Well, I bought a C6 Corvette... and I sold my 911.

The 997 has been crawling up in miles and I have been working from home for a little over a year.  I used to commute an hour one way and an hour back in the winter.  The C4S was absolutely awesome in the snow and all the crazy weather I experienced, and was a lovely car.  But it lacked a lot of what I wanted.... an aftermarket for more power, modern creature comforts, and ... rearwheel drive.

I missed it.  So I made what I think a lot of my friends would consider a strange decision.  I sold the C4S and bought a C6 Corvette.

I won't lie though, I missed rearwheel drive, and I've been aching for a platform for a daily that is mod friendly, something I can track when I want, and something that has a nice aftermarket support. 

So today my partner and I christened it into the stable by making sure I dressed up as a stereotypical owner.  I realize not all vette owners meet the stigma, but I couldn't help myself and it cracked me up and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time we took pics.

"Wow I missed a spot, hah, heck"

"I think the engine goes there.  Ayup."

Plans I'd like to do:

- Do an HPDE and autox in it so I can understand it better

- Adjust suspension and add some suspension goodies accordingly

- Look into a few more power adders, but nothing super wild.  Probably some mild things, a little more oomph but I'm more interested in handling and fun than I am a straight line car.

Some of the quicker cars I've seen in the past were C5 and C6 cars, and I'm definitely interested in setups for handling.  Don't get me wrong, the C4S was great, and I've loved Porsches and enjoye driving them but I reached a point where I'm sick of the nickel and diming on every single little simple thing and want a platform I can enjoy daily, can beat on, and not have something in the back of my mind going "If this explodes... am I going to hate myself?"

Still got the viper, still rebuilding the engine.  Parts are *SLOWLY* arriving for it.  I think I partially can blame the viper for my transition to something like the C6.  Realizing that the torque is a blast, the platform of the american v8 and v10 cars are cost efficient, and can still handle and be awesome was a moment where I went, "Maybe I should try something new"

Took it to the coast and back, and had an absolute blast.  Interestingly enough, my partner does /not/ get car sick in the C6 like she did in the C4S.  So it's a win win for both of us.

Congrats! Beautiful ride

Nice photos! Looks like a lovely spot, you'll probably catch grief from the Porsche owners club but I don't think anyone here will mind in the slightest. Do you have any competition times from the porsche to compare the two?

Interesting about the car sickness, might be able to use that as an excuse to change cars some time.

Really curious to watch how this plays out.  I sold my 996 recently too.  I really think the C6 was the last of one of the best front engine Vettes ever.  I'm putting C6 front brakes on my Camaro soon too.

If not for the cost of tires...

These are the answer to the question that most drivers dare not ask.  Take a look at the PFADT line of sway bars, to be legal in the SCCA you can add the front bar and you are all set.

Enjoy!

Gspeed has arguably the best line of aftermarket performance parts.   I've heard a lot of meh about pfadt. 
 

but no matter what you do, they're pretty impressive cars. 

Congrats! I've been using my C6 as a daily for the past 2 years and 40,000 miles and the only casualties have been the original mag-ride shocks and a condenser. The torque does make for a very good time.

What are c6 street prices these days? 

You need one of those shiny jackets with the big Corvette logo on the back.  

Should have had a button front shirt open to mid-chest, goald chains, and plenty of fake hair glued to your chest.

At least that's the image I have of typical Corvette owners

Nice! I've always thought the C6's were the prettiest.

What, no jorts, white New Balance shoes, Corvette hat, shirt or jacket? You need to step up your game.  ;^)

Have fun with the new ride. I'm sure it will be fun.

The socks with the sandals!!!!  

You, sir, are my hero.

twentyover said:

Should have had a button front shirt open to mid-chest, goald chains, and plenty of fake hair glued to your chest.

 

At least that's the image I have of typical Corvette owners

Thast what I thought too. OPs pic looked like a normal guy from OR/WA (hipsters are "normal guys" up there , and not the stereoptypical vette look ;)

mr2s2000elise said:

twentyover said:

Should have had a button front shirt open to mid-chest, goald chains, and plenty of fake hair glued to your chest.

 

At least that's the image I have of typical Corvette owners

Thast what I thought too. OPs pic looked like a normal guy from OR/WA (hipsters are "normal guys" up there , and not the stereoptypical vette look ;)

I did the best with what I had lol!

I went a step further guys, I bought new balance shoes on ebay, with corvette embroidery logos so i can make myself some "special edition corvette shoes".

I have no life.

Lmao!

And thus a project was named - I dub thine Corvette "Lounge Lizard". May all who travel within smile and get lucky...

Congratulations, granted the C6 is the only modern sports car I have much experience with but I can't believe how well it does everything, even behave like a normal car when it needs to. 

corsepervita said:

I went a step further guys, I bought new balance shoes on ebay, with corvette embroidery logos so i can make myself some "special edition corvette shoes".

I have no life.

Just sent that to my buddy with a C5 and told him to step his game up. 

twentyover said:

Should have had a button front shirt open to mid-chest, goald chains, and plenty of fake hair glued to your chest.

This is my uncle, he has owned a C3, C5, C6, C7.

At least that's the image I have of typical Corvette owners

So I read an interesting thing on the C6 which is a really rare failure, but a failure nonetheless that can occur.

In some weird circumstance, the ignition switch can fail in a way in that it turns off the car, and can potentially engage the steering lock.

I've also read in some hotter temperature days, the lock can engage and refuse to disengage.

I found that there is a bypass module that installs in which you simply turn the car onto accessory mode, let it unlock the steering lock, and then install the module and it can never re-engage that lock.  So in the event of a failure, you're not stuck going "OH E36 M3" while this car has incredibly low miles (20k, like it rolled off the showroom floor), I'd rather not have that in the back of my mind.  Bought a bypass module.

I'll do a write-up when it gets here on installing it, looks very straight forward.

Also have a skipshift eliminator I'll install this weekend because I hate the skipshift.

corsepervita said:

I have no life.

 

There you go ! Finally you are accepting the inner truth about Corvette ownership!!

now grow your chest hair same size as your face hair 

i wonder how much your property value has decreased since you sold Porsche for Vette 

LOL

Nice score! You'll like it.

My dad picked up an "old man-spec" (3LT automatic) 2010 convertible a few years back. It's a fun car that is just as happy loafing around as it is driving at the limit. Only issue he's had with it so far is something with the reclining mechanism on the driver's seat. I guess it's a very common issue and he's getting it fixed now. Other than that, it's been trouble free. The LS3 is a sweet engine, and he gets better gas mileage in the Vette than they get in their 2014 Infiniti Q60 AWD!

Ha! I came to a very similar realization a year ago, and picked up a C5 FRC(LS3 Swap!) and when I showed up to buy it, I wore jean shorts and new balances. Seller got a kick out of it. Since you've gone down the rabbit hole of corvette paraphernalia on ebay, you've likely come across all the vintage satin embroidered jackets. I laughed my ass off and then realized I kind of liked some of them. I mean, Ryan Gosling had a cool satin jacket in Drive, right? I'm not sure what stage of corvette acceptance that is, but I scared myself so I shut the laptop.

You mentioned suspension upgrades, here's some food for thought. My car has a lot of suspension mods, and one of the more interesting aspects is that the PO forewent coilovers in favor of Konis and a Hyperco HPT composite leaf upgrade. I'd consider it something to look into—love the way it handles and rides surprisingly well on the street.