Early vs. Late build Z06's
 

I got my first C6 Z in October 05. It was an early production VIN 400. It was Machine Silver 1LZ with Nav. I was disappointed with the paint on the fenders. In two places the paint was very thin. There was a rattle under the dash on the passenger side. The dash dimmer switch didn't work. The gear box had the "marlbes in the can" in first gear and second gear. I recently sold it and my new one was built Feb.23. This car is a 2LZ with Nav, Machine Silver with Competition Gray wheels.
This new car is tighter than the first. Absolutely no rattles and no gear rattle from the trasnmission. I guess the later cars are better because of the numbers built. Practice makes perfect.
Oh, the first one was at MSRP from Maxie Price, the second one I orderded in Dec. at MSRP from a local CA dealer.
I don't know if they did running changes to the transmission, but it is so much better.
Anyone else notice any build quality differences? I had 3500 miles on the first one and had the opportunity to make a little profit. Still an absolutely awesome, now where did I put those headers and cam.:rofl:
Terry

So let me guess...
The new owner of your Z06 is a painter and loves to play with marbles. lol

Sounds like the General may be making some as needed running changes - not a bad thing.

Mine was built September 26th, 2LZ with Nav and solid.

Maybe the 2LZ cars are built better. :D

Frank :seeya

I would be surprised if anything has really changed regarding the body. This body style was being built for about a year before the Z06 was introduced. I can't believe assembly line techniques changed considerably in that time frame. Sure, some of the body parts are different, but I cannot believe the way the body was assembled has changed in a few short months.

Everybody's gearbox seems to have marbles at low rpm in first gear while driving easy. Can someone report otherwise on this?

Let me tell you.......

When I went to the plant to see my X get built a couple weeks ago, I saw two "jigged" cars in an area. One was the C6 and the other was the XLR thay is built ib BG. On regular basis, the engineers come down to the plant and confirm fitment of the body panels. Any changes are made right on the spot! Despite the fact the C6 has been out for a year, the assembly of the Z is a bit different. I noticed that the fenders took them a bit more time to re-align the gaps at the hood as the carbon finder holds a slightly different shape.

These cars are unquestionably tweaked through production. PCM's are updated constantly by GM. I see this with all of GM's models including the vette. Any problems that are discovered from the first 500 cars are most certainly addressed as production continues. That is the nice thing about a single model manufacturing plant.

I picked up my new C6Z on 3/3 at NCM. It is 2LZ.

During the factory tour, you get to see the guy that actually measures the body panel gaps. I was told that anything greater that 0.5mm off of spec was a failure. That seems pretty darn good to me!

Car is very tight, but does have the "marbles" noise at slow speed in 1st and 2nd.

Only issue I really have is the terrible paint job - the orange peel. I talked with the some folks at the factory and they are aware of the continuing paint deficiencies.

is there a way to correct the marbles noise, i think i also hear it in my C6?

According to quotes from Dave Hill, the "marbles" (which occur only at low revs) are the price one pays for the high-torque tranny. GM could have designed the car to eliminate the noise, but performance would have suffered noticeably. A small price to pay IMHO - just rev the car a little more before engaging the clutch if the sound bothers you. :thumbs:

My car's build date is Nov 3, 2005 and I've had absolutely no problems. I'm also very happy with the fit and finish - no orange peel or thin paint. The "marbles in a can" is normal for this car. :thumbs:

I got my first C6 Z, VIN 551, in September. Paint was excellent. Fit and finish was average.

I got my second C6Z, VIN in the late 18,000's, last week. Paint is also excelent, fit is also average.

Both cars had the marbles rattling in a tin can sound in the transmission; from what I understand this is normal.

The first car came with a defective ashtray and scuffed interior trim panel that was replaced under warranty. Oh, and the hatch didn't close easily and had to have the hinge adjusted under warranty.

The second car came with a defective passenger side AC vent (misaligned slat) that I fixed myself by placing the slat into the proper hole, as well as a mis-installed front bumper ( a clip is not properly installed ) that I have yet to fix. Oh and the second car also came with a scuffed climate control panel for which I need to take it to the dealer.

The first car car had a resonance/rattle at low revs when you drove around with the spare fuse out. The second car has no such resonance/rattle from the boomy exhaust. Sweet.

The second car has a weird brake vibration when almost completely stopped... not even sure if this is really even a defect or if I'm just feeling the padlets shimmying against the holes in the rotors causing a resonance between 20 and 15mph. That's the ONLY speed at which I feel the vibration. And it's slight. And only in the pedal. I don't remember my first car doing this.

Andi

The "scientific deductions" made here based upon a sample size of 2 are astounding. This is about the same as saying, I ate a red apple in September and got a cold, but when I ate a yellow apple in February, I didn't get catch one. Thus, yellow apples are better than red apples for avoiding colds. :rofl:

I bet you still have "marbles" too. Could it be you've learned proper clutch technique over the last several months. ;) ?

Why 2 ?

:iagree: I just took mine in for a scuff mark that has been on my drives door panal. :toetap: The fix it if its off...


ALL IN ALL this car is awesome.. Built 12/02/05....


I'm just another HOOKER.. :yesnod: :yesnod: (Motor that is) :rolleyes:

:iagree:
I have heard the "marbles" mentioned by people with early and more recent VINs, so I doubt that they have "gone away".
Also, as someone else already mentioned, it was stated early on that the low rpm tranny noise was normal for this car.
In regards to the finish, my MS Z was built early-mid sept and the finish looks comparable to other '05 and '06 MS vettes I've seen up close.

Mine is #394 and the fit and paint looks as good as any later # that I have seen. The only thing with mine is the front end sit about a 1/2" lower than the one I seen at the dealer. :willy:

That's a good thing.... they all come with the front too damn high and the back just right......

Andi

Tranny marbles - check
Strange linkage clank when in 1st and clutch depressed - check
Paint flaws that look like dripped clearcoat - check
Poor glovebox closure - check
Ashtray flops open - check

But for some reason, I can't stop smiling when I drive this car. ;)

Andi, I don't know where you guys get a car with excellent paint. Given my black shows it more, but orange peel is on every car I have seen. BTW its on every BMW I have seen, its on most mercedes I have seen. The only car that typically had a great finish was the viper.

I can not even get my first one! :lol: :lol:

I have Trans Rattle, poor Ashtray, poor glovebox closure and uneven paint quality on front fenders and every BMW and Mercedes I have ever seen has Orange Peel. But, you won't ever hear me complainin' about driving this car...

I can't believe someone actually said that the Viper has good paint quality (even though I can verify that myself as well) :smash: :smash: