[Smitty2919]

Long story short, my wife finally said "Put up or shut up" about me wanting to autocross. So after asking around and doing some research I found my 56K mi full exhaust/short throw shifter/CAI 95 Z28 for $5000. Clean car, no issues and have been having fun with it. I started autocrossing just this season and have been addicted more than I thought I would be (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Within only 1 season I have gone from a stock suspension car to:
Front+rear swaybars
Strano springs+koni SA shocks
LS1 front brake swap
10 spoke SS wheels on V710's (good deal used)
Race seat + 5pt harness
Fays 2 watts link (good deal used)
Full exhaust (from PO)

Looking to get a differential over the winter since the stock one can not hold power to inside rear tire around turns. It did not take me long to do the previous mods because I felt I could out-drive the car. After the differential, it will be a matter of more seat time to fine tune components to get me faster along with just getting behind the wheel.

I have realized that a Miata and a C5 are the best bang for the buck car in terms of price paid and performance. Since I can't look myself in the mirror if I drove a Miata...a Vette it is (plus my father in law and brother in law road race their 67 and 87 vette's so a C5 would be a nice family addition LOL)

I typically fall within the top 25 cars in a group of 80ish cars each event (I'm happy with that only having run a total of 6 events under my belt this season). Plenty of C5's, turbo's miatas, or well sorted/well driven crossfires/evos/lancers are above me. A lot of the people above me have been racing for a while so I know the driver mod is important.

-SO the question to everyone is if I already have my mind set on wanting to get into a base C5 (I couldn't afford a Z) to daily drive and autocross, when would you stop the mods on the Camaro?
-Would you say to autocross for a couple more years in the Fbody THEN step up to a C5?
-If you stayed fbody, what made you keep with it over a C5?

Just curious on people's opinions since I'm sure I'm not the only person looking to do this. I have no goals to go to nationals, nor do I care to build a car toward a specific class. My goal is to get quick times and have a blast in a car I enjoy to drive anywhere yet beat the snot out of on the track and have it perform.

[trackbird]

The C4 is hard to get parts for (I have a whole thread about one of those on here, I have something close to $20,000 in it between the engine and all) and parts are pretty scarce and expensive. It's just insane trying to find parts for those. I like the C4, it (can be) fast and it's more "edgy" to drive. A more "raw" driving experience. The C5 is more sanitized. It's a nicer car, more polished, less visceral to drive (I've been debating moving into a C5 and a blower or a 430 hp C6 myself). Honestly, the C4 is quirky like the old Ferrari 308's and Porsche 928's that were from the same era. It's a lot nicer inside than a '70 Chevelle, but not as finished as the later stuff (and not as dated as the late 80's 3rd gen Trans Am interiors). But, knowing what I know...I'll tell you to avoid a C4 (unless you buy a nice ZR1 that needs "nothing" and you plan to do shocks and run the heck out of it).

Remember, clutch jobs in a C5 and C6 really suck. You have to drop the rear transaxle, the torque tube and then work forward to the clutch. That's been the biggest hang up for me to buying a C5 or C6. I used to joke that the C4 was the last Corvette you could work on in a home garage with some hand tools and jack stands. Then I took one apart.... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)