Corvette Engineers Wanted the 2023 Z06 to Feel ‘Intuitive’ & ‘Connected’

In the latest Corvette Academy video, Engineers discuss designing the 2023 Corvette Z06 suspension to be intuitive and lend a connected feel.

While much of the focus on the new C8 Corvette Z06 has revolved around its glorious sounding, impressively powerful engine, this is a car that’s track-focused, which means that it must also handle quite well, too. We already know what sort of fancy, upgraded equipment and technology the new Z06 possesses that helps it carve corners with the best of them, but this newest Corvette Academy video takes more of a deep dive into the 2023 Corvette Z06 suspension tuning and what makes it special, right from the mouths of the team that developed it.

“The feeling you get from this is a natural extension from your brain to your arms to your hands,” said Lead Development Engineer Aaron Link. “It’s immediately happening. We knew we wanted to raise the suspension tuning of the car to provide a platform that reacts to the highest aerodynamic downforce we’ve ever had on a Corvette, and the mid-engine architecture really allows you to do that because you have less weight on the front.”

Interestingly, GM designed the 2023 Corvette Z06 suspension around tire and wheel positions, aiming for an output that’s virtually equal to the input. This makes the steering of the car much more intuitive, because the wheels and tires turn precisely as much as you turn the wheel, though that sensation also trickles down to the brakes and brake pedal feel, too.

On the mechanical side, the Z06’s springs are 30 percent stiffer in terms of ride frequency than the units on the Stingray with the Z51 package, while the Z07 package adds another 10 percent. The result is a connected feel, though magnetic dampers and other wizardry give the car a compliant and smooth ride on the road, too.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in all of this is the fact that the road-going Z06 is pretty close to the C8.R in terms of how it handles at the limit, as Corvette Racing driver Tommy Milner discusses in the video. Both cars “lead” the driver into the corner, a bit of a departure from front-engine vehicles, making it more intuitive to drive around the track at speed. Soon, we’ll all get to experience this for ourselves, but it’s certainly interesting to hear the folks that developed the new Z06 dive into the details regarding what makes it so special.

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