C5 Z06 or C6 Z51?
#1
Intermediate
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Member Since: Jun 2013
Location: League City/College Station Texas
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C5 Z06 or C6 Z51?
Hello all, I am a huge corvette enthusiast as are most, if not all, of you. Anyway, I am looking for a track car that has lots of power while still being able to perform in the corners all for a cheap price. I've narrowed it down to either a C5 Z06 or C6 with the Z51 package. From there, I can't decide and I want your opinions on the choice. I want the most performance and ability for preferably less than 30k.
Thank you for the input!
Thank you for the input!
#7
Drifting
More specifically a 2002-2004 Z06. The earlier years had quirks and oddities of parts which are better to avoid.
Reason: These cars are less expensive to buy and maintain, and comparable in power to the later C6 z51.
Warning: They are getting old, and suffer from older car issues. The ABS system in particular is getting expensive to acquire and is unavailable (except as salvage) for the earlier models.
Reason: These cars are less expensive to buy and maintain, and comparable in power to the later C6 z51.
Warning: They are getting old, and suffer from older car issues. The ABS system in particular is getting expensive to acquire and is unavailable (except as salvage) for the earlier models.
#10
Burning Brakes
BTW, I was told last night of a problem with the hard line for the clutch system rusting at the rubber isolator. Seems the isolator traps water and the pipe rusts under that and looks perfect on both sides of it. Is that one of the knowns here?
#11
Le Mans Master
I live near downtown Farmington if you ever want to chat and/or check out my car.
-Matt
#12
Drifting
#13
Safety Car
If you are looking for strictly a track car, you can get your pick of a stock bodied (ie w/o aero bits) C5Z race/track car for a bit under $30k.
There is zero extra benefit corresponding to the increased cost of a C6 and there are some negatives.
There is zero extra benefit corresponding to the increased cost of a C6 and there are some negatives.
#17
Minimal road course experience with my 2001 C5 Z06 (one High Performance Driving Clinic -- at Buttonwillow in August - 108 degrees ambient - drove it 200 miles there and 200 miles back home), but probably 10 autocrosses and roughly 250 1/8 mile dragstrip passes and 5 years of daily driving and 140K on the odometer. Never had the valve covers off, not a drop of oil leaked, no oil burning issues. The differential is the Achilles' heel in my experience and opinion.
LS6 (even the "lowly" 2001's) is bulletproof, if you take care of it(aka change the oil).
LS6 (even the "lowly" 2001's) is bulletproof, if you take care of it(aka change the oil).
#18
Drifting
As a relatively new C5Z owner who has a problem doing concise searches here for threads, is there a thumbnail of these known issues?
BTW, I was told last night of a problem with the hard line for the clutch system rusting at the rubber isolator. Seems the isolator traps water and the pipe rusts under that and looks perfect on both sides of it. Is that one of the knowns here?
BTW, I was told last night of a problem with the hard line for the clutch system rusting at the rubber isolator. Seems the isolator traps water and the pipe rusts under that and looks perfect on both sides of it. Is that one of the knowns here?
Motor
Oil Cooler .. keeps temps way down
Accusump ... helps prevent oil starving once on R-Comps and doing a bunch of events.
Brakes
good pad like Hawk / Carbotech / PFC stock rotors do great just crack when used hard. Napa good place for those
Brake cooling when ya get extra time / money
Interrior
Harness bar and good seats with harnesses. Helps keep ya planted again not needed from the start but an idea as you get faster. Pay the money for good seats / rails and make sure they are installed properly. seen a few cars with stuff thrown together and not as safe as stock setup (more so on imports) but just do it right with brand name seats.
As others said LS6 is great ... keep it cool / keep oil in it / keep fluids fresh ..... use it do not abuse it and she will do ya good ...
#19
The main reason to get the C6 Z51 over the C5 would be better stock cooling. The stock C5 Z06 only has the PS cooler, and is really only good for a few laps of 10/10ths driving imo.
I made the same choice as every one else though and got the C5 Z06. Note that the car got a bit better over the years - 2002+ fixed the 2001's oil burning issues, 2003+ stiffened up some bushings, and 2004s got valve springs that don't seem to break as often as the other 405hp motors. Probably a few other things that I am forgetting.
I made the same choice as every one else though and got the C5 Z06. Note that the car got a bit better over the years - 2002+ fixed the 2001's oil burning issues, 2003+ stiffened up some bushings, and 2004s got valve springs that don't seem to break as often as the other 405hp motors. Probably a few other things that I am forgetting.
#20
Melting Slicks
Hello all, I am a huge corvette enthusiast as are most, if not all, of you. Anyway, I am looking for a track car that has lots of power while still being able to perform in the corners all for a cheap price. I've narrowed it down to either a C5 Z06 or C6 with the Z51 package. From there, I can't decide and I want your opinions on the choice. I want the most performance and ability for preferably less than 30k.
Thank you for the input!
Thank you for the input!
Last edited by MBB; 06-06-2013 at 04:36 PM.