2019 C7 Z06 Review/Mod Progress
 

Hi All, my journey thread is located here:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-thread.html

This thread will be my review/mod update thread for Z06 owners to discuss different mods for the car. Currently I am working within the stock warranty and not sure how long that will last but I will make updates in both threads as well as my review for the products I use.

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2019 S/O Z06/Z07 M7:

The car is amazing. Of course this has been the best car I have owned/driven. It feels insanely fast compared to my last ZL1 which was modded and I have already taken them to Mexico to see how they fair. The Camaro wasn't running full power due to being in COT mode from a 02 sensor issue so I will run them again soon except my Z06 is lightly modded now. I love the way the car feels/handles and you can really feel the steering response when going through the different driver select modes. The car turns heads everywhere and seems to get better each day I drive it. I ordered the car exactly the way I wanted it and it had to be the best decision I have made in my car purchase and I won't ever settle again when it comes to buying future sports cars.

Cons(Not really that bad):

-Lag Start when in first gear trying to go from a stop.
-Exhaust is way to quiet
-Easy to hit 7th gear instead of 5th

Mods Review(Not affiliated or work for any of the items I review for):

MGW Flat Stick Shifter - This is the very first mod I did to the car and it was definitely a great decision. The shifting is butter smooth, always locks into place (unless I don't hear the click) and makes driving for me a lot easier with the Ball instead of the stock nub. Highly recommended. I also ordered a few more dynamat pieces to help with sound/heat. Only cut up 2 extra pieces when I did the install. Instructions were great until I got to the boot of the shifter where I had to improvise but it is pretty straight forward if you look at the way they zip tied the original piece. Just cut that piece off and re-zip the rubber piece into the shifter boot. You can do this without pulling the shifter boot all the way out of the console.

Tony Mamo Ported Throttle Body - This was the first performance modification I did to the car, it was well worth it as the only modification. It virtually eliminated the issue I had with the lag start and I was able to get the car going much more efficiently without any real effort whether on a flat surface or hill. Tony is also very easy to order from and work with. It definitely isn't snake oil with the M7 and seeing the throttle body in person shows the huge difference from stock.

Halltech CFV Intake - This carbon fiber unit from Halltech is simply gorgeous. I didn't want to touch it with my bare hands, I used gloves. Unfortunately the rumors about fitment are true and it sucks but with effort, it can be made to fit but will still have a small gap at the front of the intake towards the front of the engine compartment (even shows it in the instructions). With the Carbon Fiber unit, it is best to use the PDF instructions as the normal Halltech comes with a rubber seal for where the Frame meets the intake box and the CFV intake does not. It only comes with the rubber seal that holds the intake pipe to the intake box. Other than that, the intake was installed with the Tony Mamo throttle body and the car felt even more incredible. I still don't hear supercharger whine but the car is definitely feeling even faster at this point.

Signature Wheels SV501 19" w/ Toyo R888R - The wheels are definitely lighter than stock and the tires feel so much better for the street than the Sport Cup 2 that I am pretty sure I will stick with this setup for the street. The Wheels make the car feel lighter and there is no longer the tire hop/chatter when I am turning the wheel sharply that I felt before with the Sport Cup 2's. The tires allow the car to grip when I mash the throttle almost every single time (only exception was when the car had just started moments before). The only issue I have with the tires is the road noise. It definitely lets you know they are there due to a sound that is similar to putting air in the tires at all times on the highway.

Borla Catless X-Pipe - The Borla catless X-Pipe is a nice addition if you want to amplify the stock sound (just a little bit). I removed the fuse so that the exhaust always stays open and it is barely louder at cruising speeds but you can definitely hear the car at WOT. This pipe was installed along with the Halltech CAI and Tony Mamo Throttle Body which caused the car to run lean and throw a code. Yes, this is on a 2019 Z06 and the car is still very sensitive to these 3 mods. I found out as soon as I got the car back in which the car felt slower and started being a bit laggy again from a start from standstill while cold. The car also would lag up a bit when trying to mash the pedal in 3rd gear. Things really got bad the more I drove the car as the power kept decreasing and once I really pushed it, it threw a code. Same day it threw the code, I disconnected the battery, swapped the TB back to stock, reconnected the battery, and took the car for a drive where the car performed flawlessly again. Felt very fast but a bit of the lag from a standstill came back but it is definitely not as bad as stock. Will run the car this way for a bit as I am deciding if I want a more conservative TB from Tony or if I want to just return the TB and run stock until I do more mods.

Stay tuned for more and let me know what you guys think, including asking any questions about the following mods, car, or installs!

:cheers:
:rock:

Glad to hear that the stock setup works with the CAI and Borla X-Pipe. I currently have the Halltech in my car and have the Borla X-Pipe sitting next to it on the garage floor. Was hoping to avoid needing a tune and it sounds like I can. Thanks for the info!

Sounds like you're dancing around the fringes, tune that bad boy and void the warranty and be done. You need tune for any real noticeable gains and or to prevent CEI from happening. Good luck!

Rich

try the GM 100 octane tune.still keeps your warranty.

Yes, you will definitely be good to go with just an X-Pipe and CAI. Go For it!

Don't worry, I am definitely doing a build and will follow up with that but I plan on running my current setup on the track as my "stock" baseline first then adding mods to see improvements. I want to get a feel for how it performs with these basic mods on the car.

I heard about that tune but do I have to run 100 octane at all times though?

The Mamo did the same to my 16. Threw a code. Tony said to try it out for a while for the cpu to learn or he'd swap it. I didn't want a lesser ptb so I cleared the codes for a few times with my OBD app and it finally stopped. All has been well since then.

He told me that he would make a more mild version of of the PTB, did you feel your car running slower though during this time?

I do remember seeing your videos and dyno days in which we basically have the same setup but you have magnaflow mufflers right?

I heard about that tune but do I have to run 100 octane at all times though?[/QUOTE]

I dug into this just a little, Heard from a Perform Guy(Service Manager called GM) the tune is a 93 0ctane(minimum) -100 octane tune). So thats what i found out thus far. Anyone using the 100 octance tune, Running 93 on the streets?

Yeah, just the Magnaflow axle back that probably adds nothing in hp.
I don't remember any weirdness in the car though when the light came on or during that time. I always cleared the code so I don't know.

Mufflers are minimal gains in these cars. Your bang for your buck is Long tubes/catless x pipe to factory mufflers with a tune: Best of both worlds for Track and stealth mode /exhaust volume control. Factory mufflers are good.:thumbs:

car runs fine on 93 and better on 100

Does it make any noticable diference running anything over 93, such as 93 + torco= 97-99

Bottom line is some choice mods double the fun from the Z06. Stock it is needing help. The Mamo PTB and Halltech are great moves.

Only 1 GM car of mine has needed (Major tranny work from a hard 2nd gear) warranty work and that was 15-20 years ago. Now I'm 10 cars later . No worries from losing warranty from mods when you get twice the car.
Over stock.

Update 11/7/2018
 

Been very busy but going to try to keep this going for sure my instagram is @sebring_z06 which I update a little more often.

Billy Boat Fusion with Speed Way Tips (For Sale)
Thoughts: Looking at the pipes they looked really good and the mufflers are a bit lighter than stock but they are definitely still a bit heavy. The Speedway tips looked great as the inside of mine looked coated but they outside remained chrome.

Sound: Definitely a deeper throatier sound than stock mufflers. It is louder at start up and has a much better tone but overall it gets really quiet when cruising and after warming up. Needless to say I wasn't completely satisfied with the setup because I believe these would sound even better with headers or cat delete pipes, it was just too tame for me, I also started figuring its time to shave weight off the car. I do need to mention that the flaps are really not good at all, I can barely tell a difference in the quiet/loud mode when using the Mild to Wild switch.

Sooooooooooo...

Akrapovic Evolution
Purchase & Install: I got a great price for these, definitely not MSRP (PM me for the vendor). I wanted to see for myself what the rave was about. I AM GLAD I DID. This has to be the most beautiful and lightest exhaust I have ever seen in my life. The weight of the entire system is incredible, the finish is flawless and the Install was super smooth.

Cat-Delete Pipes
Purchase and Install:
Talking with NORCAL-SS and SALCOLKAT, I decided to pull the trigger on the Cat Delete Pipes as well as the recommended Big Daddy 90 degree sims. I called Tony for questions which of course he answered without any hesitation, and he shipped the pipes out to me same day as promised. The pipes arrived very quickly and they are built with incredible quality. So much so that they matched the quality of my Akrapovic Evolution exhaust almost perfectly as if it all came from the same place. The install was straight forward for both Tony's Pipes and the Evolution exhaust and everything looks incredibly clean. I didn't get the ceramic coating as I figured the pipes will just pass exhaust through without restriction so they won't hold much heat.

Opinion
I believe the cat delete pipes and the Evolution are the best combination for the C7 Z06 overall considering quality and weight for performance gains (If money is no object). The sound is crazy loud with the valves open and at 3000 RPM it screams even when cruising, not sure how I feel about the sound it makes as it almost sounds like a drone, and I almost feel bad for cruising by people with their windows down while at that RPM range. But when you are accelerating it sounds down right menacing. With the valves closed it sounds much more like having the Borla X-Pipe with the Stock exhaust. So far the exhaust smell hasn't been crazy but it is there but I do not daily drive my car. As far as the CEL i have put 100 miles on it and i have had no issues PERIOD. I feel a little bit of back pressure loss down low, but the car makes up for it quickly and definitely feels faster than before. Anyone looking for more sound or a way to get the header effect without tuning, I highly recommend NORCAL-SS's setup.

I was hoping that the 19 TB was better, its a new one for 19, i guess not!!

nice! where did you get the akra? had one on my c6z and might have to eventually put one on the c7z