Yavuz

Hey everyone,

I just picked up a fantastic low mileage 2003 Z06 last week and LOVE it. I have been lurking this forum for the last two weeks trying to soak up as much information as I can. I have read through the FAQ a few times, but figured I should make this post to cover my bases.

Are there any parts or mods that I should pick up to increase the reliability, driveability, or overall fun of the car?

I will order a Thunder Racing column lock simulator as well as their CAGS eliminator kit today as both of those seem important enough to tackle right away. Is there anything else that I should look into getting?

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Also - The car came with a K&N intake system. What is the general consensus about the K&N around here? I have tried to do a search and I keep hearing about the Vararam, but not too much about the K&N. Is there anything wrong with this intake? The car unfortunately did not come with the stock intake system, so I might have to try and find a used one at some point.

One thing I have noticed is that if I lightly get on the throttle between 2000-3000 rpms I can hear a distinctive whistle sound coming from the engine... almost sounds like brakes screeching. I can only assume that this is coming from some part of the intake so I will have to investigate a little further. Any advice on that would be much appreciated.

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Thanks for any help in advance. Here are a few pics of the new car. 2003 Corvette z06 with only 5,500 miles!








-Yavuz

pql-lbc

Ditch that fishing rod GM calls an antenna...that will reduce your drag coefficient by about 10% and also add about 5HP!

I'm sure the C5 Masters will chime in here soon enough, but you probably have the 2 good mods to start in the skip shift eliminator and the CLB. I got my 02Z in March, it came with the K&N and it works fine for me.

I reckon the gurus may tell you that the stock Ti exhaust is just fine and if you want to switch out with another exhaust, it may enhance the sound of the Z, but not too much HP gain to be had by itself. I do have the Borla X-Pipe/Stinger combo and it sure sounds sweet though.

Engine wise there may be that valve spring issue. You have a low mileage Z and if the previous owner didn't drive it like he stole it, then may be you'll be fine. I'm still on the fence about dropping the coinage to replace mine. Mine doesn't have any engine mods so it's not pushing beyond the stock HP, and the previous owner (another forum member) took good care of the car, didn't beat it up as far as I can tell, so I think I'm okay.

Drivetrain wise, once you start driving the Z and start jonzing for a tighter/shorter throw shifter, then may be that's something you may want to investigate. I have the MGW and it's rather tight...and short..., but there are others as well.

Suspension wise, if $$ was flush, I'd go for some Pdaft Coilovers, may be a new set of sway bars, but that's just me. If not, may be drop it on stock bolts, get it balanced, and if you want, drop some new C6 shocks in for that new shock feeling.

Interior wise, you may want to fix the rocking chair issue with the seats as it will become an annoyance. My driver's seat is starting to rock with only 52K on the odo.

That's my .02 cents worth. I'm still new at this. Enjoy the Z and welcome to the CF.

bumble-z

Wow, nice find! Hope you enjoy. Under the hood, I'd check the fluid in the clutch & brake resevoirs. If their not clear, change out both w/Prestone Syn Dot 4. I like this product because it's clear and you can tell right away when things start to get dirty and be able to see small particulates easily. If not familiar w/ the change out proceedure, check in the tec section under Ranger's clutch fluid change out, etc.
In the trunk, make sure every thing is there in case you have a flat and make sure you have a key for your wheel locks and a set of pucks for lifting. A partition as also a must. If you can come across a set of well covers, that would be nice. As for the cai,I've allways have had the Vararam. My other if not top choice would be the Holloway "Honker" Welcome to the Corvette Forum, and don't forget to wave. PS. Forgot to mention what a great addition a 3 volumn set of Service books would be.

Alaskanpilot

Congrats on the nice find!

The big "must haves" were already mentioned, but I'll add another suggestion: A partition. It goes at the base of the rear windshield and separates your trunk area from the cabin area. You still get plenty of storage space behind the seats on that little shelf area, and the partition helps cut down on road noise and keeps things from flying around so much if you have a lot of loose items in your trunk. Jim at Southern Car Parts (a great Supporting Vendor here) sells them:

http://www.southerncarparts.com/corv...tion-p-30.html


Also, since this car is new to you, depending on how well you trust the previous history on it, I would change out the fluids. motor oil, gear oil, tranny oil, possibly the coolant, and check that the clutch and brake fluids are clear and clean.


If you like to listen to mp3's, there is an excellent iPod adapter that works with the stock Z06 radio. You can buy one here, from another respected Supporting Vendor here: (c5 Bears Fan at Double D Mods)

http://www.doubledmods.com/Periphera...ter-ipodc5.htm


I've done a lot of things to my car, but these are among the most useful while often going unnoticed or taken for granted. Enjoy the car!

Slow Z06

Get a set of twins

danziger

Possibly tires as they are 7+ years old if original.

Nysbadmk8

Driver Mod.

Z06 Pack

If I started over again, coilovers would be the first thing I would buy.

CLB and CAGS are must haves too, that just goes with out saying.

warriorp

CAGS delete and Partition would be my first two...vararam over an existing k&n wouldnt be worth it...i wanted more sound from the exhaust too but waited till put headers on and just kept the stock ti...aftermarket cat backs dont give any performance gains just sound...which to me is not worth the money but headers to give you some bang for your buck!...welcome and enjoy!

Yavuz

Thanks for the advice everyone! As mentioned before I am going to start with the CLB and CAGS eliminator. I am going to keep the car stock for as long as possible, so I am not looking to do any performance mods for the time being. I just got out of another car that I modified and put a ton of money into - so I am trying to stay away from doing that again. I was also considering a shorter antenna as well as a new shift **** since the stock one feels a bit funny, mostly just small things like that for now.

I just checked the fluids and everything looked fine visually, but I might replace all fluids just in case. I will try and find out when the last oil change was. The tires look pretty much brand new (the car was stored in a climate controlled garage, so no dry rot or anything) but it does concern me that they are at least 7 years old... I might end up changing them before the end of the summer.

I might go with a partition down the line, but the z06 is 10x quieter than my old car so it wasn't anything I was considering doing right away.

Thanks again, and if anyone else has anything to add let me know!

pql-lbc

Don't fight the bug...you can't win !! There are plenty of mods that won't bump the HP up any but will personalize your Z without crushing the bank account. Good luck.

Alaskanpilot

Yavuz, if you want to find out exactly how old your tires are before deciding to replace them, there's an easy way: Look on the sidewall for a series of letters and numbers that begin with "DOT". Towards the end of this string you should see four number digits. They indicate the week and year that the tire was produced. On my tire for example, I have "DOT DEL 3709" which tells me, that tire was produced in the 37th week of 2009. If you don't see these four digits, you can try checking the other sidewall of that tire.

With only 5500 miles, it would not surprise me if the tires are original, but if for some reason the prior owner did replace them, it'd be nice to know before buying new tires!

Never Late

How do you fix the rocking seat issue? Ive noticed over the past couple months on accell and decell it moves slightly

CanyonRunninZ06

Nice find. I'm always curious what car people had before they got their Vette.

Todd157k

Check your belt. It's probably old and hard. Get a Gatorback from Autozone.

Congrats on the new car.. looks GREAT!

Oh, and while you've got the belt off, check the idler pulley. Should move freely and not rock back/forth.

SCM_Crash

The only thing that is an absolute MUST is the CLB.

After that, I'd recommend a CAI, headers and a tune.

Yavuz

The car that the z06 replaced was a 2004 Dodge SRT4. I bought it new in 04 and slowly built it over the years. It was making around 350whp by the time I sold it with the suspension and brakes sorted out as well. Pretty fast car... from a roll I'd say it would be neck and neck with a stock z06, but it would be left for dead from a stop... No traction until 3rd gear in that car haha.

Here's a pic of it right before the new owner picked it up.

loudpedal01

swap the battery for a gel cell

CanyonRunninZ06

Nice and super clean looking, I almost bought a SRT4 but the dealer wanted WAY too much over sticker for it. It was at the tail end of the model year right before they went to LSD and bigger injectors stock.

I had a turbo Cavalier putting down 285WHP. Wasn't much stock left on it. I really had a lot of fun with that car, but the Z06 was the only car out there to make me want to part it out.

RJ-19

Ok, I just have to ask... did you buy your Vette from C&P Imports in the Boston area? I've attached some photos from their Ebay listing below. (it was also listed on Cars.com.)

I also bought a 2003 yellow Z06 with 4002 miles on it just last month and this was likely one of the two identical cars that I considered buying. I ended up getting mine from a small dealer in NC. Both were really great cars, but all else being equal I went with the lower miles. However, by the time I drove it home to Wisconsin from NC, I'm up close to 5,500 now too and I enjoyed every mile during my first days behind the wheel.

Well congrats, and I compliment you on your taste in cars! I put up a few photos of mine in the "garage" section of this site. All of the images were taken during the trip, because honestly I haven't even had it home long enough to go take some nice photos.

Ryan J


http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/u...1004140182.jpg


http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/u...1004140239.jpg