After One Week of C5 Ownership...

"SmugAardvark" (SmugAardvark)
02/03/2018 at 11:28 • Filed to: Corvette

It’s been seven days since I bought my car, and I’ve come to some basic conclusions about it.

The car is loud. With the axle-back exhaust, I feel like my next door neighbors hate me. Our driveways are side by side and run the length of our houses, which means the houses create a little canyon that seems to echo the mighty V8 rumble. I leave for work at 6:15am every weekday morning. They haven’t said anything yet, but I suspect they are less than pleased. I do try and roll the car back gently as soon as I fire it up, then let it warm up for a minute or two while it’s parked on the street.

When I bought the car, the previous seller tossed in two targa roofs. So I have the OEM solid black one, and a tinted glass one. Rocking the tinted glass makes the car feel a little roomier, so I’ve had that on for most of the time (or stowed in the back and driving sans roof. I feel that once summer gets here, I’ll probably switch back to the solid roof, so as to keep the sun from destroying the interior if the car is parked outside.

Speaking of interior, I remembered that the C5 had a typical 1990's/2000's Chevy interior. That is to say, not great. After living with it for a week, I’ve changed my mind a bit. The materials still feel cheap, that hasn’t changed. But the seats are cozy, and everything is laid out logically and within easy reach. The HVAC controls are great. Since my girl is perpetually cold, she can run the heat on her side, while I can keep a light breeze going on my side. Cargo space is very reasonable for what it is. The rear hatch area can easily hold a cartload of groceries, and I can even stow away my dog’s kennel if I disassemble it into halves. The dog, on the other hand, is still slightly afraid of the car ever since I started it up while she was standing right next to it.

Power delivery is well beyond adequate. Even in 6th gear at highway speeds, there’s plenty of power on tap to pass slower traffic. I usually still downshift into 5th (or 4th, depending on the circumstances), but really there’s more than enough “umph” in any gear. I haven’t taken any high speed runs yet, mostly because I’m not the kind of guy that will endanger everyone else on the highway around me just to see how fast I’m willing to go. I did get it up to 90 on a stretch of empty interstate, but that’s about it.

The adjustable ride control is nice. It has three settings (Touring, Sport, and Performance). There’s a pretty noticable change between them. But even Touring mode, which is the softest, is stiff enough that the car still feels well-settled. If I was driving on Performance mode the entire time, I think I might develop a bad back.

The Heads-Up Display is way less gimmicky than I thought. It’s nice being able to know my speed, RPM’s, and fuel level without taking my eyes off the road. I know that a few different vehicles over the years have had it, but I’m a little surprised that this technology hasn’t shown up in more cars.

I took my normal daily driver (Nissan Cube) to work yesterday. I hadn’t driven it once since I bought the Corvette last Saturday. Because the clutch in the Nissan is so light and the engagement point is so far from the floor, I promptly stalled out. Eventually, I’ll probably move back to driving the Cube to and from work, just to keep the miles down on the Vette. Also, it felt very weird to be over 3,000 RPM in 6th gear at 70mph. I kept looking for more gears to shift into, but alas there were none.

So far, not a single regret. I love the car.

DISCUSSION (14)

crowmolly > SmugAardvark
02/03/2018 at 11:37

Also, it felt very weird to be over 3,000 RPM in 6th gear at 70mph

The Vette is at what, 1500 or so? Just off idle? LOL.

SmugAardvark > crowmolly
02/03/2018 at 11:38

Pretty close. I think it’s just a touch over 1600, but all the same, it’s just purring and sipping fuel.

random001 > crowmolly
02/03/2018 at 11:39

Hah! Yeah. My Z06 idled at 2% load on the engine. 70 mph in 6th, it was at 4%....

crowmolly > random001
02/03/2018 at 11:45

0.5 OD, baby!

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > SmugAardvark
02/03/2018 at 12:02

Your assessment about getting used to the interior is very accurate. For all of the problems of that era of GM interiors, they’re actually super easy to live with for the most part once you get past the initial horror.

random001 > crowmolly
02/03/2018 at 12:09

Yeah! God, I miss that car....

crowmolly > random001
02/03/2018 at 12:10

Really the T56 pairs perfectly with 4.11 gears. 3.42s are nice but you can actually use sixth on regular roads with shorter gears vs. just on a highway at 80.

random001 > crowmolly
02/03/2018 at 12:16

Really? Because I could start out from a stop in 5th gear without a problem. 6th is fine on regular roads when you have 400+ torques on tap.

crowmolly > random001
02/03/2018 at 12:19

I guess it depends on what the speed limit is. Throwing it in 6th at 45 or so seemed to just lug the engine.

random001 > crowmolly
02/03/2018 at 12:22

I never really felt it lug badly. It drove just fine, but yeah, you’d shift to get more speed.

BeaterGT > SmugAardvark
02/03/2018 at 12:53

Agreed with the interior, although I do need to replace my seat with something that hugs more. One cool feature is you can pull on the lap belt to turn it into a ratcheting lap belt. Definitely worth doing before spirited drives.

Does you car have dials for the hvac? Or a digital screen too?

SmugAardvark > BeaterGT
02/03/2018 at 13:01

Kinja'd!!!

This is what the HVAC panel in mine looks like.

And I didn’t know that trick about the lap belt. I’ll have to try it out when I take the car over onto the PCH real soon.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!
02/03/2018 at 13:25

The only problem I have in my C5Z is I tend to hit the AC button while on track when shifting. I’ve learned to check it every few laps while on a straight.

pip bip - choose Corrour > SmugAardvark
02/03/2018 at 19:35

when do you get your “members only” jacket?