I got an offer for the test-and-tune event that I couldn’t refuse: driving a C5 Corvette for the first autocross of the year!
Actually, there’s a small story behind that, but in a sentence: my Dad unexpectedly found a super deal on an ultra low mileage C5 and (most unexpected of all) actually bought it. He felt like he should at least autocross it sometime and let it stretch it’s legs so it was natural to invite me to co-drive it. I accepted the offer straight away and was looking forward to it hugely. My friend Mike kept telling me I’d spin it since he knows how weak the car I drive is in comparison. I was fairly confident I wouldn’t with how long I’ve been autocrossing and drifting, but didn’t really know what to expect.
When the day came and I made my first run I took it easy, just strolling around the course at maybe 75% or 80% of what I thought would be the traction limits. This still had Dad telling me to slow down or take it easy at almost every corner entry. It was really surprising how smoothly the car drove. Then Dad drove it (as co-drivers we were swapping runs) more aggressively on his first run after asking me to keep it down, haha. From there I gradually stepped up my pace, trying to get a feel for the car and it’s abilities. I think I did a good job mid corner and through the exits getting on the throttle early and not letting the rear tires spin into a drift. The corner entry could use some work though, partially because of how great the brakes on the car are but mostly due to inexperience at approaching autocross corners at those speeds, I noticed the car turned in so easily much of the time that I had to have been over-slowing it on the entries. The 240sx has such a lower cornering speed on 6 inch tires vs 12 inch ones, so I was cornering too much based on those limits. I adjusted some but it could still use some work if I get the chance again.
That day we ran two events in one: four runs on the course one way, then four runs in reverse after a lunch break. Usually we don’t get that many extra runs but I was glad to get them in the corvette. Right before the second set of runs began I remembered the car had traction control so I turned it off for my runs. It felt more natural then, as I’d noticed during the first runs that something strange was going on during cornering. (traction control was slowing the rear down even as I was breathing onto the pedal) Running with TC off was nice. I went faster but it could have been just having more experience than before. I only really messed up my exit once, when I first drove without TC I wanted to go over the traction limit on purpose to get an idea for how hard I could accelerate. I leaned onto the pedal, the car had so much power that soon after the tires began to slip at all (I kept slowly pushing the pedal down) in the blink of an eye the car had over-rotated by about 40 degrees and I’d already countersteered out of habit, coasting until the rear came back in line. After that I was able to corner how I like to: turning the car via gas pedal with a small angle drift. Basically accomplishing the turning for the last half or third each corner by barely slipping the rear tires; the steering wheel pointed straight ahead. (mini-countersteer)
The Corvette has great stats all the way around as far as I’m concerned. The traction in and entering corners is good, surprising even for such a large looking car. Corner exit traction is good as well, but it’s up to the driver to get the most out of it without going into a huge drift or spin.That’s the place where you can either pick up a tenth or throw away an eternity with a bad exit. The braking is stellar and I found myself having the car slowed down faster than I thought it could, losing some time on corner entry now and then. The acceleration is almost as good as the braking: very strong. This is a car that will really impress with it’s power, response, and poise.
The most impressive thing for me was the accel pedal, in two ways. The obvious way, that you floor the pedal and get pushed back into the seat so much. Then you push a little more and realize it was only 3/4ths down. Tilting the pedal down more you get pushed back into your seat even more, only to find that was only 4/5ths throttle, etc. It’s at least like a jet takeoff or a crazy roller coaster ride. It’s something you just won’t believe a car can do unless you do it yourself.
The true impact from the accel pedal though, was it’s sensitivity and response: as smooth as you can move your right foot, that’s exactly how smooth the engine will react. For me, I’d been putting in heavy pedal training for the past several months before driving the car; trying to use all the controls so smoothly and precisely that a blindfolded passenger would barely detect when I started and stopped turning, braking, accelerating, etc. I’m sure I didn’t get that good just yet, but the training presented a great reward in driving the corvette! If the accel pedal had been too stiff, sticky, or unresponsive I’m sure it would have been a car whose power would only make driver confidence falter as he/she struggled with a jumpy, spin happy car. But the accel pedal is so well designed on this car that if you have any skill with breathing onto and off the pedal you can feel the engine breathe with you and build confidence behind the wheel of this rocket, feeling like you can go in fast and get out on the throttle, trusting the car, not fighting it. I have never had more fun driving a car in my life. Truly a spectacular experience.
