I've never had a problem with my brakes on the street or on the occasional track day. For a daily driver I find it hard to say the brakes are trash. We are talking about one of the best performing cars ever made. I suppose if one were to track the car on a regular basis better brakes would be an improvement, but then so would a lot of other things. I was just trying to be honest and answer the question as to "daily driver". Not trying to start another corvette/porsche war. I'm sure we can all agree there are enough of those.
On a side note if it were me though I can really say I wouldn't want either one for a daily driver. This is my fourth vette and every one has been vandilized from people spitting on them to raming shopping carts into them, throwing rocks ect. I have an F150 for daily use. It's great because I never have to worry about pot holes, road construction, weather or vandilizm (it's a truck) no one cares or is jealous. It just blends in. Plus I can haul whatever I want with no issues.

 

For a DD I'd get the Z06, even in Illinois. Of course I like sporty DD's and DD'd my C5 (when it wasn't broke). Makes even the commute feel fun and sport like. If you are going to make any power mods though, I'd get the TT. Much more reliable with power.

 

i have owned multiple corvettes. fairly fast vehicle for the money. overall a good value. with that said.... no comparison to a 997. i just purchased a 997tt and it is such a great car you cant really believe it. drive one and make your own decision but they are two different animals.

good luck with your decision.

 

The 997 TT is a great car, but I am not sure about the other 997s (except GT3s and the GT2). The 997 is a more user-friendly daily driver, but not my cup of tea for a sports car (big center console, etc).

I find the Corvette a bit ugly, but it is a great car for the track and you can beat it up without financial worry (except, maybe the ZR-1).

I like the 996 TT the best, with mods like my Ruf RTurbo.

 

I had to deal with brake fade in my Z06 quite often on street. But that's another story..

I do agree about your choice of daily driver, though. I drive a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 as my daily and absolutely love the thing.

 

I also have a ford truck that I can drive and park anywhere. My DD is a Toyota Sienna with three car seats. I would rather have the Z06 as my DD.

 

I as well have a beater ford ranger 4x4 for my DD. If your going to spend the 50k or so on a 996tt or z06 why not spend another 3 or 4k and get a decent DD that you wont have to worry about for one second in the parking lots or such. The cost of a reliable DD these days for an early 2000 or late 90's auto will save you in the long run and keep your baby mint.

 

Build quality is the real issue... Look at an 8 year old Porsche 911 TT interior or paint quality... Take a look at the same year Vette... Hammered interior, rattles, squeeks and groans... And forget about driving it on the track with the same amount of reliability...

I came from a C5 Vette, and I've had a number of 97-2008 Vettes on my lift. The speed at which they deteriorate is stunningly sad, and yet another footnote on the build quality that has bankrupt GM. No thanks... I'll pass...

Mike Kelly

 

scott, im kind of looking at a zo6 also, in a couple of months ill know.i know that quality is not up to par w/ P car, but i always thought the motor would be better to modify than a P car (cheaper, easier n stronger). i just cant get over the plastic interior, but everything else is good.

 

Thanks guys for your advise, kind of a 3rd rail topic. I think we can safely say the 996 is the more "refined" of the two, with the brute type power going to team vette- which makes sense, there's about a 70k price delta between them. I spent some time in the previous version (c5) , it just seemed to hit the road harder (go-kart style) but the new ones are supposed to have some of that worked out. I have no problem with the new body style, best ever IMO. One thing that always, I mean always happens when I pull in a gas station with my 930, somebody always makes a comment either about the car or the one they had at one time. I'm not sure the same thing happens with a 996 vs C6, but that's just one part of the equation.

What's your feelings on the value dropping like a tank on the turbos? Iguess that might be part of the tt/c6 debate. I'm getting something this spring- BTW there's a beautiful 01 for sale on the board right now, but if it wasn't for that little thing like money (or lack of it) I would forego any more talk of a Chevy

 

Get what you like better but having worked on one too many vettes in the past I would get a turbo if you intend to keep the car for more then 4 years. Like many things on paper the c6 is amazing in real life and down the road it's not that great.

It's kinda like marrying a **** star, just doesn't work no matter how much we want it to.

 

Now I know this will thread will be over the top

 

I was in this predicament not long ago. I was actually at the Chevy dealership with a deal and cash in hand after a 3LZ Ebony interior Jetstream Blue ZO6 test drive and I thought it was the one. I decided at the last second to sleep on it and that night I spoke to my friend David Kim who was selling his Basalt/Sand Beige 997TT. The next day I drove out to Switzers and drove her...SOLD in .000001 seconds and that was that. Of course my 997TT is not stock by any means, but it was not JUST the power that sold me. It was the way the P car felt with my eyes closed feeling the dash, steering wheel, shifter, controls, buttons, materials, roof liner and the way I felt in the drivers seat. I just felt like it was a higher class car than the 3LZ ZO6 that I was considering. Needless to say I still from time to time think about picking up a ZO6, but at the end of the day the 997TT is the car I want 10 years down the road for reasons mentioned above. No regrets. Good luck with your choice and either way you will have nice ride.

 

I've had three vettes, one was a C6 and I currently have a C5 ZO6. I've had two Porsche turbos, my 996tt and my old 930. My C6 was a first year production run (05) and it was in the shop about a dozen times and I only put 14,000 miles on it. I'd like to chalk this up to first year domestic production gremlins but who knows?
I believe you need to figure out what your intentions are with the car? Are you going to keep it stock, hold onto it for a long time, track it as well as DD it? Here are a few things to consider that may have already been mentioned. The rear hatch of the C6 is huge. I actually could fit my road bike in the back of that Corvette. So if you think you'll need to haul much at all the C6 has much more room than the 996tt. The brakes on the vettes aren't that great. As you've read the C6ZO6 brakes are just so so and the brakes I had on my Z51 C6 were cross drilled rotors which started to crack. As far as communicating road feel through the steering wheel the Porsche has it hands down. I always thought, even with my C5 ZO6, that the steering felt a little numb. If you're going to keep the car completely stock the ZO6 is much faster than a stock 996tt. Now if you intend to mod it, it quickly becomes a much different story. I like both cars and I know you'll have a lot of fun with either one.

 

Well that's the thing. The motors are not as strong as the TT's. Not even close, actually. I also don't believe they are as easy to modify as the TTs.

If you plan on keeping the Z06 stock, or close to stock, it's a wonderful car that can be reliable. Modified is a totally different story.