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Hey guys, I finally belong to the forum. Picked up an 02 Z06 from a forum member not too long ago. Flew out and picked it up, drove 1200 miles (In the rain through the mountains lol) home along with a buddy who snagged a V1 Cts-V. I picked it up as a Track/AutoX/DD replacement from my modified Honda Prelude SH. Even as a base this car is well above where I was before in nearly every aspect except for the handling. Even there this car has SO much potential that I plan to capitalize on. The transmission, motor, and chassis response are all SO far out from what I am used to. This whole leaf spring thing is pretty interesting. I kinda like it lol. Think of cutting down a tree where the Prelude was a chainsaw and the z06 is a hand grenade
This is my first Corvette so I'll just warn you in advance of all of my noob questions. On the bright side I am proficient at the search function and am a class 4 forum search wizard so I should be set for most stuff.
As the car sits now,
Headers
Catless X
Borla Starights
CAI
Corbeau A4's
Heritage Suzuka 3pc
MGW Shifter w/ C6 **** (Literally just installed)
Short term goals:
Heavy Weight Shift ****
Transmission upgrades
Valve Spring upgrades
C6 z06 Shocks
C6 z06 FR Sway
C6 Z51 Rear Sway
Set of Track Wheels
Adjustable M/C
C6 Z06/Cts V brakes
Braided Stainless lines
Maybe one sticker
AutoX & Track time!
The car has a bit of a quirk, hard grinds on 4-3 downshifts every time. No problems on 2-3 or 3-4. Just going down. I also noticed a high pitched whine under load coming from the tunnel as well. Originally I was really hoping my shifting predicament was somehow a misalignment in the shifter assembly and the whine a lack of proper sound deadening. So today I picked up a MGW unit from another forum member (You know who you are! Thanks again! ) and got it installed in about 40 minutes earlier today. While I had it out I thoroughly inspected the linkage and alignment. Sadly after all is said and done the problems persist. Looks like I will be pulling the rear drive-train to go through the trans as well as inspect the bearings in the tube and diff. While I'm in there I'm planning on going with the usual trans treatment and maybe some c6 bits in the differential. Depends on the amount of free range green trees I have in my pocket when the time comes. Being as I am limited on time and am lacking most of my tools in the new garage space, I may just splurge and purchase another already upgraded Trans if the problem worsens anytime soon. For now I'll just drive it as it is!
And that's it for now! Can't wait to get this thing out somewhere and in the proper condition so I can really push it!
Last edited by nate544R; May 7, 2017 at 08:04 PM.
Reason: Add to goal list.
Congrats and welcome. A C5 Z06 is a great first Corvette and your new Black Z is a sharp looker. Hope you can get your shifting problem sorted out without spending too many free range green trees.
Enjoy that Z.
I was hunting for one of these for months! This is the 5th car I had committed to buy. All of the others were sold out from under me. And I even had deposits on two of them!
Took it out today to learn the car a bit. First off, let me just say that I LOVE these seats. Super comfortable and they hold you in just the right position. Plus they recline! Shifting is tight and rough. The transmission feels like a box of rock but gets smoother up in the rev range. Gates are soft and often vague. I found myself in 4th a few times when I was a little to quick pulling back into 6th, and the same attempting to shift into first at a stop and ending up in 3rd. At a stop running through the gears they all seem a bit rough for my liking. Once again they have that gravel feeling, but seeing as this is my first Corvette I am unaware if that is normal or not. I have read the t56 is a bit rougher than most but I never imagined it to be this bad. One pop-out today in 3rd coming out of a rolling stop over train tracks. First time for that.
Engine response is crisp, the car has a good tune and you can tell when you drive it. Chassis is stiff and responds to input nicely. Oversteer is predicatable and manageable, also available at will I might add. The big pedal on the right provides access to all sorts of wonderous sensations and noises. Oh, and have I mentioned these seats are awesome? Understeer is not as prevalent but the car could definitely benefit from some additional front meat on the wheels come track time. Clutch is heavy and actuates extremely early in pedal throw. I'll have to get ahold of the PO to see what is in it as I forgot. Definitely not OEM though.
Discovered an exhaust leak, albeit a small one at the latter end of the collectors.Very faint, just enough to make a piece of paper do the fidgets. Will be taking care of that asap. The MGW started a bit of rattle as I pulled in the driveway so I will pull that and inspect it in the next week as well. Differential and transmission fluids are up next so I will have to order myself some Amsoil for that. Unsure of the mileage on the fluids currently within, but I am doubtful that they are that old. New fluids will likely make no difference but it is a cheap test to do before pulling the transmission. Hopefully that will help clear out some of those boulders in my shiftbox.
So discovered a slight knock in the front end going over bumps at low speeds and a knock in the rear when taking off from a stop occasionally. Going to investigate tomorrow and check torque on suspension pieces. Will follow up later.
Been awhile, bought a house and moved, been busy with other stuff, but finally had a chance to get this thing up in the air and check it out.
Dear god this thing is a bitch to get off the ground.
Checked front and rear suspension bushings, Re-torqued all suspension pieces (they were fine, just for assurance sake), checked battery retainer, re-calibrated hand brake. Checked motor mounts and driveline mounts. All good so far. No obvious culprit. Discovered the PO had smashed the longtubes and messed up a few brackets. I counted 3 bolts completely missing from the exhaust, a hanger not even close to being attached, a spring hanger zip tied up to the car body, and a broken mount with a substantial hole in the header. Also the lowering bolts have been completely removed and I have been running on bumpstops this whole time. Cool.
The noise in the rear is pretty violent. It is NOT consistent. It does not do it every time the car begins rolling. Only in a forward gear from what I can tell as far. It is a loud pop and I can feel it in the steering rack. Definitely from the rear though. I do not get it any other time other than take-off after being stationary or under 5mph. I'm hoping it is not something driveline related but I doubt it as that is the only time I ever experience symptoms. I can hammer it and run through the gears with the tires spinning and there is no problems or noises at all. Maybe if I just break it it will be more obvious what is wrong Going to pop out the drive shafts and inspect those next time it is off the ground.
I'll see if I can't get a good video of that particular situation.
I'm thinking the lack of spring bolts in the front may be causing my noises up front. Not sure. Going to just ditch the springs and go with coilovers. Looking at the LG GT2, Aldan's, or Stance USA GR+ (Pfadt). Anyone have any input on these? Looking for something I can adjust easily as this will do dual daily/track duty in the summers.
Aldan: Only thing with these is that they are single adjustable. Comp on the front and rebound on the rear (or reversed I don't remember.). Oh yeah, and adjustment is not as conveniently located once mounted. But they have a lifetime warranty, US made, and are CHEAP! http://www.tpsmotorsports.com/corvet...-corvette.html
Stance- USA's site is down atm, but here is the address. Not much info on these. I had a guy refer them to me on the Facebook group. Same price range as the Aldans. The dealer I spoke too said they are the same thing as Pfadt. Not sure of that was just a sales pitch or not. Assembled in USA. Customer service is stateside and apparently really good from what I have read. http://box958.bluehost.com/suspended...d=29&Itemid=42
I decided I will also be getting a cheaper set of wheels. Probably c6/c7 repos and maybe possibly getting rid of the Heritage wheels currently on it. I hate having really nice stuff because I constantly stress and worry about potentially messing it up. Or maybe I will hang onto those and get rid of the C4 zr1's I have as spares. Any interest in those?
Also going to get a lift I think. I am thinking a Danmar MaxJax or a good scissor lift. I want something portable and versatile. I don't mind low rise, I would actually prefer it due to my current garage situation (2.5 car, 8.5ft to the A frame supports.). I like the idea of the quickjack but I'm not sure if it will lift high enough. I would like to get at least 3 feet under the car. SAFELY.
Last edited by nate544R; Sep 17, 2017 at 04:28 AM.
Reason: Went to go get a snack and randomly started thinking about car lifts and how I want one.
I'm also looking into the Aldans. Seems like a good price for the package you can get with the sways and end links. Let us know what you end up going with.
I was hunting for one of these for months! This is the 5th car I had committed to buy. All of the others were sold out from under me. And I even had deposits on two of them!
Took it out today to learn the car a bit. First off, let me just say that I LOVE these seats. Super comfortable and they hold you in just the right position. Plus they recline! :
Are these the stock seats? I have but 20K original miles on my '02 Z and my stock seats suck. Not sure how you could be in love with this seat. I have already had to replace the foam in the driver's seat and they are not that comfortable and they do not hold me in place at all. Just my .02. Congrats on a great car though!!!
I think I have decided on stance coilovers. I spoke to a good friend of mine that road raced a heavily modified rx7 FD and he highly praised the stance coilovers. He said they are very popular among the import performance crowd and for good reason. Hopefully will be ordering them in the next week or so.
The Stance XR1 coilovers are ordered and on the way.sponsor here. Dennis over at Double D mods is GREAT to deal with! Single adjustable, height adjustable, and adjustment extensions for about 1200 to my door. Very nice race proven setup.
I am also picking up a used Eagle high rise frame engaging scissor lift in the morning. I don't think my lima ranger is going to like dragging a 2k lbs lift behind it but **** it. It's only metal
Using an engine hoist a few floor jacks, a come-along, and a few pieces of pipe to get it on an doff the trailer. Should be fun.
On a more relative note, I'm taking the car to a friend of mine beforehand to touch up a few broken exhaust brackets for me. These exhaust leaks are driving me backshit crazy! Hopefully I can actually make it to the local Cars and Coffee for the first time this year.
Got the coilovers in from Double D today. Got the lift in and installed. Going to pick up a rpm trans next week. Now just looking for the spare time to get stuff done!
Nate's Vette Thread
) and got it installed in about 40 minutes earlier today. While I had it out I thoroughly inspected the linkage and alignment. Sadly after all is said and done the problems persist. Looks like I will be pulling the rear drive-train to go through the trans as well as inspect the bearings in the tube and diff. While I'm in there I'm planning on going with the usual trans treatment and maybe some c6 bits in the differential. Depends on the amount of free range green trees I have in my pocket when the time comes. Being as I am limited on time and am lacking most of my tools in the new garage space, I may just splurge and purchase another already upgraded Trans if the problem worsens anytime soon. For now I'll just drive it as it is! 
Going to pop out the drive shafts and inspect those next time it is off the ground. 
