Even as it nears 200,000 miles, this C5 Corvette Z06 blasts around the track with confidence.
Many people would insist that taking a car with 180,000 miles on it would be crazy, but YouTuber ZentRose shows that a high-mileage C5 Corvette Z06 can still get around the track in impressive fashion. With no upgrades beyond routine maintenance items, this aging C5 handles the tight turns and the big straightaways of Auto Club speedway like it just rolled off of the assembly line.
The C5 Corvette Z06
This video begins with the host and owner of the black C5 Corvette walking us through the simple upgrades that have been made to this Z06. He has removed the stock wheels and replaced them with a different set of stock C5 wheels wrapped in Federal RS-RR tires. He has also replaced the original rotors with a newer two-piece rotors up front with “endurance racing” brake pads. He points out that the new brake pads might not offer the performance of a racing pad, but these pads will last longer while the two-piece rotors are more durable than the stock discs.
Beyond the wheels, tires and front brakes, this C5 Corvette Z06 is all-original, with over 180,000 miles on the odometer.
A Lap of Auto Club
After introducing us to the car, the host heads out onto the road course setup of Auto Club Speedway. There are two cameras in the car – one showing the front-view and another showing the driver. In the on-track view, we can also see G-forces, the track map, the speedometer and the lap timer, along with speed updates in the top corner for each key section of the track.
Even though the driver makes some errors during the hard lap, the C5 Corvette Z06 performs very well. In fact, it gets up over 150 miles per hour on the big front stretch – enough to scare him to the point that he lifted a bit.
In the comments, we learn that this near-stock Corvette with 180,000 miles on it outperformed the hosts built Honda S2000, so even after all of those years and miles, the C5 Z06 is still an awesome track machine.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
