Street Cars: C5 Z06

Even before I liked cars, a passing corvette was quite an event for me. I knew nothing about them, and the fastest car I had ever been in was quite possibly a minivan, so I had no perspective of performance. Even with my lack of interest in cars in general I knew one thing for sure: the Corvette just had a presence about it, it was iconic, it was incredible. Years later, with a brain fully immersed in car facts, performance numbers, and reliability ratings I still somehow knew very little about the corvette. I'm not sure why it took me so long to start learning about them, but the first time I was handed the keys to my coworkers shiny red 1999 corvette I was weak at the knees. Days later I could still have described every detail of the car, because it had finally become real to me, I had finally been in my dream car. There was only one thing to wonder next, when would I get one of my own?

Chevrolet did a lot of things differently with the fifth generation Corvette: performance was up, reliability was better, comfort was improved, and the car was even more fuel efficient. While the interior has always been a drawback for the Vette, the C5 was a much nicer place to be than the previous generation. The C5 interior became very functional, but still lacks the pop and finish of many competitors. The weird thing is, none of that even matters when you drive the car. The experience, as a whole, is so incredible that the first time I ever drove a Z06 is burned into my memory, I could retrace the exact route from memory even now, years later.

When a car manufacturer updates a successful car, usually about half the components remain similar, or even the same as the previous generation. The chassis may be stiffened, the engine tweaked to produce more power, the interior freshened up, but rarely is absolutely everything changed.

The 1997 corvette was just this though, a fresh start with all new components. There was a new, sleek body, radically stiffened chassis, and a brand new engine-the coveted LS1. Fast forward to 2001, where the fifth generation gets a slight redesign, but more importantly the introduction of the C5 Z06--a high performance track oriented version of the base car. The power-plant in this rocket ship was designated the LS6, and produced up to 50 more horsepower than the base LS1!

Changes didn't end with the engine though, nearly everything on this car was designed to make this Corvette the fastest to ever lap a track. The standard MN6 transmission was replaced with an entirely new one-the M12-which gave the car shorter gearing for quicker acceleration, and beefed up components to handle the added torque of the LS6. 60 miles and hour zips by in under four seconds, and sub 12 second 1/4 mile times have been recorded indicating that Chevrolet succeeded in making this car FAST.

Cruising along on the highway at a tame speed fuel economy can easily travel north of 30 miles per gallon, a feat that only small four bangers typically achieved back in 2001.

I purchased my Corvette in early 2013, a bone stock Speedway White Z06. This color is extremely rare, with only 352 of them ever produced, and only optioned in 2001. Since purchasing the car I've made a few changes and modifications; new tires, black lower rear fascia, long tube headers, a Borla exhaust, B&M Ripper short throw shifter, and what's known in the C5 world as the zip tie mod. The two absolute best changes I have made to the car were the tires (Continental ExtremeContact DW) and the XS Power 1 3/4 inch headers.

Continental doesn't make a tire in exact OEM sizes, the fronts have to be bumped to 275, but the tires fit perfectly fine and don't look bad at all. As far as street tires go, these have to be given the nod for best overall value. My car produced a mind numbing 386 foot pounds of torque to the rear wheels, and unless the temperature is below 30 degrees I CAN NOT break these tires loose in any gear (without dumping the clutch, that is). Since I purchased these tires my lovely lady can no longer ride in the car without feeling sick to her stomach from the vicious acceleration forces-something that was never a problem with the stock Goodyear tires. A friend with a set of Toyo tires opted to teach his rear tires a lesson by spinning through third gear after riding in my car because he wanted a set so badly. At the drag strip a set of drag radials will serve you better, and at the circuit the softer sidewalls of the Continentals tend to flex a little, but the long wear life and superb traction make these my favorite street tire. If you're in the market, buy them. Don't think about it, just buy them, you will not be disappointed.

After the header install and tune my car made 365 rear wheel horsepower and 386 foot pounds of torque. These numbers are a little off compared to many Z06 corvettes, but nothing absolutely out of the realm of normality. These headers make the car really scream, especially past 3000 rpms. "Eargasmic" is the best way I've heard a bystander describe the sound. At above 85 miles an hour there is a fair bit of drone, but at typical highway speeds the car sounds relatively tame.

With prices dropping to under $20,000, the C5 Z06 makes the absolute best value sports car I've ever found. If you can think of another car that matches the looks, performance, reliability, fuel economy, and ease of use PLEASE let me know! If you have never been in a Z06, give it a try. The power delivery is entirely different from similar cars in it's class, including later model C6 corvettes with the same power ratings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jyJqgC5_8Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVtGp7c_b0w