Is it possible to install a C6 push button start system, into a C5?

 

i would like to know as well.

 

Are you talking the "REAL" C6 keyless system ... or just a push button start system ???

ANYTHING is possible, but the C6 system itself is quite complex. It not only integrates keyless start, but also keyless entry to the vehicle. It uses THREE radio receivers to "triangulate" on which fob is in the drivers seat ... imagine you and your wife get in the car ... she has a fob in her purse, and you have one in your pocket .... (OK ... most of us won't give our wives a key ... but bear with me here ... ) the keyless entry system has to figure out which of you is in the drivers seat, not only to position the seats/mirrors/etc. correctly ... but also in case you pull up in front of the mall and drop her off ... should the car act as if the "start" key has left the vehicle ... or was it the passenger who left the vehicle and the "start" key is still inside ??

You'd have to replace a lot of the electronics, and to make it worse, the C6 uses a newer "communication network" (called CAN) than C5 electronics ... so you'd have to upgrade the ENTIRE car ... possible ... but pretty effing ridiculous.

There was/is a vendor who makes a keyless start system for the C5, but to me it's a waste, you still have to insert the key and turn the car ON ... then push the button ... versus turning the key to the START position .... I guess if you're looking for "bling" maybe it's cool ....

If keyless is REALLY important, cheaper to just get a C6.

 

Here ya go...
http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/...atalogId=10101

 

PUSH BUTTON START - another great reason for me to buy a C6

 

i swear, JC whitney has everything

 

Maybe they should go WAY BACK and put the push button starter on the FLOOR where it used to be. This (push button) is one of the silliest options for a car in quite some time. Corvette starting has been a PAIN since the C3's (with the trans lockout back then). Let's take the starting issues to even newer heights of frustration by adding MORE electonics. Soon you'll have to reboot your car every other day just to get it to start

 

If anyone can reliably switch the entire bus of their C5 to CAN in a resonable amount of time, they are a god.

 

Autobot ....

Depends on what you consider "reasonable" ... give me 5 years and $500,000 for parts and labor ... "My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it." (Spicoli in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High")

It'd be RIDICULOUS, as you hint at, to try and put CAN in a C5. You'd probably have to change out EVERY computer in the car (PCM, BCM, EBCM, SDM .... etc) and THEN try and integrate them to the existing car. Heck, I bet just getting a PCM programmed for all the engine controls on an LS2/LS7 engine to work on an LS1/LS6 would be a MAJOR pain in the butt .... WAY cheaper to just go buy a C6 ....

And all to get "pushbutton start" ...

I had ... more years ago than I want to admit ... an Austin Healey Sprite ... to start, insert key and turn to ON .... then PULL starter **** in dashboard... which was connected to a cable that simply pulled a switch closed on the starter motor. Can't get simpler than that ... tho being an old Brit car, guaranteed the cable would break one day (and did) leaving one with having to push-start the car ... which I did for a long time due to parts availability ...

LOL ... those were "the days" .....

 

You still have to turn the key BEFORE you can push the button. Not only that, it goes in the cigarette lighter (if you don't want to drill holes). Now you have to flip up that tray cover thing everytime you start your car.

$72.99 for added steps? No thanks.

I'd rather put that towards something that actually increases performance or makes the car faster
... like stickers

 

I'm just wondering, if you don't need the keys to start a C6 how do you turn it off? Just get out and walk away? Is it also push button Stop?

 

The "button" is a rocker switch. When you get in the car and have a valid key fob on your person, you touch (don't need to hold) the upper part of the switch to start the car. When you want to turn off the engine, you push the lower part of the switch.

I believe that if you leave the engine running (in Neutral with a 6 speed ... PARK or Neutral with an auto) and walk away from the car with the fob in your pocket, once the car no longer detects a fob the engine shuts down.

For more details on how it works you probably want to post in the C6 section where I'm sure a number of folks can answer "what ifs ..." better than C5 owners can.

It's an interesting system, a buddy of mine has a C6 and it certainly is more convenient when you can just walk up to the car (it unlocks when it senses the fob) open the door, climb in, and hit START, never having to find which pocket you put the keys in, or which key on a ring of many is the correct key for the car.

Definately convenient, and Chevy has built in some safeguards to help you if, for example, the battery in the fob is getting low. To me the only issue is whether the reliability of the system lives up to its convenience level.

 

Thanks, that's plenty enough info for me. If I ever buy a C6 my question will be, "How do I disable this feature?"

 

LOL .... Unfortunately it appears to me you cannot "disable" the "feature" ... there is NO place to put the "key" into the "lock" to start the vehicle .... there is no location in/on the dashboard for a key. Vehicle start is entirely controlled by the START rocker switch on the dashboard. You do get a key, but that is for "emergency access" should the car battery die while the car is locked. There is a "hidden" location in which to insert the key and unlatch the trunk ... then ya gotta pull the manual "door release" handle located in the trunk to manually open the drivers door ....

Ya gotta wonder who thought this is a great way to start and control locking of a car ... you are SO dependant on the electronics ... and we all know how reliable that can be in ANY car ....

 

I think the time of 5 years you might be able to pull if off but $500,000 likely won't be enough.

You would have to get new ECU's as you have suggested which would be pricey and then get them to work with existing components which would be difficult. Although, you might be able to make a gateway to get the existing bus to communicate with your new CAN bus.

I bet the new switches have been tested like crazy, companies have rooms where switches just move back and forth and they record how many times it has done this.

As for the secret location where to insert your key in a c6, it is just above the rear plate, I don't care if everyone knows, I have C5!

 

I would hate to see the repair bills for the c6 "CAN" system in 10-20 years!

 

Probably no worse that for our serial data based systems .... and the EPA has mandated that ALL vehicles starting with the 2008 model year sold in the US must use CAN as the basis for their data systems ... much as they mandated OBD2 for 1996 Model Year for all cars.

 

as the owner of a c5 and c6, i can tell you it is much easier to open the door to your car (no deed to push unlock button) push a button and go, as opposed to: look for your key in your crowded pocket, push the unlock button get in put the key in the slot, turn hold till engine start, and only then you can go, repeat when leaving car

 

That is not right...

I remember our club went for a tour and lunch at Duplin winery ( Rose Hill, NC) and someone walk in and complimented all the Vettes in the parking lot, and mentioned something about one of them being running but they saw no keys.

Yep, C6, the owner got out without shutting it off, walk away talking to his buds, the car locked itself but it did not shut off. It ran for almost 4 hours.

 

First time I heard the C6 was getting a button to start the car I thought "Just how lazy are we getting" that we need this feature. More electronics to worry about. I see this possibly being a problem years down the road. But thats progress I guess. More features = more possible issues. Things have changed since my 66 caprice. Not much electronics there.