I'm really liking my Stingray. Every since Lingenfelter announced their 427 CID, I've honestly been thinking which way to lean. Flat plane Z is a beast in of itself stock.

If you have owned a Lingenfelter Corvette, how did you like it? Just to level set, I'm an NA guy. No replacement for displacement. Not really interested in FI.

 

I'd get the Z. That's a forever car. Heard one screaming down the road the other day and wow, it was really something.

Everyone I've ever spoken with who has modified their C5, 6 & 7 with a blower has always had to do something else to it at some point. It never seems to end.

But, that's just my opinion.

 

And its welcome. There is a Z in my area and I love seeing and hearing it. Absolutely nothing wrong with the Z. Though there is just an appeal of a 427 Stingray as well...

What it really boils down to is that the suspensions are completely different and cost. I own a fully loaded Stingray. Putting a 427 into my Stingray won't be anywhere near a fully loaded 3LZ Z06. But, my MSRC Z51 will not be the same as the Z07...

 

What's the cost for the 427 Stingray?

 

p.s. pardon I just realized you're referring to the NA 427 package. I thought you were referring to their blower kit.

Regardless....I'd still get the Z.

 

Tossup since the cash difference is not going to be that great. I would say if you are looking for resale the Z is going to hold its value better than any modified Stingray. The 427 would be badass though so if money is not a factor and you want a Stingray with maximum Sting that looks like a sweet option for power add.

 

Z06 will get you more yet milder cool points from casual observers who know the difference between SR/Z06. 427 will get you more extreme cool points from the fewer who actually know and understand what you have. Regardless of what others think, 427 could be more amusing to you as a rarer sleeper C8. But the Z06 has more tricked out chassis tuning if that's something you value. It may give you more ownership peace of mind but after warranty is up, hard to say which engine will be more reliable. I'd think the 427 would be easier/cheaper to maintain.

I'm averse to modding so my choice would be Z with its more athletic widebody chassis out of the box. But if I were still a modding enthusiast like I used to be, I'd go 427. So I voted 427 because it's cooler than a Z and won't be my car to worry about lol. That might be why the results are so skewed in its favor. Could also be that you're posting in a section more biased for modding, likely with less Z06 owners. I faced similar "not my car, not my problem" bias when I polled people in multiple places about getting a C8 vs Emira. Emira overwhelmingly won everywhere I posted because it's more novel, rarer, and manual. Problem with polls is it's easy to pick the sexier one that you don't ever have to worry about owning. But when you get down to the nitty gritty challenges of ownership--especially long term--C8 starts to make more sense. The "not my car, not my problem" polling bias isn't as much of an issue for the 427. I'd feel more at ease in terms of long term parts availability and serviceability with a N/A 427 Lingenfelter engine than with a whole *** Lotus.

 

I'm a big fan of Lingenfelter's cars over the years so that's the way I'd go if it were me.

 

I'd go with the Lingenfelter 427 package personally, being both the king of your vette block and more unique/exclusive than a stock Z06. Lingenfelter packages are certified, plaqued, with reknown reputation in the market. The premium your Stingray will bring being a LPE 427 equipped car will cover 2/3rd of the package's expensive should you want to ever sell her

 

Lingenfelter 427 package

No worries, still appreciate the input

 

LPE 427 but man it’s close….

The reason I bought my C8 was to get as close as I could to a Ferrari F430 Scuderia I drove once. The only major thing that the C8 is missing vs the Ferrari is the flat plane crank. Man what a sound. That howl…

But LPE is legendary and I think it will be faster. And a 427. I would have to have the 427.

 

How about a 427 C7 / C6 and a z06 on the side?

 

No warranty on the base DCT means new to new, I’d go Z06. We KNOW the Z06 DCT is beefed up. Pairing a base one to a 427 seems like a bad plan to me.

But, I’m old and boring. I like buying big once with minimal risk of being bled to death later. It’s a big reason I have a C8.

 

Honestly, racing breaks stuff. Stock or modified. I relate modification to that quote "pain is weakness leaving the body". Parts breaking is an opportunity to make it better.

I reached out to Lingenfelter. Based on my desire to track this car, they recommended upgrading the clutches which I agree with. Axels as well which I don't see as much but if I ever drag race it, I can see a point. Everything else is pretty stout.

 

That LPE 427 looks pretty sweet

 

The one thing that pushed me to the Z06 was the sound & rev range. The sound arguably could be just as good (but in a different way) with an exhaust, so for me it really came down to rev range. If LPE would do a cam that pulled to say 7500 (or even 7000-7200), I would have really thought hard about it. Even if you could only use the higher rev range in manual mode, that would be fine with me as that's what I drive in 100% of the time. Doing the LPE 427 in a Stingray (or even better an Eray) would have some benefits like softer suspension (the Z06 is about at the limit of what most people will consider streetable). And the big torque from the 427 would be a blast on the street. But ultimately, for me, the sound, rev range and being a complete package with factory warranty pushed me to the Z06.

 

Looks like the LPE makes peak power around 6800 and revs to 7k
Agree it would be ultra sweet in an E-ray

 

Makes peak power at 6800. TCMs can't shift at that RPM until they're unlocked which still hasn't happened yet. Too many people drinking the Lingenfelter kool-aid without looking at the big picture.

 

Which RPM can't the transmission control module shift at? 6800?

 

I just looked at the C6 427 package, same price, significantly less power.