Forum Member Measures Impressive C8 Corvette Acceleration Times

C8 Corvette launch control video is used to crudely measure 0-60 times in the high-2- to low-3-second range.

The video above of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette launching alongside a stopwatch was posted to the YouTube account of Tony Tauer, who goes by “16/C7Z” on Corvette Forum. He shared his video along with an explanation of his timing methods, and while obviously not ultra-accurate, this gives us a good chance to see the American mid-engine sports car making a hard pull from a stop. As for the timing system at work, it really only provides a rough estimate of the C8 0-60 times, but this rough estimate shows that the new Corvette is moving out hard.

C8 Corvette Launch Timing

When the OP shared his video with the forum in the C8 Tech/Performance section, he included an explanation of his method for trying to accurately time the runs on his computer screen while using his phone.

I tried my best…a little lazy at the start and a little quick on the stop and then vice versa lol.. need another set of hands!!

If 56mph is the top of 2nd, then the 2/3 completed shift should be 60 with momentum.. to pull a real sub 3 second in the street will be tough on those tires as i gave it much more than even a 3ft rollout on the low 3 and the 2.95.. but this was only one launch. was just surprised by the amount of wheelspin. was similar to that video of the blue one on the street taking off without the launch control.

He also explains in the comments on the YouTube video that Chief Corvette Engineer Tadge Juechter stated at Corvettes at Carlisle that the C8 shifts twice before 60 miles per hour, with second gear topping out at 56 miles per hour. So he starts his stopwatch when the car launches and he stops the clock just after it makes the shift to third. He then alters exactly when he starts the video, allowing time for rollout and wheelspin in an effort to see how long it takes to get to 60 on a good pull.

As you can see in his video, this leads to times ranging from 2.95 seconds to 3.28 seconds, all of which are very quick. Even if he is off a tenth or so in either direction, the new Corvette is accelerating hard with a touch of wheelspin.

The Wonders of Dual Clutch Technology

This discussion about the 0-60 times for the C8 Corvette led to another topic as the community wonders about the function of the dual clutch gearbox. “Bill Dearborn” pointed out that it is losing time on shifts.

Also other than having a certain speed when the shift occurs momentum doesn’t provide any additional acceleration. For the short period of time that engine torque isn’t transferred to the rear wheels during the shift the car is coasting and actually dropping in speed.

However, “Captain Falcon” includes a Chevrolet video that suggests that the dual clutch gearbox almost completely prevents any drop in speed during a hard pull.

If this Chevrolet video is to be believed this may not be entirely true. Unless I’m missing something, it sounds like they are driving power through both clutches at the same time during shifts, at least on “aggressive launches”. So second gear isn’t stopping power delivery until third gear has already started delivering power which basically makes the shift time moot since there is a seamless delivery of torque during acceleration despite the gear change. Not sure if this also happens on the 1-2 or 3-4, 4-5 etc shifts, but 2-3 is mentioned. Again, this is a Chevy video so take that for what it’s worth.

But “The Hack” questions whether that is possible.

That’s insane if true, because you can’t spin both gears at the same engine speed simultaneously.. If both clutches are engaged for the 1/10th of second that it takes for the mechanism to select between each gear, the clutch for the higher gear will be slipping for that 100 millisecond every time you shift. Maybe that’s why the gear ratios are so close, as to keep the difference in engine speed to gear spin ratio as low as possible to minimize slip and wear.

That clutch pack better be the most robust clutch pack, or a wet clutch setup (dry clutch is superior*), or both to last the duration of the warranty.

If you want to chime in on the measured 0-60 times for the C8 Corvette or to share input on the function of the dual clutch gearbox, click here to visit the original thread.

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