Daily driving a ZR-1

[8cam]

After a couple months of ownership, lots of driving, lots of reading and lots more driving, I've noticed some things. I daily drive my Z, rain or shine, no matter what it looks like outside, to work, the grocery store, picking up the kids (two in the car last night!), and oh yeah...some back road hooligan too. I love this thing. Dirty as hell right now though, got to give it a good cleanup whenever this rain stops. It spends many nights parked outside because the wife likes the garage too, and that's just fine.

The engine dominates. Just wow. Plant your right foot and achieve a moment of clarity. Even in normal mode, it sounds like something is lurking just under the stairs, waiting to jump you. Do something silly and those monster 315s don't have a chance, especially in the wet. Fun. It's also a pussycat, easy to just roll along in traffic without a complaint, running nice and cool. And when an opening in traffic appears, BANG you're there. More fun.

Speaking of tires, holy contact patch Batman. Biggest tires I've ever run on a car and wow do they grip hard in the dry. The fronts are the same size as the rears on my old 928 and the rears are just plain ridiculous...I like 'em. But even these things will go up in smoke if I let the engine off the chain. They also track straight and true on all manner of roads, but are a bit noisy on the highway.

I haven't pushed the suspension hard enough to really get a feel yet, but I'll be autocrossing in the spring and will know a little more then. In daily driving mode on smooth roads, it's just fine. Comfortable, very little body roll, and the front end actually turns in more sharply than the 308 or the M3 I recently sold. Very responsive. However it really doesn't like bumpy roads, wants to jump around a bit. And it REALLY doesn't like potholes and speed bumps. Wow that's just plain harsh. I've tried all three settings and they don't seem to make a difference there. The most annoying thing is the parking deck at work - it's like being on a hobby horse, just see-sawing its way up the ramps. At a normal "deck" speed, it's like it hits a resonant frequency and gets really bad...have to slow way down, or it feels like the car is going to bounce into the roof. Unexpected and not pleasant. But since that's about 0.00005% of my driving, it ain't no big deal.

The ZF gearbox surprised me. Coming from euros, I expected more of a truck feel but it's really very good. It's more of a heavy rifle bolt than the swiss watch feel of the 308, but it's precise and meaty, with near zero slop in any direction. That big shift knob is definitely an asset. In heavy traffic I actually wish 1st was a little shorter, but in normal driving and mountain running it's excellent. Easy to shift quickly and smoothly. In fact it's easier to be smooth with it than the M3 was, probably because of the very progressive clutch and the torque of the engine. But whoever came up with the 1-4 idea should be shot - it's downright dangerous when you're in stop/go traffic or trying to move slowly through a neighborhood. I've got to get under there and unplug the damn thing. I'll admit I'm getting used to the gear whine, but I am surprised that a car that was this expensive makes that noise.

I like the interior. For a big car (and the Corvette is a BIG car to me), the interior is downright cozy. Much tighter than anything this side of a Miata. I LOVE the seats, so comfortable and fit me like a glove. I know some like them and some hate them, but I'm 6'1" about 190lbs and they are just perfect. I do wish the steering wheel was more adjustable. I've also been reading about the steering column, why would anyone use the steering wheel to lever themselves out? I've never done that, never even occurred to me. I use the sill and maybe the A-pillar. But someone in my car's past did, because it has that inch of movement down-and-to-the-left. I have got to fix that, makes spirited driving kinda scary. The center console takes a little getting used to. It's in the way of fast shifting - I'm more used to having my arm completely free, not dragging my elbow on a console. Still haven't fully reconciled the best way around it but it's not that big a deal.

Did I mention I love it? It's just a very cool car, and I'm finding out that it actually gets MORE attention than the Italian supermodel. Maybe because folks think it's more approachable, but I get comments at the gas station, parts store, the kids' school, anywhere really. And a few know exactly what it is, spotting the logo on the rear bumper, and then the real questions start. Driving a car like this every single day is just awesome, so much more fun than the lemmingmobiles I'm surrounded by. I love jumping Prius drivers in traffic with the secondaries WFO. Why the hell anyone spends so much money on something so completely dull is beyond me. With the money I saved buying the Z, I can afford to put gas in it for a LONG time. Life is too short to drive boring cars!