Josh after a hot lap in the GS sounds like most people after a fight: winded, exhausted, relieved. Driving fast cars like this on track is a true experience that will test your grit. 🍻 💪 🏎️
I can safely say that Corvettes are clearly the greatest cars ever made and undisputed in prowess and capability… not that I’m at all biased. 😜 And for someone who looks to be of normalish height, that was an impressively fast targa removal. Great video as always!
I just bought my 5th Corvette a 2017 C7 Torch Red Grand Sport. My first automatic Corvette. All I can say is WOW! What a beautiful car and fun to drive. Now getting used to paddle shifting and it is truly fun.
Great video! I have this exact car in this colour, great to see it on the track. Other than the garbage rims that fail and GM will not cover under warranty its a great car. If you have one that has stock rims, change them immediately for good quality aftermarket rims and save yourself the grief of getting flats and having the car out of commission.
Hi Josh. I'm Ron West: your Dad's life long friend since first grade. We loved each other like brothers. What a kick it is to see and hear you drive! I'm looking forward to more.
Hopefully if you do the Z06, it doesn’t have the overheating and heat soak issues that many experience! One of the reasons that the GS is a great street / track car! Great video by the way!
Glad you liked the video! I did end up doing a review on the C7Z but I didn't push on it hard enough or long enough to experience any of the cooling issues that have been reported. I ended up buying a clean C6Z a little while back and that's going to be a track day build project. Hope you'll follow along!
In Track/PTM Race mode, the nannies are not off. You are just getting very little, but the car is still in control. All off would be holding the TC button until it tells you everything is off.
Nooo! That's frustrating! The manual says "StabiliTrak/ESC is off and engine power is available for maximum cornering speed." So at least the stability control was fully off but I guess traction control will still intervene if there's excessive wheelspin/slip angle? I guess I'll have to ask Walter if I can drive it again... :)
In this video “Race” mode In gauge cluster compared to the Chevrolet manual indicates all stability / traction control “Off.” Otherwise that button to turn off stability / traction control would be utilized in the other driving modes.
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm impressed at how little seat time I needed in the car to put in a quick lap time on street tires. They are super capable right out of the box.
What I don’t like about that top is it changes your trunk capacity when you want that off. With a convertible just push a button in your storage space stays the same on a road trip just pushed the button. Don’t have to re-organize anything.
Sorry for the really late comment but I have watched both track day videos now. In the previous video, you were in Track mode and there was a lot of TCS intervention, but you ran a 1:31 there. In this video, it looks like you had a more positive experience, but once again you ran a 1:31. Do you know what was holding you back from going faster if it is basically the same car with better settings and no traffic but the same time? Ambient? Being safe? Have you overlaid the videos to see where you were gaining / losing? Thank you for any and all feedback! Awesome friend and I really appreciate the look into this car (twice!) and AMP!
I think in the other video what you saw for the lap time was deceptive. The car ran a 1:34.x - I crossed the finish line around 1:31 but the in-car lap timer was using a different point on the track to start the lap - you can see it report a lap time as I get closer to turn 1. Even though the timer showed around 1:31 when I crossed the start-finish line, the lap hadn't started yet.
A man of culture and taste I see! If I was in the market for a 'vette right now I think it would be between the C7 GS and the C6Z. Hard to argue with the looks and capability of the GS.
What do you think about the transmission? A lot of hate for the Auto transmission. Looks like his car didn’t have track alignment and those stock wheels tires are trash! It is a great car no doubt. Really fast car and hugely capable
You can tell it's got a torque converter, obviously. I would prefer a manual but I get why a lot of people would go for the auto and it didn't get in my way at all. My wife's SRT Durango has the ZF 8-speed in it and the one in the Vette didn't feel too far off to me. For sure with an alignment, track-focused tires, and a cool day you'd shave a few seconds, easily.
@@JoshVanVeld I agree. The factory wheels are known for cracking. I replaced mine with some apex wheels and 200tw tires. The car doesn’t need much for track day duties on regular basis. I highly recommend Walter replace the diff fluid if he hasn’t done so. That’s the other weak point on the car. Otherwise the car is bulletproof
@@xbwang87 I've heard that about the wheels. The ones from Apex look really good for the price. Which tire did you go with? I'll pass along the recommendation about the diff fluid.
@@JoshVanVeld Apex forged wheels work the best. 18x11 front and 18x12.5 rear or 19x12.5 rear. 19" tires for the rear will give less ice mode situations. Tires I am running BFGoodrich Rival S1.5 315/30/18 and 335/30/18 and then Nankang AR-1 315/30/18 and 325/30/19 rear. He has CCB then he is all set with brakes. ruclips.net/video/re07fyoGRgc/видео.html This is the link for the diff fluid change. a lot of good info there.
@@JoshVanVeld Kenneth Channell they are apex EC-7RS forged wheels 18x11 front and 18x12.5 rear with 315/30/18 and 335/30/18 BFgoodrich Rival S1.5 tires. You will experience some ice mode on hard braking application so you have to be careful with your brake pedal modulation. I also run 18x11 and 19x12.5 with Nankang AR-1 tires. This setup is more expensive and you will get less days with them. Both setup are very good and fast. Especially the AR-1 tires. Everything has a cost but you do it right for the first time so you save money on the long term. Please skip any wheels that are not forged and specifically don’t run with the factory wheels. Our cars will also need some other work before track days which I can explain later.
I cheated a bit with my 2017 GS. I installed a DSC controller, I tuned the engine with HP Tuners, and also tuned the T/C . I basically reduced the T/C sensitivity, so the car will still slide around, but is manageable and forgiving when your right foot isn't. People at the track think I run with T/C off and that I'm really good at controlling my slides. 😆 The engine is restricted in torque, fuel, and accelerator pedal request until around 5k RPM from the factory. My car is a absolute animal after removing the restrictions. Will easily keep up with the Z06s around a track. Z06 doesn't put power to the ground any better than a GS does. No dyno results, but I'm guessing my car is sitting at 500hp at the engine, since I tie in races with a few gen 3 Vipers in drag races. My acceleration is faster than the Vipers, but at 150mph, it becomes an even race.
How was your friend able to get Laguna Blue on a 2019? That color is supposed to be 2014-2016 only, the C7 Grand Sport didn't even come out until 2017...
Are you sure it’s Laguna Blue and not Elkhart Lake Blue? I’m thinking it’s Elkhart Lake - he talked about it a bit but I don’t think it made the video.
Sounds like you had it in race mode? That still has “Nannie’s”. No stability control but the car is still using traction control to put power down without spinning the tires too much.
Correct. I figured that out afterwards. I didn't realize it was as simple as holding down the button to disable everything although Walter did try to tell me. I read the section in the owners manual about the PTM modes and the language was a little vague and didn't mention how to just turn it all off. Might have to give it another go!
On the same tire compound, same conditions, same driver, the GS is going to be quicker just due to the significantly wider tires. Will it be a lot quicker? Probably not. And I would guess that a Z51 on a dedicated track day tire compound would be at least as fast as a GS on street tires.
Here is a hot lap in a C7 Grand Sport, manual, with Cup2's at AMP from Oliver Gavin released by Chevrolet. 1:25.17! ruclips.net/video/Wa2gDXv1hrQ/видео.html
Aside from the c7 zr1. I think the best track car is a c7 grandsport with a heads cam package. Add some racing seats, a light weight clutch and battery and you're at 33, maybe touching 3200lbs. That would be the ideal track car over the c7 z06.
@@JoshVanVeld I own a c6z, and am partial to that lol...but I think a c7 grandsport would be awesome. I believe it would be around 550whp. I think katech put a built 427 in one and made it track car. 😍😍😍😍😍😍
I'd have to drive them back to back to give you a good answer in terms of feel. Now that my C6 has been upgraded a bit, I certainly prefer it. Lighter, more power, one button to defeat all of the nannies, only available with a manual transmission. The C7 is good to go right out of the box. Fantastic brakes, comfortable modern cabin, automatic transmission works well on track if you don't want to bother with a manual (I would still go with a manual and the one in the C7Z I drove on track was great to use). It suffers from the same lack of detailed front-end feel that the C6 and C5 do. For me the C6 is the perfect combo of a killer engine, a driving experience that's modern but still raw, and a car that's livable on a daily basis if you want to use it that way. The C7 GS is 50% more expensive and doesn't feel quite a special to me, but it's a lot more modern and it's nice not to have to lose sleep about whether the motor is going to destroy itself without thousands of dollars worth of preventative head work.
@@JoshVanVeld I appreciate your feedback. I used to own a 2019 Z06 and I’m considering getting back into another Corvette. I keep going back and forth between a C6Z and a C7 GS. I’m leaning on the C6Z but, I really like the technology and aesthetics of the C7.
The GS to me is better than the Z just because it's usable horsepower. You can throw it in a corner and come out of it like a rocket versus feeling like you're going to lose control. Can smash the gas at anytime!
Get a new throttle body and a throttle controller and you throttle response is solved. That's what I did to my C7 and it makes it so much more fun to drive.
No question! If I had been willing to keep my foot in it around the long sweeper I think a 1:29.9 might have been in the cards. Definitely could have broken 1:30 on a cooler day. Cup 2's would definitely push it over the edge. OK I'm out of excuses now :)
It’s lighter. And it’s not known for being prone to overheating. And it’s cheaper. People have different priorities and “better” for everybody is relative based on those priorities.
Josh after a hot lap in the GS sounds like most people after a fight: winded, exhausted, relieved. Driving fast cars like this on track is a true experience that will test your grit.
🍻 💪 🏎️
I can safely say that Corvettes are clearly the greatest cars ever made and undisputed in prowess and capability… not that I’m at all biased. 😜 And for someone who looks to be of normalish height, that was an impressively fast targa removal. Great video as always!
I appreciate that unbiased reaction! 😂
I just bought my 5th Corvette a 2017 C7 Torch Red Grand Sport. My first automatic Corvette. All I can say is WOW! What a beautiful car and fun to drive. Now getting used to paddle shifting and it is truly fun.
Got my 2017 last October couldn’t be happier. 👍🏼
Great video! I have this exact car in this colour, great to see it on the track. Other than the garbage rims that fail and GM will not cover under warranty its a great car. If you have one that has stock rims, change them immediately for good quality aftermarket rims and save yourself the grief of getting flats and having the car out of commission.
Car is a beast, I don’t care what you own, this is that bang bang for the dollar.
Hi Josh. I'm Ron West: your Dad's life long friend since first grade. We loved each other like brothers. What a kick it is to see and hear you drive! I'm looking forward to more.
Hi Ron! So good to hear from you. My dad talked about you all the time. What a great gift to have a life-long friend.
Hopefully if you do the Z06, it doesn’t have the overheating and heat soak issues that many experience! One of the reasons that the GS is a great street / track car! Great video by the way!
Glad you liked the video! I did end up doing a review on the C7Z but I didn't push on it hard enough or long enough to experience any of the cooling issues that have been reported.
I ended up buying a clean C6Z a little while back and that's going to be a track day build project. Hope you'll follow along!
This car is absolutely stunning to look at. Wow what a looker.
In Track/PTM Race mode, the nannies are not off. You are just getting very little, but the car is still in control. All off would be holding the TC button until it tells you everything is off.
Nooo! That's frustrating! The manual says "StabiliTrak/ESC is off and engine power is available for maximum cornering speed." So at least the stability control was fully off but I guess traction control will still intervene if there's excessive wheelspin/slip angle? I guess I'll have to ask Walter if I can drive it again... :)
In this video “Race” mode In gauge cluster compared to the Chevrolet manual indicates all stability / traction control “Off.”
Otherwise that button to turn off stability / traction control would be utilized in the other driving modes.
Thanks so much for posting this video. There are not many published of the C7 Grandsport.
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm impressed at how little seat time I needed in the car to put in a quick lap time on street tires. They are super capable right out of the box.
What I don’t like about that top is it changes your trunk capacity when you want that off. With a convertible just push a button in your storage space stays the same on a road trip just pushed the button. Don’t have to re-organize anything.
It has a track mode which tightens up the steering.
Can confirm that taking the top off adds at least 40% more life to driving it in day to day scenarios
Sorry for the really late comment but I have watched both track day videos now.
In the previous video, you were in Track mode and there was a lot of TCS intervention, but you ran a 1:31 there.
In this video, it looks like you had a more positive experience, but once again you ran a 1:31.
Do you know what was holding you back from going faster if it is basically the same car with better settings and no traffic but the same time? Ambient? Being safe? Have you overlaid the videos to see where you were gaining / losing?
Thank you for any and all feedback! Awesome friend and I really appreciate the look into this car (twice!) and AMP!
I think in the other video what you saw for the lap time was deceptive. The car ran a 1:34.x - I crossed the finish line around 1:31 but the in-car lap timer was using a different point on the track to start the lap - you can see it report a lap time as I get closer to turn 1.
Even though the timer showed around 1:31 when I crossed the start-finish line, the lap hadn't started yet.
I'll be honest if you're gonna go with a grandsport go with the z07 package & manual. Just my opinion but as long as the owner is happy.
Yes, very nice, I also enjoy my 2019 grand sport !
Awesome, thats exactly why I bought a GS! 💪😎
A man of culture and taste I see! If I was in the market for a 'vette right now I think it would be between the C7 GS and the C6Z. Hard to argue with the looks and capability of the GS.
What do you think about the transmission? A lot of hate for the Auto transmission.
Looks like his car didn’t have track alignment and those stock wheels tires are trash!
It is a great car no doubt. Really fast car and hugely capable
You can tell it's got a torque converter, obviously. I would prefer a manual but I get why a lot of people would go for the auto and it didn't get in my way at all. My wife's SRT Durango has the ZF 8-speed in it and the one in the Vette didn't feel too far off to me. For sure with an alignment, track-focused tires, and a cool day you'd shave a few seconds, easily.
@@JoshVanVeld I agree. The factory wheels are known for cracking. I replaced mine with some apex wheels and 200tw tires. The car doesn’t need much for track day duties on regular basis.
I highly recommend Walter replace the diff fluid if he hasn’t done so. That’s the other weak point on the car. Otherwise the car is bulletproof
@@xbwang87 I've heard that about the wheels. The ones from Apex look really good for the price. Which tire did you go with? I'll pass along the recommendation about the diff fluid.
@@JoshVanVeld Apex forged wheels work the best. 18x11 front and 18x12.5 rear or 19x12.5 rear. 19" tires for the rear will give less ice mode situations. Tires I am running BFGoodrich Rival S1.5 315/30/18 and 335/30/18 and then Nankang AR-1 315/30/18 and 325/30/19 rear.
He has CCB then he is all set with brakes.
ruclips.net/video/re07fyoGRgc/видео.html
This is the link for the diff fluid change. a lot of good info there.
@@JoshVanVeld
Kenneth Channell they are apex EC-7RS forged wheels 18x11 front and 18x12.5 rear with 315/30/18 and 335/30/18 BFgoodrich Rival S1.5 tires.
You will experience some ice mode on hard braking application so you have to be careful with your brake pedal modulation.
I also run 18x11 and 19x12.5 with Nankang AR-1 tires. This setup is more expensive and you will get less days with them.
Both setup are very good and fast. Especially the AR-1 tires.
Everything has a cost but you do it right for the first time so you save money on the long term.
Please skip any wheels that are not forged and specifically don’t run with the factory wheels.
Our cars will also need some other work before track days which I can explain later.
C7 is wind buffeting like crazy with that top off. Great for a slow drive on a cool day
I cheated a bit with my 2017 GS. I installed a DSC controller, I tuned the engine with HP Tuners, and also tuned the T/C . I basically reduced the T/C sensitivity, so the car will still slide around, but is manageable and forgiving when your right foot isn't. People at the track think I run with T/C off and that I'm really good at controlling my slides. 😆 The engine is restricted in torque, fuel, and accelerator pedal request until around 5k RPM from the factory. My car is a absolute animal after removing the restrictions. Will easily keep up with the Z06s around a track. Z06 doesn't put power to the ground any better than a GS does. No dyno results, but I'm guessing my car is sitting at 500hp at the engine, since I tie in races with a few gen 3 Vipers in drag races. My acceleration is faster than the Vipers, but at 150mph, it becomes an even race.
hahaha that targa top takes me so long, this dude has got it down
How was your friend able to get Laguna Blue on a 2019? That color is supposed to be 2014-2016 only, the C7 Grand Sport didn't even come out until 2017...
Are you sure it’s Laguna Blue and not Elkhart Lake Blue? I’m thinking it’s Elkhart Lake - he talked about it a bit but I don’t think it made the video.
@@JoshVanVeld Yea you're right it is Elkhart, looks almost exactly the same as Laguna. Nice to know I can get that gorgeous blue on a 2019!
Elkhart Blue wasn't a extra-cost option like Laguna Blue
Sounds like you had it in race mode? That still has “Nannie’s”. No stability control but the car is still using traction control to put power down without spinning the tires too much.
Correct. I figured that out afterwards. I didn't realize it was as simple as holding down the button to disable everything although Walter did try to tell me. I read the section in the owners manual about the PTM modes and the language was a little vague and didn't mention how to just turn it all off. Might have to give it another go!
Man that was an AWESOME review!!!
Hope it was worth the wait! Thanks again for your help out there - great meeting you in person!
Do you have any idea how the 2014 Z51 A6 would compare to this GS A8????
On the same tire compound, same conditions, same driver, the GS is going to be quicker just due to the significantly wider tires. Will it be a lot quicker? Probably not. And I would guess that a Z51 on a dedicated track day tire compound would be at least as fast as a GS on street tires.
Here is a hot lap in a C7 Grand Sport, manual, with Cup2's at AMP from Oliver Gavin released by Chevrolet. 1:25.17!
ruclips.net/video/Wa2gDXv1hrQ/видео.html
Aside from the c7 zr1. I think the best track car is a c7 grandsport with a heads cam package. Add some racing seats, a light weight clutch and battery and you're at 33, maybe touching 3200lbs. That would be the ideal track car over the c7 z06.
That sounds like a recipe for success to me. What kind of power does that motor make with heads and cam?
@@JoshVanVeld I own a c6z, and am partial to that lol...but I think a c7 grandsport would be awesome. I believe it would be around 550whp.
I think katech put a built 427 in one and made it track car. 😍😍😍😍😍😍
@@JoshVanVeld also a cool motor to check out is jake rozzelles c5 with the 454 lingenfelter motor. 8600rpm 820hp!
@@camonly849 I’ll definitely look that motor up. Sounds awesome.
@@JoshVanVeld heck ya! Love the track video! Always interested to see someone drive the grandsport. I feel like you don't see many of them.
How did this C7 GS feel on track in comparison to your C6Z?
I'd have to drive them back to back to give you a good answer in terms of feel. Now that my C6 has been upgraded a bit, I certainly prefer it. Lighter, more power, one button to defeat all of the nannies, only available with a manual transmission.
The C7 is good to go right out of the box. Fantastic brakes, comfortable modern cabin, automatic transmission works well on track if you don't want to bother with a manual (I would still go with a manual and the one in the C7Z I drove on track was great to use). It suffers from the same lack of detailed front-end feel that the C6 and C5 do.
For me the C6 is the perfect combo of a killer engine, a driving experience that's modern but still raw, and a car that's livable on a daily basis if you want to use it that way.
The C7 GS is 50% more expensive and doesn't feel quite a special to me, but it's a lot more modern and it's nice not to have to lose sleep about whether the motor is going to destroy itself without thousands of dollars worth of preventative head work.
@@JoshVanVeld I appreciate your feedback. I used to own a 2019 Z06 and I’m considering getting back into another Corvette. I keep going back and forth between a C6Z and a C7 GS. I’m leaning on the C6Z but, I really like the technology and aesthetics of the C7.
The GS to me is better than the Z just because it's usable horsepower. You can throw it in a corner and come out of it like a rocket versus feeling like you're going to lose control. Can smash the gas at anytime!
It's the principal of "it's better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" but applied to a 460 hp car vs a 650 hp car 😆
@@JoshVanVeld 😂😂😂
Great Vid Josh
Thanks bud!
Get a new throttle body and a throttle controller and you throttle response is solved.
That's what I did to my C7 and it makes it so much more fun to drive.
do a C7 Z06 next, but be careful; after a track test drive, a C7Z will show up in your garage very quickly
Great idea! I think I have a friend who wants to make it happen :)
@@JoshVanVeld I hope the C7Z will have the Cup2..........fantastic tire at the right temp
Really nice vid
Glad you liked it 😀
Put the windows up!
SO HOT. I didn't want to run the AC but then I realized afterwards I hadn't shut the AC all the way off.
I bet with Sport Cup 2’s you’ll get below 1:30!
No question! If I had been willing to keep my foot in it around the long sweeper I think a 1:29.9 might have been in the cards. Definitely could have broken 1:30 on a cooler day. Cup 2's would definitely push it over the edge. OK I'm out of excuses now :)
"I always wanted a serious track car" Shifts trans into Drive......
Everything's relative I suppose. To be fair, I remember a lot of marketing when the C7 came out about how good that 8-speed was even on track.
Only guys with a GS think its better than a Z06. Its not.
It’s lighter. And it’s not known for being prone to overheating. And it’s cheaper. People have different priorities and “better” for everybody is relative based on those priorities.
well no wonder you didn’t feel very involved with the car you drove the automatic 🤦♂️
He needs to at least tune it and full bolt on. Would give him 465\480whp . Hate stock n/a c7 ‘a . Too slow
air conditioning drops water on the track
These na cars need to dig race that's where they shine against boosted cars
What's this guy the hobo racer