X25

Received one of the CCW TS12 wheels:

It looks better than I thought it would, to be honest.


I was surprised to see imperfections on the paint (at the lip). I'd certainly hope for better paint job from an almost $4K wheel set.


19.5 lbs for 18x10.5 ET52 front wheel.


$182 for this little piece of metal bar!


Now I have everything I need from 2LT! : P

Kamran

Not bad. Comin together nicely, garage jewelry (CCW) and all!
Did you check with the local dealers to see if they have the caster tool?
You should rent it out! I take dibs on rental!

X25

Hehe, as you can see, I already got the tool! I would not want to work with any dealer to be honest, unless it's my last resort. I have a very good technician who's worked on all my cars for the last 5-10 years for alignment. I will provide him the tool as well as my angle measurement device : )

Kamran

Who are you using?
I've been going to Byron at TruLine. He takes very good care of me!
Haven't asked him if he had "THA" tool!

X25

I work with Tony at Woodinville Firestone. I buy lifetime alignment for my cars ($159.95), and it usually more than pays for its cost. PM me if you're interested.

Kamran

Nice! Can't beat that!
I'm a bit loyal to Byron though. I don't mind paying, if I have a long relationship with someone who takes care of me.
I know another guy who has sponsored me with all my tire flips and changes for free (I think I mentioned that....one too many concussion!). But I'm not sure if he wants to eat his words once he sees me bringing in Vette wheels/tires!

X25

Finally, got to weigh the rear wheel, too:


CCW TS12 19x11.5 ET83, 22 lbs (0.5 lbs is tare)

We've entered the second week, and my car is still not yet shipped. I sure hope Tim can soon get the transport; my July 9/10 track day is in serious jeopardy, considering I need to get the break-in done as well.

SBC_and_a_stick

There are two camps as far as I'm concerned. The have it all camp will run CCB because the rotating mass savings are massive and you can run the same pads on the street. You get dependable brakes, dual purpose street/track use, and you get the performance. You have to pay to play. No one really cares about a few pounds of savings in the calipers...

Then there is the camp that runs iron. It's all about saving money at the cost of lap times. If you chose this camp you gave up performance period. Here a few spend big bucks on aftermarket caliper when our OEM calipers are massively overbuilt to handle the heat from the CCB setup. I like the extra security afforded by the OEM caliper made to handle loads of heat. Then I matched it to an oversized rotor made to handle loads of heat. Saving a few pounds on smaller iron rotors is of course good for shaving a few tenths in the laptime but no doubt more iron translates to more dependable brakes (smaller chance of rotor cracking, fluid overheating, pad material breaking of the pad backing) and longer lasting brakes. There are tradeoffs..., unless of course you spend the $$$ for CCB.

I see you don't have your car yet. I say you run it stock for a good while. I give myself a year where I don't do any car mods to really understand what I'm working with and then pick the mods depending on what the car needs. I spent the first track season worrying about harnesses melting, sensors malfunctioning, powersteering overheating, and engine overheating. I was thankfull the brakes simply worked so I can dedicate my attention on solving the bigger problems. 19 months of ownership in...I still overheat the engine. So you see, even if I could shave a tenth of a second sizing my iron rotors differently, there are bigger fish to fry.

Good choice on the CCW. I have a set myself size for the Viper ACR tires. The OEM wheels were brittle as hell. I bent two in the same track day. Other folks have cracks and loose air just from using them on the street.

X25

Surprised to hear that the OEM wheels were brittle; GM puts them through an additional harsh battery of test cycles before signing off on them for performance models.

My car is finally shipped and I will receive it in a day or two. Regarding mods, well, I already got everything. I could still sell it, though, and get BBKs; I don't think I'd want to use CCBs, either. Regarding overheating, Z06 is a much harder challenge than a Z51 for sure. I got the aux rad as well as the 600W fan and the larger quarter panel scoops, grille, etc.; let's see how it will fare. I am actually more worried about those melting AFM actuators.

SBC_and_a_stick

Maybe they pass the same tests as say the Speedline made C7 Grand Sport model, but it seems to me the Speedlines are much higher quality. With more stringent testing I bet the 60th anniversary wheels would pull ahead. I also believed the OEM tests are tough to pass but I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe it's a quality control issue. Certainly with the cracking it has to be.

I saw your cooling mods. You should be ok with your platform and choices. The actuators are my only worry as well. You may have to find a solution where you remove them. My summer track days so far are in the 90*s and 100*s. Long term I don't think the Z06 is a good choice for me. I would have bought the Grand Sport. I wanted the wider body for more tire patch and the Z was the only choice a year and a half ago. As you know, tires win races.

X25

Finally received the car today!


Looks good. Will look better soon!


My daughter recognized 'the stingray'.


Installed the front Z06 brakes. The calipers don't look much different in size (though pads and probably pistons are much bigger on the Z06 caliper).


Aftermarket lines are usually a bit longer to accommodate for different routing than stock. StopTech lists their SS lines for all C7s. It was disappointing to see that the StopTech SS lines are about same length as Z06 lines, but would be much shorter in practice since it would have to do that 90 degree bend to get attached. I will see if I can return them.


OEM front rotors are about 20.2 lbs (almost new)



Z51 caliper (loaded + line) vs. Z06 caliper (loaded + line)


Used NordLock washers (M14) to make sure caliper bolts never get loose. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


I was able to clear the OEM wheels with a 5mm spacer, but BARELY! I ordered a set of 8mm spacers (5x4.75, 70.5mm hub, 8mm spacer). Note, I'd definitely not use any spacers for aggressive driving.


CCW TS12 18x10.5 ET52 wheel clears the brakes very comfortably. Actually, it has more space than what OEM wheels have against OEM calipers.


Front brakes are done!


Will get the wheels shod with tires tomorrow.


NT01 305/30/19; about 31.5 lbs (subtracting labels as tare). It's very heavy considering how light some other brand tires are at this size.


NT01 275/35/18; 27.3 lbs.

Kamran

Congrats on the car arrival. Perfect timing with the long weekend to work&play!

AKKutz

How tall is your garage ceiling? I was looking at a MaxJax, but I only have 8 feet to use

X25

My ceiling is also very low; less than 100" if I recall correctly. MaxJax requires 89" minimum ceiling height.

X25

And I have so much to do!

AKKutz

Can't wait to see when you get around to the tranny cooler. Interested if it will fit a non wide body.

BaylorCorvette

Hit the ground running, already tearing into that thing!

X25

I am trying to make it to the July 9/10 track days, and between installing mods, making the first 500 miles for the oil change, then making the 1500 miles for the track, getting the suspension swapped or at least aligned, I am not sure how I will handle all of this on time! I will postpone anything I deem not critical.

My plan to make it to July 9/10 track day:

• Postponed (plan to install once I get my other track car ready):
  • T1: I'd like to postpone the T1 suspension install until next time. Besides, it would be more fun to see how stock Z51 performs first.
  • Aero: It's not a priority.
  • Seat conversion / harness bar: It will have to wait the next time.
  • Suede interior: It's very easy to swap steering wheel and the shifter; I might actually do so before the first track day.
  • Radiator, grille: Not sure if I can make this one on time, but I can bundle these when I remove the front bumper. This might be postponed to drive more for break-in miles.
• Done:
  • Brakes and wheels are now done!
• To be done:
  • Break-in: Planning to have a road trip over the weekend to hit 500 miles.
  • Break-in oil change.
  • AFM actuators, transmission cooler core, Z06 quarter panel scoops:
    • These will be done at the same time early next week (once I'm past 500 miles).
    • Need to dismantle rear of the car for all of these.
    • I believe dealing with AFM actuators is a must (since I don't want to end up having to visit the dealer for warranty work).
  • Extended break-in period for track duty: The track is 250-300 miles away. At the expense of NT01s, I think I can use the road as a way to add to my break-in miles. Hitting 1500 miles in about 8 days with all the above to be done will still be very hard.

Today's update:

The new wheels look great!


The car looks very high with the 18/19 wheels. I wonder if I should lower it a bit. As is, it's very easy to drive in the city, though


I also don't see any camber anywhere; wow : )


The rear Z06 brakes are cleared by OEM Z51 wheels, but barely! I think it would need at least a 2mm spacer for ample/safe space between the caliper and spokes.



OEM Z51 vs.Z06 rear brakes.


CCW wheels provide ample space, at least by the calipers.


I realized that the back of the wheel was barely touching the upper control arm at full droop on the lift. I know that other members also had this issue with other wheels (like C5 Z06 wheels), and handled it by jacking the knuckle a bit while putting wheels back, etc., but I decided to just 'solve' the problem : ) I trimmed the touching place a little bit.


SEEMINGLY NO NEGATIVE CAMBER FROM FACTORY!

X25

Driving impressions:

• Infotainment system / dashboard: I think it's a bit sloppy design. It is visually beautiful, I have no complaints, but the functionality and usefulness is limited by the bizarre UI limitations. A few examples:
  • I can see that the tires are 'warm' at Perf screen, but I have to go to Info screen for the tire pressures. Since I need the pressures first and foremost, I will have to stay at info screen at the track!
  • For crying out loud, could we have a screen display that shows all the important temps together, written in NUMBERS? My RAM 1500 does just that:
  • It is also very hard to see if the car is in V4 mode. Some corner in the dash could change color or sign to indicate it. The space is used very poorly in my opinion.
  • It is also very slow. I'm OK with slow mode changes, but why is it slow to update speed? It certainly can update it fast, evidenced by fast RPM updates, so there is no excuse.
  • By the way, where is Android Auto????
  • Why can I not customize themes per drive mode? I can either choose the pre-determined auto theme, or override it to something, which overrides every mode; very limiting.
• Performance: I love it! It feels very much like my last C6 Z06; you can feel the vast torque.
• Brakes: The Z06 brakes + race pads (Raybestos ST47/45) are working very well. I love the brakes so far.
• Rev-match: I've finally decided to leave this on AND also keep blipping the throttle at the same time. It blips the throttle at the very last moment, so if it ever misses, I'd have no way of fixing it myself at the track. Moreover, if I blip it perfectly, it understands that it is done, and does not even engage; nice! I'm guessing they made it react in the last second, so that it does not interfere with drivers who also blip on their own. I see this as a great safety feature. It is easy to have the timing way off at the track if a routine operation fails, like failing to shift. I've had incidents when I had another problem (shifter popping out of the shifter gate for instance), which threw off my self throttle blips, and this rev-match feature would keep me safe by not upsetting the chassis during down-shifts, or even failed up-shifts.
• Packaging: I've inspected all around the car, and GM has done a great job packaging this car! It makes it a bit harder to work on it (like scoops, gaving to remove rear fascia to access mufflers, etc.), but I think it's worth it.
• V4 mode: It is very noticeable, but hey, it does the job. Once the break-in is done, I'm planning to play with it all the time to make personal AVG MPG records

So far, so good. Now that the wheels seemingly work, I will move on to my next priority: AFM actuators. I will apply my fix to see if it works, but for that, I'll need to remove the mufflers first!

BaylorCorvette

Agreed about the tires display. I always track in track mode with the big tach. I usually have it display the temps in the center or the tire temps, but the annoying thing is you have to go from the general information section to the performance section. Also (and this may just be me) but when I'm putting in some serious hot laps I've hit the D pad that cycles through your menu options by accident a couple of times. This past weekend I guess I hit it mid turn and it cycle to the radio, so when I quickly glance down to look at my temps I see a song title "How Does It Feel" it took me a minute to realize what was going on. I thought GM had sent me some sort of customer feedback survey

Ehhh to be honest I daily it in the "sport mode" The manual only ever goes into V4 if it is in eco and maybe tour?

Android Auto wasn't out yet when the '16s rolled off the production line, you apparently have to go to the dealer and it's a couple hour update. I've got an android but not really in a rush for this update.

Glad I'm not the only one that hates this. I wanted all of my displays (except Track Mode) to utilize the Sport display and then keep Track Mode using the Track display...


Low end torque is pretty amazing from this engine, much better than the LS3 in the C6. It does however fall off on top end. For instance, I was tracking with an E90 M3 (you can see it in my video in my thread) and that V8 is a screamer and loves top end. Well in the twisties and low rpm sections of the track I'd blow him away but coming out of the esses on the front straight he'd wave me by but stay on the throttle a bit and it took me a while to over take. In fact I think in my video you can hear me tell me buddy who was ridding shot gun that "I think he thinks I have a Z06." He certainly didn't lift on the straight until we were getting close to T1!


I'm conflicted because I'm sure the larger brakes are awesome however the idea of me replacing Z51 rotors at ~$97 a pop vs my old ZL1 rotors at ~$350+ a pop is certainly keeping me from pulling the trigger. Those Z06 rotors are expensive aren't they?

Good Luck, I'm interested!