Interesting thought I had. Which do you think would be faster, a stock 2002-04 Z06 or a 1996 LT4 with around $5000 worth of mods? I think the mod list would include headers, exhaust, 4.10 gears, hot cam kit, maybe some head work.

 

Probably would be a drivers race imo.the hot cam ain't that big of a step up...

 

I'm guessing the LT4 is going to need upwards of 100 more hp over stock to make up for the extra 400 lbs of weight. The 4.10s will help offset that as well.

 

It will take some rear suspension work also. Boosting horsepower may just allow car to spin further. The c5+ have a rear transaxle to help with traction as well as balance. 96 lt4 needs to pickup .5-.8 seconds verses a stock Z06

 

Balance front to rear on both cars is about the same. 52/48 c4 and 51/49 c5. The weight difference at about 150lbs iirc. Drag would be about equal too. The big advantage is the fuel tank is low so the weight on the axle won't be sloshing while driving.

 

"Which do you think would be faster, a stock 2002-04 Z06 or a 1996 LT4 with around $5000 worth of mods? I think the mod list would include headers, exhaust, 4.10 gears, hot cam kit, maybe some head work"
AND this is why there are 1/8 and 1/4 mile length drag strips.

 

My original response read: "Well let's find out." But I don't mint making guesstimates either.

 

I love stuff like this... Who is "hotter" a natural Giselle Bundchen or a Christina Wig with $5,000 in "upgrades?"

My answer would depend on who said "yes" faster.

 

I think the edge would go to the LT4 with mods.

I base this on my C5's and C4's. My current C5 is a '99 with some minor mods, but it runs a little stronger than a stock C5 Z06. My LT4 looks to be stock except for catback exhaust, but it runs better than expected. I suspect it has a hot cam or something similar that was done by the previous owner. These two cars are very close in acceleration.

So if you put $5k into an LT4, I expect it would run better than mine. Since mine already runs with/or better than a stock C5 Z06, a more modified LT4 should run better. However, they are close enough that it could still be a driver's race.

Now if you put mods into the C5 Z06, they respond very well and could be much faster.

Any of the options would make for a very fun car and project.

Good Luck.

 

All depends on the race and how you spent the money. You could beat the c5z if money was spent wisely. You could also lose if spent unwisely.

 

Both being manual trans cars, there is zero doubt in my mind that the better driver will always win, no matter which car.

 

Would depend on the cam you put in the C4. Put one in that will keep pulling to 7,000 rpm and the C4 will win. Especially if part of that mod money went to drag radials.

 

"Which would win" comes up a lot....and invariably, part of the discussion -a large part- is about "the driver". It is true that in a race, the driver is a significant variable....so true that the driver component can erase massive actual performance deltas between two cars. The thing is, typically these threads are really asking, "which CAR is faster?" So, we're removing the driver from the equation, which makes sense since we can't speak for others' driving skills, and driving skills run a massive gamut.

If I were choosing the two weapons described above? I'd pic the LT4+$5k car every day of the week and twice on Sundays. I'd drive the wee out of that car, love it and there wouldn't be a stock C5 Z06 around that could touch me. The LT4 +$5k CAR....is a faster car.

 

Man I don't know. I think I would bet on the z06.

 

LS6 Z06 cars dyno around 350 whp (mustang dyno) and weigh about 3100 lbs. They should run 12.40 at 116 mph.

In a recent tech/perf thread, an LT4 with Procharger made around 377 whp (mustang dyno). Assuming the LT4 car weighs around 3400 lbs, it should be a close race, but as already been said, the Z06 will have a minor traction advantage which can be mitigated by tire choice. I'd say its feasible for an LT4 car to reach Z06 performance for $6k (not including labor) via (blower, or heads/cam/gears/exhaust/tuning) and tires.

Let's see some timeslips.

Would be interesting if you post the same topic in the C5 section...

 

Even stock for stock, a good driver in one and a crap one in the other would make it very interesting imo. I agree though, I think I'd take the LT4 for the shear fact that the trans is better... or so I'm told... and I like the feel of the car.
Exactly

 

Well, let's examine this a little more closely: We're looking at the CAR, right? So theh C5 benchmark for the CAR is the absolute fastest box stock C5 Z06 which has gone is 11.78/116.9 & 11.81/117.2: C5 Fast List

Could you get an LT4 into the 11's with "$5k in mods"? Well that is a wildly vague measure, since it depends on who's doing the mods and what they know or can do. A cam, headers, ported heads gears and intake should get it done, IMO. Could you do all that for $5k? I sure cold. A decent wrench could likely do a 383/LT4/gears and have no problem with a C5.

I'm not sure why the claim that a C5 has better traction than a C4. Based on my personal experience? NO WAY. Based on data? No. The C4 should have better weight transfer, it is more rear biased weight, and it doesn't wheel hop like the C5. Finally, not sure the weight claims either. The specs right here on this site show the C4 LT4 GS at 3298 lbs. The C5 is over 3100, I can find specs on that later...or anyone can look it up.

SO...to compare with Ranger's runs in the C5, The closest thing I could find that was or started out as an "LT4" was in the C4 Fast List, in the "11's" section -
"11.02 @126 1.60 96 M6 3.75 RichS 396ci, DRs, morgantini heads, ported LT4 heads/int, CompCam, DRM LTs, 58mm tb"

Could you do ^that^ to an LT4 car for $5k? Eh...probably not. Maybe if you shopped used parts and did all the work yourself. Then there is this car in the '12's"...
"12.05 @115 1.76 96 M6 4.10 jonecap DRs, EM LTs, R/T cats, catback, tune"
...just a little slower than the C5 benchmark. Just a few comparisons that I could find.



It's better. Way better.

 

One thing is for sure. The c5 z06 car is pretty fast. Night and day faster than any stock c4 car. It seems like five grand in parts, would even things up, but I'm not sure its enough to provide a real advantage. You would have to do the labor yourself for sure.
When I think about these sorts of things, I can't get past the driver skill level. Especially knowing some people just plain cant launch a manual trans car.
I would much rather own a stock c5 z car over a modified c4 lt4 car.

 

With $5k the answer is a 96 LT4 no contest, all you really need is nitrous and gears and you will be able to go a lot faster than a 02-04, at least as long as the bottom end can take it.