'99 FRC VS '04 Vert Cobra

[Jdaniel]

My friend just picked up a 2004 DSG Vert Cobra and I was dying for a race stock for stock in my new car. My FRC is completly stock (until this coming Tuesday) and Ive been tryng to get him on the highway for a few pulls to see where I stand in the food chain. Well here we go.

First run: On the highway and he pulls aside me. I slow down to about 45 in second gear and he does the same. We took off and I instantly pull about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a car and he stays right on my tail. We ended pretty fast because I had to do a nose dive to stay out of an 18 wheeler trailer.

Second run: Same thing. I pulled him first and he stayed right on my tail and couldnt pull back. He said he didnt think he was in the right gear and we have to go again when we leave our destination. I was cool with that.

Third run: We left our destination and he let another friend of ours drive whom is very familiar with the 2003-2004 Cobra's. I was cool with that. We get on a little back stretch and we took off. Twice in a row I pulled him and due to his spinning, they couldnt catch me or pull. Stock for Stock I won because of the weight advantage (without a doubt). It was all in good fun and I honestly thought he was gonna pull me really hard. To my surprise, he didnt.

All in all... im very happy with my swap from the Cobra to the Vette! Ive never been a big fan of LS1 owners... but I take everyone with a grain of salt anyhow.

Next week... full exhause and a new SLP BlackWing!!! January... heads and cam!!! epper: epper: epper:


GOOD RUNS, JAY!!!!

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

HUGE weight difference there, and I'd say a FRC and Terminator ragtop would be about even in acceleration.. (which you found out)..

good runs..

 

[Jdaniel]

HUGE weight difference there, and I'd say a FRC and Terminator ragtop would be about even in acceleration.. (which you found out)..

good runs..

Yeah... I thought so also. But the suspension is so much better on the Vette and the IRS is WAY more refined. I guess that would be obvious. I was really happy to see the outcome though.

 

[Z06]

when can we see pics bro?

 

[UrS4]

Hey Jdaniel,

Good kill. Sounds like you really like the difference in suspensions.

Sorry if I missed it, but why did you get rid of the cobra?

I can only imagine that you were done with that project and wanted to start over. It makes sense, seeing how you chose a 99' FRC vette. They are very affordable now and the FRC is basically the precursor to the Z06. The FRC was the lightest body style. To all the vette owners: I know the 99 on paper doesn't compare to the Z06, but from what I have seen and read about Jdaniel, he is probably going to change all the things that differentiated a Z06 from the reg FRC. So in the end, he will have the weight benefit of the Z06 but he didn't have to pay the higher purchase price.

Jdaniel,

Can you share some of the specs on your new ride? Weight? M6 with what rear gear, options, suspension set up, Z51? etc. etc. Oh yeah and pics!

This could be a real nice project.

 

[Jdaniel]

Hey Jdaniel,

Good kill. Sounds like you really like the difference in suspensions.

Sorry if I missed it, but why did you get rid of the cobra?

I can only imagine that you were done with that project and wanted to start over. It makes sense, seeing how you chose a 99' FRC vette. They are very affordable now and the FRC is basically the precursor to the Z06. The FRC was the lightest body style. To all the vette owners: I know the 99 on paper doesn't compare to the Z06, but from what I have seen and read about Jdaniel, he is probably going to change all the things that differentiated a Z06 from the reg FRC. So in the end, he will have the weight benefit of the Z06 but he didn't have to pay the higher purchase price.

Jdaniel,

Can you share some of the specs on your new ride? Weight? M6 with what rear gear, options, suspension set up, Z51? etc. etc. Oh yeah and pics!

This could be a real nice project.

I got rid of the Cobra because it was at its peak and I was tired of dumping cash into it to make it better. I had the IRS brace on, but was worried about the rearend everytime I got into it. I didnt care to invest $1500+ into halfshafts. I have a friend that owns an LS shop here and he said that all I need to replace in the rear is the short shaft and get the brace and I can launch this car out of the hole at 6000 rpm on spray. I was all smiles... So I went to the FRC.

You are absolutly right on about why I bought the FRC instead of the Z06. Im going to mod this one up. I bought it for $26,000. It only had 29,000 miles on it and not a scratch on it ANYWHERE... and the interior is just as nice if not nicer!!! I already have LT headers, the Bassani X pipe, and a Borla XR1 catback for it which is going on this week. I also bought the SLP Blackwing for it and that should be here tomorrow. Im going to do heads and cam within a month and already have a Zex wet kit im trying to get from a friend of a friend.


I weighed the car in at a friends work. It was a drive on scale and is calibrated regularly. The car weighed in at 3160 with a FULL tank of gas and some stuff from my move in the boot. I was really happy to see that! The car is an M6, and has all the options an FRC come with. It has the Z51 suspension/Active handling... which is really nice compared to the Cobra. This car rides on rails with stock suspension and a very comfortable ride. The Cobra rode on rails but was a bit rougher. The rear gears are stock 3.42's with the factory Eagle F1 mounted to the wagon wheels (which are going away soon). I have yet to decide o what wheels I want to buy. I do want to do the Z06 duct brakes in the rear though. Here are a few pics...

 

[Snurtle112]

hey man nice ride....its funny i just bought my red 99FRC and im in austin... are cars are the same..im bone stock except for z06 ducts....lolo... 26k though???isnt that on the high end of things?

 

[Jdaniel]

hey man nice ride....its funny i just bought my red 99FRC and im in austin... are cars are the same..im bone stock except for z06 ducts....lolo... 26k though???isnt that on the high end of things?

Nice ride! Im trying to find a set of the Z06 ducts myself. Know where I can get them?

I thought $26,000 was a little high also... but it only had 29,000 miles on it, not a scratch and the car is in such perfect condition that I figured why in the hell not!

 

[Snurtle112]

i dunno... maybe google them??? im sure there pretty cheap..im also in austin to..we have a meet up north on parmer right off 35 you should come check it out...im actually gonna be adding z06 badges and front screens.. to it...letme know if ur going to tint it i got a great tint guy up here hes doing mine tomorrow...and **** it if ur happy with the price then do it who cares..i just wont tell you i paid 12k for mine..lollo

 

[Blue03Cobra]

...im actually gonna be adding z06 badges and front screens.. to it...

Why? That's like putting snake emblems and a COBRA bumper on a supercharged GT. Regardless of how fast it is, it didn't come from the factory as a ZO6...

 

[JoyRydn 03]

Congrats on the new ride! The vette looks real plain IMO. Maybe add some wheels and side molding.... Your Cobra looked sweet!!!

The only part I don't understand. Is that you got rid of the Cobra because you "got tried of sinking money into the car too make it better"?

Well your gonna do the same with the vette?

Goodluck!! with your new project.

 

[Jdaniel]

Congrats on the new ride! The vette looks real plain IMO. Maybe add some wheels and side molding.... Your Cobra looked sweet!!!

The only part I don't understand. Is that you got rid of the Cobra because you "got tried of sinking money into the car too make it better"?

Well your gonna do the same with the vette?

Goodluck!! with your new project.

Thanks. I got rid of the Cobra for other reasons also. I didnt just lose my mind and bought a Vette for the hell of it. LOL. Im gonna do heads, cam, full exhaust and spray it and see what I come up with problem wise and I will probably get a different car.

 

[Jdaniel]

i dunno... maybe google them??? im sure there pretty cheap..im also in austin to..we have a meet up north on parmer right off 35 you should come check it out...im actually gonna be adding z06 badges and front screens.. to it...letme know if ur going to tint it i got a great tint guy up here hes doing mine tomorrow...and **** it if ur happy with the price then do it who cares..i just wont tell you i paid 12k for mine..lollo

I want the vents and rims but im not going to throw the labels on it. How many miles did you'rs have and how did you get it so cheap? I looked up the NADA for mine and its worth almost $25,000 and I paid $26,000. I dont think I did too bad.

I already tinted the windows. I got 5% Limo in the back and 20% on the two fronts. I love it. Im doing rims soon too... I just have to get it faster first.

 

[C55AMG]

hey man nice ride....its funny i just bought my red 99FRC and im in austin... are cars are the same..im bone stock except for z06 ducts....lolo... 26k though???isnt that on the high end of things?

+1 my friend bought an 02 z06 with 30k miles for $24k

 

[kirks5oh]

...im actually gonna be adding z06 badges and front screens.. to it...letme know if ur going to tint it i got a great tint guy up here hes doing mine tomorrow...and **** it if ur happy with the price then do it who cares..i just wont tell you i paid 12k for mine..lollo

so on the corvette forums, do they have arguments about putting z-06 badges on a non-factory z-06?? i get crap here constantly for the cobra badges i have on my '87 GT

 

[Snurtle112]

wow i dunno what ur using but 26 is pretty high..ur in 01 z06 territory there.. the reason im adding the badges is "i want to" LMAO... i just sold my TT z06..its not that i cant afford 1 its just its already got the vents and the rims are in the garage..y not!?!??i can do whatever i want with my car

 

[magred]

Congrats on the Vette! Good looking car. And my view on how much you paid for it comes down to what you thought it was worth. If you think you got a good deal then that's all that matters. A good deal is all in the eye of the beholder. You said it was in excellent shape and that goes a long way in my book. As for wheels, some brands that look good on Vettes are HREs, CCWs, and Iforge. You will love the way that baby handles in the turns. It seems to hug the road the faster you go. Hey, you might want to join a local corvette club as well. It will save you money on parts. Most Chevy dealers will give you a 15% discount on parts and will also readily give you a loaner car. If you ever have any questions about some of the little things let me know. I try to do most of my own maintenance on my cars. It gives me that good feeling of accomplishment. Now for the big jobs I take them in to get the work done by a professional.


Hey, one other thing. Don't forget the wave.

 

[MADRUSSIAN]

Wtf???????

wow i dunno what ur using but 26 is pretty high..ur in 01 z06 territory there.. the reason im adding the badges is "i want to" LMAO... i just sold my TT z06..its not that i cant afford 1 its just its already got the vents and the rims are in the garage..y not!?!??i can do whatever i want with my car

Hey man, what the hell happend???!!!! i thought we had a deal!!!! u did not answer my phone calls, completly ignored me. why didnt you tell me about it? u just let me hang in the air!!!!!! i had money and the car, just as we agreed! i asked you 3 times "are u 100% sure?", u said "yes!". thats just very ****ed up! :cuss:

 

[Z O SICK]

Nice story. I was surprised how well these cars run compared to Cobras with just light mods. You can't beat the weight of these cars. My Z06 is 3080lbs! My Cobra with my fat ass was 3880lbs! Talk about a weight difference.

 

[Blue03Cobra]

wow i dunno what ur using but 26 is pretty high..ur in 01 z06 territory there.. the reason im adding the badges is "i want to" LMAO... i just sold my TT z06..its not that i cant afford 1 its just its already got the vents and the rims are in the garage..y not!?!??i can do whatever i want with my car

Sure you can, it's a free country. Just like the ricers that put v-tech badges on their base Civics :thumbsup: