The Z06 just got a pretty thorough detailing. It's the best money you'll ever spend on a used Corvette.
Over time, a kind of veneer of neglect builds up on a Corvette. Because this car is so easy to use, you start to take it for granted. Its simple practicality kind of smudges your whole idea of the car.
Then you commission a detail and suddenly everything about the car is crisp and clean.
What you see might not be entirely to your taste, but you sure know that it's really something -- a car worth owning.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Edmunds.com @ 50,489 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Now, before your blood starts boiling and you prepare an angry tirade for the comments section, just hear me out...
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Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
This morning this struck me as odd. Our long-term 2002 Corvette Z06 is a Chevy after all, and Chevys are for the everyman. They are today and they were way back in 2002 when our Corvette was showroom new. Trunk Ajar? Am I the only one that thinks "Trunk Open" would have been more appropriate.
Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
On my drive home last night I enjoyed listening to the different tones of the Corvette's exhaust note. It was like hearing an actor run through different emotional ranges. As soon as you turn the key you get a pulse-quickening rumble, kind of like distant thunder. That, combined with the dancing gauge needles, gets the adrenaline flowing nicely. Any time you give it a burst of power there's a snarl in response, kind of like a pit bull waking up and giving a "back off" growl.
But the fun really begins when the tachometer climbs over 3500 rpm. Chevy tuners must have used the trunk as a sounding board because the whole back end of the Corvette begins vibrating. I'd call them good vibrations. So it all set me to wondering, if the Z06 was an actor, who would it be?
Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor @ 50,624 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
So my racer friend Bill Cooper is trying to con me into going all the way to Montana for the Pioneer Mountains Hill Climb on 11-12 September, where he's going to be running his semi-race Corvette C5.
So I'm asking him about the way his C5 is prepared (gosh, the engine appears to be making a lot of noise for a stock V8, Mr. Cooper), and naturally this leads us to talking about the driver seat, which our guys here complain bitterly about.
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Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Much like yesterday's Takizashi post, I find myself more inclined to throw out some pixels rather than talk about our 2002 Z06. So, if a picture's worth a thousand words, click through to see 1,001 through 2,000.
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Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
It's amazing how on the ball General Motors was with steering wheel design back in 2002 (compared to, say, 2010). The wheel in our long-term 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 isn't much to look at and even looks dowdy compared to today's 3-spoke designs, but is it ever functional.
The spokes are nice and low to allow a 9-and-3 grip if you so choose. And the rim of the wheel is nice and round, neither too thick nor thin, and devoid of the decorative stitching that rubs on the fingers.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 50,405 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
The need to replace the tires on our aging Corvette has led to some conversations about other parts of the car that might be worth upgrading.
Rest assured, the seats have been discussed. We're working on it. As far as the wheels go, your comments suggest we shouldn't change a thing, so we probably won't. Well, we might powdercoat the stockers a darker shade of gray, but that's about it.
The other most often discussed issue is the shifter. It's not terrible, but not graceful either. And it's a little on the tall side. So, do we go aftermarket? If so, which setup? Another possibility is switching to a C6 setup. One of the cars we test drove during the buying process had such a setup and it wasn't bad. Suggestions?
Ed Hellwig, Editor, Inside Line @ 50,302 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
It's been time for new tires since the introductory test on our 2002 Corvette Z06. It's not that it's dangerous now, but there is a mild, crippling fear of freak rain storms or puddles or really damp squirrels.
In any case, these meats are overcooked, and it's time for some fresh ones.
The C5 Z06 is a sports car and sports car guys like to change things up so there must-- MUST-- be options: Dunlop, Sumitomo, Nitto, Michelin-- anything. Everything!
Well, there aren't. Without going +10mm or with bigger rims, we're staying with stock sizes, there are 5 tires available.
Follow the jump, tell us which one you want to see us test. Which you'd buy with your hard earned money. And we'll buy them. (Probably. Maybe.)
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Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
I really had a change of heart for the 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 over the weekend. Wow, is it more relaxing to drive than the Viper, and honestly between the gearing and the torque characteristics of the 5.7-liter V8, it feels just as quick off the line (if not quicker) and sounds so, so much better -- like a sports car instead of a garbage truck. I enjoy working through the gears more in the Z06. I enjoy sitting in it more. Planting the throttle on the freeway still results in scary-fast acceleration. Plus, I just drove another $20,000 car, and in comparison, a *healthy* Z06 is a far more enticing proposition.
Our long-termer got the ultimate compliment at a Brea, California, shopping mall when another silver C5 Corvette Z06 sidled up to it. Upon closer inspection, the other Z06 was not an exact twin, as the absence of the "405 horsepower" badging indicates it's a 2001 model.
And then I noticed something slightly disturbing...
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Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
We love seats that hold us in place while cornering, but there's a price to pay for big lateral back-cushion bolsters in a car that's low to the ground. After 50,000 miles worth of butts rubbing against its outboard bolster during the ingress boogie, our 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is showing signs of wear in that region.
Now you might think I'd be the first person on the bandwagon to lay into the Z06 for having leather upholstery of suspect quality, but my feeling is there's just no avoiding this in a sportscar that is loved and used as the builders in Bowling Green intended. True, our 2002 BMW M3 of similar mileage and bolsterage didn't show quite this much wear, but it didn't sit so low to the ground, so getting in required less contortion. Moreover, I fully expect our long-term Viper to be in a similar state on its 50,000-mile birthday; I lost a button on its giant side bolster over the weekend.
Detail shots of the damage after the jump.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 50,109 miles
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Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Right now our long-term 2002 Chevy Corvette Z06 is my favorite. Of all the cars in our fleet, it's the one I most want to drive home at night. Why? Well, it's hard for me to explain really. I'm just into it. It makes me smile. It's stupid fast, it's easy to drive stupid fast, but it's also easy to drive slowly or in traffic. I also like the way it looks. I like the way it feels. I like the way it sounds. And I love the fact that we bought it for only $20,000.
Last night on the way home I clicked off the traction control, threw a hard second gear and layed two very long stripes on Lincoln Blvd. At that moment, with the small-block's roar still echoing off Santa Monica, I couldn't think of another car I'd rather be in.
Having said that, I would rather own the big-block 427-powered 1966 Corvette roadster pictured above. Would you?
Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief @ 50,101 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
One would think that there was plenty of room between our Corvette and the bike lane to prevent such unpleasantness, but no.
When I came out to the car on Sunday morning I found the Corvette's driver's mirror tweaked in a most awkward manner along with a lovely scrape of the paint on its outer edge. No note, no nothing.
Here's hoping that the unrepentant hipster jackass who caught the mirror with his brakeless fixie went down in a blaze of mangled spokes and shredded skin.
Ed Hellwig, Editor, Inside Line @ 50, 083 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
