Well all you really hear with the c5's in the way of mods are engine mods and lowering the car a bit...now that is all fine and dandy...but lets get onto the real deal and talk about handling. I live a few miles from angeles crest hwy, which has some of the best bends around, as a result I am striving to find a great canyon car, but in my low price range of under $20,000. An early model c5 seems like seems like the smartest buy...

Now I know people drive these on the canyons, and love them, but I would like to hear some more comments about the handling stock. Are there any most have mods for sprinted canyon driving, and so on and so forth.

Thanks

 

The optional Z51 suspension would be a start. I think mine was $395 extra.

 

You will be surprised how much money you can dump into C5s suspension only depending upon your check book and goals

If you want excellent factory suspension, a Z51/FE3 or Z06 suspension package will do it for the factory power

 

It's been a good number of years since I've been up to Crystal lake by way of Angeles Crest Highway. But I HAVE had my '04 C5 up in the Kern River Canyon north of Bakersfield and along highway 1 south from Carmel to San Luis Obisbo, just this past summer.

And let me tell you what. All I got is a stock A4 coupe with Z06 sway bars and that alone allowed me to embarrass the shorts off some hot shot in a new Nissan 300Z.

Corvettes are MADE for the twisties. The only other thing I'd consider for improving the suspension is a set of either the Z06 shocks or a set of Bilsteins.

I reached MY limit looong before the Vette did.

 

Hey there, fellow Dragon!

I have a slightly different experience to yours when it comes to 300Z's and Corvettes. When you say "New" 300Z....I wonder if you meant a new 350Z? Im not as familiar with those....

I owned a 300ZX Twin Turbo before I bought my A4 97 C5. CrazyTubePower, me and you live in the same neighborhood...and Ive become aquainted with the Angeles Crest Twisites quite intimately this last year. Here is my comparo...

The Corvette is the better car...way more power. But in stock form, the Corvette needs a little help in the suspension areas. Since MagikDraggin has the Z06 Sways, he has a different experience than I have so far. I have only done intake and exhaust and lowering. By the way, dont drive those twisty Angeles Crest roads LOWERED without a bra...unless you like the look of rock chips on your grill piece. Argh!

Back to the point tho...the 300ZX Twin Turbo handled MUCH better on the corners than my stock C5 (might be due to more power in the Vette). I need an upgrade to Z06 Sways and maybe better shocks to feel as confident in the corners on those canyon roads. My C5 HOPS too much for me in hard G corners, if there is any sort of road surface drama involved.

Bottom line....get the Corvette! The suspension upgrades arent too expensive, and the overall looks of the car are something you will NEVER stop smiling about.

Trust me. ~~~JadeDragon

 

Z06 sway bars and Bilsteins are great for canyon cruzing. But if you really want to get into the windies really hard then go with T1 bars. The only problem you will have is when you do bumpy turns the T1's tend to make your tires float and can be pretty startling! But fun! With the T1's you stay very flat and it is very stiff, so I do not recomend that you have your wife or girlfriend riding with you!

 

We have here in CF one of the best canyon racers i have evers seen.

Check this : http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1254607


As far as i know JB rules the canyons pretty smooth with hes fast C5

 

Used to lived just north of you in Bakersfield and my 2000 coupe with z-06 bars and links was awesome all across the angeles crest, the grapevine, PCH from SLO to Monterey, and best of all the Kern Canyon just switch it to sport driving and make sure your tire pressure is right and start buzzing them twisties

 

Best and least expensive way to get there is Z06 sways, Bilsteins, lower it, a good alignment, and if you can afford it, get non runflats. Tires are the most important. I had my work done by Dick Guldstrand in Burbank. Check out My Corvette Photos there are some Angeles Crest shots in there. Good Luck!

 

Z06 or Z51 springs helps alot. I did it both on my coupes and the differance was huge. The floaty fell is gone

 

Upgrade stock C5 suspension with '04 Z06 Shocks and Sways, and the handling is vastly improved with great reliability.

 

I upgraded my swaybars with HOTCHKIS and , that made things a lot tighter in turning and handling.

 

Finally - a thread about handling versus how to make more power!

My car is a base FE1 car, but has been upgraded with Bilsteins, Hotchkis sways and lowered. I run BFG KDW's with the Z06 alignment specs.

Must haves - upgraded shocks and sways, and some good sticky tires, with a proper alignment. A base Corvette is a pretty good handling car - and with some key components, can be a great handling car!

 

For about $600, you can add the Z06 sway bars and shocks and experience a nice difference in the way the car handles.

 

I just took a run up there this weekend... along with my buddy and his 300ZX (yup Patrick, my old baby!). My tire pressure was low and I could feel it, but I'm like you, I'll take the canyons over a 1/4 mile any day of the week. That's what a sports car is for!

Anyway, I have Z06 shocks and sways, non-run flats, slightly lowered, intake, and exhaust (and sport seats). My tires were a little short on air, but overall the car drives just fabulously in the canyons but not too harsh for a daily driver on some of these crappy LA roads in traffic. Although my car is definitely faster, my buddy's Z (it's had a little bit of suspension work done on it) takes the tight canyon corners better. Even more so if you go in the Malibu canyons were it's a lot windier. I've driven with a 350Z in the Malibu canyons, but not the Crest, and it handled very well. It's not as fast as the vette, but still a very solid handling car. You can't get a 350Z for $20K, but you can get a 300ZX for that easily. For the money though, I would get a used C5, no doubt about it. As great a car as the Z is, it just doesn't have the power of the vette.

 

First handling mod for your C5?

In a word: tires. Some DOT race tires will do more for your handling than any other single item.
A good part of Joel's recipe is his tires.

Larry
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