test drove a Commemorative 04 Z06 today.

[Dom C]

I test drove a Commemorative 04 Z06 today. I believe it is all stock.

I didn’t feel like it had all that much pulling power. Now stating that I may have been driving it too lightly, and I had the traction button on the console activated.

Would it not have shifted into 4th gear from 1st (instead of 2nd) If I had been driving it harder? Is that an indication I was driving it too lightly?

Can someone who has this same car give me some insight.

Thanks,
Dom C

 

[Patrick]

Dom,
The first-to-fourth automatic shift is called "Computer Assisted Gear Shift" or CAGS, and it's the bane of many C5 owner's experience. You are "in range" for the CAGS to drop you into fourth with your first shift when you are in a particular RPM range. A light will come on the dash when that range is triggered and you are in first gear.

I generally ignore it. Keep your foot on the gas, take the revs above the threshold for CAGS to kick in, and the light goes out and you can shift into second. And then you can shift into third.

Believe me... Third gear, when you keep your foot on the gas, is a wonderful thing!

If the problem you experienced is that you felt the car to be underpowered when CAGS dropped you into fourth, I'm not surprised. This is a fuel economy feature GM built in the Corvette- but your under no obligation to abide by it, assuming $3.00/gallon gas doesn't intimidate you.

Hold your shifts for a bit, and I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised at what the Z06 can do. Oh, and welcome to the CAC!


-Patrick

 

[Pseudomind]

Welcome and follow what Patrick has listed here.

I didn’t feel like it had all that much pulling power.

Now unless you are some race driver, who is use to driving custom built race cars, there either had to be something wrong with the car or else as you stated, you must have been social driving it. (Social driving my choice of words)

While it would not be truly a blink of an eye, but if you had punched it within the first three gears, it would certainly seem as if you had gone from zero to 100 in a blink.

Stay around, enjoy the forum

 

[BLUEDUCE]

When I first drove ours, I thought second to third gear was incredible almost scary at first. That has become a joke now. Love that second gear!!

Donna

 

[MsSchroder]

If you are slightly aggressive (or seriously aggressive, for that matter) in first, you'll never even see the skip shift light or have it do the 1st to 4th thing.

Social Driving. That's a good term!

Tammy

 

[DRTH VTR]

Would it not have shifted into 4th gear from 1st (instead of 2nd) If I had been driving it harder? Is that an indication I was driving it too lightly?

Several things have to happen to engage the CAGS. You have to have a warm engine, the RPM's have to fall in a certain range, and you have to be at less than about 25% throttle. If you engaged the CAGS, you were driving very conservatively. I would not worry about the traction control at 1/4 throttle and 2000RPM.

Try full throttle and 5000 RPM. It will pull!

 

[Remo]

Commemertive Z06 Looks Good Goes Fast

Dom,

Don't worry about it. The Z06 has plenty of punch and will suck the head lights out of most street cars. If you purchase the car you can always install one of these http://www.madvet.com/shop?frame=1.101

Remo:cool

 

[wayneinvirginia]

Z16 Owner

Dom:

As an owner of a 2004 Z16 I can assure you that the car is very strong. If you go wide open in first gear you will be against the limiter in just a couple seconds and as the others have said before second gear is like a roller coaster. The performance numbers from the factory that I have found for the Z16 are 0-60 in 3.9 sec and 0-100 in 10 seconds so I agree with the others in saying that you must have been driving very "socially".