NSX v C6

[NetViper]

I finally got to drive a C6 today for the first time. Unfortunetly it was auto. Anyway, here are my thoughts.

The NSX has better build quality, paint, handling, road feel, interior and engine sound.

The vette is much more practical. It is more comfortable. It is very quiet at 70 mph. It is FAST as hell!! The TQ is fantastic! The trunk space is really nice. The gadgets are much better. HID, Keyless start and door locks, NAV etc.

Overall, I would best describe it as more practical, but not more fun than a NSX.

I think the greatest advantage it has over the NSX is that you could drive it anywhere and never worry about it.

 

[NSX-Racer]

I think the greatest advantage it has over the NSX is that you could drive it anywhere and never worry about it.

Tell me some circumstances or places where I couldn't drive the NSX without worrying about it?

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I am looking forward to my first drive in a C6. I really like them quite a bit but for some reason just can't talk myself into buying a chevy. Don't really have a solid reason.
I thought the new vette addressed many if not all of the issues that have plagued them over the years.
I guess you can put a pretty face on anything but don't have to improve under the skin.

 

[NsXMas]

Tell me some circumstances or places where I couldn't drive the NSX without worrying about it?

I think he's saying that Corvettes are so common that you don't have to worry about people giving it undue attention.

 

[LJSB]

My cousin, who has a used car business that sells Corvettes exclusively, met up with the man in charge of Corvette production on his way to Lime Rock to watch the Vettes race. He had a brand new C6 ZO6 with manufacturers plates which he brought to my cousins shop for some pictures and tech talk.
He said they made this engine to last 3 lifetimes (300,000 miles) and that the motor is in fact detuned to pass emissions and could as stock be 590 hp if the government regulation wasn't in the way. He said there is no match under $250,000 and that it could run for days on end at 90mph and not break. Zero to sixty is 3.7 secs and hits sixty in first gear right at red line.

The carbon fiber fenders made some racket when they shot a hose of water on them while washing it.

All sounds good but new Vettes always promise and then don't deliver the quality. We will see.
The automatic C6, yes he has a used one already, that he just sold didn't turn me on. Still had that overdone plastic dash that had the typical Chevy look where everything falls off after a while.It had 900 miles,the owner died soon after buying it, his wife leaving it with my cousin to sell on consignment.
SOLD and to be picked up by the new owner next week.

At this point I think I would like to add a vette to the garage but a 68-71 big block, with some noisy side pipes and sloppy shifter. Of course I'll keep the NSX.

 

[NSX/MR2]

The new ZO6 (i have driven the old ones) will be a murderer.

 

[NSX-Racer]

I think he's saying that Corvettes are so common that you don't have to worry about people giving it undue attention.

Okay, if that's the case I understand. Of course that's completey different here in old Europe, there are not that many Corvettes here. They do get about the same attention as a NSX. Our common sportscars that get nearly no attention are called Porsche :wink:

 

[NetViper]

Okay, if that's the case I understand. Of course that's completey different here in old Europe, there are not that many Corvettes here. They do get about the same attention as a NSX. Our common sportscars that get nearly no attention are called Porsche :wink:

Yes. That is what I meant. In the US, corvettes are EVERYWHERE. The C6 is not very popular where I live yet. I have only seen 2 or 3. It is a very nice car, but does not draw the kind of attention the NSX does.

 

[NetViper]

He said they made this engine to last 3 lifetimes (300,000 miles) and that the motor is in fact detuned to pass emissions and could as stock be 590 hp if the government regulation wasn't in the way.

That is strange because the head of GM's special projects team that built that motor said it will stay at 505HP because they can't get much more out of it.

 

[MCM]

"Our common sportscars that get nearly no attention are called Porsche "

Vette's are everywhere here (About the same as BMW's, actually there may be more BMW's?)
Vette's are everywhere Not due to build quality, because they are fast and cheap.
Well, they used to be cheap. I have driven an older ZO6's (03/04?)
Fast car, good brakes, corners well, vague feel of the road.
The new ZO6 will get dinged for fit and finish, but will compete performance wise with cars 3 or 4 notch's up on the food chain. Do I want one? No.
Can I understand why others do? Yes.
Am posting a shameless link again of my last Vette.
Have owned Midyrs for the past 20yrs, but the Hysteria / Americana Muscle car craze caused prices to go nuts, so I cashed in my chips.

http://www.corvetteforum.net/classics/396_rat/

They have come a long way, but still have quite a ways to go to compete
with Porsche, BMW, "F" etc.
Maybe this car will change things. It will be as fast/faster? On 2nd thought,
Not a chance.........................
But is less than 1/2 the price at its performance level?
Who knows......
:tongue:

 

[chumch]

That is strange because the head of GM's special projects team that built that motor said it will stay at 505HP because they can't get much more out of it.

Perhaps they can't get much more out of it and still stay SMOG legal?

 

[spartan2-3]

Okay, if that's the case I understand. Of course that's completey different here in old Europe, there are not that many Corvettes here. They do get about the same attention as a NSX. Our common sportscars that get nearly no attention are called Porsche :wink:

Porsches are also common here but less than the over populated vettes.
You can buy C5's for way under 30K, most anyone can afford one. Definitley a bang for the buck. If a C6 is a must, I'd wait several years as they would be very affordable then.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searc...ce=35000&distance=100&address=94103&x=85&y=12

106 cars within 100 miles of SF , Im sure there are plenty more thats NOT advertised through Autotrader, now you see how common they are? :wink:

 

[nsxtasy]

Vette's are everywhere here (About the same as BMW's, actually there may be more BMW's?)

Off the top of my head, I believe BMW currently sells around 200,000 vehicles per year in the States, and Chevy sells around 25,000 Corvettes per year.

Incidentally, the median age of Corvette buyers is currently 59 years old. (According to CNW Marketing Research, as reported in today's New York Times.)

 

[MCM]

A buddy at work sold his late 90's Porsche for a new Silver C6.
He loves the darn thing! (so far anyway)
Both used as daily drivers.
It does look better than the prev. model. :smile:

 

[LJSB]

That is strange because the head of GM's special projects team that built that motor said it will stay at 505HP because they can't get much more out of it.

That's the fellow he met and spent the evening with.
What's strange? The C6R which doesn't' have to meet smog standards and is the same basic engine is putting out over 580hp. What's more, the series car, C6R, is detuned to fit within it's race class guidelines.
The street version, the ZO6, at this point can't stay smog legal and breathe deeply enough to put out the extra horses the C6R does.
By the way, red line on the ZO6 is 7000 rpm. :smile:

I'm going to Lime Rock tomorrow to see the American Lemans series race which features the C6R but I'll be rooting for Dyson, a neighbor and friend.
I'm going with my cousin and will meet the fellow from GM while there and get his name and check out his car. :wink:

I sure hope Honda makes a NSX replacement and races it.

 

[nuccaJB]

I think he's saying that Corvettes are so common that you don't have to worry about people giving it undue attention.

I honestly think that I already see at least 4-5 C6's a day already. That is just crazy to me, that deffinitely takes away from the fun of having a hot car.

 

[LJSB]

Well today I drove a C6 coupe and it was automatic with a Corsa Exhaust and a a/m carbon fiber intake.

It was at the shop for repairs and I drove it at the request of the owner.
He wanted me to give it a hard run to make sure it was up to snuff.
I don't drive a customer's car unless they tell me too. He told me to and to "push it" so, push I did.

Punch the gas and the front feels like it lifts and it roars to about 65 before it shifts. This cars goes and goes fast, really fast, but doesn't feel nice, it floats. Not much is going to dust this car in a traffic light race. Beyond that, well, I don't know if there is a beyond that.
A professional driver would likely get this car to really kick but I doubt will make the average guy feel like he's a great driver the way the NSX does. The engine in the front just doesn't feel as planted as the mid engine set up does, at least not to me. The gears in the auto are tall and it goes a long way toward the next galaxy before it shifts. You need some road to open this thing up because it eats it up FAST.
I think a CTSC NSX feels about the same acceleration wise but I did not feel confident in the C6. Perhaps more driving would change that. It is fast. Faster than a C5 and faster than the NSX.
Every other category it fell short and was less than the magazines touted and GM spouted. If you aren't punching the gas it gets boring quick.
They wanted it straight line fast and it is, it is a MONSTER but it feels like every other Vette from the C4 on up once you let off. When not punching it it feels big, floaty and creaking. Nice brakes just the suspension doesn't have that "it's on rails" feel. I didn't like it.
Close your eyes and you think you were in a older Camaro with a really good motor upgrade.
Take your foot off and it down shits into overdrive and sounds like a turd just like a C5 or C4 or C3 for that matter.
The interior I don't like at all. Creaking hard plastic everywhere. The interior quality it right up there with a early 90's Camaro. Anyone that thinks this is better than a NSX interior is just plain nuts.The dash feels like the same cheap plastic they used on my old slot car tracks when I was a kid. C'mon GM! Get with it! The leather or vinyl in the car feels hard and is not supple at all. Lack of quality was everywhere. For example, lean on the sill like you do on your NSX to get out and you feel the plastic scuff plate creak and shift . It's not padded, quiet and firm like the NSX part.
The passenger's seat has less leg room than my NSX.
Outside the front looks cool, so does the side but from the rear, I don't like it.
I had it at the side walk under my sign all day. One car pulled in and a guy got out and walked past to to look at my NSX which was not on display like the Vette.
It did get looks from the older guys in pickups.

No keys. The transponder stays in your pocket and you squeeze the door membrane and it electrically unlatches. Inside you push a button on the door to have it open. No manual door latch. I don't like this.
Push a button on the dash it barely turns over and blam! A nice mean sound from the Corsa exhaust and that signature Chevy big V8 engine note.
As for the rest, it's about what I expected. Sloppy, creaking plastic with electronic toys that GM is notorious for. Now they work..for now that is.
The first C5's windows would suck out at about 100 mph but this won;t happen on the C6. The windows work like a German car. They drop a bit when you open the door and slide up snug when you close them.
The seats feel very comfortable but again have that cheap Chevy feel and at 7 months old the bolsters are getting sad looking already. Poor very poor.
This is a great car for boulevard cruising and when you want to dust someone you probably will. Feels as fast as a first gen. Viper.
It's no better than the C4 or C5 as far as quality interior materials or assembly.
It doesn't feel like a sports car the way a Porsche, Ferrari, NSX or Lotus does. It feels like the Camaro or Mustang and they are performance cars but not sports cars to me. It doesn't feel like a extension of you.
Maybe I need more seat time and I would like to drive a standard but it is all Chevy and nothing about that has changed.
It is about what I expected and much less than I hoped for.
This is not a car I would trade my NSX for.

 

[Ponyboy]

I write this as an ardent NSX fan....I drove a black/black Z51 C6...and ABSOLUTELY loved it. Fast as all get out...torque to make me wish for forced induction...and enough accoutrements that I put down a deposit for a C6 Z06. Yeah, that good. Shifter is no where near the refinement of the NSX but until the V10 NSX comes, I can live with it.

Don't be fooled, the C6 is that good.

 

[NSX01]

There is a nsx owner here that sold his nsx and brought a C6 conv. :biggrin:
Not me of course.

 

[LJSB]

Don't be fooled, the C6 is that good.

Well everyone to their own taste. It's not for me.
If you haven't done so drive a Mustang GT, the older Saleen or a Mustang Cobra, I think you may enjoy those as well.

 

[robr]

I was talking to someone with a new C6 that had come from a later model 300ZX (modded but non turbo) recently. His comments were that for 400hp, it sure seemed slow, and that the C5 Z06 'felt' much quicker to him, even though the specs say otherwise. He also noted the shifter was clunky and nowhere near as good as the 300ZX. The fit and finish of the interior and exterior looked nice enough to me, but that's just at a glance.

 

[Da Hapa]

I've driven a couple of C6's (all MT, one with the Z51 and one with the magnetic shock thingamajiggy, no 'verts yet) and came away quite impressed. IMO, the car is a marked improvement over the C5.

But I still didn't buy one.

Why?
1) While the car is undoubtedly quite a bit faster than the NSX in just about every gear and every situation, I didn't think it was as fun to drive. But that's just me.
2) The shifter is terrible.
3) The car feels big. I know on paper it's not that heavy but they feel heavy and big to me. Again, that's just me.
4) Unlike many here, I hate all the electronic doo dads. Keyless start is just something else to break, IMO and what exactly was wrong with using a key anyway?
5) Year 1 production on an American car. Call me biased, call me whatever but I won't buy the first year production of any car. And I certainly wouldn't do this with an American car.
6) Exclusivity. I'm already seeing multiple C6's every day here in S. CA but I can go days and sometimes weeks without seeing another NSX.

All in all, the C6 is a hell of a bang for the buck and the sheer power of the car makes a very convincing case for me, but it wasn't enough. Besides, I'm secure enough not to worry about magazine racers and the fact that the guy who buys a new C6 for a little more than what I paid for my now 7 year old NSX can blow me into the weeds. That's just not that important to me.

 

[Twinsen]

Yeah, the car sounds great on paper, but it seems when it boils down to it, we're all biased to the NSX.

 

[KSNSX]

The build quality is crap. Orange peel should be in trash cans not on $50,000 cars. Chevy needs to wake up, pushrods went out with the rotary dial phone. I also think the front end looks like a Miata that has had Botox injections. No, i'm not biased :tongue: .

 

[BioBanker]

I for one am a huge fan of using well understood, and probably inexpensive, technology in place of more expensive tech IF IT ACCOMPLISHES THE SAME THING.

If there are things to pick on in the C6, its not the engine. Id kiss my 3.2L NSX engine good bye without hesisitation if given the choice to jam a pushrod LS7 back there , which is probably a cheaper engine to boot.

Expensive technology for technology's sake does not make for a successful car.