Nino S

I just bought my velocity yellow 2008 Z06 with 17300 miles 8 days ago and love the car. I have been spending a ton of time on this forum and this section in particular trying to absorb as much information and knowledge as possible. I bought my car from a small hi end independent dealer and did not get a detailed list of what was done to the car by the first owner. All that they told me was the the car had:

Hurricane Cold air intake
ported throttle body
FAST 102mm intake manifold
B&B 1 7/8" headers to a un catted x pip with DMH electric cut outs
a custom ground cam (very nice lope at idle but I have no idea what the specs are)
345/30/19 NT05's in the rear and 285' up front.

I have been looking to add a couple small things here and there cosmetically and have really been focusing on getting a nice set of forged wheels. But after seeing all of these threads about valve guide wear, exhaust valves, and heads coming apart causing motors to fail the last thing I want to do is have a nasty Z sitting in my garage that I am making payments on that I cannot drive with a blown $12k motor. I need to know what it is the most economical and smartest way to repair this issue. I live in Northern Virginia and am not aware of any reputable Vette shops or tuners in my area. A good friend of mine recommend RPM tuning out of Delaware to have him replace my heads with a set from WCCH and re tune the car for me so that I stop worrying about popping my motor. He said that it will probably run $3k-$4k to get the job done with parts/labor/tune. While the car gets repaired I want to have my NOS kit installed with a little 75-100 shot in case I ever need it. Has anyone used RPM out of Delaware before? Any of you guys in the DC area and have another shop that is closer then 2-3 hours away that I can leave my car with. Any other recommendations? Thanks for your time and I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.


Here is a short video of my car at idle that day I bought her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8hfMvoPwQw

Mookster

I rolled mine off a cliff after i got full coverage on it(i normally drive dirty without ins)
I'd be willing to Google some good cliffs where you live.

Nino S

thanks for the advice...All I want to know if there is a reputable Vette shop in my area that members on this board have used and had a good experience with. I know there is a solution to the issue I just need help on who i should trust with my car and my money.

Mookster

There is no 100% solution...many will suggest SS exhaust valves and bronze guides

spicytuna

Are you comfortable getting your hands dirty? If so, you can follow the instructions in the thread "Root Cause for excessive guide wear found" to check the geometry of your LS7.

If your geometry is fine, the chances are that you're most likely unaffected by this problem.

Nino S

After reading the threads on here I agree with you and would like to do this but am unsure on who I should go to in my area or if I should just pull the heads and send them somewhere. I am also even considering just going with titanium exhaust valves if it is only a couple hundred dollars more then SS valves. I am interested in who has done the majority of the heads for members on this board and how radical they went with their street cars. I have owned 10+ mustangs and know everyone in my area to go to for whatever I need done but I am very new in the modified vette world. At this point I just want to get them done and not even think about any guide wear or having a exhaust valve fall. I would like to of course go with something that will get me the most power and understand that there is no such thing a cheap HP.

Mookster

I cant recommend a shop since your fail coast...i believe Katech just came out with Ti Exhaust Valves so might want to look into those.

Nino S

I have no problems tearing up a small block. But I honestly think that if there are that many people having this same problems with their heads that it really isn't a case of if it is going to be an issue more so when. If the heads are all made with the same valves isn't it really going to come down to how hard the car is driven until they finally come apart and give in?

Nino S

I am going to contact these guys - http://www.proheads.com/ - after the holiday and see what they say.

And I do not know how you can refer to the east coast as fail coast when the entire west coast is full of "tree hugging hippies" (Cartman voice) hahahaha jk

'06 Quicksilver Z06

Cant go wrong with WCCH.

Nino S

Thanks and it seems like a couple guys have used them and had great experiences. I plan on contacting them and going over what I already have and see what they recommend for what I expect to get out of the car. I am just trying to get to around 600 rwhp all motor plus a shot of juice until I have the car paid for and then look in to a boost set up.

jeffreystar

Don't trust this thread...

Call 4 reputable LSX engine builders and ask the EXPERTS what you can do to prevent the exhaust valve dooms day seniero from happening....

Turbosixx

Beating the **** out of my SS valves everyday, just like I did with every car that I had with stainless valves and bronze guides.

News flash----the stainless valve/bronze guides have been in service for years. This is nothing new.

Oh and my car pulls to 7k rpm like nothing. Heavy, stainless, no fix... Whatever.

Mookster

You actually drive your car and redline...no f'ing way

Nino S

hmm ok. I just talked to another local fellow C6Z owner on the phone he he also mentioned RPM tuning out of Delaware and deal with a guy named Frank or Fran. Thanks for your input. I have no problem spending the money to prevent catastrophic failure I just want to make sure I have my car in the right hands and try to only deal with it only one time.

Nino S

That's very reassuring because I did not buy a Z to baby. I do not spend a lot of time on the track but I do a lot of "spirited driving" and highway pulls late night. One reason I fell in love with the car is hearing it scream to 7k! If you have been running your car hard for years with SS valves then I will definitely consider going that route instead of titanium. I am going to contact WCCH and see what they say as well. Thanks

LS9Drew

RPM is a real big shop in the LSx world I'd take my car there for sure if I lived over there. I think he actually has cores there to send out or already done for LS7s.
Frans96SS is his name on here iirc.

Imo the big shops I trust in the Lsx world are RPM, LMR, CMS, and my tuner. Those are the people I base mods off of

LT5 John

I believe Richard at WCCH is working on Ti Exhaust valves as well, no pricing at this time...Jason at Katech said the Ti Exhaust valves should be somewhere about $1,200. SS would be the cheaper way to go, compared to Ti Exhaust...

Pb82 Ronin

Take your valve covers off. Look at the rocker arms. If they're stock LS7 arms, then you should address the "possible valve train issue". If they're aftermarket you shouldn't worry man. You have a cam already, which means the shop that installed it probably was not a dealership. Good news for you. I bet they also took the time to make sure your valve train was properly set up...hence why i said check the rockers.

As a prior (and still) mustang guy...if you can work on a pushrod 5.0, you can work on an LS7. They're identical in so many ways it's not even funny. In many ways the LS7 is easier though, don't have to take the upper manifold off to remove the drivers side valve cover. I just purchased my ZO6 as well man...very similar situation as you. Trying to find out as much information as possible. You should PM me you info man...I could talk for hours about what I've found.

OJCrush08

I live in NOVA and recently received a set of heads from WCCH for my '10 Z. I went a different route (and more expensive one) since I was just tired of all the crap surrounding these heads, which in my case, GM admitted may have been poorly machined. So, I had WCCH make me a set of the LS7 Brodix heads, with the parts they recommended including CHE rockers.

They have been sitting in my garage for weeks while I waited for the specialty paint & body shop (6 weeks! ) to finish repairing my car which took a fairly minor hit in the rear from some texting b*tch who ran into the back of me goint about 5 mph while I was at an intersection. At least she and her insurance paid for my rear spoiler upgrade to a Katech C/F piece.

I will be taking my car to ECS in New Jersey to install the heads, cam, upgraded clutch, etc. I have dealt with them several times over the years and as many will tell you, they are one of the more highly regarded Vette shops in the country. It is about a 4.5 hour drive from my house depending on traffic. I drop the car off there, they take me to the AMTRAK station and the train takes me back to within 10 miles of my house. Of course, because of the paint shop delay, we seem to be rapidly approaching snow storm season ... So, it might be a while before I get it up there.