RE: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) | The Brave Pill

[300bhp/ton]

havoc said:

That was the dealbreaker for me too when I looked at a standard C5 ten years ago - great looks, easy torque, nice driving position with a very cool HUD, but the engine note was strangely uninspiring (easily fixed), the gearchange was ridiculous ..

The C5 is from an era before 'active' exhaust systems. So they are pretty muted in stock form, but no more so than any other mass market car of the same era which genuinely passed drive-by noise emissions for Type Approval.

Aftermarket exhaust transforms the noise however.

As for the gear linkage. The Vette is a bit different having the box at the back. But a 'good' aftermarket shifter (not all the after market ones are good), should improve it. Recently added a quick shift to my T56 equipped Camaro and it made a World of difference.

[300bhp/ton]

bakerstreet said:

The LS-1 can trace its routes all the way back to the 50s and 60s (I think).

The LS1 was a clean sheet design & launched in the C5 Vette in 1997 and then into the Fbody's a year later.

It actually shares almost nothing with the 'classic' Small Block Chevy (SBC) with no interchangeable parts. The SBC also called the 350 due to displacing 350 cubic inches or 5.7 litres. The LS1 was 5.7 litres also, but is actually 346 cubic inches. It also has a different firing order to the SBC too.

Edited by 300bhp/ton on Tuesday 9th July 13:47

[427James]

I had almost exactly the same car. It was the most reliable car I ever had, although very boring dynamically coming from a Cerbera. These tend to take superchargers and major increases in power with relative ease. As long as the chassis is straight there isnt too much to go wrong and very little to rust.

[LuS1fer]

rockin said:

Would be interested to see your thoughts in the "mid-engine C8 spied testing" thread. I hear one's been spotted in camouflage in UK. Launch next week!

I think they have the styling horribly wrong.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzovGZjHhpW/?utm_sourc...

[big_rob_sydney]

Cloudy147 said:

big_rob_sydney said:

I do wonder if the LHD aspect is as big a problem as people make out.
.

Nah, it's fine. Only issues are drive thru, car park barriers and the occasional T junction, the latter of which is easily dealt with if you arrive square on, rather than at a left-hand angle.

Other than that after a week or so driving, they aren't any harder than RHD. Don't let that put you off an LHD motor if you want one

Absolutely. I'm looking at this in a positive way, and I think for people who travel to the continent, this might actually be quite a nice thing. You guys here are lucky; back in Aus, LHD is a nightmare, with unbelievably expensive conversions required in a lot of states / territories. Over here, its pretty much as easy as you like to drive LHD if you want to. That freedom is wonderful to experience once you've lived under the oppressive yoke of a nanny state (cherish what you have!).

[unsprung]

big_rob_sydney said:

You guys here are lucky; back in Aus, LHD is a nightmare, with unbelievably expensive conversions required in a lot of states / territories.

In conversations with mates and acquaintances Down Under, it is not unusual to hear of AUD 50,000 conversions. That's merely for the swap from LHD to RHD (and not, say, for any work to restore or upgrade the vehicle).

Whilst I do understand the need to ensure road safety, there has got to be a better way to allow LHD than the status quo, which is: spend a fortune or wait 15+ years (state rules vary).

[SidJames]

lovely. i'd have one in a heartbeat!

[shortar53]

300bhp/ton said:

Rather like the red one too

Sod that. I'll take the white one all day...
But then again, I did spend 6 months doing audio on a mustang-only racing game so I'm biased.

[stevekemp89]

Thanks for the article on my car kind of making we want to take off sale, but I wont, for now!

[bakerstreet]

Fishy Dave said:

That's me! Although I had to report engine issues in late spring , but entirely self inflicted due to trackday and sprinting use, all sorted now though. I've had bigger issues with cars at 50k miles, so I can forgive my Vette, it's a tough old thing.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I stand corrected

[anonymous-user]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I'm sorry but that is absolute rubbish, have you done it?

I used to travel 50 km every day in a 1976 RHD Spitfire in Germany, never had any issues, for getting in and out of work i kept a small pole behind the seat that i clipped my badge too to wave in front of the scanner, took an extra 5 seconds e/w.

[fred bloggs]

bakerstreet said:

Do the people writing these articles have a clue what they are writing about?

Can't help but feel the influence of the 'new' owners of PH here....Lets drive people to the classifieds and make some money, which is all fine.

However, I don't think this car needs much of a brave pill

Is there an EGR to go wrong? No
Modern complex injectors? No
Modern Turbos and associated electronics? Nope

The LS-1 can trace its routes all the way back to the 50s and 60s (I think). There is someone on here who has a Vette that has done north of 200k without major incident.

I recon 10 year old 320d will be more at risk of producing a bigger bill than a Corvette of that area. OK, consumables will be more, but its probably running on 19s and even a Ford Mondeo runs 19s now.

This whole article just screams that the writers isn't really that sure what he is writing about and the comments on here also back up what I am saying.

I agree with this dude. This drivetrain will do hundreds of thousands of miles. I know, I have car with this drivetrain in it (HSV ) and its on 130k, It feels unburstable. They are even cheap to modify compared to other N/A engines.

[Daniel-dzhv4]

Great cars and worth every penny, except, for ones which are listed as salvage/parts on Carfax reports...

Which this one was..shame the owner doesn’t outline this.

Edited by Daniel-dzhv4 on Wednesday 10th July 12:36

[shea89]

I currently run two LHD cars and I've never had a problem. Tolls, drive-thru, I just lean over and stick my hand out the window. The only thing that bothers me is in some circumstances its a bit difficult trying a safe view of the oncoming traffic when making an overtake.

[aka_kerrly]

What a spectacular car, looks fantastic in yellow. I'd be very happy to add that to my fleet.

In fact any muscle car in yellow would be welcome on my drive.

[Dreamz]

Daniel-dzhv4 said:

Great cars and worth every penny, except, for ones which are listed as salvage/parts on Carfax reports...

Which the one was..shame the owner doesn’t outline this.

I wasnt best pleased to find this out as those reports are not cheap!! I would always do one on a car im about to buy but only to confirm everything was spot on and not to find info out i should of been told before so i wouldnt of wasted my money. surely the seller should be stating this in his advert!
The mileage report was also interesting..

[Daniel-dzhv4]

Dreamz said:

I wasnt best pleased to find this out as those reports are not cheap!! I would always do one on a car im about to buy but only to confirm everything was spot on and not to find info out i should of been told before so i wouldnt of wasted my money. surely the seller should be stating this in his advert!
The mileage report was also interesting..

Yes its clearly done 40-50K at least more than the clock reads.

The previous seller of this car last year was told multiple times and it seems someone was eventually stung.

This car should be in the scrap. Perhaps rather than a Piston head story promoting the car - we could have one on how to identify a lemon.

[R0B.]

Daniel-dzhv4 said:

Yes its clearly done 40-50K at least more than the clock reads.

The previous seller of this car last year was told multiple times and it seems someone was eventually stung.

This car should be in the scrap. Perhaps rather than a Piston head story promoting the car - we could have one on how to identify a lemon.

Maybe it is worthy of the Brave Pill title after all

[mitch_]

LuS1fer said:

rockin said:

Would be interested to see your thoughts in the "mid-engine C8 spied testing" thread. I hear one's been spotted in camouflage in UK. Launch next week!

I think they have the styling horribly wrong.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzovGZjHhpW/?utm_sourc...

Agree with LuS1fer here. Styling is a mess. I don’t find it edgy or original. The small spoiler I keep seeing on the camo-car is dreadful.

Can’t say I am surprised though. The ZR-1’s styling was already headed in an divisive direction.

C7Z06 will likely be the last Corvette that’s easy on the eye for a while.

[Marc p]

Dreamz said:

I wasnt best pleased to find this out as those reports are not cheap!! I would always do one on a car im about to buy but only to confirm everything was spot on and not to find info out i should of been told before so i wouldnt of wasted my money. surely the seller should be stating this in his advert!
The mileage report was also interesting..

Most of the time you can just google the VIN, on the one mentioned it returned the below:





On the matter of the brave pill, a Corvette is a very safe pill, mine has been the cheapest car I've ever owned and also the best car I've ever owned.

The remark about being pointed and laughed it seems very bizarre, I can assure you that I get nothing but very positive comments, the R8 on the other hand...…….well that seemed to get some very nasty comments.