Eljay

Hello C4 forum. I am in the market for a fun sporty nice weather driver. Looking to spend about 8K. Sounds like C4 time! I like the 91 and up body style so that is where I'm looking. I prefer a stick, (my other Vette is a 70 LS-5 4speed ) but finding 6speed LT1 cars is not that easy most I see are autos. So for a fun performer if you had a choice of a 91 six speed or 92 auto (assuming all other aspects of the cars were the same) what do think. and how hard is it to get the L98 perform like an LT1
Thanks Lenny

BrandensBeast

Not to completely ignore your question but why are you limited to those two cars? There is tons of great deals on c4's right now!

Nowhere Man

If you got long legs or big feet drive one first. C4 foot wells are not that big. They might not be for you. For fun driving you won't notice to much diffreance between the L98 and LT1

Eljay

well I don't want a pre 91 L98 I want the 91 up body style. If had a my choice I would want a 96 LT4 but I'm not seeing those in my price range. I chose those two years just as an example to keep the other aspects of the cars similar. It really comes down to does LT1 power with an auto trump L98 6 speed in the fun factor. Or is it not apples to apples.

vettespecial

Had i done my homework before buying my 90 L98 I might have went with the Automactic. I did not know of the the problems of finding
original clutch parts for a C4 with the ZF 6spd. with that said my car
is very fun to drive but it had its clutch changed out before i acquired
it with aftermarket parts, dual mass flywheel removed, and single mass flywheel installed, a center force brand and lower grade parts
installed. this all worked but ZF 6 spd makes a lot of noise in low speed operation with out the dual mass flywheel. So if you pick a car
with a 6 Spd inspect the clutch system. my clutch pedal had a thick piece of rubber tie wrapped to it and the clutch slave was shimmed
back away from the transmission to compensate for the clutch fork
contacting the flywheel producing a knocking noise.
On this forum you will hear of a guy by the name of bill boudreau
the ZF doc he is a expert on the ZF transmission, he has mine in his
shop now for overhaul, another expert is jim janick of power torque
systems he has overhauled my clutch hydraulic parts. you should go to there web sites and read what info they have, bill@zfdoc.com
and google jim
power torque systems read there tech articles. i am glad to have a ZF 6 spd car but you gotta read up on it i am blessed to be a born mechanic so i can fix my own vette, other wise it would be crazy to pay a shop, plus parts. Good luck in selection.

aklim

I guess it depends. If you are autocrossing where you can use the control of the transmission more, stick is better. IF you are doing regular driving and especially in the city, auto is better. The HP loss is pretty small and you probably won't notice it. I drive my car when I can in the summer and when I can get away with it in the winter and I don't autocross so stick is meaningless. I ride my HD which is manual and the wife has a trike that is auto in that it automatically downshifts and you push the lever to upshift. When we are riding in the countryside, it isn't so bad but constantly having to shift in city driving makes me wish I took her trike.

Randy_in_MD

I had a '92 6sp. The clutch was heavy and 2nd gear crapped out. It really became like work to drive it. Instead of enhancing the driving experience it detracted from it. Long story short my next three Corvettes...two '96s and a 2000 were all auto.

That being said, drive them both and buy what you like. Good luck with your search.

scrappy76

I chose a 92 six speed over a 93 auto when I was looking for a C4. I chose it mainly for the 6 speed. Though it was in a little better condition, the auto had less miles. After driving the 6 speed, the mileage didnt matter the drive was more interesting than the auto. I mainly drive highway with it, so shifting it in local areas and traffic does not effect me at all and for the most part, I doubt it ever will.

C4in mesa

I own a auto which is modified and a blast to drive with the great torque and power. 1988 700R4. The 1992 ZF transmission is great and it offers me power at all times like a stick shift does. Aside from that the other huge difference is the gears. My 700R4 has 2:59 gears and the ZF has 3:42 gears. There are pros and cons to both and only you the buyer can make the choice. I suggest you get one of each.

QCVette

You said it yourself.

I prefer a stick also. However I got an '88 automatic for a daily driver a few years ago. I kept it for about 2.5 years and 45k miles, but found I just didn't like driving an automatic. I sold it and got a '94 6 speed. It was a great move and I loved the 6 speed.

I have had four ZF 6 speeds and have been happy with them They are a pretty strong transmission. I have also had to replace a clutch in one. There is a lot of information about doing that and much confusion. It basically comes down to using a dual mass flywheel with an solid clutch disc or using a single mass flywheel with a sprung clutch disc. The dual mass flywheel was developed to minimize the gear rattle of the ZF transmission. With a single mass the transmission makes a little more noise. To me it was not objectionable, but if you talk to ZF doc he has parts to shim the transmission that will take care of most of the noise. Those shims are able to be put into the transmission without complete disassembly of the transmission so it sounds like it is not too bad a job.

As for the L98 vs the LT1, I prefer the LT1, but the L98 can be modded quite easily to get the extra 50 hp (or more) if you desire. The L98 also has a conventional distributor that may make it more reliable although I have driven LT1/LT4 cars for several hundred thousand miles and never had an optispark failure.

Good luck with you choice.

Roys92BlackRose

For me the 92 is the right choice. LT1 instead of the L98, nicer looking steering wheel and seats, and I prefer the auto. It's rock solid and has good shift points even if it only has 4 gears. I would love to put a 6 speed auto in my 92 but $$$!

jay23ls

6 speed all the way!

about the flywheel. Single mass will cause more noise according to some, others say it doesn't and works well. Just get a 6mt that doesn't need that work done (like 60-70k miles) or that has had it done and had the dual mass flywheel cleaned up. This isn't the same as resurfacing the flywheel which could cause issues.

Had mine cleaned up when the clutch was replaced and works fine now. Stick is sooo much better than auto for what you want!

Prices are so low you will even find a LT4 around 8 to 8.5k. Check the thread I made Are c4s getting cheaper for examples

Renfield

Being that I am in the middle of an Optispark replacement on my '96, I would recommend the 91 with the L98. I wouldn't wish this work on my worst enemy.

Maybe find a '91 with a stick?

aklim

Is the opti replacement difficult and often or just difficult?

Nowhere Man

It's a PITA it takes a good couple hours to look at a five minutes to replace it.

aklim

Yes but if I have to do it once a year, that gets old fast. OTOH, if it burns out once every 5 to 10 years, oh well. Kinda why I was curious.

Nowhere Man

If you keep them dry and don't get one with a manufacturer defect they should last for 75-100k+ miles. For me I had bad luck with keeping it dry and more bad luck with new ones that are junk out of the box

aklim

Are they making a retrofit kit to vent it for keeping it dry or what?

Nowhere Man

There is a way you can use a vented opti (95-97) on the early LT (92-94) with a few mods. There should be write ups on this forum somewhere. The best thing you can do is convert it over to coil packs.

And simple solution is to ensure all your coolant hoses are in good shape and don't wash your engine. A ten dollar coolant hose cost me a opti. Not one of my prouder monuments in owning my car

aklim

Good to know.

OUCH!!!