I'm with this guy. I've actually been dreaming of another c5 to build while I drive my c5z daily.

 

Thank you for the kind words buddy... How is it that I live about 20 mi North of you and I have never seen this beauty!!? We should gtg sometime.... If you are in Allen, we should meet at Whole Foods in the morning.... you know they have a meet there every Saturday morning... I am headed to look at picking up an 02 35th LE SS tomorrow morning anyway.... would love to see your car in person! GORGEOUS!!!!

 

c6z all day, not a fan of modded cars anymore. no will to spend the hours of wrench time needed to maintain and fix them so much more often than stock.

every person i have ever met with a modded car including myself has spend more time & $$ per mile to drive it than stock

back in 2002-2004 tons of c5s were modded. how many of those do you see at 100k with the same heads and cam packages today?

hear the crickets chirp? i sure do

 

I didn't know there is a meet at Whole Foods. I try to head to various GTG's with my son from time to time (he attends Austin College up in Sherman and has an '07 C6 coupe... so he blazes a trail down 75 every so often).

What time do you guys get together each Saturday morning? I may try to hit that up at some point. Drop me a PM next time you go.

Glad you found a 35th F-body that meets your standards! Those are very cool!

 

How about a C6 ZR1, does that count? There's one identical to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevro...rvette_ZR1_(C6) I see on my daily work break walks. Not too shabby at all...

 

38k miles and N/A build going strong...runs awesome. I'll likely have built a new motor (just because) not because I have to by 100k.

 

So it seems at the end of the day 20k+ in mods in either car will likely only add half of that or less to either the c5 or c6?

Not sure why people would say a stock C6Z would be more reliable than a built motor C5...

Also I note a lot of the comparison is the C5Z. I didn't like the styling until I kept seeing all these cars! I still love the amenities of my C5 Coupe. Any Coupe owners modded with opinions?

 

i can write a shopping list.

provided the valve guides in the ls7 are tight you make 500hp with a mild cam. that's #1, the aggressive ramp rates needed to make 500hp in a 346 hammer guides and seats.

second you have the parts investment and the lack of resale when you go to sell unless you demod

third if you use a large cam in a 346 you typically increase compression which increases cylinder pressure which increases wear on the bearings and overall dynamic load on the engine.

if you're like the guy above who thinks 38k is a lot of miles it may be okay. if you see corvettes as disposable grocery getters like i do then you're more interested in 200-250k miles which isn't in the cards with high cylinder pressure and aggressive ramp rates.

there is also the wildcard of the tune and countless guys wind up with maps that are on the ragged edge of acceptable timing and pop holes in pistons when various situations come up.

then there is all the money you spend. if you put 5k in an engine with basic mods you need another 1k in the clutch, another 500 in couplers, another 500 to rebuild the LSD and another 1000 every other year in street tires. we also have suspension to look at and testing various combos before you find one that works with your driving style and power level. if slicks come into play that's $1200 more in skf race hubs to handle the 1.2+ g's and an even shorter bushing life

if brakes come into the situation that's a big chunk at $3000-6000 for a decent 4 piston AP or brembo setup

that's just a basic car let alone getting into downforce or race motors

with the price of formula fords and retired lola race cars hovering around 20k i can't for the life of me understand why someone would mod a street car when actual race cars are not only so much easier to work on, they are often cheaper to maintain AND a hell of a lot more precise to lap. you can spend 20k just doing a fairly basic mod package on a c5 like i outlined above

 

This thread is becoming ridiculous. Of course modded cost more than stock.
200-250k miles? The average person doesn't even keep their Camry that long.
I've been making 600+ rwhp since 2007 on the same motor. I don't think that's the norm, but plenty of stock motors have failed in that time. I'm not at 200k miles, and may never be. This is a weekend toy for me.
An important question to ask yourself is how far you want to go with the modding. Of course a stock C6Z is better than a C5, but if you go far enough all of those parts that make a difference will be replaced anyway. If I were shopping those two vehicles today I'd be looking at the C6Z, but I wouldn't even consider trading my car for one.

 

I wouldn't want a Ls7 if it was free. Most unreliable Ls motor ever made. I've fixed and pulled so many...I think the Ls6 and Ls3 are the best motors for mods and durability.

 

that's insanely good. do you just street drive it? if so, why? seems like a waste of money if you aren't racing.


if you got 50-70hrs of lap time on an engine like that i would consider it long livid

 

it's really not. some came with loose guides, fix that and it's pretty solid

 

We are talking about "modded" C5Z's vs Modded C6Z's.... Cam, Heads/Cam, H/C bolt on's.... FI, Nitrous, Forged Strokers, Too any variables to simply say Modding a 346/7 is a waste of time... they don't last... that is a pretty broad statement.

I have 3 of my Vett'e friends who have stepped up from a C5 platform to the C6Z/GS and have modded the **** out of em... they drive them HARD on the street and at the track. some are FI, some built Strokers, some w Nitrous.. If built RIGHT and maintained the 427's,434's are very reliable. Conversely, I have several of my friends with built C5Z's, H/C, Stroker, FI, Nitrous and guess what... These guys drive the **** out of theirs too w no adverse effects. I know of 1 JA who threw a blower on his car w some ridiculous cam amd a ****** tune from some jug head and it blew....
For me personally, My 414ci Stroker w a 150 shot ( soon to be 200) is very reliable and I would not hesitate to drive it anywhere! Oh and I race it HARD whenever I get the opportunity. In the end, they are both great platforms.. If I could do it again I would build a C6Z.... My next Vette will be a C6Z,GS or the C6ZR1... and I will most likely keep my "money pit" C5Z...

 

Yes, every Saturday morning around 0800... It's mostly old dudes w older cars... Nothing like Car and Coffee on the first Saturday of the month.. a group of us usually drive together over there as well. You and your son should join us sometime. I'll shoot you PM... Hope to see that gorgeous EB C5Z soon....

Fbody's are my weakness I always have 1 or two in my garage They are my "flip" cars that help to build my Vette.... Think i'll keep the 35th LE and build it. My first car in high school was a 78 Z28, I worked two jobs for that car....

 

Make no mistake, the car is a huge waste of money. Fortunately, it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. It's used mostly for top end pulls and has been 7k rpm more times than I can count. I do take it to the gym once in a while, but usually when I take it out I'm driving away from town and traffic.

 

I've owned two C6Z's and 1 C5Z. All modded but one C6Z. My vote would go the the C6Z with doing the heads, no question. My C5Z had a blower, stage 3 heads and meth and it was a screamer, that being said the 6 is the overall better car and gets my vote.

 

yep

 

again, this guy makes a lot of sense...

 

I've been drag racing and road racing the same 416 Ls3 for 9 years. I changed the valve springs. That's it. That's running 10s, and road racing with full Aero and slicks. In all this time I've been enjoying mine, I've fixed 10+ stock c6zs because they are crap. I can't hear the crickets over the sound of the valves dropping in the c6 section.

 

I love the C6Z but I want a removable top and I've had a C6 and now have a C5 so I'll take a C7.