Car sounds great, Mark.

 

Thanks, Nick!

Went up to England Green today, and there it was, the new owner(sold it 5 months ago) had dropped it off for work. Sure did look sharp

 

I almost fullly agree:

C5Z > 2008+ C6 > 2006-07 C6 > C5 > 05 C6

I'd MUCH rather have a base C5 over a base 05 C6 due to them having the same transmissions, but the C6 having the issues it has. Not to mention, the LS2 wasn't all that spectacular.

 

I'd agree with that. The 2005 C6 didn't do much for me either, but the LS2's larger bore is nice if you are just going to do heads/cam...

 

I thought about trading my C5 Z06 for an 07 C6. I test drove one and went with a heads/cam route on my Z. The C6 is just too tame feeling for me.

 

Im not sure about the c5 over c6 thing but I just picked up a c5 z06 from my 04 cobra... The z06 makes my cobra feel like a geo metro! I love the vette!

 

I just gained 55 rwhp and about 50ft lbs of tq with my 08LS3 with simple bolt ons. Let me see an C5 Zo6 do that? That motor is only 346cubic inches and the LS1 is out dated compared to an LS3. My car is just plan sick now other than some suspension work.

Here is my graph:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/dynamo...-tune-k-n.html

 

Nobody is saying the LS3 is a bad engine, I've praised it in this thread and many others. Also the C5Z has a LS6, not LS1 and I would hope the LS3 is an improved design...it is 8 years newer.

Having said that, the C5Z is no slouch and once modding begins all bets are off. Due to the low initial cost, a potential C5Z owner can add much more HP for the same price...and wipe the floor with many a LS3.

As for handling? The suspension is nearly the same and the C5Z is a little lighter. Again, once modded...it's a wash.

Good luck with your C6!

 

I LOL'd.

It's kind of shocking to hear this kind of comment. Nobody said anything about the LS3 being anything other than a great motor. But lets face it, it's not in a C5Z. LOL

Put the LS3 in a C5Z and you get the best of both worlds... Looks and a superior motor. Of course, that's an opinion. The LS6 was designed more than a half a decade before the LS3. We could only hope that things get better with time. But just the same, minor bolt-ons to the LS6 yield a lot of power too. Maybe not as much as an LS3, but we can contribute that to better head technology and more displacement.

Both the LS3 C6s and the 02+ Z06s are right on par with each other. However, in my opinion (and many others) the C5Z looks better and feels better on the road. I honestly don't like the plain look of the base C6 and I don't like how docile it feels. Although it's great for just touring around. And since the C5Z is far lighter and 1/2 the cost of an LS3 C6, it has a lot more potential dollar for dollar. The only real issue with the LS3s is that they have crank case pressure issues. That dry sump really makes the biggest difference (if you get the dry sump).

Don't get me wrong, if someone offered me a C6, I'd take it. But I wouldn't get rid of my C5Z if I could only keep one.

So basically, if you put an LS3 in a C5Z you're ahead of the game still.

 

In my opinion, I am so glad that GM switched the head lamps from flipping up. Every other year you would have to get a new motor cause it would break and it would be a couple of hundred bucks. That got old real quick. I think that the 08 C6 specific has a better interior and is all around a better car. Much more potential as far as power building with the LS3 heads and larger displacement. Let me see a bolt on C5Z get 430 ft pounds of torque on a mustang dyno.

 

I have never had issues with my head lights going all the way back to my first 91 vette. Plus they are daily drivers so they get used every day. As for the nose of the base vette with the fixed headlights, it doesn't do it for me. Who cares about mods because that all depends on what you spend. Let me see a stock LS3 in T1 configuration dominate SCCA like the C5Z did. Won't happen. Let me see a stock LS3's lap time at the Ring. They won't do it. I am not bashing the C6 like you are bashing the C5Z, just sticking up for my preference.

 

OK, a REAL objective post then:

Yeah... I don't mind stationary headlights. But I'm not a fan of the C6's headlights. I like that the C5s are flip-ups, but I don't like the height of them. There's a lot of mods out there to change the flips to stationary, but that takes away from it's character. Flip ups are a part of the generation, aesthetically. I'm waiting for JMW to finish those lower opening flip-ups with the HIDs. Then I'll truly be happy.

When the C6 first came out, I mostly only saw them at night and thought they looked too much like Ferraris due to those headlights. They look like F360 headlights and I'm not really a fan of the looks of that car. There are design cues from the C6 I do like, but I'm pretty sure I'll always like the looks of the C5Z more. The notch-back look is menacing and tough. Like a mix between a sports car and a muscle car. The C5Z doesn't really need much in the way of appearance mods to look good. I see a lot of C6 guys putting all the C6Z06 and C6ZR1 panels on the car to get away from that plain look. GM realized the car looked plain and put those panels on them stock for the GS which now out-sells the base C6.

Aesthetically, the only thing on my C5 I changed were the tail lights, reverse lights, and the DRLs just to freshen up the look of the car and keep it clean. Inside the car, I've only added a trunk divider. I'm very happy with the interior of the C5s, to be honest. Other than not having a double-din radio from the factory, there's really nothing I would have changed other than maybe the cup holder (which, BTW, holds a power Jamba Juice perfectly!).

I'm really not sure why people complain about the C5 interior. I've been in lots of C6s and I hardly notice much of a difference. Even the gauges are about the same.

The C5Z has crappy seats. I'll say that is an immense draw back on the car. Although, the base C6 seats aren't much better. My friend with an 06 Coupe and I spent lots of time comparing how crappy both of our seats were to each other. LOL I think that regardless of which generation you get (unless you get a C6Zxx) you will want to change the seats anyway. The C6Z06 seats are rather nice. They hold you WAY better than the C5Z seats. They're also more supportive. You might as well be seating on a wide leather couch with the C5Z seats.

The LS3 with dry sump is pretty much the perfect motor if you can afford it. As long as these Gen IV motors have something to scavenge the oil and suck out crank case pressure, they're simply awesome. But I wouldn't get an LS3 without dry sump and I wouldn't swap one into my car without dry sump. The LS6/LS1 still has it's place, but there's simply not replacement for displacement. If you put L92/LS3 heads on an LS2, you're in a good shape. LS3s make more power with bolt-ons than an LS1/6 because their heads are way better and they have a half a liter of displacement on the Gen IIIs. So of course it's going to make more power. It really goes without saying.

The LS2 didn't make more power than the LS6 even with its slightly larger displacement because the cam wasn't at all aggressive. In fact, it was less aggressive than the 01 LS6 cam. The LS2 intake is also a limiting factor on the LS2s vs. the LS6s (even with the 90mm TB vs. the 78mm). This, in it self, is the main reason I wouldn't deal with an LS2 C6 at all.

The biggest draw back from the LS1/LS6 is its bore. Unfortunately, it seems almost everything made for LSx heads now are for 4.000 bores, which sucks for us 5.7L guys. It's too expensive to resleeve, which means changing blocks. More hassle than it's really worth unless you got plenty of money to spend.

HOWEVER, if you compare the price of a super-clean low-miles C5Z to a mid-miles pretty decent LS3 C6, you're going to save between $18-20K on the purchase which is more than enough money to swap in an LS7 with dry sump and still have some change in your pocket.

------ Bottom Line ------
Both cars are fast. Stock for stock they're right on par with each other in both acceleration and handling.
I guess I'll have to submit to the majority opinion that the LS3 C6 interior is nicer than the C5Z.
The C5Z is lighter and only comes in a stick shift.
The LS3 C6 is heavier, but has the option for the auto with paddle shifters.
The LS3 has more power-making potential dollar for dollar, but you spend more money upfront.
The C5Z will get better economy due to it's lighter weight and smaller displacement.
The C5Z has a raw feeling. It gives you more feed back and response.
The LS3 C6 has a tame, more touring, feeling while driving. Doesn't give you nearly as much feed back and response, but is more comfortable to drive long distance.
The C5Z has flip up headlights. Some have issues with these motors, but I personally have never had issues with any of my C5s.
The C6 has stationary headlights, which are HIDs, that definitely are a driving improvement over the C5's halogens.

Does this sum it up?

 

Yes it does. TO eric reeves I am sticking up for my prefrence as well. I wasn't basing the C5Z like you say. I was refering more with there LS6 motor Compared to the LS3 in my opinion its updated and has more hp potential. Have you seen the C6 1/4 mile challenge what some stock LS3 C6's are running?

Read this thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-the-ls3s.html

 

The fact that I see middle-aged women rolling around in automatic transmission C6's nearly every day pretty much makes my decision for me