Would anyone have a good source for info on what upgrades/changes were made from 15-16-17-18 on the Z06? Looking for tech stuff more than new colours, etc. ie what they did to combat the overheating issue, etc.

Thanks in advance,

TOVetteFan

 

What overheating problem? 27,000 aggressive street miles never got hot even in 117* temps.

 

I love how every time someone asks about the z06 overheating issue, ONE DUDE chimes in with their experience NOT overheating, thereby cancelling out the experiences of others...oh, wait. No, I find that about as stimulating as debating religion.

 

A) Thanks for your contribution to my question.
B) If you think aggressive street driving duplicates track use, either you are sadly mistaken or you should lose your license.
C) This was simply an example of the kind of thing I was looking for, not a criticism of your car.

 

FYI,They added front view cameras and auto trunk latch in 2016. Probably won't help on track. But did not mention tracking the car in your original post. Someone else will mention the taller supercharger bricks for 2017 model year. Maybe opt for a Camaro, they are pretty cool.

 

I don't know all the details, but changes were to be made on the 2017's. I have an 2016 A8 Convertible and have never tracked the car, but I have overheated and gone into limp mode on a 75 degree day. Not a cool experience. That the dealer showed no codes for ever happening, which is very odd considering if you fart in these things, the dealer will show a code.

This is what Tadge had to say in 2016 article (link below);

“We’ve suspended production of the Z06 for a few months as we launch the Grand Sport, and we’re going to bring it back this fall with some upgrades. We’ve redesigned the top of the supercharger for better flow through the intercooler for better cooling on the track for days like this and we’re adding additional cooling content for the car. In addition to the new supercharger cover design, the 2017 Z06 may be getting a new hood with larger vents to increase airflow to the engine."

http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2016/...etter-cooling/

 

What mode is the dash in. I see all of your gauges on right side.

 

how many times did it overheat on you? what were conditions? you think your one Z06 overheating on the street is typical of all other 15 or 16 Z06's? Come on man. it's statements like that that cause all the hysteria.

if your car overheated on the street it had an issue not by design but by failure of a part/system. and if it hasn't repeatedly done it then it was probably a false alarm.

 

15 First Year -- In November 2015 GM Released the GMPP Secondary Radiator for the M7 cars. Purchase price is in the $700 to $900 range depending on where you buy it and shipping costs.

In November 2017 announced MR Update to improve track handling and reduce harshness of bumps when driving on the street. Available Dec 2017 Cost to install $350. There are two specific part numbers for the 15 Z07. One is a street only update and the other updates both track and street. There is one part number that is specific to the 15 Non Z07 Z06.

16 Updated car with front camera and GMPP Secondary Radiator could be installed in M7 cars same as for 15 models.

In November 2017 announced MR Update to improve track handling and reduce harshness of bumps when driving on the street. Available Dec 2017 Cost to install $350. There are two specific part numbers for the 16. One is a street only update and the other updates both track and street. There is one part number that is specific to the 16 Non Z07 Z06.

17 Made Secondary Radiator Standard on M7 cars and changed supercharger intercooler to reduce inlet air temps on rear two cylinders. A8s didn't get any more cooling.

In November 2017 announced MR Update to improve track handling and reduce harshness of bumps when driving on the street. Available Dec 2017 Cost to install $350. There is one part number that is specific to the 17 Non Z07 Z06.

18 Same as 17

19 Same as 17

The thing that you have to remember is over heating does not occur on the street or highway unless something fails on the car. The over heating that gets all of the publicity occurs to a small percentage of cars on Road Courses and either the coolant temp goes up to or above 262 or oil temperature exceeds 320 degrees or so. That is what puts the cars into limp home mode. People driving A8s are more likely to have an issue, people driviing M7s rarely have an issue and none that add the Secondary Radiator have an issue.

If you purchase any 15 or newer Z06 and only drive on the street or highway you will not have an over heating problem. Poly Public isn't affected. Only a few track dogs are affected. The reason for that is no matter how spirited you drive on the highway it can't be anywhere near as hard as running 20 minutes on a road race course where you are running at or near WOT at high rpms almost all the time your foot is on the gas pedal.

I installed the GMPP Secondary Radiator in my 15 and over two track seasons with close to 3000 track miles (some times in low 90 ambient temps) have never come close to over heating the car. On track Normal coolant temps in high ambient temps are mid 220s for coolant and mid 270s for oil. If you plan on buying one of these cars and never plan on taking it on a Road Course forget you heard about over heating.

Bill

 

2019?? Production begins next week......

 

Using the DIC on the steering wheel, scroll down to settings, choose tour, then scroll up to Performance and scroll until you see the guages. Should be the first one.

 

Seriously, why do guys like you take the overheating issue so personally because you haven’t experienced it? If it hasn’t, good for you. The OP asked a question, I shared, though I never said my experience was reflective of EVERY z06 but WTF does it matter how many times it happened? To be honest, because of that day I don’t drive it the same. Call it loss in confidence.

The point is it happened while not under any track stress, except I didn’t have a soft shoulder to pull onto on a race track. I had to limp through a busy intersection during rush hour (on what felt like 2 cylinders) while praying I didn’t get t-boned by oncoming traffic.

Next time, before you call someone out, how about you consider for a moment that a fellow forum member dropped $100k on a car that provided him with one the scarierst moments he’s experienced in a car, and maybe (just maybe) he has the right to be a little pissed about it.

 

Bill very nice summary (sincerely) but as I have overheated on the “street” and gone into limp mode may I ask what your source is for your no-street-driving-overheating issue claim? Is this opinion or do you have a source that can confirm this? I’m genuinely interested in a solution as my dealer still does not know what happened.

 

Two things really to comment on here:

My car, 16 C7Z A8, ran pretty hot after first delivery. Temps running 230s/240s +, with calm, normal street driving. Had my dealer check it out, discovered low factory coolant levels and a need to bleed the HX of factory air pockets. Car ran cooler after that. Much!

The A8s don't have an ability to run with the secondary radiator to cool both engine coolant and oil. As a result, the A8 can only provide a reduced (compared to M7s) ability to dissipate heat. When properly setup, i.e., coolant levels, no hose blockages, no air pockets, etc., the A8 has sufficient cooling, by design, to run fine on the street.

If you're running too hot, there is probably something that your mechanic is missing. Blockage, air pocket, hose, thermostat. Hopefully, your service shop has or will develop the "smarts" to go through everything in a logical sequence to get everything squared away for you.

 

Thanks Beta. I know my dealer has not looked at that, but I will bring it up.

 

Welcome, and good luck. Let us know how it works out please? Your car clearly is not "working to spec". Something, somewhere across your cooling systems is just not working properly.

I believe there was even a service bulletin about air pockets in the HX... Have them go through everything.

 

Over heating on the street has been happening on every one of the C7 models. There has been some over heatings on the 14s that require an update and some have required water pump replacements. For instance my son (who has a 14 Z51) participated with me in an HPDE at Watkins Glen last June. Neither of us had any problems with our cars overheating. However, when he was driving home to Michigan he got caught up in a traffic jam and his car over heated. He turned the engine off and back on and it ran fine. After that he had it over heat several other times and took it to the dealer where an update was applied to the car and subsequently the water pump was replaced. I have since noticed several other 14 owners having similar issues. Does the C7 LT1 over heat as a general rule. "NO" Do some over heat if they have mechanical issues. "YES".

If you want to find out what is causing a problem you have to put things in their proper bucket and a Z06 having an over heating problem on the street doesn't fit into the same bucket as one that over heats on the track.

The conditions the engine is seeing are far different. The main difference is power level. One is producing very low power and the other is producing close to maximum power. Approximately 65% of the power produced from gasoline is waste heat that goes through the cooling system. The amount of waste heat going through the cooling system in traffic is far lower than the waste heat going through the cooling system at max power.

Power level produced by an engine is dependent on throttle opening and minimal throttle opening means minimal power. Putt putting around town or driving down a highway at 70 mph takes no more than 35 to 40 HP, that's it. That is why a car with an engine that can produce less than 100 HP can accelerate at the same pace and drive the same speed as one that can produce 1000 HP. Your car wasn't producing anything near max power.

Yours was a totally separate incident that doesn't relate to the on track over heating that might result from insufficient cooling capacity.

Any car having a problem like yours had wouldn't be able to get out of the paddock let alone accelerate down pit lane to match on track speeds. The people that have had on track issues don't report that happening. They all get at least a couple laps in. Hell, in the first reported incident of on track over heating Randy Pobst got at least 4 laps at max speed at Road Atlanta and drove the car after several other media people had driven it.

Bill

 

I believe this over heating issue was addressed on the '18/'19 my. The super charger hat has been slightly heightened to accommodate better cooling

 

The Supercharger intercooler was changed not just the hat. The intercooler bricks were made thicker as they went toward the rear of the engine so the intake air for the rear two cylinders was cooled more. They did this because the rear two cylinders have higher combustion temperatures. Changing the lid on an older S/C won't do anything since the different bricks are required. However, the major improvement for the M7 was provided through the secondary radiator that improves cooling of the coolant as it exits the oil cooler, before it goes to the main radiator. I don't know of any 2015 or newer M7s that have the secondary radiator that have over heated on track.

Bill

 

Bill. What model year did they mske this improvement? Is there a correlation regarding the overheating on the LT4 with a M7 vs A8? I have a '19 ZO6 vert M7 on the way.