LT1 vs LS1 disappointment
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Team Owner
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LT1 vs LS1 disappointment
There could very possibly be something wrong with my car, but today was the first time I ever tried to run it the least bit hard since I bought it 4 weeks ago and I was very disappointed. I had a C4 with highway gears and I could sit at a stop light and turn off the traction control. When that light changed I would stomp it and get a decent spin out of the tires until it hooked up and pulled hard. The C5 I have now has NO launch. I turned off traction control and hit it and it just moved forward, no spin. I put it in competitive driving mode...no spin. It is as if I am starting off with my foot on the brake. Now don't get me wrong, it DOES perform. A stomp at 60 will have me over 100 in a blink of an eye, but from a dead stop, my C4 would blow this cars doors off. This is a 2004 CE vert with 14k on the clock. Any idea why it is such a dog? Am I doing something wrong? Is there some aspect of this car I don't understand that would cause this to happen? I am not 100% certain, but I am 99% certain BOTH have 2:73 gears.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2008
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From: Red city in deep blue Oregon
St. Jude Donor '17
Oh boy....Questions need to be asked here! 
I went from a C4 A4 2.59 to a C5 M6 3.42. (2004 CE Vert)
NO comparison......although when I was driving the C4 I enjoyed EVERY minute of it!
You don't say whether your C5 is an auto or manual....but I don't believe they share 2.73 gears.
Check your RPO codes.
I went from a C4 A4 2.59 to a C5 M6 3.42. (2004 CE Vert)
NO comparison......although when I was driving the C4 I enjoyed EVERY minute of it!
You don't say whether your C5 is an auto or manual....but I don't believe they share 2.73 gears.
Check your RPO codes.
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If you have 2.73 gears in your C5, that is part of the problem. Other than that, I'd say there would have to be something else wrong with the car if your C5 can't outperform an LT1. I had two LT1s and two LS1s and the C5s were much better performers hands down.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Joplin, MO, USA
Depending on the C4, it probably was tuned for torque (L98, for instance), and ran out of steam about the time the C5 started to really turn on. The C4s had a lot of "seat of the pants" feeling up to about 60, but at higher speeds couldn't breathe enough to produce a whole lot of power. Hope this makes sense!
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Team Owner
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Depending on the C4, it probably was tuned for torque (L98, for instance), and ran out of steam about the time the C5 started to really turn on. The C4s had a lot of "seat of the pants" feeling up to about 60, but at higher speeds couldn't breathe enough to produce a whole lot of power. Hope this makes sense!
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Thread Starter
Team Owner
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They were both automatics so it does not apply. I bought autos because I live in Houston and traffic typically sucks and an hour spent pushing in the clutch has no appeal to me. I had a stick for about a year and it was torture.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: LAND OF OZ Kansas
Look at your diferential, and it will say the ratio your tranny has. It's either 2:73 gears or the optional 3:15 rear end. If I get on the vette hard enough, it will burn the tires and then when it grabs the road it takes off like a rapped ape. Although the car does "launch" and it wont spin the tires much, which is true, unless you really mean to spin them.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 2001
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Look at your diferential, and it will say the ratio your tranny has. It's either 2:73 gears or the optional 3:15 rear end. If I get on the vette hard enough, it will burn the tires and then when it grabs the road it takes off like a rapped ape. Although the car does "launch" and it wont spin the tires much, which is true, unless you really mean to spin them.
Ok I looked it up. The C4 had the 2.59 rear end.
Last edited by Aerovette; Aug 27, 2009 at 12:18 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Pennsylvania
2.73s are terrible. Get a set of 3.42 and a Yank 3200, and you will be truly surprised at the gain in performance. Now if I turn the tc off and hit it, it will spin for a hell of a long time.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: LAND OF OZ Kansas
Yup, 2:73's aren't the best gears. I have a friend who has a cousin who has a nephew that has a millenium yellow C5, and that car has 2:73 gears. They also have a ford lightning and they have had them both the C5 with the 2:73's and the Ligthning at the track and the ligthning won. They are both bone stock.
Drifting
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From: st.louis mo.
Drifting
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From: Qualicum Beach British Columbia
I believe that if you start in Drive you are in 2nd gear.
Melting Slicks
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From: Mission Viejo, CA
St. Jude Donor '10, '15-'16
People seem to be missing your point over and over.
There is something wrong with your car if it truly is slower than your C4. Period.
C5 with 2.73s is in the mid 13s on average. A few "freak" cars in the low 13s but that generally is not the norm without the performance axle. I think auto LT1 C4s without performance gears are in the high 13-low 14 category, right?
I can see the LT1 feeling faster if you're just punching it off the line without brake torquing. By the time you get up to highway speeds the C5 should feel a hell of a lot faster.
There is something wrong with your car if it truly is slower than your C4. Period.
C5 with 2.73s is in the mid 13s on average. A few "freak" cars in the low 13s but that generally is not the norm without the performance axle. I think auto LT1 C4s without performance gears are in the high 13-low 14 category, right?
I can see the LT1 feeling faster if you're just punching it off the line without brake torquing. By the time you get up to highway speeds the C5 should feel a hell of a lot faster.