From the May 1988 issue of Car and Driver.
We at Car and Driver don’t need a lot of encouragement to road-test a Corvette. As America’s highest-performance production car and one of the world’s great supercar bargains, the Corvette is a constant topic of discussion in our office. Which is not to say that the discussions are always friendly. The arguments between staff members who are smitten with the Corvette’s speed and those who are discouraged by its deficiencies never stop.
Chevrolet has fueled the debate by continually honing, tuning, and otherwise improving the current-generation Corvette, which first appeared as a 1984 model. The 1985 version introduced a port fuel-injection system, which increased the engine’s power and responsiveness, and a thoroughly recalibrated suspension, which largely tamed the car’s buckboard ride. A lovely convertible edition and standard-equipment Bosch anti-lock brakes were the highlights of the 1986 lineup. Last year’s crop of improvements included the Z52 suspension package, which spanned the gap between the base calibration and the Z51 competition setup, and aluminum cylinder heads, which reduced weight and helped add ten horsepower to the engine’s power rating.
The 1988 Corvette continues the tradition of annual progress. This year’s news includes revised front and rear suspension geometry, bigger brakes, yet another engine upgrade, and optional seventeen-inch wheels and tires. There are a host of minor changes as well: a quieter and lighter air-conditioning compressor, an improved ventilation system, and the addition to the standard-equipment list of power locks, cruise control, and an AM/FM/cassette stereo system.
Of the running-gear changes, the most obvious are the larger wheels and tires, which are standard with the racetrack-oriented Z51 package or the similar Z52 street setup. Except for such boutique machines as the Porsche 959 and the Lamborghini LM002, the 1988 Corvette is the first car in modern times to be outfitted with seventeen-inch wheels and tires. The tires are 275/40ZR-17 Goodyear Eagles—a wider, lower-profile development of the 255/50ZR-16 gatorbacks that are still fitted to the base car.
Surprisingly, the racy-looking rubber does not—and was not intended to—improve the Corvette’s absolute cornering power. But the Corvette had plenty of grip already. Our Z52-equipped test car circled the skidpad at 0.87 g, a performance identical to that of the Z52 we tested last June, and as high as that of any production car we’ve ever tested. Corvette and Goodyear engineers developed the new tires not to increase the ultimate grip but to improve controllability at the limit and performance on wet pavement.
Sure enough, the 1988 Corvette with the Z52 option—a bargain at $970—handles more benignly than any other Corvette we’ve ever driven. The chassis’s moderate understeer and the tires’ gradual breakaway encourage flirting with the Corvette’s outstanding cornering limits. You can slide all four tires a bit, or flick the tail out with a touch of throttle if you prefer. You can play Mario Andretti all day long without fearing that the chassis will snap into oversteer the first time you make a little mistake.
And when the weather turns against you, the Corvette won’t. Despite their steamroller width, the new Goodyears work amazingly well in the wet. Not only is their wet grip impressive, but they resist aquaplaning at any sensible speed. The new rubber even works well in the snow. You’ll never mistake the Z52 Corvette for a Jeep, but neither will a three-inch snowfall transform your drive to work into a nonstop skid-control session. In fact, the biggest problem with driving a Corvette in the snow is its sensitive throttle linkage, which translates the first tiny increment of pedal movement into a sizable fraction of the engine’s generous torque. An overaggressive throttle is usually intended to create the impression that a car has more power than it really has. The Corvette requires no such fakery.
Some of the credit for the improved handling belongs to the suspension changes. Although the components and their basic layout are unchanged, the new front geometry produces a scrub radius of zero, rather than the slightly negative figure of earlier Corvettes. This change eliminates the tendency of braking forces to steer the front tires, thus increasing stability during braking when the tires are on surfaces of different traction.
In the rear, the engineers repositioned several of the suspension pivots to reduce the camber change that occurs as the suspension moves up and down. The result is that the tires maintain better contact with the ground as the suspension reacts to bumps, improving straight-line stability on uneven pavement.
We can’t say we noticed more stable braking in the new car, though we didn’t try any hard stops on split-traction surfaces. The new geometry definitely improves steering feel, however, The Corvette’s overall steering effort is about perfect for a sports car, and the steering has a very positive on-center groove. And unlike some steering systems that have strong on-center feel, the Corvette’s doesn’t feel artificial. On the negative side, the meanderings of the front tires as they follow longitudinal grooves and ridges still come through unfiltered.
The revised rear suspension does help to settle the back end of the car on rough pavement. Road crowns and bumps now cause fewer disturbances in the rear, so the Corvette darts around less. Fast driving on back roads demands less attention than it did before.
Although these suspension changes sound like simple realignments, their implementation required redesigned control arms, hubs, pickup points, shock mounts, and spring and anti-roll-bar links.
Such extensive revision presented an ideal opportunity to upgrade the Corvette’s brakes, which were a little too small to resist fade during hard use. Part of the solution is two-piston front calipers instead of the single-piston design used before. The new calipers have larger pads, too; because they heat up more slowly, they are more resistant to fade and should last longer. The engineers also enlarged the 0.8-inch-thick brake rotors, from 11.5 to 12.0 inches in diameter, increasing their heat capacity as well. The Z51 competition package gets 13.0-by-1.1-inch rotors in front.
We know from racing experience that the Z51 binders are up to the hellish heat generated in a 24-hour endurance race, and even the standard brakes are now up to the hardest street driving. Formerly, a single hard stop from a triple-digit speed produced noticeable fade. Now, repeated hard use will not diminish the brakes’ effectiveness.
That’s a substantial benefit, because the 1988 Corvette is faster than ever. The latest version of the fuel-injected, 5.7-liter V-8 benefits from freer-flowing ports. Although the aluminum heads became standard equipment last year and were given credit (along with a new camshaft) for raising the engine’s output to 240 horsepower, the ’87 models were actually slower than earlier Corvettes with only 230 rated hp. This year’s upgrade has increased the rating to 245, for an engine that is demonstrably as strong as that of any Corvette we have ever tested.
Our test car, equipped with the four-speed automatic transmission and the optional 3.07:1 axle ratio (a 2.59 ratio is standard with the automatic), needed a mere 5.6 seconds to hit 60 mph and covered the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds at 95 mph. Those figures set no Corvette records, but the 154-mph top speed we measured makes the new car at least 3 mph faster than any of its predecessors. The revised engine indeed seems to breathe more deeply at high rpm.
Complementing this performance are the perfect drivability and eager response we’ve come to expect from automatic-equipped Corvettes. The symbiosis of the automatic and the torquey V-8 sets a highwater mark for performance powertrains. No matter the circumstance or the speed, this combination translates pressure on the throttle into smooth, powerful thrust. The engine handles most demands from the accelerator with is own deep power reserves; and when it can’t answer the call, the transmission contributes a fast, firm, and extremely smooth kickdown. Upshifts are equally crisp and seamless. Few luxury cars shift so slickly. We far prefer this automatic to the Corvette’s manual transmission, with its intrusive, computerized overdrive and clunky linkage.
Although the changes for 1988 have strengthened the Corvette’s strengths and weakened its weaknesses, our office arguments rage on. We all agree that the Corvette has always been an outstanding performer on the racetrack, and that the new car is a more stunning road performer than ever. But those who want refinement with their performance remain troubled by the Corvette’s plasticky interior, its loud and rumbly exhaust, its numerous (though fewer) squeaks and rattles, and its less-than-stunning reliability record. Some of these shortcomings are inevitable results of the Corvette’s nature. As long as Chevrolet’s sports car is built with a separate fiberglass body, it’s unlikely to feel as solid as a Porsche.
Which brings up a final point: the Corvette doesn’t cost as much as a Porsche, either. The Z52 on these pages—equipped with power leather seats, a deluxe sound system, and other options—wore a sticker price of $33,593. A plain-Jane 924S, without an automatic transmission but otherwise comparably equipped, costs about $35,500—and for that extra two grand you get a car that does not offer anti-lock brakes and is about two seconds slower to 60 mph and 20 mph shy in top speed. For most of us on Hogback Road, that makes the Corvette an unbeatable bargain. To convince the office holdouts, we’ll just have to keep testing every new Corvette we can get our hands on.
Counterpoint
Don’t expect many Corvette criticisms from me. I adore Chevy’s plastic beauty. I’m not blind to its spotty reliability record or to its propensity for squeaks and rattles, but I am convinced that no other car on earth offers more raw performance or sculptured pulchritude for less than $50,000. The 1988 edition is the best year. Yes, the Corvette group has more work to do before its sports car is as tight and rattle-free as a Porsche. But then, to buy a Porsche that can run with a Vette, you’ll have to shell out at least $65,000. That ought to pay for a few trips to the Chevy service department. What’s more, with the exception of any Ferrari and maybe the new Lotus Esprit Turbo, there isn’t a better-looking sports car built. Standing tall on its new seventeen-inch wheels, the Corvette has never looked more stunning. Oh, one more thing. To all those highbrows who wouldn’t be caught dead in a Corvette because of its “image,” I say: Kiss my taillights! —Arthur St. Antoine
Because a beautiful woman once picked me up in a silver Corvette that belonged to her father, I’ve never been able to criticize these machines rationally. This seems altogether fair, however, given the Corvette’s record of continuing improvement. The red bahnstormer we’ve been driving for the past weeks showed me nothing but a good time. The staff spoke freely of ills that plagued earlier Corvettes, maladies best summed up by the words “quality control.” Or lack of same. Happily, I escaped such inconveniences and have only laurels to place on the Corvette’s roof. Well, almost. The more I think about it, I wonder why the Corvette has to be made from fiberglass. Were it bodied with aluminum or steel, it might not squeak like an old man’s knees when it gets old. There’s also a stone to be cast at having to use a wrench to get the removable hard top off, and no small amount of irritation attaches to having to get the car absolutely level before you can wrench the top back into place. That degree of flexibility has no place in a world-class grand-touring coupe. —William Jeanes
You might as well know my biases going into this counterpoint: I love Corvettes. I love winging them around road-racing circuits in endurance races, and I love zinging them around on public roads. I’m proud to say I backed the Vette in our Ten Best voting. I stop short of blind devotion, however. The Corvette’s faults are as obvious as its strengths. Building a sports car with a pop-off roof and a fiberglass skin makes as much sense as trying to dance in cement shoes. You can’t produce a rigid, tight-fitting car that way. So, despite a host of structural Band-Aids, the Corvette still shivers over bumps and creaks its way through life. This car deserves to be as solid as the Porsche 944s and Toyota Supra Turbos it trounces in performance. I’d settle for something close, even. There’s no excuse for a 30-grand car with less than a world-class body. That said, I’d like to answer the only question that really matters in a discussion like this: Make mine red. —Rich Ceppos
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