East Tennessee Region SCCA

The initial appeal of an early ZO6 was that the car was undervalued for a time when the C6 cars were introduced. 385hp or 405hp wasnt enough for the true Vette guys who could get more hp out of the C6 base cars much less the C6 ZO6. I started hearing about 15k cars going thru the sales in Nashville and Atlanta. By the time I started looking the good cars had worked their way back up to 25k. The cheaper cars had been abused and modded. Those prices have now been stable for about 4yrs or more(actually the entire run of C6). Now the C7 is about to be introduced and we will see what happens to C5 pricing. Johnny Miller gave me the same advice on the C5 vettes as RC. I finally decided that the best car deal at the time was the Holden based GTO and bought one for $13.5k. No, it aint no autocross car but there are very few cars that even want to try to mess with you on the street and it is one of the best GM cars I have ever seen. Quality design and construction(assuming you ignore the trunk space), reliable and for its speed, economical. It's AC will freeze you out too.
Having said that, the C5 has to be one of the greatest car deals ever for guys with an average size budget.

Let me just say "I love mine". Its a lot of fun and yes its fast enough to get your heart pumping! I don't know what a base car cost right now but they are a good deal and easy on tires too. One way too look at it is my car weights in the 2,880lb range but has 335's on the rear so how bad could it be in tires when you look at a Miata weight at 2,280lb range and 225's? More tire to weight ratio makes it easier on tires.

RC

'cept that the Miata doesn't spin the rear tires nearly as much as the 'Vette

Well that depends on who is driving the Miata because I remember someone in our club that would spin a Miata round and round.

RC

My advice, after driving two vehicles with good power, you will miss it if your next one doesn't have much. Which brings me to my next question - why did you sell the miata to only now be thinking about another 2 seater?

One thing that is encouraging about the C5 still is that it's STILL competitive in it's classes, especially SS and SSP.
In stock class trim it's' still a super comfortable car for trips and daily driving and at any time you can step on the fun pedal and not be dissapointed.
Prices seems to be flattening out and with the cooler months ahead, many people will be looking to get rid of their car rather than pay for storage ( at least here up north ).
It will be hard for me to start modding mine to be in SSP trim but it sure looks fun.

rocracing2004 wrote:Well that depends on who is driving the Miata because I remember someone in our club that would spin a Miata round and round.

RC

The Chatt lot is like small.

steverife wrote:I was shopping pretty hard for an FRC when I ended up in the CRX. I actually went to Georgia and Pennsylvania to look at cars.

I think the biggest stumbling block regarding autocross potential is the gearing. I think you will find a lot of places where 1st gear is too much and 2nd gear is not enough. When Jed and I ran in Chatt earlier this year, the FRC guys ran the whole course in 1st.

Thanks for all the input from everyone. I brought home a 99 FRC yesterday. This thing is 10 mph faster in first gear than my Miata was in second, definitley different. I've only driven it about 3 miles but it feels like it will be a lot of fun.

congrats!

pics?

Congrats I think you'll have fun.

Cool! Can't wait to see it.

sent from the EVO

Sweet!! Another Vette!

Sweet!

I've had about ten minutes of seat time now. I gave the keys to April to take it around the block and she was gone for thirty minutes. I'm looking forward to the event this weekend, hopefully I can get rid of the run-flats before then. It's still not as fast as the Lightning. (Which is still for sale)