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I've been waiting quite a while to be ready to buy a C5 and finally the time has come where I know exactly what I want and have $$ in hand but now I find I am faced with a unanticipated question. I have found a couple cars I am really interested in but they happen to be modified. Heads, Cam, Intake, Headers etc... When I was younger (20 years ago) we always modded our cars as much as we could afford too but the downside was that we ended up wrenching on them all the time for one reason or another and at this stage of my life I'm not really interested in working on a car as much as I am interested in it not breaking and being reliable.
So my question is have things changed? Are modified C5s reliable and maintenance free if the work was done by someone really qualified and with good parts or is it the same old deal?
I've been waiting quite a while to be ready to buy a C5 and finally the time has come where I know exactly what I want and have $$ in hand but now I find I am faced with a unanticipated question. I have found a couple cars I am really interested in but they happen to be modified. Heads, Cam, Intake, Headers etc... When I was younger (20 years ago) we always modded our cars as much as we could afford too but the downside was that we ended up wrenching on them all the time for one reason or another and at this stage of my life I'm not really interested in working on a car as much as I am interested in it not breaking and being reliable.
So my question is have things changed? Are modified C5s reliable and maintenance free if the work was done by someone really qualified and with good parts or is it the same old deal?
Honestly it totally depends on who did the work and what parts were used. Some of us in Forced Induction section daily drive our C5s with 850 Horse Power or more.
My Z06 has many mods I've done myself. Intake, headers and complete exhaust system, some minor other mods, ECS tune, lowered, suspension work, brake mods, custom wheels and tires, and more. Only a few days ago I returned from a 3000 mile trip to Florida, completely trouble free and and averaged close to 29 mpg total for the entire trip, highway and city combined. Plus I've got more than 64,000 miles on my car. Is that reliable enough? I'd jump into it and do it again. C5's are pretty bullet-proof, even modded.
BTW, on my trip to Florida, there was a ags shortage in the Carolinas. I had to run on regular gas for several hundred miles and the car still ran perfectly, though the gas mileage decreased a little until I got premium again. As low as 26 mpg on the highway, not bad for a 450+ hp car? Mod away!
Back in the day the tech just wasn't there, and information wasn't as wide spread as it is today. Now a days we have the internet to see if were doing things right, and have a huge amount of vendor support that has great experience to help us with the work, walk us through it, or do it all together.
Much better gaskets, fasteners, blocks, parts, ect. are available to use now. So in my opinion it has changed, and even some of the "shade-tree" guys are able to put together some nice cars with the support they have. But in the end, you still want to ask questions, see who did the work, and if you have a reputable Corvette shop around you can have them check it out.
From: HOW FAST WAS I GOING OFFICER? Los Angeles Hating GM Dealership Service Dept.'s Since Sept. 2004
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Originally Posted by FactoryRaceCar
Honestly it totally depends on who did the work and what parts were used. Some of us in Forced Induction section daily drive our C5s with 850 Horse Power or more.