I picked up my 03 coupe up last year and love it. Nothing like being able to take the top off on nice days!! Not as fast a Z06 but it holds it's own. With just a vararam and catback I was able to pull slightly (as in inches) on an 06 ls2. Just make sure to pick up an 01-04. Go to corvetteforum.com and you will learn a lot.

 

i am looking at a nice 97 right now.. only 33k miles why should i make sure to get 01-04?

 

True, most but not all. My LS2 ran a 12.21 (and almost 116mph) in bone stock trim and is listed as the quickest among bone stock LS2s.
But yes a few LS3s have gone in the 11s already as well.
I still thinl that a C5 Z06 is an awesome performer and great used car value as well...they're all (C5s and C6s) awesome cars though.

 

only reason I would stay away from the 97 is it does not have active handling.

Get a 99 and up.

 

Here's one for you.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-c...h-red-frc.html

 

dang, new york! haha, thanks c5 pete, if you see any others in the south please keep me posted, i will have to go get an account over there at corvetteforums so i can do some searching on there! thanks!

 

hey c5 pete, have you ever felt the effects of the active handling?

has anyone felt the effects of active handling? i could imagine, after reading up on it on this website ( http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...1061997_4.html ) that there may actually be some adverse effects of this active handling mechanism, but i am sure that there are by far more good effects, i am just not sure that i want that.. i mean what if i am out having a little fun on a weekend and decide to spin her around, will this system actually stop this from happening? i mean i am certain that it would, if one of the back wheels locks up, the fun is over! i guess there is a switch that you can choose not to run the active handling? i don't know what to think, i mean i really like this 97 i am looking at, but it is a 97 for one, and #2, i'm sure the paint on it is not what an 02+ would be.. it is 13 years old by model years.. but it only has 37k miles, and it is exactly the combination of things that i am looking for, except that it is a 97.. i might like the active handling, but i dont think i am going to let that be the deciding factor on this car.. let me hear some opinions about active handling, and more opinions on 97's please! thanks for all the help so far!

 

From speaking from experience I've had

5 1997 C5's
2 1999 's including my current one
1 2001 C5 Z06

1 2006 C6 Z51
1 2007 C6

I really like the 1997's and have had good luck with them. Low production year and I think they were built good especially for a 1st year build.

If your NOT going to mod or care about the top coming off get a 2002+ Z06.

It offers better the C6 Ls2 performance for a great deal

If you are going to Mod buy a 1997-2000 there cheaper and you can save money on the car and use it towards mod's.

I would stay away from 2001's They are known oil burners. Mine wasn't but I did have a leaky diff and notchy tranny in my Z06.

IMO active handling is over rated. It is cool in the rain but otherwise I wouldn't miss it even though my 1999 has it.
Good luck on your quest

 

I would agree with just about everything Rzuff said, with the exception of active handling.

These cars get sideways pretty easily and the A/C will kick in and save it for you. If you plan on modding your car it becomes even more important.

You can always turn it off for drag racing.

IMHO I wouldnt buy one without it.

Have fun in your search.

 

hey rzuff, thanks for that input, it is always good to hear from experience.. while we are on the subject of oil burning, i know that the ls1's of 97-99 had tsb's on their rings, they were oil burners for sure, my 99 z burned a lot of oil before i rebuilt it.. but were the ls1's in the vettes different? i guess i'm asking, did the vettes have oil burning problems in any other years?

c5 pete, thanks for your continued input, i can see where active handling would be a neat thing to have, and may save you from a fender bender or worse, but i have driven this long without it, i hate to let that stop me from buying this car.. but maybe i should, i mean outside of the the active handling, i still wasn't really wanting to go so old as a 97.. maybe since it is 2 strikes, i should hold off and keep looking.. thanks for all the advice guys, seems like the more info i get, the further i am from being ready to purchase any specific car.. but i know with this info i can buy a car i will be happy with, so keep the comments/suggestions rolling!! thanks

 

97-98's had 28lbs injectors and return style fuel system which is neat if your going to supercharge. Also the 97-98's come a little richer from the factory so if you do a intake or something you gain a few extra hp IMO. I never had any problems with my C5's burning oil butI had 3 friends that bought new 01's and all of them had issues with it.

The only bad thing about the 1997 is the computer which is not as good for modding because it doesn't have custom OS for it.

I really don't like the active handling function on the 99-00. In 2001 it was improved but it still wasn't really perfected till the 05 C6.

 

what do you mean, programs like hp tuners won't work with 97's? i don't like that idea! i was thinking to do the typical h/c stuff, nothing major, probably stick with naturally aspirated, but i would like to do some tuning after the h/c job.. would i just have to do that with like a handheld tuner or something?

 

I never said they would not work. Some people run a custom OS but honestly you need some big mods to take advantage of that. With EFI or HP you can change many options and with heads/cam it is fine. Big things such as Turbo is where you want the 1999+ PCM

You can repin your plug and run a 1999+ PCM it takes about 4 hours.

 

nah, h/c is about as far as i am gonna go engine wise anyway..

 

fozz I just got a new 09 ls3 model.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/corvette-...09-dyno-s.html

If you want to check out the graph. But 400rwhp seems to be a great place to start. Not sure how much 2008's are going for but maybe you could find one for a great deal on craigslist or Autotrader. LS3 seems to be nasty out of the box.

 

are the z06's all fixed roof? i wouldn't mind going topless from time to time, i would never want a convertible, but a targa top, now that could be fun! how can i know if the car i am looking at is a targa top? or was that just an option on all of them?

 

how frequent/ how easy is it to roll back an odometer? i am looking at a z06 that shows a possible rollback or a clerical error on it's carfax.. should i run from it?

 

Yes they are.

 

thanks weatherman so are all base models after a certain year targa top? probably not huh?

 

All the coupes -1997-2004 (hatchbacks) have the targa top. All the FRC (1999, 2000) and Z06 (2001-2004) are fixed roof - as stated above. and all convertibles are - well you know that one.