For C8 Corvette Owners Experiencing Rough Idle – Exercise Them!

Some C8 Corvette owners experience occasional rough idle between frequent start stop cycles. Like any good thoroughbred, they just need some exercise!

It’s not uncommon to hear that some C8 Corvette owners experience a little bit of rough idle when they start their Corvette up again after several quick start-stop cycles.

GM has reached out to the Corvette Action Center with an official statement regarding this condition:

“The LT2 engine in the Corvette is a very capable and powerful powerplant; the jewel within the all-new mid-engine design. Producing 495 horsepower at 6450 rpm and 470 lb-ft. of torque at 5150 rpm with performance exhaust, this engine produces more naturally aspirated HP per liter of displacement than any Corvette engine in history.

To fully enable this extreme level of engine performance, the LT2 was designed to be driven. Like many performance car engines, the LT2 is sensitive to short run-time starts where the spark plug does not have time to heat up. In these cases, carbon from the combustion process can accumulate on the spark plug and result in rough idle or misfire. The best way to keep your spark plugs clean is to safely exercise your Corvette on your favorite roads or track. Both running your engine and spirited driving can clean plugs that may be partially impacted.

Whenever possible, try to run your engine until it has reached a coolant temperature greater than 125 degrees Fahrenheit, and/or at least 3 minutes of engine run time, instead of frequent, short duration start/stop cycles.”

While I haven’t yet had the chance to spend any significant time behind the wheel of a C8 Corvette, I have driven many different C7 Stingrays, Grand Sports and Z06s.  Based upon my experience, this behavior is completely normal in any high performance engine and something I noticed more significantly in the Z06, than in the Stingray or Grand Sport.  It’s especially notable at the dealership before the car is delivered to the customer.

Corvettes Just Need a Little Exercise!

If you think about it – from the time the car rolls off the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Line – it sits in the back of the plant until it gets started to be loaded on the transport truck.  Then it get started to come off the truck at the dealer.  Unwrapped and then started again to go into the service department for PDI.  Then started again to go through the Recon Dept., to be prepped for delivery to the customer.

If it’s being transported to the customer from the dealer – it’s then started and loaded on to the car carrier.  Then started again to pull it out of the carrier and into the hands of the customer.

A brand new C8 Corvette can be started and stopped almost a dozen times before it’s actually given a chance to be properly driven and brought up to normal operating temperatures.

However, it doesn’t matter if your C8 Corvette is brand new or seasoned with a few thousand miles on it.  If you go through a period of several start-stop cycles without bringing her up to normal operating temperatures – she’s going to let you know it.

Like any good thoroughbred, your Corvette just needs a little exercise!

Chime in with your thoughts in the forums!