First time buyer
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 148
Likes: 3
First time buyer
I am looking to geting into a Vett and don't know where to start. I was lucky enough to grow up at the track with a good friend who let me run one of his bracket cars and fell in love with it. But being young and haveing other expensive hobbies kept me from ever getting a fast car. Now that things have settled out I am able to do what I always wanted to do as a teen. I have been looking at C5 Frc cars with the a4. I want a car for short road trips and street night at the track as well as a street car to run in the foot break classes on trophy nights hence the auo trans. I am mechanically inclined enough to do most mods myself and some fab work. What I would like to know is what Options I should be looking for in a c5. I know the deeper gears are more desirable, is there an upgraded suspension as well? What are average stock times I could expect to run with this platform? I want to keep driveability and not crack the motor for internal mods untill I blow it up. What would be a reasonable est. 1/4 mile with full boltons ie.( longtubes back, all intake work, pullys, moderate stall and a set of drag tires for the track days and a 150 shot? Any input is greatly appreciated.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,962
Likes: 254
From: Richmond, Ky
Not going to find many A4 FRC cars out there. They all started as 6 speeds but, at least you recognize the hottest body style they made in a C5
. I spent months and months looking for the right car for me. Research, research, and research.
. I spent months and months looking for the right car for me. Research, research, and research.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 11,206
Likes: 1,139
From: Santa Rosa Beach FL
Racer
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 419
Likes: 3
From: Lexington VA
St. Jude Donor '11
Hey txboatman:
I got a kick out of your post. You don't have the car yet but you write about not doing certain mods "until I blow it up".
Is that optimistic pessimism?
It's all good I guess!
I got a kick out of your post. You don't have the car yet but you write about not doing certain mods "until I blow it up".
Is that optimistic pessimism?
It's all good I guess!
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 11,039
Likes: 2,592
From: Del Boca Vista FL
Optimistic pessimism; NOT. I have a friend with the same attitude. Run it hard until a part breaks, fix it better and run it hard until it breaks again. Once you fix it so that part doesn't break something else will. Then start over. It keeps you occupied and you learn lots.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,340
Likes: 24,779
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
With an A4 tranny, find one that has at least the 3.15 rear gears in it. If you can find one that already has been modded to a 3.42 or lower gear, then you can save a bit of money down the road. Stock with the 3.15 gears you should be able to do about a 5.0 0-60 time and somewhere around a 13.3-13.5 1/4 mile time - just depends on the car and the driver. If you plan on doing any autocrossing, you can look for a car with the Z51 suspension - or you can just get the base suspension and add something like the C6 Z06 sway bars and shocks to it.
With the mods you list at the end of your post, you should get well into the 12s down the 1/4 mile - at least that would be my guess.
Good luck with your search.
With the mods you list at the end of your post, you should get well into the 12s down the 1/4 mile - at least that would be my guess.
Good luck with your search.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 148
Likes: 3
The term I like to use is realism. I guess I spent too much time around guys with track cars. It will all break sooner or later it's just a matter of what and when. I think I use broken parts as a way to justify spending money on new better parts. Thanks for the links and input, I am getting excited about having a project after working strait time for the last 13 months.
