 and it is a BEAST! I knew the C6 Z would be

faster than the 3 C5 Z06's I had, but had no idea they were the beast they are until I drove his. Had I not had 6 Corvette's and 2 Vipers previously, I may

have bought one. But I wanted something besides the typical two seat sportscar. Awesome cars none-the-less. I think when I have the GT500 paid off

I'll look for a used ZR1.

 

 

2011. No pix besides the buyer's order, yet. I am headed to Bowling Green for the tour on Monday to watch her roll off the assy. line. I don't know if we have an "other cars" forum or not, but can PM you the pix when I have them if you want.

 

Those ZR1's are monsters. Sadly, the price tag prevented me from stepping up.