C5 Z06 - Infromation

[Philb1]

Hello, I am a new member to COM, a long time Corvette Enthusiast. I have been around performance cars ever since my dad ran Street Stocks at Riverside Park, (Agawam, MA) a million years ago. I had an 87 IROC Camaro a while ago and loved it. Anyway I am looking to get back into a sports car, in my early research, I have been looking into C5 Z06’s as the best performance for the $$. A fellow enthusiast recommended COM as a resource to get in touch with some serious Corvette / sports car enthusiasts and really dig into the possibilities.

[Bobc]

Hi Philb1
C5Z is a great track car several run in COM. COM is alot of fun with a lot of great people, you need to get yourself a car and decide what class you want to run in and go from there.
Bob

[962porsche]

i have owned 2 C5's good cars . i have not track them for many reasons but i would think they would be fun on the track .
i run with many other clubs but i have to say comscc is by far the best club out there to run with .
you can use just about any car you can think of and run with comscc .
many times it's best to find a very slow car at 1st if you have never driven on a track before . there are many reasons to do so . the biggest is to be quick in a slow under powered car you need to be smooth .
don't think that it's not the same thrill with a low powered car as with a high hp car .
with a small low hp car with little tires the ragged edge is at a much lower speed than the same ragged edge of a high hp car with bigger tires so they are just as much fun .
so you can pick your self up a cheap very very slow nissan sentra SER and have just as much fun with it .
mark did i say that out loud ?

[Philb1]

Thanks, what I am thinking is getting into a Vette for the 1st time, I would be using it as a daily about 1/2 the time. I would also track it very slowly at 1st. I have not had a good sports car for some years now, and it’s time to get something. The C5 Z with reasonable miles seems to be a great choice. Any thoughts or information on these cars and sources to find trustworthy sellers would be greatly appreciated.

[962porsche]

the two i have owned were more of flip cars . i will have to say the 1st one i owned my plan was to just fit it detail it and sell it right off but i ended up driving it for most of one summer because the car was fun to drive . the down side is that the inside of the cars are cheaply made and i did have the seat slider brake along with the console hing . there should be no reason for that on a low miles 4 years old car at the time .
the 2nd one i got was the same way as most of the interior was falling apart and beat to crap .
they do hold there value well and sell like hot cakes . craigslist ,racing junk and the ct's bargain news are good places to look .

[rousespointer]

I would suggest sticking with a non-Z06 model as you will find many nice examples at reasonable prices. Z cars were meant to be driven and most were. The hatchback is more versatile for daily driving...I used to pack camping gear, tools, jack, etc in my C5 to go to the track. Non-Z vettes are much cheaper to buy and you can easily upgrade the suspension, brakes, to better than Z standards.
A base C6 is certainly more desirable, but the higher cost over a C5 is significant. It sounds like you are looking for a clean, no-hit car, as opposed to a rebuilt or totaled project, so the C5 route is financially much cheaper. If you know a good used car dealer well, they can get one at auction....bit of a crap shoot so you have to trust your buyer. You have plenty of horsepower with a stock C5, so I wouldn't worry about HP...its all about handling and driving. Good luck !

[Bobc]

Sorry i was busy at work so i posted short earlier,
I have run with COM for 3 years using a 01 C5 coupe and My GF has an 04 Z16 we have had a ball you just have to remember these cars are FAST. I have 30 years of drag race experience with up to an 8 second car. and a few years of light circle track before running road courses. THIS IS MORE FUN.
That said I bought a C5Z this year and she also bought a C5Z both 02's to run as track cars..... THEY ARE TOO MUCH FUN but they can be a hand full.. A C5Z is alot of car!!!
I don't know what you drive now or your experience have you driven a C5?. I have only owned V8 rwd cars including a few 2nd and 3rd gen Camaro's
It looks to me like a C5Z is what you have your heart set on. If that is so try Craig's list and the corvette forum to find a car do a bunch of reading and know what goes wrong with them so you know what you are getting into.
Having driven the coupe and the Z I would buy a Z, I found the stock suspension lacking and the trans gearing too tall in the Coupe, but it was still a bunch fun and they do ride MUCH better on the street than a Z and they do have a bunch more storage room......
We run in SSU and you will only need brake pads, tires and fresh fluids and maybe SS brake lines to have a ball just keep it slow at first. MY car has a rebuilt title and had only gotten wet I got the car with 80k dirt cheap, her car had 40k miles and in show room cond and we got that car very reasonable neither had seen a road course before we got them. So good cars are out there you just have to look and maybe travel a bit.
That said a C6 Coupe will run with a C5Z.

Bob

[brucesallen]

Speaking as an instructor, the Z06 student cars I have driven are a whole lot more fun than the softer cars. Suspension is ready to go. With a softer car you will want to upgrade.

[naschmitz]

I think the C5Z is better because it includes some additional coolers you might not find on a base car.

My C6 base coupe needed an engine oil cooler, larger radiator, larger sways, stiffer springs, better shocks .. ... lots of these come std on Z51 or Z06 cars.

[kfoote]

The C5 Z06 and base C6 are very close in terms of performance, and asBruce mentioned, the C54 Z06 is a little bit better out of the box on track, adn the base C6 will be a bit better as a daily driver. I'd base a purchase more on the condition of the car than exactly which one it is.

The only real non-consumable maintenance issue on these cars is front hubs. All of the C5 and C6 cars are pretty hard on the front hubs, and do tend to eat them. I'd recommend having spares with you.

[Philb1]

Wow, thanks for the info. This is all great information. I am going to keep looking and doing reasearch. I do understand that the Z06 is A LOT!!! OF CAR, and will defintly take some serious time and instruction to drive it even to part of it's potential on the track. Thats the point though!!! Any more information, things to watch out for, other places to. I'll take all the info I can get.

[naschmitz]

The only real non-consumable maintenance issue on these cars is front hubs. All of the C5 and C6 cars are pretty hard on the front hubs, and do tend to eat them. I'd recommend having spares with you.

The SKF hubs are pretty indestructable.

Unless you run them into a bridge at NJMP and use them to break the steering knuckle. Then the wheel speed sensor will fail within 6 months. I have tested mine this way.

[962porsche]

average costs .
C5 10 TO 20 K
Z51 30 TO 40 K
Z06 50 TO 60 K

NOW just how much faster are the other two cars ?
then if the person is new to track driving 10 plus K would pay for a crap load of seat time and track events .
you could have a car that goes like stink but if your not getting on the track to learn how to drive at speed is it really that much better ?
i think it's one thing if your using every bit of your car and now looking for more then stepping up would be a great idea but if your a new bee and your only going to use 1/2 of what the car has then it maybe kind of pointless to just go for the top of the line car at 1st .
i do fully beleive that you should learn with a car that is a little slower and less power . it can't mask what your doing wrong .

[Bobc]

Hi Bert, Hows things hope all is well are you going to the glen?

My C5Z"s only had the power steering cooler over the coupe... same radiator, no oil cooler stock I thought they had oil coolers on them but on further inspection there was no oil cooler even in the Z16...

In SSU these cars are hard on brakes, Well maybe it is actually me but I have broken 5 rear rotors and 1 front they fail on cool down in the pits visable crack only on the outside of the rotor...a comon issue check the forum, if run hard with out spindleducts .. . spindle ducts not allowed in SSU.....If run hard and power shifted the balancer can and will come loose......ask me how I know and the same for the 3-4 shift keys same cause........run 1 guart over full in the pan for racing change every race oil temps of 300 -310 are not uncommon use good synthetic trans and rear end fluid and have fun!!!!!!

.
C5 10 TO 20 K
Z51 30 TO 40 K
Z06 50 TO 60 K

NOW just how much faster are the other two cars ? [/quote] my C5Z is about 2 seconds quicker than the C5 coupe at NHMS in chicken /chicken....
,
30k to 40k that would be a C6 50k to 60k also C6 a C5Z would be more like 15k- 25k some asking 29k, 30k for a low mile Z16 some asking 35k.....10k-20k would be a C5 coupe

[962porsche]

the prices i got are from my body shop estimating guide to see if cars are totals are not when your writing estimates . they should be close to what average cost are or what they say they are ?

the 1st C5 i owned i picked up for just over 12K . i put another 1300 into it needing complete brake job before int parts started to brake . a full detail the PO treated the car like crap drove it for a summer and sold it for just over 20k .

now do you think A Michael Schumacher type driver could be faster then you in a bone stock C5 ? and make up a 2 second gap ? do you think a driver like him could turn a faster lap time in the same car your driving ?
if so why would or do you think that ? maybe one reason is he has 1000's of hours more seat time than you ?