Blue Bullet Blog-The C6 Ownership Experience

[Bonnell]

Impression of Z06

I am interested to hear your impressions of your new Z06.

 

[Hib Halverson]

First thing we did after taking delivery on Saturday afternoon was drive it 400 or so miles down to the Richmond VA area.

As for my "impressions" of the new Z06, I have a lot to talk about, but not enough time before this morning's business appointment at Zip Products to cover it all.

For now, let me say that combining the Corvette's "Z-grade" suspension with Magnaride has made quite a civil-riding car out of the Z06. I own a C5 Z06 and have driven a couple of earlier C6 Z's which were not available with MR...boy what a difference in highway and city driving. It's an admittedly expensive option, but anyone who's buying a Z06 for mostly street or street/track with significant street mileage planned needs to consider adding F55.

More later...

 

[froggy47]

Specifically I'd like your opinion (when you get the time) of whether the Magnaride shocks are a fully vetted replacement for the best afternarket shocks (Penske, Koni, Mouton, etc) or are they still likely to be bettered on the track by the competition shocks.

We all know they are more "convenient" and great on the street, but if you need the last 10th of a sec lap time, are they there yet?

Will Grand Am and Rolex GT cars be running Magnaride FTW?

 

[Tuna]

we're in bakerstown pa this week to get the still-as-yet-unnamed z06.

frosty

 

[Paul T]

frosty

Be kind Tuna, the poor man probably didn't get the ski option.
Paul

 

[Tuna]

Be kind Tuna, the poor man probably didn't get the ski option.
Paul

Actually, my wife loves this color. Me, not so much.

It does look like blue ice at times though.

Another thought:

KITTY

after Kitty Carlisle of "To Tell The Truth" fame.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Specifically I'd like your opinion (when you get the time) of whether the Magnaride shocks are a fully vetted replacement for the best afternarket shocks (Penske, Koni, Mouton, etc) or are they still likely to be bettered on the track by the competition shocks.

At this point, I have no experience testing an MR-equipped car against one with a set of full competition shocks. To answer your question accurately would require that. About all I can do is some "educated" speculation....

MR, as offered on Z06, ZR1 and the Camaro ZL1 is likely not intended to be a substitute for high-end racing dampers typical of race only vehicles. My understanding is the system is offered on those cars to "widen" their damping bandwidths, ie: have aggressive damping which suits the track environment typical of amateur motorsports events but also have available less aggressive damping which makes the car suitable for street driving.

We all know they are more "convenient" and great on the street, but if you need the last 10th of a sec lap time, are they there yet?

Again, since I lack experience driving an MR car in a track environment where I'm consistently quick enough to be worried about that last 0.1-sec in lap time, I can't answer accurately.

Will Grand Am and Rolex GT cars be running Magnaride FTW?

I don't know.

 

[Hib Halverson]

I am interested to hear your impressions of your new Z06.

We've driven the car a little under 1000 miles, so the engine is not broken-in. Today's engines, need to go 2500 or so miles before they are fully loosened-up. In spite of that, we've averaged 21.5-mpg since we picked up the car last Saturday. That's a mix of suburban driving around the cities of Lexington KY and Richmond VA along with highway driving at 70-75-mph. Pretty impressive fuel economy for a 500-hp car.

Road noise...C5s had a lot of that. For C6, GM developed a better acoustic package for the car to address complaints of C5ers. Interestingly, I find the interior road noise levels to be comparable between this C6 Z06 and my C5 Z06. At first, that may not seem to make sense considering how much work GM did to improve the tire noise situation, but my C5 Z has non-run flat tires (which were standard for the 01-04 Zs) which were less noisy than the EMTs on other C5s, and this C6 Z06 has run flats. Plus the tires on our C6 Z06 are PS Cups which might be even more noisier than the PS2s used in ZR-1s and '11 Z06es.

On the plus side, prior to taking delivery I read and heard a lot of anecdotal accounts of those tires being "terrible" in the rain. The first two days of our trip were through the rain storm that hit the east coast early this week. Our PS Cup tires still have a significant amount of tread depth and, in light to moderate rain, they performed safely. Fortunately, we weren't driving through heavy rain or on surfaces with areas of standing water because the Cup tires would have been prone to hydroplaning under those conditions.

I've never been a big fan of the C6's "keyless" ignition switch and it has yet to "grow" on me but...I guess I'd better get used to it.

I ordered the car 1LZ so I have the base sound system (no nav) I like it that way. It sounds great.

I'll post more, later, and will be glad to answer any other questions

 

[WhalePirot]

Cool

Congrats, Hib on the new Z. My bro-in-law just got a Carbon Centennial Z06, too; exactly the car I'd order!

I may need to go back to work!

 

[catbert]

I'll be on the lookout for the new car at BG.

 

[XLR8]

WOW! Congrats on the new Z06 Hib! I like the Carlisle Blue too!
I'm looking forward to following along as you share your impressions and experiences.
And take lots of photos on your cross country trek too.
Enjoy!
Jane Ann

 

[BigJimZ16]

We saw Hib's new Z06 this afternoon in BG, it's a winner to be sure!! Congrads Hib!! It's a beauty!!

 

[catbert]

I looked for the beast and didn't find it. :ugh

 

[BigJimZ16]

I looked for the beast and didn't find it. :ugh

It was out on the circle in the afternoon...

 

[catbert]

We didn't arrive until about 3:30. Maybe Friday.

 

[THowie]

That's an awful purdy car you got there, Hib.

 

[NORTY]

Hib, I would have sub'd PS2's for your road trip. They work very well, and last a long time. Your "cups" are going to be junk by the time you get to Santa Barbara. That's a shame because those cups are great tires, just not for the purpose you're using them for. Oh well, it's too late now, enjoy your trip! (How's the cabin heat?)

 

[Hib Halverson]

Hib, I would have sub'd PS2's for your road trip. They work very well, and last a long time. Your "cups" are going to be junk by the time you get to Santa Barbara. That's a shame because those cups are great tires, just not for the purpose you're using them for. Oh well, it's too late now,

enjoy your trip!

So far, we are. Even took the time to stop off at Auto Masters of Bowling Green, (best Corvette service shop in town, IMO) and have a few mods done. I put set of Weathertech Floorliners in the footwells. I know, I know...a lot of people will question the astetics of them but for folks who do a lot of road trips with their cars, they really do a great job of keeping the carpets clean and in good condition. After a few days on the road, especially if the weather is crap, you simply lift out the Floorliner, shake the dirt, stones, trash or whatever out of it and stick it back in the car. If they are muddy, I turn the hose on them, then wipe them dry with a towel. We also put one of Weathertech's Cargo Liners in the back. I have those things in my C4 and in my S10 Blazer and they are great for vehicles in which you do long road trips and carry a lot of baggage/cargo. Again, the advantages of the Weathertech Cargo Liner are: 1)easy to clean and 2) keep the underlying carpet like new.

There are other "rip off" products out there which look the same but I like Weathertech stuff because 1) it's made in the USA 2) I never have a problem with fit and 3) the stuff is incredibly durable. The Cargoliners I have in my C4 and my Blazer are 15 or so years old.

I've got a little over 1000 miles on the engine so it was time for the first oil and filter change. Typically, I do the first change at 500-1000 miles. I had Auto Masters replace the 5W30 engine oil with Red Line 10W30 and install a new AC PF48R oil filter.

(How's the cabin heat?)

"Cabin heat"?
We don't need no f&%king "cabin heat".

 

[Hib Halverson]

We didn't arrive until about 3:30. Maybe Friday.

Hey Catbert....your Wife gave my Wife you cell no. I'll try calling you later this morning. We're going to so the S12 seminar then I'll try giving you a ring.

 

[Hib Halverson]

That's an awful purdy car you got there, Hib.

Thanks "THowie"
I see you've only made two posts.
Welcome to the CAC