[Terp]

A guy at work is selling his bone stock (down to the wagon wheels!) 6 spd 98 C5 with 61K miles. He is asking about what I could sell my car for (02 Formula) so I am considering it. I like having the back seats for kid hauling duty though and am not crazy for the RED color. Anyway, I am wondering if there would be much, if any, performance gained in going to a Vette vs my car with the suspension mods I have (Strano F/R sway bars, Springs, SFCs, Koni 4/4s). I run about a 13 flat in the 1/4, so I figure I'd be losing some straight line acceleration. I am more interested in track days these days anyway. How do base C5s track? Do they wear out expensive parts (like F-bodies and front wheel bearings)? I don't really think I want to get rid of my car - it was the first car I bought myself when I finished school, but if a Vette is that much of a better starting place for a track car it might be worth it. Any thoughts?

[Mojave]

C5 is absolutely worth it. The two biggest problems with C5's are the electronic column locks (they want to lock at random times, can be bypassed before they break) and the TC/ABS module dying (used replacement an option). The wheel bearings, while still sealed and non-rebuildable, are stronger and last longer even with hard abuse. An SS C5Z is absolutely faster than an ESP f-body. The track record for a stock base C5 is a mid-high 12, so the C5 should be very close to your f-body at the strip.

If you can work the swap I would do it.