randy ransome

I've got a 2006 coupe 6sp. manual that I've had for six years.
Great car, no character.

I bought a 1995 ZR-1, about 18 months ago, somehow I always end up in the ZR-1, Character.

I've had 12 Vettes. The C4 ZR-1 is in a class of it's on.

PLRX

I got a lot of kudos in my last cross-country trip.

C4s are becoming rare or different.

1993C4LT1

Randy said it best. My dad has had C3 to C6. His latest was a C6. He always tells me he enjoys driving my C4 more. PLRX and randy, nice pics.

Ziggy91

I'm in a similar boat...

I started by trading my commuter for an 85 C4 as a project. I fell in love. Within a few months, another one of the cars was traded for a 98 C5... both are now in the garage. The C5 outperforms in every way, but feels nothing like the raw touch of a C4 when you drive it. Another note, I would never throw the C5 into a corner with as much confidence as the C4... it's just a gut feeling that I have more control. However, the LS is a much more refined engine and I never feel that I'm stressing it during full-throttle. The L98... sounds and feels like it has lung cancer.

If you go for a C4... get an LT1(92-96) with the "black tag" ZF6 (92-93) because of the stronger build. The L98 is a disaster for me, but I've heard the 90 and 91 models are good. The "BT" ZF6 was also in the L98 models from 89-91.

Good luck.

2HIP4U

PLRX -- Beautiful photograph!

mike100

My C4 is getting pretty close to as fast as my C6, but the real difference is in the competence and stiffness of the chassis. The 4th generation is entertaining to drive still and you don't see them very often anymore so that's a plus over the regular seen everyday C5 and C6. They rattle a lot more than the C6 (to be fair the C6's just aren't all that old yet).

I still drive my C4 more often.

96 Vette CE

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indianavette

Very telling thread here. Thirty years after intro, the C4 still lives up to McLellan's vision. Robust, throaty, purposeful, glove-like, biased toward spartan, more F18 than Lear.

Given his Cadillac background, Dave Hill opted for more cabin refinement, gentler comportment. For better or worse, that's been the trend since. Taj would argue that the Corvettes of today and tomorrow deliver the best of both worlds.

383vett

All nice pics.

Tom400CFI

I DID!

I bought C6 brand new. First new car I've ever bought, and it was also my first 'Vette. The C6 (for ME) was a boring car to drive, that I didn't love. I liked it...but didn't LOVE it. The only time the car was FUN to drive (for me), was during track time. Be it drag-track or road course, it hauled a$$, and really produced great numbers. For example, I ran 12.89//111 at our local drag track which is at 4500' elevation. That is fantastic. But on the street it had no "feel" and was boring/generic feeling. As was stated above...the car had not "character" at all. It was like driving a robot.

I bought '92 that didn't run, to fix and make money. I fixed it, drove it once and thought; "THIS is the car!" Unbelieveable. The C6 sat in my garage unused for 4 months, then I sold it, and I don't miss it at all.

The C4 FEELS just as fast as the C6 did. In fact, It FEELS so much so, that when I first got it running, (even though I knew it was 100hp down on the C6), I thought it might give the C6 a run...especially since I can shift the ZF6 much faster than I could, the C6's T56. But it's not even close, objectively.

Handling wise, again, the C6 can lap Miller Motorsports park 10-15 seconds faster than the C4...but they feel the same! as far as how fast you think you're going, and how fun it is.

On the street, it's no contest at all. The C4 feels faster, is more fun, steering is better/sharper....every time I take the C4 out for a drive, I re-LOVE the car. In the C6, I never loved it at all.

C4 is a fantastic car that is a lot of fun. Won't produce the same numbers (on paper) as a C6, so if that is the most important to you, move on. But if fun/feel is what you're after, the C4 certainly can deliver.

Aaron71771

The C6 is a better car in every regard than the C4. 30 years of improvements to build on.

They are also a pretty good bargin, though the pricing between a clean well taken care of C4 is about the same as a driven C5. General car tips apply when looking - you want one that has been taken care off. 20 years on the newer ones you need to look at things like weather striping, the undercarriage, interior quality. The newer the better. 91-96 had the updated front and rear bumper. In 92+ the come with the LT1 engine, the 96 manual trans cars have the LT4, then you have the 90-95 ZR-1 which is a whole horse of another color.

I'd find a few to drive and see what works for you. If I were looking to add another to the stable I'd look for a nice 96 LT4 collectors edition, or any well kept 96LT4 really. Unless you are in the market for a ZR-1... If I couldn't find one of those, then a 92-96 vert. It's gonna leak in the rain, make all sorts of squeeks and rattles on bumps in the road. They have wonderful character tho.

The newer the vette, the better in most regards. The C4 is every bit as capable of delivering miles and miles of smiles.

PLRX

shawn 84&92

I have had 18 Vettes, from C3 to C6, all but 5 of them were C4's. I have put over 250,000 miles on C4's. I currently have an 84, 92 vert, 95 and as of tomorrow, a 96. The C6 was so refined, I don't know how fast you would need to go to feel fast. 120 mph was about like 80 mph in another car.

The C6 does everything better than the C4, but I like how the C4 feels doing it.

I enjoyed my two C5's, and would like to get a C5 vert later.

If you aren't a car guy as far as doing some of your own work and enjoying tinkering on it, you may not like the C4.

For me, they are my favorite.

JrRifleCoach

Has anyone gone from a C6 to a C4?

I'm sure the recession has caused this to happen to a few die hards.

RetiredSFC 97

After GM boogered up the interior in the C5 and 6 they finally got their head out of their backside and went back to an upgraded C4 design.

bangbgC6

PLRX

The C7 interiors ROCK!!

If I had tons of cash, I'd buy one by 2017; let the engineers fix all the recalls, and
electric crap that always happens with new cars. Get new wheels, and at least 335s
in the back for excessive twist gripping.

93 ragtop

No disrespect intended, but if you are into $100.00 oil changes, which means you don't do it yourself, you are tight on cash, and you don't do any of your own work, I would suggest that you get out of corvettes. Get something more on the lines of a Honda or Toyota.
The c4, stock is going to be slower then your c6. And any 20 or so year old car is going to require work to keep it going every day.
Don't get me wrong, I like my c4 and vettes in general, but if money is tight, a 20 yr old vette is not going to be a good daily driver especially if you farm out all the work.

Patsgarage

I can speak for both camps, I have a 13 GS, the wife has a 89 Vert. The GS is an amazing car, it will do anything that you ask of it and then some. The 89 is a great car in its own right, but it is also 24 yrs old. Remember, development of the C4 started in the late 70s-early 80s so we are talking about some really old tech here. Not always a bad thing, I for one love the fact that the 89 has a 350 small block in it. If you want something to drive everyday a C4 will probably be more rewarding in that you will never use even 50% of tha capability of a C6 on most roads, while you can take a C4 close to it's limits without going to jail. As with any older car buy the best one that you can, but be ready to replace gaskets, bushings, bearings, etc. Our Vert top is beind replaced as I speak, but it did not leak at all, and with 75k the body is still pretty solid. Watch out for bad paint, these cars are stupid expensive to paint properly ! Most of the other mechanical bugs will have been worked out on any C4 you look at, and if not if you are handy with a wrench they are not too bad to work on. Best of luck with your decision !

vert_vette

I sold a 2007 C6 Vert and bought two cars with the proceeds, including my current, 1990 Vert.

To me C6 was a great car, better at everything except one. A C4 is the most fun to drive car I've had. You "feel" the road more. It's like a jet fighter cockpit once I get in with a shoe horn. (not as easy to enter or exit the drivers seat).

I don't miss the heads up display but I wish I had active handling. A C4 can do a 90 or 180 if you aren't careful in wet conditions.

When I had a 1986 and a 2001 at the same time, I drove the C4 more, it was just more fun to drive on rails, like a slot car.