Fbodies are a lot cheaper to make go fast in a straight line. A TH400 + 9" rear end conversion that will run 8s easily can probably be done for <$5k in a fbody. You're looking at $10k+ to put a TH400 in a vette not including a built rearend. There's also a vastly more complicated fuel system on the vettes.

 

Cost, maybe, but when one buys a vette, they know what their getting into. I wouldn't want a TH 400 or a 9" there's plenty 1100hp vette with 6 speeds, autos and IRS suspensions. Here's a vid this car has a TH400 and IRS suspension, runs 8s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5tAz35dQ7Y

 

3.45? typo? They were 3.42 fwiw.

So an 01 up C5 runs mid 12s all day long? The new SS isn't the supercar some people wanted it to be but it's still a pretty stout car and I personally have witnessed average guys running high 12s @ 110~111mph bone stock at Cordova and claims on the internet have them running even quicker/faster times.

 

Um... What?!

No. As far as I know there aren't any bone stock 01 C5s getting into mid 12s other than maybe an 01Z with Ranger behind the wheel.

02Zs make it to the mid 12s without breaking a sweat. First time I ever took my 03 Z to the track I got it to run mid 12s constantly with almost no seat time. First run was a 12.9 and the last run was a 12.6. Stock car @ 3000 DA.

I don't think even my dad's 03 Vert would run faster than a 2010 SS. It's possible, but you'd have to shift the **** out of it.

 

Here where everything gets jumbled up. All tracks are different. Our track was at sea level, but Med to hi humidity no prep on the launch pad. My c5 99, auto 3:15 gears stock, ran 13.3 @ 106 most the time. I could never beat my friend in his 01 6 speed that would run 12.7 on average. Our other friends 02z ran 12.3, I think @ 112. Tracks been closed a while now. Lots of similar vettes were running the same numbers. I now have an 01 6 speed, I cant get video of me beating my friends, because he traded it for a 2012 grand sport. When i first rode in his ss, it felt faster than my vette, but I'll race anything. So we did. I beat his everytime. Creep away in second and just keeps creeping away. From a roll it was dead even from about 50 to 80, then I start creeping out again. Its pretty come. I know other with c5s beating ss's.

 

Well, I guess that's what having an extra 1000 Lbs will do to your performance. I have to admit, though, it just seems so ridiculous that 5th Gens are so heavy. LOL It's not like they're a fully loaded luxury car like a Lexus or BMW. They're pretty damn base with very few options. Would it have hurt GM to use a little more aluminum?

 

just today i had a few dudes gathering around my car at a gas station. they were younger high school looking kids. they were lokin at the car like it was a classic or something.
but yea. in another 15 years or so i think there will be evn less 4th gen trans ams on the streets.
i have been seeing alot of 5th gen camaros and bitch *** mustangs, ghetto looking chargers and challengers. all of em slow.

 

thing about the 4th gens is that most of em are quick or real quick. at least where im around.
i had some guy give me a dirty look after i put some lengths on his 5th gen. it was a inferno orange and black. i wasnt trying to race him at first, but i think he had just got some new mods or something and kept coming at me.
they didnt help him that day
the 5th gens, 5.0s, and "hemi" cars are starting to bite more too ive noticed. maybe think its an old car and gots nothing for there new shiny cars.
the older wiser guys know better about these old 4th gens.
corvettes are supposed to be fast all day, all the time. nobody denies that.

alot of people that are non gm guys think the 4th gens are a pos or something.
cant handle, slow, old technology, old motor, bla,bla,bla

 

I daily drove a 2000 and 2001 trans am for 10 years. Both had bolt ons, the latter had a cam. Now I have been daily driving a 99 vette for about two years. The biggest difference is the center of gravity. When you floor a TA the motion is upwards (which is why it's easier to pop a wheelie). In a vette the force is backwards or more g's on your body. This is the biggest difference between the two IMO.

The vette interior is absolute garbage but a TA isn't much better.

A TA feels like a bucket of bolts. New creeks arise with each passing mile.

You can certainly feel the vette's weight advantage while driving.

Both turn heads equally. Overall you can't go wrong with either but a vette is way to go.

 

i agree. the corvette has a lighter feeling.my trans am turns heads on a daily. basis. at just about any stoplight i have people staring at the car.
ive never been bothered by the fbodys handling or feel on the road.
quite frankly if i wanted a car that had all those old man accomodations.

smooth ride,(i like gettin sideways just bout every time i drive the car.)

quiet interior( i shift this **** at 7000rpm, lt headers 3in ex. with c/o),

nurburing handling (im not a ricer so i dont drift, most hiways in the city are not wound, just typical american strait line streets,blvds. and freeways and of course the on ramps and back roads. cant recall anywhere in my city where i can drive Gran Turismo style)

i would get me a or a caddy ctsv or a tahoe.
the ride in the corvette is not all that much more comfortable, if anything the cockpit is more cramped than a fbody. the interior feel is not all that better than a fbody. there is no "luxury" in the vettes interior.

i built my uncles 600+rwhp 98 c5. i built the engine, hotparts, all the exhaust, clutch swap, fuel system, all the wrench work. short of the tune and paint i did it all. im very familiar with a hi hp vette and the acceleration feeling. i drive the car on the regular and maintain it.without a lift. on my back and with jackstands.

even then i prefer the fbodys. i could own a vette, a passed up a 00 frc for a m6 ws6 last year. perhaps its easier to work on and mod the fbodys.
i will admit the c6 has a different feel about it than the c5.
i enjoy the c6 more than the c5. ever since i drove a c6. i know i will never own a c5 now.
its all c6 for me.when i finally decide to get one.
but i really dont want to sell my hardtop ss or ws6. but one has to go for a c6.
im never gonna sel my ss and im not done with the ws6.

 

I have to disagree on the part about people commenting on the firebird comment. I get hey nice "trans am" or stares all the time in mine. Ieven had a guy at autozone as he stepped out of the building saying "Damn yo thats a bad *** car" he then proceeded to try and have me sell it to him lol i said no of course lol

understandably a BRAND new vette might get some of that too but i thats becasue most of the time its becasue its an expensive car.

ive never own a vette but i do like them for their technoligical agavancments over our 4th gen f-bodys. When i get alittle more finicially endowned lol i plan on getting a pair. one for me and one for the wife. one day. She really like the C6 and i gotta admit i do too but i LOVE my trans am, even for all the quirks and ancient unibody lol

 

A Corvette will most of times get more of a "hey look at that car!" than a Trans Am. Its a more of a sport car with luxurious taste I have NEVER driven a Vette soo I cant do a comparison about that. I own a T/A and a buddy of mine has a C6 all I can say whenever we would go cruising around (before my car was dropped off at a shop for a project I am doing with it) is that he would get more attention than I would, my bird isnt a good looking T/A in the first place lol just a factory look with C5 wheels

When it comes to repairs Vettes will also be a little more expensive plain and simple, mostly on detailing body parts or parts them selfs. Engine wise isnt such a big deal now days.

But the fact that alot of people will get more attention from Corvettes than Trans Ams is always gonna be the case. Then again there is people that appreciate the fact of Trans Ams still running around the streets now days is a cool thing

Thats the way I look at the things. I know a lot of you will disagree with me and other agree. I guess everyone has their different points of views, I personally love my Trans Am

 

I was going to sell my F-bod awhile back for a C5Z06. I used to have a GTO and fell in love with IRS and how it handled at higher speeds in turns. I was set on a Vette.

Then I started thinking. Everything I have to mod in my Camaro to run 9 sec in the 1/4, I am going to have to do to the vette also. (T56, Rear end, Blower, Cam, etc) And I would still have to spend the initial 25k for the Vette (30K or less miles) when I already owned the Camaro. So that was a big con.

Then I started thinking why do I want a Vette. "So I can feel more comfortable driving at higher speeds into turns or just overall better handling/driving in general"

Well with all of my past cars I am lucky to be here from doing dumb stupid things when I was younger. I really shouldn't be going in excess speeds anymore, to a certain extent.

Then I thought these last few matters which really stopped me from getting one. Yeah the Vette is 200lbs lighter or what not. Oh wow, thats not anything when it comes the doing weight reduction.

And last but not least, There is NO BACK SEAT.

Sure someone who had a F-bod and never a Vette, won't mind, less weight right.

Here's a few real life scenarios I thought of:

You and your buddy go out to a bar to watch a game, have 2 beers and start hitting it off with a hot girl. Guess she'll just follow you to your place because you have no back seat, right?

Or better yet, You go out somewhere by yourself and this girl came with a girlfriend of hers, or two, but your Vette can't fit both/all of them so no dice.

Or lets go the route of a married man. Lets say you want to hit a car show/cruise or anything involved with a family. Your Vette can only take your wife OR your kid, and forget about it if you have more than 1 kid.

Corvette's are sick, I love them. But they are a very lonely car. lol

 

From a performance standpoint, theres no comparison... the C5 (even the base model) is faster, hands down.

I bought a bone stock '99 FRC with 56k miles back in Feb as a weekend toy. Previously owned a '98 1LE 6speed Z28 with a mild H/C setup before that, and daily drive a stock '98 auto Z28 currently.

Due to the glass-jaw 10 bolt rear in the fbodies, I was afraid to launch the 1LE car at the strip good enough for optimal E/Ts and mph. The best I ever came away with was a 12.5 at 116mph on a 2.0 60ft.

The FRC, however, is a different story. While its IRS rear certainly isnt bulletproof (far from it), its still much stronger than the solid rear that comes in the fbodies. The only mod on the FRC is a Borla X-pipe (the factory H-pipe was cracked and about to fall off shortly after purchase, so I replaced it). I seriously doubt I gained any power from this bolt on mod due to the stock exhaust manifolds and cats ahead of it, and the factory catback behind it. However, after 3 - 4 trips to the dragstrip, I was able to click off a 12.3 at 113mph on a 1.79 60ft.


This was accomplished with a decent launch (something I was never confident enough to try in my old Z28) and in -800 DA. Doubtful a stock 6speed Z28 could touch that. Even my first attempt at racing the FRC, in the heat of July no less, I was able to turn a 12.9 at 110mph on a lazy 2.0 60ft.

Dont get me wrong, I still love my current Z28 and would never trade one for the other. But stock for stock... even the base, non-LS6 manifold C5s are just quicker by a good margin.

 

I used to have a bolt on (335whp on the dyno without nitrous), 3.73 gear, 100 shot ls1 m6 camaro with some weight reduction and suspension mods. sold it about a year ago and just bought a 425whp m6 cam only c5 corvette coupe. Now this vette is fully built everywhere so they are different animals but I can chime in a little since I've owned both.

despite the camaro probably having very similar horsepower on the bottle and having much better gearing the vette is wayyyyyy faster than the camaro was even on the bottle although i have pretty bad wheel hop i'm stil trying to fix in the vette that i did not have in the camaro (once I put in better control arms)

I can say the corvette gets WAY more looks and the weight difference is enormous. everything about it is better because its lighter. the handling is incredible and the brakes feel way better too. the only thing i don't like is that you sit deep in the vette and so it feels like a bigger car because the visibility is so much different. I think the c5 is easier to work on because the back half of the motor is not hidden underneath the dash so changing spark plus etc is much easier. the rear end is not super strong but way stronger than a 10 bolt, lots of guys going into 10s on stock rear ends which you don't see in camaros/firebirds. I would say the interior sucks in both but vette is nicer, I LOVE The heads up display. vette is certainly harder to get in and out of imo.

I loved both cars but I also never found myself just going to the garage to look at my camaro the same way I seem to find myself doing with the vette. Both were amazing cars but I think the vette is better looking personally. Not having back seats is a bit of an issue of course and the camaro was a much more useful daily car that didn't bottom out as badly, etc. I find the vette to be much more quiet on the freeway despite both cars having aftermarket exhausts so the stereo sounds better and I like cruising in it more.

ride quality is WAY better with the vette despite it having stiffer suspension.

all the electronics on the vette's are not terribly reliable and are super expensive to get fixed.

everything is more expensive with the vette which I'm not thrilled about but I bought this one with some issues I had to fix before really driving it so it wasn't much more expensive to purchase.

now just can't wait to put the 100 shot nitrous kit on this built c5......

 

This is a fun thread.

I have the Nova in my sig, but even though street legal, it's not much of a street car.
I had wanted to join the 21st century and get something with an LS1 and an auto so I could build a true dual purpose car. I also wanted to learn and tune fuel injection.

I searched the classifieds for Camaros and GTO's but the prices were pretty high. So I started looking at C5's as well. Those prices were a bit higher. A buddy had been racing his supercharged C5 and the thing was running 10 ohs, and I liked it so I joined the Corvette forum and searched the classifieds there.

As if it were meant for me, one popped up near me, 2000 coupe, 78k miles, A4 for $10k. Everything worked. Needed tires, the wheels cleaned and it had a dumb wing on it.

Perfect car for me because I wanted a project. I bought a lot of the parts used. The engine of course is simply an LS1. The A4 is the same internally as the Camaro. The differentials are cheap, but need help to survive. That is pretty expensive, but no more than a nice 9".

It's an awesome car now, I love it. I had a goal of mid 11's, it's nearly in the tens. BTW...it had an intake and it ran 13.05@107 stock. It wouldn't even spin the tires at the track!

Better than a Camaro/Trans Am? I don't know, I never drove one. I guess if you could say anything, the C5 was $43k new, or more depending on options. I guarantee that if I would have found a Camaro, I'd love it too.

One thing I don't like about my C5 is the fact that my car guy buddies sort of treat me like a snob now. Doesn't matter that I found a screaming deal, turned every nut and bolt myself. Ditto for the folks I work with, they somehow think I have money.....yet it cost less than thier Camry. Oh well.

If you have a chance, drive a modded C5.

Ron

 

I have a 98 C5 auto and daily drive a 98 Z28. Difference is night and day. Im not a fan of either interior but the C5 definitely has better fit and finish. Im not trying to track down a new rattle every week in it. Power, well the c5 is quicker because its lighter. I feel the camaro would be a much better straight line car to build and go fast. The corvette just does well in all aspects. Cornering, braking, accel etc etc.

The stereotypes are what crack me up. I get looked at in the camaro like a high school teen looking for trouble. The vette I get a ton of compliments from people 55 and older lol (Im 30). But I also get the snotty looks too like Im some snob. I paid 8k for my c5 with 130k. It comes with the territory.

Buy used, buy smart, learn whats interchangeable to avoid the "corvette tax" and you can enjoy a sexy car for cheap.

 

^^^^^ i agree. buy cheap, even if you have the money to by new.
A 2006 C6 is going for cheap now days. A base C6 could be a fun car to have with the price of a normal car.

 

idk who the **** has been driving these car but I went 13.31 in my stock 99 frc m6 car with a cold air on a 285 street tire. Sounds like someone needs a driver mod. stock for stock, apples to apples c5 will bust the f-body all day. Ive had 5 ws6's, 2 z28's and 3 c5's so im not biased in any way lol I know the IRS isn't the best at the drag strip but damn its better than that s10 rear.

 

I own both. My '02 SS has far more horsepower than my '04 Z06 and will kick but in a straight line. Handling in the corners, not so much.

I get compliments on both cars when I drive them, so they're about equal in that catagory, but little kids are drawn to the Z06. It's fun to see a kid trying to pull his mom's arm out of socket to take a closer look at the Vette, and even more fun to let them sit behind the wheel and look at the gauges and crane their necks to try to look out over the hood.

The C5 Corvette is a great car, but it brings with it some issues. Steering wheel position sensors go bad and are no longer available for some model years. Avoid those at all costs. Then there are issues with the heater control display that are easily repaired, but still a problem. The electronic brake control module is prone to failure and some cannot be repaired and replacements are unavailable for some models, so do your reaseach and avoid those. Ground locations are an issue, can corrode, and cause all sorts of gremlins, and the hub assemblies and speed sensors are frequently in failure mode. Clutch replacement, pretty simple in an F-Body, not so much with the Corvette. Water leaks? Yep, still a problem with the C5.

You just have to know what you're getting into when you buy a Corvette.

Having said all of that, I usually jump in the Corvette and drive it unless I want to drive with the top down & then I take the Camaro.