I believe I'll just take the one with the badge, but thanks for your thoughts.

 

Lets face it. C5Z's are getting long in the tooth. Great track cars, but way down on horsepower compared to todays standards. Look at the new Silverado Diesels. Lining up with one of them at a light could be an embaracement. 6.2 gasser Silverados...430 horse,,,8-speed trans,,,, 3.42 gears. I have to agree with LS2 on this one. Buy the cheaper coupe,,,,Supercharge it. Camaros and Mustangs,,,Challengers,, im not even going to go there.. If the badge matters a lot to you,,get the C5Z.

 

Hard to answer this without knowing what you plan on doing with the car. Putt, putting around town, Sunday Cars & Coffee, golf course trips, cross country road trips, dedicated track rat, etc;.. The differences between the two models is most evident on a race track. In stock form, on a race track, the Z06 shines the best. The LS6 pulls harder, the suspension handles better, and the ability to cool key components for flat out running for 30 minutes at a time all favor the Z06. Is the LS1 equipped coupe a slouch then? Of course not. But it was never designed with the track as a focal point. Its a sports car for street use where you get a little spirited driving in and then return to your typical cross country cruising. And the coupe does that as well as any sports car on the planet. I have owned both and tracked both. There is a big difference. Do some research on the development of the LS6 and you will see that Dr. John Juriga, Assistant Chief Engineer for Gen III Passenger Car Engines at GM's Powertrain Division, and his team took several years developing the LS6. Its not as simple as slapping on different heads, cam, & intake manifold and calling it a day. The architecture of the LS6 is based on the LS1, but there are some very key differences that allow the LS6 to shine (and survive!) when pushed to the limits, lap after lap, on a race track.

Sure, you can buy a coupe and slap on a blower for some street pulls, and if that's what you intend to do with the car, then by all means, get the cheaper car and go that route. It all depends on what you plan on doing with the car.

 

I don't think any stock diesel Silverado is beating any C5, Z or otherwise, in a straight line. Even with 900 lb-ft of torque. Those things weigh close to 8000 lbs and run almost 15 seconds in the 1/4 mile.

 

I owned both a 99 c5 z51 and a c5 z06 and the z06 was a more race car like driving experience..

in fact i think the c5 z06 was my favorite new corvette owned in 40 years of buying cars..

if you want top down or roof off motoring then get the couoe or convertible...otherwise id suggest the z06...

my siggestion is buying a2002 or 2003 z06 and leaving it basically stock...

once you start modding these cars they lose their durability..

zero to soxty in four seconds flat is fast enough...

just put larger diameter wheels and tires, a mgw short throw shifter and maybe a cow booster tune for $200 bucks and call it a day.

my votes for the c5 z06...@nd if you want more power just pay a few bucks more for a higher mileage c6 z06...

leave the cars basically stock inside the motor ...pick c5 z06 with 405 hp or a c6 z06 with 505 hp...

dont go nuts with the internal engine mods as its money in the toilet and the dam dual valve springs on a cammed motor really need to be swapped out every 15k miles which is a pain in the butt...just buy the power level you want from a stock car ..

i now have a ls3 m6 z51 that bought new and have 131k miles as my daily and its basically stock ..utterly reliable and rives like it did the day I picked it up at kerbeck new...if not better...lol i daily it...its awesome..i even put snows on in the winter ..the cars mint inside and out, top side and underneath as well...i smile everyday and its awesome.

the durability that comes from the factory is way more enjoyable over the life of the ownership experience..

thats my two cents..

good luck deciding..

i think the c5 z06 with nor,al miles for that year is around 18 grand while the c6 z06 is running around 28 grand...

the mods to kake 505 hp from 405 will end up costing about 7 grand ...

just pick the hp level from the stock car you want and go from there

 

Btw my 2008 c6 z51 manual as you see it is worth about 16 grand if i went to sell it...local guys seemed to be lined up for when I decide to sell it as is even knowing its got 131k miles on it...the cars dirability is world class

a little air filter, a tune amd the cow booster its probably putting down 450 hp at the crank...

im not selling it until after i get to take delivery in a year or so on a c8 if I like it but just so you know it tops out at 190 mph amd does zero to sixty in four seconds...

you really need more than that?

the wheels and tires are c7 z51 rims ...i put a mgw short throw shifter andmdidmthe bilstein sport shocks..(the shocks were a waste in my opinion. I couldnt tell any difference) the cow booster which remaps the throttle response was a very cool mod.

good luck deciding

 

the Z is more than just HP, the car as a whole is better suited for AutoX, better suspension for one !!!!! BTW I don't do slow in anything !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I get what he's going for, but you're right. A C5Z is still pretty quick in this day and age. It's only 3100lbs, has great gearing, and good aero. Mine has edged out a 2018 5.0 with 460HP....

 

Yet another clueless post. Horsepower # (and even straight line performance in general, for that matter) is just one of many aspects of what makes a good sports car. Even if you match the horsepower #, there's still a LOT more to the Z that would be extremely costly or near impossible to match (like the chassis rigidity of the fixed roof). It's all about lap times on a road course, not hillbilly drag racing. See my prior post:

"Z06 hands down. Its lighter, stiffer, better suspension, and more power. You'd spend A LOT of money trying to match all those aspects in the Z, not to mention never recoup that money when it's time to sell...

A lot of guys only think about horsepower figures, but a sports car is much more about the horsepower number- it's about weight, handling, etc. that tells the full story on all-around performance on a road course (not just drag strip)."

 

coilovers, hotchkis sways, wilwoods, long tubes/exhaust, intake, tune, corbeaus...

Other than having people go "ohhhh cool a z06" i literally am missing out on absolutely nothing. And i don't have to look at a bone stock corvette, z06 or not, every time i open the garage door...

I don't think i'm missing out on anything having a coupe vs a Z06... and the top comes off. which it almost always is (it was 45 degrees out in this pic)

once the blower goes on or once i do heads/cam/gears... i fail to see where a z06 would be in any way "better" (still debating on the next step of the build).

 

I don't know why people make such a big deal about stiffness. All C5s, regardless of model, are plenty stiff...

 

362rwhp and 375 torque with tsp long tubes and x-pipe and tune. Last I checked that's what C5Zs dyno.

 

A&A regularly prices their reman kits (all new with a rebuilt head unit) for 4500. there's a shop in DE that does NEW (not remanned) for 6500 installed and tuned. Having the discussion with them they regularly install on c5's with stock clutches and they do fine. I do agree though, i'd want more clutch than stock. But that's a wear item in either car. so it's not like neither will ever need one.

so ok, so at 1500 more you're now WAY cooler or, at 4500 with 500-1000 to tune, you're about the same price.

i'll still take the blower car ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL day long over the NA z06.

 

having owned both back in the day there was a noticable difference in stiffness between the targa and the z06.

take it for what its worth.

ride a bumpy road and youll understand.

best of luck deciding

 

Stock clutch may be fine with that power on the street but not on a road course. Stock clutch is fine on a stock cam LS6.

And you haven't addressed the cooling issues you will definately have on track with a blower, so still not a fair comparison.

Also, with that much extra jam you'll also need brake upgrades for the track to shave off the extra speed and wider tires for traction. More $$$$. So it really isn't even close to $4-5k to add a blower to a car that will see road course duty. Probably more like $8-10k.

 

God...another thread where people defend their purchases till they die lmao

 

Honestly I think JerriVette's C6 Z51 is probably the best option (not his exact one, but something similar.) It's a newer, better looking car, more power, and handles great. Transmission feels better, shorter throws. I've had 4 vettes and the C6 Z51 has been my favorite.
If you don't want to spend that much on a higher miles C6, then go Z51 C5. Like I said previously they are the same price as a regular C5 but have a lot of track goodies to help you out if you're a weekend warrior.

 

not sure people are defending anything the OP was asking the difference ?????? (and of course everyone has a opinion ???)

 

At the end of the day any model C5 is a great car. You can't really go wrong with any of them. They're the best performance bang for your buck out there right now.

Coupe, vert or Z06, it really comes down to preference and what you're looking for in a car.

I looked at C5 coupes and C6 coupes first. After driving a C5Z I fell in love with how raw the car was. It feels like a large Miata. I love it. For me my decision was made but I'm sure I would have been very happy with a coupe as well.

After having heavily modified cars in the past I decided I didn't want to heavily modify another car, so I also wanted the added performance the Z06 brings.

 

Dewitts went in mine already. it would have gone in a z06 too.

all this talk of road course racing. like 2% of all z06's might see a road course a few times in it's life lol