If you spend any time online, especially amongst the Corvette dedicated Facebook pages, whenever the subject of buying a sixth-generation Corvette comes up, everyone first tells you to avoid the 2005, and then they go on to say you might as well up your budget to get the 2008, because of the LS3 engine. The obvious and leading advantage of the 6.2 liter LS3 is the horsepower, 430 versus the 400 for the LS2. And if you opted for the dual-mode exhaust upgrade, you’d get 436 horsepower from that mighty LS3. [Author’s Note: This article is FREE and not behind a paywall. If/when any popups occur, please click to make them disappear and continue enjoying the article.]
But is the extra 36 horsepower really worth upgrading the budget by thousands of dollars? One notable enthusiast and YouTuber with over 33,000 subscribers says hold on, not so quick! And as someone who has owned both, I tend to agree. First, if you’d like to tap into CorvSport’s vast catalog of engine resources, I’ve included some popular archives below.
Now, let’s jump into today’s video guide from Toys4Life C5, curated exclusively by CorvSport. We know you live a busy lifestyle, so we’ve summarized the video to give you a quick read (with exact timestamps if you want to go deeper). We’ve included the video below if you want to join one of the 46,000+ enthusiasts who have already tapped into Toys4Life’s insights on this video.
Buying a C6 Corvette? Top 5 Reasons To Consider An LS2!
By Toys4Life C5
#1
[5:16] More LS2 Production And Options When Looking
“If… your plans do not call for supercharging or other major horsepower upgrades and you want to save quite a chunk of money, then here are my top five reasons to go with an LS2-powered C6 from 2005 to 2007. First, as mentioned, [at 3:53] the 2005 through 2007 LS2 variant of the C6 is the most produced, so these are the years you’re most likely going to be able to find with many of the options that you’re looking for, and likely for several thousand less than an LS3 variant for differences that the vast majority of owners would never notice.”
Author’s Note: Despite being produced for only three years, there are more LS2-equipped C6s to choose from. To be exact, from 2005 to 2007, 97,523 LS2-equipped C6s were produced, while from 2008 to 2013, 82,370 LS3-equipped were produced. Check out the full production numbers in our CorvSport archive.
#2
[5:55] Turn “Lemons” Into Saving Money
“2005 C6 Corvettes are known to have the weakest rear differentials of all of the C6 Corvette years, and now that sounds like a really horrible thing. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re weak. It just means they’re not as strong for serious racing and performance applications as the later-year differentials.
And that having been said, not every C6 owner is into pushing the limits of their C6 Corvette. Some simply just like the looks, and they’re more interested in the cruising and the car show aspects of this great hobby. So if that happens to be you, the 2005’s weaker differential won’t likely matter at all except for the fact that your wallet is likely to be quite a bit thicker than the rest of ours because of all of the money that you saved.”
#3
[6:44] Save Thousands Then Modify If Needed
“C6s with LS2 and manual transmissions typically put down about 350 horsepower to the rear tires on the dyno, and the LS3 cars again with the manual transmission typically put down about 380 horsepower to the same rear tires. Now in the scheme of things, if you look at all of the engines the various c6s came with, that’s a pretty minor difference, and only the most sophisticated butt dynos would ever be able to notice.
And in my experience, the LS2 variants typically sell for about $5,000 less than their younger LS3 siblings, so if 350 rear wheel horsepower is good enough for you, then you can potentially save a few grand by buying one with the LS2 under the hood. Oh, and if you’re worried that you might miss that extra 30 horsepower now or at some point in the future, then relax because you can erase most of that 30 horsepower difference by simply bolting on a Fast LSXR 102 intake manifold.
Now, this is because the vendor that supplied GM with the manifolds for the LS2 used a newer and likely cheaper process, which ultimately turned out to be inferior from a performance standpoint when making the intake manifolds. Now I think GM figured this out as well because the predecessor manifold, which was essentially the LS6 intake manifold on the last years of the C5, it flowed quite well, and of course, it is well known that the LS3 intake manifold, it flows very well also.
The Fast LSXR 102 intake manifold is known by many to be one of the best bolt-on upgrades for LS2-powered C6. It provides somewhere around 20 horsepower through a wide range of RPMs and close to 29 ft-lb of torque, which brings it very close to the numbers that the LS3 puts out. The best part is it only takes a few hours to bolt on, and of course, after the installation, it should be tuned to make sure you’re getting all of the available horsepower.”
#4
[8:52] Better Parts Availability
“All Corvettes have relatively low production numbers, especially when compared to other models of cars that GM makes. And as these cars age, some of the parts quickly are no longer available from GM and many times, not even from the aftermarket.
This is where the automotive recyclers come in. As c6s are destroyed through the years because of accidents or theft, joy rides or floods, the parts are valuable, so the cars are typically sold at auction where companies like VetteNuts, for example, will buy the cars. They’ll disassemble it and store just about everything inside until that’s needed on the used market.
You can go to the VetteNut’s website, and many of the parts are sold on eBay as well. As the years go by and your C6 ages, if you have a part that fails that’s not available through GM or the aftermarket, you’re most likely going to be able to find that part if the production numbers for those years were the highest. In this case, that’s mainly going to be the 2005 through 2007 LS2-powered c6s.”
#5
[9:56] Simply Put, Ego
“There is a certain sense of pleasure one gets when racing with an underdog engine like the LS2 against a savvy C6 owner with an LS3 under the hood and beating them. For some, that might be kind of petty and not worth much, but to me, it’s worth quite a bit.
And besides, I like the challenge. So what do you guys think? Have I totally lost my mind or do I make some valid points? I have a feeling I might get lit up a little bit for this one, but that’s okay. Let’s hash it out in the comments below.” [Click the feature video below to comment]
Feature Video
Video Preview From Toys4Life C5:
“Thinking about buying a C6 Corvette? Here are my Top 5 reasons to give the 2005-07 LS2 models a careful look – in addition to all of the other variants!”
Video Views:
- 46,242 and counting
Some Top Comments From The 274+:
- “I have the LS3 and I think you made crucial points in this video. I really hope anyone in the Vette market takes a look at this video and thinks about the issue of parts supply and what you really get for spending the extra money for the LS3. If you can get in to this hobby for less money and less headache, the LS2 is an incredible value for money. Having said that, I have 150K on my LS3 and I take it to the track at least 6 times a year (a road course as I’m not a drag racer). The LS3 is just a fantastically reliable engine. I haven’t seen any diminution in perfromance over the years. Great Video! It’s refreshing to hear a well reasoned argument with a great presentation.” @brrbben
- “Spot on. Yes, people also hate on the 05’s within the LS2. They do have weak diffs the M6 had some weird electrical anomalies that were deleted in 06 (I owned an M6/05). I would definitely pass on the 05/M6 due to the electrical gremlins like the shift to reverse, steering column lock, etc and go with the 06/07. However, the A4 auto is the gem of the C6 and doesn’t have those electrical gremlins with a little-known dirty secret.” @13F_Airborne
- “Bought my 2006 LS2 z51 back in 2012 when LS3 variants cost a good chuck of change more. 130k miles later, my LS2 has been bulletproof. The harmonic balancer and the waterpump were the only engine components that ever needed replacing. With a couple of bolt-ons and a tune, my 18 year old vette is still just as fast as today’s new GT350s and Supras in a straight line and is also quicker around a track if you have the right tires.” @C6BlueDevil
Thanks for joining CorvSport today! If you want to keep up to date with all the fresh Corvette news and maintain a pulse on the lifestyle and culture of this exciting, iconic brand, CorvSport has the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 172,000 followers (53,000 since January 2023!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello. This is Douglas B. signing off–click here if you would like to see more of my features.
Author’s Note: These tips were curated from Toys4Life C5’s video and are fully credited to Toys4Life C5. CorvSport was not compensated for curating this video.
