Eddie N

hello all,

im going to be in the market in a few months for a C4 , and i just have some general questions regarding the 92-95 LT1's and the 96 LT4..

upon much deliberation, i decided i wanted a C4.. i currently have a 93 3000gt SL that is nice, but lacks pep.. and although the vr4 and dodge stealth r/t tt have said pep, they are plagued with expensive tranny problems (they are also pretty common, then again, so are vettes, but mainly the C5).. i also considered a supra tt, but they are overpriced at the moment, and would make me too much of an icon to the riceboy crowd..

ive always wanted a vette since i was younger, but never could afford the one i wanted (C4).. now that these cars are a little older, the prices are more with in my range..

anyways, here i go with questions..

what is the difference between the body styles from 91 to 96? i know the 96 has a different body style than the other c4 years, but what exactly is the difference?? i see alot of 96 vettes that have the "stance" i love so much, but then again ive seen 93's with the same look.. how mcuh does the 96 body style conversion cost for an older c4?

i understand the HP difference between the LT1 and the LT4, but which is easier to modify? im looking to build a mid 11 second street car, and im hoping to avoid supercharging until i get to that plateau.. i will build the car from stock with the intentions of supercharging in mind, but is a mid to high 11 possible with all motor? im assuming that would take about 525 hp... i would like the super charger to put me into the 10's.. but this is down the road some...

my color choice is yellow.. ive seen yellow 96's, 94's, and 93's.. does anyone know what years yellow was produced for the LT1/4 ? the actual production #s would be great..

6 speed vs automatic.. some cars can actually run faster times with automatics (supras for example).. is this the case with the vette? is one more reliable and able to handle more power than the other? i actually prefer manual (mainly so the wife cant drive it when im not around :lol:) .

options.. are some vettes more equipped than others?? are the standard options the bare minimum or does a/c , leather, cd player, cc, etc come standard.. ive read something about a "low option" car that made me wonder..

i appreciate any advice and information anyone can provide,

have a good night!!

- eddie -

Eddie N

wow this forum moves fast.. sorry for posting in the tech/performance section.. i meant to post is the general discussion area. :cheers:

- eddie -

Blue 92

91-96 body styles are the same with two changes in (I believe) 95. The 95-96 have a different fender grill and slightly different paint scheme between the turn signals and fog lights. Wheel sizes also changed slightly in 93.

Both LT1 and LT4 cars can run mid to high 11s with no "power adders" such as NOS, blowers. Look for posts by Mackeyred. He runs the high 11s with his LT1 auto with the "Big Mack" package.

Yellow cars?
92=678
93=517
94=834
95=1003
96=488

The LT4 was only available in 96 with the 6 Speed, no factory LT4 / auto combos were produced.

And :seeya welcome to the forum.

Eddie N

thanks!! i didnt expect the yellow to have been made every one of those years.. i guess im too busy staring at viper production #s..

so it looks like my best chance is finding a decent mileage 95 vette (highest production #s and newest c4 body style).. now i just need to figure out the different options as well as decide if i want 6 speed or auto..

i love having a goal to shoot for a little bit ahead of time.. it makes it that much easier..

thanks for your input!! anyone else?

- eddie -

Eddie N

and another question (sick of me yet?? :)).. does anyone know of any tuners in CA that have performance packages for the LT1?

- eddie -

GlockLT4

It's not hard to get into the 11's. You can keep it stock "looking" at least and stroke it out to a 383 with some good heads and a cam. You're gonna want slicks though. That'll make it a lot easier.

Eddie N

its good to know performance wont be a problem... im planning on keeping the car mostly stock on the outside besides maybe some aftermarket wheels..

upon further inspection, i visually cant tell the difference between the 92 through 96.. its probably just me though.. maybe my best bet is a yellow c4 yrs 92-96.. whichever year gives me the best deal!!

- eddie -

Nathan Plemons

Hello and welcome. I would look for whichever one fits your price range the best. Something to consider is that the 92 is the only year that came standard with 275/40/17's all the way around. All other years had it as a performance handling option. That aside there really aren't that many differences. For example when I was looking for mine, the only criteria had to be that I could afford it and it had to be a 6-spd, SO that alone cut my choices dramatically. Most vettes are actually sold with auto tranny's.

You asked about reliability and durability. Quite simply it is easier to get an automatic vette into the 11's. A few engine mods, a high stall torque converter and some steep gears will get you there. The problem is that I don't know a single person who has EVER modified an LT1 car with a manual tranny who hasn't broken it at least once. A good deal of people have broken it more than once.

The 6-spd on the other hand is extremely strong. I've seen a good number of toasted clutches, but very rarely is the tranny actually hurt. The issue is that it's usually not as good a performer at the 1/4 because it's just harder to get a good launch. Some can do it, Mr. Mojo has caught a 12 second pass in his completely stock 95. Personally I never can get a good enough 60' time. I make way more horsepower and torque than stock and I haven't yet caught 12's. I still wouldn't trade it for an auto be TO ME it's just more fun to drive a 6-spd.

I would recommend asking yourself what you want to do with the car to decide if you want an auto or a manual. After you make that decision you can quite possibly cut your choices down, then go from there.

Welcome to the forum.

mackeyred96

Eddie, welcome to the forum.

[ understand the HP difference between the LT1 and the LT4, but which is easier to modify? im looking to build a mid 11 second street car, and im hoping to avoid supercharging until i get to that plateau.. i will build the car from stock with the intentions of supercharging in mind, but is a mid to high 11 possible with all motor? im assuming that would take about 525 hp... i would like the super charger to put me into the 10's.. but this is down the road some...]

I've got a Cartek head and cam stock shortblock car with 96,000 miles on it. I only dyno 360 RWHP and I run mid 11's at 120.
You could do the same.

Good luck and alway buy the best car YOU can afford.