delinquent543

I currently own a trans am.. to be frank the quality of the interior (dash, seats, everything) sucks. not to mention going over bumps and such, everything rattles and shakes and squeaks, it gets soooo annoying! i installed bilstein HDs (with stock springs), fiddles with the tire pressure, hit everything with silicone spray the whole nine yards. enough with my current car, and more to the question at hand. I want to upgrade. I was considering a newer z06 (maybe a 03, 04). what kind of quality should i expect from one of those? what are the driving characteristics (will i have the same or a similar quality in comfort? handling? etc..) ive never been in one, so i suppose a test drive is in order, but what about in the long term? what can i expect from daily driving one of those on new england roads (though i am from boston, so they aernt that bad). from pictures, i see the interior looks a little more refined in a z06, but how much better is it, if at all? will things still rattle, will the ride be obnoxiously uncomfortable like in a trans am? will the tops leak (oh and does the z06 have a removable top? i havent been close enough to a z06 to tell...). i have a lot of research to do still, but this is sorta the preliminary questions. what things can i expect to break (rear end, transmission... etc). how easy are they to mod, about the same as a ls1 fbody? i know this is a lot, but thanks for any help.. hopefully ill be the proud owner of a z06 pretty soon!

99Hawk262

iTrader: (19)

No removable top....the '99 FRC's (fixed roof coupes) were not as popular as initially thought, so GM stuck a higher horse engine in them (LS6) and thus was born the C5 Z06. They are lighter, and more rigid than a removable top coupe. I can't claim to know a lot about those cars.....but I have test driven one and I was very impressed. Not only by the speed and power, but to me it feels much more like a sports car. You sit lower, it feels sportier, and the interior is much nicer. I don't know about longevity and rattles and all that, but it is certainly a step up as far as quality goes. The ride was nice too. It is tight and the bumps are felt, but that is to be expected from a car that handles as well as these do. They are just as easy to mod as an LS1 although more expensive in some cases....it's a Vette after all. They are pretty tough and can take a lot of beating before you start tearing anything up too bad. More so than an F-body anyway. I have been around them a lot and seen a lot of them at the track. Badass car and good luck if you decide to purchase one. You will be very happy.

DocT

I have 25K miles on mine, and not a single rattle whatsoever. Nada! The ride: You feel the road as the suspension is tight, the interior is definitely a grade above the Fbods. Modding, I haven't done much yet, and really don't plan on tremendous upgrades, as this car rocks straight outta the box. Handling is superior to anything I've ever ridden in. If you go the Z06 route, they're all FRC (fixed roof coupes) meaning not targa, no T-tops, and no convertible. I'll promise you one thing if you buy the Z06, you'll not be sorry for the purchase, as a matter of fact, you'll llloooovvve it

Keep us informed.

delinquent543

exactly what i wanted to hear, thanks guys!

delinquent543

ne problems similar to what f bodies with the 10 bolt rear?

Trevor_00Ws6

They have a IRS(Independent rear). I believe its the left side that is the weaker of the two. But for the most part, I dont believe them to be as week at the stock 10 bolt.

cantdrv65

iTrader: (3)

The stock vette rear is MUCH MUCH stronger than the F-bod 10-bolt. You'll love the C5 Z06...they are incredible cars. Some think the C5 Z06 still handles better than its newer badder brother the C6 Z06....

HolyShiznit

iTrader: (11)

Careful......cause that's a load of crap for the most part. The C6 z06 out slaloms/out-tracks/out-skidpads the C5 z06 in every test ever done. The difference is the C6 z06 chassis is a little more skiddish and most average drivers aren't comfortable putting it through it's paces. Not to sound rude or offend you but the C5 z06 is more like the driving for dummies version compared to the C6 z06. The C5 Z06 is the easier to drive car but most definitely not the better handling.

Black8Banger

iTrader: (9)

I have 65k on my c5 z06 and there are zero rattles or anything! It still rides and drives awesome!

DocT

Eeeaassyyy, you might offend us lowly C5Z owners


J/K We all know that our big brother is a different animal altogether. But you have to give credit where it's due, Z06's are freakin awesome in every situation. Dont know if it should ever be in the "dummies version" of anything. But we're cool, we know where you're coming from.

HolyShiznit

iTrader: (11)

^^^ God knows I wish I had a z06 of any flavor.

delinquent543

what does a stock c5 z06 run in the 1/4? 0-60? (Street tires)

SteveDoten@ARH

11.8's 118; by 'ranger' on the corvetteforum; interior quality? wtfc, it's a vette

CoronaL

iTrader: (6)

my z06 compared to my TA, just totally diff cars
chassis 100x better in vette, interior for the most part too. Seats however, I dunno, I kinda like the TA better for comfort and leather wear. Vettes IMO have crap seats, at least for wear, they are mostly comfortable, but wished they offered more side bolster.

If you can afford it get an 04, better shocks for less wheelhop, or plan to upgrade to 04 shocks, that's my next vette upgrade b/c my wheel hop is insane .

Wicked LT1

Mine drives like a dream. I own a Z28 and I know what you mean, although mine didn't rattle as bad as you're describing yours.
Drive a Z06 and you'll be in love right away. It drives like a luxury car, but with a lot more power. Gotta love it!
Goose

cantdrv65

iTrader: (3)

I said some say that...and they do. Im sure the C6 Z handles better it certainly has enough improvements over the C5 Z to do so....However, if one chassis is "skittish" as you put it, that equates to harder to drive in some peoples minds..

xlr8shn

My 97 TA WS.6 squeeked terribly. Some improvement when KBDD subframe connectors were welded on. Still, the interior of the car would squeek and rattle while driving around town, even over the Borla...



Contrast this to my 90k+ mile 99 C5... NO interior squeeks. Not saying the C5 interior is any better but the car is quiet (except when I open up my cutouts)...

blown2kss

definately go with a c5 zo6... I have owned a 00 SS that was highly modified, and now I have c5 zo6 unmodified. I would take the unmodded zo6 over modded SS any day. It is far superior in every aspect, and quality. On both cars the leather quality is not great, but still look good. Also the seats in the zo6 seem to have a little better support than the f body. I have no raddles in the car, and it hooks far better stock than did the stock f body. I does sit low, and may scrape if you are not careful. I drove the car back from l.a to wisconsin when I bought it, and had no problems with it bottoming out.

All around it's a great car.

DocT

did you start looking? Lot's of good deals out there, but if you wait until later in the year, you can get a much better deal. Good luck!

chris.shea

my brothers 99 hardtop squeeks and rattles and were currently looking for the source... my 02 z06 is quiet as hell inside and im replacing what bothers me anyways... even if i have squeek or rattle now i cant hear anything with my exhaust