S550 vs C6 Corvette

[sonicc]

Call it a midlife crisis or a new car itch or whatever, but I'm starting to have some thoughts about the C6 Corvette...

To keep this discussion simple, lets ignore the GM interior aesthetics and old man stigma of the C6, and practicality of S550. I currently do track events and a few time trials with the Mustang and Acura RSX.

What I'm mostly interested in is performance per $$. It seems to me that a C6 (particularly 2008+ with the LS3) is hard to beat in this department. I have 50k miles on my GT and if I sold it I could get roughly as much for it as a C6 with equivalent miles. While the power is nearly the same between the two, C6's biggest advantage is the weight, ~3200 lbs vs ~3800 in my GT Premium. It would take a LOT of money to get the Mustang to that weight.

My plan is to retire the RSX in a year or two and run the Mustang (or C6 if I go that route) as I start getting more involved into time trials. Now, do I absolutely HAVE to get the C6 to replace the Mustang? No, but...my thinking is along the lines that the C6 would be better off with equal amount of money spent on mods and prep.

Obviously at this point it's all just talk...

Anyone here made the switch to/from C6?

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[Grafanton]

I have only ever been behind the wheel on track in the S550, but have ridden shotgun as in instructor in a couple of C6's. The C6 is a remarkably potent vehicle. My experience was that a chimp could be fast in a C6, even with all season tires.
I love my S550...everything about it...looks, performance, utility etc., but for a track only weapon, I believe it's pretty hard to beat a C6. If you can find a reasonably priced Z06, I really think the C6 is the way to go. I have considered going in that direction myself. The only thing holding me back is that the S550 is paid for.

 

[sonicc]

If you can find a reasonably priced Z06, I really think the C6 is the way to go. I have considered going in that direction myself. The only thing holding me back is that the S550 is paid for.

Z06 would be nice, but they're still holding their values. On top of that, there's the extra cost of having to do pre-emptive valve upgrade to fix the valve drop issue on those LS7s.

 

[EFI]

IMO, if you're going to build it then obviously the C6 platform is a better one to start from for an all out track car.

If you're going to run the 2 cars mainly as is with just a few upgrades here and there, the Mustang has the advantage of being newer and more reliable and cheaper to run than the C6. By that I mean, for the same price you're going to get a lot newer and lower mile GT than even a C6.

Say you have 30k to spend, you can either get a low mileage newer C6 and keep it near stock or a similar GT but with say 8k worth of mods on top. The GT will be faster. Or if you get an older C6 and dump the same amount of money into it as the GT, you will be faster but the C6 will be less reliable in the end due to the higher mileage engine, trans, rear end etc. Those LS3 motors weren't that reliable without major oiling upgrades.

Depends really on what your ultimate goal and budget is.

 

[SteveW]

If you are talking about eventually getting into time trials have you considered somehow switching to a base GT? You mentioned having a premium car so as you prep the car for serious track duty all that premium level eq gets removed and set on a shelf.

If you had a bare bones GT then seats, brakes, cooling, blah blah blah all get replaced with proper track duty stuff without worrying about the extra cost you paid for the premium car to start with.

Just another thought to further muddy the waters, haha.

 

[sonicc]

If you had a bare bones GT then seats, brakes, cooling, blah blah blah all get replaced with proper track duty stuff without worrying about the extra cost you paid for the premium car to start with.

That would definitely make sense and something i'll keep in mind in case I decide to go with the Mustang. I see plenty of base performance pack GTs with similar miles as mine in low 20s.

IMO, if you're going to build it then obviously the C6 platform is a better one to start from for an all out track car.

If you're going to run the 2 cars mainly as is with just a few upgrades here and there, the Mustang has the advantage of being newer and more reliable and cheaper to run than the C6. By that I mean, for the same price you're going to get a lot newer and lower mile GT than even a C6.

Say you have 30k to spend, you can either get a low mileage newer C6 and keep it near stock or a similar GT but with say 8k worth of mods on top. The GT will be faster. Or if you get an older C6 and dump the same amount of money into it as the GT, you will be faster but the C6 will be less reliable in the end due to the higher mileage engine, trans, rear end etc. Those LS3 motors weren't that reliable without major oiling upgrades.

Depends really on what your ultimate goal and budget is.

Good points. I can't say either car would be built into an all out race/track car...mainly because that would get expensive quickly, but something possibly with moderate aero down the road.

 

[TDC]

If tracking get the C6 GS. Definitely a great value proposition vs Mustang

 

[EFI]

If tracking get the C6 GS. Definitely a great value proposition vs Mustang

What do you mean by value? A 20-30k mile GS is in the mid-high 30s. A similar GT is low 20s.

A GT with 12k in mods will run circles around a stock GS, and cost just about the same. I don't personally see the value there in the GS.

Now all out, yes of course the GS will be better than a base GT. What the GT has is "value".

 

[TDC]

Value is subjective, agreed. So what I should say to clarify is if buying a C6 GS for similar money as a S550 the C6 is a better platform to start with for a track car. Lighter, faster, lower CG. I really enjoy the Mustang and it’s a great car for the track so in the end can’t go wrong with either but the C6 has a lead from the start.

 

[EFI]

Value is subjective, agreed. So what I should say to clarify is if buying a C6 GS for similar money as a S550 the C6 is a better platform to start with for a track car. Lighter, faster, lower CG. I really enjoy the Mustang and it’s a great car for the track so in the end can’t go wrong with either but the C6 has a lead from the start.

As long as the budget is there for the OP yes.

For example, $25k will get you a 7 year old GS with close to 100k miles. The same price will get you a 20k mile 3 year old GT. That's a big difference in reliability.

If OP has $35k then you can get a low mile GS.or a brand new GT, much closer in reliability between these than the first example.

 

[saleen367]

My ideal retirement gig is to buy a salvage S550, year not important, gut, cage it, and create a fun track car without the worry of resale value. I don't like the idea of chopping up a perfectly good street car for track days/TT/autoX if that's all I plan to use it for. Just a thought ... you could do the same with a C6.

 

[JohnD]

My GF has an '11 C6, the base brakes are not up to the job of serious road course work. Other than that, it's a seriously nice piece.

 

[sonicc]

I was initially thinking just a base C6, since they can be found for about $20k or less with around 50k miles. Not too concerned about brakes as that can be upgraded easily (and probably would get upgraded anyway). a GS C6 would be even better. At my price range I wouldn't be against salvage title as I'm not concerned about resale.

So it really comes down to whether $10k in mods can make the Mustang a better car than $10k spent in mods on a C6.

 

[EFI]

So it really comes down to whether $10k in mods can make the Mustang a better car than $10k spent in mods on a C6.

Nope.

 

[Hack]

I currently own a C5 Z06 and previously I owned a 2015 GT and 2016 GT350. I know, I know, not a C6, but I think it does give me some insight. Sorry for the book - hopefully it's helpful to you.

My biggest problem is the interior is too small for me. If you fit in a C6 really well with a helmet, no problem there.

My second problem is I don't really like factory GM engines that much. They hit hard with torque right at tip in, but then the power really doesn't build as you rev them out. This especially impacts the fun of track events for me. If you are doing very small tracks or autocross, the GM engine might be a better choice. However, I prefer bigger tracks and I prefer the way Ford NA engines rev out.

I do really like the low center of gravity and light weight of my Z06. The suspension is nice and compliant, but yet the body motions are still very well controlled. By comparison my GT350 seemed like it would almost hammer the tires down onto the pavement in order to control body motion. The Z06 is a lot nicer to drive on rough roads for that reason.

Power to weight is similar to my GT350, but the Z06 has more power down low. Having the transmission in the rear helps a lot for weight balance and the Corvette puts power down a lot better especially in lower grip situations than a Mustang does. The Corvette is also very predictable and smooth in how it loses traction and it's easy to handle as the car starts to slide. On the street the Z06 is more controllable and faster, but being that it's an older car it's also a lot less luxurious.

And the C6 still doesn't have much for electronics. They are definitely outdated looking. Depends on whether you care about that or not.

The Z06 was very very loud inside when I first purchased it. I added sound deadening, which helped a lot. I assume a regular C6 will have more sound deadening than a C5 Z.

If your main use will be track events, a smaller lighter car will probably be better for consumables such as tires and brakes.

I've pretty much decided I'm going back to a Mustang sometime this year. My main reasons are how I fit in the 'vette and the GM engine power delivery. I don't need to have the fastest vehicle around but I want to have fun. I have plenty of fun on track in Mustangs. I personally am not trying to set record lap times.

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