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OK, since several of you have owned and/or raced these, please give me the compelling arguments/facts against owning one for DD and autox duties, with very occasional HPDE use (twice a year). It would be run on street tires, no HoHo's for me.
Mainly, I'm wanting to know about major mechanical issues and significant consumables, along with how they serve as DD cars. (remember, I DD an STR NC, so I'm not scared off by stiff suspension and low clearance.)
Go!
Do it! Do it now!!!!
Never owned one but I'd price out what tires and brakes cost. You also got to ask yourself "Do I have enough chest hair to own a Z06?"
I have a friend with one for sale. It's not exactly stock though.
Consumables will cost way more than an NC, especially tires. No more cheap $500 a set RS3's for you. Also the interior is pretty dated if you can live with that for a daily. From the few times I've had a chance to drive one the car actually didn't feel "large" like the C6Z06 which is a good thing. Insurance may go up a bit and maybe a bit more expenditure on gas. I would not think that it would be fun to race one on street tires.
It was too single purposed for my liking...point and shoot in AX. Tires are $$$. Car is fairly reliable for what it is, but it's no one-size-fits-all MX-5.
No soul.
I've driven ALOT!! Of c5 zo6s when I used to work at a performance LSX shop.... If I was not going to swap a lsX into my Miata I would own a c5zo6 the ls6 is a great motor.. My last LS motor dynoed 442rwhp and 420rwtq with well over 100k miles and never skipped a beat ever! I will swear by LSX motors till the day I die... BUY IT!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsrturbo
Ohh yeah!!!! And then let me co-drive it with you!!! Woohoo!!!!
Gas wouldn't really cost more, they actually get pretty good gas mileage, high 20's on the highway without much work. Miatas aren't exactly great. C5z's are a lot of fun, my uncle has one with basic bolt ons, it's no slouch and handles well. I agree the interior looks old as balls though.
Keep in mind that Wortham has does nothing to his accept Koni Yellows and it trophies at Nationals. Not many mods needed to be competitive.
I have really enjoyed autocrossing the few that I have.
Do it! Do it now!!!!
Ozcop, DeaneY, BobN and NealB can help convince you.
Do it!!!!!
Everybody does it. I just did it and I'm ready to do it again.
What they said - do it. You have the car and throttle control to do very well in one of these. They are solid cars, and the chronic issues are well documented, and all fixable by the mechanically inclined. Tires and gas are really the only expensive consumables. All the other hard parts (brakes, wheel bearings, seals, clutch) are not far from NC prices. Try to budget in a diff rebuild, as they get weak after a few seasons. Great cars for the $, you will not find another car with as much aluminum, magnesium and other trick design built in for any price.
This is a car that will always feel fast, small track, big track, highway etc. And will effortlessly pull a tire trailer. That's a good feeling :)
Feels like you are driving a boat. It does not go where you really want it to in comparison to a sportier car.
It will overheat if driven hard on the track. First water and oil. You can fix it with a radiator and oil cooler. Only to find the diff and transmission will overheat.
What he said, I liked mine ok, it was fast and all, but I felt like I was driving a plastic GM piece of junk, and mine wasn't even ragged out.Quote:
Originally Posted by ken o
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by jrj512
The reasons TO get one are obvious. You asked for reasons NOT to get one, so here you go (in no particular order):
- Tires are expensive
- Seats are horrible for autox / track - zero lateral support
- You WILL have electrical gremlins from time to time - expect a "Service Traction Control / Service Active Handling / Service ABS" message at some point. Usually a relatively easy / inexpensive fix though. Other random codes will pop up too
- Tires are expensive
- Everything in the interior is cheap plastic - lots of creaks, and things will break from time to time
- The car looks dated, both inside and out
- Oil and water temps get really high on on track - car would really benefit from an oil cooler / better radiator if tracked a lot
- Brakes are insufficient for the track on r-comps
- Lots of road noise / wind noise at highway speeds
- Lousy cup holder (and only one of them) - expect spilled drinks
- Bad gas mileage in the city
- Tires are expensive
- It's common for water to leak into the car SOMEWHERE when it rains - both of mine did this
- Steering is numb, not very communicative
- ABS "ice mode" kicks in a lot in autox - really annoying
- If the car is lowered, the ride height, plus long wheel base, plus long front overhang means the car bottoms out / scrapes A LOT
- "Skip shift" feature is super annoying
- Tires are expensive
- Ancient Bose sound system stinks
- Shift knob is straight out of 1985 (who has square hands anyway?)
- Seats are cheap imitation leather, and they will tear
- Very few competitive street tire options in stock sizes
- Car is not very fun to autocross on anything but the stickiest tires
- Steering wheel is too big - belongs in a van
- Steering ratio is too slow
- Stock springs are too soft
- Magnetic numbers don't stick to fiberglass - stickers are a pain
- Tires are expensive
- They like to eat cones at autox events
- People will think you're a jerk
I've also had to deal with:
- HUD failure (huge pain in the butt to fix!)
- AC compressor failure
- Transmission issues - reverse doesn't work in mine anymore, and 6th gear pops out occasionally. Also first gear has become harder to engage over the years - synchros are probably worn out. Not sure how common these issues are though.
- Reverse light switch failure - easy fix
- Wheel bearing failure - wheel bearing / hub assemblies are kinda expensive
- Oil pressure sensor failure - pain in the butt to replace
- Broken seat frame (been living with this for a long time)
It's actually fairly comfortable and practical as a daily though. Just a bit noisy for long trips for my taste. For reference, my car has 130k miles on it. Had about 45k on it when I bought it. '04 is the best year to get. Previous years had various other issues - some minor, others not so minor (oil consumption in '01s, valve spring failures in all but '04s I think...)
Now THAT is how you do a write up!
Wow. Just, wow.
OK, lock it up.