C8 Corvette Steps Up to Dodge Demon, Results are Surprising
Dodge Demon makes insane power on the drag strip, but does it come at cost with street performance?
The 2020 Corvette is one of the most talked about cars of the decade, so it’s only natural that we’re starting to see them going head-to-head against every remotely quick car under the sun.
The YouTube duo from Throttle House is doing just that, though the car they’ve chosen as the C8’s opponent is far from just being remotely quick. One of their most recent videos has them pitting the 2020 C8 Corvette against the Dodge Demon, and though the Dodge makes more power, the results might surprise you.
Traction Means More Than Power Here
In short, the Corvette is able to connect and edge out the Demon in the standing quarter mile but falls short with a rolling start. How is a car with a 300-hp deficit so much faster in the standing quarter mile, you might ask? Science, that’s how.
In all seriousness, on the untreated tarmac the Corvette has a significant traction advantage over the Dodge that makes its 495 horsepower much more effective. First, the engine is in the middle, which is a surefire way to balance the car’s weight and help get power to the road. Next, there’s no indication of either car having its tires warmed for the race, and more importantly the track itself is bare pavement without any of the treatments that are normally applied to a drag strip. One of the hosts mentions this problem later in the video, saying “the greatest trick that the Demon ever pulled was convincing the world that it could get traction.”
None of that is surprising. Traction and balance are two big reasons we finally have a mid-engine Corvette to marvel over today. Remember that Chevy had been toying with the idea for decades but only really decided to pull the trigger after the front-engine C7 Corvette ZR1 made so much power that it was almost unmanageable at high speeds.
Demon Is a One-trick Pony
The drag race also speaks to the fact that the Demon’s only real purpose in life is tearing up drag strips – real drag strips. The same car that can lift its front end and make the quarter mile run in the nine-second range struggles to get footing on the untreated runway. The Nitto NT05R tires that come on the Demon from the factory take heat better than the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires that come on the C8 and are purpose-built for straight line speed. That’s not to say that the Michelins are slouches, though, because the all season tires on the new Corvette help it achieve better lateral grip than the C6 Corvette did on grippy summer tires.