The common question of C5 Or C6 is common in different places like Google searches and forums. You should know that both the C5 and C6 engines are impeccable. Both of them are very well built and designed with caution for excellent quality. Moreover, Corvette is the most reliable vehicle made by GM motors.
However, we are not defending GM motors here because they have messed up tons of vehicles before. Moreover, their Corvette lineup has never been at fault. Every corvette has had the best engineering of general motors since the 1970s.
Further, people who build Corvette have never been more proud than making their best car for America and assembling them in the USA. You should know that the Corvette is a sports car made by General Motors.
However, we should take a look at all the changes brought to the C5 engine which was built through 2004. Further, this engine was taken into another step with the C6 in 2005.
Differences Between C5 and C6 Corvette Engines
There are tons of differences between the C5 or C6 engines. Some of the major differences are in the engines and transmissions, suspension, dimensions, and interior design.
Transmissions and Engines
The LS1 V8 engine with 5.7 liters of displacement was found in the C5 Corvette. This engine was outstanding and had an impeccable performance.
Chevrolet introduced the C6 engine which had the second generation of LS1 engines called the LS2. This engine was a V8 and had 400 braking horsepower along with an outstanding 400-pound foot of torque.
Further, it was available in a four-speed or six-speed gearbox. The four-speed gearbox was paired with an automatic system and the six-speed was made up with a manual gearbox. However, a six-speed automatic gearbox came out in 2006.
The C6 engine was taken further in 2008 with the introduction of the LS3 6.2-liter V8 engine. This engine could produce 430 horsepower and 424 lb-ft of torque. However, there was an option to get a massive engine of 7 liters. This engine option was called the Z06 and ZR1. The ZR1 had an LS9 engine which could give 638 horsepower.
Suspension
The C6 Corvette was redesigned with a better suspension and an advanced steering system. This system was much more redefined than the previous one. The engineers at general motors redesigned the steering calipers and gears to make it much smoother and responsive.
The suspension tuning was improved with the C6 engine along with some other parts too. Moreover, the LS V8 engine that is found in the C5 was developed further. This new formula gave the ultimate boost in horsepower making the engine very reliable.
Furthermore, the shocks were improved significantly and better stabilizers were provided in the overhauled model. The new redesign also had a better horsepower level and torque.
The suspension system remained the same. It had a four-wheel independent suspension which was much comfortable than the multi-linked suspension. The suspensions were supported by fiberglass mono leaf springs. Moreover, the C6 engine had FE1 suspension too.
Dimensions
The Corvette C6 engine had a much smaller engine than the C5 engine. This is due to advancements in technology which leads to better horsepower and engine efficiency by reducing the overall volume of the engine itself. Further, the engine was 5 inches shorter than the C5 engine.
The wheelbases were also changed identically. The C5 offered a 112.2-inch wheelbase and the C6 engine offered a 105.7 inches wheelbase. Moreover, the curb weight was also reduced dramatically all thanks to the advancement in engineering.
Exterior and Interior Design
The C5 and C6 Corvette design is subjective. Furthermore, the C6 engine was designed with exposed headlights. This design was first seen on the C1 Corvette. However, the exposed headlight design on the C6 Corvette was controversial at first.
The design became famous as the C5 Corvette owners used conversion kits to make the headlight of the C5 corvette look like the C6.
However, the headlight design was not a complete overhaul. Further, it was an evolution of the C5 headlight design. Besides, the overall design of the C6 Corvette showed a clear heading to the future. Note that corvette made a complete overhaul of the design from C6 to C7 Corvette. This doesn’t mean C5 to C6 had minor upgrades.
There were premium interiors along with some refreshments in look. Further, the drive focus cockpit was much more appreciated on the C6 corvette which the C5 lacked.
This doesn’t mean the C5 was any bad Corvette. It had a solid design but looked much more dated. The design seemed like an inspiration for the Chevy Lumina from the 1990s.
Some More Considerations of C5 Vs C6 Corvette
Now you have some basic ideas about Corvette C5 vs C6. Further, you have ideas about the differences in transmission tunnel, the exterior and interior design, the dimension and suspension system. Which one suits your personality best? Do you prefer the interior and exterior of the C5 corvette or the C6 Corvette?
Without a doubt, the C6 corvette had a much more contemporary design compared to the C6 corvette. This means the C5 Corvette had a sleeker, low tone, low profile design. Further, the C5 had a classic old-styled pop-up system headlight.
Some people indicated the C5 corvette to have a lighter design which looked much sportier than the C6 corvette.
However, looks are subject to people. Some prefer the look of C5 and others the C6. Therefore, which corvette drove your attention the most? Is it the C5 corvette or the C6 corvette?
We should also consider the comfort option of the C5 vs C6 corvette. Here, we are not indicating any design by saying about comfort. Further, we are saying about the seat design and interior dimensions.
The interior design of the C6 Corvette had much better comfort than the C5. This is obvious as the C6 was much more refined than the C5.
Maintenance of C5 Vs C6 Corvette
People buy the Corvette due to its reliable engine and low maintenance cost of the engine. Sports car needs high maintenance and costs much. However, this is not the case for a corvette. This means the corvette engine had a low maintenance cost along with better engine reliability.
Sure, you can spend much more money by making modifications to the C5 and C6 engines. You can bump up the horsepower and so much more. However, for most of the parts the C5 and C6 corvette engine parts were priced reasonably compared to all other sports car engines.
There is another benefit of the C5 and C6 corvette. As you know the C6 corvette had the same foundation engine as the C5 corvette. This means, the parts were relatively cheap and costs almost the same for both C5 and C6 corvettes. However, there is an exception to the huge 7-liter engine of ZR1.
The most expensive part for Corvette is the tires themselves. This is where you need to calculate your budget and keep an amount fixed. Further, your Corvette needs a tire change every 20000 miles or so. The high-performance tire gets decayed due to heat and friction on the road. Therefore, you need to change the tires every 20000 miles.
All over, the maintenance and parts cost for both C5 and C6 corvette is the same and cheap. However, we are not in charge of saying anything if you are putting a $20,000 supercharger in the corvette engine or even an alcohol engine kit. Further, there is also the E85 kit which is much expensive. Therefore, it depends on you if you want to spend more or keep reasonably priced.
So C5 or C6 Corvette?
Now you know which corvette meets your needs. Do you need the retro vibes of the C5 corvette with its excellent engine? Or do you need the C6 Corvette which has a much modern look along with an excellent engine too?
The C4 Corvette is the predecessor of the C5 corvette. This was a very significant departure of an engine. Moreover, the C5 corvette has introduced the usage of the rear-mounted transaxle design system which was very advanced and still is advanced today. Further, the C6 engine is the evolution of the C5 engine.
The C6 Corvette has a better engine than the C5 corvette engine. C6 offers a higher horsepower count and a better suspension system with independent shock absorbers. Moreover, the interior of the C6 Corvette is much more comfortable than the C5 corvette. Therefore, the decision is yours now. This was all about C5 Vc C6 corvette.