Just raced a C6 vette

I have a 99 C2. Going down Mira Mesa blvd, I pulled up next to a C6 at a light, on the perfect section of road with no cross streets or anything in front of us. We raced twice. First time, the light turned green I got the jump on him, and held him off about one car in front of him until he let off at the top of 2nd gear or so. Neither of us took off hard, and he seemed to wait to see if I was gonna race. I held him off though, so I was happy. The second time, I thought it would be like the first one, but when the light turned green he peeled out and launched hard. I was a step behind but took off after him. He jumped out right off the bat with his launch to a 2 car length advantage in front of me as we ran thru the gears. I was very happy that I was able to hold position behind him and he didn't seem to be walking away. If he was walking away it wasn't noticeable at least. About mid way thru 3rd gear he tapped his brake lights and we both slowed down. I pulled up next to him and gave him a smile and a thumbs up, and he was a guy in his 50's with the happiest look on his face. It was a really fun encounter. My C2 did very well! I couldn't believe I got the chance to do that, since normally all I get is ricers challenging me and 4-runners and crap like that. Normally I don't race anyone in my Porsche off the line like that, but it isn't everyday you get a chance to run with a brand new vette. That thing was faster than me, but really not by as much as I thought it might!

Don't try that against the Z06. He'll be to 100mph before you are out of 2nd gear.

Yup, you were playing against the farm team... try that with the guys in the big league and you'll be limping home.

Any of you guys ever ridden in a Z06? It not really the same kind of deal. Hot, noisy as hell, rough. I think the regular C6 is a more reasonable comparison to a 996.

I'm not a fan of the Z06 at all, but it is fast.

The Z06 will rip us a new *******....Gotta love North american muscel! Too bad no matter what, its still a vett at the end of the day.

I think of all the technology and effort that goes into building Porsches. I drive home from DE events on the highway and relive the paces and punishment I just put my car through, and it just keeps on ticking and turning heads. The acceleration, the braking, the line, the exit from the corner, the way my body needs to be strapped to the machine because the Gs are coming from every direction, the notion that a few more mods will enhance the experience but make it less daily driver friendly. These cars are designed and made to drive VERY well on a tight road course(=skill required) right out of the box with a competent driver. AND STILL....................SOME PEOPLE TRY TO DRAG RACE!!! I am sorry but if you want to do "that" save some money and buy/build the right car that is geared and built for that application!!!!!!! So you can dominate the boulevard and show everyone who the man is.

A similarly equipped C6 is clearly faster than similarly equipped '99-'04 Carrera in a straight line. Good street run. Those are always fun against the right cars.

These cars are designed and made to drive VERY well on a tight road course(=skill required) right out of the box with a competent driver. I agree with what you say, but my guess is that the majority of 996 owners don't track their cars. So the occasional little encounter with a comparable car on the street is about all that will be available to these owners. Since the C6 and 996 have very comparable performance, the results of this encounter are about what I would expect. As far as the C6 Z06, it's incredible. I have a friend who bought his several months ago at MSRP from Kerbecks in NJ. They did charge him something like $500 for Dealer prep, but the selling price was still under $70K. I only got to drive the car for about five minutes, but its power is unreal. The only negatives for me were the mediocre looking cabin and the exhaust note was disappointing. The 996 with PSE sounds far better IMO. Apparently the word is out on the Z06. I thought almost everyone would confuse it with the C6 but when we stopped for gas on the NJ turnpike, several people stopped by to ask about the car. One thing's for certain. If you value performance above all else and have $70K, you can't go wrong with this car. Also, unlike other American cars the C6 Z06 is holding its value extraordinarily well . My friend got a call from a Dealer who offered him MSRP for his four month old Z with 2500 miles on the odometer.

Agreed, Back in 1999 there was an article in the NY Times (my least favorite source) about three cars. The Vette, the 993, and the 355 spyder. In just about every analysis, the Vette won hands down for half the price. My boss back then owned an example of each car in the article. In one day I drove all three and in the end, the thing I remebered the most was how easy the Vette radio was to operate since it was the same one in the rental I drove thaqt week. The second thing I really remebered is= I NEED TO BUY A 993!!!!!!!!!!=great car! Steve

How can you not be a fan? Except for the fact that it is a Chevy, It's a great car- and at a bargain!!! Don't get me wrong. I love my P-car and my next car will be a 997 but the Z06 is one hell of a ride!!!

Do you still know your old boss, and do you think he would be interested in selling the F355 Spyder?

got a ride in a new z06 last weekend, incredible. the americans finally made a proper car. still a bit rough around the edges though.

the z06 really is an astounding performer but the fit and finish isn't so top bar. I tried keeping up with one just last night entering the freeway and that thing was just pulling away starting from the entarance that went in a half circle going out onto the freeway. Needless to say I was put to shame by detroit muscle. o well, i'll just keep telling myself that at the end of the night i still have a porsche and he still has a chevy.

Needless to say I was put to shame by detroit muscle. o well, i'll just keep telling myself that at the end of the night i still have a porsche and he still has a chevy Actually a car's logo doesn't impress me much, i.e., I don't care if it's a Chevy or Porsche. What does impress me is a car's performance, and also the Dealer's performance. Unfortunately the two Chevy Dealers near me are the pits. There's no way that I could see myself getting my $70K car seviced at either of these Dealers. I'd much rather take it to a gasoline station for sevice. So any time I seriously consider buying a C6 Z06, a trip to my local Chevy Dealer quickly brings me back to my senses.

True ture, Fast1. Whenever I go into an American showroom, I always feel like the dealer is there to sell cars, while the Porsche dealer is there to sell an experience.

Nycebo - The two Porsche Dealers near me, Len Stoler and Valley Motors, treat you with respect. Visiting either of these Dealers is a pleasure. The Chevy Dealers near me are so bad that I laughed the last time I visited one. The salesman even asked me why I was laughing, and I told him that he probably wouldn't understand.

His Traction control was probably on during the first run. I've noticed the C6 crowd is a little more racey than the C5 folks. I was behind 3 c5's last weekend on a back road with a speed limit of 40 mph and they were holding up a line of 4 other cars including me because they were doing 40 mph. On that road people tend to do at least 55mph. Glad you had fun.

Want to do a comparo, ZO6 vs. 997 Turbo. Thats more apples to apples.

Woundn't Z06 to 997GT3 be a more correct comparison since the turbo is AWD and not natuarly aspirated (and since the Z06 and GT3 were both designed for one thing (racing/tracking)? I am sure the turbo will hold its own based on hp alone, but they are 2 different beasts.

Agreed, 997TT is not a competitor for the Z06, the GT3 is. The 997TT will be a high tech luxurious supercar, the GT3 and Z06 are track/raw performance oriented.

Not preaching here, but if it was on the street, it simply wasn't a race. I have asshats who try to "race" me all the time and I don't put my foot into it. I am sure they think they "pwned" me, but they just didn't. I don't take anything from games on the street. Meaningless, really. Also, if you bought a P-car for straight-line performance (I am not saying that "you" did), you were probably misinformed or are just plain stupid. Our cars are purpose-built vehicles, and drag racing just isn't one of those purposes.

I'm not a fan of the styling, fit, finish, and the 'driving experience' doesn't do it for me. No denying the car is fast, but IMO it's no 911.

Actually I had raced a Viper down that same road about 3 months back. The guy also has two other vettes so maybe it was him again ... Anyway, I got ahead of the viper and held it (for 1.5 miles) till I let him pass when I saw traffic about 0.5 miles ahead (with a thumbs up out of my window). The road, is twisting, turning and uphill/downhill and 2 lanes, FYI. I think it was the only time I ever raced on roads. Also, about the C6 vettes. I test drove these before buying the 911 (actually I was in the market for these until I got seduced by the 911). The vettes DON'T have that much feedback on the wheel and the seat like the 911. The 911 is also very precise. But the C6 (not Z06) had power everywhere on the band , everytime ! It was quite unbelieveable. Trust me, I think american car engineering has come of age. The C6 with 400hp is VERY fuel efficient ! Its just 1-2 MPG below your very efficient japanese Honda Accord (V6) !! Can you imagine that ? Plus the design of the vette is a killer. The ability to tap out that much energy out of that little fuel and THEN put all that onto the tyres --- I'm totally impressed with their engineering!!!

1. Street racing sucks. Instead of racing on Mira Mesa, why don't you go to the stadium when RaceLegal has one of their programs.

I thought long and hard when I was considering a new C6 and a 04 996. The C6 is a great car, but the 996 just feels better..... Steering, handling, braking, size, fit & finish and so on...... I also won't be racing them in town...... I may be tempted on an open interstate.....

haha 50 year old guy in a corvette!! How typical.. The vett is definitely a mid life crises car. Although it�s fast as hell.

How about a GT2? That's a bit closer. A 7 liter v-8 vs a 3.6 liter turbo sounds like an interesting contest. No touring cars here. And we can have them go at it for 12 hours. OE Vette VS. OE GT2

The GT3 or GT2 will not come close to keeping up with the Z06 straight line. I doubt the 997TT will have a chance either, but we will see. Not only is power less on the Porsches, but their gearing is not up to par with the Vette's for straight line runs. An don't forget, mod for mod, the Vette is easier to build.

Of course Porsches aren't designed to drag race, and noone buys them for that. This was the first time I had that particular opportunity, and of course I'm gonna race him! The C6 has 100hp more than my C2 so it was certainly a good test for my car. Someone mentioned instead of Mira Mesa blvd, I should go do some legal drag racing- but forget that.. I don't care about running the 1/4mile or 1/8th or whatever- not in a Porsche. It's just fun to have a random race like this, even if it is in a straight line. I was just on my way to Subway, and wasn't exactly searching for a drag race. There were several cars behind us at the light(s), and I'm sure they got a pretty good show. Even if it was a brand new Z06, I would have raced it just to see it walk(run) away from me.

I think I'm in line with what most have said here.....Porsche not equal DragRace..!!! I get these guys all the time trying to "green light stomp".....I have (2) answers first my transmision is worth more than their whole car....second I invite them to come to a DE and drive on a track rather than a street! I had a chance to run with a Z06 a Roebling in Feb, I know a huge part is driver not car. However, we are both in the instructor group so it's got to be close.....we were both running slicks.....and I found that he could not (would not) keep up when braking deep or in high speed sweeping turns.....enough so that he lost enough in 8-9 that he could not catch me down the straight. So it may be fast but it does not seem to provide confidence to the driver to push the car to its true potential.......end of the weekend he was sniffing around my car....and asked what I had done to the motor......Stock 3.4 no ecu work......with a few extras maybe 315HP (Muffs & Headers, etc...) Ohhh and a trailer hitch (to haul my track tire trailer) I thought he was going to cry and he had one of those WTF looks on his face :-) Results my not always be the same on tracks Like Sebring or VIR where HP is 80% of what it takes to get around the track fast. If your going to race these guys do it on your court with lots of turns and lots of brake use......I'll put my money on the Porsche Driver everytime...why...because I think most porsche drivers learn to drive their cars..not just stomp the gas pedal...... Drag racing one...just boost their ego........bring them to the track!

Was his a C5 or C6 Z06?

So it may be fast but it does not seem to provide confidence to the driver to push the car to its true potential....... Well at least not to that driver. A C6 Z06 should easily beat a stock 996 unless the 996 driver is better, and that wouldn't surprise me since most of the Vette boys seem to be more interested in drag racing than road racing.

But you see, it isn't a good test for your car. When you see someone else on the street, you have absolutely no idea what is going on in their head. You don't know whether (1) they are an excellent, mediocre or bad driver; (2) whether their car is stock, mildly modded or seriously tuned; and and more importantly (3) whether they plan to really get into it, only do 30-60, only race until the speed limit, only get into it fast enough to f*ck with you (which is all I would do, at least until the next exit where I would "forget" to brake and watch them crap their pants). In those very few times that I have both (1) been driving the minivan without the kids and (2) seen someone in a WRX, vette, or whatever driving like an asshat, I have -- even though I shouldn't have -- messed with them and laughed my *** off when they tried to keep up with a "MINIVAN" Have you no pride man? The fact that you are even trying to keep up with a MINVAN means you are a loser. Some of these guys couldn't hang with me through curves even though they were obviously trying to do so. Does this mean that the 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan is a "better" car than a subaru WRX? No. It just means that the driver of the WRX is a loser, and so was I for giving into temptation and messing with him. In short, it is an extremely bad test for your car that is utterly meaningless and potentially dangerous. Do what you want but don't think it means anything when it just doesn't . . .

TD, for DC folk what are the choices? The only two close (well "close") places I can think of is Summit Point 2 hours away (and a royal PITA because you have to do FATT first and who in the world gets Fridays off?) and VIR which is like 4-5 hours away. Are there any others (I don't count autocross...I'm not saying it's not hard, but it's just not racing in my mind if your average speed isn't at least 125mph, but then again I also like to watch oval track NASCAR.

I hate autocross, so you don't need to explain that to me. Summit is only 1.5 hours away from Georgetown, and it has two separate tracks: Shenandoah circuit and the Main circuit. VIR is only 4.5 hours away and truly glorious!! Watkins Glen is maybe 6-7 hours away and it is also glorious. Then, of course, you have Mid Ohio, and that is only about 7.5-8.5 hours away, and really wonderful. There is also Beaverrun, and others in the area, I believe. Once you get hooked, the distances seem like nothing, and well, well worth it. Are you a PCA member? If so, then attending the track is much, much easier, at least on the east coast. FATT is not a prerequisite.

I'm not PCA, though my dad and brother are. I'm MBCA (thanks to a 1985 380SE which my dad would never let me track since he is under the impression it couldn't take it...it may be 20 years old but it's solid as a tank...I know I have more faith in the original expansion tank that's in it than I do in the 996 expansion tank and the bmw 540 expansion tank). Don't know how fun the 380 would be at a track though: 155hp, 196lb-ft, 3850lbs...it'll get up to 125, but that last 25 takes a good long while. Is there a way to get into Summit Point without doing FATT?

Why don't you start a new thread and I will answer all of your questions there? Back on topic: Street racers look like tools even if they are not.

Todd - What do you REALLY think about autocross? Next time, don't sugar-coat it... just tell us how you really feel!

I just get sorta lost, and frustrated in this sea of little orange cones, and it pisses me off so much that I want to mow them all down. You can't really push the car if you are not 100% certain where you are supposed to go . . . and then you only get a total of about 1.5 minutes driving for a whole day lost. I resist mowing down the cones since I track with the same great people who run the autocrosses. For the sake of the innocent cones, though, I have decided to stick with DEs/racing.

Well, I have never tracked or done an autocross, so I can't make any sort of statement about either. I have been intentionally staying away from DE events, 'cuz I am afraid I will like it too much. I have a friend that tracks his '05 'Vette (at VIR and Kershaw, SC), and he is sliding rapidly down that slippery slope. I may give in this summer and take it to the track. Did you see the race from VIP yesterday? WOW, what a finish from the "big boys!" Damn Pontiac finished 1 - 2 in the GT class.

I attended a few Corvette club meetings a several years back when I had my C5. I was 40 at the time and was the youngest person there by a longshot. Most were empty-nesters, and they were a very friendly bunch.

Some of you guys need to get off your high-horse and pull the stick out of your asses!

I will as soon as you pull your head out of yours! For the humor challenged, I meant that as a joke mostly

I raced a Toyota Matrix today on the way in to work, spanked it thank you very much.

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