apex97

Hey Gang. I am a veteran of several Corvettes including a C6 Zo7 and a C7 Z06. I have been Vetteless for a few months and I am considering a C6 ZR1. I loved my C6 Z06's and never seriously considered a ZR1, but after the C7 Z06, I sort of got hooked on the power of the blower.
My questions are, what have been your experiences with the C6 ZR1. Any issues or common problems? Anything I should be sure to check before signing my name? All input is welcome, this deal is going to down inthe next few days and I have never even sat in one! I have already decided that Jetstream Blue is the fastest color.

MTPZ06

Do it and don't look back.

mirage2991

I have a 2011 with 20k miles and about 13 HPDE week ends....no issues.

Are you familiar with the CCB? and what you should look out for? if not, and if the car was tracked, have the rotor weighed to make sure they are above minimum weight. That's IF the car was tracked, more than a couple of times...if it's only street driven then the brakes are good for ever. Not enough heat generated on the street to wear out the rotors, and the pads, I'd be surprised if they wore too....

MOONSLT1

Sounds like this is combo you like...........

JimsCorvettes

How do you bed in your brake pads?

The 60-5 MPH 50 times in a 10 minute period?
Or
The "old" tried and true method, 6-8 ever increasing MPH to 5 MPH method?

Do you use OEM pads or an after market pad?

Thanks!

ufaj26

In general they are pretty rock solid cars. Just check yours out as best you can. Take a test drive to make certain there are no vibration issues with the front wheels and tires. JSB is an awesome color. I owned a 2009 myself a while back.

JasonAndrew

Badass. My dream vette, along with a SWC.

mirage2991

I believed I followed the manual on that one, 60-0 50 of them under 10 sounds about right.
I use OEM pads because no aftermarket have really tested their pads on the CCB rotors...they may say "their compound" if fine but unless they back it up, I won't try it on 1200$ rotor... OEM has worked well for me on and off track.

NotreOkc

Hey Mirage, a couple of questions for you. My 2012 Centennial ZR1 just passed 28K miles. The car has been fantastic. But I am not sure if the bedding was ever done. I am heading out to TMS in May for our annual track day, if I bed the breaks now is there any ill effects if they were initially done?
Also, if I only track the car hard 1 maybe 2 times a year, how soon should I worry about the rotors needing to be weighed and wearing down? Pads too?
Sorry, I know that was a lot. LOL

To the OP. Other than the usual checklist for any car, the vibration issue above 70 mph and the braking system being checked, these cars are simply fantastic.

lt1z

The C6 ZR1 is still my favorite corvette ever.

apex97

beautiful! Yes, that's the exact car. There are two 2009s for sale right now that I have found, 4 VIN apart! One with 12k miles and the other with 30k. Both look very nice. Best deal will win!

apex97

Yes, I had a 2011 Z07 so I understand, and I followed the bed in procedure to the letter on that one.Interestingly when I traded it for my C7 Z06 I passed on the carbon brakes because they lacked any cold bite at all. I scared myself a few times with panic stops after long runs where nobody was home for too long a time on the pedal.

I race cars and am a pro driver coach in the Ferrari Challenge so I have lots of time with these brakes. (same front rotors on the 430 front and 458 rears as the Vette as I recall, but far different prices!). Carbon is awesome for race cars because they never fully cool off in use, but even the modern stuff still needs to "wake" up with some heat before being even as good as a steel rotor.

Having said that, they are sexy as hell and I will be happy to live with them in this new/used car!

apex97

Also, that 13 track weekends is an impressive workout! In view of all the crying about the automatic C7 Z07 cars overheating on track! I never overheated my C7 Z06 on track, but its nice to know that the C6 ZR1 can run all day! No LS7 blowing up and no C7 Z06 overheating, sounds like the best of all worlds!

TXGS507

So.. you got rid of the Z07 for the newer C7Z... Might I inquire as to why you sold that car? As others have said, the C6ZR1 is definitely one of my favorite Corvettes. It is probably the only car that I would consider selling my 08Z to have. JSB is gorgeous no doubt!! I'd love to have one someday.... I'll be following your post to see the pics of the one you decide on. congrats!

mirage2991

interesting about the CCB, on my ZR1, I can say that even cold they bite, and are my fav brake feel of all my street cars (and stop the hardest). Only time I got scared was after the bed-in procedure....yeah, nobody was home either until they cooled off 10 min later...but since that, no issues.

mirage2991

here is a good link to explain why we have to do it:
http://www.101corvetteprojects.com/c...ad-burnishing/

If you've never done it, the mileage doesn't matter, chances are your pad are still fairly thick and you never got them hot enough to begin with to allow what is described in that link to happen, so go do it.

Tracking 1 or 2 times a year, that has huge variable. If you are totally green, then you'll be fine for a while. If you've been there done that and are up there on speeds, then I think you'll be fine, but if that track is known to kill brakes then who knows. Your driving style will influence that greatly.
For me, I started green as you can be, but by week end 8-9 and up I was going almost 7-10 sec quicker than when I first started. The track I go do is known to be easy on pads, I have that working for me. Last I check my pads had about 2/3 left, which for track use, and because of CCB's, you want to change them early OR you will end up with more heat in the discs (pad thickness help dissipate heat) and start wearing out the discs sooner. I'll probably be swapping pads for track and keep using those "used" one for the street.

mirage2991

Correct, I know someone that had a C7Z06 manual, didn't have an issue, then upgraded to an auto and it didn't finish the run, at the same track, under same (if not cooler) conditions. We bother were of equivalent skills and lap times too, so the fact for him that the auto didn't finish was a big let down (coming from a C6Z06 and C7Z06 M7 and not having any issues). I believe he ended up having GM buy back the car...long drawn process if I recall...no Bueno!

NotreOkc

Thanks for the info! This is my 3rd vette so I am no stranger to the track. Definitely not green. But I do think the burnishing of my brakes needs to happen.

Bigjsn250

You have had a few Vettes, so you probably know all of this, but just in case:

Check the clutch fluid, if it's black, Ranger method.

Check the front splitter and side skirts for repairs and/or if they are original.

Check the dash, especially passenger side near windshield, you are looking for the leather pulling away from the dash.

Check the date code on the tires, low mile ZR1's tend to have old tires on them.

Feel under the windshield wiper cowl near the corners of the blower. You are looking for holes drilled in the cowl. If the blower has been off (non-GM dealer work) it will most likely have holes drilled in the cowl for easier access to the two rear corner blower bolts.

Check the seal around the main wire harness (cuts, rips, tears) this is the most likely place for nitrous lines, wide band wires etc.

Check the shocks for any signs of leakage.

ZF Six

Known issues:

Leather dash (3ZR) coming unglued near the windshield
HVAC control unit goes out (easy to replace)

They're fantastic cars and as others have said, buy one and don't look back!