Car and Driver Loves Their Corvette Stingray Despite Engine Failure

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Car and Driver Loves their Corvette Stingray Despite Engine Failure
Photo Credit: Car and Driver

We’ve been following both Car and Driver and Edmunds.com as both sites have been keeping their readers regularly updated on the ins and outs of owning a 2014 Corvette Stingray.

Car and Driver recently came out with an update on their long-term test car – a 7-Speed Manual Z51 Coupe – and unfortunately they’ve encountered a few issues that hit at the reliability and everyday driveability of the new C7 Corvette.

Car and Driver says in their update that after 15,000 miles in the new car and despite blowing an engine, they still love their new Corvette:

Our car continues to turn heads and elicit cheers from passersby, even in its subtle Blade Silver Metallic hue. (The wailing exhaust note ensures we’ll at least be heard if not seen.) Many drivers have praised the Corvette’s relatively compliant ride and the comfort from the optional Competition seats, which make long voyages a treat, as well as its excellent brakes and flypaper-like grip.

But then came the bad news: The Stingrays LT1 engine broke at around 6,000 miles. GM points to a piece of metal debris that was likely from a bad oil filter. They believe that it worked its way into the oiling system and wrecked a connecting-rod bearing which then created even more debris, damaging the engine’s bottom end.

Like Car and Driver, we have read one or two similar accounts from owners on the Forums regarding engine failures in their Stingrays and it sucks for anyone that has to go through the lengthy repair process.

GM did indeed swap out the engine for a new one and Car and Driver made sure to hit the dealership’s service department again at 1,300 miles for a oil and filter change.

Some other complaints regarding the new Corvette Stingray are the 7-Speed Manuals’s shift gates should be better defined, the Competition Seats have insufficient lumbar support and long stints behind the wheel are marred by road noise and hot footwells.

While much of the miles on Car and Driver’s long-term test Corvette have come from local commuting, the magazine has done several road trips including a six-day, 1700-mile round trip from Ann Arbor, MI to Virginia International Raceway and New Jersey Motorsports Park. On that trip, the Corvette averaged an impressive 27 mpg overall.

We did speak to Chevrolet small-block chief engineer Jordan Lee last month about the new engine’s warranty claims. Jordan told us that LT1 warranty claims are less than previous new engine rollouts and that its success was due to the millions of hours of simulations that Chevy runs performanced during the development of the new powerplant.


Source:
Car and Driver
Photo Credit: Car and Driver

Related:
Corvette Stingray’s LT1 V8 Engine Makes Wards List of 10 Best Engines
Car and Driver Names 2014 Corvette Stingray to its “10Best” List
What Makes the C7 Corvette Seats So Much Better Than Those in a C6?

 



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