I have been gone for the last day driving to Arkansaw and back from Alabama. Did it in 17hrs. Straight there and straight back in my dad's 99 Z71 extended cab. I don't live with my dad so this is the first time I have driven a truck in a long time. Man does it suck! I didn't appreciate good handling until now. I was contantly moving the wheel just to get it to track in a straight line and it felt completely unattached to the road. Almost no steering feel at all. I was actually getting tense taking turns on the Interstate at 65mph. I had to turn the wheel almost a half a turn in some situations. Next was crappy throttle response. I would have to anticipate going up hills because the truck would bleed speed so fast and I would have to keep the pedal half way to the floor on moderate inclines. Passing from speeds was a chore if you I was over 60mph. The truck would get loud when I punched the gas, but in reality not much was happening. The speedometer is so big and since it only goes to 100mph it actually tricks you into thinking it is accelerating fast. The needle is moving pretty good but it is only covering like 10mph for every inch on the speedo. After the trip I got back into my "R" and headed home. In comparsion I might as well have been driving a McLaren F1. After driving that truck my R felt like it had a 100hp shot of nitrous going to it and had the cornering G's of an Indy car. This just showed me even more why I think it is stupid to try to spend all kinds of money to make a truck handle and perform like a car. If that's what the local redneck's want though, let them have it. I can now fully appreciate my cars abilties. I also vow never to own a truck.

 

Hehehe....I used my dad's Z71 to move some furniture, and it was tough to get used to. It's like it's in slow motion. But MAN can it haul stuff.

A truck and the R are two COMPLETELY different animals, and you can't really compare them. They are meant for different purposes, and mentalities. When I need to move a couch, the Z71 is perfect. When I want to carve some canyons, the R is the weapon of choice.

I noticed that I don't like the brakes in almost EVERY other car compared to the stock brakes on the R. The all feel too soft to me now. I hated the brakes on my GSR. The R is the first car of this price that I have driven that actually has very good brakes (and better than many cars that cost much more). I can't imagine how they will be when I put in the Porterfields and new fluid.

 

Wait until you have a track car and trailor and are using the Z71 to tow it. Bet you'll like it then.
HEHE
James

 

sometimes it takes driving another car to really appreciate the R. it is the times when I travel and end up with a rental that I realize how much better the R is at driving. of course after almost 3 years & 50K miles of having an R as my sole car and daily driver, that is the (unfair) standard by which I judge all cars.

jmb