First of all welcome to :z:

Your roads (unless they are dirt) are not much better than a majority of roads in this country. I have traveled Interstates, State Roads, County Roads out in the middle of nowhere and the Z does fine. Tire choice will determine the ride quality.

 

:welcome: Aboard! :z:

To echo on what Tom said, your choice of tires will ultimately determine how your ride is going to be. Since this is in the C5Z06 section, you won't be dealing with the runflat issue (very hard ride). Do a search on tires in the C5Z06 section.

 

You should drive one, nothing like doing it yourself.

I like how it handles all the time, and understand the rough road behavior, still is an amazing car.

The fact that you are asking, might show that you value smooth driving, you should try it yourself.

 

Thanks for the quick responses. Juan, I don't need the ride to be smooth but I did want to make sure the car wasn't only for smooth roads in Florida in the opinion of owners. I don't drive on dirt roads so I expect that they aren't much worse than anywhere else that doesn't maintain their roadways. I really want to drive one it's just more difficult since closest one is in Clifton Park Ny which is about 2 hours away. From what I'm hearing it sounds like it's worth the drive. Is the ride comparable to a regular same year vette? I can drive a couple of those locally that's the only reason I ask. Thanks again.

 

I cannot give you a fair ride comparison with a regular corvette due to the last time I drove a regular corvette was in 2002. I wish someone else that is in a better postion to give you a comparison will speakout. But what I remember is that the regular corvette is more of a luxury drive than the Z06. But for the gains in driving performance the Z06 was not giving too much on the "confortable" ride. It is a excellent compromise. I take the Z06 performance and ride (even on hard roads) than a regular corvette.

 

I don't think the ride would be something that I would find offensive I was just curious to see if others really drive these cars everyday on less than perfect roads. I need to drive one to decide if it's what I want but for me it will be a daily driver so I hoping it would serve admirably in that duty. Thanks for your help, I think next weekend I'll go drive down and test one out.

 

I drive my Z06 every day. Mine is lowered an inch & a half or so and I'm riding on Bilseintn Sports & Toyo's. It's responsive & you do get the feel of the road. I took one of the guys from our F-Body club for a ride and he said he was surprised at how good the car rode.

 

The only way you will know for sure is to make the 2 hour drive and test drive a couple. :yeadog:




~Jim

 

I would be willing to wager that once you drive one, you'll buy one! The ride IMHO, is quite good considering the performance capability of even a bone stock C5Z06. :yeadog:

Jimbo

 

:yeadog: :yeadog:
Try it - you'll like it

 

This is only my opinion and may differ than many others. I have an 02 Coupe, an 02 Z06 and an 08 Convertible. The coupe has Michelin run flats, the Z06 Bridgestone Potenzas non run flats, and the convertible the original GY run flats. Based on rideability alone, the 08 is the best, the 02 coupe second, and the Z06 third. I live in the mountains of Colorado and we have a lot of non smooth roads. With that said, all three are a pleasure to drive and ride in and I really don't have a problem with rideability in any of them. The Z06 and 02 Coupe tires are new this year and have less than 1000 miles on them. The 08tires are 2+ years old with 9000 miles. The 08 has more hp and you can tell it. The Z06 is tighter and is quite a performer, especially on twisting roads, and I can tell the difference between it and the other two corvettes. My wife believes the 08 rides best, but she complimented the 02 coupe on a great ride last Saturday when we took it for a 300 mile trip. So I have to agree with the other posts, rideability is a matter of judgement. You can't go wrong with any of the 3 models. I love driving them all and switch out every two weeks. The Z06 rides stiffer, but responds to the driver quickly. All three of the corvettes are stock, no mods other than Vararam on the 02 coupe. The rideability changes as the tires wear down and get older. The 02 coupe, before switching from the GY run flats at 29K mile, was the worst riding of the three; new Michelins run flats made a big difference. New Bridgestones were a major improvement over the GY Super tires on the Z with 24K miles. The old GY Super tires did not handle well on the Z and basically were shot. So if you compare the rideability, be sure to factor in the tire age and mileage as they will greatly influence you opinion. Also, any modifications will affect your assessment of the corvettes. Hope this helps.

 

Well I will throw in my 2 cents....YOU HAVE to drive your self, just remember you are NOT test driving a plain car for ride comfort!!! A ZO6 is the closets thing you get get to a real race car from the factory without spending $150,000 and more.....take my word for it, you will LOVE the way the car handles and rides and performs!!! That is the main thing "Performs"!!!
Never too much horsepower"
Jim

 

Boy it's fun reading all the responses from z owners. It seems like a fair assessment that you all "hate" the car!!! I know I have to drive the car for myself to make an accurate determination. That being said, this weekend would probably be the best so looks like I'll have to head to Albany to see the girlfriend and look at one. Thanks for all of your help, it's gotten me pretty pumped to actually get behind the wheel. One thing that I've noticed after reading this forum for a few years is the odd opinion that almost all owners have of loving their car. I've been on truck forums for ford and chevy along with other vehicles and there is always someone with a complaint. I have a love hate relationship with my Expedition, but that doesn't seem the case with the owners of vettes and the z06 in particular. Looks like GM got something right...thanks again for all your help.

 

You will hear complaints about the Z06 also. It is impossible to please everyone on all aspects of a car (interior, seats, blah, blah, blah).
BUT, in the final analysis, 99.9% of us feel the performance outweighs all other factors and you would have to pry the keys from our cold, dead hands

 

Welcome to :z: and good luck in your quest.

bC5C6b - thanks for an excellent post ... :thumb:

 

I did end up getting to drive a z06 this past weekend and loved it, you guys were right! I have found one that I want to buy but it's apparently been lowered 2" and that won't get in my drive way at home or at work. Do you guys know how hard it is to raise the car back and about how much it would cost? Thanks

 

Raising/lowering the suspension is simple. I lowered mine in my garage with nothing more than a floor jack, jack stands, a small block of wood, and a wrench. You could easily print out the instructions found on this site and bring it to a mechanic shop with a lift.

Oh yeah, you might want to check if the bushings have been cut. Those are the black rubber bumpers on the ends of the suspension bolts. If so, you might need to buy new bushings and have those installed.

Congrats!

 

I actually learned the vette was only lowered 3/4" and was done in the driveway but the previous owner. Is that too difficult to raise back up? I'm hoping to get the car this weekend if the bank will do their job quickly.

 

If it was lowered on the stock bolts front and rear, it isn't difficult. If it has lowering bolts on the rear, that drop probably has the threads all buttoned up and there is no adjustment unless you use washers to shim or change bolts. In the front, again, if there is still an adjusting bolt in there, (and there should be if it's only down 3/4") not that complicated, you just have to get the front off the ground with the weight off the height adjustment bolt and then you can turn the bolts to adjust height.

 

So, this is a little late in responding but I did end up buying the car! I absolutely love it and couldn't have been happier with the vehicle. I do have an issue with the steering column lock problem that I posted in another thread along with there seeming to be a clunk in the drive line somewhere on unsmooth shifts. Other than that the car is phenomenal and fast as hell. I haven't even seen full throttle and it's still impressive. Thanks for everyone's input and help on picking the z06 it was the best decision I could have made.