chadyellowz06

Nice looking z

40YRW8

Don't forget that several of the people that were supposedly livid over the failures of the Z and GM were posting dozens of nasty statements about the car and the people who disagreed with their value judgements. Some of them also didn't and never even owned a Z.
Gary
P.S. 2007 VY Z bought new Jan '07, 60,000 miles, no races and the only failure so far is a wheel-hop induced tail light filiment. The only opinion about the quality and performance of the Z that I care about is MINE. Best car I have ever owned, PERIOD!

andy82

Dead on. My '07 Z06, 42K miles and rock solid!

Jawnathin

No problems here, but I can guarantee you that the reputation has been somewhat tarnished.

Stopped by a Cars & Coffee event and a Z06 was on the dyno. Was talking to someone who owns one of these SRT Challengers/Chargers and he had mentioned he had heard of dropped valves.

Went to a track day @ Buttonwillow about 6 months ago, was talking to a Viper owner and we started talking about my cars. I brought up the Z06 and he mentioned they drop valves too.

On other forums that bring up the Z06, this is brought up occassionally.

So yep, its out there.

Gary '09 C6

...can't argue with the facts ! that package is top-shelf, for sure...

Dan Parker '96

Mine failed ('08 main bearing, 6700 miles) and was replaced under warranty. I run a huge nuclear reactor and things break there as well. Fix and GO.

Random84

Hopefully the warranty is better?

Marc Lefebvre

Well said Bill, sounds like fun. Gotta try that someday. Marc L.

Mdm23

I love my car but the rep has indeed been tarnished a little in my eyes. Having GMPP and keeping it stock helps me cope. I mean the LS7 is so great but you have this one little issue that just pops up and completely destroys the motor if it occurs. It kinda sucks. No matter the percentage of people that have been victims of dropped valves, we all know that it's a real issue. I mean if this issue wasn't hanging around these cars would be nearly perfect. Low maint., supercar performance, and pure beauty. Stupid valves!

3 Z06ZR1

I have a 2008 Z06 with an A&A kit and 41,700 on the clock with no issues! Just bought another 2006 Z06 with 7800 miles!

achilds

Well that is some serious under the hood bling!

sublime1996525

I love my car. 06 Z with 23,000 miles and no problems at all. I am a bit paranoid about the valve dropping only because that is an expensive ouch but I'm not down on the car at all.

Dan Parker '96

Obsolete parts is the name of the game.Thank god everyone in the organization (plus the original designers) is ****ing smart. No worries. My concerns are with the ignorant. Very dangerous.

Mopar Jimmy

In the real world where a majority of corvette and C6 Z owners don't visit corvette websites I disagree that the car's reputation is tarnished or damaged. Perfect example, if you go to buy a C6 Z (new or used) from a dealer tomorrow or offer yours in on a trade, I can just about GUARANTEE the dealer/salesman/sales manager, is going to look at your like a WHACK JOB if you bring up the alleged valve issue, and ask to pay less for their Z b/c of said alleged valve issue. Conversely, I can also just about GUARANTEE If you go to trade in your beloved Z, the alleged valve issue will not come out of the dealer's mouth to try to give you less $ for your Z. To me, this is what I mean by the REAL WORLD, and not internet car websites like this one where things are BLOWN out of proportion, etc.

I know several C6 Z ownwers, my brother included, and they have NO CLUE about the alleged valve issue with the tehe C6Z, as they don't frequent corvette or other car websights, and they are better off for doing so versus those here who are living n fear, sold their car, etc.

Things get WAY OVERBLOWN on a website like this and although I do believe the amount of catastrophic engine failures on the LS7 seem higher than normal, when you get down to it I still think its a small percentage, less than 1% on stock vehicles. The only guys who bring up the alleged LS7 valve issue are car nut guys who hand out on car forums like this.

If one is worried their best bet in my opinon is to extend/renew their GM warranty or get one from a valid aftermarket company that has a GREAT reputation, keep the car basically stock and drive the heck out of it and enjoy worry free. If you are living in fear and worrying about the reliabilty of your Z to the point where you no longer enjoy it, I would suggest selling it and movnig on, as THIS LIFE is simply too short to live in constant fear/worry.

SilveradoSS500

I'll speak my mind (sorry in advance for poor structure, I'm on my phone)

I'm 27 and fortunate enough to have owned many cars/trucks. I choose the C6Z06 because of cost/Hp and have always been a chevy fan.

I bought a 2006 Z06 3 years ago with the goal of making a serious track toy that is semi streetable. I had an engine failure because of an installation mistake with my H/C install around 1 year ago. I dropped an INTAKE valve and cracked a sleeve.

I have a very strong relationship with my chevy dealership, I went ahead and put a fresh LS7 crate motor installed by the dealer.

My car has around 100k put into it over the years, so technically it does not fall in lines of "warranty".

I'm blessed with my strong relationship with my dealer and if you let the dealer install a crate into your car, it extends the GM crate warranty to 3 years.

My cars warranty is still active till 8/2013 and my power train is active till 2014 or so. Now, that warranty is really honored through my dealership. So, a 2006 still under factory warranty till next year is pretty good.

You bet I beat the crap out of my car ONLY, in a proper way you could say.

Little background on myself, I work for race teams and I'm an instructor for PCA, formula cars etc.

I know everything about cars, engines and how stuff works and breaks.

I read this forum daily and I'm very upset with the amount of engine failures. I do feel the LS7 has some issues once entered into specific driving conditions or modifications. I have noticed the stock ones failing but of course do not know if those engines were over revved etc.

My point is, for my reasoning for buying this beast, I'm pissed that I didn't just buy a Porsche GT3.

I can buy a Porsche 991, track it every weekend, mod it, blow it up and Porsche will replace whatever has failed with ZERO questions.

The Z06 will always be "different" but for my habits, at the end of the day, I should have bought that damn GT3 or some other Porsche.

I get to play with some serious toys and I've been calculating my total cost to "play" with my Z06 and after seeing these engines fail and reading about them....it just makes me want to sell my Z06.

I want a car collection so I told myself that I would never sell it no matter what and would only just buy new engines if needed.

I really am on the fence now for my next move, I hate driving my Z06 because it is a time bomb.

Don't think that every LS7 failure shows up on this forum because they for sure do not.

The LS7 is a serious maxed out stock LS motor and the data collected on valve guide wear etc is an interesting case that these engines will just fail at some point but all high performance engines and regular engines have a life span, clearly the LS7 has a shorter one than others.

I really just want to stop playing with my Z06 and go a different route... Really really really sucks saying it but in my case, it will happen sooner than later. It could happen any day and I don't care to go through this process again even if I get a new engine for free.

I typed this on my phone so it clearly doesn't look pretty and this is me just ranting my late night thoughts.

Mopar Jimmy

SilveradoSS500,

With all due respect and sincerity my C6 Z brother, it appears as if its time to sell your beloved Z and move on (and it sucks, I can feel your pain).

Maybe stepping up to a ZR1 would be just the perfect exlixer for what ails you?

CIPSZO6

My 2006 ZO6 has just over 78K miles on it. I drive it every day and am not light on the gas pedal at all. I've kept up on all the normal maintenance and only done a couple of slight mods ZR1 clutch, Exhaust Mod, Johnny O Stage 1 Kit and Killer Bee CAI. I love the respect the car gets on the road because of it performance and its looks. I don't worry about the "what if's" I enjoy the right now and right now no other car matches the bang for your buck as the ZO6... Period...

Olddudesrule

I share the opinion that the valve issue is way overblown relative to the number of Z's on the road. This is my second, and the first was a C5Z. I love this car, and am continually amazed at the power, handling, fuel mileage, looks...etc, etc. When a middle class guy can buy a vehicle with near "supercar" capabilities, that's always a good thing. While I don't relish the thought of having to replace or repair an LS7, I don't see the sense in babying the car. Take care of it, take some preventive valvetrain measures if you chose, and enjoy the car.

vbu2c5

Here's the opinion of someone that can afford a Z06 but cannot afford to mod it and have to replace an engine at my cost, or afford to track it and go through tires and brakes and whatever else it takes to keep it going as a track car.

I own a car that I can drive around in town in 5th gear at 40MPH but if in the right and legal place I could stand on the throttle and have it hit near 200MPH in that same gear! That is nuts! How many other people on the road have that capability with a car that cost under a 100K? Hell I paid almost half that for a 2007 Z06 2LZ with 2022 miles when I bought her 4 years ago.

I now have Zforce wheels and a ZR1 rear wing and an awesome sound system from corvette forum vendors and many more upgrades that I am completely satisfied with and that make my car unique to me.

Is it perfect? Hell no, do I worry about it? HELL NO! It's perfect for me though, and I don't worry about the 2% because if I modded or raced constantly then I would take the precautions to make it as reliable as possible for what I was using it for. I know stock engines have blown during spirited but not WOT runs but that is not the norm and most ( not all ) have been fixed under warranty.

I sympathize, but the sky is not falling. I work in an industry where we run 24/7 and push things to their limit. Eventually things fail, some things fail sooner than normal. Nothing is fail proof. It's just the nature of the beast. Try and remember this, 3 or 4 engine tune ups on an exotic could cost you the same as a catastrophic engine failure on our Z's. I know apples and oranges but still, perspective.....

I love my car, it is the most incredible car I have ever owned and could still afford and maybe for some that isn't true but I don't have that deep of pocket books to own something better and live with. Just detailed her today and 4 years later I still look in the garage and love what I see and realize how lucky I am that someone took the time to build a supercar that I can live with.

2SSNOS

Bought my 2009 Z06 recently and had failure within 700 miles after purchase. Car had around 29,000 miles Something let go at around 3500 RPM and engine hydro locked. Dealer is replacing under warranty without any argument.
Hope for better with replacement as I barely got to experience the fun
of owning a Z06. Will keep stock and extend the warranty.