1985nightmare

Thanks all for the education. I do have to agree that the C4 sport seats are the best I ever sat in. I never feel tired after the longest hauls. If only the engineers would have paid attention to all the squeaks and rattles. It drives me nuts on city streets. I envy you guys who have owned both.

Mr. Gizmo

I never had a c5 z06, but i ran across a couple of 405 hp z06's in my 1991 375 hp LT5 Zr1 and from a 30 mph roll i could stay ahead of them just barely. From a dig, the zr1 wouldn't stand a chance.

From a collector stand point i would go with the zr1. If you are going to track the car, those c5 z06's are pretty stout.

Personally, I like the looks of the c4 better then the c5.

EvanZR1

That's why I went to a C4 ZR-1 this time around. The only C5 I'd consider would be one with the Tigershark kit. The C5 and C6 are just too common anymore, I probably see 10+ a day in Dallas, while only seeing a few C4s, and almost no ZR-1s.

pantera1683

I love not seeing C4s anymore. I remember when you couldn't drive a mile without seeing a C4. Now C4s are are such a rarity, just like C3s were in the late 80s and 90s.

MRDZR1

BINGO!

It's through! There's way more C5s and C6s on the road now! I get much from rice burner kids and the mass when driving my car!

USAFPILOT

Didn't fix my brother's 02 Z06, plus it will interfere with the GM recall that is supposed to fix it but also doesn't quite do it. I think you have to go one way or the other. I forget which leaves the column where it doesn't lock anymore at all. Electronically the car will do some weird stuff when the problem starts. It will shut itself off and make you wait ten seconds to try to start it back up etc. Mine was beginning to do that and the car only had 4500 miles and was the final production run of the C5. It made no sense at all that GM couldn't fix the C5 and waited for the C6 to solve it.

emmvette

The hood would bow up at high speeds? How much? That sounds pretty serious.

USAFPILOT

yeah, air would get under it and it would raise up, most considered it to be the cause of the new lightweight hood flexing too much. Alot of the Z16 owners have mentioned this to be the case.

That hood is apparently GM's first run a production carbon fiber parts. It is way lighter than the stock part, and you would think stronger, but it can flex or something. It isn't going to come unlatched and I never heard of one coming off, but you could see the edge of the hood creating a gap with the fender at speed.

EvanZR1

Even the stock C5 hood would bow at high speeds. I noticed this the one time I took my 01 Z06 up to 173MPH. The hood started bowing up, and the front end started getting light from about 165MPH.

BlackRocket

I think you need to decide what you plan on using the car for. If you are going to use it as a daily driver I would get the C5...more parts available and cheaper to repair as well as less gas consumed.

The ZR-1's are at rock bottom prices and will someday go up as a collector car in the next XX years??? With that consideration if you get a ZR-1, I would look at getting one that has low mileage and in near showroom condition. As a future collector car I would plan on minimally. Keeps it running, but doesn't add a lot of miles. Also, less chance of a collision.

With those two considerations above I feel that the two cars are completely different and should be treated as such.

Eric Reeves

I wish I still had my black 92 ZR-1. It was an awesome car. But I will not get rid of my C5Z for one. Both cars have equal amounts of pluses and minuses. In stock form, I believe the C5Z is the better car. I track my car alot and feel fairly certain that the ZR-1 wouldn't be close. In a straight line, someone here said not even close. I disagree. Go check 0-150 times on the ZR1 registry and compare. Sure, the ZR1 tops out at 180mph on the later models compared to 174mph for the C5Z. The C5Z gets a big lead that will take a lot of road to reel in. If I had unlimited funds I would love to see what an LT5 could do in my car. Oh yeah, and the seats too.

emmvette

Something that may be a small consideration that nobody has mentioned is the cost to drive. If you are like a lot of others and the cost of ownership is part of the consideration, then insurance and registration is the largest year to year cost. I have a '68 which costs less than $250 / year to fully insure and register. The C5Z06 is about $1,170+ / year to insure and keep registered ($700 + $470). I don't have a C4 ZR-1, so I can't compare insurance, but cars over 12 years old in my area cost $50 plus .40 per 100 pounds which would be $64 per year. I can keep collector insurance on the '68, but not the 04. Maybe others can chime in about the approximate insurance. Others have already mentioned the C5 is still decreasing in value while the C4 should be done. The 04 is still basically a new car that has not required any repair expenses and we can assume that would not be the case with a C4. That wouldn't be a big deal to me (obviously since I own a '68) but still is something to consider.

YorkL8apex

Its pretty much all been said, I also owned an '04 Z16 and Autocrossed both low and high speed in it and my '91 ZR-1.

Comments about comfort, rattles, quickness, etc above are all on target but I have not seen much about "stepping them up a notch" from a performance point of view.

I put a Carrivagio seat in the Z16, lightweight flywheel, stage 2 clutch, Blackwing intake, and had a good tune put in it. With those relatively cheap mods the car was fun as heck to drive both on the road and the track,

I've only had an intake/injector port and polish, chip, cat back exhaust, and some Vette Brakes suspension work done to the ZR-1 and most who ride in it seem impressed with the handling and giddy up.

Both cars had plenty of headroom for more performance but I think the ZR-1 would be a ton more fun to tweak on and except for the core flex issue with the C4 would be a lot of fun with C5 Brakes, Coilovers, Headers, flywheel. Throw in a stroke to 368 and a set of 39X gears and it would be one heck of a Beast on steroids!

I guess what says it all is even with the mods to the Z16 when it came time to cut down to one vette the '91 made the cut!

Eric Reeves

Here is an interesting article written by Hib Halverson, well known guy in the corvette community. About half way down he compares the C5Z to his own ZR1.
http://www.c5registry.com/2k2z06/index.htm

rhipsher

Unique or not. I can't claim that my ZR-1 is stock anymore. With the fidanza flywheel that only weighs 13.5lbs a top end porting job ram air system poly bushings front to back. Its quick snappy stiff with almost no body roll around corners which makes it feel much light than stock when cornering. You have to shift much sooner in a C5Z which will cost you time. And when I've been above 150 in them they just don't feel as stable and planted. And the hood does not bow up on the ZR-1 either. I mean seriously WTF is that all about. But to be fair im comparing my moded C4 ZR-1 to it which throws stock to stock out the window. I have nothing against the c5z other than the fact that the front end looks like a transam. I just haven't met one that could take me yet. Its gonna take one with a procharger on it to beat me.

andersra

I purchased a ZR-1 last year as a step up from a Z51 sport coupe. The ZR-1 was my dream Vette for years, but I either didn't have the money, or couldn't justify spending the money on something i would not drive a lot. Last year I came across some extra money that I finally could justify spending on a more expensive toy. I was looking at both C5 Zs, and C4 ZR-1s. To me, they are both awesome and affordable cars.

I came across a cherry red 1990 ZR-1 that was completely stock, in excellent condition, with around 19,000 miles on it. While I might have shopped around for a year and save 1 or 2 thousand dollars, the price was pretty much on the mark. This was actually my dream coming true, perhaps 10 years later than I would have liked.

What drove me even more to the ZR-1 was the fact that it has been out of circulation longer, I never see them on the road anymore, and they are just a bit more rare than the C5 Z06. Plus, this was just a fantastic looking car.

Emmevette mentions the justification that put it over the top for me. The ZR-1 that I bought was a 1990. It just qualified for antique plates, so my property taxes dropped from an anticipated $500.00 per year to approximately $50.00 per year. I am able to put collector insurance on it as well, for less than $300.00 per year.

Everytime I drive the ZR-1, I get a huge grin on my face. I am certain I would have an equal grin on my face if I had a Z06. The difference for me is I feel much less guilty with the cost of ownership with the ZR-1.

ZR-1DUDE

I have a 94 ZR-1 and a 02 Z06

Neither one is stock.
ZR-1 with heads, gears, etc.
Z06 has a Magnuson blower on it with stock exhaust.

The ZR-1 has a much cooler wow factor.
The Z06 is better day to day.

If I could only have one and it was my only car - it would be the Z06.

If it was a toy - it would be the ZR-1.

In my case they are both toys.

I bought the Z06 new and it has just over 28K miles.
ZR-1 has 19,600 on it

I think both the C4 ZR-1 and the C5 Z06s are bargains.

D.

Kurac

Do you plan on modding either cars at all? Keep that in mind, as modding the C5Z will be allot cheaper than the C4Z.
Also, you never mentioned it, but what is your budget?
I personally was never too fond of the C5 body style, so I skipped that generation once I parted with my 383 C4. I currently drive a C6Z and if you ever get the chance, go take one out for a spin. You will find a way to pick one of those beasts up.

ZR-1DUDE

That is a good point - C6Z prices are coming down. It might be one worth considering.

D.

hiznhrz

I have a 91 ZR-1 that looks stock but has a Haibeck 505Hp package and a stock C6Z.

I bought the ZR-1 when I became convinced there is likely not to be (in my lifetime) another corvette with an engine like the LT-5. 500 naturally aspirated Hp out of 350 cubic inches is supercar performance even by todays standards. I bought the C6Z when I became convinced there is not likely to be (in my lifetime) another corvette with a 427 engine like the LS7. I looked at and drove the C5Z. It was an impressive car but for me lacked the character of the ZR-1 and didn't measure up to the C6Z.

The prices of a C6Z have come down considerably. What an amazing car.