ryanc5z06

well as the title says, i had a C5 Z06 2 summers ago as a DD. It was supercharged, long tubes, high flows, but stock Z exhaust. Loved the power, handling, etc...but what i couldnt live with on a daily basis was the road noise. It was also lowered, and i could live with pretty much everything else, but if i was going to the store with my fiance, she hated it...it was loud, hard to hear one another if going 55 or 60 (road noise, exhaust was very quiet). so i sold it, bought a trailblazer SS, which...my fianace drove most of the time, but it really wasnt doing anything for me either. so sold that, she now has a cayenne TT, which is an awesome ride, and im now looking for my next DD.

for the next year and a half i have to live where im at, 2 car garage, darn near impossible to have 3 cars at one time, so im trying to find something i can live with as a DD. i hadnt even considered a C6 because of my experience with the C5, but then, i thought maybe its quieter? question is, how is the road noise compared to a C5 Z? i know its not gonna be lexus quiet, but is it better? i had considered a C6 Z, but road and track said something to the effect of forget this as a DD the road noise is terrible.

sorry for the long post guys. i should mention the TB SS had exhaust and that didnt bother me, and the road noise was pretty much non existent, FWIW. I am also considering an 05 GTO to get me by for the next 18 months until i can get a house with 3+ garages and have a dedicated DD and a weekend car. thanks for the input! pulling my hair out which direction to go...

brewersprts

I have many many miles in my c5z and c6z. With the exhaust flap closed, I don't feel there too much road noise. It is quieter on the michelin super sports than it was on the Goodyear runcraps but it wasn't too bad before.

I wouldn't put long tubes and b&b bullets on a daily driven car just because the noise would get annoying, but that's just me. I have modded factory exhaust and I normally drive around with the flap open but if I was going to drive cross country or something I would probably close it.

I would absolutely daily drive my c6z. It's a great car.

brewersprts

Oh and also. My c5z sure didn't have that much road noise. If your exhaust isn't noisey than I am confused as to why there would be so much road noise. It isn't as quiet as my range rover at 60 but it is in no way loud enough to prevent you from carrying on a conversation, talking on the phone, or listening to the radio at normal volume.

Maybe it was your tires or bad door seals letting in a lot of wind noise or something.

I drove my c5z and c5 vert cross country many times with no issues. I thought they were pretty quiet, other than exhaust noise.

KM1959

I used to commute 90 miles a day with my wife in a C6 Z06. While not quiet we had no objections to the noise, the front splitter was more of an issue with its scraping routinely on almost everything.

rhyno

get any sort of rear partition in the c5z and the road noise will drop appreciably. i've LTs and a CAI, which both made it noisier, but not enough to be annoying on any long drive w/ the partition in place.

c6 will be quieter. but its not the race car feel of the c5z

bigshark

agree (with rhyno that is!)

Modern Musclecar

Very true

ryanc5z06

yeah i had the partition and it helped a little.
i dont need the race car feel (though it was nice!) but just hoping to capture like 90% of that feeling.

everything else ive looked at has issues...
BMW M3's 2008+ can have main bearing issues
C63 AMG's have head bolt failures.
M5's Can have big VANOS problems, not to mention awful mileage and less than 200 mile a tank range.
RS4's suffer from carbon buildup.
ISF's are trouble free but i dont think they do anything for me.

I know the C5/C6 isnt without issue, but cmon...they are the only cars that dont seem to have (potentially huge $$$) motor issues. i know about the valve guides but i think that is only a LS7 issue. besides if a motor goes in a vette, i wouldnt mind making it much faster...cant do that in the german cars without big bux.

rhyno

if you don't care about the race car feel of the c5z, there's no reason to get one as a DD then. the c6 is superior on all other metrics relevant to DD:
1) cabin space (you will always need more) and
2) seat comfort / space & ergonomics (ie noise level)
3) C5s leak in the rain as they get on. c6s were first gen to stay dry
4) parts avail (c6 will have no issues, unlike owners of bad ebcm in 97-00)

i wouldn't get the ls2 tho. i'm comparing a higher mileage ls3 vs a lower mileage ls6

as a c5z owner who's got a c6 on loan, i'm kicking this idea around myself. but there's one thing the c5z has going for it:
*** it is more fun to drive***

even if its slower (?), its total engagement w/ a c5z. (caveat: upgrade the shifter to a c6!)

when driving conditions stink ie rain / traffic, c5zs only adv is lost