Okay, I had the unfortunate luck of having some guy blow through a red light and hit my car a few days ago. An insurance agent is telling me the damage estimate today but it looks like a total. My car is/was a 92 Stealth Turbo with a pretty decent amount of mods. I even had some new upgraded turbos (twin 17G sized) but they never even had a chance to make it onto the car :sad:. The airbags on my car blew and since the car is 11 model years old, the resale is not very high so I am 99% sure I am going to get a check cut for the value of the car. My two car choies are a 6pd Supra Turboand a C5 vette. My roommate already has a BPU Supra and since I have had plenty of experience with turbo cars I am leaning towards a more burly V8. My only real questions are just some basic ones regarding the costs involved in owning this american classic so here they are:

1) Reliability? What kind of mileage do C5's see before they start showing wear and tear? I know it depends on how you drive the car but I fully plan on having this car garaged and seeing less than 3,000 miles a year.

2) Stock HP: I want a 6spd so what kind of stock rwhp can I expect. I know the LS1 engined WS6 and SS models see rwhp in the 290-310 range with the occasional freak laying down close to 320rwhp.

3) $$$ to reach 400rwhp (all engine): How aggressive a head and cam package would you need to see 400rwhp. Everyone is probably aware of the supras reaching ~400rwhp for small $$ so I just want something to compare too.

4) Once one hits 400rwhp: Can I still pass emissions? Can I run 91 octane fuel? Do I need to worry about upgrading the fuel system? On a turbo car like mine was I had to monitor all sorts of variables such as knock, egt's, air/fuel ratio, boost, etc., Do I still need to monitor all these items (minus the boost obvioulsy) when modding the C5 or is the C5 reliable enough to 400rwhp that it is not as much an issue?

5) Approximate annual maintainence and recommended tune ups: Just want a ballpark number. I do all my own oil changes and basic tune ups.

6) Warranty and Dealers: I hear that vette dealers will install performance parts and will not void a warranty for having mods ont he car. I used to have to remove my more serious mods (like fuel controllers) from my car when going to the dealer and a dealer would not even touch a performance part.

Even anyone could give me any other info that what help my decision I would appreciate it. This would be my first V8 as all I have driven are turbo sixes and although they were quick (my stealth was faster than a near stock C5 vette even from a roll w/o the larger turbos), I would like to try out some all motor power for a change. Thanks in advance,

Scott

 

WeaponX:

My car before my 2000 FRC was a Stock '94 Mitsu 3000GT VR4. Not unsimilar to your '92. The stock C5 is far superior to the stock VR4 in many ways.

1. The C5 is lighter in weight; 2. It has much better brakes; 3. The handeling is much better (once you get used to just rear wheel drive rather than 4 wheel drive); 4. It has greater comfort and quietness: 5. The driver and passenger space is better in the C5, but the space behind the seats is smaller in the C5: 6. There is immediate torque and power,(no turbo lag): You get the idea. I think, by direct compairson, that the C5 is far surperior to the 3000 GT VR4, although I did enjoy the VR4 while I had it. :D

In answer to your questions:
1. If you drive only 3000 "normal" miles a year, the C5 should last forever with almost Zero Maintenance. I have a 1991 C4 Convertable that has about 33,000 miles on it and it has been Maintenance Free. I have yet to change the brake pads.
2. My stock rwhp is 297 and with some breathing mods (see below) I'm seeing 323 rwhp.
3. Don't know
4. Don't know
5. Your external maintenance costs should be Zero at your level of use.
6. I run my C5 very hard and ALL problems that I have had with it have been repaired or replaced under warrenty. I have a choice of 2 Dealers who really know what they are doing

Hope this helps with your decission. :cool:

 

It should be fairly reliable. Most of the common problems have been taken care of in the newer vettes. If you are still worried you can always get an extended warranty. Ken Fichtner (see Ken's newsletters forum) has GREAT prices on extended warranties and if you keep your miles low, the price is even better.

You should see about the same for a Vette. If you haven't ordered your WU8 (SS) car yet it is too late. You will have to select from what is on the lot.

CarTek stage II will get you there for $1950 (I think) 417 RWHP. That is just an example. There are other packages and combos that will get you there.


Yes. You will still pass emissions with most packages. To get the maximum performance from your mods you will most likely have to change your engine management programming. For simple things like a Blackwing intake the computer will simply learn the changes on its own.

At 3,000 miles a year the oil change is the only thing you will have to worry about for a while. If you plan on going to the track, change brake fluid before and after check pads afterwards as well. Watch the oil consumption and oil tempature. If the oil temp gets up to 290, change oil.

It depends on the dealer. They are not suppose to honor the warranty on anything modified or if any modifications affect a warranty part.

Buy a vette and you will wonder why you hadn't done it sooner.

 

Well, the responses are what I was expecting but it is still good to know. Even though my previous car was faster than a stock C5, it wasn't quite the refined car the vette is. I loved the car, it looked good, went fast but now I can afford a better sports car. I am still curious how a C5 runs on 91 octane pump gas? Especially with mods such as heads and cam. My stealth required good fuel (100 octane race gas) in order to really run any boost over 17psi or alcohol injection on top of pump gas.

Also a question I should of asked earlier is:

What changed from model year to model year? And what would it take to bring a 98/99 up to 01 specs?

 

Don't know about the 91 octane fuel, since I use 93 or 94 all the time. The ignition system does have a knock sensor that should retard the spark if preingition is occuring, but again, I haven't tried that so I don't know from experience. Maybe someone out there has this info.

I was interested in the hardtop (or FRC), so I don't know about the other models, but I think the fuel system was changed from '99 to '00 to elminate the fuel bypass line from the fuel rail back to the fuel tank. The '00 system has a pressuer related bypass built into the fuel pump, which eliminates the return line. Also the optional (std on the Hardtop) Z51 Suspension system was improved from '99 to '00. I know of no visual changes since 1997, except for the style of wheels and optional wheels. The Traction Control system was added as a option, I believe, in 1999, and that system was improved in 2001 over the previous year's version. Also somewhere during 1998 or 1999, the HUD (heads up display) made its apperence. The basic engine (LS1) has been the same since it's introduction in 1997, but this doesn't mean that there haven't been some positive tweeks to it over that time. The 2001 Z06 has the LS6 engine, which is a completely different block, but the same displacement and lots more horsepower. Too much to go into here.

I've probably missed a lot, and could have some errors in the above information, I'm sure there are a lot of fokes that know a lot more about the C5 than I do, and maybe one or more of then will shair their knowledge. :cool:

 

Well since you seem to be a Turbo Guy, which I can relate to, you may be able to have the best of both worlds. Why don't you check out the link to LPE's "Cars for Sale." These puppies will have everything you want out of the box. You won't have to worry too much about mods and emmisions. I think you might like what you see if you don't buying a pre-owned vehicle: I would make them an offer if you see something you like.


http://www.lingenfelter.com/Classifi...les_thumbs.htm


[Modified by Ha-Ha, 12:29 PM 3/19/2002]


[Modified by Ha-Ha, 12:30 PM 3/19/2002]

 

Changes from year-to-year in a nutshell:

98: Convertible appears, Active Handling appears as option late in year (standard on Pace Car.)
99: Fuel Line Return deleted, Head-Up display appears as option. Advertised HP climbs to 350, although 98s have undocumented 350 at flywheel.
00: Wheels change to thinner spokes, FRCoupe appears,passenger airbag cutoff standard. Millenium Yellow available.
01: Z06 appears with 385HP, Active Handling II standard on all, HUD available on Z06. High Polish wheels available, Z51 swaybar size increased and braces changed for weight savings, exhaust tips now chrome.
02: Z06 gets 405hp, MN6 coupe/vert get 375Lb/ft torque. Electron Blue available.

More, or less, these are the important changes

 

I just wanted to add one tid bit to Sam B's excellent summation of the C5.
The 2001 model year (LS1) also got a revised intake (Z06) and exhaust sys.
along with a different cam profile which in a nutshell meant.........
300 lb-ft torque at 1000 RPM 400 RPM earlier than before
320 lb-ft torque at 1400 RPM 800 RPM earlier than before
340 lb-ft torque at 2500 RPM 1400 RPM earlier than before
My previous car was a 1996 Green Z28 which I brought new (6 speed)
and the car had a ton of low end torque. I drove a 1998 C5 coupe in
Florida (beautiful car) but was a bit surprised at the lack of low end torque
although I knew the power band was much higher. To me that issue was
resolved in 2001 and lets the C5 deliver an astounding amount of power
at low RPM and makes an already great car a blast to drive around town.
Just my 2 cents worth---- The Hub :seeya