I am new to this site and new to LS engines. I am gonna be purchasing a c5 6 speed vette in the next month or two and am looking for some guidance. I am wondering what years are best and the pluses and minus's of each. I am gonna be building this car to run at gingerman raceway and autocross and just to have fun in. I am looking to first get near 450 rwhp for a while before adding a supercharger. I would love to have 500 rwhp but i understand thats not gonna happen with a stock internal ls1. So i guess my question is in the long run is it cheaper to swap a ls2? or ls6? And what will I need to get 450 rwhp out of each? First i would like to spend about $2000-3000 to get good na hp. I can do all the work myself so it will just be parts themselves. I hear everyone say that a ls1 wont get the hp I want unless it has an aggressive cam. I love the sound of an aggressive cam am i missing something? any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

Why do you want a corvette? Its just an expensive camaro lol, save the money and find a camaro/firebird on here
450 isnt unheard of in an LS1, although $2-3k wont put you there.
Biggest headers you can afford with true duals
a F.A.S.T 104MM Intake+throttle body combo
CNC Ported heads+a cam to match (call texas speed or summit racing, tell them your goals, theyll tell you what you need)
DRAG radials...

+ All the supporting mods like an oil pump, ls2 chain, a clutch, and suspension mods to keep the car in 1 piece.
Im probably missing stuff...but that can just give you an idea.

 

I disagree with the statement that a corvette is an expensive camaro. The corvette will be a MUCH better platform for an autocross car (which is what you are wanting)

You won't get anywhere near 450rwhp with 2-3k. ESPECIALLY with a corvette since their parts run more (corvette tax..haha). Good intake and exhaust on a corvette will run you the 2-3k. It would be a stretch to get 450rwhp cam only so now you're looking at heads and cam. Another 5k. Then for autocross you're talking tires, suspension, drivetrain, etc...To have a well built reliable autox corvette with 450rwhp you're talking a good 10-15k in parts above the initial price of the car.

 

I have driven camaros and corvettes and the handling is not even comparable. I would rather have a good handling vette with stock power then a camaro with lots of power that doesnt handle well. I know im not gonna reach 450 with the initial 3g, but i would like to get close. And this is going to be a slow build. I am planning on running at gingerman on open track days for fun not racing for a while. I guess what i am mainly wondering is wether or not to stick with an ls1 or swap in a ls6 or ls2? Also what year c5 should I look for? I may try to get a c5 z06 if i can, although im wondering is it really worth the extra money? also is a c5 with the z51 suspension package the same suspension as the z06? thanks for advice.

 

you said you wanted to take it to the dragway so thats what i meant when its an expensive camaro...itll be the same in a straight line, yes its completely different handling, i havent driven a corvette but im sure you get what you pay for.
I dont think your going to get your money's worth with a swapped ls2/6, you can build power on a ls1 very efficiently.
as for the years? i couldnt tell you, But theres a site called carcomplaints.com, i use this when im window shopping for cars, to see if theres a specific year with serious flaws, probably wont have all the trims of corvette, but it will tell you if there was 1 really bad year

 

You need to do some serious research, if you plan to do autox and road racing why would you want to start out with 450RWHP? You would be put into a class that you couldn't hope to be competitive in without having a full on race car. If you are serious about this, get the vette you want, do the typical maintenance/tune up on it, buy some good street tires and some good shocks and go race and learn.


Apples to oranges but you can easily and cheaply make a 4th gen Camaro/trans am out handle a C5 without removing any weight, and be arguable more street able than stock. While it won't feel like a C5 with 50/50 weight distribution, shorter overhangs, and IRS, but you can certainly out corner one with the right suspension mods (which again are simple, bolt ons, relatively cheap and make the car 100000x better and easier to drive -check out koni/strano/watts link setup). - This is the same setup on my car and last time I autoxed I was lapping faster than many C5s and C6s (and im a total novice driver as well).

The C5 Z06 is much more track ready, thats what I would look for especially since prices are dropping. The Z51 is not the same suspension package as the Z06, there are minor differences.

Gingerman is a roadcourse...

 

I guess i need to clarify that I am first off planning on running gingerman on open track days just for fun. And later possibly getting into autocross. This will not just be a track I will be driving it around town for fun and such. So what I am hearing is that the ls1 will be good for pretty good power? Also If I choose to go supercharged what reliable power can u get with a stock ls1 with a supercharger?