This Dyno fiasco has spread to every news site now. What a **** show.
why is it a fiasco/**** show? Isn't it a good thing that the car has more power than advertised? What am I missing?
My first impression was joyous. The monkey-motion was gone at last—hooyah! Second was the deliciously instant steering response. It was quick and stable as I carved into a corner, and revealed snappy trailing-throttle oversteer when I released the brake. Both are clearly influences of the mid-engine low polar moment. The next thing I noticed was the C8's ground-gripping traction as I accelerated off a slow corner, like VIR's Oak Tree. Wow! It rockets ahead and remains well balanced, even though it feels like it may wheelie!
I found a consistent gradual side-slip in third and fourth gears, exiting faster sweepers. The C8 has more power oversteer at 80 mph than it does at 40. Unusual. The braking was strong and stable with moderate nose dive. There was some isolation, if not the degree of e-pedal numbness I feared, and the brakes were cooled with some really nice Z51 brake ducts. Last, there was no more float, better suspension damping, but not harsh.
Next, we switched to the track alignment. Chevy showed us the specs, and it simply comes down to much more negative camber, front and rear. The engineers are proud of the increased range of adjustment. And eight degrees of caster, street or track, which is a lot. The advantages of caster are that it creates camber gain when the wheels are turned, which is especially good for tight turns, and a strong self-centering force, for stability and good on-center feel. High caster will also cross-weight a chassis, because the outside wheel swings in an arc upward as the inside wheel swings down. The former and latter of these will typically work to reduce understeer. The effect of the added camber was much-improved grip everywhere, reducing yet not eliminating traits of midcorner understeer and drop-throttle oversteer, and raising speeds with better manners. The basic traits of midcorner understeer and trailing throttle oversteer were still there, just not as much.
GM Employees Jailed for Racing C8 Corvettes on the Street
According to the employees' LinkedIn profiles, Thim is a CAE (computer aided engineering) engineer working on induction and exhaust systems, and Merkatz is an electrical engineer. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
"We are aware of an incident involving our test vehicles and are currently investigating," GM noted in a statement provided to Automobile. "Safety remains our overriding priority at General Motors. We have no further comment at this time."
As for the Corvettes, police enlisted two towing companies to remove them from the scene and deposit them at a tow lot, where a police representative said the vehicles were collected the next day "by the owner," presumably representatives of General Motors. Per GM's statement, it is unknown whether Thim and Merkatz remain employed with the company.
The situation is particularly embarrassing for the Corvette brand, as it is tied closely to the Bowling Green communityDriving slow in the left lane would be embarrassing for the Corvette brand. Misusing a handicap spot would be embarrassing for the Corvette brand. Towing a trailer from a vett without testing the brake lights would be embarrassing for the brand. Getting a vette stuck in the median would be embarrassing. Having your pants snag on the seat controls and mooning a crowd while trying to climb out of a vette would be embarrassing to the brand. A testimonial from Bill Clinton would be embarrassing to the Corvette brand.
The situation is particularly embarrassing for the Corvette brand, as it is tied closely to the Bowling Green communityDriving slow in the left lane would be embarrassing for the Corvette brand. Misusing a handicap spot would be embarrassing for the Corvette brand. Towing a trailer from a vett without testing the brake lights would be embarrassing for the brand. Getting a vette stuck in the median would be embarrassing. Having your pants snag on the seat controls and mooning a crowd while trying to climb out of a vette would be embarrassing to the brand. A testimonial from Bill Clinton would be embarrassing to the Corvette brand.
Reckless driving and speeding doesn't really hurt the Corvette's image that much. I think sales will be okay.
Yeah im sure the corvette brand is going to be unaffected by this....it would be the Corvette Driver image that takes the hit.
Sadly the stereotypical 'Vette driver is...
Entitled, Douchey, and has a disregard for rules.
LoL
What?
The stereotypical Vette driver is not that. It's the older mid-life crisis guy in New Balance shoes and jean shorts or the old grey haired guy that moved to Florida.
Around here, they are mid-life crisis douche bags, who drive like they own the roads.
Lots of crossover with BMW's target audience.
Sadly the stereotypical 'Vette driver is...
Entitled, Douchey, and has a disregard for rules.
LoL