When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Funny the Other day at Work a Guy was Ragging on the C5 Vette...he was Talking about the HP..or Lack of...asked me what mine was...I told Him mine was the standard C5 with a 5.7 LS1 motor at 350hp ..I said you can get the Z06 with more...there is another guy there in the shop that drives a GT Mustang...once in a while he drives his dad's 2006 Vette to work...he chimed in and said sure the older vette's don't have as much HP as some of the newer cars.....but Billy's..(Me) will smoke about 90% of the cars on the road today...even being 14 years old..Including yours.....so what's your Point....after I thought about it for a few Mins...sure it's a 14 years old C5 but true....to this Day it will run off and leave most cars on the road...today...and Looks good doing it....
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 '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Your co-worker is right, anymore there are quite a few cars whose HP meets or exceeds that of the base C5. But, the C5 can still hold its own against quite a few of them. Pretty good for as old as the platform is.
I have headers, Vararam CAI,LS 6 intake and a tune,I have a few bikes mess with me and I went a few miles with a C7 !!!! held my own(dusted the bikes) The guy with the C7 gave me a thumbs up !!!!!
The C5 still has a power to weight advantage which is the big equalizer.With the C5 Z06 coming in at about 3100 lbs, and most of the performance cars today in the 3500 to 4000 range,it cancels out the HP difference.
#/HP is good on the C5, particularly the Z. Not a ton of cars that can do all that a C5Z can do in one package.
3.9 0-60
11.97 1/4 mile
1.03G skid
170MPH top speed
Pretty impressive even in 2015 I'd say.
Newer 's are may have more horsepower, but most of them are also offset by being a LOT heavier than the C5. Let's not forget the C5's very low coefficient of drag at only .29 for the Coupe. That plays in also.
I have headers, Vararam CAI,LS 6 intake and a tune,I have a few bikes mess with me and I went a few miles with a C7 !!!! held my own(dusted the bikes) The guy with the C7 gave me a thumbs up !!!!!
What kinda bikes? My Z06 would be destroyed by my stock Yamaha, my buddies 800+hp Supra can't even keep up with it(though his top speed is higher since the bike has a 186mph limiter)
Tipping the scales at just over 3000 lb's is the C5's greatest secret weapon and the very slippery body that just slices though the air completes the package IMHO
My '02 Coupe has more than adequate power to suit me. I'm no racer and don't come close to driving my car at its limits. And I'd guess neither do most of those drivers with newer, much more powerful cars. Those drivers may win the numbers game, but I'm happy with what I've got.
Last edited by Mickeyrx70; Dec 12, 2015 at 05:08 AM.
My '02 Coupe has more than adequate power to suit me. I'm no racer and don't come close to driving my car at its limits. And I'd guess neither do most of those drivers with newer, much more powerful cars. Those drivers may win the numbers game, but I'm happy with what I've got.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
Originally Posted by R1 Rider
What kinda bikes? My Z06 would be destroyed by my stock Yamaha, my buddies 800+hp Supra can't even keep up with it(though his top speed is higher since the bike has a 186mph limiter)
I was going to ask the same thing... huffys or harleys?... there's no way an i/h/e c5 is going to keep up with even a 600 let alone dust it
I don't know bikes,other than they were not Harleys. They are all streamline looking and they wanted to go when I was at 3500 in 2nd and by the time I hit 4th then they went by 120 plus !!!!!! (I had already let off)
As anyone that races knows,...........everything comes down to power to weight ratio and traction. The Corvette has a low number and is much faster than one would expect for a 350HP car. With basic tweaks (LT Headers, intake, X pipes, Z06 catback and COW tune), I can confidently state a near 400HP at the crank setup and low to mid 12s in the 1/4 mile. Mid 12s are fast,..........even today.
Newer 's are may have more horsepower, but most of them are also offset by being a LOT heavier than the C5. Let's not forget the C5's very low coefficient of drag at only .29 for the Coupe. That plays in also.
That may be true for the so called 'pony cars', but the corvette weights have been pretty constant over the last few models
C-5 3300lbs
C-6 3230 lbs
C-7 3288 lbs
With the base C-7 putting out 450+ HP you're in a whole different world.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
Originally Posted by BSenzina
WHO CARES if they have a faster Mustang or Camero or crotch-rocket ! ! At the end of the day, thats STILL all they have........WE HAVE CORVETTES ! ! !
I love my c5z but in reality these are still 11+ old year cars that most are sub 20k in price... many of the other cars on the road are more expensive than c5's so don't get too hung up on the status statement
Originally Posted by Pappy11
You come across a Harley with a 120R Motor in it...watch out...over 150hp to the rear wheel...and at 980 lbs....that sucker will fly....
a 600cc bike is not much less than that hp-wise and less than half of the weight, the point being that a bolt on ls1 c5 will not be able to match the acceleration... in a very high speed pull it might be able to eventually catch and pass the bike due to the top speed suffering in the smaller bikes but in a short sprint I don't see it happening if it was a legit race, I'll have to call bs
I love my c5z but in reality these are still 11+ old year cars that most are sub 20k in price... many of the other cars on the road are more expensive than c5's so don't get too hung up on the status statement
a 600cc bike is not much less than that hp-wise and less than half of the weight, the point being that a bolt on ls1 c5 will not be able to match the acceleration... in a very high speed pull it might be able to eventually catch and pass the bike due to the top speed suffering in the smaller bikes but in a short sprint I don't see it happening if it was a legit race, I'll have to call bs
Did I say it was a drag race,I said they messed with me , that means they pulled up along side and revved their bike, then we both nailed it and when we caught up to traffic I was ahead !!!!! A few times means like 3 times. One thing I do know about bikes is everyone who drive one thinks they are fast. Maybe they were mopeds !!!!!
Funny the Other day at Work a Guy was Ragging on the C5 Vette...he was Talking about the HP..or Lack of...asked me what mine was...I told Him mine was the standard C5 with a 5.7 LS1 motor at 350hp ..I said you can get the Z06 with more...there is another guy there in the shop that drives a GT Mustang...once in a while he drives his dad's 2006 Vette to work...he chimed in and said sure the older vette's don't have as much HP as some of the newer cars.....but Billy's..(Me) will smoke about 90% of the cars on the road today...even being 14 years old..Including yours.....so what's your Point....after I thought about it for a few Mins...sure it's a 14 years old C5 but true....to this Day it will run off and leave most cars on the road...today...and Looks good doing it....
Want more horses? Pretty simple. Supercharge it.
Even on a completely stock C5 an A&A or ECS kit, with safe 6-7 lbs boost, you are looking at 480 RWHP or about 540 crank HP.
Not too many cars going to be able to keep up with that!