Thank you ! I read another thread where someone had a similar complaint without the C4 comparison. They had a flashing check engine light at the high end of the revs, I DID have this happen ONE TIME getting on to the highway. I have no idea why and it never did it again. That was this morning. All afternoon, it streaked like a bullet from 60 to over 100 when I had space and was not around any traffic (moderately safe). Both morning and afternoon. However, I tried to break the tires loose and to quote the other post "it took off like a Kia". No light no nothing and it still ran strong but lacked any off the line pull. My truck did the exact same thing and it was the knock sensors, but I had a code and SES light in the truck.

 

I believe the C5 is about 50/50 weight distribution, right?

is the C4 like that? Wouldn't that make a difference on spinning?

 

I thought about this too. I am not sure what the C4 is(was). Anyone with a NO mods C5 and 2.73s is welcome to chime in. Can you break the tires loose?

 

You said you had the car for a short time. are you or perhaps the previous owner used low octane fuel. The car will sense any engine knock and adjust (retard) timing to compensate for bad fuel. It will not go back unless manually reset and will run considerably slower because of that. One thing about C5 is that the acceleration feels more civilized than C4 and still is faster stock vs stock. Disconnect your battery for 10 minutes or little longer, this will reset the computer for optimum performance. Also check all codes via DIC to see if there is anything else going on there. With traction off and stock tires you should not have problems smoking them.

 

If you ask me, you're looking at this the wrong way. Your C5 might just have a lot better traction than your C4 did. Spinning tires is a great way to get whipped in a drag race.

Also, let me just point out that the LS1 is only marginally better than the LT1 at lower speeds. In fact, many argue that LT1s have a better torque curve than LS1s.

Look at it this way... I used to have a 96 z28 with an LT1 and a 4 speed auto trans. It would light up its tires from a stop all day long. I now have a 05 C6 z51 manual. It doesn't want to light up its tires quite as easily as that old Camaro did because of TRACTION. The Camaro struggled to turn in a 14 second 1/4 mile but my Vette will do mid 12's all day.

 

Flashing CEL indicates a misfire. Your car only has 14k miles so I'm not sure what the issue is...

I don't have a stock 2.73 A4 but it is a common complaint that they are pretty lazy off the line and people have trouble getting the tires to light up with them. I think it comes down to tires with that setup.

 

I have a bone stock C5. I can break the tires loose no problem. Course I have the stock goodyear run-flats

 

Nope.

I have no problem with how quick it is (hevent been to a track, but it does pull like a raped ape) but was surprised at how hard it was to spin the wheels. (stock 2001 A4, blackwing, catbacks, Michelin as zp's)

In the end, I just chalked it up to a lot of conservative control mechanisisms (Traction control, torque management, electronic throttle control (you do realize that its fly by wire right? when you stomp on it the throttle does not open all the way, it opens as much as the computer tells it to) and chassis engeneering (IRS, 50/50 weight dist, wide tires, the 2.73 rear doesnt help for burnouts anyway).

You can play with the little do-hickies all you want, in the end there is still a fair bit of computer oversight that goes on between your right foot and what the engine actually does (yes even if you shut everything off, only way to really change things is with a tune).

Its pretty black and white. Ask any old hot rodder what happens when you have this engine and the car weighs this much and you stomp on it? They will invariably tell you it will light them up like a christmas tree. There has to be a reason that doesnt happen. I think that reason is about $400 million in research that solved the wheelspin problem




Regarding the C4 v C5 comparison, again, this is my first vette but Im sure we know exactly what a stock C4 does in the qtr and what a stock C5 does, so there isnt any mystery, someone post those numbers.

I got the impression from reading the OP that the problem wasnt how quick the C5 was or wasnt, it was just the lack of wheelspin.

 

As mentioned, a better chassis layout and computer controls limits wheel spin. If you want to "light them up" do some mods. Turn off torque management. That is hurting you right there. Some bolt-on mods should help as well. The C5 is a quicker car, but it does get better traction than a C4.

 

I had an 05 GMC 5.3L that came with 2:73 gears. I seriously couldnt turn a tire on wet pavement.

I put 4:10s in it and got a tune, and it would spin tires through 2nd gear. And got better gas mileage, might i add!

 

I have 3.15 but I haven't attempted to break tires loose yet :o

 

My 2 cents:

LT1's made more torque than horse power. Stock, their power band is lower. LS1s make their power up top in the RPM range. However, LS1s still make more torque than a LT1.

That being said, both cars will weigh about the same. I weighed my friends LT1 Vette and it came in at about 3190 and my friends M6 C5 weighs 3130. I assume (because I've yet to weigh one) that the A4's are a little heavier. Am I wrong?

Anyway, the car's weights are about the same, they're both geared the same (4L60Es with 2.73s?) and so the LT1 would LIKELY get the jump on the launch. But as soon as the LS1 gets to 3500RPM, it should pull like a rocket ship past the LT1 assuming they're both bone stock.

Anyone care to chime in here?

 

but the C5 NEEDS one. Especially automatics.

 

When you get a dyno tune from a good, reputable tuner, they should have done enough to know if something's off when they tune it and they'll damn sure know if something is after looking at the results of the first pull. Before you go tune it, add any mods you're going to add. CAI (cold air intake) exhaust etc. Even if you don't get a tune, change your plugs and wires. NGK TR55's and GMPP wires are my recommendation. Consider cleaning your MAF with some CRC MAF cleaner that can be purchased at O'reillys or AutoZone. Even though your car's young in miles, maybe your cats are crap.

 

You may find some value in taking it to the local dragstrip. See what you're running in terms of 60ft, 1/8th mile, 1/4mile, etc...This will give you a good indication of where your C5 is in terms of performance, whether it's up to par or not. Plus, it's fun!

 

Not true. The ONLY time an automatic C5 will start out in 2nd gear from a dead stop is if you have the selector in 2. That's the second gear start feature, something I use quite often in the winter! And you definitely know when you're starting out in 2nd gear, I've tried it on dry pavement a few times and it's INCREDIBLY slow. So no, starting out in drive does not put it into this mode, it definitely starts out in first gear.

I have owned two different LT1s before my C5, the first one was a 95 Trans Am which was automatic with 2.73 gears (and it ran 13.94 at 98.8 mph bone stock) and the second one was a 95 Formula which was automatic with 3.23 gears (it ran 13.68 at 100 mph with an SLP catback as the only mod) The LT1s both definitely made more low end torque right off idle, and therefore that initial kick in the pants off the line just pushed you back a lot more. But it would run out of steam rather quickly while the LS1 just keeps pulling. I know for a fact that torque management is a huge limiting factor in the LS1 as well, as my car really woke up when I had that tuned out. In the LT1 there is little to no torque management at all built into it's programming. So to even the playing field off the line, the LS1 does need to be tuned, and even still it won't have as much torque below about 2500 like the LT1 does (remember, the LT1's torque peak is somewhere around 2500, while the LS1 is at about 3500).

 

By his reasoning ,the C4 would not beat his C5 off the line,it would be sitting still spinnng it's tires! LOL

 

LT1 sounds faster (better)
LS1 is faster (better)

 

ok, my buddy has a 1995 C4 A4 with performance gear (3.07) and a 80 dry shot of nitrous. It has a SLP 3 cone intake, 160 degree thermostat, new radiator, muffler deletes, and a good tune. On the bottle he put down 321hp and 355 ft/lbs.
My car is a 2000 C5 A4 with 2.73, all i have is a flip tie mod and straight pipes.
We did some runs a few weeks ago and when my gear catches good, i leave him like he's tied to something.


Short run from like 30-90 or 100. It was bad, so I let out pretty soon.

As for the car not breaking loose in your car. Please tell me you turned your traction controll OFF. If not it will cut fuel and bog you down. With it off I can do pretty nice little burnouts.

 

I have an A4/2.73...drove it stock for a while and can certainly attest to it's sluggish launch. It would not spin from a dig regardless of the traction control being on or not!

Some will argue that's a good thing, because spinnin aint winnin! 2.73's make launching enemic, but idiot proof at the same time!

Since then I've done lots of mods...heads/cam/3.42's/vig2800 and now launching is an art and a science!

According to my gtech...the 2.73 with a K&N FIPK, long tubes, tune etc would pull 0-60 in 4.7 secs. Now she does sub 4 sec 0-60! All on street rubber (T1R's).

The launch might give you the false impression that it's slower than the C4, but a run to 60 would certainly leave the C4 with a nice view of the C5's big sexy butt! The generally accepted 0-60 time in stock configuration for a 2.73 C5 is 5.15 sec.

You have an amazing platform there to work with that will respond extremely well to mods.

Hope this helps. Any questions, hit me up.

al