2019 C7 Z06 Review/Mod Progress
11-08-2018, 11:58 PM
#21
Burning Brakes
I have had my '19 M7 2LZ for about two months, and so far I consider it in the top 3 of the 10 Vettes I have had. The '19s definitely are the best of the C7 Z's with the addition of some ZR1 developed parts and far superior paint quality. I don't expect to have much in the way of overheating problems with its larger radiator and HX. Also like the much better spider gears and fuel pump shared with the ZR1.
My car had handling problems and it stemmed from some poorly matched tire inflation pressures and more importantly from poor alignment. Took me a while to find an extremely competent alignment shop and made changes to the camber, toe (was whacked out) and caster. Front caster was easy, rear was a bitch and thanks to input from Bill Dearborn I was able to overcome the problems caused by needing a special tool that only GM has. That was a crock, but the combination of a few 1/4 inch bolts, an iPhone app, and an alignment guy open to learning something new, we got the alignment really dialed in.
As for fuel, I quickly learned that GM's 100 Octane tune was not available for '19s, or 18's either for that matter. I have ready access to 93 octane and 100 octane, and no question the car can adjust to the 100 octane juice. From what I have learned from VP fuels, I am guesstimating that not only does the higher octane keep the knock timing retard at bay, it adds about 3% more power (their guess).
As for mods, I did the Mamo PTB and the $90 BMS filter. I have dealt with Tony for many years for many different cars, and I know the quality of his work. As for the filter, everything I could find out about intakes has led me to believe that you don't need more than a BMS to replace the stock restrictive filter until you are making a lot more than stock power.
And for me, these car's major problem is not a power deficit, but an overweight issue. My C6 Z, with a little lightening, weighed just over 3100 lbs. This car is 400 lbs heavier. Also, there is the traction issue. No surprise there when you put extremely narrow ultra stiff runflat tires on 20'' street bling wheels that are way too heavy. They look cool on the street, but not so much for traction, and certainly not ideal for track days. So, I will be putting most of the rest of my mod money into reducing what I call "functional weight" which is a combination of sprung and unsprung weight. Like to get 200 lbs of functional weight off. Figuring that 1 lb of unsprung weight is roughly worth 4 lbs of sprung weight, going with forged monoblock wheels in an 18/19 set-up with non runflat tires will hopefully be worth 40 lbs of unsprung weight off. Traction will also improve with this set-up. Maybe a full Akro exhaust takes another 25 or so lbs of sprung weight off. Now, hopefully, a bit below 3400 lbs functional weight, around 3450 lbs actual weight.
My car had handling problems and it stemmed from some poorly matched tire inflation pressures and more importantly from poor alignment. Took me a while to find an extremely competent alignment shop and made changes to the camber, toe (was whacked out) and caster. Front caster was easy, rear was a bitch and thanks to input from Bill Dearborn I was able to overcome the problems caused by needing a special tool that only GM has. That was a crock, but the combination of a few 1/4 inch bolts, an iPhone app, and an alignment guy open to learning something new, we got the alignment really dialed in.
As for fuel, I quickly learned that GM's 100 Octane tune was not available for '19s, or 18's either for that matter. I have ready access to 93 octane and 100 octane, and no question the car can adjust to the 100 octane juice. From what I have learned from VP fuels, I am guesstimating that not only does the higher octane keep the knock timing retard at bay, it adds about 3% more power (their guess).
As for mods, I did the Mamo PTB and the $90 BMS filter. I have dealt with Tony for many years for many different cars, and I know the quality of his work. As for the filter, everything I could find out about intakes has led me to believe that you don't need more than a BMS to replace the stock restrictive filter until you are making a lot more than stock power.
And for me, these car's major problem is not a power deficit, but an overweight issue. My C6 Z, with a little lightening, weighed just over 3100 lbs. This car is 400 lbs heavier. Also, there is the traction issue. No surprise there when you put extremely narrow ultra stiff runflat tires on 20'' street bling wheels that are way too heavy. They look cool on the street, but not so much for traction, and certainly not ideal for track days. So, I will be putting most of the rest of my mod money into reducing what I call "functional weight" which is a combination of sprung and unsprung weight. Like to get 200 lbs of functional weight off. Figuring that 1 lb of unsprung weight is roughly worth 4 lbs of sprung weight, going with forged monoblock wheels in an 18/19 set-up with non runflat tires will hopefully be worth 40 lbs of unsprung weight off. Traction will also improve with this set-up. Maybe a full Akro exhaust takes another 25 or so lbs of sprung weight off. Now, hopefully, a bit below 3400 lbs functional weight, around 3450 lbs actual weight.
11-09-2018, 10:21 AM
#22
Instructor
Thread Starter
11-09-2018, 10:36 AM
#23
Instructor
Thread Starter
I have had my '19 M7 2LZ for about two months, and so far I consider it in the top 3 of the 10 Vettes I have had. The '19s definitely are the best of the C7 Z's with the addition of some ZR1 developed parts and far superior paint quality. I don't expect to have much in the way of overheating problems with its larger radiator and HX. Also like the much better spider gears and fuel pump shared with the ZR1.
My car had handling problems and it stemmed from some poorly matched tire inflation pressures and more importantly from poor alignment. Took me a while to find an extremely competent alignment shop and made changes to the camber, toe (was whacked out) and caster. Front caster was easy, rear was a bitch and thanks to input from Bill Dearborn I was able to overcome the problems caused by needing a special tool that only GM has. That was a crock, but the combination of a few 1/4 inch bolts, an iPhone app, and an alignment guy open to learning something new, we got the alignment really dialed in.
As for fuel, I quickly learned that GM's 100 Octane tune was not available for '19s, or 18's either for that matter. I have ready access to 93 octane and 100 octane, and no question the car can adjust to the 100 octane juice. From what I have learned from VP fuels, I am guesstimating that not only does the higher octane keep the knock timing retard at bay, it adds about 3% more power (their guess).
As for mods, I did the Mamo PTB and the $90 BMS filter. I have dealt with Tony for many years for many different cars, and I know the quality of his work. As for the filter, everything I could find out about intakes has led me to believe that you don't need more than a BMS to replace the stock restrictive filter until you are making a lot more than stock power.
And for me, these car's major problem is not a power deficit, but an overweight issue. My C6 Z, with a little lightening, weighed just over 3100 lbs. This car is 400 lbs heavier. Also, there is the traction issue. No surprise there when you put extremely narrow ultra stiff runflat tires on 20'' street bling wheels that are way too heavy. They look cool on the street, but not so much for traction, and certainly not ideal for track days. So, I will be putting most of the rest of my mod money into reducing what I call "functional weight" which is a combination of sprung and unsprung weight. Like to get 200 lbs of functional weight off. Figuring that 1 lb of unsprung weight is roughly worth 4 lbs of sprung weight, going with forged monoblock wheels in an 18/19 set-up with non runflat tires will hopefully be worth 40 lbs of unsprung weight off. Traction will also improve with this set-up. Maybe a full Akro exhaust takes another 25 or so lbs of sprung weight off. Now, hopefully, a bit below 3400 lbs functional weight, around 3450 lbs actual weight.
My car had handling problems and it stemmed from some poorly matched tire inflation pressures and more importantly from poor alignment. Took me a while to find an extremely competent alignment shop and made changes to the camber, toe (was whacked out) and caster. Front caster was easy, rear was a bitch and thanks to input from Bill Dearborn I was able to overcome the problems caused by needing a special tool that only GM has. That was a crock, but the combination of a few 1/4 inch bolts, an iPhone app, and an alignment guy open to learning something new, we got the alignment really dialed in.
As for fuel, I quickly learned that GM's 100 Octane tune was not available for '19s, or 18's either for that matter. I have ready access to 93 octane and 100 octane, and no question the car can adjust to the 100 octane juice. From what I have learned from VP fuels, I am guesstimating that not only does the higher octane keep the knock timing retard at bay, it adds about 3% more power (their guess).
As for mods, I did the Mamo PTB and the $90 BMS filter. I have dealt with Tony for many years for many different cars, and I know the quality of his work. As for the filter, everything I could find out about intakes has led me to believe that you don't need more than a BMS to replace the stock restrictive filter until you are making a lot more than stock power.
And for me, these car's major problem is not a power deficit, but an overweight issue. My C6 Z, with a little lightening, weighed just over 3100 lbs. This car is 400 lbs heavier. Also, there is the traction issue. No surprise there when you put extremely narrow ultra stiff runflat tires on 20'' street bling wheels that are way too heavy. They look cool on the street, but not so much for traction, and certainly not ideal for track days. So, I will be putting most of the rest of my mod money into reducing what I call "functional weight" which is a combination of sprung and unsprung weight. Like to get 200 lbs of functional weight off. Figuring that 1 lb of unsprung weight is roughly worth 4 lbs of sprung weight, going with forged monoblock wheels in an 18/19 set-up with non runflat tires will hopefully be worth 40 lbs of unsprung weight off. Traction will also improve with this set-up. Maybe a full Akro exhaust takes another 25 or so lbs of sprung weight off. Now, hopefully, a bit below 3400 lbs functional weight, around 3450 lbs actual weight.
