Toys4Life C5

C4 Corvettes have their flaws (like any other generation) but at the end of the day, they are STILL one heck of a sports car value in 2024!
That having been said, it may be my imagination but lately - they seem to be getting picked on a little too much lately.
Long live the C4!

You Tube

gcthree

Immediately, he's wrong as 1996 Corvettes feature OBD II hardware.

Vets-Vet

I have watched prices for years and they are definitley on the rise. Asking price for a beater is 5k.

Toys4Life C5

Sir, the thing about telling someone they are wrong is - you best be sure you are correct. And in this instance, you are not correct - I CLEARLY pointed this point out at 1:31 of the video.
That's Okay though, I make plenty of mistakes every day.
PS even though the 96 is OBD2, tuning options are still minimal at best IMO.

Toys

gcthree

At 1:31: "All C4 Corvettes are OBD I". I did not see the adjacent graphic. By what I heard, I am correct.

matmondro

Totally agree the C4 is a great value. You look at cars of the same era like Fox Body and SN95 Stangs, Porsches, Jags, and most Bimmers... they're all so much more expensive. The C4 is still affordable to purchase, especially of you're a handy person and can work on many things yourself without worrying about shop labor. Personally, if money weren't an option, a Gen 1 or 2 Viper would be up there for me too, but I can't swing that right now HAHA 🤑

One great thing about the C4 too is like Mustangs, the aftermarket support is still immense today. You can pretty easily hop online and find most of the parts you need.

radar502

Yep for the money these old C-4 with a few mods will hang sure not a C-7-8 but not $100,000 either I was driving down country road not long ago yep a C-8 was right there he gas it I gas it, don't think he ran out of power he ran out of nerve LOL I got $15,000 in this old C-4 wasn't trying to pass ,I was impressed with my old 93 ,first thing I did when I got home was look at my payment book LOL that's right I don't have one .. Yep hang with a C-8 great value for sure ..

Faceman89

The C4 was the car of my childhood. Being that I was born in the 70s they were what everyone drooled over in school. Could I have an afforded a nice C5 for what I paid for my 96? Absolutely.

Rogue One

Indeed. I'm glad I got my CE when I did.

QCVette

It is interesting to me that the title states C4 Corvettes are still a great sports car, but the video basically trashes them.

I think the video kind of misses the point. For their day, they were a great car. As the video states they were much improved over the C3. But the video does not go into the fact that they so dominated SCCA racing that SCCA kicked them out for a few years (The corvette challenge cars).When allowed back into competition they again took the titles. A lot was made of the "flimsy" chassis, but as the races have shown they are still very good handling cars.

The C4's were the first to go with port injection and the performance improved. A side effect was that they are also good for fuel economy. I had a 100 mile per day commute and I have taken several over 1000 mile trips. My '94's,95,96 (6 speeds) all get 30 mpg on the highway. My 87 4+3 with the 0.6 overdrive and my 88 with auto and 2.56 axle also got 30. They were actually better for mileage than my 4 cylinder S10, so I called them my "economy cars".

I also think the video misses the point that they feel like a sports car. Although they are not as "refined" as later generations, they are a little "raw" and are fun to drive. There is more than enough handling and performance to keep enthusiasts happy especially on the streets.

The video also stresses the Optispark as being Optijunk. I have had 8 cars with the opti and have never had a problem in over 300k miles of opti use. I had a Z28 that had a water pump fail and leak on an opti, and once I hit water deep enough that water crested over the hood of my '96 Corvette. In both cases there were no issues. I have also daily driven them in a lot of rainy wet roads and still no problems. In short, although I agree that there can be problems, I think it is drastically overstated about the problems.

I currently have a '95 6M, '96 6M, and a C5 '99 6M, so I can make some comparisons too. I agree with the video that the frames are improved in the later generations. and in most objective comparisons the later generations out perform the C4's. My C5 has some mods to it and runs about 12.7's. My '96 LT4 has a hot cam and also runs about the same.

For tuning, the OBD1 cars can be modified at home using very inexpensive equipment. I currently have some Moates cables for flashing the computer and it has worked quite well. (I think Moates may have been gone out of business, but there are a few other companies made similar.)

When I go to the garage and decide which to drive, I usually pick the C4 because it is more fun. I like all generations, but my favorite is the C4.

Toys4Life C5

Sir, you make very good points and I appreciate you taking the time to provide input!
As mentioned at the end of the video, C4's are on my to do list - I am slowly stashing away ideas and thought of what I might do to mine when purchased - because I cannot leave anything alone!


Now if we can just get those C8 guys to waive.....
Toys

QCVette

I did my part. I talked my neighbor into buying a Corvette. He got a new C8 (very nice). And he waves!

Toys4Life C5

LOL good work!!

I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but so far in my small informal random survey - they waive the least.
I will keep trying!

AngelDeville

I bought a newer corvette than I intended to, a 1992, I’ll very likely go all analog if I ever do any major changes to the engine.

never tuned anything with a computer before in my life, just a stubby flathead screwdriver and maybe a timing light.

1993C4LT1

@QCVette Is your 96 lt4 hotcam only, or with longtubes as well? People talk down on the hotcam. But I would be happy with that cam. Post a sound clip of the idle??

QCVette

Mine is hotcam only. I do not have longtubes, but it does have a Borla catback.

The sound is pretty smooth at idle, not too "lumpy". The Borla has a deeper tone than stock.

I have never tried to record a sound clip, but generally I don't like the sound clips I hear on the computer. They just don't sound like the real thing.

Toys4Life C5

My cousin just picked up a beautiful 95 with an LT1. It has an aftermarket cam, AFR/TPIS heads, headers and 38lb injectors. It was tuned 15 years ago and he would like to do some additional tuning now but does not have any tuning hardware or software. It is a TA - but essentially the same as a 95 C4.
If anyone knows what is good and available now - I would relay that to him. Otherwise he will ponder converting to Torquehead.
Thanks in advance.

Toys.

BET VETTE

There will come a time when they will be saying the C8’s have flaws…..

Faceman89

How do you feel just using the hot cam did for your car? I’m still looking at getting one for my LT4.

ChumpVette

They are a flimsy chassis, you can see it articulate going across uneven surfaces. You can’t compare the chassis of a street car to the chassis of a race car with a full cage.