Don in VT

Hi All,

I have a C4 daily driver, winter and summer, my wife has been driving it for several months and now she has the bug and wants one for herself.
She is an above average driver and can can handle high performance cars.

She does not like the C6 body style changes and wants either a C4 or C5.
The Vette would be driven only in the summer and stored in garage all winter. One attractive option is the early ZR1's due to resale value being high. Vehicle repair are not an issue as I work for a auto repair shop and part time for a GM dealer.

So here are some questions

Is the ZR1 reliable for long trips ?
What are the trouble spots for the powertrain ?
What key parts are no longer available ?

Any other helpful hints or suggestions would be great.

Regards,

Don in VT (My current C4 is my 25th Corvette)

FASTAZU

1. Very reliable, & gets great gas mileage if you can keep your foot out of it lol.

2. Same as any C4, as to the LT5, injectors if it has OEM's still.

3. Most all the parts are around just need to look on the ZR1 Reg. or here.

Peter Mahr

All the info you would ever want is on:

http://www.zr1netregistry.com/

LT5corsa

Don,

One of the biggest myth's is that the ZR-1 is not reliable and that parts are not easy to come by....

If you look on our home page and check out the question / answer section many other questions are answered. Many ZR-1's have gone over 100,000, 150,000 and even 200,000 miles!

One mistake many Z owners make after a purchase of a ZR-1 is not to drive it. The car needs to be driven!

When you are ready, take a look at the cars for sale here:

http://www.zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_sale.htm

Good luck!



David

Don in VT

Thanks We Gone, Peter and David for the quick reply. Based your comments and links we are ready.

Got to join the registry very soon.

I feel right at home with a quad cam motor as I have rebuilt 3 Porsche 928 motors over the years with excellent results.

Thanks again,

Don and Cherry in VT.

pappy.72

You will be very jealous of her car once she gets it. Report back to us and let us know what you did.

bb62

I think you need to be specific and state that the early ZR-1s often need the original injectors changed. The later (405HP) ZR-1s do not have the same problem.

Polo-1

Get her the C5 for a daily. Hell I would take a C5 over a ZR-1 for daily commute. For pure fun ZR-1.

hiznhrz

Actually, for a daily driver I don't think you can beat a C6. It's not a fun to drive as my ZR-1 but it is comfortable. You also can't beat it on a long trip.

dallas916

Re long trips: When I was able to I made several trips from Las Vegas to Coos Bay, Oregon taking different routes every time. The total distance was always between 2500 and 3500 miles depending which way I went. Many of those miles through Nevada were cruising at 100 or more mph with no problems whatsoever. But mostly just enjoying the car and the feeling of control over what I wanted to do on the road. Most of the time I averaged around 21-23 mpg, but got as high as 26-27 for long stretches.

I don't think I had the 4:10 gears in for those longer trips, but did notice a slight drop in mpg in a couple of the later 1200-1500 miles trips to NorCal. Even though it was a tight squeeze for me the seats were great and never made my back tired or sore. I would love to do it all again but even though the Z is capable I'm well past my "warranty".

Don in VT

Hi,

Speaking of injectors, I bought a set of Bosch Gen III's for my 87 and it made a night and day improvement in performance . Got about 40K mile on them now and I consider it the best $ 200 I ever spent on the car. Has anyone tried the Gen III's in a ZR1 ?

Thank,

Don

Don in VT

Well, we have a, new to us, Vette in the family. Cherry just bought a 1990 ZR1 on Ebay. Needless to say she is one happy lady. We will be spending more time on the Forum now.

Thanks for all the help.

Cherry and Don

glass slipper

Congratulations, welcome to the Brotherhood/Sisterhood.

Here's to many miles of worry free driving.

LT5corsa

Don,

Wow that was fast! Details!

Color? Upgrades?

Pictures please!



David

secondchance

Um... I beg to differ. I will take ZR-1 for daily driver over C5 any day.
91 was my daily driver for 5 years and my current 94 has been my daily for 10 years. I don't need no espresso in the morning.

Congratulations, Don.

FastC6Mike

I am also looking for a second weekend vette. I have the same questions.

ZR-71

Wow that didn't take long
Congrats on Cherry's new ZR-1

MRDZR1

Congrat!

DMark

Where are you located?

I'm sure one of us would be happy to give you a ride..., and that would answer alot of your questions!

Tomcat74

Welcome Cherry & Done to our group of ZR1 owners. I took a road trip during Memorial Day weekend from Vancouver Washington to Antioch California. Did not use a drop of any fluids & held the Beast at 100 mph plus for over a half hour with the Air on while driving down I-5. My gas mileage was about 27-29 MPG with 410 gears & the key on. There are ZR1 owners that drive their ZR1's all the time with no issues. We don't say much on the forums because we are to busy washing, waxing & driving our ZR1's. Enjoy your ride.

Tomcat 74
91 ZR1 #906