[Z06] Hard driving?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles CA
Hard driving?
Went for a test drive in an '02 C5Z with 21000 miles. Seller is the 3rd owner. When I drove it, it seemed very tight and solid with no obvious problems - better than I expected from a car with 21000 miles on it - then again, I really didn't drive it very hard. But the seller wanted to show me what the car is capable of so he took me for a ride - holy s -- t 
Now, I still didn't hear or feel any problems. In fact he drove it the way I want to drive it, but I'm not so sure I want to buy a car that's been driven like that by the owner(s) before me. Bottom line - how solid are these cars and how much hard driving abuse can they take before you start seeing serious, expensive problems?
Now, I still didn't hear or feel any problems. In fact he drove it the way I want to drive it, but I'm not so sure I want to buy a car that's been driven like that by the owner(s) before me. Bottom line - how solid are these cars and how much hard driving abuse can they take before you start seeing serious, expensive problems?
Last edited by dgp123; Feb 24, 2007 at 06:55 PM.
Got LAPS?
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,611
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From: Downers Grove, IL >> Chicago Crew <<
St. Jude Donor '06
Long as they are well maintained I think these are very strong cars. I also have an '02 Z06 and I just had a dyno for the first time at about 21k miles. The engine still pulled strong.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1626465
I have been tracking the car and driving it like it's supposed to be driven for a couple of years now, under extreme conditions. I continue to mod and maintain mine, and drive it "hard" any chance I get.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1626465
I have been tracking the car and driving it like it's supposed to be driven for a couple of years now, under extreme conditions. I continue to mod and maintain mine, and drive it "hard" any chance I get.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,904
Likes: 29
From: Vancouver Washington
The Zs down at Spring Mountain Driving School all have in excess of 30K on them, driven dailey, by several different drivers, under race conditions 8 hours a day. All they've done to them is keep them in new pads and tires. The days I was there it was 102, 103, and 104 degrees and they had us race them with the air conditioning on so we would be comfortable. The Z is an unbelievably tough car, buy it and drive it like you stole it.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
From: Near Tucson AZ
I guess on that same note, how many of you will take your car to redline at least once (redlining 1st, 2nd, 3rd perhaps) during each time you take it out for a spin? Because I've been doing that to mine and to give you an idea of how much I drive I probably put around 75 miles a week or so in it.
Yesterday was the first time I actually heard the rev limiter kick in as I was pulling on another Z06 that gunned it from the light (unfortunately it was a left turn and he was at the line and I was behind him from the get go lol)
Yesterday was the first time I actually heard the rev limiter kick in as I was pulling on another Z06 that gunned it from the light (unfortunately it was a left turn and he was at the line and I was behind him from the get go lol)
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
the car is designed for this type of driving. it's not a buick. when he was getting on it were the shifts smooth? did he rev match when he downshifting? if he drove it like he knew what he was doing then it should be fine. there is an extremely fine line between ragging on a car and driving it for what it was designed for. take a good driver and a bad driver and put them in the Z. tell them to take it to redline everytime and then tell them to drop it into 3rd at 60mph. one will rag on the car the other will not. i doubt there is a single owner who has not seen what their car is capable of. i'd rather buy it from someone who is used to driving the car hard and consequently knows how to drive it hard without doing damage.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,822
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
All C5s are tough cars. They are designed to be that way. If they are maintained properly they can run for a very long time. By the way if you were in traffic when he ran it you probably didn't see what it really could do since he was limited by traffic conditions.
Bill
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; Feb 24, 2007 at 08:43 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,639
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From: Winston-Salem North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
44k and still going. driving it like it supposed to be. As others have said if the car was maintained, and driven by someone who drives it hard, not abuses it, its fine. I now of a kid in town who has an 03 Red Z, he's on his 2nd engine and 2nd trans, complete moron, doesn't know how to drive at all.
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Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Personally I would rather have an 02 driven hard with 21,000 miles then an 02 garage queen with 3,000 miles. Low milage cars that have not been driven have all kinds of seal leak problmes, not to mention gunged up intakes, heads, from non use. But the body will shin.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
From: Near Tucson AZ
Originally Posted by GeorgeZNJ
now of a kid in town who has an 03 Red Z, he's on his 2nd engine and 2nd trans, complete moron, doesn't know how to drive at all.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,639
Likes: 39
From: Winston-Salem North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Apparently he races everything in site, imports, waste mgt garbage trucks, school busses etc. In doing so he hits the rev limiter on every up shift and down shift. I can only imagine what shifting from 4th to 2nd at 100+ will do to an engine, and powershifting on the street all the time can't help I know of a performance shop that pretty much told him not to bring the car back. He breaks this stuff and then wants someone to blame.
I know of a performance shop that pretty much told him not to bring the car back. He breaks this stuff and then wants someone to blame.
Last edited by GeorgeZNJ; Feb 26, 2007 at 10:07 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco CA
Went for a test drive in an '02 C5Z with 21000 miles. Seller is the 3rd owner. When I drove it, it seemed very tight and solid with no obvious problems - better than I expected from a car with 21000 miles on it - then again, I really didn't drive it very hard. But the seller wanted to show me what the car is capable of so he took me for a ride - holy s -- t Now, I still didn't hear or feel any problems. In fact he drove it the way I want to drive it, but I'm not so sure I want to buy a car that's been driven like that by the owner(s) before me. Bottom line - how solid are these cars and how much hard driving abuse can they take before you start seeing serious, expensive problems?
Now, I still didn't hear or feel any problems. In fact he drove it the way I want to drive it, but I'm not so sure I want to buy a car that's been driven like that by the owner(s) before me. Bottom line - how solid are these cars and how much hard driving abuse can they take before you start seeing serious, expensive problems?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 9,918
Likes: 1,879
From: Hot Springs AR
Check out my sig; you can see I don't baby her. She'll click over 150K miles here in a week or two, and the only maintenance I've done other than fluids and brake pads was swapping out the valve springs this past winter (again, just PM, not a repair).
5 year old cars with 21000 miles on them aren't being driven enough. Check the maintenance records if the owner has them. Throw away all the 3000 mile oil changes, they tell you close to zero.
See if the tranny, diff, brake, or coolant fluids have been changed. That'll tell you a bunch about the owner's car mentality towards taking care of a car.
One thing that does seem unusual is that this car is on its 3rd owner. See if you can find out anything about its history.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
5 year old cars with 21000 miles on them aren't being driven enough. Check the maintenance records if the owner has them. Throw away all the 3000 mile oil changes, they tell you close to zero.
See if the tranny, diff, brake, or coolant fluids have been changed. That'll tell you a bunch about the owner's car mentality towards taking care of a car.
One thing that does seem unusual is that this car is on its 3rd owner. See if you can find out anything about its history.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
I drive mine REALLY hard and she is holding up very well. I keep on top of maintenance though. I bought her APR 2006 with 9100 miles and she has almost 35k on the clock now. Only issue was a water pump gasket that started leaking on the driver side. Oh and a lot of tires and brakes
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
From: Near Tucson AZ
Yeah I redline mine all the time too. I'm wondering, on an average day with decent weather 55-80F or so, is stop-n-go traffic still going to be harder on your C5Z than driving on open roads but redlining 1st-4th all the time?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 9,918
Likes: 1,879
From: Hot Springs AR
It's not the S&G that's the problem, it's the amount of time you have the car up at operating temps (oil temp > 180, mainly). Short trips are harder than longer trips, because the oil doesn't get hot enough long enough to evaporate out the water vapor contained in the blowby.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
