sergeyk

Hi,

I am new to Corvettes and looking to get my next HPDE/summer car. Budget is $30K. Car should be street legal.
Choices:
1) C5 Z06 and keep it stock;
2) C6 Base and add aftermarket suspension setup, oil/tranny cooler, BBK;
3) C6 Z51 and keep it stock;
4) BMW E46 M3;

I usually do 10-15 HPDEs per season and currently have 2001 Audi S4 (with RS4 turbos) as track car and prefer to keep next car as close to stock as possible for reliability....
If somebody owns(ed) several cars from the list and can compare, please let me know your opinion.

Thank you.

longdaddy

C5 will need fluid coolers too, it only has power steering cooler in the stock trim. Also you may want to budget for tires, pads and rotors - they go very fast on these cars. If you are planning to do a lot of DEs you will also be pretty unhappy with stock seats

sergeyk

Replacing seats is ok, but I am really trying to avoid adding a lot of performance upgrades to the engine/tranny, etc.
Tires: I noticed that they are more $ then my current 235/40/17.
But interestingly, track pads are cheaper for C6 Z51 then my current Brembo GT BBK...

longdaddy

Your oil will go over 300 degrees without a cooler once you learn the car enough to drive it hard. Plan on having to replace the pads every 3-4 days, same for the rotors

Timz06

C5z without a doubt. With a 30k budget you will have plenty of money left over for consumables.

Tim

sergeyk

Are you saying they are not enough for track duty?

longdaddy

I don't know how effective c6z51 coolers are, I was specifically talking about c5z option

johninar

03 or 04 Z06 and don't look back. Best track car bang for the buck.

IMHO

sergeyk

handling, performance, reliability comparison?

Solofast

The C5Z is extremely well balanced, stiff enough in stock form to be a good track day car, has plenty of power without modding the engine and is strong and reliable.

Other than upgrading the brakes (cooling and pads) and maybe a set of serious shocks, the C5Z does it all well, right out of the box. With a set of sticky tires and an alignment it will have enough grip to run with the big dogs, and you can still drive it to work an street tires the next day. Upgrades are relatively inexpensive, but unless you want to get crazy, the car is, out of the box is a great track car.

It's not a Porsche, but it is as light on it's feet as any Corvette is going to be, and in terms of lap times per dollar there is nothing close.

wallyman424

all true, and plus w/ the c5z you dont have to worry about the intrusive electronic stuff (ie TPMS, torque management etc)

forgive me if all of those are easy fixes.

Han Solo

I have a stock 03 Z06 for sale in Tallahassee FL.
Pics and info:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...-23-900-a.html

vette113

We drive C6 Z06's right now. You need the bigger budget for that of course. I would look for a 1999 t0 2000 FRC and put a 427 in it. You will invest $25,000 or more, probably $30,000.00 but big power. We also have a 2003 yellow Z06 sorted out by Corey Henderson. It is for sale for $26,500.00, negotiable. We spent $8,500.00 plus on it. It is perfect for Green through middle yellow DE groups. American Racing Headers, Head and CAM, ported and polished heads, oil cooler, polished throttle body, with a rather small cam making 425 rwhp. Good, good tune. Harness Bar, set of wheels with Hoosiers. Best DE car we have ever had but my wife needed to get a faster track car now that she runs in the red run groups. Bob

longdaddy

if you must stay as close to stock as possible, go with Z51 C6 - you get fluid coolers and rotors that resist heat damage better (larger size).

performance wise they are all close enough.

if you keep your motor and tuning stock you will avoid big reliability issues, although small things that wear out on the track in these cars can nickel and dime you.

sergeyk

And I would prefer to keep car stock or close to stock.
My current track car is heavily modified and I spend a lot of time repairing it.....

hamdog

C5 z06

sergeyk

I see a lot of C5Z with 40-60K in Seattle area go for $20-$25K, while C6Z51 can be had for $30K with half of that millage.....

RX-Ben

For laptimes per $, get a C5 (even a base model like me!), sticky tires, and proper brake pads.
Slower than a C5Z for sure, but all the leftover $ will allow you to buy all the safety equipment, tires, discs, brake pads, etc. that you will need. If you are going to run regularly, all this other stuff adds up in a hurry. Springs and shocks and sways are a relatively inexpensive swap (Z51 or C5Z or T1 setups can be found used cheaply). You can add headers/exhaust/cam to get to C5Z power levels after a while, though there is tons of fun to be had at the regular 350hp.
Unless you are really experienced, spend as little on the car as possible and as much on track days as you can. Compared to other cars (as in any other road car), even a stock C5 is fast and will keep you occupied for a bit before you reach the end of its capabilities (again, depending on your experience).
I used to be all about upgrades, now I'm all about track time. Get your priorities ironed out when picking a car and realize that any budget you pick will be blown by non-go-fast parts (pads, rotors, coolers, gas, tires, tools, trailer&hitch, extra wheels, catch can(s), fluids, spares, data logger (if you are serious), camera(s), safety stuff - $6k++ alone, depending on spares). You get this with any fast car. Smaller, quick cars (S2000) - much cheaper, but not as fast. Still tons of fun. C5 is the cheapest of the fast cars - great stock (with some cooling issues addressed) and you can go as fast your bank account and talent allow.

Priority 1 - safety gear (harness bar, seats/mounts, hans/hans-like (r3 rage), extinguisher, helmet, shoes, suit/jacket, proper pedal covers)
Priority 1 - get the car to the track
Priority 1a - keep the car running- have spares on hand when something breaks (rotors, pads, fluids are main issues)
Priorty 97 - be the fastest in your run group.

That being said, a C5Z is also a great starting place if you have the $, given the above. Remember that you are getting involved in akin to a drug addiction, except the suppliers are allowed to advertise and the activity is less shunned by the general public.

sergeyk

probably more then car cost me originally and now there is no way to get even 50% of those upgrades back.

That's why I'd prefer to get a car that can do well on track in stock form. However my budget is bellow C6Z06.

Some upgrades improve cooling, handling, but some make engine/tranny/turbo work harder so they give up on you. And that's what I am trying to avoid and spend more $ on seat time and not in a shop....

RX-Ben

With safety upgrades - you can get some of those back if you sell. But, they make the car more desirable as well - to someone that is serious about tracking. Not so w/power upgrades. Kiss that $ goodbye and enjoy the fun while it lasts.

If you regularly track the car - then you will at least use the parts and "recover" $ that way. It seems like many people that dump $ into power upgrades build the car, then sell shortly thereafter.
The many flavors of c5s and the c6 compatibility help b/c stock parts are plentiful and cheap (C6Z shocks which work for C5, new, for $250 (all 4)). Stock parts aren't sexy, but driving around on a track is a lot sexier than watching your bank account recover and eating Ramen.
I would not worry about any upgrades of stock drivetrain parts in a C5 until they prove they are not up to what you are asking them to do. A bit different ballgame than many cars...which is why I bought one.

Even my geezer (137k mile) 2001 C5 does exceedingly well on the track in bone stock (other than pads/fluid) form. I did get blown away by Steve Landtsra's C6Z w/coilovers, spherical bearings, etc. w/his gf driving. Who cares. Unless it is a race, and other cars in your class are spanking you b/c of something other than driver ability, who cares. C5s start at such a high level, C6s even more so. Do the math, you can cool a C5 for small potatoes compared to C6 entry fee. And probably buy a truck and trailer for the leftover $.
That being said, I have nothing against a C6 (drove one for 3 days at Bondurant), but you can take care of any differences in performance and have tons of $ leftover. I would also have bought a C6 if my salary was higher b/c I like the body and headlights. Be rational though. You may toss this thing into a wall, a Porsche behind you w/o ABS may rearend you into a wall, etc. Avoid emotions here, those are for garage queens.