Need a Z06 geek!

[roughrider]

Hi. Just bought an 07 Z06 from you guys favourite dealership, & although i'm fairly clued up about it, i wanted to ask if there is an ignition timing/ecu mod for running the car on higher octane fuel? Is there such a thing as a cat/converter replacement pipe, or is that of no benefit? I see from the forum that the K&N filter is probably a good idea. Can anyone recommend replacement tyres [not run flat] to reduce unsprung weight & hopefully give a little more grip than the standard ones, [not bothered about wet weather performance]. Finally, looking for a good insurance deal? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Great site!!!

[Tom74]

If you are looking for info on these then www.corvetteforum.com is worth a look for the modding, plenty of info on the ecu maps etc.

Tyre wise the Michellin PS2 will fit the original wheels or you can do what a few on here do and get new wheels so the rears are 18", much more choice then.

If you are after track advice Gozilla on here is your man.

As for insurance, if you join the CCCUK (www.corvetteclub.org.uk) there are discounts available on this.

Tom

[mitch_]

I've never understood why people are so desperate to get rid of the standard tyre. It's fantastically progressive, isn't as hard as people make out for ride and happens to fulfil a legal requirement in not carrying a spare..... They're good by me and I probably use as many tyres in a year as everyone on the Corvette forum added together!

[C5RagTop]

roughrider said:

Finally, looking for a good insurance deal? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Great site!!!

Well done on your purchase and welcome to this forum.

Take a look at the list of insurers here, including the discounts available to Corvette Club members.

http://www.corvetteclub.org.uk/member-benefits.php

There's also a C6 forum here:

http://www.corvetteclub.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=86

[roughrider]

Thanks for all your help! Buying this must be my mid-life crisis!! So i've established the rear tyres are quite pricey, is there an 18x12 inch rim for the rear of this model?
Got insurance for 390 quid with privilege insurance through confused.com.
Do any of you guys do a regular run to the Nordschleiffe?

[franv8]

mitch_ said:

I've never understood why people are so desperate to get rid of the standard tyre. It's fantastically progressive, isn't as hard as people make out for ride and happens to fulfil a legal requirement in not carrying a spare..... They're good by me and I probably use as many tyres in a year as everyone on the Corvette forum added together!

Mitch, whilst I am sure you have extensive experience with these tyres, everyone wants something different. I think its fair to say the majority opinion is that run flats are less preferable to conventional tyres, whether its on a Corvette or a Mini Cooper. Probably best for the OP to try both.

As for spares and legal requirement:

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/news-special-report.aspx?...

Which is lucky really since my space saver for my daily driver saves space in the garage, and as for the Vette one, well I'd really rather never use it.

In terms of spares BTW, a spare wheel is something I've never understood - I'd have been better carrying spare head gaskets, alternators, fuel pumps as more of a priority than a spare. The one time I have needed one the tracking was so far out that the car left a black line for the mile I drove it before giving up and getting recovered (I had prior to this borrowed a spare...)

[roughrider]

OK, i'll have to carry a foam fill canister! The reason for ditching the run-flats, is that i'm led to believe they are mighty heavy [36lbs according to one site!]. The gyroscopic effect & unsprung weight factors can seriously hamper your progress around the trolleys in Tesco's car park!!

[songman3]

roughrider said:

Hi. Just bought an 07 Z06 from you guys favourite dealership, & although i'm fairly clued up about it, i wanted to ask if there is an ignition timing/ecu mod for running the car on higher octane fuel? Is there such a thing as a cat/converter replacement pipe, or is that of no benefit? I see from the forum that the K&N filter is probably a good idea. Can anyone recommend replacement tyres [not run flat] to reduce unsprung weight & hopefully give a little more grip than the standard ones, [not bothered about wet weather performance]. Finally, looking for a good insurance deal? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Great site!!!

Best to use V-Power or the like anyway to get the max out of the standard ECU setup.

The car runs on the rich side with the standard ECU map,and can be leaned off a shade to improve performance and economy.

There are alternative maps available from US tuners which together with an aftermarket air filter will give about 30bhp extra over the standard setup.
You have to buy the mapping software - HP tuners or LS1 edit from - and remap the ECU yourself with the modified file supplied by the tuner - will cost about $1500 ex US all in, from Halltech,Vettair LG Motorsports

You can also buy dedicated hardware programmers - Diabolo,Hypertech - which will do the same job.

You can get 100 cell cats and decat pipes from the likes of Kooks, but you can't really just install these and 'hope for the best' - without cats you would need software, or simulators to disable the secondary lambdas, or else you will throw up fault codes, and even with the high flow cats you would need to remap again to get the maximum benefit of the changes.
The cats would cost about $800 ex US and you would propably do longtube headers at the same time - the cost $1300 ex US.

It is worth saying that the LS7 is an engine which is maxed out even in standard form!
However, it is reliable the way GM have set it up and should do an easy 100,000 miles in normal use

Having said that, it does not have the 'headroom' - in terms of margins of reliability that say VW 1.8T has, and you would be foolish to expect, as you can with a Vee Dub, to nip down to the local tune shop have a quick half hour RR and tune and drive off into the sunset without a second thought!

Even standard LS7s in Corvettes have been know to fail, and of course when an LS7 gives up the ghost - well it gets kinda costly - a crate engine is about £10K and add to that 2+ days labour to fit

It is a fantastic design, and GM have thrown the book at it to eek out every last drop of power - to get a reliable 505bhp out of a 2 valve pushrod setup is a remarkable achievement.

Bear in mind that at max revs this engine is pushing 4650ft/min mean piston speed!!!-- I would urge caution with regards to tuning especially if the car is under warranty.

Based on GM 505bhp SAE J2723 spec there is about another 100bhp normally aspirated available with acceptable reliability - modifying cam,pistons, heads,rockers,cooling system,lubrication system inlet manifold, throttle body, exhaust manifolds,cats and exhausts - and of course a good session on the dyno.

It gets expensive to access the extra power available - but there is only one way to do it, and that is the right way!
Try to cut corners and disaster will surely follow!

The standard Goodyears are surely an acceptable compromise for everyday use - any lack of traction can be offset by adjusting the position of your right foot
For trackdays you could use PS Cups or PZero Corsas in 19" - these are lighter and offer more grip.
You could use Toyo Proxes or Hoosiers if you go 18" on the rear.

As far as unsprung weight goes the main culprits are the standard wheels and brakes which are quite heavy - you really need Brembos, AP Racing or Stoptech kit for happy trackday use - with regard to both reduced unsprung weight and increased stopping ability.

Suitable wheel upgrades are many and alltogether you should put aside around £8,000 for wheels brake and tyre upgrades.

Ohh! --I forgot to mention suspension! - you really need to upgrade that, to be able to utilise the potential of all that extra grip and stopping power.
You'll need an extra £5000+ for coilovers, rollbars and bushings!

Err - insurance - err who need insurance

Money! - ah yes! - who needs money- least I sold my B@B shares when they were a fiver.

Hope this helps---

Edited by songman3 on Friday 3rd October 07:15

[Boosted LS1]

^ Good post chap. Interesting read as well. The US guys seem to offer some good tunes if you know what to ask for.

[Corsette]

You could buy HP Tuners (professional version $649 if you want to use an AFR metre or log other inputs), use higher octane fuel and up the timing yourself. Just log for knock and pull back 2 degrees when it occurs.

[Godzilla]

Excellent and informative post from songman as usual!

Let me support his word of advice re tuning. GM recently issued very specific terms about their warranty and if a car is found to have anything other than the original, standard map on its PCM, your drivetrain warranty is VERY likely to be void.

I also agree that suspension is well worth upgrading if you want to improve ride and handling. It's the single most impressive mod I've made to my car.

Brakes only really need upgrading if you intend to track the car regularly.

As for tyres, wait until your Goodyears are worn (which might not take long on the rears!).
Michelin have been promising for ages their PS2 ZP runflat in Z06 sizes ever since they won the contract to provide the OEM tyres for the ZR1.
Unfortunately they have still to appear, even in the US, but when they do it is a safe bet that they will be vastly superior to the F1 EMT.

I have an 18" set of track wheels made by Image in Birmingham, but I intend to switch back to stock wheels and tyres for the winter as the Toyo R888 track tyres are not good in the wet.

My advice would be to enjoy your fabulous new purchase and spend a few months analysing which areas YOU personally want to improve on the car, then you can spend money on the right area according to your needs.

Have fun and congrats on buying one of the best performance cars on sale today!

[mitch_]

Songman has hit it on the nail. The only way to really start making major leaps in HP is to get major with pistons, cam and crank. We're currently looking at conrods too given that the stock ones are titanium they are very strong but can be hard on bearings as a result. We are currently aiming for 700Bhp from our next LS7 and given our engine guy managed 580Bhp out of an LS1 this should be realisable. Sadly you wouldn't want to use it on the road as it'll just be too harsh.

[ringram]

songman3 said:

The car runs on the rich side with the standard ECU map,and can be leaned off a shade to improve performance and economy.

There are alternative maps available from US tuners which together with an aftermarket air filter will give about 30bhp extra over the standard setup.
You have to buy the mapping software - HP tuners or LS1 edit from - and remap the ECU yourself with the modified file supplied by the tuner - will cost about $1500 ex US all in, from Halltech,Vettair LG Motorsports

Hey dont forget efilive Thats what Lingenfelter use, £450 for the tune version.

I have a 440 LS7 on its way, looking for about 150bhp over stock LS7 mainly down to cam and ported intake. Its going into a VXR8 though..

[akeithj]

roughrider said:

Thanks for all your help! Buying this must be my mid-life crisis!! So i've established the rear tyres are quite pricey, is there an 18x12 inch rim for the rear of this model?
Got insurance for 390 quid with privilege insurance through confused.com.
Do any of you guys do a regular run to the Nordschleiffe?

You must have a very good post code as I have been unable to get mine below £700 on a 6,000 miles per year policy.

[mitch_]

I forgot to mention that we are working with Jenvey at the moment to develop throttle bodies for the LS7 if anybody is interested?

[roughrider]

Wow, thats a lot of info, thanks guys!! I can't wait to pick the darn thing up, feel like a teenager again, yeehahhh! Its silver & one of the first jobs is to get the wheels powder coated in black, mmmm!
I've been looking at a lot of good sites in USA with real cheap gear, especially East Coast Corvette with OE brake upgrades etc. Has anybody actually bought stuff from the states, & had it shipped over?
Is anyone up for a trip to the Nordschleiffe in spring? I know a good hotel & restaurant, & having raced an 'E' type Shaguar round there, i have a reasonable idea of which way it goes if anybody needs shepherding.......

Edited by roughrider on Friday 3rd October 18:40

[JenkinsComp]

Hi there Roughrider, I'm a bit late on this post but can assure you that a K&N filter replacement is a simple half hour job that requires no ECU fiddling and is alleged to give a further 27bhp. For just $350! I run a C6 Z06 and the only other mod I have made is a Hurst shifter, which eliminates the possibility of missed shifts, but does rattle slightly under power.
The standard tyres are fine, but the main problem I have with them is the cost. I just replaced all 4 at over £1500; I looked at importing tyres rather than buying them from the UK dealer but as they are quite heavy the shipping is expensive and pretty much offsets the savings.
If you intend to buy a new set of wheels, then you should run Michelin PS2s in a more freely available size and diameter like 18" or 20".
The standard rears at 325/30 x 19 are the only tyre available in that exact size. LG Motorsports make some very nice wheels for the Z06, check out their website at http://www.lgmotorsports.com

As with all cars though, it yields better results in terms of performance to train yourself, rather than tune the car.
It also costs less, doesn't affect reliability or warranty, and is excellent fun!

[Godzilla]

roughrider said:

Wow, thats a lot of info, thanks guys!! I can't wait to pick the darn thing up, feel like a teenager again, yeehahhh! Its silver & one of the first jobs is to get the wheels powder coated in black, mmmm!
I've been looking at a lot of good sites in USA with real cheap gear, especially East Coast Corvette with OE brake upgrades etc. Has anybody actually bought stuff from the states, & had it shipped over?
Is anyone up for a trip to the Nordschleiffe in spring? I know a good hotel & restaurant, & having raced an 'E' type Shaguar round there, i have a reasonable idea of which way it goes if anybody needs shepherding.......

Edited by roughrider on Friday 3rd October 18:40

Yes, I had all my aftermarket parts brought over from the US.
Brembo Gran Turismo brake kit, Penske triple-adjustable coilovers with dual springs, Lingenfelter cam kit, Teamtech harnesses etc.
If you're looking to combine shipping from a lot of different vendors, EricTheBrave on here is a specialist US-UK shipper. I have his details if you want me to PM them to you.

I've taken my Z to the Nordschleife on many occasions, last time being 3 weeks ago. There are usually another one or two there from different countries.
I always stay at the Hotel Am Tiergarten in Nurburg.
I could be up for a group Z06 outing there next spring!

[roughrider]

Thanks again for all the info. I definitely don't want to run the car on runflat tyres, so i have found some alternatives from Bridgestone & Michelin once the standards are worn. The Tiergarten is where i would have suggested, the hot stone steaks are great! So i think someone should take the helm and suggest a date for a few of us to go over to Germany for a couple of days, to cover one of the public days. I can't see anything on their site for 2009 events yet, so better wait for the calendar to be published.
Yes please David, his contact details would be handy!

Edited by roughrider on Monday 6th October 11:38

[malc350]

Blimey, someone buying a Z06 in these financial times!

The dealer muct have spent all their profit repeatedly laundering their underwear from the excitement...!

P.S. I want one when I find out that the Icelandic banks don't have a stake in Z06 parts production or any other connection with my life! And when my house has recovered from its current value of 35p...!

Malc