[Augusto]

Hi, everybody. I'm really excited to go for an all out track car project.

I'm really puzzled at this dilemma: could a 98 Z28 be modded to match or surpass the handling of a C4 with Z51 like susp (Crossmember and camber brace mods)?

I may be able to trade my 98 LS1 Z28 for an auto '95 C4 (and like 3K of cash, and I would swap a ZF6 and mod susp). C4s are not so cheap to get in my country (as opposed to fbodies), let alone C5s. I was just about to swap a T56 (with relocation crossmember, Z06 clutch, etc) on the Z. Before I just do either of it, I want to make sure to know if I can achieve handling capabilities of a Z51 C4 or close through modding (shocks, tires, rims, sfc, kmember, a-arms, torque arm, lcas, panhard, strano swaybars, rollbar, a little diet, etc). Guys please be honest.

I've seen biased opinions on the C4 side by people who do not really focus on track improvement (and take stock form as a reference) so I thought this would be the right place to ask.

I want to make sure to invest time and effort on the car with better handling potential (modded) on the following couple of years. (Ultimate purpose: Road Racing and a little of AutoX).

[00 Trans Ram]

I knew there was soemthing else I wanted to say!

If you are planning on doing road racing, and C4 parts are hard to find, then I'd DEFINITELY go with F-bod. When it's 2 weeks until a race, and you need a new rear axle/torque arm/transmission/etc., you'll be glad you went with something you can get your hands on. Running a car that has scarce parts where you live is probably not very fun.

[Mojave]

Mine may very well be some skewed results. I know that the other F-bod driver (John Brannan) is one helluva driver. There's a great video of me and him fighting for 1st over on Youtube, shot from my car. For about 12 laps, he made that car dance and sing, and I did everything I could to go around. We were all alone, so we had some fun.

I don't remember C4s being well-regarded in the suspension department. Mind you, I was just getting into modding cars when the C5s came out. But, i remember all these articles saying how bad the C4 was - how it creaked, groaned, didn't absorb bumps, and wasn't as good as 4-door BMWs - and how good the C5 was in comparisson.

Oh, and I don't think autox results/PAX is a good indicator. According to those, I should be worse than a Miata. Autox is NOT a good place for an F-bod. At least, it never was for me. Sure, I'd do OK, but it always felt like my car was being held back and not fulfilling its potential.

Creaks and groans aren't suspension problems, they are chassis stiffness problems. The C5 chassis is worlds ahead of the C4 in terms of chassis stiffness, but if we are arguing built road race cars, it's nothing a cage won't fix. There is zero doubt the C5 is better, but that wasn't the question.

I think auto-x numbers are an excellent comparison from a pure handling perspective. Yes, f-bodies are slow in auto-x. Even CP is slow compared to some Miata classes, like SSM (formerly SM2) and D Prepared. I'm not saying we should all go get Miatas or they are more fun to drive, but years and years of national results make it very clear: pony cars suck at auto-x. Now, in your local region these trends may or may not play out due to drivers, prep, courses, sites, etc, things are much more equal on the national level and the trends aren't pretty.