Corvettes

Corvettes


  • Total voters
    79
1. Z06 will be worth more in the future.
2. Z06 has all the baddest mofo parts on it from the factory.
3. Z06 is just cooler.


Think of it this way. Do you want a brand new Buick Regal, or a GNX? Do you want a brand new v6 Camaro? Or a 2002 Z28 1LE? Do you want a Shelby '67 Shelby GT350 Mustang or do you want the a new v6 mustang?

Drastic examples, but over time those Z06's will likely start appreciating in value (will take a while probably, though, dont buy it as an investment unless you're jsut in love with the car) and likely use parts that never saw the regular corvettes, At the end of day you can either have the balls to the wall performance version of a slightly older car, or a newer vanilla version. I'd always take the former over the latter.
 
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1. Z06 will be worth more in the future.
2. Z06 has all the baddest mofo parts on it from the factory.
3. Z06 is just cooler.


Think of it this way. Do you want a brand new Buick Regal, or a GNX? Do you want a brand new v6 Camaro? Or a 2002 Z28 1LE? Do you want a Shelby '67 Shelby GT350 Mustang or do you want the a new v6 mustang?

Drastic examples, but over time those Z06's will likely start appreciating in value (will take a while probably, though, dont buy it as an investment unless you're jsut in love with the car) and likely use parts that never saw the regular corvettes, At the end of day you can either have the balls to the wall performance version of a slightly older car, or a newer vanilla version. I'd always take the former over the latter.
Ah, personal preferences can play an interesting role. If the base C6 was competitive in its autocross class and the C5 Z06 wasn't, I'd be looking to the C6. Resale value isn't important to me, in large part because I'm hard on my cars so they don't hold their resale value anyway (I give them great maintenance, but when you drive cars to and beyond their limit regularly and use them as a daily driver, they take a beating). I don't care if my car is the best it could have been at the time. I care how it drives compared to what else I can buy for the money. The things that give me the most joy when driving are things that both improve as technology improves and things that wear. A tight chassis, a precise steering rack, good suspension, a great transmission... All of these things tend to be better on newer cars than older ones.

I don't care about the prestige that comes with a car. I don't care about special edition this or rare parts that. Having upgraded parts from the factory may be helpful, but it may not. Those parts might not be good enough to stand up to the rigors I'll put the car through.

In all honesty, I'd rather have my current MX-5 than any Corvette. A newer Corvette will accelerate better and handle about as well (the MX-5 is modified), and a C5 Z06 is more rare and brings more prestige. For competition, I put giant (for a Miata) tires on the MX-5, so the tires cost almost as much as Corvette competition tires. But the MX-5 is smaller, which is a big plus for me. The small engine and lightweight flywheel fit my driving style better. So does the shorter wheel base. I don't care if Miatas are chick cars, underpowered, and common.

So the things that led me to vote C5 Z06 are different from the things that led you to the car, yet we still chose the same vehicle in this poll. The "why" is so important. :)
 
Actually he really doesn't care for our system of measurement. So, he actually missed InfernalsVortex's point by 2.4 kilometers.
 
Any predictions for when the ban hammer hits him?

Anyway what mods would be required to turn a C6 into a C5 Z06 killer. It looks like the C6 has the better chassis, some engines and suspensions mods and it looks like it could kill it. Though that would make the C6 a bit more pricy obviously.
 
Any predictions for when the ban hammer hits him?
If it was up to me, it would have happened yesterday for sure.


Anyway what mods would be required to turn a C6 into a C5 Z06 killer. It looks like the C6 has the better chassis, some engines and suspensions mods and it looks like it could kill it. Though that would make the C6 a bit more pricy obviously.
From what I understand the C5Z is more of a driver's car - more raw, stiffer, edgier, and a little quicker around a track. The C6 is more of a GT, like someone already pointed out. I recon a strut bar and bigger sway bars would really help the newer car out and "button it down".
 
C6.

If we're talking about the earlier LS2 powered models, you give up only 5 hp and 100lbs to the C5 Z06. And IIRC, both cars use the same 6 speed gearbox. That small of a difference would be hard to feel behind the wheel. And the better interior quality and day-to-day driveability of the C6 mean a lot more to me than a sharper feel on the track.

And yes, InfernalVortex, you are right when you say that the C5 Z06 will be worth more as a collector car. But why would I care about that if I'm never gonna sell my 'Vette? I want a car that I can drive.
 
Also, about buttons on steering wheels....
Jaguar-Sovereign.gif

Apart from the color, wood rim, and growler, that looks exactly like the steering wheel on my T-bird.

I wonder if the new XJ uses the steering wheel from the Tata Indigo Marina?
(Okay, that's enough talk about steering wheels)
 
Anyway what mods would be required to turn a C6 into a C5 Z06 killer. It looks like the C6 has the better chassis, some engines and suspensions mods and it looks like it could kill it. Though that would make the C6 a bit more pricy obviously.

The C6 with the Z51, which is what Level said it would have, seems to be basically on par with the C5 Z06 in terms of handling and performance. So it will take little to "kill" a C5 Z06 on the track. But obviously the C6 will be a bit easier to live with a daily basis BUT, personally I would still go for a C5 Z06 in a heartbeat :p
The Z51 Performance Package brings Corvette Coupe performance very close to the same level as the widely admired Z06. The Z51 offers more aggressive dampers and springs, larger stabilizer bars, and larger, cross-drilled brake rotors for optimum track performance capability while still providing a well-controlled and comfortable ride. Extensive racetrack testing reveals that a C6 equipped with the Z51 suspension almost equals the lap time of a C5 Z06.
source: http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2005/index.shtml
 
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Steve,
Just wondering where you got that info from. Most of the things I read on these two suggest that the C5Z "handles better". I'm interested in this "handful" business though.

I have several friends that track Corvettes (including a couple that race the C5 Z06 in SCCA's T1 class)

"Handles better" is always an interesting question. On the track, the C5 Z06 absolutely handles better -- it does so because it's got stiffer springs, harsher damping rates, and so forth. On a track (which is, even at poor tracks, better than most roads), that's a definite advantage.

On a road with imperfections, though, you get what I'll call "chatter" if a car is set up too stiffly. Sharpish inputs (like bumps in a road) can just bounce the entire car -- bucking the tyres out of contact with the pavement for longer moments than a softer suspension would, making the car skitterish.

Suspension settings are always a compromise. The C5 Z06 is biased more towards the smooth surfaces, a C6 Z51 is biased towards bumpier streets. When riding around just in daily driving in the C5 Z06 the ride is much less pleasant. So one should keep that in mind if you are using the car as a daily driver -- to get that extra speed that lets you go around a 3 mile track a couple of seconds faster, you will have a more annoying drive every day to work.

When I was younger I was biased towards the very macho "I don't care if my fillings are coming out on the way to work, I need that extra speed at the track no matter what." Now that I'm older (42) I've come to realize that I'm willing to give up a couple of seconds at the track for the sake of my kidneys :)

Steve
 
Well put. I'm 21 and my view on it is that I'll be this age only once; no back problems yet (knock on wood) so stiffer is better! My friend had a CRX with 400/500 f/r springs (he has now gone up to 500/600 but the car is not done yet) and you could definitely feel every little crack in the pavement. I got really used to it however and really softly sprung cars just make me car sick now. Whenever I drove that car I just made sure to stick to smooth roads :lol:
 
That's not really being devils advocate, just kinda ignorant really :b
 
Both are big heavy American muscle cars, how bad can it be? [/devil's advocate] Idiot

The C5 Z06 weighs ~3100 pounds and has independent rear suspension. The C6 isn't much heavier, and also has independent suspension. It's not a muscle car.
 
Both are big heavy American muscle cars, how bad can it be? [/devil's advocate]

The 2005 C6 Corvette, at 3179 lbs for the base coupe, is 169 lbs heavier than your Mercedes. But I'm sure the extra 233 hp helps to make up for any performance lost due to the weight gain.

But it doesn't have a dogleg gearbox, so it's clearly inferior.:rolleyes:
 
Neither, get a B7 RS4...

image26602_b-caradvice.jpg


It will be a better daily driver.


"Hey, so I hear you're in the market for a new family sedan? Cool. Get a BAE Land Systems M777 155mm ultra-lightweight howitzer instead. It will be a better daily driver."

:unsure:
 
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