I have seen and heard that if you park your C5 in R instead of one of the forward gears that it will save the battery? In the manual it does say to put it in reverse but really no explaination as to why.
I know the 05's you need to.

Any Corvette pre or post 2005 does not need to be parked in reverse. As you noted, the 2005 Corvette manual transmission car is REQUIRED to be parked in reverse in order to signal the car to begin the shutdown sequence for the electronics. In any year prior, or any year from 2006 on it is not a requirement, simply a recommendation. It is only recommended due to the compression of the engine and the gearing of the reverse gear to best hold the car in place in the event of a parking brake failure while parked. In other than 2005 it really has nothing to do with the battery.

Just for clarity, here are the two owners manual sections on parking a manual transmission car. You will note the difference in the wording between the two.

2004

Parking Your Vehicle
(Manual Transmission)
Before you get out of your vehicle, move the shift lever
into REVERSE (R) and firmly apply the parking
brake. Once the shift lever has been placed into
REVERSE (R) with the clutch pedal pressed in, you can
turn the ignition key to OFF, remove the key and
release the clutch.

2005

Parking Your Vehicle
(Manual Transmission)
Before you get out of your vehicle, move the shift lever
into REVERSE (R) and firmly apply the parking
brake. Once the shift lever has been placed into
REVERSE (R) with the clutch pedal pressed in, you
can turn the ignition off and release the clutch. If
you attempt to exit the vehicle without being in
REVERSE (R), the Driver Information Center (DIC) will
display SHIFT TO REVERSE and a chime will sound.

Notice: If you do not put a manual transmission in
REVERSE (R) before exiting your vehicle, the
battery will drain and could be damaged. Always put
a manual transmission in REVERSE (R) before
shutting off the engine and exiting the vehicle.

05 is the only year you HAVE to do it on. I have left my C6Z06 in 1st gear while sitting for weeks and the battery does not drain. I have performed a couple battery drain test on (Pre '05 and '06+) Vettes with them in or out of reverse and it made no difference either way. :thumbsup3:

05 is the only year you HAVE to do it on. I have left my C6Z06 in 1st gear while sitting for weeks and the battery does not drain. I have performed a couple battery drain test on (Pre '05 and '06+) Vettes with them in or out of reverse and it made no difference either way. :thumbsup3:

Your Vette looks sweet bro!

Any Corvette pre or post 2005 does not need to be parked in reverse. As you noted, the 2005 Corvette manual transmission car is REQUIRED to be parked in reverse in order to signal the car to begin the shutdown sequence for the electronics. In any year prior, or any year from 2006 on it is not a requirement, simply a recommendation. It is only recommended due to the compression of the engine and the gearing of the reverse gear to best hold the car in place in the event of a parking brake failure while parked. In other than 2005 it really has nothing to do with the battery.

Just for clarity, here are the two owners manual sections on parking a manual transmission car. You will note the difference in the wording between the two.

2004

Parking Your Vehicle
(Manual Transmission)
Before you get out of your vehicle, move the shift lever
into REVERSE (R) and firmly apply the parking
brake. Once the shift lever has been placed into
REVERSE (R) with the clutch pedal pressed in, you can
turn the ignition key to OFF, remove the key and
release the clutch.

2005

Parking Your Vehicle
(Manual Transmission)
Before you get out of your vehicle, move the shift lever
into REVERSE (R) and firmly apply the parking
brake. Once the shift lever has been placed into
REVERSE (R) with the clutch pedal pressed in, you
can turn the ignition off and release the clutch. If
you attempt to exit the vehicle without being in
REVERSE (R), the Driver Information Center (DIC) will
display SHIFT TO REVERSE and a chime will sound.

Notice: If you do not put a manual transmission in
REVERSE (R) before exiting your vehicle, the
battery will drain and could be damaged. Always put
a manual transmission in REVERSE (R) before
shutting off the engine and exiting the vehicle.On the mark as always talon!:cheers:

My budd has an 05 and he could never remember to put it in R for the longest time and the car kept telling him to put it in R. Dumbazz!

05 is the only year you HAVE to do it on. I have left my C6Z06 in 1st gear while sitting for weeks and the battery does not drain. I have performed a couple battery drain test on (Pre '05 and '06+) Vettes with them in or out of reverse and it made no difference either way. :thumbsup3:

That is good to know that if you forget that your battery won't die to fast!