Ok, i'll try to express myself the best I can...

I am 21 and soon I will have a chance to get a nice car that I like. Here's a question, would u guys rather buy an f bod ls1 and have money left over to mod your car with, like major mods. Or buy a z06 and not have that much money left over for heavy modding, i mean u can get mods like intake, shifter maybe tires, but nothing major like cams and heads...etc.

Discuss...

 

I bought my Corvette over the SS camaro. Main reason at the time insurance was actually alot cheaper for the vette. I would've basically paid the same amount for both when all factors were added up. Plus the allure of the vette. Later, when you feel like spending money again, you'll see alot of thevette and f-body parts are priced the same so..... Take your time with your choice.

 

thanks man, i just wonder how happy will i be with the z06 power-wise, i don't want to say " i wish i would have gotten a trans am and modded the hell out of it and be faster than i am not". because if i get the z06, i wont have enough money to do anything for a while.

 

Well, you can compare it like this, you'd be comparing a modded Fbody to a stock Z06. Granted, you can get more power from that modded Fbody than thestock Z06, but you're still comparing mod vs stock. To some, its not that big a deal cause power is power.

I say if you can afford it, go with the vette. If you'd rather mod up a vette, then say F it and get an older Fixed Roof Coupe w/ a suspension package. You'll probably spend less than the Z06, and have $$$ left over for mods. It'll weigh about the same, and you wont be sacraficing too much power.

 

If you buy an 02 or newer ZO6 and put sticky tires on it and learn to drive the ZO6 will run high 11's with good track conditions. Handling wise the z06 is way ahead of an f body. Go with the ZO6 you won't regret it.

 

Hands down...get a Z06. Fbodies are muscle cars. Z06's are SUPERcars. They are phenominal.

 

so u guys think it's smarter to get a z06 and put my money into the car payments rather than mods...that's what I thought about too, but U understand when u have to put ur money into the payment, it's manditory, but if u put ur money into mods ur more free and it's more fun. but hell if a Z06 can really go 11's with tires and a driver, then that's plenty fast for me. Thanks guys. Now one last question, why the hell is it that everyone bashes the 01 Z06? aside of the magical 20 HP loss, are they not up to par in other areas or something???

 

I have the budget C5.... The exact same body as a Z06, called the FRC (fixed roof coupe). It is a 99' and I am selling it for $20,500. It has 4.10's with hardened output shaft, and borla exhaust already. Z06 wheels and limo tint for appearance changes... The 01' Z06, some people were having a lot of oil consumption issues... and some also might say the 20hp less... My buddies drives his 01' Z06 like he stole it!!! It has 30k miles on it now, and doesn't have issues like some of the other people were complaining about... Trust me.... I have had the heads/cam f-body etc... It was a lot of fun in terms of acceleration, and it would beat my friend's Z06 by a little also... but he was stock. I would still rather have a stock Z06 than a modded f-body.... They are a well built all around car!! You can buy my FRC and put $10k in mods, and still be in cheaper than an 01' Z06. So that is something to think about... You could outperform a stock Z06 in terms of handling and power, and still have the looks and comfort of the C5.

 

so, what's the deal with FRC? is that a special one? lighter? I guess this is the first time i heard that term. and ultraz, u make perfect sense. thanks for the advice.

 

They made the FRC's from 99-00. They are the same body that the Z06 has. There is no removable top, and I personally like the looks of them better. It is lighter than the coupes and convertibles. They have the Z51 suspension standard, and also come standard with the six speed transmission. As soon as you get rid of the factory run flat tires, they will handle closer to the Z06. Here is a link to my car that is for sale, that way you can see a picture of it.... I took off the fake rear brake duct screens, the previous owner put them on, but he used double sided tape... It has the Z06 wheels, and everyone asks if it is a Z06 since it is the same body.....

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=788275

 

WOW, that's a nice looking car ultraz. Seriously you could have told me it's a z06 and I would have believed u. You know for 20K I would def. like to own a frc and have money to mod it. just curious why are u selling it?

 

I really need a truck to haul the motorcycles. If it doesn't sell, it just means I have to get a cheaper truck (which I don't really want to do....) I will get another Corvette eventually.... For $10k, I would put the best LG suspension in as possible, and buy a procharger setup. That would give you a 470+rwhp car that would handle like it was on rails, and have the stock idle, smoothness, etc... of a stock car...

 

you know, i am leaving for the navy pretty soon, and i will be back a few months later. If you still have it, I might just look into it. I wish u luck selling it. But I like it a lot, and would love to own it. but I have to wait till the Navy pays up my bonus money. Thanks for all ur support though!!!

 

Mindfield, just go out and test drive them and that will give you the answer to your question. Like Unit said, the F-body is a muscle car and a badass one at that. The vette gives you a little bit more in that it handles very well and it has a little more in terms of looks. I don't know how much money you have to spend, but the 02 ZO6s on the used market are getting crazy low on price. Ultras FRC is definitely a fine car and an unbelievable bargain. Ironically I went thru the exact same dilemma as you are going through. That is FRC(modded) vs ZO6. At the time, there was about a 10 grand difference between the two and I figured it would take me about that to get to a ZO6 performance so I went with the ZO6 since it was newer and still under warranty. Also there is the pain-in-the-*** factor when dealing with mods. You mod and then you dyno and then you go to the track and it still ain't what you thought it would be so you throw more money at it. You know exactly what you are getting with a ZO6. I do NOT regret my decision. I am not saying there is a right answer here, just personal preference. I had the car a year and a half and never modded it. Yeah, I thought about it but just never really felt the need to extend my ***** any further....figuratively speaking. While there are a lot of cars faster than a stock ZO6, there ain't many out there on the road and you just don't ever really get shellacked(sp) by anything(my worst beating was by a CRX turbo.....eek). With the way the ZO6 was set up, I think the GM guys had a little luck in the finished product. The car's ability seems to be greater than the sum of its parts. It only has 55 more hp than the regular vette and yet it is almost a solid second faster in the quarter mile(on average). Anyway, I could go on with the reasons but it is just a really solid car. The honeymoon never went away in the 1.5 years had it. Every time I strapped it on the grin on my face was always there. The beauty of it is is that the car is relatively easy to drive well. You put a really good driver in it and it is a very fast car. There are guys in the 11.5xx with just tires and an air filter mod(J-rod, one of the moderators of this section). That is just sick if you ask me. There have been a few cam only guys in the 10s. I think the biggest factor in the car is the weight. GM will tell you 3150 I think. Everyone I know that weighed their car came in under 3100lbs....usually around 3080lbs. With the M12 tranny gearing and less weight and more power the car pulls very hard in all regimes. Okay, I'll shut the **** up now. I liked the car very much. All of the hype in the mags is true. I am not dissing the FRC at all. I am shopping for my next vette and the FRC is definitely in the running.

So your question now should be, "FRC or ZO6?". Good luck!!!!! You can't go wrong. And don't test drive a ZO6 until you are ready to buy. You will be running to the bank.

 

FLYNLO, holy ****. Thanks a lot for the write up. It was informative, and hell i enjoyed it. you know I've always dreamed of a vette, but I sometimes thought of it as an old man's car. That's why I was mainly into trans am's after that. I think what u said is true, about driving one and see how i like it. And yes after ultraz told me about the whole frc idea, it's really tempting to just go with that, since i can save a bunch of money going that route. I mean I can almost buy an frc cash, and not have to worry about a car payment. and if i don't have to worry about a payment, I can mod it. but like u said, the z06 seems to have a better all around pakage, but it's a lil more pricey. I guess I would like to hear from people that had experience with both and see how they liked it...
Again, thanks a lot for ur write up :-)

 

No problem. I understand the sentiment about the old man stereotype. Check out the ZO6s you see. There is definitely a different demographic with that car. It is usually because ZO6 people are into the car for what it is, not the image. The stereotypical vette driver usually won't compromise his power seats and telescoping steering wheel so you don't see him in a ZO6. It is louder and rides a little stiffer with a lot of road noise....another thing that keeps Joe Vette away. And ask any F-body or Mustang homie, they will usually tell you from experience that ZO6 drivers are almost always game for some fun whereas Joe Vette usually isn't. Have fun and good luck.

 

FLYNLO, I swear You're the man. once again, u make perfect sense. I am wondering are u a member of a vette forum, if so, maybe u can hook me up with a forum that u know had articles that might help me out. I need to learn more about them. Mainly about the 01 Z06's, because that looks like it might be in the middle of the road for me. I mean, I might be able to get one of those and finance a loan on it for a only year or so, which is pretty easy.

PS: so when u had ur 02, were u game for laying the smack down on some of those mustang homies? lol

 

The main differences between the 01 and 02:

02 has HUD and the 01 does not.

The 02 has a little bit different cam.

The 01 had pre-cats or pup cats and the 02 had better flowing single cat units.

The last 2 is what made up for the 20 more HP.

An 01 will dyno around 330-340rwhp stock. An 02 will dyno around 350-360rwhp stock.

There were issues with the 01s burning oil...lots of it. If you do go that route, make sure you inquire about that and do a search at a Chevy dealer on their computer as to any related oil burning issues. The fix is to re-ring them and it is done under warranty. You should do that search regardless.

The original FRC came out in 1999. The idea behind it was to build a no frills car that was aimed at the Corvette enthusiast. They lightened the car by almost 100lbs and most options were not available. It was aimed at exactly the same people the ZO6 is aimed at. The problem is that they forgot about what we want most....POWER. People also thought it was gonna come in at bargain basement prices but it did not. Well GM had all this machinery to build the FRC and it wasn't selling. It was viewed as somewhat of a bastard in the vette community and it did not sell well at all. So GM took the hint and gave it more power(LS6), an even better suspension, lightened it even more(thinner glass, lighter wheels, titanium exhaust,etc.), different tranny(better gearing), better non-run flat rubber and the rest is history. Ironically, due to the success of the ZO6, the FRC is now viewed with its original intent in mind and with the respect it deserves....a no frills car that was focused on performance and not luxury. The ZO6 just took it to the next level.

I am on the CorvetteForum and also ZO6vette.com. Corvetteactioncenter.com is also another place for good technical info. Another really cool website(I think GM owns it) is www.idavette.net. I think that website is their in house performance site. Lotsa good info as far as the difference between models.

 

FLYNLO has gave you excellent information!!! The part of don't test drive one until you are ready to buy is 100% true!!! That happened to my buddy when he bought his 01' Z06.. Just went to look at it... After the 1st minute of test driving it, he bought it... I went through my headaches of modding F-body's, and that is why my car is pretty much stock.... I was getting ready to put on a small P1SC supercharger on it, get some coilovers, bigger sway bars, and different wheels and tires... If the motor ever went, I was going to have a forged 346 built, etc... I only planned running about 7lbs of boost, so it should last awhile.... I really like driving my friends Z06, it is definitely a badass ride!!! If you can swing a Z06, you will be very happy with it... It may not beat everything on the road, but it is a very complete package that you will have a ton of fun with!!!!!

 

Ultraz, I am getting the vibe that your selling ur frc to get a Z06, I wasn't aware that they made Z06's extended cab...LOL. I think as I talk to you (more mature crowd) I am leaning more towards getting something that's already fast and not f with it, invest my money into paying off something worth more value, than getting something cheap cash, and putting more cash into it to make it go fast and possibly break down. You guys are great. Now I have a quick and kind of an embarrassing question: How would a short guy fit in a vette? about 5'6". would I be able to reach or is it too much of a cockpit for a short dude???? i can reach just fine in a LS1 T/A or a Z28, but not too sure about a vette...thanks again guys.