c4 owner





The C5 has a number of common problems that have popped up over the years - rocking seats, column lock, rear differential seals, electrical gremlins and headlight motors just to name a few. That is not to say though that every C5 has these issues - some may never have any of them. Overall, IMO, the C5 is a pretty reliable platform and a great bang for the buck, as well as a positive upgrade over the C4 in many areas. As 8VETTE7 mentioned, check out the stickies at the top of the page, including the one on Buying a C5. Lots of good info there.
The C5 Corvette's floor is constructed using two layers of an aircraft type composite material wrapped around a balsa wood core. The balsa wood helps filter out noise and vibration, and makes the floor 10 times stiffer than the use of composites alone. Numerous "high tech" synthetic fillers were tried, but none matched the stiffness, light weight and damping performance of natural balsa wood.
The chassis side rails were shaped through a process called hydroforming, as opposed to the multiple stampings and welding of the C4 Corvette. The new design was part of the reason why the designers were able to lower the door sill by about four inches. Using seamless tubular steel contributed to the strength of the chassis.
Of the many innovations of the C5, the rear transaxle was at the top of the list. With a transaxle design, the transmission and the differential are located in a combined case at the rear axle. This was the same layout used in the Porsche 944 and Ferrari Daytona. The goal was improved balance; with the weight shifted more to the rear a better front / rear weight distribution was possible. In the case of the C5, weight distribution was 51% front / 49% rear which is close to ideal and an excellent statistic for a front engine car. Another advantage of the rear transaxle was more space in the cockpit area, which resolved a complaint from C4 owners who felt that the footwell areas was too small. Note the torque tube in front of the transaxle and to the right in the above photo. It mechanically coupled the engine to the transaxle which improved handling response, delivering that wonderful and often elusive "sports car feel".
Last edited by 73Corvette; Apr 13, 2015 at 04:40 PM.















