well for 65k for the z06, it will hardly drop from that price in the future and will stay undoubtedly as one of the most sought after corvettes ever!! dump that money into a Z, and you will beat it, but it will drop value faster than a prom dress after the dance, lol.
why decide, get them both, hahhaa. i have 2 vettes also. one vert, one coupe, both highly modded. wanted the Z for a change of pace.

 

how do you figure, corvette out performed any super car in any road course, and how is it not userfriendly. i dont see how you are getting that the vette is worse, granted the zs are nice and probably handle good but vettes were made for road courses and are very reliable. so in the end it is more personal preference

 

WTH doesn't GM outsource the Vette Manual Shifter to a Japanese company (NOT Toyota, though), cuz the shifter is waaay too long and has gotta have longer throws than in the Z. Plus, it sits too high up...in the pics looks like you'd hit the damn radio shifting into 1st or 3rd gear...da f*ck??

IMO...It looks as long as a Celica 6 speed shift. A "world class" car (with a "world class price tag") like a Vette, SHOULD have a "world class" stick..WTF is up with that??

 

i have to say the center heater vent is just hidious and brings it right in line with a hyundia, lol. honestly if this is your biggest problem with the car, i could never imagine how you could ever make your mind up to buy any car. not trying to be a jerk, but come on.

 

Lol, Plastic Fantastic. Vettes borrow a lot of their interior from the lesser gm cars. Malibu, impala, monte carlo. Car and driver wrote during their test drive of the new vette, "We are in a vette, and no one is noticing."

 

SEE wit a VETTE u can get hella WHITE CHICKS! lol!! but wit a Z u prolly get mix....but i dont kno its a vette! i always like vettes too even i own a Z lol...its a very tough choice! i seen some CLEAN CLEAN ZO5....on rims, lower mmmmm nice nice....but i love white girls! prolly cuz its the asain in me...lol plus there freaks...remeberin all the white chicks i been with...MmMmMmmm yes....GET A VET! LOL! its really tough there bro...i would get BOTH~! **** it! get both! lol yea i sit inside a vet too i dont really like the interior in vets...i like our Z interior more even tho its cheap plastic...all i need to do is wrap all the plastic up wit suede!!...so it looks classy...

 

wow...and you can drive??

 

I Sure can Drive...sup wit all

 

From the way you talk, it seems like your 11. Or your from the "ghetto" and havent taken a single grammer class in your life.

 

If we use those mag numbers 5/10th of sec is a pretty huge advantage in the "car mag world" and 8 mph in the 1/4 is huge. From my experience at the track stock for stock (no mods for neither) the Z will lose, when I had the Z I was spanked by a couple C5's.

 

Actually, I was referring to the 100% fiberglass body. But yes, the interior rawlfs, too. And might I add, the seats in a Corvette are the WORST seats found in any 2 seater in the world history of sports cars.

 

Being a former owner of both a '99 and a 2000 vette, I can't pass up a good "Vette vs. ..." thread. I don't have a Z, but I'm looking at one seriously for my next car.

Personally, there's no way I'd trade in a 05 Z, based on the financial hit you'd take on the Z alone. Plus, one is brand spanking new with a warranty, one isn't.

Taking money out of it, I'd say the difference is a matter of personal taste. Both are capable sports cars. And if you are fundamentally unhappy with your Z, you'd probably get tired of the vette too.

Performance wise, vette wins solidly, on paper at least. Reasonable 0-60 and 1/4 mile times have already been quoted. And as far as handling, if you are into autocrossing, the C5 is in a much faster 'stock' class than the Z. But in reality on a track, the driver will make a bigger difference, so its more a matter of which one 'feels' better. I never liked the low-speed steering feel of the vette.

Interior: I didn't mind the interior of the C5. People bash it, but they also bash the Z's cheapness too. So it's a wash. The vette has some nicities like memory seats and the HUD, and everything works well and is easy to use.

Gas: I got 22mpg in my daily driving, and I *drove* it when I wasn't stuck in traffic, but YMMV as they say. In pure highway driving, you do get nearly 30mpg. I wouldn't consider any difference in mileage between the cars to matter.

Reliability: Mine did have some annoying electrical gremlins, and the AC compressor when out around 40k miles after I sold the 2000. There are a number of common C5 problems that I had, namely column lock and broken popup headlights. As for the powertrain, I think they are pretty much as bullet proof as they come.

Shifter: yeah, it sucks major bad in the C5, mostly due to the linkages connecting the shifter to the tranny (the tranny is in the rear of the car). But once I put an aftermarket shifter in (Hurst), it shifted awesome. Heavy feel, but was "bolt action" solid, and I enjoyed every shift.

I wouldn't buy another C5 'base' coupe, but mostly because I've already had 2, but I did love the ones I had. Myself I would strongly consider a gently used C5 Z06 however. Make sure the vette you are looking at has the Z51 suspension, or better yet don't mind replacing the springs/shocks/rollbars yourself.

 

you are the man haha, i really dont like American cars.

 

I have one problem with Vettes, I respect them for their performance, great performing cars. The problem is the engine, why does GM put a huge engine and not tune it right. It has 2 valves per cylinder and push rods - who uses push rods these days. They dont use any variable valve timing or lift. This is just unacceptable in my book, GM is using age old technology to power their cars.

A 7.0 Z06 liter engine if tuned right is capable of delivering 700+ Hp NA. If you are paying 65K+, then I would want at least best engine technology used in similar price catagories.

To me Corvette engine is outdated. And to increase power, they put a huge engine, talk about efficient design and engineering.

But despite this huge engine weight penalty, they kept the weight of the car down, that is impressive. Handling of the Z06 is very good. The chassis design is also not shared.

 

I had the option of buying a used 2000 vette when purchasing my Z. I chose the Z. The Z is just a better overall daily driver. If your car is specifically for racing I would choose the Vette. Else, the Z is the way to go IMHO

 

I'll go ahead and get my flame suit on, but this reasoning just doesn't hold water. If no one told you the LSX engines weren't "high tech", you wouldn't know. They simply get the job done. The engine development money went into refining things like the cam profile and improving head flow. Those aren't as easy to "check off" like DOHC and VTECH, but doesn't mean it's not as high tech. But no they aren't he most expensive engines with expensive technology, which keeps the price down.

An all aluminum small block really isn't that heavy, and are pretty compact, so you can do things like drop them into an RX7 easier than you think. I don't know the weights of the new engines, but the 7.0L Z06 motor isn't necessarily heavier than the 6L LS2 in the base C6. Combustion chamber size is not the same as engine size or weight.

Besides, DOHC and the like have been around for many decades.

Being an engineer, I can appreciate high tech goodies, but I can also appreciate simple and elegant solutions that are cost effective.

 

Ahhhh........was that English??!?? WOW!

 

+1. Ford went to DOHC, I'd take the Vette thanks.


The new Z06 engine is also rev happy. Also a few bolt ons will get you close to 50 hp most likely.

The Z06 is full of tech, calling it anything less is being ignorant.


I think overall the vette and the Z share much in common. They are both values in their classes, and as such do have some cost cutting. Still, both great cars.

Of course I'd prefer to keep it JDM, but GM still deserves much respect for the Z06

 

I have a 2000 hard top vette 6 speeds 3,200 Lbs and I think theres is a couple of points that I need to clarify:
1. theres no way that a stock Z can beat the vette (350 Vs 280...straight, turns, twists......), no even a slightly modified Z. turbos sure will do the work.
2. for the guy that said that the power was pumpup on 2003, he is totally wrong. since 1997 to 2005 vettes have been having the same LS1 engine 5.7 liters with 350 HP. except fot the Zo6 that comes with 405 HP.
3. handling is way more better than a Z, the vette has better weight distribution been almos 50/50, the engine sits lower to the ground wich helps on the lower center of gravity, just next time that you see a vette take a look at the hood and the front wheels and the front fenders, from the top of the tire to the top of the fenders theres only a cuple of inches, on the Z from the top of the front tires to the top of the front fenders theres like a foot, thats showing you how low sits the vette engine.
4. for a 5.7 V8 the gas is amazingly low. thanks to weight and aerodinamics.
5. sure theres a lot of heavily modify Zs that will beat a stock vette.