The hp output of today's engines is getting way out of hand.

For instance, Ford's new lightning pickup makes 500hp. Dodge also has plans for a very similar setup. This from a pickup. Don't get me wrong, I think they are cool, but when I consider all of the money and hard work just to get my C3 in the 300hp range, it makes me sick. I would still get blown away by a pickup :cuss

Even Honda Accords, Buick Regals, and Maximas have well over 200hp. In most cases, closer to 250. Depending on other factors, these family sedans could give me a good run. :eek: :cuss
Then, you have the Trailblazer, and W8 by Volkswagon, in the 270hp range.

Then you have little pocket rockets, like the WRX. What happened to the good ol' days when owning a corvette put fear into the driver of the other car next to you at a redlight? It seems like few people are intimidated by vettes anymore.

Sure, I guess I could just buy a new car to keep up, if someone would give me about 30K or more.

It makes me wonder if it really is worth doing all this work to my C3, only to still be slower than a pickup :mad :cuss :mad

Some people would respond to my complaint by saying that newer cars don't have the looks of a C3, or the class, but I'm not sure if this is enough to satisfy me. Heck, no one seems all that interested in my car, except wanting to race me at every redlight, be it a minivan or a mustang. For fear of getting spanked and embarassed, I seldom race anymore.

So, where will it end? I guess I could yank my new engine out, and shoehorn a more powerful engine in. But, I'm sure Geo Metros, or Corollas will have a more powerful engine by the end of this year:mad :cuss I feel like I have an old Atari computer, trying to keep up with today's pace of the newest pentium computers . :cry

I'm not planning to sell the vette, but man, I wish manufacturers could make newer cars slower.

 

Look at like this.

1. Whether they win or not they have to go home in a ricer mobile.

2. The next day they wake up their car would have depreciated a couple hundred $$$

3. Next year their "rocket" is last year's old model and out of style.

You have a car that is always in style, appreciates everyday and gets cooler looking everyday it gets older. The more boxier/ aerodynamically different cars get the more my car stands out and the cooler it looks. My .02

 

I didn't buy a corvette to street-race. I bought the car mostly for nostalgia. It's a car from my birth year (almost - 1968 vs 1969) and it represents one of the coolest looking cars on the road - EVER. And, it's got power that couldn't be beat for the era.

If someone wants to pull up in a souped-up Honda Civic and bash my car, so be it. He's still driving a Honda Civic. I'm driving a piece of history.

But, I do hear what you're saying.

 

You made some good points. I have had similiar thoughts, but it makes no difference to me what others drive. The Hondas and Geo Metros will never appeal to me like a Corvette does. I just like the "seat of the pants" experience.

If speed was the only thing that attracted me, I would probably be riding around on a motorcycle. There is something speical about owning a well maintained 30 year old Corvette. Just my opinion. :steering:

 

I'm with you shotgun_000 I think the new cars are great. My wife drives one that will give most C3's fits at the lights and she will do it too. To say that I am driving a corvette is not good enough. If it doesn't have the power to uphold it's image as a sports car why drive it? I know my mustang will spank 75% plus of the corvettes on this forum. The only reason I went to my 75 is because it is fiberglass and I can't stand to watch my car rust away in 10 or 20 years.
I have gone rediculous in the horsepower race and still will get beat by anything with decent horsepower that he can put down.
My daughter drives a Accura Integra and loves it. I have driven it and it is a nice car.
I am not loyal to any brand. Each must stand on it's own and to me the C3s stock to do cut it anymore. I have mentioned my corvette to some of my university students and they look at it as 2 tons of detroit that can't go around a corner. Are they that wrong?
Cal,77,L-82. I don't agree that our cars never go out of style. The only reason my car gets the attention it does is because of the 8-71 sticking out of the hood and even that doesn't interest alot of people.
If a ricer comes along at the cruise nights I will walk across the lot to admire it too. Just because I drive a vet doesn't make me better then someone driving a ricer. I'm sure he wakes up in the morning glad for what he's got and glad he doesn't own a vet.
I have put in my dues with working on vet's so feel I have earned the right to speck of them like I do.

 

I agree with Norval 100%. To me its almost all about performance. That being said, I wanted something _different_ so I bought a nice C3. To be totally frank and honest it was a step _backwards_ in performance compared to the car it replaced. But I'm a hot-rodder and while its pretty quick (and definitely fun!) now, it will be much faster when I'm "done" with it. ;)

Excuses are for the losers. If you are just having fun and enjoying your passion, then you really shouldn't care so much if you win or lose an "encounter". The fact is just what Norval said... "There will ALWAYS be someone faster". However, disrespect given to other "car guys" no matter if they drive a brand/make you don't like is classless, IMHO. They love their car, no matter what it is, as much as we love ours.

I just happen to be a guy who likes US-built V8s, but that doesn't make me any better than anyone else. There is a difference b/w people who are "car/performance enthusiasts" and those who are "brand X" enthusiasts. I happen to fall into the former, and the latter typically get passed in the slow lane.

If going super-fast is what you want to do, then you can spend some serious $$ upgrading your current car, or buy a new one that is faster from the get-go. RELIABLE speed costs $$. There is no way around it.

I agree with the original poster. I remember when low-14 second 1/4 mile times were fairly quick (late 80s...the rebirth of some semblence of Detroit muscle). Now, 4-door sedans do this with ease, and the rice-rockets are in the mid, low-13s. A late model Lightning pickup will run low-13s and the '04 500hp version will be in the mid-12s. The new Z06 is a low, low-12 sec machine off the showroom floor, and the '03 Viper is a high-11 sec monster...bone stock.

The only reason I see somewhat of an end to it down the road is due to a limited traction coefficient. Just ask Norval. :) And to a lesser degree, ask me. :lol: Your car is only as quick as what you can get to the ground to make you accelerate. On typical street tires this is going to be somewhere in the 11-second range. I'm not talking a cheater slick or drag radials. I'm talking about a _real_ radial tire with good compound. This is the limiting factor.

Building an 11-sec capable C3 is not that hard.

If you have a solid motor (I'm guessing...you said it was relatively new) then do not be afraid of going the forced-induction or nitrous route. There is nothing "cheating" about it. Developing and designing a combination that is safe, reliable, and that works earns big kudos in my book (and every other hot-rodding, power-junkie). :)

Don't lose heart, unless you've grown weary and want to try a new project.

 

When I first got mine and it was almost bone stock every ricer in town was revving their engines at the stop lights.

I have since done alot of work on the motor and suspension etc. and in the past two years there hasn't been anyone bothering me at the lights, kinda miss it :D

 

Theres always gonna be someone faster. unless you get that 3 second quarter down. :smash:

i didnt buy a C3 because it was fast. in fact i was suprised at how slow it was when i test drove it. i bought it because LOOK AT IT! those curves excite me. if i get beat by a pickup, i'll just want a ride in it.

on a diffrent note, i raced a 99-02 chevy 2500 HD. he was right beside me until 70, when we both let off. :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:


[Modified by '79ProwlerOrange, 4:25 PM 1/26/2003]

 

Why do you think so many on the C3 forum are putting new engines in their C3s? :) Either bigblock, crate engines, or strokers.... You can very easily (cheaper than a new Honda!) be in the low 12s / high 11s which is faster than any stock production car except maybe a Viper or a ZO6. You are right tho, there are lots of new cars that can run mid 14s, so a stock smallblock C3 is not going to keep up. I think it is kind of cool to see a revival of the horsepower race between manufacturers.... reminds me of the 60s! :) MJ

 

I will always wish my car would go faster...Dang, it hasn't moved under it own power in a couple of years. I wonder if I will be able to afford gas when I get finished. I stroked my motor but now 3 years later, the motors you can buy are awesome. Hopefully I will be driving mine again by May.
Neil in Tenn

 

I think if you say you have a Z06, it will put suitable fear into the hearts of others. :)

Seriously, though, when people see my Vette they think its wicked fast. And when they hear it, it only reinforces this thought.

When I tell them its only about as fast as my Eclipse, they are always surprised.
-terry

 

Lets go over a few points;
1. The 500 hp pickups sure they have a lot of HP but they are also dragging around 1000 to 2000 lbs more than your Corvette your'e not in any danger theyr'e fast trucks but thats about it. Remember in the late 70's when the Dodge Little Red Truck was the fastest vehicle in America people weren't falling over themselves to get one.

2. You say youv'e only got 300 hp i looked at your engine mods and youv'e got a pretty stout cam :thumbs: i'd say you have more maybe 340-350 hp gross want more power stick in a bigger bump stick. With a 3:70 gear the car should be no slouch in the aceleration department.

3. 30K more for a new car, the only problem is that new cars are the flavor of the day last years car is no longer king of the hill the money you lose in the first year can really hurt ( i'm getting cheap in my old age as far as new cars go) and repairs can be nightmarish when off warranty.

4. Hell 30K and your C-3 can get you a real nice Big-Block Chrome Bumper C-3.

5. Atari computer well the Chevrolet is the most expandable motor vehicle system in the word 355 not enough go 383,406 need more how about a 427,454 509 or a 555 all buildable with off the shelf parts that fit right between the frame rails and sleek fenders of a C-3.

Hope this makes you feel better
:D :D :cheers:
Ken :cheers:

 

Hmm, WRX... My basically stock Corvette beat one of those around town! They had me off the line because of that damn AWD but I was ahead of them after that, not by much, actually by very very little. All you really need to do is get your car to run 12's and you are good to go for most cars. It isn't that hard to do even.

 

There's a whole lot more to a Corvette than just horsepower. :thumbs:

And don't get too wrapped up in comparing 1970's technology with 2000 technology.

The C3 is still one of the sexiest cars ever. :auto:

 

very little of owning a C3 has to do with speed...IMHO
if speed is what you are after then you probably own the wrong car...
its simply a matter of weight and technology...

 

And that blasted IRS dosent help us much. :D

 

I don't know, 454 or 427 badges seem to scatter the ricers and want to be racers around here. Normally if someone is trying to race me it's more for them to see what my car can do then them trying to beat me, I normally ignore them, I don't think I've had a serious car pick a race with me yet. Now me on the other hand have picked a race once in a great while, the last one I wish I didn't, since that Z06 beat me pretty good on 255 starting from 70mph, the funny thing is I almost played with a hemi roadrunner earlier in the day :eek: wouldn't have been a good day for this Rat. I do here what your saying though, even 300hp doesn't sound that impressive anymore although 10 years ago it was a lot. Oh well just gives me an excuse to put more money in it, I'll be happy at about 450 net so I still have a little ways to go.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

So what is it about? These cars are hardly comfortable or reliable, and, IMHO, you can only stare at them for so long...

How do you say weight and technology? Until very recently (~6 years), there were very few cars that could compete with pre-cat c3's. That's changing obviously, but technology took a LONG time to catch up, which I think is interesting. Most of that technology goes to dealing with the EPA, which (many) C3's don't have to do.

As for weight, look at the weights of the world's top sports cars now. Most are between 3200 and 3900 (!) pounds. Murcielago (3600), Porsche GT2 (3200), Carrera 4S (3400), 996 TT (3500), Aston DB7 (3900), C5 (3200), old Viper (3400). Nobody would doubt that these cars are all suberb, yet they weigh almost the same as a C3. Weight alone can't exclude a car from high performance abilities. Other things can make up for it.

I think our cars do fairly well against new ones. Do some engine updating on the later ones, and you're good for the most part. At least for a few more years.

 

If a modern and expensive sportscar couldn't best a 30plus year old design then something would be very, very, very, very wrong!!! Do owners of other 60's and 70's sportscars lament about cooky stuff like this!?!? If i owned a ferrari 308/Dino/356 GTB or a Pantera i would give a rats white rear about getting bested by a supra or Z06. Because a Pantera ( of which i've seen maybe 2 on the island) and any old Ferrari often has the same affect on people that a very beautifull woman has and can be precieved as just as exotic if not more so by others. Let modern technology march ahead, a nice shark is still a very sexy car to most people whom notice cars at all. Noone was ogling the new blue Diablo in hawai Kai and the gray Diablo I saw broken down this morning near the islands Super Wal-Mart only had 3 people gawking over it!!!It certainly was a beautifull site, just like my black/black 77 is a very pretty car indeed( I've had several oglers and gawkers for my shark). Most car fans would probably love a Ferrari Dino( 4 cylinder car).
I think you deffinition of sportscar is focused towards just performance numbers. My deffinition is very similair but i also think the Japanese (along with the original Porsche 911) have shown us that a car thats fun to drive and gives you a good SOTP feeling is more then enough wether its got the best numbers or not!!!
I have had co-workers ask me to give them rides because of the rather thrilling way i suddenly accelerate and slolam through the security barreirs once off base onto the freeway. There faces exclaim an E- ticket ride!!!!! The low torque of an American V8 is virtualy unknown to many young people. I dont even want to know about how much fun any of the mighty big blocks would be( their SOTP inducers must be off the scale). The numbers certainly are weak for the smog years small blocks but the simple addition of a hot cam, stiffer springs and wider tires make all the SOTP difference in the world. If that aint enough for U....383....427....454!!!!...Merlin502.
:cool: :cheers: :cool:

 

I had a low eleven, high ten second normailly aspirated 2000 Camaro I gave up in favor of my '71 LS5. There wasn't much on the road that could keep up with my Camaro. I never took it top speed because I got scared at 175 and backed out. I never learned the limits of it's handling abilities because I didn't want to crash. So, at least in my neighborhood, I was king of the road. It was lots of fun with that much power, but I realized I don't have the maturity to own it. In fact, I don't think many people do. The ability to hit 130 on a freeway onramp is just too tempting. Eventually, I figured I was going to wreck the thing doing something stupid, so I decided to "slow down" and get a much slower car.

Ultimately I realized there is such a thing is too much power for the street. Anybody that does the things I see the ricers and even the Mustang and Camaro guys doingis an idiot. Street racing is stupid. There is just too much to risk nowadays! In Arizona, the second offense is a $150,000 fine (no joke).

If I want to be the fastest, I'll build a rod for the track. Until then, I am completely happy with my mild mannered (though not gas friendly) 500 HP big block Vette. I'm still faster than 90% of the cars out there, I sound tough as hell, I get noticed and see the smiles on people's faces, and I can't remember the last time I saw a really clean C3 on the road. I see WRX's and Civics all the time!

So when the punk in the ricer with the fart can exhaust rolls up next to me, I'll just say, "Go ahead sonny boy! You get the ticket for me..."

:blueangel: