I currently have a 2000 ss that I am looking into selling, and purchasing a vette. My camaro has bolt-ons, cam, ls6 heads, and dynos 406hp. What would I have to do to a c5 z06 or a c6 in order for it to run with my camaro, considering the vette is lighter and all. I am considering a c5 z06 more because of the price. Is the 02-04 z06 that much better than the 01 or not. I have found a lot of 01s cheaper by several thousand. Any help is appreciated.

Brian

 

Bolt ons and a tune should be enough.

 

I would say nothing. The c5Z06 should be just as fast if not faster than your SS. After 100mph the Z06 will start to pull away. I raced a 01 Ws6 with 401rwhp, m6 w/4.10 gears. After the dyno he added the fast 90 intake and TB. We went from a 50mph roll, dead even till 100mph, then I shifted into fourth and started to pull away. The one thing that helps out the Z06 is a nice CAI. You will understand once you pull the stock piece of crap off of the car.

Performance wise the 02-04's have proven that they are faster, just a different cam from GM. If you are eventually going to do a cam swap, then the year doesn't matter. If you want the Head up Display then you need to get a 02-04 Z06.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/corvette-performance/438335-whats-different-between-2001-2002-later-z06-s.html

 

If you plan to track the car at all, get the Z06. Going from my modified Trans Am to a 2003 Z06 was night and day difference in overall performance. You will not be disappointed with a C5 Z06, and with bolt ons, you'll leave your Camaro in the dust since you are starting with a base of 405FWHP in a lighter car (better HP to weight ratio). Just be prepared, though; the cost of bolt-ons and other modifications to a Corvette are much higher than an F-body. Many of the free mods still apply at least.

I've seen 2002 C5 Z06 cars selling in the low 20's. Start with the 2002 if you can. It was the first year of the 405HP base (20 more than the 2001).

http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2002/z06.shtml

The only reason I bumped up to the C6 Z51 was the wife factor. I still have my weekend race car, but she also gets a well mannered automatic. I plan to do the A6 tune, CAI and some minor bolt-ons at some point. But for the added cost of the C6, you could dump that into the C5 Z06 and have one heck of a fun runner.

 

Stay away from the 01s. Some are good, but there were a lot of problems that year. 02-04 Z06s are great cars and as mentioned before they were 20 hp better out of the box. I also agree with everyone else. A stock C5 Z06 will be just as fast or maybe a little quicker with simple bolt-ons. The standard C6 will be close too, just not quite as hard edged. Either way you should be impressed.

 

Base C6 is very impressive...go drive one!! Even without mods, it an take cars that are many more HP stronger than it is.(i.e. GT500s,lol). The LS3 has more HP on tap than the LS2, but you may be able to find a better price on a LS2 right now and they trap close to the same stock.

 

I read the difference between the 01 and 02-04 before I posted and I though that the main difference was the cam. I am hoping to find a c5 z06 here soon to test drive and see how they are. Thanks for the info. Feel free to ad anything else.