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[Z06] Had my Z for a month now, thoughts and observations...
C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
Had my Z for a month now, thoughts and observations...
Hey all, so I picked up a 2010 Z06 about a month ago, love the car, have put about 1000 kms on it and here's a few notes about where I am at with the car:
- from time to time I notice the smell of oil burning when I drive the car, it has been diminishing over time, but I still pick up the smell occasionally. This is not oil smell from exhaust, just burning oil smell. I have checked the oil level using correct, up to full temp, shut down, wait a bit method and level is dead on full mark. Car was in for dealer oil change this spring (Yikes, I know ) before I bought it, not sure where smell is coming from. I have never noticed any actual smoke while driving or with hood up.
- I definitely have the "marbles in a can" sound, and like others, it is there when I first let the clutch out and get going, especially when I start off with low revs. I would say it is possibly worse when car is hot.
- I also have the noisy valvetrain ticking, which is most noticeable in the say, 1500-2500 rpm range. It is not always the same exact rpm, more just anywhere in that range. I pretty much hate it, it makes me shift to try to get away from it. I have parked the car for the winter and have been corresponding with Kohle @ AHP as I will be having the guides done this winter. I will likely just go with Pkg 4 and MS90, no milling or added performance, I am very content with the stock power, I am focused solely on reliability. I am hopeful the head work and upgrades will quiet her down a bit, I guess I'll find out.
- the car still has the original GY F1s on it, they are not happy trying to hang on to LS7 power anymore, from what I've read, they probably never were, haha. The tires are pretty noisy, I am looking forward to new rubber in the spring as well. I am on the DRM Bilstein waiting list, as I have found the rear of the car to be pretty unsettled, especially when under acceleration while turning on anything but smooooth pavement...back end steps out and is just generally twitchy.
That would be my "bad" list, and by no means does it mean I am not happy with the car...I love this thing!! I am thrilled with the power and in spite of my above gripes, the car is easy to drive quickly and is just a plain ton of fun. Between the sound, the performance, the feel and the looks, the car is nearly perfect for me...and my wife, who loves fast cars (this one is by far the quickest and fastest car she has ever been in) is crazy about the Z! I could go on for a long time about how impressed we are with this car, it is truly awesome.
I picked up a Quickjack for it today and got that set up...man, what a great bit of equipment these are, super nice!
The previous owner had a couple cosmetic add-ons I did not really want on the car (no offense to anyone that likes these things, they're just not for me). One was the self adhesive chrome-mylar CORVETTE lettering that fills the logo on the rear of the car...came off relatively easy, just black now. It also had the 427 hood emblems which were considerably more difficult to remove. They had some serious glue on them, but I just took my time, some dental floss and WD, followed by some Meguiar's 205 on a clean microfiber and you'd never know they were there. Couple pics:
The ticking 1500-2000 never goes away completely but you can better it. As for noisy tires, welcome to the world of run-flat tires! Get non run-flats and buy a mini compressor/patch kit to keep in the car.
One of the first things I did to mine back in June after buying it was ditch the Goodyear run-flats. The noise alone was driving me nuts, let alone the inability to get traction. Switched to Michelins and have been really happy them so far. I've been dealing with the oil smell too and from what I've been able to research, most likely comes from the oil fill area being so close to the cabin air filter location.
- I definitely have the "marbles in a can" sound, and like others, it is there when I first let the clutch out and get going, especially when I start off with low revs. I would say it is possibly worse when car is hot.
More on this? Is it valvetrain noise or something else? I may have the same.
I reduced the ticking noise somewhat on mine by adding 1/2 bottle of Techron fuel additive to a tank full of gas. Did that twice & it seems to have worked. On my 427 Convertible I think some of that ticking is from fuel injectors. Remember these cars have deleted much of the sound deadening insulation that is normally installed. Also I sent in an oil sample to Blackstone for analysis as I have not done a cylinder head rebuild. Mine came back good & my oil consumption & pressure is good so I’m holding off on head work.
Marbles in a can — normal and is attributable to lugging the motor.
ticking- my 2009,had that and it was annoying. It did it more when the car was above 175 degree oil temp
twitchy - get a street alignment.
Tires- there are a million opinions on that
heads- known valve guide problem. That was a big reason I moved on to the c7z06. There are a million opinions on this
great looking car. I miss my 2009 z06.
Even with my PRC heads, still bothered me - and one of my reasons along with a few other reasons to go to a C6ZR1 - I know a few here say there are a few reports too but the LS9 has an LS3 head design so I feel better and sleep better.
11-05-2018, 02:10 AM
Had my Z for a month now, thoughts and observations...
) before I bought it, not sure where smell is coming from. I have never noticed any actual smoke while driving or with hood up.
