Moddiction

I've thought of a newer or 15 coyote mustang to have a little more space but think I'd be kicking myself getting that over a vette.

Ctsv would be a lot of fun I'm sure though!

Never owned a torquey v8 car before and think it's time!

JUSTINTHECOASTIE

Turbo your S2000 cough cough the new '16 cts-v look and sounds very nice but a little above your next car budget

Mr.E.G.

A couple of thoughts...

I recently bought an 03 C5 Z06. While it is certainly not as quick as a C6 Z06, it is still fast enough that you can't just go bananas without getting into major trouble. That said, I really think some of you guys are blowing the issue out of importance.

The thing is, with a car with 400+ hp and torque, when you "only" rev to 4,000 rpms, it is still hauling ass like any lesser sports car is at full song. So it's not like the fact that you can't legally bounce off the rev limiter in every gear suddenly makes it less fun to drive.

The thing is, it's kind of nice to be going 70 mph in 5th, realize you'd like to pass someone and not have to do a damn thing but hit the loud pedal to pass them with gusto. But, when the occasion arises where you need full acceleration, it's there. My philosophy on this car is the same as it is with regard to my carry pistol. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I'm exaggerating, of course, but you get the idea.

Fortunately, right down the street from my house is an on ramp that I must take to get onto a highway where everyone is going 70+. Well, wouldn't you know it, it just so happens that by the time I get to this on ramp, my engine and tires are warmed up, and I really have little choice but to get up to highway speeds, post haste.

OP, I say get one. A base C6 is a fast car. I drove LS3 C6s and the C5 Z06, and it was a no-brainer for me. Mine has some bolt-ons and makes about 450 hp. I paid top dollar for a C5 Z06, but I got one with race seats, the aforementioned bolt-ons, 23k miles, a built transmission, all the known issues fixed, and a bunch of other doo-dads that made it worth it. That said, you can find examples with some miles on them in the low $20k range. That leaves some room for mods.

That's another thing (though I'm likely stating the obvious), while there are indeed guys that go crazy with mods on these cars, you don't have to get too carried away to have a very fast car. Stock, the C5 Z06s can dip into the 11s. Most inexpensive imports practically have to be turned into full-blown racecars to accomplish that. But you can have a perfectly streetable Vette that runs 10s all motor, and it will handle, and you can take your wife out on a date in it. I remember the first and only time I convinced my wife to ride in my Miata. It failed to meet her definition of safety.

rob-2

Go drive them. There is the whole GM thing which if you can deal with the motor and tranny are great.

After driving a few vettes I love the power and grip, interior, build quality and cheap GM feeling design - not for me. But I don't trust GM either so keep that in mind. Without a doubt if you're going to track it, the vette is a lot of performance for the money but I am not sold on it.

I am living with a nice V8 and love it. I drive a charger SRT. We plan to add a Viper to the stable in the coming year. In my opinion the viper is a lot more car then the vette. That said it costs more too. Based on your MDX buy you will spend more then 40k on this car so skip right to the viper

cfphelps

All 08+ C6s did get improved steering components for improved feel, but I don't have the experience necessary to say how significant the improvement was compared to '05 - '07 C6s. '08+ also got the Tr6060 transmission vs. the T-56 on previous cars, which I believe is slightly stronger and was also supposed to have improved feel, but the T-56 is also a solid trans.

I have a C5 with C6 Z51 shocks and anti-sway bars, and with NT05 tires it handles great and feels pretty telepathic as far as going exactly where you want it right away, however it also does feel a bit numb at slower speeds, since in the cars opinion not much is going on to report about.

Depending on where you end up budget wise, it's probably worth keeping in mind that the C6 Z06 started in '06 and while there were all the generational upgrades applied to later cars, nothing really changed performance wise, so that opens up the year range slightly which might help on the budget.

The valve train issues are real, but the internet hysteria is probably somewhat over blown. There is to this day tons of controversy over the root cause and best fixes on the CorvetteForum. A friend with a Z06 had valve train issues and found that his root cause was the valve guide to rocker geometry was off which created excessive side loading on the valves and premature wear on the guides. he was able to fix this geometry issue with aftermarket (YellaTerra) roller rockers. He has a machine shop in his garage and installed new valve guides and re-used his stock valves after some clean up. His Z06 now has 100+k miles and gets beat on pretty regularly at Road Atlanta with no issues.

Many people on the forum seem to blame the valve guide material and the sodium filled hollow stem valves themselves, however both of these are used on other engines (LS and otherwise) without issues. Fixing the geometry issue seems to fix the root cause and stop the problem. Those who swap valves to heavier Stainless Steel valves tend to have their heads rebuilt at the same time by a shop which also ensures all the geometry is good, so in my mind they have fixed the root cause "accidentally". Most who go w/ the SS valves no longer rev the LS7 out all the way due to the heavier valve train.

His thread on CF ended up being over 100 pages and there was lots of controversy of course, but the first post is his investigation and steps to perform a test: http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...ear-found.html

Unfortunately it's a bit more intrusive than one would usually do to a car prior to buying, and if the car you end up with does need a fix, it involves pulling the heads. One method would be buying a newer one that you can get a GMPP extended warranty on and not worrying about it. Obviously planning to budget in head work for performance gains as well is another option, based on your current S (and username!) you are no stranger to modding.

Sorry for the long post, and hope it was helpful.

Mr.E.G.

Rob, you don't think that Vipers that are anywhere in this guy's price range aren't also victims of poor interior styling? Also, the Vette is an incredibly reliable car.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Viper too, and if I could swing a NEW Viper, I would much rather have that than any C7. But anything other than a 5th gen Viper and I'd suggest that the interior is no better than a Vette.

rob-2

Well his last post for the MDX Was budget minded and then he blew that out of the water. There are a few 13-14s on dealer lots that can be had for around 75k when you work the deal.

You're right though the 40k viper isn't something I'd buy, those gens have horrible interiors.

Mr.Aqua

I didn't move on to a C6 but did add an 08 LS3 vette to the garage along with the S2000 about 4 years ago. I planned on selling the S2000 when the C6 was purchased but couldn't do it. The vette is a GREAT Sports Car/GT car. It's much more livable on a daily basis than the S2000. The storage in the hatch is ridiculous and I get about 20-21 MPG combined. You can drive it all day long and don't feel fatigued, the S2000 is only good IMO for about 30-60 mins drive. The vette take it to vegas or where ever and it's good.

The steering is pretty good but no where near as quick as the S2000. The interior is decent but the S2000 is defiantly built to a higher standard. I have a 2001 and the fit and finish is much better than the C6. The C6 isn't nearly as engaging to drive, mainly because mine is a 6SP auto. If it were a stick I'd be much happier with it but sadly wife can't drive a standard.

I think the C6 is a great platform and a better car if it were to be used as daily driver or 2nd car

ealand0001

Gen1&2 vipers have awful interiors. Gen 3&4 are passable. Gen V is great...about perfect for the car while not overburdening the car with weight. Gen 3 and up vipers have one bid adv over the vette with the seats. My seats are a bit bulky but hug you tight in corners and are pretty comfortable. 40k can get you a nice 505 hp gen 3 viper.

The Raptor

I moved on from an 06 S2000 to a 14 C7 Vette in February 14.











This car has ungodly power (460 hp) and handling and wonderful electronics and luxury amenities, including a 10 speaker Bose stereo. It has 5 driving modes: touring, weather, eco (4 cylinders deactivated and 30 mpg), sport, and track. Each driving mode has different suspension, steering, and exhaust settings and different dash displays, including tach and speedo. It's an absolute electronic marvel. The knock on past Vettes for cheap interior and uncomfortable seats is no more. I miss the small size of the S2000, but everything else about Big Red is far superior.