The FRS is kinda like a comic book super hero: it has one superpower and that is light weight.
Sounds like you are tired of this single dimension personality and want to go hang out with the Hulk for a while.
Life is short, go for it.
If you want the best of both worlds, you will have to become your own mad scientist and build one of these:
Holy crap, is that a Coyote motor in there?!
ztnedman1 wrote: In reply to Sky_Render: Vast majority or Vette owners are fuddy duddys driving 50 in the right hand lane. Was the biggest surprise of Vette ownership.
A lot of guys drive Corvettes because women looking for excitment think the owner is automatically exciting. Or, as the late Bill Paxton said in True Lies "The Vette makes 'em wet".
bmw88rider wrote: Neither.....V8 miataSteering goodness of the BRZ with the HP and lust factor of the Z06. It's about the same price for a completed version. I drove all 3 and also some Cayman and Boxsters and I know I made the right choice. You can have it all.
Your v8 miata vs 4.2 Cayman? Yes?
In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:
It's in Texas. Holler the next time you are in the Austin area. More than happy to take you for a spin.
LS3 Miata vs 4.2 Cayman would be interesting. I think I'd need a better set of tires on mine before some serious track time but I'm surprised how well the Clutch Pack Diff does put down the power. I'll have a good dyno in 2 weeks when it gets the tune tweaked for life at lower altitude.
Thank you for the replies everyone. I have driven the C6 Z06, but it was a 2007 (pre-steering rack upgrade) and I wasn't able to push it and get a real feel for it.
I have no doubt the Corvette is a great car, but the steering feel is a huge factor for me. The FRS has it, and I know the Corvette supposedly does not. I'm more interested in how I can improve the Corvette's steering feel - if I can get it at least close to the FRS level's of feedback, responsiveness, and precision, then this is a no-brainer for me as well. Any ideas on how I can do this? Is it even possible for under <$3k?
SivaSuryaKshatriya wrote: Thank you for the replies everyone. I have driven the C6 Z06, but it was a 2007 (pre-steering rack upgrade) and I wasn't able to push it and get a real feel for it. I have no doubt the Corvette is a great car, but the steering feel is a huge factor for me. The FRS has it, and I know the Corvette supposedly does not. I'm more interested in how I can improve the Corvette's steering feel - if I can get it at least close to the FRS level's of feedback, responsiveness, and precision, then this is a no-brainer for me as well. Any ideas on how I can do this? Is it even possible for under <$3k?
I'm pretty sure that reading buff books about steering feel is not going to give you any real feedback. These are very typically lousy drivers who hobble around for a few laps and parrot what the last guy said in their print/video.
I get where the OP is coming from, things like "feel" and tactile feedback though the controls are what separates a very good car from a great car in my eyes. I also think they're the hardest things to correct or replicate through modification.
When I went from my E36 to my 4th gen Camaro that was one of the biggest things that bothered me and I worked the whole time I had that car to try to replicate the feel, feedback, and balance at the limit of the Bimmer and never got remotely close. I'm sure the Camaro out performed the BMW in every objective measure of handling, and the V8 power and torque was berkeleying awesome, but it was never as intuitive to drive at the limit and that prevented me from ever connecting with the car in the same way. Bit apples and oranges comparing a 4th gen Camaro to a C6 Vette, as I am sure the Vette is 100x the car in every possible way, but if the Vette doesn't meet your expectations in that regard I can definitely see it wearing on you after a while. But you'll have to make that determination for yourself.
And look at that, I'm a SuperDork!
Sky_Render wrote: Holy crap, is that a Coyote motor in there?!
Why Yes! Yes it is indeed.
One of the advantages of the FRS having a retarded boxer engine is that once you remove it, you are left with the equivalent of the Grand-Canyon between the frame rails. The engine bay in the Twins will swallow more than Linda Lovelace.
I just checked the BBV of a 2013 Z06 against the BBV of my 2013 M3, and it's a few thousand bucks higher than the M3, and I'm pretty sure cost about $10k less new. It looks to me like you can buy this car, spend a year deciding whether you like it, and resell it for a couple thou less if you decide it's thumbs down.
Holy cow.
jharry3 wrote:ztnedman1 wrote: In reply to Sky_Render: Vast majority or Vette owners are fuddy duddys driving 50 in the right hand lane. Was the biggest surprise of Vette ownership.A lot of guys drive Corvettes because women looking for excitment think the owner is automatically exciting. Or, as the late Bill Paxton said in True Lies "The Vette makes 'em wet".
I think IRL Lexus SUVs are what does it.
Furious_E wrote: I get where the OP is coming from, things like "feel" and tactile feedback though the controls are what separates a very good car from a great car in my eyes. I also think they're the hardest things to correct or replicate through modification. When I went from my E36 to my 4th gen Camaro that was one of the biggest things that bothered me and I worked the whole time I had that car to try to replicate the feel, feedback, and balance at the limit of the Bimmer and never got remotely close. I'm sure the Camaro out performed the BMW in every objective measure of handling, and the V8 power and torque was berkeleying awesome, but it was never as intuitive to drive at the limit and that prevented me from ever connecting with the car in the same way. Bit apples and oranges comparing a 4th gen Camaro to a C6 Vette, as I am sure the Vette is 100x the car in every possible way, but if the Vette doesn't meet your expectations in that regard I can definitely see it wearing on you after a while. But you'll have to make that determination for yourself.
Exactly, and this is what I'm worried about. Out of curiosity, what modifications did you do to increase the steering feel, and how effective were they relative to each other?
Seriously, Go out and drive one of the newer ones. You can always retro-fit the rack if you want. Shoot, I just went through this whole process just recently. Funny thing is I bought the car I didn't drive but that is beside the point. Did a Porsche test drives at the Porsche experience center in Atlanta, Rented a C7 for a couple days. Test drive all of the used cars I was interested in. We can't answer it for you. There are steering rack replacements for the Z06 and there are Turbo kits for the Twins. Swap kits for Miatas. There are a ton of ways to make a kick ass car in that 35-45K range. Figure out what you are going to like. I mean you have to drive it all of the time :)
In reply to SivaSuryaKshatriya:
More overall handling than steering feel specifically, so mostly just typical springs, shocks, sways, and alignment stuff. It was the first car I bought out of college, so i didnt have a ton of money to throw at it. The Konis were hands down the best mod i did, followed by the sway bars. Actually, the one thing that was targeted in part at steering feel specifically was the Turn 1 revalved power steering pump. Definitely made the steering heavier and took away a little bit of the numbness, but I'd say overall it wasn't much more satisfying.
Dont get me wrong, all that stuff made a HUGE difference in the handling, it just never replicated the feel of a well balanced and communicative chassis. Ultimately, I decided to move on before I got into stuff like control arms, bushings, subframe and steering rock mounts, bracing, and such.
The car ended up getting totaled while I had it for sale, so I yanked the drive train and am putting it into an 87 RX7. The goal is to keep the power and torque that I fell in love with, but in an inherently much better chassis. I shall soon find out how well that strategy paid off
Actually, how about an LS swapped FD RX7? You should be able to pick up a well sorted example for much less than z06 money, they weigh less, and the chassis is supposed to be excellent for steering feel.
In reply to Furious_E:
You had a c6z, c6, or...?
In reply to yupididit:
None, I had a 4th gen Camaro, which as I said above is a completely apples and oranges comparison to any C6. The Vette is a fundamentally good chassis. The point I am trying to make is that i think subjective qualities like feel and feedback are harder to replicate and modify into a car than just raw, objective performance numbers.
Oh, I totally didn't see your other post.
I love turbos, but for the frs the Jackson supercharger kit makes all the sense in the world.
It's under 5k, and is proven. My friend has been hammering on his for 25k HARD miles, with no issues. It's a rewarding car to drive.
If steering feel is that important to you, have you ever driven anything with the engine behind you?
Steering feel means pretty much nothing to me, what I want is the highest level of grip possible and predictable handling past the limit. Doesn't have to be easily controllable, I just have to know what to do when I've overcooked it. I once saved an aw11 from a tankslapper in the last turn at Nelson Ledges. I had to move my arms so fast I broke the turn signal stalk off.
jharry3 wrote:ztnedman1 wrote: In reply to Sky_Render: Vast majority or Vette owners are fuddy duddys driving 50 in the right hand lane. Was the biggest surprise of Vette ownership.A lot of guys drive Corvettes because women looking for excitment think the owner is automatically exciting. Or, as the late Bill Paxton said in True Lies "The Vette makes 'em wet".
I'm pretty sure every woman who looks at a dude driving a Vette says "What a berkeleying douchebag."
That said, I don't give a berkeley what said women think, and am happy as a clam to be said douchebag. 
Steering feel.
What is the big hulabaloo about this? If I can tell what the front tires are doing through the wheel and the seat of my pants, that works for me.
In reply to z31maniac:
If you want steering feel get an evo viii RS, those feel everything lol
Neither, supercharged FRS with the edelbrock supercharger and lower compression pisons.
You want additional steering feel? Add wider tires to increase scrub radius. Done.
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