The 2023 Corvette Z06 is a track-bred beast that pulls direct inspiration from the championship-winning Corvette C8.R, so it should go without saying that its suspension setup is quite a bit different than the standard C8 Corvette Stingray on which it’s based.
Corvette chief engineer Josh Holder shared more information on the 2023 Corvette Z06 suspension during a recent presentation at the National Corvette Museum Bash in Bowling Green, Kentucky. According to Holder, the Corvette team spent some time adjusting the suspension in order to tailor it to the wider wheels and tires that come standard on the Z06. The Z06 also has stiffer springs with a 35 percent higher ride frequency, which may sound like a lot, but Holder says Chevy was able to use stiffer springs without compromising ride quality thanks to some of the unique characteristics of the mid-engine platform.
“I’ve had a few people ask me if it’s really hard to ride and the answer is no,” Holder said.” It’s still every bit a grand touring machine. It’s still capable for long trips. The nature of the mid-engine architecture, the stiffness of the body structure, the position of the occupants right over the center of gravity, helps an architecture extract the most out of high ride rates, high performance, without punishing the occupants.”
The spring rates on the 2023 Corvette Z06 are so high, in fact, that the springs will become unseated when the suspension is unloaded. To solve this problem, Holder says the engineering team had to add so-called “helper springs,” that keep the springs tight to the seat during the rebound phase.
As some readers will already know, the 2023 Corvette Z06 is available with two different suspension setups. The stock setup (RPO code FE6) features GM’s Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 dampers and suspension settings designed to offer a combination of on-road comfort and on-track performance. Customers that opt for the available Z07 Performance Package, meanwhile, will receive the track-ready FE7 suspension setup, which is a bit stiffer. It seems as though the FE7 suspension will also be offered as a standalone option on the Corvette Z06. Customers will be able to order the front nose lift feature with both suspension setups, as well.
The 2023 Corvette Z06 will enter production at the GM Bowling Green plant in Kentucky later this year. Pricing has yet to be announced.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Corvette Z06 news, mid-engine Corvette news, Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevy news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
Ok, but I still like the previous model better.
The C7 was indeed a much better looking car.
One of GM”s designers from the 60″s must have risen from the dead and designed the C8 Corvette. That thing is beautiful.
Wonder if there will be any Mag Ride constraints on the Z06. That’d for sure be a deal breaker.
Can’t, its standard equipment even on 1LZ
Stop dangling carrots in front of us of what we can get and what we can’t get when you won’t even provide pricing, order date or production date. Will we get pricing on the Eray before the Z06? By now you should have run out of carrots.