SoulIntake

Hi all. I'm new here. Currently I own a 2002 E46 M3 vert with a few mods on it and I'm looking to sell it soon for something different. I've also owned an 04 Mustang GT before it. My 2 favorite choices right now seem to be a C5Z or an '06 evo IX MR. I really like them both, and would love to own either one of them. I live in the northwest where the roads arent paved too well, it rains a ton, and there's lots of fun and narrow windy roads to get into. I'm looking for a low mileage (thinking 20K-ish) car. It looks like the vette is about 2 grand more than the evo at similar mileage. I really like the styling of both cars in different ways. I know stock on paper, the vette seems to outperform the evo. But it is 2 grand more, and I could always put the 2 grand towards the evo in aftermarket parts.. which I do plan on modding either cars.. so the evo seems to have the advantage off the bat. I'm also interested in basic costs of maintenance on both cars, costs of aftermarket parts... all of this factoring in to my final decision. Also, it will be my daily driver as well. My work is only a few minutes away from my home, some I don't have a lot of miles that I have to throw down on it day to day. I'm really looking forward to hearing opinions on this. Either way- I'm excited to own either car... and I'm not trying to start a flame war with anyone here as well. I am a car fanatic and am not biased towards anything in particular. Thanks in advance guys!

xcelr8

iTrader: (7)

Both cars can be made extremely fast and Im sure the zo6 would be just as fun as the evo. Some downfalls of evo's are if you plan on launching them alot you need a good clutch and may have some tranny or t case problems because its awd. But I would not trade my evo for a built c5zo6 period. I love the car!

warstang27

iTrader: (11)

Your kind of on an Evo forum i wouldnt expect many people to say the z06. you yourself said it perfectly, its gonna be your daily, roads are rarely plowed and it rains a lot + twisty roads = Evo

SoulIntake

Now I have heard that the clutch is weak stock, but I have yet to hear about the transfer case being a problem as well. I'm going to launch the car... I don't know about alot though. I don't launch my m3 "alot." I'm also really trying to figure out what the maintenance cost is going to be between 25K-75K- or rather which car is more expensive between that mileage (tires, breaks, oil, valve adjustments, clutch...etc). And also, which car would benefit more from 2-3 grand of mods thrown at it. And by the way, I meant northwest part of USA that I live in.

Edit: On what I would be able to put in for mods: If I bought the 'Vette, about 2 grand or so of mods. The Evo: 4G's or so. And this is over time.

fromWRXtoEVO

iTrader: (18)

I had a C6 Z06 and 3 Evo now(one of them a MR). With the Evo you can put the power down to the ground with confidence with the C5 Z06 is a struggle. I constantly had to have the traction control on on the Z06. My car would spin tires up to 70-75mph making it difficult to control.
I always had to limit myself to wide roads in order to give me some margin of safety because when the car break loose in the back it gets scary. I had close encounters in the 1/8 of mile(running a 1/4 mile run) having my car still fish tailing and alsmot hitting the wall.

I highly suggest the EVO IX MR for the easy all weather driving. My .2c

Carlos

WORD

iTrader: (4)

Do you more than one passenger? Evo. Like cheap interiors? Either (especially compared to your bimmer). Want big, manageable torque on those wet twisties? EvoIXMR+$2k. I'm very serious about that last point; my car absolutely sticks in the rain.

I'd also encourage you to check out some GSRs as well. You could further expand/justify your price difference this way.

vint21

iTrader: (1)

I went from an LS1 GTO to an Evo IX. The Z06 is significantly faster than the GTO, but the small block feel is similar. I'd have to say that the small block has more usable power for fun 6/10 driving, but a modified Evo is more thrilling at WOT. The turbo powerband just has so much character. And it has back seats!

vint21

iTrader: (1)

Also, I'm guessing that you love heading towards 8k rpm in your E46 (my buddy did with his), so the Evo powerband is more comparable.

SoulIntake

These are all very important points and I appreciate all of them! I am still quite curious about the strength of the clutch... it might be an issue on the Zo6 too.. but I dunno. Also out of the 2 cars, which one responds more to mods (more power for the buck)? You make some good points being that it rains alot, and there isn't a lot of road room here for the z to break loose and keep safe. Things I grew tired of quick in my M: tire price (1200 for good all weather tires every time on my wide 19's), oil changes (about 100-120 bucks every 5k miles), price of mods (insane how much they are and how little performance you get- if any), and its just downright hard to work on the engine (I do most of the work and mods myself). The Z and the M both seem to have their share of rear diff seal leaks- not a huge deal... but still a PITA and time consuming.

ODUB

iTrader: (8)

i'm not reading any of that...based on the title, EVO IX MR. I saw something about the clutch... stock clutch is fine unless you can't drive. Anyone that burns their clutch in an EVO at5-25k miles can't drive, PERIOD. I got 70k+ out of my stocker with plenty of racing (autocross, drag), and launching, and general vehicular tomfoolery. with the EVO, you can get a great set of tires for less than $500 on the stock wheels. I just ordered a set of 255/40/17 Nitto NT-05's for about that. can't get much better than those tires. if you want all seasons, you can get cheaper tires than that...now once you start talking 18/19" tires, that's a different story, but shopping is your friend. as for the oil changes, DIY for $30-50 depending on what oil you use. okay...well i guess i read a little bit of this lol

good luck

MR. EVO MR

iTrader: (9)

thats the reason i only kept my ZO6 for one month, it was scary to drive. ZO6
still hot car

SmurfZilla

iTrader: (33)

Too many people who had issues with the OEM clutch to say it was someone who couldn't drive. If you want it bullet proof then beef the drivetrain up. I never owned a vette so I can't speak on that but I did test drive a C6 Z06 and it was scary fast....like I think I'm going to die fast. I'm sure if I owned one I'd get used to it over time but my Evo is solid in almost every situation, emergency braking/lane changing, acceleration, mountain runs, auto-x, track, stop light drag, hwy beat down, daily driving, driving to another state.

It has been super reliable and while I don't beat on the car ever day I certainly drive spirited when given the opportunity.

andrewzaragoza

iTrader: (6)

with regards to modding. 4k worth of mods for an evo will get you all the bolt-ons. when tuned on 93 on stock turbo you should be roughly around 360-380whp. on e85 and 30psi of boost you should be 400+whp.

black95tt

iTrader: (13)

And a Z06 isn't just as good in those areas how?? You've not had much seat time in one apparently.

To the OP, wow, I was in your exact shoes last summer. My personal preference leans towards a two door coupe. Not having enough garage space, and being a family man, the Evo was the logical choice for me.

To me, the rear end hanging out is FUN, not scary. A stock C5 Z06 is not THAT fast, certainly not scary fast. It traps 115mph at best in the 1/4. It's pretty easy to control at the limit too. That is one thing I don't like about my evo, you almost can't unsort the car unless you are really driving like a jackass. Now I know that is faster around the track, but it does take some of the fun out of it. Coming from a few high HP RWD cars, that is what I prefer. it certainly still puts a smile on my face though. I don't want to sound like it's not fun to drive, because it is. When it comes to practicality, grocery getter, dropping the kids off at soccer, taking friends to dinner, etc, the Evo can't be beat.

As far as maintenance,about the only thing I could think of that costs more on a Vette would be tires. They aren't that much more either.

If I were you, I'd go Vette.

nemsin

iTrader: (19)

Evo for sure. You should consider the SE model as well.

Also, an LSX converstion Rx7 > than the vette. Google hinson super cars.