getherejune

Hi all!
Quick question. I found an '02 with 45k. It's in super shape. 2nd owner. Good weather driver only. Found out that the 2nd owner took it to some track days. The car looked and drove really well from what I've learned here on the forum. It threw no DTC codes after I cleared them out. I drive it for 30 minutes. The only thing I noticed was a slight lifters tick and it went away after warm up. Should I be concerned about buying this car when it was lightly tracked? The car isn't modded at all. Thanks for any help. It would be greatly appreciated.

JP

cv67

Not a chance

getherejune

thx for the reply cuis-so, just to make sure i'm understanding you correctly, are you saying not a chance as in don't even consider buying it or not a chance as in a lightly tracked vette shouldn't be a concern (from what i gathered in talking to him, he tracked it 3 or 4 times (which who knows on that one) about 6 yrs ago. Car is in very good shape as i said, but the lifter tick upon start up had me a bit concerned....
jp

Rob 02

I don't think it would bother me. It was made for that. It mentions this several times in the owners manual.
If it was tracked then was it modified?
What kind of track event?

El original

Please tell us what an "lightly tracked" Corvette means??!

Tru Blu

Not sure what "lightly tracked" actually means and you may never really know without asking more questions but the 'lifter tick" may well be piston slap which sounds similar, goes away after warm up, and is common in LS1's. As far as I know, not really a concern.

getherejune

thanx rob-not modded except he changed out the calipers he said (no engine or suspension mods). As far as the track events, i inquired about that. I asked him if they were SCCA events (my son took the tire rack driving class that scca sponsered so that is the only reason i am familiar w/them) and if he went around cones for time-he said no, that he went around a track with very strict rules such as no passing, etc. So, i'm out of my element here as i'm not familiar at all with track events. Does that help? Car seems to be well priced for an 02 w/low miles and in very nice shape compared to 90% of the C5's ive been looking at over the last 2 months but purchase price is only part of the equation for sure! (there was also the lifter tick at start up that i'm not sure if i should be concerned with-I know all my toyo's have it, but this ain't no toyota!!)
jp

RSbeast

The only difference between that car and every other c5 is that you have an honest seller.

Going out for some light track days doesn't hurt anything. Tons of high heat lapping sessions at the limit; sure a little, but not some novice run group that probably doesn't even get the brake fluids hot. At worst it might see more peppering on the nose from chips.

The REAL killer of c5s is stick on chrome, letting them sit dormant in damp garages, and neglecting to realize there is more to the car than washing the paint and putting it to car show/ golf course. Those cars are often FAR more neglected than someone using and maintaining a vehicle as designed.

Clean car, priced right that you WANT = buy.

Excessv

My 02 Z06 has 31,000 miles the previous owner did track it but he also upgraded the suspension as well as the cooling system and added transmission cooler. He also added a roll bar, I may some day do a track event or two but I can tell you he definitely kept this car in shape. They are made to run and if they have been taken care of you will have no issues.
The only thing I have that needs to be corrected are some rock chips down low on the passenger side. I will fix that in time - don't be afraid of a little track time these cars are a blast to drive!

3sACROWD

Do you have a trusted mechanic you can take it to or take with you, That could ease your mind about the engine.

Does the car meet your wants and desires? This is a car you want, not a car you need. Take your time and get exactly what you want and you will be happy with your purchase. Compromise too much and you will second guess yourself for a long time. Trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right, walk.

I looked at over 30 Vettes. I knew I was going to buy my Vette the moment I saw it. Looks, maintenance, and price were right so I didn't hesitate. Everyone questioned my decision to buy a high mileage car until they saw it. It had 167,000 miles on it at the time. It currently sits with 264,000 miles. I still look at it and admire it and only have one regret. That regret is I'm not responsible for all of the car's miles.

Lexybird

Never heard of a guy going lightly on a race track

getherejune

OK-all good points and i really thank you all for your opinions. I am totally sure that he is a novice and was just running it out at the track to go fast legally. And that he did it 5+ years ago i think shows he didn't go out and dork something up and then figure he needed to dump it fast (I used to restore vintage mustangs so by no means am i a car expert but i know a little bit-just next to nothing about vettes, but trying to learn for sure!) And thanks tru blu-yep, i dug up some you tubes on ls-1's piston slap and thats what it is so i'm not worried about that now. Kudos to this forum because i learned on here how to check the DTC's, and he didn't even know how to do that and was asking ME questions about his car (and i dont even own one yet and was just going off of stuff i've read on this forum!!) Thus my assumption that he was more of a C5 novice than me Now just have to decide if its "the one"! Thanks so much again all-
jp

SaberD

You can literally beat the living hell out of a stock c5 with everything you have, and it will be like nothing ever happened. These cars are made for the track. there are still stock c5's being raced with over 100k track miles on them. 4 times is nothing.

It might be a good thing because it shows that it can take a beating without breaking. With a car that wasn't driven hard, you never know what might come up when you do decide to give it some hell. If I go to buy a performance car, I'm going to ask the seller to show me how hard they can drive it. If they refuse to demonstrate the capabilities of the vehicle, I'd shy away.

I would never buy a car that was modded for power increase. There are stock vettes with over 100k with more life left in them than some modded ones with 50k. Adding power only reduces longevity unless you completely rebuild the engine and drivetrain with better parts which maybe 1% of people who add power actually do.

mkiv808

It was made for tracking. I would actually rather have a C5 that was owned by someone who can properly drive, than someone who can barely shift a manual and has trashed the drivetrain just putzing around town.

My old Z06 that I sold years ago was owned by Ranger, and had dozens of drag passes on it. That car was FLAWLESS.

Vetteman Jack

This pretty much sums it up. If the car is in good shape both mechanically and cosmetically and it meets all your must have desires, I wouldn't worry about a lightly tracked one. Good luck with your decision.

Rob Petyo

I've tracked mine for a few years and now just try to hit a couple of track rentals once or twice a year. The time and money spent on track cars usually improves every aspect of the car.

It's funny here that people love to say they love driving a stick car so they can get into the road and driving better but there must be a fine line to getting to know your car better on a track in a safe environment . There someone can see just how good of a driver they really are and cannot lie about just how fast their car is. Instead of racing on the streets and it being beaten.

A lot will say that the cars need to be babied, shown but not driven like a sports car should be...

If you like the car, buy it and don't look back - hopefully you too will hit a track someday with it and have FUN with it. Good Luck!

mkiv808

If a car has been babied or barely driven, who's to say it won't have a unexpected failure down the line since it's never been stressed? A lightly tracked car is PROVEN.

UM Rebel

Probably cold start piston slap. As far as I know most all do it. Mine does. Nothing to worry about. If it looks good, runs good, price is right and it's what you want, get it. Let us know if you do and post pics

deejbee

RE piston slap....

Had 2 LS1's that did it. Granted they were not Corvette's but Camaro's.
We had a 2002 SS that was brand new that did it after a few years and it only had about 1800 miles on it when we sold it.
Had a 2002 SS with about 42000 miles that did it too.
Have a 1999 C5 now that doesn't do it.

It never effected our cars, they didn't use oil or anything but it was definitely noticeable when the car was cold. And went away when they were warmed up.

RE: lightly tracked car.
Before we bought our 1999 we looked at a 2000 C5 that was used at our local track for street legals (1/4 mile runs) and although my opinion is strictly that, it felt "bagged" to me. It just didn't feel right.

Drove a 1999 that had more miles on it but not raced (ha ha, right) and it definitely felt quicker and tighter. So we bought it. It drives really nice and pulls hella strong.

Obviously opinions will differ on this but if you are in doubt, go to autocross events or street legals and then decide if you want a car that has been through that type of driving, lol. I bet the cars can take it, but it has to take it's toll on them at some point in time.

Velocity_Vette

This may be one of the best answers. You want the car, the car is to your standards of "clean", and you agree on the price. Sounds like you want to buy it.

Some hot laps on the car at a track isn't going to hurt anything. The car was designed for track usage in mind and thus the operational limits of the components are much higher than an average road car. Otherwise the GM engineers would not walk you through the intricacies of driving the car on circuit in the owners' VHS video. At the most fluids in the car would have been hitting the upper limits of their operational capacity (which an in-tune owner who frequently tracks their C5 would realize when it's time to say upgrade to a performance brake fluid or similar).

If anything the blatant honesty would immediately put this car into buying consideration. There are too many people utterly "blinded" by their cars and have babied them so much they often don't understand how much they're actually hurting them. Folks Corvettes are meant to be driven. HARD. Above limits. Enjoyed. Are you saving them for the next owner? There will always be another one to buy.