Thanks Carlos. As these are manufacturer press loaners, we only get limited time window with them, and our delivery day is usually thursday and our tracks days are usually Friday. So that leaves little time to make any adjustments. Plus, the manufacturers don't always like us messing with suspension settings. However, when a test car is nearing the end of its life in a manufacturer test fleet, they are more able to accommodate special requests. we've already put in a request to have the car back and be able to throw some alignment adjustments at it for testing. Hopefully it works out.

We're working on that video now :)

This video dropped today. Check it out at kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mMpknJV_lbXDqmQ.html

You and us both :)

Yeah and consider this as well: While we like to test cars as thoroughly as conditions allow, we also don't want to have to write any awkward emails that would result in us never getting press loaners ever again. As such, my line and my approach for press cars at the FIRM is maybe 1% less aggressive than it would be in my own car. Just enough to prevent the unthinkable from happening, but hard enough to get a fair assessment. So a balls-out lap is probably a couple tenths faster, then throw in an alignment, and some 200tw tires, and you're knocking on the low 1:15s.

We haven't had one at this track yet, but I think it would be a tight match. It would probably come down to corner exits and whether the GS was geared well enough for the track. Both cars have awesome handling but the C8 really comes off of corners nicely with very little drama.

We've discussed it in the video department and we're going to start adding an uninterrupted lap to all of our track test videos from now on. Thanks for the suggestions.

Negative camber will wear your inner sidewall out fast on the street.

We have not yet tested either of those cars on our test track. You can see all the cars we have tested and their times here: grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/firm-lap-times/

Three seconds on an 80-second course is pretty substantial. if you look at the data you're about right on the difference just from grip. We figured 1.5-2 seconds from grip and the rest from gearing advantages.

@@Grassrootsmotorsports makes sense thanks

95% never track their Vette? Agree, most don't. I autocrossed and tracked my B Prepared C3 Corvette for decades and now my Z28. If I could afford a new C8 - damn right I get the Z51 option and track the car. Stock C8 is faster than my prepared C3 and it was very fast, edit; Good question on about Z51 tires on base car. Tire is most of it I bet.

@@beyond_the_infinite2098 My point was that for 95%, Z51 is of little value.It would be very interesting to see in your comparison what the difference would be with base C8 with Z51 tires.

Isn't this part of the "lore" with Corvettes. That after a few years, it's pretty easy to find low mileage/low stressed examples that have been mostly been sitting in some older gentleman's driveway? If that's the case, I do wonder why GM has made the C7 and C8s by most reports, legit good racing/track weapons.

The tires are literally going to be 95% of the difference, which is already a small difference to begin with. Just get a non z51, upgrade the tires and exhaust and you will have a better looking/sounding/ performing c8 and still have money left over from z51 savings

We also have a full track test of a base model on our channel you're welcome to check out. I agree with your assessment that tires are a lot of the difference, but the data shows we're also seeing significant gains from the more aggressive gear ratios. Still, we're a track-focused publication, and our readers are usually most interested in the bleeding-edge models, so we make sure to give those a thorough workout when they show up in the press fleet.

That may be but even in full auto is works extremely well. I've driven one at the autocross and it's extremely effective

@@rx8matt that’s not the point. It’s not a manual transmission and to call it one is just false.

Many go karts don't even have a transmission. They're still fun. I like shifting my rx8, but an auto would sure be nice in traffic

Yeah..you got em good lol. Have you never made a simple mistake? Jeez, they are trying their best.

No, you're wrong. It is NOT an automatic transmission. There is no torque converter. It is an AUTOMATED MANUAL with dual clutches. The computer pushes the "pedal" for you, but you certainly can decide when to shift.