How hard is it to drive a Z06?

[Z064life]

I went to Vegas a few months ago and saw loads of ads for places which let you rent Corvettes/Vipers etc. I wanted to obviously rent one, but my parents thought it was a bit unsafe for an individual with no experience in any car remotely powerful to drive one (which you can't blame them for and even though they know what a Viper or Corvette is, they can tell these are powerful cars).

I've had no advanced driver training (or anything which would help me to handle a car like this) nd have driven standard cars for the 3 (or just over 3) years since I have passed my test (cars with 115bhp, eg Focus, Golf etc). A Z06 is meant to be an easy car compared to a Viper, "they" say, but I guess this won't apply if I drove one.

How hard would it be to to drive one of these cars? Also, how much deposit is required to buy one in the UK (I ask as it will help to set targets and tell me how far/hard I have to work).


Thanks

[khevolution]

most cars can be easy to drive if treated with the respect they deserve, as you mentioned you know the corvette has huge power gains over what your used to, but as long as you realise that and are not silly with the loud pedel, i can see why it wouldn't be any problem

[ringram]

Actually I found the Gen2 GS Viper to be pretty crazy. So much torque you didnt even realise it was spinning the tires. But yeah, pretty controlable. You can rent one for about $400/day in Vegas I think. They arnt cheap.
All the late model stuff has loads of traction control, torque management and abuse management built in, so you would have to go crazy to get it out of line too much.

[Escalade]

If you can drive then you'll be fine! It's not til you start to modify the cars that things get a bit scary. I once drove a Viper with 1200hp and that was very hard to drive!

[300bhp/ton]

Z064life said:

I went to Vegas a few months ago and saw loads of ads for places which let you rent Corvettes/Vipers etc. I wanted to obviously rent one, but my parents thought it was a bit unsafe for an individual with no experience in any car remotely powerful to drive one (which you can't blame them for and even though they know what a Viper or Corvette is, they can tell these are powerful cars).

I've had no advanced driver training (or anything which would help me to handle a car like this) nd have driven standard cars for the 3 (or just over 3) years since I have passed my test (cars with 115bhp, eg Focus, Golf etc). A Z06 is meant to be an easy car compared to a Viper, "they" say, but I guess this won't apply if I drove one.

How hard would it be to to drive one of these cars? Also, how much deposit is required to buy one in the UK (I ask as it will help to set targets and tell me how far/hard I have to work).


Thanks

At 18 I'd say have a look around for something older to try first.

3rd and 4th Gen Fbody's, Fox Mustang or sn95 Mustang or C4 Corvette.

All LHD and all with grunty V8's. They'll give you a taste of driving on the wrong side of the car in the UK and give you a sense or RWD performance.

Modern Vettes and Vipers like so many other modern cars will be more scary when they let go, older cars are often more progressive (often due to tyres).

And some of these are still pretty quick machines, or at least have the ability to be quick.

Even the slowest C4 Corvette is a 140-150mph machine.

[Tom74]

It's an easy car to drive, the clutch on mine is lighter than my Cooper s. You can drive it easily around town but it's plenty quick when you want it to be.

I would have thought insurance would be massive at 18 though and deposit etc will probably depend on finance status etc.

Still, if you can get one, go for it!

[shoebag]

Z064life good to see you have stayed true to your love of the Z06. I remember your interest in them back in 2005.

I have driven both the C5 Z06 and the C6 Z06 and would say the C6 Z06 has improved even more for handling and being responsive. Saying that both models handling is better than my 2001 Viper. The Viper has so much torque and is more unpredictable.
I am not sure who would insure you at 18 for a Z06 but saying that I was driving a Corvette at 22. Before that I had a Camaro as the engine size was smaller made the insurance cheaper.

[Z064life]

300bhp/ton said:

Z064life said:

I went to Vegas a few months ago and saw loads of ads for places which let you rent Corvettes/Vipers etc. I wanted to obviously rent one, but my parents thought it was a bit unsafe for an individual with no experience in any car remotely powerful to drive one (which you can't blame them for and even though they know what a Viper or Corvette is, they can tell these are powerful cars).

I've had no advanced driver training (or anything which would help me to handle a car like this) nd have driven standard cars for the 3 (or just over 3) years since I have passed my test (cars with 115bhp, eg Focus, Golf etc). A Z06 is meant to be an easy car compared to a Viper, "they" say, but I guess this won't apply if I drove one.

How hard would it be to to drive one of these cars? Also, how much deposit is required to buy one in the UK (I ask as it will help to set targets and tell me how far/hard I have to work).


Thanks

At 18 I'd say have a look around for something older to try first.

3rd and 4th Gen Fbody's, Fox Mustang or sn95 Mustang or C4 Corvette.

All LHD and all with grunty V8's. They'll give you a taste of driving on the wrong side of the car in the UK and give you a sense or RWD performance.

Modern Vettes and Vipers like so many other modern cars will be more scary when they let go, older cars are often more progressive (often due to tyres).

And some of these are still pretty quick machines, or at least have the ability to be quick.

Even the slowest C4 Corvette is a 140-150mph machine.

Actually I'm 24. I take it you got the idea that I'm 18 from my profile (which was back when I registered here). I have 3 yrs driving experience (which only helps with navigating roads etc, not car control).

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

Unless you're accustomed to driving a manual car using your right hand to change gear it could be a waste of time and money jumping straight in a Vette and trying to get into "high performance" while wrestling with an unfamiliar driving experience. The ideal would be to find a boggo LHD car to practice with although I doubt there's any manuals available on rental fleets.

Alternatively find a 6-speed paddle-shift auto Vette and let rip with that! Amongst other things they're available at the airport rental counter (subject to availability, age etc)....

[Pothole]

you're 24 and you listen to your parents? Are they paying for the rental? If not, just rent the fking thing and get on with it. Be careful to start with but it's not as if the roads are going to be wet, it's Vegas FFS.

[Z064life]

shoebag said:

Z064life good to see you have stayed true to your love of the Z06. I remember your interest in them back in 2005.

I have driven both the C5 Z06 and the C6 Z06 and would say the C6 Z06 has improved even more for handling and being responsive. Saying that both models handling is better than my 2001 Viper. The Viper has so much torque and is more unpredictable.
I am not sure who would insure you at 18 for a Z06 but saying that I was driving a Corvette at 22. Before that I had a Camaro as the engine size was smaller made the insurance cheaper.

I wouldn't mind paying a slightly high rate of insurance to rent one for one day - though I'd have to drive it for most of that day to get all I can from it.

[JenkinsComp]

You gotta learn some time, so just drive one and take it easy. Always brake in a straight line, and don't put your foot down until the car is pointing straight and the road is smooth. I drove a 13 second V8 mk1 Cortina with a welded up diff when I was 18, before moving on to a 135bhp 500kg kit car. In at the deep end is the best way! Just use common sense and go on a skid pan day to teach your self what happens with Rear Wheel Drive at safe low speeds. Porsche Perf0ormacne Centre at Silverstone does this, and Mercedes Brooklands.

Driving a Corvette slowly (as in within the speed limit) is no different to any other car - in fact it is easier as it goes around corners, steers and brakes much better than a regular shopping car.

Edited by JenkinsComp on Tuesday 20th April 11:30

Edited by JenkinsComp on Tuesday 20th April 11:30

[JenkinsComp]

PS - kit cars and American Cars are both very cheap to insure in the UK, as they are hardly ever nicked or crashed. Most owners love them and take care of them, so the premiums are low. My first kit car (a Sylva) was never more than £300 to insure when I was 21, and the V8 Cortina was £480 when I was 18 (I lived in London then). My current kit car (250bhp Sylva Fury) costs something like £100 to insure, but I am an old knacker now and live in the country.

[300bhp/ton]

Z064life said:

300bhp/ton said:

Z064life said:

I went to Vegas a few months ago and saw loads of ads for places which let you rent Corvettes/Vipers etc. I wanted to obviously rent one, but my parents thought it was a bit unsafe for an individual with no experience in any car remotely powerful to drive one (which you can't blame them for and even though they know what a Viper or Corvette is, they can tell these are powerful cars).

I've had no advanced driver training (or anything which would help me to handle a car like this) nd have driven standard cars for the 3 (or just over 3) years since I have passed my test (cars with 115bhp, eg Focus, Golf etc). A Z06 is meant to be an easy car compared to a Viper, "they" say, but I guess this won't apply if I drove one.

How hard would it be to to drive one of these cars? Also, how much deposit is required to buy one in the UK (I ask as it will help to set targets and tell me how far/hard I have to work).


Thanks

At 18 I'd say have a look around for something older to try first.

3rd and 4th Gen Fbody's, Fox Mustang or sn95 Mustang or C4 Corvette.

All LHD and all with grunty V8's. They'll give you a taste of driving on the wrong side of the car in the UK and give you a sense or RWD performance.

Modern Vettes and Vipers like so many other modern cars will be more scary when they let go, older cars are often more progressive (often due to tyres).

And some of these are still pretty quick machines, or at least have the ability to be quick.

Even the slowest C4 Corvette is a 140-150mph machine.

Actually I'm 24. I take it you got the idea that I'm 18 from my profile (which was back when I registered here). I have 3 yrs driving experience (which only helps with navigating roads etc, not car control).

Thanks

Well I assume you must be doing something right if you are looking at a C6 z06 at 24. So thumbs up there

But all I can say is, don't drive like a dick and maybe do some driving courses.

Car control is more important than just HP. I started out in a Land Rover Defender at 17, although I was lucky with my Uncle being a farmer, so I'd actually been driving Landy's and tractors in the fields for years previous.

An MGB GT then joined the Landy while I was 17. Both gave loads of experience in car control. I then used to drive my Dad's 6.0 litre V12 XJ12 about too. And at 19 bought a 5.3 litre V12 XJ-S, then a TR7 V8 at 21 and a LS1 powered Camaro at 26.

While I was 17 I attended a Road Skills driving course at Silverstone and also went to the Silverstone Rally School learning some sideways action in a MKII Escort.

This all helps develop car control and gain experience.

Personally can't see that a Vette should be too much of an issue. But as said, modern cars can attain high speed with ease, so when it does go wrong, it happens quick and is often rather major.

Between owning the MGB and XJ-S I had a couple of mid engined MGF's. They are very grippy, but when they go you really do turn into a passenger just along for the ride. I've not driven a C6 z06, but I suspect one would need to be treated with respect, after all they do have McLaren SLR rivaling performance. If you lose it at 90mph, chances are you won't catch it.


So in many ways I still stand by my earlier comments. Look for something older and less powerful, give yourself a taste of what's on offer. All yank cars hold their money quite well, so it shouldn't cost you loads. £5-8k should see you into a 4th Gen Camaro or C4 Vette.

[JimexPL]

Z064life said:

I went to Vegas a few months ago and saw loads of ads for places which let you rent Corvettes/Vipers etc. I wanted to obviously rent one, but my parents thought it was a bit unsafe for an individual with no experience in any car remotely powerful to drive one (which you can't blame them for and even though they know what a Viper or Corvette is, they can tell these are powerful cars).
I've had no advanced driver training (or anything which would help me to handle a car like this) nd have driven standard cars for the 3 (or just over 3) years since I have passed my test (cars with 115bhp, eg Focus, Golf etc). A Z06 is meant to be an easy car compared to a Viper, "they" say, but I guess this won't apply if I drove one.
How hard would it be to to drive one of these cars? Also, how much deposit is required to buy one in the UK (I ask as it will help to set targets and tell me how far/hard I have to work).
Thanks

Next time you're in the state rent one of the hertz C6 autos (I expect that the min. age is 25). If you haven't got personal experience of a big V8 in a relatively light car the performance will blow you away.
You'll initially find the shape/layout of the car more intimidating than the engine if you're used to a conventional hatchback.
All C6 /Z06 are easy to drive sensibly in the dry (with the TC/AH on). Once you start getting adventurous in the wet or applying throttle early in a bend things become interesting.
In my time at Park Lane, none of the staff who were previously inexperienced to high power cars damaged a vette. One with exotic experience damaged 2 wheels on a width restriction (easily done on London).
However an experienced, ex-Ferrari business manager at another site wrote a Z06 off on a dry roundabout. I am sure that it was the ample mid range torque that caught him out when compared to the Ferraris that he was used to.

You ask about a deposit to secure one. This is an odd question. Surely the deposit is dependant on the monthly payments that you are comfotable with taking on.

[cheeky]

Z064life said:

I went to Vegas a few months ago and saw loads of ads for places which let you rent Corvettes/Vipers etc. I wanted to obviously rent one, but my parents thought it was a bit unsafe for an individual with no experience in any car remotely powerful to drive one (which you can't blame them for and even though they know what a Viper or Corvette is, they can tell these are powerful cars).

I've had no advanced driver training (or anything which would help me to handle a car like this) nd have driven standard cars for the 3 (or just over 3) years since I have passed my test (cars with 115bhp, eg Focus, Golf etc). A Z06 is meant to be an easy car compared to a Viper, "they" say, but I guess this won't apply if I drove one.

How hard would it be to to drive one of these cars? Also, how much deposit is required to buy one in the UK (I ask as it will help to set targets and tell me how far/hard I have to work).


Thanks

They're very easy to drive.

But I would thoroughly recommend some experience in another rear wheel drive car first, ideally with a little more power than you've been used to.

[JimexPL]

cheeky said:

They're very easy to drive.

But I would thoroughly recommend some experience in another rear wheel drive car first, ideally with a little more power than you've been used to.

Happy Birthday Matt

[v8yea]

The hardest part of driving a Z06 that I have experienced is keeping it under the speed limit !

[Z064life]

A couple of points I should have made before:

-I never accelerate without the car being straight because in a car like a Z the back will step out, in my family car the car will want to go straight (FF).

-I've seen all of my friends write off and crash their cars due to spirited driving/inexperience yet in slow cars like Primeras etc, I haven't crashed since I passed and I pretty much do everything I can to keep a clean record - just for a Z06. Now I feel it's time for me to drive in a spirited manner.

-I don't really care about car modding till I get a Z06.

-My parents are a problem easily solved by planning to rent a Z06 and then explaining EXACTLY what this is and why I would want to drive one, and not just saying it randomly whilst on holiday with a car already rented. Obviously if a car is already rented, renting a Corvette (Z06 or not) will be a little more awkward.

-I passed in a manual (for obvious reasons...). Maybe a LHD manual Corvette will be too much? I'm still wondering this.

-We own another car which is RWD and has a bit more power. Maybe I should take that for a spin, indeed.

-The deposit question is probably a bit naive though I was bored and interested to gauge how far I'd have to go to own one (Experience not applicable). I'll research that.

[v8yea]

I really don't know what you are worrying about,I was riding 180 mph superbikes at your age and younger.
When I was seventeen I had a 1977 TR7 and if anyone here ever had one they would tell you that a Z06 is easier to drive ! I also had a Lotus Sunbeam a year later and a twincam HS Chevette the year after.
All these vehicles have one thing in common,the throttles are under your control not the other way around.
The only thing I would say is and it counts for all the above,wet roads and horsepower should be treated with respect.