Bye Bye C4 Here Comes C5
05-12-2013, 11:23 PM
#21
Team Owner
Pro Mechanic
UH OH....! Don't let RedLS1GTO see that you said that! He'll rip you a new one...then tell you that you're a "Waste of bandwidth". That seems to be his way of "contributing" to the C4 forums. 
I agree with most of the posts above. Both 'Vettes, both sweet cars...both have different character, and both have their strengths and weaknesses.
BTW OP; both cars have similar (in philosophy) "full frames". A "full frame" wasn't a new concept for the C5.
I agree with most of the posts above. Both 'Vettes, both sweet cars...both have different character, and both have their strengths and weaknesses.
BTW OP; both cars have similar (in philosophy) "full frames". A "full frame" wasn't a new concept for the C5.
05-12-2013, 11:29 PM
#22
Instructor
I hated the C5. I didn't like that you lose the cockpit feel and it kinda feels like any number of sport cars from that time. If that is your thing, rock it! Have fun with it and enjoy your car. I am in love with my C4 and no matter what era turns you on, everyone should drive a Corvette!
05-12-2013, 11:37 PM
#23
Race Director
Just drove a 1997 and Im Hooked. Its such a better car Beats the C4 Hands down I Took a test drive in a high milage 97 6spd and its a great car. Dont want to spend another dime on my C4. It seem like a waste now
Full Frame Trans out back makes it handle soo much better with a real soft spring rate Such a great car Everything is better in a C5
Full Frame Trans out back makes it handle soo much better with a real soft spring rate Such a great car Everything is better in a C5
05-12-2013, 11:56 PM
#24
Safety Car
Op all the best to you. In my opinion the c5 is a way better car except for styling which is subjective.
I probably come off as a hater in most c4 threads even though I love mine... I don't like them stock. The c4 imo is hands down the sexiest platform to mod from.
I probably come off as a hater in most c4 threads even though I love mine... I don't like them stock. The c4 imo is hands down the sexiest platform to mod from.
05-13-2013, 12:28 AM
#25
Burning Brakes
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I had a 99 C5 for 13 months and put about 28K on it.
Be forewarned, there are a lot of stupid little things like plastic sway bar end links that will need attention (about $125 for 4 of the metal Z06 versions and a couple of hours to swap them.
Don't bother with C6 Z06 shocks - waste of time and money as they don't last long at all, just get Bilsteins.
The early cars have a smaller diameter driveshaft with smaller bearings. When you replace the clutch (which won't be far off and AIN'T CHEAP!), you'll need to either have the whole assembly rebuilt or better yet, replace it with the better piece from a 2001-2004 car.
Oh, and go get yourself a turkey baster so that you can siphon out the clutch fluid every couple of thousand miles when it turns black. And if it's really black now, be forewarned that you'll probably need to replace some gears and synchro's in the trans. That's when you'll find out that you might as well just get the wide-ratio Z06 trans from a low-mileage crash job (and the stronger 3-rib diff while you're at it). The throwout bearings on the C5's and C6's have a design flaw and they suck clutch dust into the fluid when you shift. The fluid turns black, the contamination will ruin the throwout bearing slowly, which caused some gear grinding. Guess how I know all this???? All the items mentioned means you have a good $4,000 into a clutch job. It's called the "Ranger Method":
Hopefully the one you're looking at doesn't have the climate control or the memory package - neither one works well. Nothing like having the electronics randomly do stuff like change the radio station, move the seat, etc.
Oh, and all the aftermarket short shifters buzz and vibrate loudly, so don't bother with those either. The C6 Z06 shifter is a little better, but not that much of a difference.
A Vararam make a big difference at highway speeds, but watch out for injesting water and hydrolocking the engine.
An x-pipe will help improve sound and torque a little bit.
The Titanium Z06 mufflers are popular but only sound a little better - no real performance difference. If you want good exhaust that is close to stock configuration, do the x-pipe and a Flowmaster cat-back. The cat-back systems are stainless, so no more rust issues with them.
The 2001 and later intake manifold is a nice upgrade, but you'll need to remove the small ribs along the bottom of it to clear the water pipe. While you're in there, make sure to replace the oil pressure sender. When they fail you'll see your pressure climb until it eventually pegs the gauge.
C6 sway bars will bolt on so if you find a C6 guy who replaced his bars, it's a cheap upgrade. Make sure to check Pfadt's sway bar chart though - the C6 Z06's have a HUGE rear bar that doesn't work well on the C5.
Probably a lot more to tell, but I think you get the idea......
Be forewarned, there are a lot of stupid little things like plastic sway bar end links that will need attention (about $125 for 4 of the metal Z06 versions and a couple of hours to swap them.
Don't bother with C6 Z06 shocks - waste of time and money as they don't last long at all, just get Bilsteins.
The early cars have a smaller diameter driveshaft with smaller bearings. When you replace the clutch (which won't be far off and AIN'T CHEAP!), you'll need to either have the whole assembly rebuilt or better yet, replace it with the better piece from a 2001-2004 car.
Oh, and go get yourself a turkey baster so that you can siphon out the clutch fluid every couple of thousand miles when it turns black. And if it's really black now, be forewarned that you'll probably need to replace some gears and synchro's in the trans. That's when you'll find out that you might as well just get the wide-ratio Z06 trans from a low-mileage crash job (and the stronger 3-rib diff while you're at it). The throwout bearings on the C5's and C6's have a design flaw and they suck clutch dust into the fluid when you shift. The fluid turns black, the contamination will ruin the throwout bearing slowly, which caused some gear grinding. Guess how I know all this???? All the items mentioned means you have a good $4,000 into a clutch job. It's called the "Ranger Method":
Hopefully the one you're looking at doesn't have the climate control or the memory package - neither one works well. Nothing like having the electronics randomly do stuff like change the radio station, move the seat, etc.
Oh, and all the aftermarket short shifters buzz and vibrate loudly, so don't bother with those either. The C6 Z06 shifter is a little better, but not that much of a difference.
A Vararam make a big difference at highway speeds, but watch out for injesting water and hydrolocking the engine.
An x-pipe will help improve sound and torque a little bit.
The Titanium Z06 mufflers are popular but only sound a little better - no real performance difference. If you want good exhaust that is close to stock configuration, do the x-pipe and a Flowmaster cat-back. The cat-back systems are stainless, so no more rust issues with them.
The 2001 and later intake manifold is a nice upgrade, but you'll need to remove the small ribs along the bottom of it to clear the water pipe. While you're in there, make sure to replace the oil pressure sender. When they fail you'll see your pressure climb until it eventually pegs the gauge.
C6 sway bars will bolt on so if you find a C6 guy who replaced his bars, it's a cheap upgrade. Make sure to check Pfadt's sway bar chart though - the C6 Z06's have a HUGE rear bar that doesn't work well on the C5.
Probably a lot more to tell, but I think you get the idea......
05-13-2013, 02:07 AM
#28
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Good choice. I have an 88 which I've owned for twenty years, and a couple of years ago I bought an 01 Z06.I rarely drive the 88 anymore. I still like the car but the Z06 is much more fun to drive.
05-13-2013, 07:57 AM
#30
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If a C5 is your thing go for it. But I'd stay away from the early models.
05-13-2013, 09:59 AM
#32
Safety Car
The original post here first comes off as a troll 
for sure, but the more I read, it sounds as though he may just really like his new "1997" C5, and is just trying to justify buying it saying how much better it is than a C4. (in his opinion) Liking a newer C5 after buying it is normal. Everybody likes a newer car. But immediately bashing the previously owned C4 on this C4 forum in his way was a bit weird. Each new generation of Corvette should be more advanced, but that doesn't mean the previous generation is a waste of time and money to the owner of it. Some of us (me) prefer the C4 over the newer generations even though we can easily afford one. I do wish him good luck with his C5, but he'll soon see all the things he may need to fix and the money he needs to spend especially with those high miles. They all cost money to keep up. 
Even the "far superior" C5.
for sure, but the more I read, it sounds as though he may just really like his new "1997" C5, and is just trying to justify buying it saying how much better it is than a C4. (in his opinion) Liking a newer C5 after buying it is normal. Everybody likes a newer car. But immediately bashing the previously owned C4 on this C4 forum in his way was a bit weird. Each new generation of Corvette should be more advanced, but that doesn't mean the previous generation is a waste of time and money to the owner of it. Some of us (me) prefer the C4 over the newer generations even though we can easily afford one. I do wish him good luck with his C5, but he'll soon see all the things he may need to fix and the money he needs to spend especially with those high miles. They all cost money to keep up. Even the "far superior" C5.
Last edited by FOURSPEEDVETTE; 05-13-2013 at 12:19 PM.
05-13-2013, 11:58 AM
#33
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05-13-2013, 12:34 PM
#34
Safety Car
05-13-2013, 12:38 PM
#35
Le Mans Master
Well, just an FYI, but if you had driving a 96 LT4 you might think different. The 97 C5's were slower IMHO and found that to be true when I used to race against them on the track in the late 90's. It wasn't until the LS1 got a pony upgrade in 99 I think that they pulled away from the LT4 C4.
End of the day though what is important is you get the car you like.
End of the day though what is important is you get the car you like.
05-13-2013, 12:57 PM
#37
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05-13-2013, 06:03 PM
#40
Le Mans Master
Oh, how did I forget THIS one????
The balancers on the LS's are press-fit, the rubber isolator was poorly made, and there is no keyway in the crank. The outer ring separates and either goes forward taking out your steering rack or backwards into your timing cover.
When you look at the car, check to see if it still has the original damper. If so, plan on getting the 25% under drive damper and a "crank pinning kit". The kit is a guide, drill bit and pin to prevent the damper from spinning on the crank hub. I'm pretty sure that the 25% u/d damper from Scoggin-Dickey (sdparts.com) comes with the good ARP crank bolt. They should have the pinning kit as well. Probably best to leave the installation of this to a good shop that has experience as they have to remove the rack to get to the damper, etc. You don't want some bone head drilling your crank and doing it wrong.
If the shop is good, they'll drop the rack with the outer tie rods ends attached so that you don't have to get an alignment on top of the $300-$400 bill for the work, plus another ~ $250 for the damper and pinning kit.
Oh, and shorty headers DO work well if you want to go that route.
On mine with the 25% pulley, LS-6 intake, shorty headers, x-pipe and Flowmasters it made 340 hp and 345 ft/lbs at the rear wheels - and that was just bolt-ons with the TINY stock cam. That combo would also get 36-37 mpg @ 65 and around 40 mpg @ 55 with the 6-speed:
Ignore that torque spike in the one run, it's an error:
The balancers on the LS's are press-fit, the rubber isolator was poorly made, and there is no keyway in the crank. The outer ring separates and either goes forward taking out your steering rack or backwards into your timing cover.
When you look at the car, check to see if it still has the original damper. If so, plan on getting the 25% under drive damper and a "crank pinning kit". The kit is a guide, drill bit and pin to prevent the damper from spinning on the crank hub. I'm pretty sure that the 25% u/d damper from Scoggin-Dickey (sdparts.com) comes with the good ARP crank bolt. They should have the pinning kit as well. Probably best to leave the installation of this to a good shop that has experience as they have to remove the rack to get to the damper, etc. You don't want some bone head drilling your crank and doing it wrong.
If the shop is good, they'll drop the rack with the outer tie rods ends attached so that you don't have to get an alignment on top of the $300-$400 bill for the work, plus another ~ $250 for the damper and pinning kit.
Oh, and shorty headers DO work well if you want to go that route.
On mine with the 25% pulley, LS-6 intake, shorty headers, x-pipe and Flowmasters it made 340 hp and 345 ft/lbs at the rear wheels - and that was just bolt-ons with the TINY stock cam. That combo would also get 36-37 mpg @ 65 and around 40 mpg @ 55 with the 6-speed:
Ignore that torque spike in the one run, it's an error: