sgd1201

Yup, definitely better to just buy the GS rather than try to do a conversion. Personally, I would sell and acquire a factory built widebody before I'd do a conversion.

boraxman

Loving my 08 z51, GS is a bit much for me/

sgd1201

This has been one of the best, and most useful inputs yet! Someone who actually has owned. Both! Thanks Bearman, and Merry Christmas!

bearman95

your welcome and Merry Christmas to you too. For the first 3 or 4 days that we owned the 11 gs i did not see much difference in it but i had not driven it but a couple of times since it is my wifes daily driver. But after owning it for 6 months and driving it a lot i can see a big difference in it. She wanted a vert and i tried to get her to get a regular corvette vert but she would not have any part of that. She wanted the GS vert and now i am sure glad that is what she bought.

peter pan

The different shocks are the difference in ride comfort as you do not have Z51 shocks, I will give you the rest of you thoughts, oh if I was to buy today it would be a GS over a Coupe

Gary '09 C6

peter pan is right on the money, IMO...

Besides the Z06 wide body, brakes, wheels & tires, the GS model also has the Z06 shocks. Note the F55 (MSRC) is an add'l. option. Also, the GS has one set of swaybars (front ?) that are the same as those on the Z06, while the other set of sway
bars (rear ?) is unique to the GS.

At the time I purchased my '09 coupe (Fall '09), the difference between that (with the Z51 option) and a '10 GS coupe would have been over $9K, due to both the base-price differential and the available rebate & discount at the time. So I went for the coupe, then...it was a great car and I had no regrets. But the "factory upgrades" that are standard on the GS are quite a value package for the current $5K base-price differential....

bearman95

Thanks for your comments and i am very aware of all that. There was another thread on the GS and f55 suspension that i commented on but it seems many people do not believe that the f55 makes that much difference. Either that or they just comment on something that they have no personal experience with.

phileaglesfan

True! Most GS haters criticize the weight of the the GS compared to the base which is 75-100 lbs. Some Americans can lose that much weight. I could probably drop 20lbs out of my car if I take out the cleaning stuff alone.

The difference is in braking and cornering. That is where the base cannot match the grip of a GS. Z06 is a performance upgrade providing you like a fixed roof and manual only tranny.

CENT Z06

I've owned a Z51 09 coupe and Z06. Driven a GS. The GS drives and handles like my 09 Z51. (The brakes are better on the GS but not really noticeable in real world driving. If you are going for looks then GS is better choice if you like the wide body look. I myself can't stand the front fenders. If you are looking at new then the GS is a better choice since you can not get the Z51 package anymore on the coupe and the biggest difference is the rear end in the GS. (makes it much quicker feeling off the line.)

DSOMC6

For the street: it comes down to looks. If you want the widebody look, go for a GS. Although I've seen a couple front and rear conversions that the paint job was waaaaay better than factory. As far as cornering and breaking goes; I seriously doubt one car will get through a canyon quicker than the other.

For a road course: niether. Do it right. Buy a coupe. Purchase aftermarket brakes, coil-over shocks, sways, tires etc. GM crap would be my last choice. If you need a dry-sump system, there are better ones as well.

thatonedude1

I had the same dilema and was on the fence for a while. I wanted to track the car, so I needed a car with bigger brakes, more cooling, beefed up suspension. Both cars have that, but the nod goes to the GS for monster size brakes and the monster wheels/tires. Suspension, gearing, cooling systems are pretty "similar". I like the GS bodywork better too...... very cool looking, and was digging the idea of having the Wixom built dry sump engine. 2011 was a terrible year for me financially, and in the end, I went with a 09 MN6 with the Z51. The GS was a little more of a finacial stretch in terms of initial cost, depreciation, and tires. For me, the tire cost for the GS tipped the scales. Your looking at what, a couple grand $$ every 8-12K miles? With the Z51, you have more tire options. Tires last a little longer, and cost less, so I figured the total tire cost at roughly half that of the GS. The Z51 is no track slouch either, and is a tad lighter to boot so it is at least as fast as the GS. If money is no object, just get the GS if that's what you want. Remember to consider the value of the factory warranty too, which the 08 won't have much of.

CO Lightfoot

Z51 vs GS: If you like the wide body, get the GS. It's that simple.

And in a wide body, might as well also consider an used Z06.

It's nice to have choices in a buyer's market.

Z06LUST

GS will be slaughtered in terms of depreciation just like the coupe was when the GS came out...probably even more so...the new next best thing is coming in 18 months....C7.

The only model being spared extreme decreciation (over MSRP) is the Z06 due to very limited build numbers. And if the 427 goes bye bye with the C7 it will be the model to suffer the least depreciation. An 06 Z06 had a base MSRP of 65k..they still often sell retail for 40-42k; 35% depreciation after 6 model years.

OnPoint

Get the one you want.

Nothing worse than buying a car, regretting it later, and wishing you'd gone with a different "version".

Don't worry about the depreciation, they all do that - just get what you like.

phileaglesfan

Z06 depreciation will actually be more $$ wise since it has a higher price to start with. Also a base 06 Z06 wouldn't sell in the $40k range unless it has real low mileage. With options yes, but it didn't cost $65k new also. A Z06 with normal miles (60k for an 06) would have the same percentage of depreciation as a normal Vette. Now if you garage your car for about 20-30 years then the Z06 might be worth a lot more. But in 20-30 years even $100k won't seem like a lot of money for a car.

BobBass

Regarding '08 vs. '09, if Bluetooth is important, you have to go with an '09.

OnPoint

Jack's computer must be on the fritz.

OregonC6

Get the newest car you can unless you have money to burn 'cause you're gonna need some warranty. Also, buy one that has not been performance modded which would terminate the warranty. IF you have money to burn then buy a Z06 or ZR1. The GS is mostly an appearance "option" they decided to call a model.

People make the mistake of thinking that they can buy an older car for considerably less and , even with no warranty, their cost of ownership will be lower than a newer car ( at a higher price ) that has warranty. But, used performance cars are almost always money pits. Highly complex cars of today are giant money pits.

mikeCsix

Interesting discussion, I'm one that has owned both. Last year I bought an '08 Z51 with 6k on the odometer. I was looking for a car to take to the track and found it to be a great handling car but quickly got to the point where I wanted more cornering performance. Went round and round with tires/wheels upgrades, wide body upgrades, etc. I realized by the time I spent all of the money in upgrades and a repainted car, I would be better off just getting a new one. So a couple of weeks ago my wife urged me to get myself a Christmas present and get the car I really wanted. I picked up a brand new '12 GS in the color I wanted (same color as the '08 - CRM). Both are automatics, both neither were the F-55's. I did 4 track sessions last year and feel I knew the car pretty well when I traded it but the GS feels like it corners flatter than the '08 and the ride seems better too. Don't know why but perhaps GM changed the shocks and front anti-sway bar as one of the previous posts indicate. The ride on the '08 improved a bit when I upgraded the tires to Pilot Sports for my last track session but it still wasn't as good as the ride of the GS. (tramlining was reduced with the Pilot Sports as compared to the GS and the original GY Supercars). Wheel alignment has much to do with it too, I will take the new GS in next week to make sure the wheel alignment is set properly, I went round and round with various shops trying to get it set right on the '08, it was a real challenge.

Incidentally, wheel alignments are free for the first 7k miles. Its covered under warranty.

sdurg24

I had a 2008 black coupe with Z51 package and loved it. The ride was excellent and the handling and acceleration was much better than my base 2005 coupe. Both were M6 and daily drivers. When the GS model came out I fell in love with it. I couldn't afford the Z06 and the removable top was important to me. My experience with the LS2 and LS3 engines convinced me that both had plenty of power. A trip to TrackMasters at Watkins Glen convinced me that these cars were all that I could handle and more. My decision to go with the 2011 GS was motivated by the wide body look and the Z51 style options incorporated into the GS. I ordered mine in Cyber Gray Metallic with Comp Gray wheels and two tone Titanium interior. I stayed with the M6 because that is my style. Here is the kicker. No matter where I go I get gobs of compliments about this car. Way more than my other two Vettes. Partly it's due to the Cyber Gray. For many people it is the first time they have seen this color. Many simply love the agressive look of the wide body. Most don't even know it's a wide body, they just love it. Put together the immense pleasure I get from driving this car over twisty roads and at high speeds and the approving comments of young and old, male and female, and I have the best car I have ever owned. For me the GS was the way to go.