7/14/2017

I took my 2015 Corvette C7 Z06 on the track this past June. I was at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on the National Corvette Museum High Performance Driving Event (HPDE) on June 26th and 27th.

I experienced loss off power multiple times on the track without any kind of warning signs or sounds on the dash or elsewhere in the car. It was an unnerving experience, as I got stuck without power in heavy traffic on the track. It was so bad that I swore to never track the car again until the issue is fixed. I also asked to be bumped down in experience level form the Orange to the Green group as the car was unsafe on the track with this unexplained and unexpected power cutoff issue.

I would be on full throttle and there would be no engine sound. Power cutoff would not be limited to the supercharger, as my speed literally decreased while I was on full throttle at many instances. Norbert Watt was my instructor riding in the passenger seat, and he experienced the unexplained losses in power as well as the disturbingly nonlinear throttle response. He commented that power felt low overall as well, and stated that his C5 Z06 will easily do 150 mph on the back straight. He was surprised my latest generation Z06 was being passed by older generation, less powerful cars when on full out throttle on the back and front straights.

I sincerely hope that GM and my dealership will address the issue. The sole reason I picked the Z06 over the C7 Stingray and other vehicles was the level of power and ability to attend high performance driving events without any modifications. Given that a full 5 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty, which covers track use, is included with the vehicle, I am confident that GM will address the issue and fix my Corvette. I will update this post as the issue is remedied.

Link to video of power loss issue–note that the green bar at the top right indicates throttle application:

Kaan Gunes