C5 Corvette specs by year (1997–2004): horsepower, weight, 0–60 and more

Every C5 runs a 5.7-liter V8 with an aluminum block, aluminum heads and two pushrod-operated valves per cylinder, rated by GM in SAE net horsepower. Four ratings cover the eight years:

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 1997, page 41 (where GM states “SAE net”); 1999, page 45; 2001, pages 14 and 25; 2002, page 11; 2003, page 11; 2004, page 12. RPO is GM’s regular production option code.

GM credits the 2001 gain to a new composite intake manifold with more plenum volume, good for five more horsepower and more low-end torque (2001 kit, page 14): 300 lb-ft at 1,000 rpm and 340 at 2,500 (page 9). That’s the number to know if you spend more time leaving traffic lights than chasing redline.

Where the 2001–2004 LS1 peaks. GM’s documents agree on its output but not on its rpm. The 2001 kit (pages 14 and 25), the 2002 and 2003 kits (page 11) and the 2001 owner’s manual (page 345) say 350 hp at 5,600 rpm. GM’s 2001 spec sheet, the 2003 and 2004 owner’s manuals, the 2002 and 2003 kits’ service pages and the 2004 kit (pages 12 and 30) say 5,200 rpm. The torque peaks wander between 4,000 and 4,400 rpm for both gearboxes. The horsepower and torque never change, so a buyer gets the same engine whichever page is right.

Two more traps. The 2001 owner’s manual misprints several figures on page 345: the LS6 at 380 hp and 380 lb-ft, the manual LS1 at 370 lb-ft and LS1 compression at 10.0:1. GM’s 2001 kit (page 25) says 385, 385, 375 and 10.1:1, and this page goes with the kit. And 5,665 cc is 346 cubic inches, although the 1999 owner’s manual (page 325) and the 2002 and 2003 kits print 350.

Other engine data from GM:

• Bore and stroke: 3.90 x 3.62 in (99 x 92 mm), LS1 and LS6 alike (1997 kit, page 41; 2004 kit, page 12).
• Redline: 6,000 rpm for the LS1 and 6,500 rpm for the LS6, with the fuel cut at 6,200 and 6,600 rpm (2001 kit, page 25).
• Firing order: 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 (1997 owner’s manual, page 304; 2004 kit, page 30).

LS1 vs LS6: what GM changed

The LS6 is the LS1’s harder-edged twin: same 5.7 liters, same bore and stroke, and 35 to 55 more horsepower than the LS1 of the same year. GM’s 2001 kit (pages 14 and 15) lists the differences: an LS6 block with cast openings between the crankcase bays so the engine breathes better, alloy pistons with a slight barrel shape, 10.5:1 compression against 10.1:1, a more aggressive camshaft, stiffer valve springs, larger fuel injectors, a 6,500 rpm redline and red engine covers. For 2002 GM added a higher-lift camshaft, hollow-stem valves (sodium-filled on the exhaust side) and a lower-restriction mass airflow sensor and air cleaner, and took out the small pre-catalytic converters, for 405 hp (2002 kit, page 9). The LS6 came only in the Z06; the C5 Z06 guide has the rest of that car’s story.

Two gearboxes and three sets of ratios, both gearboxes mounted at the back of the car:

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 1997, page 41; 2001, page 16 and page 20 (the Z06’s gearbox); 2004, page 12. The 1997 kit names the six-speed’s maker as Borg-Warner; the 2004 kit calls it the Tremec T56.

Sixth gear is a deep overdrive for highway cruising (0.50 on the base six-speed, 0.56 on the Z06), and GM says its manual cars reach top speed in fifth. Its 2001 kit gives the speed at redline in fifth as 175 mph for an LS1 six-speed and 171 mph for the Z06 (pages 16 and 27). The Z06’s M12 is geared shorter in the first three gears (2.97 against 2.66 in first), and every 2001 six-speed got a revised clutch with more clamping force and a lighter pedal (2001 kit, page 16).

Most early buyers took the automatic: 71 percent of 1997 coupes (6,943 of 9,752), 77 percent of 1998 cars, 59 percent in 1999 and 60 percent in 2000, by this site’s arithmetic from Corvette Action Center’s production pages. An early six-speed is the rarer find.

GM’s figures put a C5 coupe at about 3,210 to 3,310 lb, and 3,246 lb is the one its documents print most often. The short answer for a late car: 3,246 lb coupe, 3,118 lb Z06 (2002–2004). The long answer is that GM printed different weights for the same car in different documents, and called most of them estimates:

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 1997, page 42; 1998, page 41; 1999, pages 44 and 84; 2000, page 23; 2001, page 23; 2002, page 12; 2003, page 13; 2004, page 13. The 1999 spec sheet is Chevrolet’s, via Corvette Action Center.

What GM means by curb weight. The specification forms in the 1998 and 1999 kits define it by reference to SAE J1100, the engineering standard for motor vehicle dimensions. The 1999 form lists every body with the automatic, the hardtop included, though GM sold the hardtop only with the six-speed; the 2001 kit gives its coupe and convertible with the automatic and the Z06 with its manual. The 2000 and 2002–2004 kits repeat the 1999 form’s 3,246 and 3,248 lb exactly, which reads, to this site, like one estimate carried forward. The C5 buyer’s guide quotes 3,230 lb for a 1999 manual coupe, from GM’s June 1998 spec sheet (opens in new tab), which also has the automatic adding 23 lb.

Scales agree, roughly. Car and Driver weighed a 1998 six-speed convertible at 3,282 lb in its October 1997 issue and said its August 1997 coupe had been six pounds lighter; its September 1998 hardtop test lists 3,260 lb. Those are test cars on a magazine’s scales, not GM figures.

The Z06 is the lightweight. GM’s 2001 text calls it 117 lb lighter than the coupe and convertible, but the same kit’s weight table puts the gap at 77 to 82 lb (3,130 against 3,212 and 3,207). From 2002 the kits give the Z06 3,118 lb against a coupe’s 3,246, 128 lb less by this site’s arithmetic. Weight distribution, by GM: 51/49 front to rear for the coupe and convertible, 53/47 for the Z06 (2001 kit, page 23; 2004 kit, page 13).

GM’s claims and the magazines’ tests sit in separate tables. GM’s top-speed claims run from 171 mph to 175 mph.

GM’s 0–60 and top-speed claims

Sources: 1997 kit, page 42; 2001 kit, page 27, which says its figures came from closed-course development testing; GM’s 1998 and 2001 releases via Corvette Action Center. Corvette Action Center lists the 1997 figures as GM’s for 1997–1999.

No GM 0–60 or top-speed figure turned up for the 2000 car or for 2002–2004 coupes and convertibles, so the table doesn’t carry earlier numbers forward. GM also claimed 0.93 g of cornering grip for the LS1 cars and 1.03 g for the 2001 Z06, and a 125 ft stop from 60 mph in the 1997 guide.

Of course you want the quicker one. GM’s June 2001 release (opens in new tab) put the 405 hp Z06 at 3.9 seconds to 60, and a second release that month described one driven flat out at its 171 mph top speed until the tank ran dry.

Magazine tests

Every car tested was a six-speed. Issues are as the magazine or Corvette Action Center’s tables give them.

Sources: Corvette Action Center’s 1997 and 2001 production pages and its Z06 performance page, which tabulate the tests with their issues; Car and Driver’s own pages for the 1998 convertible and 1999 hardtop.

GM’s early numbers came close: three magazines got a 1997 six-speed coupe to 60 in 4.8 or 4.9 seconds, against GM’s 4.72. Top speed depends on the body. Car and Driver saw 175 mph from a coupe, but its 1998 convertible test (opens in new tab) topped out at 167 mph, drag limited. Two loose ends: the hardtop article’s text and spec box disagree, so both are shown; and Corvette Action Center credits a “March 1998” Car and Driver convertible test with 5.1 seconds, where the magazine’s own page dates its test to October 1997 with the figures shown.

The C5 bolt pattern (lug pattern) is 5 x 4.75 in (120.7 mm): five studs on that circle on every C5, Z06 included. Each wheel has five M12 x 1.5 nuts, one of them a locking anti-theft nut, tightened to 100 lb-ft (140 N·m), the figure in every C5 owner’s manual.

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 1998, page 27 and 1999, page 70 (bolt circle and nuts); 2001, page 25 (five studs on the Z06 too); 2004, page 13 (wheels, tires, rotors); owner’s manuals for the torque, from 1997 (page 305) to 2004 (page 341), and for the Z06’s tires and kit (2004, page 303).

Wheels by year. The 1997–1999 cars have cast five-spoke wheels. For 2000 GM fitted a new, thinner five-spoke design; GM’s 2000 kit calls it forged, while the 2001–2004 kits call the standard wheel cast and the optional polished wheel forged (2000 kit, page 9). Magnesium wheels were optional on the coupe and convertible from 1998, and GM’s 2002 launch papers dropped them (the 2002 guide has what happened next). Z06 wheels were forged for 2001 and cast from 2002. Sizes never changed. Check the spoke bases on 2000–2004 wheels: the buyer’s guide covers GM’s bulletin on cracks there.

Offset and center bore. GM’s 1998 and 1999 specification forms give the aluminum wheels’ offset as 56 mm front and 61 mm rear (60 and 65 mm for magnesium). No GM document read for this page gives an offset for the 2000–2004 or Z06 wheels, or any C5 center bore, so neither is listed here.

Tire pressure. The owner’s manuals print no number. They send you to the Tire-Loading Information label on the rear edge of the driver’s door (2001 owner’s manual, page 312), so go by that label. GM’s 2000–2004 kits print 30 psi (210 kPa) front and rear, cold (2004 kit, page 30). The monitor on coupes and convertibles warns below 25 psi and above 42 psi (1997 owner’s manual, page 276).

Run-flats. GM rates the Extended Mobility tires for up to 200 miles at up to 55 mph with no air in them (2004 owner’s manual, page 303). Owners split on keeping them; the buyer’s guide covers that choice. The Z06 never had run-flats, and its manual asks for at least 26 psi after using the sealant kit (2002 owner’s manual, page 265).

Brakes. Every C5, Z06 included, has the same rotors: 325 mm front and 305 mm rear, about 12.8 and 12.0 in (most of GM’s kits print 12.6 and 11.8). The C5 brake ladder covers what to do when stock isn’t enough.

The LS1 and LS6 take 6.5 qt (6.1 L) of oil with a filter change: 6.5 qt every year, by all eight owner’s manuals. A few GM spec pages print 6.0 qt “with filter”; the 2000 and 2001 kits’ own service pages list 6.0 qt without a filter and 6.5 qt with one (2000 kit, page 41), which looks like the source of the gap.

Sources: the owner’s manual for each year, page linked in the table. The 2002–2004 manuals don’t print the axle capacity; it comes from the 2002, 2003 and 2004 kits (pages 28, 29 and 30). “Additive” is GM’s limited-slip additive, added after a drain.

Fuel tank. Some GM spec pages give other tank sizes for the same years (19.1 gal on 1999 and 2000 pages, 18.0 gal on one 2002 page). Go by the owner’s manual for the car’s year, as the table does.

GM’s fluids, from the owner’s manuals:

• Engine oil: SAE 5W-30 meeting GM Standard GM4718M; Mobil 1 synthetic from the factory. The manuals allow 10W-30 meeting the same standard when 5W-30 isn’t available and it’s above 0°F (2004 owner’s manual, page 258).
• Oil change interval: whatever the oil life monitor says, but never more than 10,000 miles or 12 months on 1997–2000 cars (1997 owner’s manual, page 250) and 15,000 miles or 12 months from 2001 (2001 owner’s manual, page 285).
• Fuel: premium unleaded, 91 octane or higher for best performance, by the owner’s manuals; GM’s 2002–2004 kits print 93 octane. Lower grades are allowed, with slightly reduced acceleration.
• Coolant: DEX-COOL, mixed 50/50 with water, good for 5 years or 150,000 miles (2004 owner’s manual, page 265).
• Transmissions: DEXRON-III automatic transmission fluid in both the automatic and the six-speed manual.
• Rear axle: SAE 75W-90 synthetic axle lubricant GM 12378261 (OEM) plus 4 oz of limited-slip additive GM 1052358 (OEM) after a drain (2004 owner’s manual, page 354). The 1997 manual names axle lubricant GM 12345977 (OEM) or SAE 80W-90 GL-5.
• Brakes and clutch: DOT-3 brake fluid (GM names Delco Supreme 11); hydraulic clutch fluid GM 12345347 (OEM) or DOT-3.

Headlight bulbs. Every C5 uses a 9005 for the high beam (the inner lamp) and a 9006 for the low beam (the outer lamp), per the owner’s manuals (2004, page 294). The fog lamps take an 893 (1997 owner’s manual, page 304). Headlights that grind as they open or close point to a stripped motor gear; the buyer’s guide covers the gear kit owners use.

Battery. Which battery a C5 takes, and where it sits, is in the Corvette battery guide.

Length, width and wheelbase held for all eight years. The Z06 sits on a slightly wider track.

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 1997, page 42; 1999, page 44; 2000, page 23; 2001, page 27; 2004, page 13.

Small disagreements: the 1997 owner’s manual gives the length as 179.6 in and swaps the track figures (62.1 front, 62.0 rear), and the 2001 kit gives the turning circle as 39.4 ft (42.3 ft for the Z06). The quiet surprise is the coupe’s 24.8 cubic feet of cargo room, more than 10 beyond the convertible’s with the top up.

These are the EPA’s ratings as fueleconomy.gov shows them today, re-rated under the test method the EPA adopted for 2008, so they run lower than the figures GM printed when the cars were new. The EPA lists no separate Z06 rating, and every record calls for premium fuel.

Source: fueleconomy.gov, one record per year and gearbox (record numbers in Sources), pulled October 30, 2026.

The six-speed beats the automatic on the highway in every year, and from 2001 it’s rated 17 city and 26 highway (opens in new tab). GM’s own figures under the old method were 19 city and 28 highway for a 2001 manual and 18 and 26 for the automatic (2001 kit, page 26), and 19/28 manual and 18/25 automatic for 2002–2004, Z06 included (2004 kit, page 12).

Bowling Green built 248,715 C5s, by this site’s sum of Corvette Action Center’s yearly figures, including 28,388 Z06s and 6,121 hardtops. Each year links to its own guide, where the options, colors and changes live.

Sources: production from Corvette Action Center’s yearly production pages (the 1997 count includes pilot and prototype cars, it notes); prices from GM’s releases via Corvette Action Center, GM’s 1998 kit, Corvette Action Center’s production pages and Halverson’s 2004 Z06 road test.

No GM price list turned up for 2000, 2002, 2003 or 2004, so those prices are Corvette Action Center’s; for 2002 and 2003 it doesn’t say whether destination is included. For 2004 it prints a $670 destination charge, but journalist Hib Halverson’s 2004 Z06 road test lists $800, and his $56,720 as-tested total adds up only with $800, so this page and the 2004 guide use $800. GM’s 2001 price release (opens in new tab) is the clean one: the coupe’s $40,475 includes a $645 destination charge.

That’s the C5 on paper. For what the numbers add up to on the road, which years to skip and what one costs today, start with the C5 buyer’s guide and the years-to-avoid guide; for how the C6’s numbers compare, see C5 vs C6.