Bell040

Hey guys,

I got a 2008 Z06 a few months ago. I am a car buff, but I realized today that I need a quick overview that even the hallowed FAQ will not cure.

BTW fellow C6 newb's... this is the holy grail of info...http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...questions.html


Anyways...

Since the Z06 is new to me, I took it up the road for the first oil change since I don't have a jack that will fit under the car... yes it really killed me to take it somewhere. I have changed my own oil since I have owned a car ~15 years.

I brought my own mobil 1 oil and filter and I was on religiously watching over their shoulder. However, they only removed 1 oil plug and ended up making a mess and wasting 2-3 qts of Mobil 1. Turns out that they have never done a Z06 and didn't know what a dry sump oil pump was.

The oil change DIY is not in the FAQ (only for the C6) ... so lesson learned. I will get a low profile jack and read before I do any work on the Z06... and not assume that what will work on my other cars will work for the Z06.

So I ask my fellow Z06 gurus, what else is quirky on the Z06 that I may run into during routine maintenance?

I replaced the cam in my 2010 Camaro SS, and I am comfortable with the LS3... but this LS7 is a whole different beast... literally.

Mdm23

I can't believe how bad some mechanics suck. I was a tech for seven years. I moved to a better situation but I was pretty decent at it. If these guys see two plugs on the bottom of the oil pan they should be able to figure it out or at least check some sort of reference.

Bell040

Agreed, but the mentality at shops around here is that they already know everything... since they have been doing it for X years.

I don't want to take the Z06 to the dealership if I can help it... sometimes even the dealership have the same mentality.

160KTS

If the car ever goes on a lift you'll need pucks. A lot of shops (especially those that are unfamiliar with the C6) don't have them. I keep a set in my car even though my preferred shop has several sets.


And get used to the SIG on your face. You'll have it a lot.

Bell040

Now I am finding out that jacking the car is a science in itself.

... hockey pucks with eye bolts, modified cross beam adapters, $800 low profile jacks (lol).

Bell040

Thanks,

SIG? guessing...

Maybe I should have named the thread: Every Z06 owner has a .... ???..... and let you guys fill in the blank.

1) hockey pucks for jackstands/lift
2) M2W exhaust
3) low profile jack, blocks, or ramps
4) CAGS skip shift eliminator
5)

cj5v6

Let the trans warm up before you speed shift in to 2nd or 3rd. Grinding!!

Oops forgot one. always park with it in reverse. I know some think its an old wives tale, but was told by more than one dealer this was the case with the 08 Z. I have over 30K miles and original battery..

Bell040

Thanks, this is the first time I have heard of either of these

Does 1st drain the battery?

160KTS

Only only have 2 of the 4 I replaced my m2w with Corsa and I have a dyno tune.


Only the 2005's (no Z's because no Z was made in 2005) have that issue. I typically leave mine in R when I pull forward into a spot an 1st when I back into a spot. Sometimes I dn't leave it in gear at all and just leave the ebrake up.

Zoxxo

It's not an old wive's tale but it only applies to 2005 manual tranny cars. My 71K miles, 5.5 year old, bought new, 2007 Z06 has never been parked in reverse and it still has the original battery (but it is at death's door now from old age.)

As for warming the motor up, it a wise thing to do, IMO. My rule is no major power until the temps and pressures are close to normal. Water temp comes up pretty quickly but oil pressure takes a few minutes and miles. I want all the different metals to be at their designed expansions and dimensions before I start stressing things. An ounce of prevention and all that.

re: pucks

Good to have at least a couple of these on board so that little tire shop in the little town can lift one side of the thing off the ground if needed (not that they will have a tire in your size anywhere in the county.) Drive the front wheel up onto a 2"x4" or a brick to gain ground clearance for the jack if necessary.

Btw, not all lifts need to use pucks. Some have "fingers" that can be placed with enough precision.

You'll need to get into the practice of making sure your car is being dealt with properly when others approach. As pointed out, too many mechanics (well, males, actually) think they know everything and are willing to test this theory on your automobile. Be very vigilant unless you really know who you're dealing with.

re: M2W

It's nice but as many have done I just wired up a toggle switch to do it manually. First-through-fifth = on, sixth and driving into my quiet neighborhood = off. Cheaper ($~20 vs ~$100) and always right there (as the magazines say, "it falls readily to hand.") There was a how-to posting for this just last week in the tech forum:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...witch-mod.html


re: Jacks

I got a low profile Sears jack for pretty cheap and it does fine. If you lower the car then you'll need at least a couple of boards to drive up on to get the jack under. No real biggie. If you intend to do oil changes and/or maintenance and need the car up and level, then you're into a different scenario where the beam adapters come into play.

re: CAGS defeat

It's a cheap little part (~$20) that plugs into the wire between the computers and the tranny and keeps the car from enacting that annoying "you must shift into fourth gear now" baloney. Cheap and easy. Others will say "just learn to drive around it" to which I say, "why the %&$# should I have to? I am the driver, thank you."

re: other tips off the top of my head

• Master the start button (you'd be surprised...)
  
• Don't run the fob(s) through the washing machine.
  
• Buy a spare front splitter now so when you crunch it on a parking block or a curb, you can replace it quickly. You will do this.

Z//

RedZ4me

buy low profile Rhino ramps and adapt a 2x8 wood as extensions tapering their edges.

DanY

I just got the Omega low profile jack. 2 Summit Racing crossbeam
adapters, 2 pr Northern Tools Blackhawk 7-ton jack stands, and Elite
Engineering lift pucks (just make sure you get pucks to fit the Z06
aluminum frame).

I also invested in a pair of Racing Ramps Trak-Jaks. These are short
3" high ramps that let you get the jack under the front of the car.

There is a very good post on lifting the car and how to mod the
crossbeam adapters to make them fit the car. Try a search to find it.
I'm not sure which forum it was in. You could try an advanced Google
search on the entire forum site.

Bell040

After alot of reading, I just used this instead of M2W (but I still call it M2W for lack of a better word): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details


Thanks, I have been using 1st when level, so I won't need to change my habits.

I have read this about the water temps, but I hadn't paid much attention to the oil pressure... I will watch it a little better now.

I am shopping for pucks now... $4 to $80, guessing $30 may be a good mid ground.

I have a nice Kobalt hydraulic jack (not low profile). I wonder if the 2x4 will give it enough room? or if the low profile ramps will provide enough room? If not, I will be looking into the low profile jacks... $150 to $800.

I found alot of info about lift points, jacking procedure, etc. Some people go a little crazy with it, maybe for good reason.

I found this article: http://xse.com/leres/z06/cags.html

and then bought this: http://www.amazon.com/Littelfuse-0MI...3293329&sr=1-9

if that doesn't work, I am out $10, and I will do the $30 CAGS eliminator

Not sure what you mean here

Guessing that you speak from experience, what did that run you ($$) ?

I need to do this now, my front splitter looks horrible. Thanks for getting the part # !!


Thanks Everyone!!

JoesC5

If you need a new front splitter, then give Chris at SDPC (forum sponsor) a call. He beat the other's best price(including shipping charges) by $20 and made a box large enough for the splitter to fit in, to prevent shipping damage.

Oh, and if you can spring for it, a four post lift works great. Not only can you do the oil changes(on all your cars), you can use it for storage if you don't have another car that needs to be kept in the gargae. I have two of the lifts in my 2-car garage, so I can park four cars, and then do the oil changes on them.

Zoxxo

Quite a few posts over the years have shown that some folks don't get the idea that the top half is the start button and the bottom half toggles between "ingition on" (accessory mode) and "ignition off".

Actually no. I haven't done that. Again, years of reading posts here The online folks are showing a price of ~$110 for a 2008 key+fob replacement.

It wouldn't hurt to replace your fob batteries at this point so that you know what you have.

Z//

Desert Nomad

[B]"MASTER THE START BUTTON"[/B. You brought up a good point. So one should push the "START" button in the upper half when starting the car normally? The reason I ask is that I've had some weird starting problems with mine that the dealer could never duplicate. Kind of wonder if its my own fault and starting technique.
Desert Nomad,

160KTS

I usually end up putting on a splitter every year or 18 months. The weird part is i never scrape it, it's destroyed from little rocks and tiny debris in the road.

Zoxxo

Yes. Pushing the top activates the ignition and then the starter.

Z//

Random84

FYI: make your own "jacking" pucks out of hockey pucks and some eyebolts from the local hardware store. Odds are, you'll pay around $10 for a set of 4 pucks online (unless you live up north and can buy them locally) and $2 for the eyebolts.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...cks-cheap.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ks-thread.html

Desert Nomad

Wow, I've always hit the button in the middle. Could never figure out why the dealer could never duplicate it and never found any codes. Man if this is the reason for my past "intermittent no starts" I really feel dumb. But since I've had this car, I've learned a lot thanks to you guy's on the forum.