Grassroots Style Super Car (C6 Z06 ownership thread)

Got lucky when drinking beer. That's always a good thing. 

Toyman01 said:

That is a lot of rubber. My tire machine will barely mount those and I can't get them on the balancer at all. Tire cost is my main hold up from buying a Corvette. The 275s on the G35 tires are painful enough. 

These were the cheapest closeout Cooper's at 375 shipped for the rears. But if you own one of these expect to pay $250 a corner. 

If I actually out 20k miles on a project car and wear them out I'd be happy. 

Wife is out of town for the weekend so I've got to take advantage of the free time.

Got the car aligned today. It was pretty out of wack. should be able to drop the car off to get the tires mounted this week. 

I can't get my China adapter to work to run tech2. Anyone have any experience with other code readers that can read abs, srs codes, etc. It would be nice to clear the codes and be ready for inspection. 

After putting a few miles on the car I can say it is terrifyingly fast. 3rd gear 45 mph roll and you mat it equals no rear traction. It's totally insane and great. 

I have this one, it does abs/srs:

https://www.amazon.com/Autel-MaxiLink-ML629-Transmission-Diagnosis/dp/B07PQL9HDR/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&aaxitk=4pwBiNyeLWtzfwKm2x0z2Q&hsa_cr_id=9087258560001&ref_=sb_s_sparkle_slot

Nofive_0 said:

Got the car aligned today. It was pretty out of wack. should be able to drop the car off to get the tires mounted this week. 

I can't get my China adapter to work to run tech2. Anyone have any experience with other code readers that can read abs, srs codes, etc. It would be nice to clear the codes and be ready for inspection. 

After putting a few miles on the car I can say it is terrifyingly fast. 3rd gear 45 mph roll and you mat it equals no rear traction. It's totally insane and great. 

I have a 2006 Z06 and I got this guy for doing ABS bleed.  It will also reset codes and enable disable various systems on the car. I tested it out and it's able to do things like enable / disable the door solenoids and the power windows.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CSMJJK9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a bit non-obvious how to actually get to the menus that do this though, but one of the answered questions on the thing points it out. You have to enter the fifth letter of the VIN at a certain point in the menus.

Q:How to do ABS bleed on GM(Chevrolet Buick Cadillac Holden)?
A:I make an example of Chevrolet ABS&SRS---USA---GM---2011(please choose the released year)---Passgener Car---Chevrolet---K(please enter the fifth letter of VIN)---Chassis---Eletronic Brake Control Module---Special Functions---Automated Bleed.
If you go to a menu of items labeled as "A" "B" "C" "F" "H" "X"...,please input the fifth letter of the VIN.

So, as I noted above I have a 2006 Z06. I just finished having the motor rebuilt, because it seized up at 60k miles. I've had two other friends of mine have their motors die. The motor is probably the only expensive thing on the car to the tune of around $14k-16k new for one. The titanium rods are a large part of the expense. You don't want to buy a crate LS7 from GM anyway as you're just taking a chance on having one of the same issues noted below occur again.

Oiling System Failure

The oiling system on the early cars has an issue in that despite it being a dry sump it can oil starve during high speed cornering. Most people claim this only happens if you are on track with R-Comps and I can't say that isn't the case since in all the cases of people I know that have had engine failures we all bought our cars used. That said, none of the people I know including myself have run the car on track with r-comps and my other two friends bought their cars with 10k miles and 25k miles respectively and sustained failures within 5000 miles after they bought them. We have all run the cars hard at autocross on street tires, but we're all religious about oil changes. If the motor starves for oil at all it's inevitably going to fail, sooner or later. There is also no indication from the car that you have starved the motor for oil unless you happen to be looking at the oil pressure gauge at the time it happens or have some other monitoring tool connected to the car. The car doesn't flash any lights or flag anything in the computer.

A possible solution to oiling issues is to increase the size of the sump tank, which GM did in 2009+ cars to give them a 10.5 quart total capacity. Lingenfelter will modify your stock sump tank for relatively cheaply increasing the total oil capacity to 11 quarts.

Titanium Road Coating Failure

There is also another reason why the motors can go that is unrelated to oil starvation. The titanium rods have a chromium nitride coating on them.  This coating is there because wear on non-coated rods creates titanium "dust" which then fouls the engine. In some cases though the coating wears off. Whether this is due to a design failure in the oiling system or the rods is unclear, but it's a given that it happens to some cars and it will lead to bearing failure and a seized motor.

Valve Guide Failure

Then the other reason the motor can blow up is because it drops a valve. The valve guides on the car fail in some cases. Most people have the guides replaced with bronze guides to avoid possible issues. Ideally you just have a local machine shop take care of this for you, but there are a number of places around the country that will do it.

If you hear any noises from the motor at all, like whining at any speed I would stop running it and have it torn down. Chances are you can rebuild it relatively inexpensively if you don't have a catastrophic failure. Make sure to have about $2k-10k stacked up just in case depending on whether you want to DIY it or not.

All that said, the car is extremely rewarding to drive, just an absolute monster in every possible way.

Some common cheap to fix issues with the cars you might want to look at...

• Front upper control arm bushings take a big beating. You can see it happen as they start moving out of the control arm. There are several delrin replacement options. You can't get new stock bushings without buying new control arms.
• The front upper shock bushings also get beat up. There are a number of aftermarket replacements. There is an upper and lower bushing for each. If you want new stock lower bushings you have to order new stock shocks.
• The shifter box bushings wear out pretty quickly.
  • You can get poly bushings to replace the stock bushings.
  • If you want to spend a few more bucks the MGW shifter box is a complete replacement for the stock box that fixes all its issues.
• The motor mounts are fluid filled and break pretty easily and once they break the fluid goes everywhere and the mounts are worthless. You can get aftermarket replacements that hold up much better.
  • If you get a lot of wheel hop trying to launch the car your motor mounts are probably the culprit.
• If you have to remove the axle back exhaust you will need to replace the clamps that connect it to the mid pipe. Do not reuse and/or overtighten these clamps.
• Changing the trans fluid to use this GM Synchromesh can usually resolve any issues with transmission noise and shifting.
• The NPP exhaust that comes on the car is generally regarded as pretty good. There are two valves on the exhaust that actuate and close up two of the four tail pipes at low rpm. This prevents excessive drone while cruising at low rpm on the highway. The hoses going to these valves are rubber and can deteriorate over time.
  • If you notice droning check the hoses before assuming the exhaust itself has an issue.
  • Also, there is a fuse controlling this behavior and if it goes out then the valves default to open all the time. This fuse also makes it easy to add a switch via an add-a-circuit which can let you open and close the exhaust valves whenever you want.

In reply to Harvey :

That is quite the list there. Thanks for the information. 

This car has seen it's fair share of track abuse. I have no plans to do any kind of actual tracking so if it's been starved for oil it's already happened. 

Heads have been rebuilt according to the PO. I'm going to email him today and see if I can get any answers. 

Considering the condition of the car and it's "providence" if the LS7 lets go it's more likely to get a built 6.0 iron block than another LS7.

Had my new tires mounted yesterday. Despite me saying something before and after, the left rear TPMS is still not responding. So I guess I'll have to take it back again. This is why I hate having people work on my cars. It never goes right. 

Exhaust rattling has reached a maximum. That will be the first thing to be fixed. When it was on the alignment rack the guy told me some bolts were missing and the hangers were not adequate. While I'm under there I'll change the oil since I've reset my oil light about 10 times now with all the battery disconnects. Off to walmart for 10 quarts of mobil1 5w30. Funny enough the vette and volt get the exact same oil. 

I am returning my China Tech2 emulator. It wouldn't work and I have little to know patience for hacked together quasi legal software. I ordere the Autel AP200 dongle. I opted for this over the traditional handheld unit with the hopes that because it is a "pay as you go" type thing that it will be updated with the app as time goes on. And it's only $55 with a free model of car unlock. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QD4GZW4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As I mentioned earlier the car came with one of these. http://auto-blip.com/auto-blip. I removed the connections when I was trying to hunt down the electrical gremlin. As this will be a street car it seems like overkill. So if anyone is interested let me know. 

Future plans for the car:

- Front Lip

- New headlight lens and I may paint the housing black

- Detail 

-.... Register it.

Despite all the caveats the LS7 block itself is really solid and you can get a complete forged rotating assembly for it relatively inexpensively. It's more the labor that will cost when it comes to a rebuild. The titanium rods are what make the motor really expensive as if you try to get replacements they are around $500 per rod or more.

Exhaust rattling has reached a maximum. That will be the first thing to be fixed. When it was on the alignment rack the guy told me some bolts were missing and the hangers were not adequate.

The exhaust has hangers at the back that you can easily replace, but there are also some spring hangers that connect to the mid pipe that can cause you issues. I'm not sure what bolts the guy is referring to. Maybe the ones that connect the mid pipe to the cat section?

SRS Scanner arrived. Pretty nice. I'd recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QD4GZW4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unfortunately upon scanning I get 6 codes that can't be cleared. Yep. I have to either buy a new srs module or reprogram the one I have. The car has airbags and the seatbelts work. The trunk also had a locked up seatbelt when I bought it. So I'm assuming that it's been repaired but like most everything else on the car only about %85 of the way. 

I have Codes :

B0051 - Memory full

B0053 - Deployment command

B0058 - RF pretensioner deployment loop open

B0059 - RF voltage out of range

B0065 & 66 - Ditto Drivers side

So I'm hoping that those open loops are on the module side, not the pretensioner side. I'm going to repair/replace the module and hope for the best.... For better or worse.

Also Picked up oil for the oil change since my battery resets leaves me with no idea how much oil life I have. Did I mention that this is grassroots? Let the comments commence. Oh yes... $25 for 10 quarts!

So I've spent most of my car budget for the month. I'll work on this SRS thing and focus on getting it registered and cleaned after that. 

About an hour to get the module out. $50 and shipping to the big city of Buford GA and I should have it back I'm a few days .

Also got my TPMS today. So I can give that to discount tire this weekend.

The other issue is that there is no completely certain method for checking the oil level in the car. The procedure as noted in the manual is supposedly correct, but it's also inexact in that you have to warm the car up, then shut it off and wait for an indeterminate amount of time between 5 and 15 minutes before checking the dipstick which is only checking the oil level in the sump tank. This often ends up causing people to overfill the car and when you overfill the oil backs up into the intake. So, closely observe how much oil goes in. You're never going to get the full capacity out of the car when you drain it even if you pull the filter and both oil pan plugs, but make sure the car is level when you drain it to get the most out.

Yea. So I've read. 

I'm going to fill it with 7.5 qts and warm it up and see where we're at. Official capacity is supposed to be 8 qts.

I'm kind of disappointed that no one has anything to say about costco oil. I was ready to make jokes about how I picked up jorts and a corvette hoody at the same time.

Odd that a dry sump system doesn't want to be checked while the engine is running. That's how it's always been done in my experience. It should be less sensitive to quantity, but from what's been posted in this thread I guess GM found a way to screw that up.

My Cayman check procedure is the same. But it's electronic level sensor only and locks out reading for like 30 minutes of drive time after a major oil level change. So filling after an oil change requires getting close to the right quantity on the first attempt with no way to check your work. So I feel your pain there.

I'd put in 7 quarts then check it.  Checking the oil on my 996 turbo is also a PITA, no damn dipstick!  After you've dumped the oil from 4 different drains (!!), you refill it a quart or so shy, then start the oil level check process thru the instrument cluster.  Then add a little more, check it again, etc, etc.

I usually stop adding oil when it still has 2 bars left to full, I figure I'd rather have a sensor say I'm a bit over 3/4 full than all of a sudden tell me I've added too much...

Took the car back to Discount tire this weekend. They installed the TPMS but couldn't manage to get it to connect with the car. One more off electrical thing. However the car seems to be doing pretty well. No more voodoo electrical issues. I've sent the SRS module off to be fixed. Hopefully that will extinguish my airbag light. Next will to be to fix the infernal exhaust rattle.

I did do one small thing though. C6s have electronic door handles. A small rubber contact pad that connects a circuit and pops the door latch. These get gunky over time and results in people being very confused as to why they cant get into the car and the driver having to hold their tongue at the proper angle to actually get the door to pop.

That's because the insides look like this

So you take scotchbrite pad to it and make it look like this.

Add some dilectric grease and reinstall.

Found my exhaust rattle.

It's amazing how much nicer a car is when a rattle is fixed. I deplore rattly cars.

https://youtu.be/tgzvYU98A_U

Update on a few things.

Got the airbag module back. Still have an srs light because the buckle circuits are open. So once again ,the guy that fixed the car after the wreck half assed it by replacing the seatbelts and nothing else.

Started poking around the front of the car investigating some panel gaps. Rf fender had %40 of the bolts it came from the factory with. I attempted to align the hood but think I just made it worse. Discovered more missing hardware in the fender Wells.

Investigated why the horn and fog lights aren't working. Horn is MIA, fog light bulbs are missing and the wiring to them is mangled from the crash. I'll go to the JY and alleviate a GM vehicle of a similar era of it's horn and foglight wiring. I ordered yellow bulbs for the ALMS look. I also got a front lip since mine never had one. I'll post pics of when I get around to fixing the front end issues.

I paid $40 for new door pads from the dealer. I am just not GRM enough sometimes.

As someone who is very nearly about to be living the "buying a previously tracked 500hp vette with a less than complete history" GRM life, I applaud your purchase and will be following quite intently. I have enjoyed a great deal of it so far aside from the tire replacement cost part.  

Another C6z owner!   Love it.    I really enjoy mine but haven't taken it to the track enough. 
 

I tried to contact you through the site but was rejected.  Email me at yahoo with my username and let me know about the autoblip. I like heel-toeing but for the right price, I'd try the auto blip. 
 

there are a few other issues with these besides those that have been mentioned. Such as no access to the clutch bleeder, the clutch master failing (there is an updated one from gm), a failure-prone slave cylinder retainer (replace the plastic with a billet one), cooling  issues et al. 
 

I have a set of coilovers that have less than 100 miles on them that were waaay too stiff and I did not enjoy.  I replaced with a set of motons.  
 

Find out who did the heads and what it entailed.  
 

there is a sump tank insert from improved racing that is helpful for the oil starvation. As is their "pan" baffle.  
 

also, I got a suede wrap for the wheel on ebay for $40 or so that is really nice. 
 

overall, I feel like I'm driving a supercar when I drive it but paid a lot less than that. 

In reply to jfryjfry :

I had the same color F14s on my 91 ZR-1, also black....  looks nice.

In reply to jfryjfry :

Sorry, I sold the autoblip today on eBay. 

I reaalllllly like the forgestars. Maybe later down the road when there are less pressing things to take care of.

The heads have been fixed but I can't remember off the top of my head who did the work. 

Nofive_0 said:

In reply to jfryjfry :

The heads have been fixed but I can't remember off the top of my head who did the work. 

Off the top of my head, Jamison's Custom Corvette in Charleston SC did that work. I seem to remember the guy here in town talking about that.

If it were me, I would get a set of heads or have yours looked at by one of the big 3: wcch, katech and American heritage performance. 
 

and yes, I definitely like those track wheels.  My street wheels are also forgestars: (before zr1 splitter and skirts)

but hopefully you get the electronics sorted.  Low/weak batteries can also cause all sorts of issues!