Total clown post

 

Its always good to have the best.

 

The secret of life is to ne "HAPPY".. if you are happy , dont let anyone tell you that you should not be.
Bill

 

I agree totally, that is why I like a C5 VERT because a standard VeTT with stick in Vert is a great cruiser and gets great mileage as well. My AUTO sucks a little bit of gas around town....

You can ,make a C5 Z06 compete with newer cars but at what price ? They are lighter which is a big advantage however, a 100 or 200 pounds is a big big deal when taking a car as far as you can go.....

 

I didn't even know I had the Z51 option in my 2000 ragtop until I looked in the glovebox the other day. On a recent trip down south (Blue Ridge Parkway and other twisty 2 laners), I found myself keeping up with a group of Ducati's on Route 250 in western VA, and was quite happy with the suspension and handling.

 

Your lucky you didn't slide off the highway and get killed, those Ducati's are known to leak oil like a sieve....

 

The latest McLaren's apparently have an almost soft street ride, but incredible handling. Once you get away from simple springs and shocks many things are possible, as anyone who has experienced hydraulic suspension systems can tell you, let alone the latest "active" systems.

Of the various manufacturers out there, both Jaguar and Lotus regularly managed to achieve comfortable rides along with excellent handling. The reality is, any halfway competent suspension engineer can make a car handle really well if maintaining any semblance of comfort is not a requirement. And the opposite applies - look at most US sedans from the '50's into the '70's (and in some cases well beyond). Very comfortable, but about as much cornering ability as a leaking barge.

 

Not too sure about that.
I had stock suspension for a long time in my C5, thought it was great, no complaints.
Later I put C6 Z06 shocks and C5 Z51 Sway bars with metal links, noticed no loss of "just cruising around comfort" but did feel better handling. Maybe just me.

 

The comparisons of C5s to today's cars are getting old, and they've always been irrelevant...

 

This is my or was sold now a few years back going around COTA F-1 track in Austin TX had 3-C-6Zs right behind me . That be me in the blue Corvette way out front right behind the V-12 silver Mercedes .. Stock 04 Z suspension SP-2 tires hitting 165 MPH 100 + in some turns it wanted to go faster ,The fear factor said NO and it has ran with new at he time C-7s bumper to bumper . I think my little sister could drive this 04 Z at any speed . Stock suspension running bumper to bumper with a new Sting-Ray ,I say this old 04 Corvette 20 years old stock Suspension running with a new Corvette C-7 NOT C--8 is one of the best suspensions ever put under a Corvette .. It did have 100 extra HP but the Sup . stock .. Just saying ..

 

Stupidest post I've seen in a while. Seems like you only think in terms of hill-billy drag racing, without realizing the C5 is designed as a SPORTS CAR, not a DRAG RACER.

And yes, the C5 is still relevant, not obsolete. A C5Z in stock form still puts out impressive lap times (and a favorite for HPDE folks), not to mention modded base C5s hold their own as well.

 

This thread reminds me of the goobers on You Tube who nit pick the C5 to death over every little nit noid thing...

 

As a former C5 designer, on the bottom floor in 1995 and a current C7 owner. Today in 2019 the C5 is a tecnological dinosaur in comparison.

Back in 1997 it was a masterpiece for it's time and price point. I'm proud to be part of that heritage. After market parts have helped to keep it relevant... Today the car ( C5 ) is cheap to buy, and a great platform to build upon, but it's a far cry from today's offerings.
Bill

 

This entire thread only serves to prove one thing - everyone has an opinion. I love my C5 and what or how it is equipped is not relevant to anyone else. If you like yours enjoy what you like about it. That’s what I’m doing with nothing to prove to anyone else.

 

Well an opinion is a thought hanging on the back bumper of a C-7 at speed going in turns at 3 times the speed limit in my 04 Z with stock springs shocks SP-2 tires (100 extra HP helped ) is real . How can the newer Corvette be head and shoulders better that the old 04 Z when I can hang turn to turn with them .. I would put my old Z up agents any of them ,hold it , I already have .. I just don't see them being all that well looks good on paper but when the owner of a $70,000 C-7 sees me in his rear view I wonder what he or she is thinking .. Well I do know what one guy in my Vett club was thinking after I out ran him on a track we run on time to time ,he sold his 90 day old C-7 went a brought a new C7-Z them a friend in a 2009 Z smoked him ,looked good on paper ,the 427 just out torqued the newer LT-1 . New not always better ..

 

This threads gross.

 

C'mon, man. Should've told the guy how slow C7Z's are and spared him the butthurt. I've heard the LT4's are lethargic up top, but have never had the chance to run one.

 

IM always amazed by the guys who talks of their car as if it is the fastest and badest car on the planet, as If no other car could trash it or show it up.. Every car is in their rear view mirror.. etc. All it takes is money, a 30 year old Toyota with the tight setup can be a 6 sec car. and put box cars on a C5 or any generation.
The real deal is how significant ( or insignificant ) is a stock 20 year old C5 Today over a stock C7.. Since any car can Add horse power.. it's generation means nothing.. for those buying a C5 today, the whole car is 20 years old, and pales in comparison with todays latest technology. Engineering progress ( design )over time is exponential.. The Corvette platform has evolved so much since the C5 was introduced over 20 years ago , they have dropped the concept of front engine design because they have pushed the engineering envelope to it's limits. Since the C5, the C6 and C7 have exploded the design limits far above that found in a 20 year old C5. IM not trashing the C5, IM just telling it like it is from an pure engineering perspective.
Bill

 

You guys aren't getting the original post. It's not a choice between 50's Cadillac or F1 car. There are three distinct types of cars: cruisers, GT's, and sports cars. The point of the post is that the C5--now an obsolete sports car--is STILL a great and modern GT. Feel great about that--you own one! It's not a choice of soft ride or firm ride. The stock C5 suspension is ALMOST as firm as the Z51 or Z06. Does anyone know the number of G's the stock suspension pulls, compared to the Z51 or Z06, WITH THE SAME TIRES. I would guess it will pull 90% as many G's. The stock C5 suspension is STILL a very firm, very controlled suspension. When I do occasionally flog it, I'm always amazed at the lack of body roll The point of the post is that not everyone wants to go out for 1/2 an hour and slide the tires. Some of us like to go out for an all day ride at a 'spirited' pace. That's what a GT is for. And that's what the C5 STILL excels at. Grand Touring. Going very fast for a very long time. Ferrari has always made all out sports cars and their front engine GT's. Corvette only ever made one car. But the base suspension CAN be a great GT. And what was the ultimate sports car 20 years ago can still be among the best GT's CURRENTLY available. No matter how hardcore you are (and I was for 20 years), the base suspension is better 99.9% of the time you drive your Corvette and ALMOST as good when you want to flog it.

 

No, you're not getting it. There is nothing "obsolete" about the C5 as it's still one of the sports cars of choice for HPDE track rats, especially C5Zs. Also don't forget that many new sports cars that sell well are still outperformed by the C5Z/C5.

It's also very sad that you view older sports cars in this way. Tons of modern classic and older classic sports cars would have zero interest if everyone thought they were "obsolete" like you do. There would be no market for air-cooled Porsches, older Ferraris, etc. etc. Now that the C8 and many other sports cars offer no manual option and are much heavier, the C5Z/C5 has a lot to offer as a lightweight, manual, aero-streamlined, and timelessly-styled modern classic.

If anything, the C5 is more obsolete as a GT car, absent of modern luxuries/features. No heated or cooled seats, no fancy interior, no Android Auto, etc. etc.. It's minimalist and I (and many others) like it that way.