6 Months of Z06 Ownership... Was it a mistake? | C5 Z06 Long Term Review
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- I've owned my 2004 C5 Z06 for exactly 6 months as of the filming of this video. I felt like now was a good time for me to look back and recap my experience over the last few months. If you want to check out the other videos related to the Corvette, check out the playlist titled "C5 Z06" on my page!
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Instagram: @vikdrives
Facebook: @vikdrives
Congratulations on your ownership of the C5 Z06! I feel the same way about mine after 15 years of ownership. Always brings a smile to my face and an absolute joy to drive
15 years?!? wow! ya I have absolutely no intentions of ever selling this thing, every time I drive it I just fall more and more in love with it. Any mods on yours?
@@vikdrives2529 The mods consist of SLP long tube headers, a mild cam, borla exhaust, short shifter, and vararam air intake. Dyno'd at 410 rwhp. All mods, except for cam, was done by dealership in partnership with a local speed shop. It was referred to as a 450 package and the fender badge has a blue Z with 450hp stamped on it.
@@jamescarter3758 any issues with the vararam? I just bought mine and the power duct and I've heard some people have issues with them
@@vikdrives2529 no issues whatsoever with the vararam
@@jamescarter3758 do you have the power bridge installed as well?
I own a 2000 corvette convertible had it for about 8 months still brings me a smile when I drive it
Love to hear it! Hope I never lose that smile
Grats on the Z. I've had mine for about 8 years now and honestly think it's gonna end up being a lifer. These cars have a TON of potential. Grippy tires really wake these cars up such as a Nitto Nt05, which will last about 3 years rear 5 years front, or even a Nt01 if your willing to change out rear tires every year (front Nt01's will last about 3 years). Expensive yes.. worth it? HELL YES.
Other recommendations are Johny O'connel sway bars and bilstein sport shocks for suspension. Stainless steel brake lines, decent set of slotted rotors, and some Hawk HPS pads for the brakes. I did a battery relocation with a 17 lb braille battery as well. This with tires will essentially be all the track prep you need to turn this car from fun sports car to track monster without spending a fortune and without ruining drive ability on the street.
I’m definitely thinking this one’s going to be a lifer for me as well haha. It actually has johnny o’connell shocks in it and I was gonna snag some of the sway bars soon. Brakes are probably due for an upgrade in the next few months so I’ll definitely take your recommendations into consideration. Any experience with APR stuff for your Z?
I've always wanted one. I've had over 20+ sports/muscle cars but this is on my bucket list. I just sold my terminator so i'm currently looking
I have a 2003 C5 that I bought years back. It’s the garage queen and it will always be. I just purchased a new 22 Camaro SS 1le incredible grip and fun car but the C5 is something special that nothing can beat.
When I bought the car I was fully expecting it to be a short term vehicle, drive it, enjoy it, sell it and get something else. But now after having owned it for a little over a year, I don’t think I’ll ever let it go
Glad you like it. Its a fairly unique experiene in my opinion. Ive owned sport cars my entire life, but never drove anything that was this much Fun! You are off to a great start by respecting the power. The car has more than enough power to cause carnage if not respected. Good advice to not get too confident, take your time and increase the speed at your own comfort level. Learn the cars characteristics. Car looks good, congrats on your purchase.
Thank you! Ya definitely can’t get overconfident while driving it because it definitely will punish you for it if you’re not ready
Owned my C5 for 23 years. Put a 2002 LS6 in it in the early 2000s also. It's still stage "Holy crap!". Intake, exhaust and tune can get you to 390hp at the rear wheels so 450 at the motor. Never needed another sports car. No other option has ever been a better deal. R8s are very cool too but the C5 has the cheap/low maintenance advantage.
The c5 has consistently been one of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. And the maintenance is EXTREMELY affordable. It was supposed to be a short term ownership but I just can't seem to let her go for some reason
Hoping to buy a C5 Z06 in the next 6 months
Bought my 2003 Z06 in 2020 and it was the best car I've ever had. I have had several Vettes and all have been dependable and fun. Welcome to America's rear wheel fun machine. Hope you enjoy it.
I absolutely adore mine as well! In an ideal world I can drive it through the winter but unfortunately it’s just sitting in the garage patiently waiting for that door to open up again haha
Congrats!! Nice z! 2 things to get, first is a hurst or mgw shifter. That will change your world. Second is c6 z51 sway bars. It will really make it handle awesome. Have fun!
@Matt Brad respectfully i disagree, the z51 is a c6 z06 sway in front and c6z51 sway in rear. Without going to 305 tires in back, going to a c6z rear bar will create too much oversteer in my opinion. How much experience with c6 and c5s do you have?
@Matt Brad yes, tires you mentioned and would be the big denefit. They are also very expensive, and require diff wheels a bigger expense. Im sure we could give him suspension reccomendations and wilwood brakes and all kinds of shit, lol. Point is, the z51 c6 setup is best for his current setup for the dollar. That isnt debatable. Now, if he gets wheels and tires, yes a larger rear bar would help. But then he has to deal with shocks.
@Matt Brad and yes, 1mm on the front does matter. It makes it slightly more understeery which given his inexperience would stiffen the car and make it easier to drive for him. I stand by my statement, that for the money, those 2 mods would give him the most bang for his buck. Plus he could always improve and would not wasted money. Thats my thought.
@Matt Brad i get that you know what you are taking about. And you are not wrong totally, but you also are on another level of expense. A square setup will cost him more than a grand, 200 for 2 wheels atleast, plus tires. The bars cost less than 400. If he is goi g to spend 1200 on tires, he may as well get c6z06 325s and go with the bigger bars, about th same cost. Now i know you will go back to your original thing about tires, but again, thats another 2k for wheels and tires. My original point, his setup he has, go with c6z51,, he cant loose. He could always change the rear bar for a few hundred bucks down the road. Good talk!! See ya on the track maybe!
Oh wow you guys have had a conversation and a half here haha. I actually swapped the stock shifter out for an mgw unit. Literally the first thing I did after I got the car and it absolutely is night and day
Congrats on the Z. I purchased a C5 a few months ago, and I've been enjoying it. As you mentioned, first rear wheel drive car, and learning to live with it, just for the summers. It took me a while to get used to the seating, as as big dude it's not the most comfortable. But that can be fixed long-term.
I got myself INDY 500s for tires and holy crap did it make a difference in the car. Upgraded brakes/rotors help as well. I've noticed it seems harder/difficult to find parts for these, but won't keep me from driving it!
Roughly 4,5K miles since ownership.
Nice! Ya tires are game changers. Probably will need to snag a new set this year at some point. Seating position is definitely a bit… interesting. A lot of my taller friends had issues getting helmets on and such but can definitely be fixed. Coming up on close to 10k miles in my 2 years as well so definitely will be doing a long term review video soon!
Love that body style!! I have a C6Z06!! Those cars are timeless bad asses !!
The C6 Z06 must be a handful 😂
Great Video ..........Down to Earth !!!!!!!!!
Thank you!
My 1999 Hardtop....smile every day
I bought a c5z about a year ago. Like you it was my first fast car. I also got into autocross to learn the limits of the car and fell in love with driving it. Your next step needs to be going to a big road course. I’ve done my first two track days at Sonoma raceway witching the last month. Doesn’t get much better! Get you some good 200 tread wear tires for autocross, they’ll make a huge difference! Bfg rivals, falken rt660’s, or Yokohama a052’s seem to be the top of the line tires for autocross.
I was actually thinking about signing up for a road course event for next year! Currently have some nitto nt05s on there (along with the new wheels that I made a video about) that have a little bit of life left in them so next step will be fresh rubber and then hitting the track
I bought a 2002 Z06 59k miles yesterday.... gonna daily drive it some one has to enjoy it might as well be me
My thoughts exactly!
Corvette FRC’s will always be an iconic body style,IMO!
Agreed! There’s nothing else out there that looks like a c5 frc!
One question, in my mind I like to think the Corvette is a pretty good rival up against the Skyline but if you had to choose, would you have your C5 Z06 or an R34 GT-R?
Also the Corvette's been my dream car since childhood so I'm sure you'll know who I'm rooting for lol
I mean if someone was giving me an r34, I definitely wouldn’t say no 😂. And as much as I love the rb26, the v8 in this thing is absolutely spectacular. It would be very difficult to choose between the two but after the amount of time I’ve spent in this car, it would definitely be very hard to let it go
Awesome car dude. I have a base 2002 C5 with some mods to run side by side with a base C6. 6 years later...I still get excited before I drive it.
I actually just posted my 1 year review with a “few” more mods haha. In all honesty I don’t see myself getting bored of this anytime soon and the fact that I can make it more insane at any given point is even more reason to love it!
@@vikdrives2529 I will definitely check out the video. There are a lot of power and cosmetic upgrades for the C5Z. My favorite upgrades for my C5 are the custom exhaust, wheels, and coil overs. The handling is insane compared to stock.
Congratulations Vik. Glad to see you are enjoying your Z06. Hope you get a lot of great years from the car. (:
the c5 6 speed extends the soul like no other car can
It really does! There's plenty of other special manuals on the market but none of them make you feel quite as connected to the car as this one does
I have an '04 Z06 CE. It likes to be driven fast - I'm suprised I haven't lost my license yet.
I have to fight every bone in my body to drive this thing slow haha. I think I’m going to sign up for a track event next year. Then I can really see how fast this beast can go
Yeah, I have a ‘19 Z06,and I’m basically daring people to speed past me! I know. I need to watch myself.
@@mnoell35 I like driving at the limit in the right lane and watching people scurry away in the middle lane like they’re saving time knowing full well that I could literally leave them in a cloud of dust if I chose to haha
I enjoy your video, first time subscriber, I also hit like. Keep those videos coming. I have a c3 corvette. That i truly love also.lol Russell Wayne Boyd.
Awesome car, great review, glad your happy! One love 👍🏾
Definitely happy but that new Z06 really has me thinking about bringing home a baby brother for this one 😂
@@vikdrives2529 ya I'll take 2 myself 🤣
Hell ya. Looking forward to getting one.
I have yet to go out for a drive and come back without a smile on my face. You won’t regret it
@@vikdrives2529 Right on. I bet. Ima get one later this year.
I’ve had mine for about a year and a couple months. Looking to get a c6 zo6 early next year. Sitting at 45k miles
Having sat in a very powerful c6 recently, I will say I don’t feel like those have the same level of uniqueness that the c5z’s have. Fantastic cars though!
I'm a different kind of corvette owner. I've owned mine for 2 months, and have never driven it 😂. Redoing the interior, some mods to the engine, and I'll drive it after.
WHAT! I’m keeping some of those projects for the winter when it makes sense to park it up for a bit. Until then I’m driving it any chance I get!
@@vikdrives2529 😂 yea I know but I wanted it to be perfect inside. New seats new carpets , new dash , and on and on and on. Next summer I'll be ready 🤪
Well good luck! I promise once you start driving it you’ll wish you were driving it now 😂
Mines done, headers,procharger,Henson shifter, Alki system race seats.. It is real scary now lol.
If your Z06 handles at all you will have a smile every time you drive
I have a smile on my face every time I turn the key 😂
This is a really honest review. Is the car stock? If so I doubt it makes four hundred plus horsepower. Other than that i agree with most of what you said.
The car is mostly stock, I guess I should have specified it wasn’t 400 whp. I did get it tuned recently though and it made 385 wheel so it’s getting there slowly haha
@@vikdrives2529 it’s a beautiful car and I appreciate your content.
@@The2008ktm450 thank you so much! 1 year review will be out soon so be sure to check that out as well!
I love going from my 2017 c300 one day and then getting in my c5 the next day. Just feels like I'm getting into a gocart which is always fun especially being lowered. They always look and stare at the z06 badge sitting at the light like they've never seen one of these on the road before and I'd imagine they don't! the frc style at least.
Absolutely! I have a much much older mercedes ml as my daily so go kart doesn’t even start to describe the height difference but the z06 gets so many looks on the road and tbh, I’m totally here for it 😂
Fantastic video thanks!!!!
Thank you!
LOL on the fuel economy numbers for a measurement of fun. I have an 03 Z06, and anything over 19 MPG and you're not having enough fun.
Lots has changed since that video went live haha. Most recently posted 14 mpgs
Love the Vikvette ❤️
So Vikvette is a thing now?
Kinda getting the itch to buy one when I get back to the states next year
Do it! I have so much fun in this thing I’m even happy when I’m driving it to work in traffic haha
I’ve got to C5 in the yard I’ve been thinking about restoring looking at your video just relit the fire
Honestly, they’re such great cars for the money! Definitely feel free to send me progress pics and stuff on instagram if you have it: @vikdrives. Would love to see what you do!
Will do
"What a terrible decision" on your thumbnail is technically 'click-bait' is it not ?
Haha yes it is. I absolutely love this car
I might be getting one with 87k for $21,300. Has a couple different leaks and has had 7 owners. Has a new clutch and new tires. Good deal or no?
I think I’d try knocking them down a bit. I bought at the height of the pandemic with used car prices near their highs. I’d say it should probably be somewhere in the range of 16-18k honestly but who knows in this market haha
Howdy! Nice review!
Thank you! Hopefully I’ll have even more good things to say by the time 1 year rolls around!
have a 2001 convertible...great machine
They really are! Must be nice to have the top down now that it’s warm out. All I’ve got is the windows 😂
Funny I came across this video. I’m actually in the exact same situation as you. About a month ago I bought a c6 grandsport 6 speed. My first rwd car, first manual car, and first car with over 400hp. Still don’t have manual all the way down yet lol. But was wondering if you have any tips as feeling comfortable with the car and getting used to the power and rwd factor. I want to be able to have fun in the car while being able to control it, without flying into a tree lol. And my lack of experience does scare me especially in the nicest car I’ve bought.
Biggest tip I can give you and it’s going to sound super cheesy but respect the car. Take EVERYTHING slow while you get used to it. If you ever want to try something new, find an empty parking lot and try your donuts or burnouts or launches there (where there aren’t any trees for you to crash into haha). I’d also HIGHLY recommend you take it to an autox. Gives you a much better understanding of how the car handles and even if you spin out, you’d hit a cone instead of a wall or a tree or another car. But just have fun with it and you’ll get the hang of it pretty quick!
you bought it or you folks lol you look awfully young bro unless its an old avatar or your son haha
@@startingtech3900 profile from like 8 years ago lol. I’m 23 so young but I paid for it myself, might not have been the best choice with most of my savings but...
@@vikdrives2529 yeah I definitely am taking it slow as I really value the car. I just want to help get to a point where I’m more comfortable with the dynamics of the car and what to do in situations where I loose traction or something unexpected happens. As well as getting better at the fun stuff but in a safe way without crashing lol. I guess I can’t really think of anything better than what you suggested, however would you think autocross would be worth it besides just taking it to an old parking lot with my buddy as an instructor? Or is it not worth the extra money. Thanks for the help man
@@peytonponder8488 im 27 and in the same boat do i spend most of my savings and buy a zo6? what do you recommend if you had to do it over what would you do?
I just bought a 03 50th Z in may
Are you just in love with it as I am? I have some mods coming up soon for this one so be sure to subscribe!
Let the back problems begin 😊
Hahaha I’d like to think I have a little bit more time before that’s a concern 😂
My C5 never became my primary car. My 4x4 Tacoma is too awesome to be secondary.
Unfortunately New England will never let mine become my primary vehicle either 😂
Holy crap 😂
Hooooollllyyyyy crap 🫶🏽
I just made 1 year with my C5. I really like this car. Corvette community is also pretty cool. Car has some mods Only complaint I have is it doesn’t have enough power 400hp
I mean the ls platform is pretty easy to get power haha. I’ve never found it to be slow but maybe once I have a year under my belt I’ll feel the same too 🤷🏽♂️
@@jeffkendel1570 those are slow lmao
I’m bored with mine too. Looking at trading in for C6Z or C7Z. I got used to 400hp 12 sec car in about two months. Been yawning through a full send
@@marioremondino9837 well thats how a 10 second hci c6 z06 was off the bat for me, your gonna want a v7/ysi, or a f1x if you never want to get bored lol
@@xpeacemaster great🤦♂️
Stages of my c5 over the last year and half
Holy crap....im bored *buys cat back*
Holy crap!...im bored *buys headers*
HOLY CRAP!....im bored *cam swap*
HOOLLYYY CRAP....standby for next stage lol
Oh nooo! Hopefully I don’t get too bored then 😂
what was the car insurance like?
Not bad at all! I spent a total of about $114 to insure both this and my 2000 m-class suv at 24 years old. Definitely helps if you tell them that it isn’t your primary vehicle so you’ll be putting less miles on it. Hope that helps!
If its a 2nd car, you should insure it as a “classic” through Hagerty, Grundy, American Modern, etc. Much cheaper and you can insure it for a specific value.
Had a C5Z for a year now. I’m bored. I need more power. I yawn through a full send
Whaaattt????? It’s gonna take me a while to get to that point
CLICK BAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You’re just mad because you took the bait 😂
Sweet wheel downgrade 😀
Yaaaa those chrome wheels were questionable. I got new wheels shortly after this video went live though! Go check it out!
@@vikdrives2529 whew