LT4 LT4 performance

[shawn tallent]

Hey fellow corvetter's ,
I just recently purchased an LT4 vette 6 speed , this is my first vette ( love it ).The guy that had it before me I think babied it & never really stepped up the RPM ;S & let her run.I've put about a 1000 miles on it & I pull the trigger on it from time to time & enjoy the power.It seems like the more I've been driving it the faster it is getting , the smoother it runs.Is it true that if you constantly babie a vette & never open it up your really hurting it. ( hypathetically speaking ) This is also in benefit for a buddie of mine who bought a C5 & always babies , were talking I've seen saturns driven faster!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LT4man]

Congratulations on the purchase of your new baby! You really picked a winner. Of course, I am a little biased as I have a vette like yours! And I love it!

Any engine needs at least 50,000 miles before you can say it is officially broken in. I have 79,000 miles on mine and it runs better now than when I first bought it. And I bought it new.

Save The Wave!

 

[B17Crew]

Lipps54,

Congratulations on the LT4, they are a great ride with great styling lines.

GM V8’s always seem to run better times with accumulated mileage. I have a long-term test of a 1995 Camaro Z-28 from the December 1996 issue of Car & Driver. The LT1 (rated @ 275 hp in the Camaro) was equipped with the manual tranny.

New, it ran 0-60 in 6.0 seconds
New quarter mile was 14.6 @ 97

40,000 mi 0-60 was 5.8 seconds
40,000 mi quarter mile was 14.4 @ 100

B17Crew

 

[Tuna]

Congrats on the LT4 purchase. It is a wonderful engine in a wonderful car.

This engine was designed to run and it should be run. If it's always been babied, it will definitely loosen up as it is exercised. I bought a 96 LT4 CE back in 99 with only 3000 miles on it. It was babied way too much. After 3 years of never seeing the rain and never being driven very much it needed some help. It got it from me. After a little time and some tough love it really came back to life.

 

[tlong]

'Tough Love'


That's a good one:L

I loved the hell out of mine Sunday.

 

[vettepilot]

'Tough Love'


That's a good one:L

I loved the hell out of mine Sunday.

Ahhhhh, I love the smell of tough love (tire smoke) in the morning...


vettepilot

 

[tlong]

I close my eyes and pretend it's a EB Z. Smells like............victory.

 

[JohnnyC]

Confidence level improving

Hi Shawn, congrats on the new LT4. They are great! Also consider the fact that after some time you are more comfortable with the car, feeling it out, knowing the shifter, etc. When I got my LT4 (also my first corvette), I was in AWE of it. I was hesitant (scared even) to REALLY open it up, but now after 3.5 years, I know when I step on it, she can fly. I believe in all the technical information put out here regarding the engine, etc. But it may just be you are able to appreciate what you have under the hood now more so, than since your first drive.



Enough psychology…. Just drive fast

John

 

[shawn tallent]

You maybe right & I sure am enjoying it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jcs44]

Call me stupid or whatever, but I had to try it out. Took it to 150mph last weekend in 5th - no problem at all and it was still pulling strong. I chickened out very shortly thereafter.

JCS44
LT4 vert

 

[B17Crew]

Call me stupid or whatever, but I had to try it out. Took it to 150mph last weekend in 5th - no problem at all and it was still pulling strong. I chickened out very shortly thereafter.

JCS44
LT4 vert

Those triple digits come up fast!

B17Crew

 

[JAGSFAN]

Call me stupid or whatever, but I had to try it out. Took it to 150mph last weekend in 5th - no problem at all and it was still pulling strong. I chickened out very shortly thereafter.

JCS44
LT4 vert

Now the only stupid part would have been doing 150 in front of a patrolman.
I have had mine in the 160's after all it was built to run. I do not baby it.I guess my car gets a whole lot of tough love.

 

[Tuna]

You'll find that cruise control works at 150 also. Kinda cool to engage it and move your right foot out of the way while the Vette 'cruises' on along!

 

[shawn tallent]

You fellows are making me look real bad , I've only had mine up to 115.I'm gonna have to stop being a girly man & step on the gas this weekend ( 150 here I come ) Please let there be no cops!!!

 

[jcs44]

Cruise control at 150? Now tell us where you can do that for any distance! I'm on my way.

 

[JEFNLSA]

I must be a serious wuss cuz (for fear of law enforcement) I have yet to take my car past 105 or so.

Pure paranoia on my part.

I'll get on it all day long and whip to the speed limit or a little above it but ( at least here in the city) I can't find a safe place to open her up.

Looking forward to doing it though cuz this baby wants to go!

 

[JohnnyC]

I got up to 132 one time... that was pretty comfortable... no different than at 60. I think i would get nervous at +150's... everything happens so fast at that speed and any bump or pebble could send you flying out of control. The worst part is you think to yourself, "well, i'm at 125.... 130 is only 5 more mph.... than at 130 you think, well, since i'm going that fast already, 135 is only 5 more mph...., etc, etc, etc," The next thing you know, +150. Unless you do those speeds on a regular basis (not me), or go out on a mission to do 150's.
​

 

[Fick]

You guys are scaring me! :crazy There are too many things that can can happen at those speeds on a public road. Even if I don't kill myself or someone else, I'm afraid of being caught. I enjoy driving the vette to much to risk losing my liscense by going that fast on public roads.

 

[B17Crew]

The Silver State Classic, that would be fun to run in, and it’s legal.

From time to time I see photos of car clubs that have “rented-out” abandoned airstrips and do high speed runs. Where this takes place and who to get a hold of I don’t know... but I’d like to one day run my Vette in something like that just to experience the top end at least once, or twice, or three times...

B17Crew

 

[Tuna]

There are plenty of places to go fast without being illegal and be reasonably safe. The local Corvette club or SCCA club or Porsche club probably autocrosses (SOLO 2) and you can get pretty fast in a parking lot and make a lot of turns at the same time.

There are "open road races" where you can put it on cruise control at triple digits for miles at a stretch. They really aren't 'races' but rallys as you do not race anyone - you race against the clock and try to hit an average MPH over the marked course. My wife and I do the Big Bend Open Road Race down in Ft. Stockton, Texas. With stock seat belts, the fastest class is 110MPH - we did that the last 2 times. You own the whole road and it's yours to use. You pass state police parked along the way at 120 + and just wave - they wave back. That's a kick.

I see basically stock C4s and C5s with 5-point restraints entering the 150MPH class and doing very well - even on street legal tires.

There are places to go fast and do it legal - you just have to want to do it.