Photo: Andrew Zurick / Complete Street Performance
One-tenth of a second quicker to 60 than the standard Stingray, the Z51 is the C8 Corvette to have right now. On the quarter-mile run, however, both promise 11.2 seconds.
Because of the different rear-axle ratio, the Stingray has the legs on the Z51 in terms of trap speed. Chevrolet says we’re dealing with 123 and 121 miles per hour (198 and 195 km/h) totally stock. As for tires, the $5,000 performance package upgrades from all-seasons to Michelin PS4 rubber shoes that measure 245/35 and 305/30.
The question is, how much quicker is the eighth-generation sports car with a set of drag radials at the rear end and nothing else? As the headline implies, Andrew Zurick of Complete Street Performance is much obliged to answer that question with his C8.
10.922 seconds at 124.95 mph (201 kph) was his best run on the blacktop, and the stickier compound is pretty obvious from the design of the rear wheels as well as the car’s eagerness to launch off the line. The Performance Data Recorder in Andrew’s high-wing Z51 suggests that the quarter-mile took 10.95 seconds at 126 to 128 miles per hour, proving that the PDR is pretty well calibrated from the factory.
The second outing resulted in 10.953 seconds at 124.11 miles per hour while the third run was a little worse at 11 seconds. Nevertheless, the properties of a drag radial over a high-performance summer tire for the road are pretty obvious in this application.
There’s no denying the LT2 small-block V8 has plenty more to prove, be it a twin-turbo kit, a supercharger, methanol injection, or an E85 tune. However, don’t forget that more suck-squeeze-bang-blow requires stronger rear axles. Cicio Performance offers such upgrades in the guise of bolt-ons that cost $1,997.98 and withstand 1,500 horsepower.
The M1L dual-clutch transmission – also known as the TR-9080 in Tremec jargon – can handle up to 590 pound-feet (800 Nm) at 7,500 revolutions per minute. The manufacturer, however, has acknowledged that stronger versions of the TR-9080 are under development.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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