I used to race a lot of these in my previous cars. It seemed like the SS always gave me a better race. Which is faster in the LS1, SS or C5?

 

The C5 is suposed to be faster. they are rated at 385
and i think the SS is 335

Im not up to date on the ls1 hp numbers.

 

I thought they are rated at 350hp???

 

They have the exact same engine, but the C5 has better exhaust, and a better intake track. But the Camaros solid axle is much more efficient at putting the power down. But the Corvette weighs less.

usually it comes down to driveline options.
A4 Vette with 2.73 gears vs SS with auto of manual usually SS win.
A4 Vette with 3.17 gears vs A4 SS usually Vette wins.
A4 Vette with 3.17 gears vs 6 speed SS usually SS wins
6-speed Vette usually defeats all SSs.

This of course is with equal drivers.

 

Are you assuming all SS cars had equal gears? I believe the 3:23s in A4 and 3:42s in T56 cars.. Just wanting to get some clarification on that...

 

Comes down to driver and how strong the LS1 is in the car....my best time with just a lid is much faster than alot of 6 speed vettes.....however i think the f-body guys are generally more of enthusiasts and get more out of the cars.

 

my theory is the SS drivers are better drivers, not saying that to put down vett drivers. but the majority of your vett owners don't buy the vett for its speed, they buy it for its class and reputation. They generally aren't racing advocates, but the SS on the other hand, that car is made for straight line speed, so that guy is going to put more effort into makeing sure he can drive his car to his potential. I don't see very many SS drivers turn down races, but I do see a lot soccer moms and retired people drive vetts.

 

The A4 vs A4 race can also be between an SS with the 2.73 axle, or the 3.23, theres a pretty big difference in 1/4 mile times between those, if the SS driver can take advantage of the better 60's they usually get, a 3.23 A4 SS can *usually* keep up, but thats all in the launch since the vettes aerodynamics take over up top.

 

I was under the impression that all SS and WS6 cars equipped with 4L60E came with the performance axle (3.23s) stock.

 

I also think it will depend on what kind of racing you're talking here.

drag....drivers race...
road racing....I would say C5
Highway run....C5 because of aerodynamics and weight.

this are ONLY my opinions based on what I know about both cars....

 

Being a fbody driver (i wont distinguish b/t SS/Z28/WS6 etc. they are all the same damn thing when you get down to the nuts and bolts) i have raced Vettes on several occasions and heres my take on it. This is both street and track results combined. For the most part, its a drivers race. But the A4 cars (vette and fbody) have a slight disadvantage to the 6 spd cars of course. The one exception to this i have noticed is high speed roll-ons, where the aero advantage of the vette helps above 100 mph. Its harder (for me and the guys i roll with anyhow) to launch the Vette and keep it under good control with hard shifts (1-2 and 2-3 shifts) than the fbody, i guess the solid axle has a lot to do with this. If you twisted my arm, id bet the vettes average about a 1/10th and 1 mph faster than most fbodies, but that diffrence can easily be made up by a stong factory motor vs an average or weak one.

A couple of specifics mention in the thread i wanted to comment on: There were 2.73 A4 fbodies until i belive 01 when they all went to the performance gear, 3.23. And rated hp for the models is 350 for the Vette (405 for Z06), 310 for Z28/TA, 325-345 (SLP options dependant) for the SS and WS6. Funny thing is most times, the fbodies dyno higher than the vettes because of the solid axle rear. Lastly, the biggest point made was the type of drivers that habitate each respective vehicle. The vette drivers, on a percentage basis, dont drive their cars for the same purpose or in the same manner as the fbody guys. Thus the reason you'll see a lot of fbodies beating vettes.

 

HAving "run" all three... Camaro SS, C-5 and Z06 2001 models... all six speed... the C-5 is faster due to lighter wt and aero @ speed. The Z06 blows them both away!

Now if you want to mod for the drag strip... then the SS solid axle provides the best platfrom.

Road course... both vettes are better with the Z06 again running away from the pack.

 

I just think the SS are meaner. I never really had a close race w/ the C5's. I didn't factor in the aero dynamic part. The vett has the SS beat by a lot there.

 

Hum.... i thought the C5 had more hp than that. or were rated higher anyway ... Now another question... my buddy tried telling me that his SS vert 2000, has an irs, i just kinda looked at him weird and shruged my shoulders. Do or did the SS come with an irs?

 

Your buddys high. All F-bodys have solid axles, thats what makes them better at the drag strip. Vettes from 97-00 have 345 hp and 01 and up a have 350. My personal opinion is that the Formula Firebird is probably the fastest of the lot with equal drivers, due to fact of its lowest weight among F-bodys and its solid axle versus the Vette. But I think for the most part you are talking about tenths of a second when it come to straight line performance.

 

They need to do a test w/ all of them w/ all equal factors.

 

Popular Mechanics did a test a while back, go to thier web site and look under fastest street cars you can buy. I dont know the actual link but Im sure you can find it.

http://popularmechanics.com/automoti...quickest_cars/

Try that it might work.

 

I think it's kinda funny that vette owners are all grouped together as soccer moms & old guys, and that all F body drivers are seen as enthusiasts. There are over 30,000 vettes sold a year. there were never that many SS/Ws6s sold in a year, so why not compare apples to apples? You should be comparing the top performance F bodies (SS & Ws6) vs. Z06 drivers. I think you would find that 90% of Z06 drivers are real enthusiasts and probably know how to drive there cars. I'm not slaggin anybody here, just trying to point out the poor comparison being made.

This is a weird thread to see on this site...hehe

 

That wasn't my point, my point was to compare the non z06 vett w/ the SS. Its like comparing 911 turbo to the fastest boxter, the 911 is faster and you know, but the normal 911 may be about the same as the soup up boxter. That is actually a bad analogy, but you understand what I am saying.

 

C5 vs. SS, the C5 should always win, stock for stock. ALL automatic SS's come with the 3.23 gear standard, from 98-02. ALL 6 speeds came with 3.42's.
For some reason, the standard gear A4 Vette has been kind of a slug with everyone that has had one. The performance gear really wakes it up.
Most 6 speed Vettes are tricky to launch because of the super hard, runflat tires. They are the WORST performance radial for drag racing. The super stiff sidewall and forgiving treadwear rating make it very difficult to pull off good 60ft times.
Let's put it this way, a factory loaded, 6 speed, 345hp package SS (lid, exhaust) should lose to a factory loaded, 6 speed C5.

On another note, when my only mods were a lid/cutout (stock tires), I had raced 4 different C5's from a dead stop. I beat all of them. One was modded with a catback and induction. The only Vette I lost to in a street race was an 02 Z06. From a dead stop to 60-65ish, we were even, then he decided to run away from me After he ripped me a new one, he pulled over and threw me a thumbs up