Bye Bye C4 Here Comes C5
05-12-2013, 08:50 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
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Bye Bye C4 Here Comes C5
Just drove a 1997 and Im Hooked. Its such a better car Beats the C4 Hands down I Took a test drive in a high milage 97 6spd and its a great car. Dont want to spend another dime on my C4. It seem like a waste now
Full Frame Trans out back makes it handle soo much better with a real soft spring rate Such a great car Everything is better in a C5
Full Frame Trans out back makes it handle soo much better with a real soft spring rate Such a great car Everything is better in a C5
...And your not going to get a lot of C5 love in this section of the forum. If you like it, that's all that matters. Enjoy! 
05-12-2013, 09:35 PM
#4
Team Owner
You should post this in C5, they'll appreciate more over there. I'm anxious to follow your C5 posts for a while when you start doing the repairs on the 97, like the column lock and leaking rear, and loose seat, and...well you get the picture. I'll try to remember to check in to see how you're doing. I've owned 5 C5's and I really like them, but if you add up the price to buy and the price to maintain, I don't think you're going to save enough to retire.
05-12-2013, 09:35 PM
#5
Melting Slicks
When I was deciding on what to get, a C5 or a C6 I did a lot of research. Yes the C5 may handle better and stock vs stock it's faster than a C4, but it's not without it's problems as well. Seems like every generation has an issue or two, but they're all vettes. I'm still trying to figure out which one I want but no matter the choice I'm not giving up my C4 
astepup said that
astepup said that
05-12-2013, 09:49 PM
#6
Safety Car
05-12-2013, 10:12 PM
#9
Pro
You should post this in C5, they'll appreciate more over there. I'm anxious to follow your C5 posts for a while when you start doing the repairs on the 97, like the column lock and leaking rear, and loose seat, and...well you get the picture. I'll try to remember to check in to see how you're doing. I've owned 5 C5's and I really like them, but if you add up the price to buy and the price to maintain, I don't think you're going to save enough to retire.
05-12-2013, 10:23 PM
#11
Burning Brakes
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All generations of Corvettes have their own problems. C4 problems: leaking heater cores, head gaskets going bad, intake manifolds leaking, opti sparks burning out, dual mass clutch failures, ECM problems, Bose stereo problems/failures, and many other more minor problems. My 90 has had the first three I listed all within the last year.
05-12-2013, 10:26 PM
#12
Melting Slicks
Congratulations. I can understand the excitement, it's also important to note your c4 is the second year of production for the c4 generation. A lot changed over the course of the c4's production as well.
. 
05-12-2013, 10:59 PM
#17
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Co-winner 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
2018 Corvette of Year Finalist
2017 C4 of Year
2016 C7 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20
Do your homework before you buy a 97 Vette.
05-12-2013, 11:05 PM
#18
Drifting
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I agree, but also disagree. I think a C5 is 'better'. I think we all agree the C5 is 'better'.
Being a newer generation, and taking the lessons learned from the C4, the General is expected to make that model 'better'. If it stayed the same, or regressed even - then the Corvette would go away. Staying status quo in the car industry puts you out of business real fast.
I think this thread would be worded better if the OP started by saying 'WOAH! I drove the C5 and I LIKE it soooo much better. I think the C5 is my type of car!".
Being a newer generation, and taking the lessons learned from the C4, the General is expected to make that model 'better'. If it stayed the same, or regressed even - then the Corvette would go away. Staying status quo in the car industry puts you out of business real fast.
I think this thread would be worded better if the OP started by saying 'WOAH! I drove the C5 and I LIKE it soooo much better. I think the C5 is my type of car!".
05-12-2013, 11:14 PM
#19
Le Mans Master
I had a 99 C5 for 13 months and put about 28K on it.
Be forewarned, there are a lot of stupid little things like plastic sway bar end links that will need attention (about $125 for 4 of the metal Z06 versions and a couple of hours to swap them.
Don't bother with C6 Z06 shocks - waste of time and money as they don't last long at all, just get Bilsteins.
The early cars have a smaller diameter driveshaft with smaller bearings. When you replace the clutch (which won't be far off and AIN'T CHEAP!), you'll need to either have the whole assembly rebuilt or better yet, replace it with the better piece from a 2001-2004 car.
Oh, and go get yourself a turkey baster so that you can siphon out the clutch fluid every couple of thousand miles when it turns black. And if it's really black now, be forewarned that you'll probably need to replace some gears and synchro's in the trans. That's when you'll find out that you might as well just get the wide-ratio Z06 trans from a low-mileage crash job (and the stronger 3-rib diff while you're at it). The throwout bearings on the C5's and C6's have a design flaw and they suck clutch dust into the fluid when you shift. The fluid turns black, the contamination will ruin the throwout bearing slowly, which caused some gear grinding. Guess how I know all this???? All the items mentioned means you have a good $4,000 into a clutch job. It's called the "Ranger Method":
Hopefully the one you're looking at doesn't have the climate control or the memory package - neither one works well. Nothing like having the electronics randomly do stuff like change the radio station, move the seat, etc.
Oh, and all the aftermarket short shifters buzz and vibrate loudly, so don't bother with those either. The C6 Z06 shifter is a little better, but not that much of a difference.
A Vararam make a big difference at highway speeds, but watch out for injesting water and hydrolocking the engine.
An x-pipe will help improve sound and torque a little bit.
The Titanium Z06 mufflers are popular but only sound a little better - no real performance difference. If you want good exhaust that is close to stock configuration, do the x-pipe and a Flowmaster cat-back. The cat-back systems are stainless, so no more rust issues with them.
The 2001 and later intake manifold is a nice upgrade, but you'll need to remove the small ribs along the bottom of it to clear the water pipe. While you're in there, make sure to replace the oil pressure sender. When they fail you'll see your pressure climb until it eventually pegs the gauge.
C6 sway bars will bolt on so if you find a C6 guy who replaced his bars, it's a cheap upgrade. Make sure to check Pfadt's sway bar chart though - the C6 Z06's have a HUGE rear bar that doesn't work well on the C5.
Probably a lot more to tell, but I think you get the idea......
Be forewarned, there are a lot of stupid little things like plastic sway bar end links that will need attention (about $125 for 4 of the metal Z06 versions and a couple of hours to swap them.
Don't bother with C6 Z06 shocks - waste of time and money as they don't last long at all, just get Bilsteins.
The early cars have a smaller diameter driveshaft with smaller bearings. When you replace the clutch (which won't be far off and AIN'T CHEAP!), you'll need to either have the whole assembly rebuilt or better yet, replace it with the better piece from a 2001-2004 car.
Oh, and go get yourself a turkey baster so that you can siphon out the clutch fluid every couple of thousand miles when it turns black. And if it's really black now, be forewarned that you'll probably need to replace some gears and synchro's in the trans. That's when you'll find out that you might as well just get the wide-ratio Z06 trans from a low-mileage crash job (and the stronger 3-rib diff while you're at it). The throwout bearings on the C5's and C6's have a design flaw and they suck clutch dust into the fluid when you shift. The fluid turns black, the contamination will ruin the throwout bearing slowly, which caused some gear grinding. Guess how I know all this???? All the items mentioned means you have a good $4,000 into a clutch job. It's called the "Ranger Method":
Hopefully the one you're looking at doesn't have the climate control or the memory package - neither one works well. Nothing like having the electronics randomly do stuff like change the radio station, move the seat, etc.
Oh, and all the aftermarket short shifters buzz and vibrate loudly, so don't bother with those either. The C6 Z06 shifter is a little better, but not that much of a difference.
A Vararam make a big difference at highway speeds, but watch out for injesting water and hydrolocking the engine.
An x-pipe will help improve sound and torque a little bit.
The Titanium Z06 mufflers are popular but only sound a little better - no real performance difference. If you want good exhaust that is close to stock configuration, do the x-pipe and a Flowmaster cat-back. The cat-back systems are stainless, so no more rust issues with them.
The 2001 and later intake manifold is a nice upgrade, but you'll need to remove the small ribs along the bottom of it to clear the water pipe. While you're in there, make sure to replace the oil pressure sender. When they fail you'll see your pressure climb until it eventually pegs the gauge.
C6 sway bars will bolt on so if you find a C6 guy who replaced his bars, it's a cheap upgrade. Make sure to check Pfadt's sway bar chart though - the C6 Z06's have a HUGE rear bar that doesn't work well on the C5.
Probably a lot more to tell, but I think you get the idea......
05-12-2013, 11:17 PM
#20
Burning Brakes
I agree, but also disagree. I think a C5 is 'better'. I think we all agree the C5 is 'better'.
Being a newer generation, and taking the lessons learned from the C4, the General is expected to make that model 'better'. If it stayed the same, or regressed even - then the Corvette would go away. Staying status quo in the car industry puts you out of business real fast.
I think this thread would be worded better if the OP started by saying 'WOAH! I drove the C5 and I LIKE it soooo much better. I think the C5 is my type of car!".
Being a newer generation, and taking the lessons learned from the C4, the General is expected to make that model 'better'. If it stayed the same, or regressed even - then the Corvette would go away. Staying status quo in the car industry puts you out of business real fast.
I think this thread would be worded better if the OP started by saying 'WOAH! I drove the C5 and I LIKE it soooo much better. I think the C5 is my type of car!".
