high mileage modded Z06s
 

Hey everyone. Im fairly new here and i am currently looking to buy a C5Z soon. I have my eye on a couple around my area.

my question is for the one im looking at is a 1owner 56,000mileage C5Z. And of course i am planning on modding it with bolt ons plus cam and such. Just wondering if there were plenty out there with higher mileage and fairly modded. Thanks

I don't consider myself very modded, but my 03 has 62,000 miles and headers, x-pipe, with Hi-flo cats. this winter I am putting in the cam and eventually a set of heads.

Hope this helps:thumbs:

IMO, those are the best to buy since they have a ton of life left and are fairly cheap since the market dictates that anything over 3-5k miles a year is too much for Corvettes.

Just did cam,headers,intake on a 83K mile 02Z. No problems, car runs great and yes, I bought it real cheap because of the miles.:thumbs:

whats considered high mileage...

I really hate this forum because you guys make me feel bad about my car having 46k miles on it... :cry

I know a guy who has an 01 Z06 with 130K miles on it. He drives the car everywhere. I consider this a high mileage car.

See I'd agree with that. But everyone on here makes it like if the car has more that 20k miles on it... then its high mileage (Regarless of the year)

Mine was driven less about 9k a year since it was produced... But people want those miles total... for 5-7 year old cars...

Yeah, alot of people think Corvettes are meant to sit there and look fast while sitting still. Oftentimes this sitting takes place in a garage and/or under a carcover. Others take them out and drive them more often than once a week. Some daily drive their Vettes. I think it goes to show what an amazing car Chevrolet has built. One that is revered for its looks, as well as for its performance. Kick ass.
Anyway, back on topic:
I bought my 2001 QS Z06 back in August '07, for a fair price. It was being sold by the original owner. The car had ~67K on the odometer back then, which averages to about 10K miles per year. It was a garage-kept, dealer-maintained San Diego car. The car is still mostly stock and has 75K now, and she runs like a champ. My point is that I feel mileage is only one measure of car's condition. I knew that I would end up putting some miles on the car, although I do NOT drive the car daily or commute with it, with choice exceptions, of course. I had been a bit worried about the odometer clicking past 75,000 miles. I'm not certain why, but I think it has to do with what Ryan L said:
Somehow, those of us that actually put some mileage on our Corvettes are made to feel that we are doing something wrong. I do not like that way of thinking. I like the school of thought that says:
"These cars were made to be driven, and driven hard, quite often."
I think an old chap named Zora would agree.
Point is, H.A.R.T LS6Z06: the answer to your question is YES. There are a fair number of C5Z06 owners that have some miles on their cars. Just keep your eyes and ears out for the one you can make yours.

We human beings are a funny bunch. Some of you feel guilty about putting too many miles on your ZO6 while some of us feel guilty about not driving them enough.
Jeff

thanks c5_4_me and everyone else for your input. I have no problem driving a higher mileage Z stock. I know they are built to be beaten. But what i am asking is can they be beaten with more than basic bolt on mods. which some people on this thread has shown.

It's sort of love/hate, because I could literally sell my Z06 for the same price as I bought it 1.5 years ago if I let it in a garage the entire time. But what fun is that? The resale value is a good thing, but I'd rather drive it and eat the $3k drop for every 10,000 miles or so.

I have always considered the " floor " on the 01 Z to be around 20k. I just never found any lower than that intact. So when I bought mine I went high mileage and close to that " floor " at 21.5 k. I figure this way I can rack the miles up and not really worry all that much about depreciation. I bought the car in August 06 with 64k miles and it now has 80k miles on it and I would be willing to bet I could sell the car for at or over 20k today.

I bought my '03 Z new. It is flawless condition and now has 56,000 miles. I'm still either doing mods to it or have other mods planned. It runs the same as new and I don't consider it old. I have many miles still planned for it. These cars will easily do well over 100k miles with no issues. I always ask people with low mileage Vettes, who are they saving it for?

I bought my Z06 new in 2002 and waited until after the warranty expired before doing anything other than a CAI. My first major mods were a cam and headers with 57k miles on it (I told my wife I needed to replace the valve springs since I was approaching 60k miles - while I was at it I may as well do a little more).

The car ran great for a year and then I couldn't resist the affliction for more power and so I had Andy install one of his Vortech S Trim SC kits with 69k on the clock. The car now makes 588rwhp/509rwtq on the orginal block. I did have to replace the clutch after the SC though, the stock clutch with 70k miles on it just couldn't hang. I've got 74k miles on it now and I am saving up for my next mods -

-Coil overs
-Big Brake kit
-Hardened tranny and output shafts
-Forged motor

-and a trailer to carry the car and all it's accessories to the track and as a back-up in case I have to tow it to my "power dealer".

The short answer is at 56k the engine is just right for modding as long as it's not burning oil. Just be prepared, this is an ADDICTION, once you start you never have enough:eek:

H.A.R.T LS6Z06:
In my mind it really depends on
- what has been done to the car as far as mods (NA? FI?)
- what the car has been used for (racing?)
- seller's age/personality

I went for a bone-stock, never-raced Z06 being sold by the original adult owner. The other end of the spectrum would be a highly-modified, race-prepped Z06 being sold by the fifth owner, an 18 year old. But I would still buy from that end of the spectrum, if I felt the car and the price were right for me.

:cheers:

Best of luck to you. Let us know what you get.

OP,
You should be fine with normal bolt ons. Piston rings after time get a "set" with the BMEP they have seen over their life. If you make a major jump in compression or put forced induction on the car with high mileage you might have a oil control problem develop. Other than that you should be fine if the engine is already in good shape.

I added cam/headers/exhaust/intake when I had about 65k on the clock. That was about a year and 12k miles ago. Runs great.

Like someone said above, the clutch was on its way out, after the mods, it only lasted a couple of months more (I was really stretching it out).

As long as its in good shape, you should be fine. Buy it, mod it, have a great time. My car has made me smile every day I've driven it over the past 6+ years. In fact, it's been in the shop for a week getting the rear repainted and I'm going through withdrawl......

chris

My 02 06 has 124,000 miles on it and still going strong. Listed below are some of it's mods.

PCM – reprogramming / fuel mapping by BV Performance

Engine:
Melrose Performance Smooth Flow Tri-Y (long tube) Design Headers, X-Pipe and Random Technologies Cat Converters with Stock Titanium Exhaust
Blackwing Air Intake
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
LS1 Ignition Wires
Lingenfelter Oil Cooler
Elite Engineering PCV Oil Catch Can
Cam – GM Gen III LS6 “Hot” Cam
DeWitt Dual Core Aluminum Radiator

Transmission:
MTI Six Shooter Shifter
C5R Delrin shift knob
Spec Aluminum Flywheel and OEM Z06 Clutch
Transmission – Micro Polished, Compressed Carbon Synchronizers, Compressed Carbon Rings, Bronze fork pads, RPM modified 1-2 shifter fork, Carbon Composite Reverse gear, rings and relocation of cooling return
GM Performance Transmission / Differential Cooler

Brakes:
Custom Painted Front Air Deflector
Doug Rippie Brake Cooling Ducts / Phoenix Duct Caliper mount
CarboTech XP 10 Front Brake Pads
CarboTech XP 8 Rear Brake Pads

Calipers – (C6 Z06) Front: J56 PBR Six Piston, Rear: J56 PBR Four Piston
Rotors – DBA 14” Front Rotors, DBA – 13” Rear Rotors
Lines – Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake lines
SSR Comp H 18 x 10.5 Wheels
Tires: 295/35ZR18 Bridgestone Potenza S-02

Body/Frame:
GM T84 Euro Head Lamps
GM Part Number 10365816 “Z16” carbon fibre hood
3M Paint Protection – Front hood (18 inches), fenders, nose and mirrors / Front Roof line (18 inches)/ Rear Deck
Engineered Corvette Products Frame Rails
C5 Skid Plate Wheels
Rear Corvette Painted Splash Guard Set
Auxiliary Hood Seal

Suspension:
OEM Springs
GM Performance T1 Front & Rear Sway Bars
2004 “Z06” OEM Shocks (stiffer valving)
C6 front knuckle R #88965638
C6 front knuckle L #88965637


Differential:
Quaife 3:42

dont worry about mileage
if you do you wont have fun with it
there is no point in having a garage queen

Drive it, why did you buy it? Is it considered your garage ornament; to show off to your rich neighbors.