You’re proving my point. Given enough cycles…. That’s true for anything mechanical. But I don’t consider something that would have an average failure rate of 100 or 200 thousand miles as a flaw. Is it as reliable as solid lifters, no because you’ve added another moving part which is true for all.

I don’t consider it a flaw but I feel given what GM is faced with, it works rather well. How many AFM engines are in service. A ton. Don’t let posts on forums skew the actual failure rates. I’m much more likely to complain publicly then praise publicly.

 

Dude you are drinking the GM koolaid.

The dealer mechanics stay busy replacing this POS technology on brand new motors, 5 year old motors, 10 year old motors, and everything in between.

I love my Vette but the AFM/DOD tech is total *****, our government forces companies to do this kind of stupid crap so I can't blame Ford or GM totally, but the fact remains it is unreliable garbage.

100k or 200k miles is NOT the MTBF on this design, and you know it.

 

I don’t know that but neither do you. This will be my last post on this.

 

Dude, ask Katech when people have failures. Some new cars, some are older, and everything in between. There really isn't a lot of rhyme or reason other than the AFM technology is the common failure point.

You can love the car, love the brand, and still recognize they (GM) are forced to employ deeply flawed technology to try to conform to government regulations.

 

probably worth noting again that my car is a manual and I never use eco mode so the range finder wouldn’t have made a difference is my case.

i do have a Chevy truck with a 6.0 in it with 234k miles on it. So far that’s been rock solid. Maybe because it doesn’t turn the rpm’s the vet does or maybe because the valve train is different idk. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I think it’s just the luck of the draw with the corvettes, and I typically have bad luck. I wish they would get away from afm altogether. At least they don’t have that damn auto start so many cars have today.

 

Nope.

 

If you have AFM lifters in your Corvette they will fail. Do some research and you'll find the only way to avoid failure is to get rid of them and put in a new camshaft.

 

Your case seems unusual in that manual cars have the problem less often but AFM still engages even in a manual car in any mode in steady state driving so it's all past sense but the range device can prevent ALL engagement.

But as others have stated the lifters themselves will fail eventually so at least they are gone in your car now.

You've gotten the two biggest failure points on the C7 out of the way (AFM and torque tube) and my suggestion would be to enjoy the car, keep it, and drive the wheels off of it. You are likely upside down on what you've got in it anyway so selling it would be another loss.

I'm struggling on when to change out the AFM/DOD system in my car and I plan on doing a DIY next winter, hoping the range device will stave off the failures until that time. 16k miles and counting.

 

AFM on a manual Z06 will only engage in eco mode. I do have a range device that I used on my Z51 but it's not needed on the Z06. I had to back with the stock lifters and a stock cam shaft since I'm in CA and can't tune the car, so no they are not gone just replaced. Same situation with the torque tube, replaced but still OEM and subject to potential premature failure. Basically I have a 17K mile care with new valve train, new cam, new clutch and flywheel, new torque tube. ALL the new parts are OEM, I could not upgrade as I would have liked due to the required tune to do so. Im no better off now than before since it's OEM stuff they repaired with. So as you can see it's a waiting game for the next failure. What I'm contemplating is just offloading it after the repairs since I can't get a permanent fix to the faulty design until I move out of CA. If I was able to go back with after market parts and reduce the likelihood of a failure I would not even consider getting rid of it. Many here think these issues are rare or uncommon but if that was the case I don't think there would be an active class action lawsuit.

 

I stand corrected on the AFM engagement with the manual.

I wasn't aware you went back with 100% stock parts, that seems like throwing good money after bad. I would leave CA for sure if you can't even tune the car. The stock ZR1 cam and lifters fit the Z06 (and are surprisingly cheap) and do not have AFM but would need a tune to run right. That's my plan to AFM delete on my car as I don't want all the baggage that comes along with a much more radical cam.

I am not aware what aftermarket parts improve the torque tube reliability. There are several rebuild kits out there with new couplers and bearings but my understanding is that you get finite life when using the flexible couplers. You can always convert to solid couplers but there is an NVH penalty. Again, most folks don't experience torque tube problems until pretty (relatively) high miles.

So yeah, if you just put stock AFM components back in, it's a failure waiting to happen again. I do think the design of the system and components has gotten better over time but still can be a point of failure.

One lady in our local Corvette club has a C8 stingray. It is on its second motor and transmission, albeit under warranty, but still failures are out there.

 

Unfortunately I’m stuck in CA for another 6 years. Once I retire I’m planning to either move out of CA or to a county where I don’t have to smog my vehicles. There a few here that have exemptions.

Im doubtful that my car will last 6 years without another failure of some kind. I still want to be able track the car half a dozen times or so a year. It’s just a weekend car and occasional track day car. For the amount I drive it it’s costly, not to mention the consumables when tracking. The expense of failures pretty much puts the cost vs enjoyment over the edge for me.

I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place lol. Currently looking for alternatives for a weekend / track car. So far my favorite is the CT5 blackwing but that has afm valves too, but no torque tube. I think I’m going to have to take a step down on the performance ladder to find a more reliable ride.

I drove the new Nissan Z and didn’t feel like this would be up to track days. The Supra MK5 I drove felt like it would be much more capable and might be an option. I still want to drive a Miata just for kicks but the lack of torque will likely rule that out, we will see. I really like the idea of a Porsche just not the expense that goes with them.

I’m not sure what I will do at this point. Next week I should have the car back. I’ll do some driving and see if I can fall back in love.

 

What a bummer.

I hate to say this but some folks track different types of Ford mustangs with good results. They aren't Corvettes, but they don't have AFM either in the late model cars.

They would make a fun, pretty dependable, and somewhat disposable, weekend and track day car without the Porsche tax.

Hope you have better luck than you've had so far. For me in a non-CA state, the worst case scenario with AFM is I have a problem, and then fix it for good. If I was forced to put back in the stock part sand just cross my fingers that is something I could not do.

 

The Chevrolet dealer in my pokey town has a regular schedule of Silverados and Sierras lining up to get the AFM lifters replaced.

An AFM disable device does nothing, you either get rid of the lifters with a new camshaft or you roll the dice.

I would stay away from any product that has it.

The trucks from 2007-2018 would shut down cylinders #1, 7, 4 and 6 with two distinct firing patterns. The trucks from 2019-current shut down all manner from 8 to 1 cylinder with 17 different firing patterns.

 

Hi Andy. I’m a new corvette owner, 2019 ZO6 M7, I’m reading on corvette forum all the time and have to admit this AFM thing has me worried. I love my car and want it to last a long time. You mentioned being able to buy a ZR1 cam and lifters that will work on my ZO6 with a tune. I’ve googled that and haven’t been able to find any info on that or anyone who has done it. Could you direct me to some info on this subject? Thank you very much? Sam

 

Sam, I don’t know that many people have done it but it will work 100%, Katech and another local tuner confirmed it.

I suspect most people going into their motor opt for a stage 1 or higher performance cam, but there is some baggage that comes along with that also.

For me, the performance is great already. FFS the car can’t even put the power to the ground in 1st or 2nd on stock tires.

But it’s also many more pieces than just the cam and lifters.

pm me offline with your email address and I can share some of the quotes I’ve gotten.

I’m on good terms with a local tuner and I may DIY the motor work and then bring it to him for the final tune. The repair is straightforward, the real work is getting the motor out and back in to the car.

 

This is the Texas Speed and Performance kit for the LT4. I have no affiliation with TSP. You will need a tuner to ensure all 8 cylinders are firing all the time. Which is what a real Corvette would run like, not like a 4 cylinder in drag.

https://www.texas-speed.com/p-5443-t...elete-kit.aspx

 

That’s great! I’m also just looking for reliability, not necessarily faster, although a little faster I wouldn’t mind, heh heh. And being in Michigan, I think Katech is near me.

 

I just joined corvette forum and I can’t figure out how to private message someone.

 

Awesome 7OT/A400! Thank you.

 

Everyone has a right to their opinion, but I wouldn't say the Range device "does nothing" or that tuning out the AFM "does nothing" either.

Yes the AFM lifters can, and will, fail eventually but it is my understanding the pin that wears and fails/sticks is a result of repeated engagement/disengagement cycles. IE the more the system turns on and off, the sooner it will fail.

I don't have the crystal ball, but it is absolutely not 100% failure rate for most users, especially if they disable AFM via a OBD device or tuning.