Mecinoid

Hey I wondering from you F-Body owners that made the jump to the Vettes what you think. I mean the horsepower is nice but an extra 50HP to the rear wheels isn't going to make a big difference to me since I have a race car in the garage as well that will turn low 10's maybe 9's in a month or so.

I am thinking it would be nice to get a C6 but a C5 would probably be enough for me. I will probably mod the car to run 10.75 on motor and low 10's on NOS. That will be few years down the road. Screw the gas prices.
Actually, my LS1 powered F-body on the freeway gets the best mileage of all my cars in sixth. Like 28.5-30mpg.

The real questions I want to get answers on is:

Is the nose of the Vette lower than the Firebird. I have to angle in my driveway now with the Firebird and do not want to worry about the Vette draging it's nose when I back it up onto the driveway. It is much more difficult if I drive in head first.

How is the stock ride and handling compared to those of you that had bilstiens of there F-Body with LCA, SFC, Trac Arms. Can improvements be made for improved handling on the Vettes without giving up freeway ride comfort?

What is the thing you like best about taking the jump from F-Body to the Vette?

I have more questions but these are the ones that I worry about going to the Vette. It is already hard for me to get my wife to ride in the Firebird now and I want to share it with her. So, improved handling and ride comfort need to go together. As it is she has to sit on a pillow so the vibrations don't make her stomach upset. It is those fine vibrations that get her. Does the Vette get rid of that slight driveline vibration you have in the F-body?

Thanks for your inputs.

V-seriesTech

iTrader: (5)

Well dude, I have never owned an F-body so, excuse my jump in. But, I have driven, worked on several f-bodies, and have also driven a WS6 for about a month. Honestly, after yanking several motors out, several spark plug swaps on f-bodies,...etc etc... also, everyone I know that has owned an f-body has spun out in the rain. They are great cars but, after thinking of all that, mostly about how hard it is to work on an f-body, I decided to go with the vette.

I have driven several C5's before purchaseing one,...starting way back in 96/97.... if you haven't yet, I would highly recommend it. If you have the chance, drive one WOT and see how well they pull past 140/150 mph and keep pulling, unlike stock or slightly modified f-bodies. The handleing, can't be produced unless you spend alot of money in an f-body, trust me, i've priced EVERYTHING out.

The vette, however, is lower then the T/A without a doubt. Atleast my car, in the front, is a couple of inches off the ground. At speed, my car has NO vibrations, and I have taken my car to 170 on several occasions. Suspension wise, you can do whatever your budget allows. Larger sway bars, better shocks,..etc etc. My car, has the Z51 package, which is awesome,,...and I have lowered it,...costing me about 20 bucks for longer bolts in the rear,..the front you just crank down with a 10mm.


Anyways man....trust me,...the f-body is one of my all time favorite car ever,....but if you can swing the vette,...TRUST me, you'll be more then happy.


Jamie

CySevans

Honestly, I could never go back to an F-body. The overall difference in driving experience is night and day. And I had a heavily modified F-body, too. Still couldn't touch my Vette. Yes, my Trans Am had more horsepower, but this Vette is definitely quicker in all categories than my Trans Am ever was, and it's still 99.9% stock!

Here's what I was driving:

http://www.angelfire.com/on2/Vinnie/myta2.html

As far as ride height, the Vette is about as high as my lowered Trans Am was. Yes, the Vette hits the scrape sensor on driveways, but makes it over speed bumps just fine.

As for the wife factor, my wife would not touch the Trans Am. She hated it. It was loud and hard to shift (upgraded clutch and shifter) and didn't ride very smoothly with the Bilsteins and all of the chassis upgrades. The Vette is very easy to drive. You really need to go test drive one to understand what it's about. One drive in the Z06, and I knew I had to have it. A C6 Z51 comes very very close to the C5 Z06 in overall performance.

TigerSharkVette

yeah the vettes lower but the c5 front spoiler is rubber so it will bend and stuff not hard plastic like the c4's

Bombguy99z28

The Vette has a better angle of approach even if it is slightly lower than a comparable fbody. Don't expect the vette to be faster out of the box. My FRC is about as fast as my camaro was stock.

tigertank

i would say the f body is quicker than my c5 but my vette is a whole lot faster than my Z ride at speeds above 135 in the fbody geta bit squirrelly but the vette smooth all the way up too 170sh both are getting 23 to 25 mpg . oh yea had more women look at me in the C5 but had more girls look at the Z your choice!

J 98ta

iTrader: (3)

I ran into somebody this weekend at the track. He told me he had just got the 2000-2002 WS-6 about 2 weeks ago that he had at the track. Said he traded his 2001 c5 for it and was VERY happy he did. I was really surprised at this. My mind will wonder at times, thinking maybe I should get a vette. Both were 6 speeds, and he stated the vette was faster, but he really likes the F-body. Mumbled something about "everybody has a Vette" Well, not everybody I know, but was interesting as I was expecting the opposite. 'shrug'

'J

ram-it

My lowered WS6 was a pain in the *** to drive. Going downtown Seattle with all the hills and steep entrances into parking garages were frightening. Not so with the Z. The handling on the vette is better than a f-body with suspension mods. Let's not even begin to talk about resale value between the two. I love f-bodies and have owed 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen but not a one compares to the performance of a C5. Its just a more car for the money and better too.

Mecinoid

Thanks for all the replys. I had driven a C5 last year. It didn't seem as fast as my slightly modded F-Body. That isn't a issue cause I know it can be faster. I didn't really get a chance to do any twisties. So, I do not know about that. However, my biggest concern is the clearances and the ride believe it or not. It sounds like it will work out great. I think I need to go back and drive another. I would like an Aniversary Ed Hardtop or I might take the plunge and get a C6 dark grey with tan interior. We'll see what I can work out in the next month or two.

My guess is they won't give me much for my '98 Formula Firebird. However, my buddies are fighting over the purchase at 18K which seems really good to me. I have about 27K into her with only 39K on the clock.

I can also sell my '04 350Z .... not sure which one I will sell yet. I like them both. But, neither of them are a Vette. I do love the looks of the Aniversary Edition.



I know insurance is going to go up but you only live once.

ram-it

Actually, insurance will go down depending on age.

Assassin

iTrader: (3)

I made the jump, and the only reason to keep or get an f-body is for the back seats, if you dont use them, you will love the vette, the suspension is adjustable from the factory, so no buying parts to lower your car, and the handleing is outstanding and the feedback is even better, no more car flying off the course, you can feel everything the vette is doing and it wants to stay planted, its got the dual zone ac wich my girl likes, the seats are waaay more comfey, I love the heads up display, the whole car is just put together alot better and quality parts are used for the vette, its still a very modable ls1 so its not like your leaving the family, you just dont get your arms cut up if you need to reach past cylinder 4, lol, changeing a manifold or spark plugs ect. is so easy w/ the engine fully visable, I changed my plugwires when the engine was hot without gloves and didnt get burnt, thats how much access there is in the engine compartment,

also, my insurance accually droped about $200 on the vette...

take a test drive in a z06, thats what I did and was totally hooked...

fasthwks

iTrader: (3)

I just made the change a couple of weeks ago and could not be happier. The ride and handling is not even close, I had my WS6 lowered and it bounced and beat you, the Z is like a caddy. My other half also hated to ride or drive the WS6 but says she feels very comfortable in the Z and she is only 5 ft tall! I did keep my Firehawk and that is where you really notice the diff, drive one to work and then drive the other out to dinner-wow! It took me a long time to take that step but now I wish I would have done it sooner. My insurance did drop $150 a half too! Drive a ZO6 and you will know if it is for you.

Patman

I owned three f-bodies before my C5 (95 TA, 95 Formula, 98 Formula) and the C5 is significantly better than them in many ways. For starters it just feels so much more refined. And the handling and braking are a lot better. I have never owned a car that is as much fun as this C5, even though mine is almost completely stock.

PA Z06

I think most has already been said, but my best freind has an SS, he can make it up my driveway with no problems and my Z06 rubs the plastic in front, and I have had a chance to drive his car alot, and the vette is so much more refined, they are both fast but the vette is alot smoother IMO,
Have you test driven a z05 or a c5?

XTrooper

I've owned both. I had a 1999 Camaro SS before I sold it and bought the 'Vette. As much as I loved the SS, I never looked back after getting the C5. It's just a better car all the way around. Yes, it's lower, but the front air dam is spring-loaded so it won't snap off when you scrape it. I scrape mine everytime I drive into our garage. Also, the insurance premium on the 'Vette will be cheaper as already mentioned.

cantdrv65

iTrader: (3)

Get the vette...much better car! As for the scraping, you'll completely tear the front end OFF of a C5 if you are scrapping an F-fod. Of course my vette is lowered about 2.5", but i cant even cross some speedbumps, but the looks and handling !!!

CySevans

Yep, my insurance actually went down a little. Go figure.

And "fast" doesn't always mean dragstrip. People need to get out of that line of thinking. Fast is relative to the conditions in which it is driven. This Vette is "faster" in all respects than my modified, more powerful Trans Am was, both drag strip and road coarse. It's an all around better driving experience.

bigdsz

iTrader: (1)

I've got both a Camaro and a Vette. I like them both but for different reasons. The Vette obviously is more refined and handles better, but the Camaro is brute power and much faster. See sig.

Soldiernurse

Your kidding, right? Of course your 2000 Camaro Z28 is faster than your 2004 Corvette. You have one mod on the Vette, whereas you've modded out your Z28. I'd bet if you did the same applicable mods to your Vette it would be way faster than your Z28. I'm sure you realize your Vette is about 300lbs. lighter, handles way better on the twisties, and takes to perf mods better than an FBody [at least IMHO].

BTW, I traded in my 2002 NHRA Special Edition Trans Am for my present 2001 C5 Coupe on 12/23/02 & have no regrets.

Soldiernurse