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Hey y’all, looking into buying a c5 coupe/z06 to play around with on mountain roads and as a track car. I found a couple for sale near me, some built, some stock, one coupe even LS7 swapped. I’ve done a little research, and am mildly familiar with the platform as far as parts combinations.
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My question is, just how raw are these cars? Coming from a lightweight, low powered, fwd 4banger platform and talking to a friend of mine, he said these cars are one of the best performing when built properly, but they try to off you when you get close to the limits. How much experience do i really need to learn around a stock-ish powered c5?
I run my '03 Z06 in SCCA Max 2 time trial class and GridLife Street GT. Both classes require stock engine internals so my car is fairly stock with headers. Its fast, but controllable. Whoever said these cars try to off you at the limit either cant drive or had it set up wrong. They are great cars and you really cannot go faster for the same amount of money.
I run my '03 Z06 in SCCA Max 2 time trial class and GridLife Street GT. Both classes require stock engine internals so my car is fairly stock with headers. Its fast, but controllable. Whoever said these cars try to off you at the limit either cant drive or had it set up wrong. They are great cars and you really cannot go faster for the same amount of money.
Welcome to the Forum! Kubs just addressed the same basic points I would make but his are even more valuable since they are from the perspective of a C5 Z06 driver with competitive experience.
I would address your question from a couple of other perspectives.
Can a Corvette “try to off you”? Sure - if the first time you are in it, you try to drive it max out without learning about the car’s handling/braking/acceleration/handling limits. But, a “lightweight, low powered, fwd 4banger platform” can “off you” if you push it beyond its handling limits.
If you are willing to buy a Corvette (or any other higher performance vehicle), and learn to drive it properly before you try to conquer the Leba Pass, you will have a car that is fairly comfortable to drive, docile in traffic and an excellent performance car when driven by a driver who understands how the car will perform. And, the C5 and C5 Z06 have many, many performance and handling upgrades available for purchase.
So….purchase your C5….learn to properly drive it….and enjoy a well handling car that lets you enjoy driving your mountain roads and on the track.
talking to a friend of mine, he said these cars are one of the best performing when built properly, but they try to off you when you get close to the limits.
Not knocking the OP but I am willing to bet you the friend has never owned one but "heard"-oh boy-
ANY car, if taken to the limits of both the car and driver can be detrimental to ones future! Comments like the friend's make me laugh-
Hey y’all, looking into buying a c5 coupe/z06 to play around with on mountain roads and as a track car. I found a couple for sale near me, some built, some stock, one coupe even LS7 swapped. I’ve done a little research, and am mildly familiar with the platform as far as parts combinations.
My question is, just how raw are these cars? Coming from a lightweight, low powered, fwd 4banger platform and talking to a friend of mine, he said these cars are one of the best performing when built properly, but they try to off you when you get close to the limits. How much experience do i really need to learn around a stock-ish powered c5?
Welcome to the Forum.
Eveyone has given you great advice. I agree that you need to know the limits of a car and yourself. I have a C5 that runs well on the track but has decent street manners. Awell built track C5 will serve you well.
This is my C5 on the street
Best bang for the buck all the way from entry level HPDE to wheel to wheel class racing. Fairly easy to work on, tons of parts in the aftermarket and a HUGE amount of knowledge out there (especially in this forum). I kinda stumbled onto mine, it was built and tracked by a previous owner. Absolutely NO regrets. Warning: HPDE is highly addictive!
Coming from a lightweight, low powered, fwd 4banger platform
Funny - I went the other way - my '00 FRC is moderately built and capable on-track. I later bought a "commuter car" (2013 Ford Focus ST) that I immediately started dumping money into (and is now track-capable). What I will say is that the electric steering on the Focus is very nice compared to the C5.
Best bang for the buck all the way from entry level HPDE to wheel to wheel class racing. Fairly easy to work on, tons of parts in the aftermarket and a HUGE amount of knowledge out there (especially in this forum). I kinda stumbled onto mine, it was built and tracked by a previous owner. Absolutely NO regrets. Warning: HPDE is highly addictive!
I'm looking at doing this exact same thing. I have a chance to pick up an 03 coupe for a nice price and will make it an Auto Cross / HDPE track car. I already have a 600 RWHP Vert so I'm hoping to just go with suspension and brake upgrades. The car already has headers and a nice tune so it's a good starting platform.
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
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The C5 is a great platform whether it be for normal street use or for auto cross/track use. There are plenty of upgrades that can be made to make the car a delight to drive on the track and parts are readily available.
Every professional (magazine, car reviewer, racer) has spoken long about it. I made the leap from a supercharged BMW Z4 (3300lbs / 306whp) to the C5 (3100lbs / 430whp) and absolutely love it.
It all depends on how you define "raw". Are you running raw with no ABS or traction control? Is raw just a powerful car with rear wheel drive? There's a lot of openness to the question. Honestly it's up to the driver. You need to respect the any car and learn it.
Get the car, leave it stock and do a couple of schools. The driver is the most important "modification" to go fast.
Learn from some of my mistakes if you're buying a Track oriented C5:
1) Make sure you the car you buy is a solid foundation. Mine was full of lies (parts and problems) the lack of paperwork/history should have been a red flag
2) There's a ton of knowledge but get the basics out of the way.
a) Manage Coolant Temps
b) Manage Oil Temps
c) Be aware of the ABS module and problems with ABS potential for 'Ice Mode' etc.
d) Consider the suspension (stock vs switching to coil over)
e) If it's caged, make sure it'd done to the spec of the series your participating in.
Lastly, this forum, facebook and google have TONS of info
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C5 Track Cars
