Blue Bullet Blog-The C6 Ownership Experience

[Hib Halverson]

Last night (Saturday)my Wife, Sandra the Red, Duchess of Goleta, and I had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Catbert and the owners of C-Magic Wax, Kermit and Shirley Dye, at the Outback in Bowling Green. There was plenty of beer, Outback 'ritas and juicy Outback steaks. A good time was had by all.

This morning, at 0-dark:30, we fired up the Carlisle Blue Z, went south on 65 to Nashville, then west on 40 headed for Chechotah Oklahoma. Turns out, that was a great place to stop because right now (10:02 PM Central) there are T-storms, big hail and tornados to the north and west. Hopefully, the severe weather will have dissapated by early tomorrow and we can continue on our trip to Santa Fe NM where Sandra the Red is going to do some power shopping.

I decided to name the car "Blue Bullet 2". It's running great. We've gotten 21.6 mph for a combination of city and highway.

As for more of my impressions....

We've got 1847 miles on the car at this point so, today, I did several off-then-on-again tests along I-40. That big 427 is a freakin' animal between 5000 and 6800 rpm. I'd accelerate hard in first gear from a roll. Because we've got so much weight in the car, it won't spin the tires. I'd shift to second go all the way to 7000 then short/short/short shift to sixth and coast down to 70 or so. What a hoot!. While running to 7-grand is fun, we've got to get out of Oklahoma quick as the OKSPC (Oklahoma society for prevention of cruelty to bugs) is going to be looking for us this morning as, looking at the front of our car, we kill a billion or so bugs.


Insects were killed in the process of producing this blog. Image: Sandy Rubel.

Now a shout-out to the GM people on the Corvette Team both in Michigan and at B.G. Assembly. By our 3rd or 4th day of ownership, Sandy and I had noticed that under some lighting conditions, the Carlisle Blue (also known at "Space Blue" to some in GM) on the hood didn't match that on the front fenders and front fascia.

Through Kermit Dye at C-Magic Wax, I met Eric Millette, who works at B.G. Assembly on exterior finish issues. He and I went out to the car, which was parked on NCM's lot, and together we looked at the car from different angles. He said he wanted to get a second set of eyes on the hood so he called the Plant's Engineering Manager, Tom Hill, who also came and looked. We all agreed there was a problem. Later another paint expert from the Plant showed up with a device which measures the light reflected from a painted surface. He took measurements which would help the B.G. paint shop learn more about the specifics of the less than optimum paint match.

So...what's the origin of the problem? Tom Hill filled me in...

The CF hood used on the ZR-1 and Z06es w. B92 is the only two-piece CF panel on the car. It's made of an outer skin (in the ZR-1's case there's a hole in it) and an inner panel to which all the hood hardware is attached. The bonding agent which holds the two parts together will not tolerate the high temperature in the drying ovens through which the rest of the body parts are sent. Consequently, the hoods are painted off-site, by the hood's supplier which is somewhere in Ohio, I think. Additionally, the process used to paint and dry the panels in Bowling Green is not the same as that used to paint the CF hoods. As a result, with certain of the Corvette's metallic paint palette which are difficult colors to match (Carlisle Blue being one of them), there have been paint match problems on cars with CF hoods.

What Tom and Eric decided to do is ship a second hood to my local Chevrolet dealer in California. When it arrives, I'll take the car over there, they'll swap the hoods and return the old one to GM. This all will be covered under warranty.

I appreciate the efforts the B.G. Assembly Plant people made on my behalf. It saved me the trouble of starting from "square 1" with my dealer.

Heck, it's Tom Hill's "fault" I had to buy this car in the first place (see http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/c6-general-discussion/128366-learning-launch-control) The least he could have done was help me get a better paint match on the hood....and he did!

Thanks to all the GM men and women from both Detroit and B.G. Assembly for all they did to make the Bash weekend educational and enjoyable for all the 900+ Corvetters who attended.

And, as for "Paul T"... don't worry to much, Paul, about having a yellow car instead of a much faster blue one. You can always add nitrous oxide to your engine. I hear there are several aftermarket vendors who've taken pitty on yellow Z06 owners and will discount by 10%.

 

[catbert]

It's really cool that GM is stepping up with a new hood so early in the game. That's a great looking car.

 

[Paul T]

It's really cool that GM is stepping up with a new hood so early in the game. That's a great looking car.

Last night (Saturday)my Wife, Sandra the Red, Duchess of Goleta, and I had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Catbert and the owners of C-Magic Wax, Kermit and Shirley Dye, at the Outback in Bowling Green. There was plenty of beer, Outback 'ritas and juicy Outback steaks. A good time was had by all.

This morning, at 0-dark:30, we fired up the Carlisle Blue Z, went south on 65 to Nashville, then west on 40 headed for Chechotah Oklahoma. Turns out, that was a great place to stop because right now (10:02 PM Central) there are T-storms, big hail and tornados to the north and west. Hopefully, the severe weather will have dissapated by early tomorrow and we can continue on our trip to Santa Fe NM where Sandra the Red is going to do some power shopping.

I decided to name the car "Blue Bullet 2". It's running great. We've gotten 21.6 mph for a combination of city and highway.

As for more of my impressions....

We've got 1847 miles on the car at this point so, today, I did several off-then-on-again tests along I-40. That big 427 is a freakin' animal between 5000 and 6800 rpm. I'd accelerate hard in first gear from a roll. Because we've got so much weight in the car, it won't spin the tires. I'd shift to second go all the way to 7000 then short/short/short shift to sixth and coast down to 70 or so. What a hoot!. While running to 7-grand is fun, we've got to get out of Oklahoma quick as the OKSPC (Oklahoma society for prevention of cruelty to bugs) is going to be looking for us this morning as, looking at the front of our car, we kill a billion or so bugs.

View attachment 8653

Now a shout-out to the GM people on the Corvette Team both in Michigan and at B.G. Assembly. By our 3rd or 4th day of ownership, Sandy and I had noticed that under some lighting conditions, the Carlisle Blue (also known at "Space Blue" to some in GM) on the hood didn't match that on the front fenders and front fascia.

Through Kermit Dye at C-Magic Wax, I met Eric Millette, who works at B.G. Assembly on exterior finish issues. He and I went out to the car, which was parked on NCM's lot, and together we looked at the car from different angles. He said he wanted to get a second set of eyes on the hood so he called the Plant's Engineering Manager, Tom Hill, who also came and looked. We all agreed there was a problem. Later another paint expert from the Plant showed up with a device which measures the light reflected from a painted surface. He took measurements which would help the B.G. paint shop learn more about the specifics of the less than optimum paint match.

So...what's the origin of the problem? Tom Hill filled me in...

The CF hood used on the ZR-1 and Z06es w. B92 is the only two-piece CF panel on the car. It's made of an outer skin (in the ZR-1's case there's a hole in it) and an inner panel to which all the hood hardware is attached. The bonding agent which holds the two parts together will not tolerate the high temperature in the drying ovens through which the rest of the body parts are sent. Consequently, the hoods are painted off-site, by the hood's supplier which is somewhere in Ohio, I think. Additionally, the process used to paint and dry the panels in Bowling Green is not the same as that used to paint the CF hoods. As a result, with certain of the Corvette's metallic paint palette which are difficult colors to match (Carlisle Blue being one of them), there have been paint match problems on cars with CF hoods.

What Tom and Eric decided to do is ship a second hood to my local Chevrolet dealer in California. When it arrives, I'll take the car over there, they'll swap the hoods and return the old one to GM. This all will be covered under warranty.

I appreciate the efforts the B.G. Assembly Plant people made on my behalf. It saved me the trouble of starting from "square 1" with my dealer.

Heck, it's Tom Hill's "fault" I had to buy this car in the first place (see http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...trol-how-any-writer-can-great-drag-racer.html) The least he could have done was help me get a better paint match on the hood....and he did!

Thanks to all the GM men and women from both Detroit and B.G. Assembly for all they did to make the Bash weekend educational and enjoyable for all the 900+ Corvetters who attended.

And, as for "Paul T"... don't worry to much, Paul, about having a yellow car instead of a much faster blue one. You can always add nitrous oxide to your engine. I hear there are several aftermarket vendors who've taken pitty on yellow Z06 owners and will discount by 10%.

Sounds like you're making good time and sticking with the schedule. You must have caught a draft with a yellow Corvette.
Paul

 

[Idaho Slim]

WOW! What an awesome Tru Blu Corvette for a Tru Blu Corvette man! Congratulations Hib!


As a C4 man, I never cared for the other body styles, but man-o-man these C6's are REALLY growing on me, I LIKE!!!

 

[Hib Halverson]

Giving Cup Tires a Wet Workout

WOW! What an awesome Tru Blu Corvette for a Tru Blu Corvette man! Congratulations Hib!


(snip)

Thanks, Slim! But...I don't feel "blu".


At this point in time, we've had the Blue Bullet II home in Goleta CA for about 10 days. The rest of our road trip, after we left BG was just a great time...even with somemore bad weather we had in Oklahoma. Man was it bad. We rolled into Checotah after a 10-hr run from Bowling Green. To the north and west were thunderstorms, hail and tornado warnings. Good thing we hadn't intended to drive another hour or so to OKC or we'd have gotten hammered.


We woke up to this on the Wunderground site's radar page. The night before was even worse! Image: Sandy Rubel

As it was, the next morning there was more thunderstorms and hail–but no tornadoes thankfully–but this time it was right on top of us. High winds, lightning, thunder, hail and torrential rain. We decided to delay our departure, sit out in front of our hotel room sipping coffee and watch the rain and lightning for a while.


In this kind of weather, with PS Cups on the car–we wait. Image: Sandy Rubel

Once the high winds and hail abated we got rolling west on I-40. I'll say that, this trip was an unexpected but educational "work-out" for the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires we had on the car. I was surprised at them working reasonably well in the wet. The Cups exceeded my expectations. Looks like we're on the way to a tread life of 8,000-10,000 miles.

This discussion of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup in wet weather needs some closing, cautionary statements. These tires are not for everyone. They are a very aggressive, near-race tire with short tread life, lots of grip, and increased tread noise. To drive them in bad weather requires some wet weather driving experience to have the ability to feel and recognize when a tire is hydroplaning and have the judgement necessary to know when to keep driving and when to get off the road until the weather gets better. If you don't have that experience, don't get caught in the rain with PS Cup tires. Lastly a word on tread depth: a Cup tire's ability to channel water away from the tread and prevent hydroplaning decreases as tread depth decreases, so, while you might be able to whiz along at the speed limit in moderate rain if the tires are near full tread depth, however, once they get down to the wear bars, their safe speed in moderate rain will be less. Keep that last statement in mind if you use PS Cups for normal Corvette driving.

Bottom line on the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Tire?

They are an outstanding choice for aggressive street or track use in dry weather. In "normal" everyday driving duty, they probably will last longer than some folks think, but if you run your car hard on the street; don't expect much tread life because they are a soft-compound, almost-a-racing-tire. They are useable in moderate wet weather driving conditions provided they have adequate tread depth. Do not drive on them in heavy rain or through standing water. PS Cups on snow and ice? Forget it.

More on road tripping with my C6 Z06 soon.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Our road trip finished with a two-day, mini-vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico for exploring that delightful center of southwestern style culture, architecture and cuisine and, of course, some shopping.


From there it was on to Gallup, New Mexico to scout a reform location for the National Corvette Caravan which will come through there in 2014. Our last stop was Williams, Arizona, again, for some advance work for the Southern California/Southern Nevada Section of the 2014 Caravan.


So, with 3900 miles on the car, it's home, parked out in the shop. I tell ya, the first wash my Wife and I gave the car was pretty disgusting with all the tons of dead bugs on the front end. I, also, noted a few stone chips from the trip which…leads us to the first mod made to the car: "AutoArmor" Paint Protection Film installed by Transhine Auto Detailing. AutoArmor is die-cut Scotchcal PPF which is applied to the front end and the fronts of the side mirrors. Some call PPF a "clear bra". It protects the paint from damage due to rocks and road debris. If you want to learn more about it, I posted a CAC product review at: "Auto Armor" Scotchcal Paint Protection Film - Corvette Product Reviews


Those who know me understand I just couldn't keep my hands off a new engine and that I like to run spark plugs one heat range colder than stock. So, out came the stock ACDelco 41-104s and in went a set of one-range-colder, Denso Iridium Power IT-22s. I'm a big fan of the Iridium Power design because of its 0.4-mm iridium center electrode and its cut-back, U-groove, ground electrode. Some might say the IT-22's somewhat shorter projected tip might be the equivalent of slightly retarded spark timing but, because the LS7 is calibrated for 93-octane gas and all we can get here in the western U.S. is 91-oct., I'm not too worried about that theory.


During the trip and in driving around town here at home, the reception on AM radio is not that great. Now a lot of folks are going to ask, "With lots of FM stations and also XM/Sirius to listen to, who needs AM. Let me tell ya, if you drive in the L.A. area at all, listening to one of the two AM stations (I prefer KNX 1070) which broadcast frequent traffic reports is mandatory, so having good reception on the AM band is important. I was hearing a fair amount of ignition noise behind weak stations. I replaced the stock ignition wires with MSD Super Conductors, a special kind of plug wire pioneered by MSD which is low in resistance but high in RFI suppression. The ignition noise was noticeably reduced, but not eliminated, by the MSD wires. Actually, I can't understand why there's any ignition RFI at all. My C5 has a similar ignition system with the same spark plugs and the same MSD wires and it makes no ignition noise. I'll have to study this issue a little more, I guess.


Last thing I did was change the rear axle lube to Red Line Heavy Shockproof which we did not get around to doing during our stop in Bowling Green at Automasters. I like the Shockproof axle lubricant because its calcium-based EP additive package gives the lubricant a margin of durability even in the most severe duty cycles, such as racing in hot weather. Also, because its a gel-based lubricant, it has the film thickness (which affects the lube's ability to protect the gears) of a 75W250 gear oil, but low fluid friction like a 75W90. Lastly, it works well with limited-slip differentials, in this case, not requiring any friction-modifying additive. Other diffs might need some additive but, as long as the limited slip is in good condition, it will only be a small amount–maybe an ounce or ounce-and-a-half.


Since I've been off the long road trip, I've driven the car around town and had a chance to experience the infamous L.A. traffic congestion on my run down to Whittier, CA and Transhine Auto Detailing. One interesting characteristic is the low clutch pedal effort. I wonder how GM engineers were able to have a single-plate clutch with clamping pressure enough for an LS7 but such low pedal effort? Don't know how they did it, but I like it!


From a ride standpoint, it's interesting to compare our C5 Z06 to this new C6 Z06. As far as high-frequency impact harshness goes, the two cars feel about the same. I think much of that is driven by bushings and tires. The C5 has Goodyear F1 Supercar non-run-flat tires and the C6 has Michelin Pilot Sport Cup run-flat tires and there is a significant difference in tire casing stiffness between the two with the run-flat being more rigid. So why are the two cars' harshness about the same? Must be differences in bushings and perhaps some mitigating effects from MagnaRide, which is part of the Z07 option we ordered. As for tire noise, the two are about the same and that's in-spite of the C6 having improved acoustic insulation in the rear of the car. My guess is the PS Cup tires, because they are run-flats and they have a sticky tread compound are somewhat noisy.


Subjected to low-frequency suspension movement, the C6 rides noticeably smoother and that's virtually all due to the MagnaRide shocks which, compared to the fixed-valve shocks on the C5…well…there really isn't any comparison. The C6 is just better. Magna-Ride flat kicks butt as a suspension damping system.


You can really notice the improvements GM made to the steering racks in 2008. Both our Z06es have pretty responsive tires on them but the C6 just has a better road feel on-center and I attribute that to the revisions in the steering rack made for the 2008 model year.


Fuel economy–I know Corvettes tend to do well in highway mileage because of light weight, efficient engines and good aerodynamics but I was still surprised that, with just under 4000 miles on the car in all kinds of driving–highway, suburban, city and "acceleration tests", the "Blue Bullet II" has attained 22.4-miles per gallon.


People contemplating the adding Z07 to a Z06 or CFZ to a 427 Convertible have asked me about what some see as the perilous location and height of the carbon fiber front splitter. Actually–when I took delivery of the car, I looked at that and thought, oh s$#t, that's going to be a big problem. in reality, so far, it's not been. I've only scrapped it one time and it was a "light hit" on the underside of the part. The only thing one has to be careful about is judging your distance from concrete parking blocks or curbs. In short, that CF front splitter isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but, nevertheless, needs some care in parking.


We ordered the car with 1LZ and so far, I haven't missed any of the convenience options which come with 2- or 3LZ. I don't need the expensive and difficult to use navigation system. I can buy a lot of cheap Garmins at Costco for what one pays for just the annual updates to the GM system. 1LZ comes with the base stereo system and, I must say, it sounds pretty darn good. I'll be able to live without the nine-speaker Bose. While I have the memory package in my C5, the C6 lacks it and I haven't noticed that much. I don't need bluetooth or a USB connection because I can plug my iPod into the base stereo's input jack. My Wife, Sandy Duchess of Goleta, wishes for the heated seats but really, living in California, we don't need them. We haven't needed the telescoping wheel, either. About the only thing I didn't get which I wish I had was the luggage shade.


Not likes? Well, for one thing, the keyless ignition. I hated it when it was introduced in 2005 and I still hate it. It's a stupid, technology-for-the-sake of technology feature. I also hate the key fob with its overly sensitive "panic" button. Stick the fob in the your pocket with the buttons facing out, then bump against something and your car horn is going off. XM Radio? Too often, I'll tune in an XM channel and it has that funky-tinny audio quality you get from a compressed digital signal. Plus, the introductory trial subscription doesn't include any of the premium features. How am I supposed to try out the content if I can't receive it? No matter, when the free subscription runs out, I have my iPod.


I hate the extra set of cats which are in the exhaust system because of the CARB's never-ending need to tighten emissions control regulations. It makes the car too quiet. The best sounding stock exhaust ever, in my opinion, was the titanium system on the C5 Z06es. Add an x-pipe to that and you have a truly joyful noise. Now, I know people are going tell me," Get one of those 'Mild-to-Wild' gizmos." but that's not what I want. Cars with the bypasses open when driven at light throttle, like around town and such, are annoying. I'm not hard of hearing nor do I have a need to remind everyone audibly that I'm approaching. What I'd like is just a bit more volume when the bypasses are closed and a little more volume when they open up. Plus I'd like to lower the default opening to about 2500 or 2750.


What's next for my '12 Z06? Well, I'd like to replace the stock air filter element with one of my favorite Green Filters. Beyond that, I'm looking at intake kits…in particular, the new Mamba Air Intake System from Zip Products. One of my pals at Katech told me they've tested the Mamba and it performs very well. Another thing I want to do is, once HPTuners supports '12 LS7s, a little tweaking to the engine's calibration.


One thing that surprised me in the seminar the Corvette Team did at the NCM Bash event back in late April was them saying that Carlisle Blue sold only 5% of the 2012 build and it tied for last in popularity amongst the colors for the '12 model year. When I first saw that color a year ago, I thought for sure, because it is so beautiful and that it was only going to be available for one year, it would be very popular. Boy, was I fooled. I went into the local Chevy dealer the other day to discuss the pending replacement of our car's hood under warranty and the techs and salesmen were all over the car because no one there had ever seen a Carlisle Blue Corvette before. The fact that hardly anyone bought Carlisle Blue is bad for people who like nice looking Vettes, but good for me. A couple of weeks ago I queried Chevrolet as to how many '12 Z06es were built in Carlisle Blue with 1LZ, Z07 and B92. The response I got a week or so later from was that only three exist like that.


Well, that's it for now.

 

[Tuna]

Hi Hib,
Thanks for the update!

 

[Hib Halverson]

Found out this week that the replacement hood for the Blue Bullet 2 is arriving next week. My local dealer is going to change it under warranty. It's been a long time coming, but I'll be glad to get the old hood with the bad paint match off the car and the new one in place.

As for why it took so long, well....I guess, considering the very small number of 2012 Carlisle Blue Z06es with B92 which were built, GM did ok. I appreciated the efforts of Tom Hill, Eric Millette and Paul Allison at B.G. Assembly in getting a new hood done for the car.

We've got 4376 miles on the car now. The Michelin PS Cup tires are actually wearing quite well. Clearly, when driven "normally" on the highway, those tires have better tread life that a lot of people think.

Finally have the the registered in California. I kinda figured that Pennsylvania, 30-day ferry permit was eventually going to draw the attention of the California Highway Patrol, so I'm glad I got that done. Because the car was purchased out of state, even though it had YF5 California Emissions, we had to take it into a CA DMW office to have the VIN and the emissions label visually "verfied" by a DMV employee. Then, of course, I had to write a check for California's exhorbitant sales tax and registration fee. Such is life living in the DPRK.

While I have all the lubricants changed to Red Line products, I've got Denso IT-22 plugs in the engine and I partially solved my problem with ignition noise when I listen to the AM radio with MSD Super Conductor plug wires, the most recent change to the car was the addition of an Odyssey Battery. I have Odysseys in most of my other cars, but when I looked at the catalog on the Odyssey web site, I saw that the Odyssey Battery which fits in the rear battery compartment of a C6 Z06 is not an exact fit and that the ".... vehicle battery restraint(s) may require modification."

I also noted that the dimensions of the Odyssey Battery (PN PC1200MJ) suggested for use in C6 Z06 were somewhat smaller than the stock battery and that the CCA rating of the Odyssey was slightly less, 550 vs 590. I contacted the folks at Enersys and was told the modification to the battery hold down, if necessary would be minor. I also asked about the vent hose which connects to a stock battery to carry away battery fumes. This prompted a response from Kalyan Jana, Product Manager of AGM Products for EnerSys, the company which manufactures and markets Odyssey batteries. He told me, "Odyssey batteries do not require a venting system and therefore the PC1200MJT does not have a connection for the hose. As long as the battery is not installed in a gastight enclosure no special venting arrangements are necessary for any Odyssey battery."

One of the reasons I've become a fan of the Odyssey Battery is its very high pulse cranking current output. in short, "pulse cranking output" is not the same as "cold cranking amps" (CCA) and is a very high current draw for a short period while the engine is cranked during the starting sequence. Pulse cranking is usually defined as lasting five seconds. The LS7 in a Z06 has a very high compression ratio and the battery is in the back of the car, at the end of a long cable run. Both those characteristics demand a battery capable of high pulse cranking current output. I, also, questioned Jana about the difference in CCA ratings and he responded, "The answer lies in how CCA is defined, which is: a 30-second discharge at 0ºF. Unless the user is planning to actually discharge the battery at 0ºF for 30 seconds, the CCA rating of a battery is pretty meaningless. What is of paramount importance in an engine cranking application is the number of amps a battery can deliver for 3-5 seconds (ie: pulse cranking amps) to get that engine turning rapidly. In that respect, an Odyssey battery will significantly outperform an OEM battery that is physically much larger."

As it turns out Delco does not rate it's batteries for pulse cranking amps but Odyssey does. The pulse hot cranking amps (PHCA) rating of the Odysssy PC1200 MJ is 1200-amps for five seconds. So...how does the Odyssey PC1200MJ work in the real world. Well, first off, you don't have to modify anything to install it in a Z06. While the battery is a little smaller in length, its height is the same as the stock battery so the stock battery hold-down in a Z06 works fine. No modifications are necessary. Because the battery box in the back of a Z is so small, lifting a battery in an out is easier if you have one of those rubber strap battery carriers which attaches to the battery posts but, you can remove and replace the battery by hand if you have a strong grip.


The Odyssey PC1200MJ in my Z's battery box.

Odysseys are shipped fully charged. I installed the battery, then let the car sit a week before I tried starting it. In spite of not having a charger connected either upon installation or after a week, the cranking speed was, perhaps, 10-20% faster. One characteristic which concerned me with the C6 Z06 was the LS7's somewhat slow cranking speed compared to the LS6 in my 2004. Going to the Odyssey battery solved that problem for sure!

The other reason I like Odyssey batteries is they have a long service life, usually 5-7 years and sometimes as much as ten years. Also, they are more tolerant of "deep cycles" (where you run the battery dead, then fully recharge it) than are most conventional battery designs, such as the OE ACDelcos.

Besides the Odyssey battery, another new item I have for the car is a Dustop car cover I bought from the California Car Cover Company. I haven't really been testing it for very long–I've been using it about a month and man...it really does work. The Dustop cover is specially designed to reduce the amount of dust which accumulates during indoor storage. In the past, I've used some other types of covers on cars stored indoors and have noted that, even thought the cars are covered, over time, they still get dusty. So far the Dustop has eliminated that problem.


The Cal Car Cover Dustop for 12 Z06es is PN 1607921 and it fits the Blue Bullet 2 like a gooove.

The next mod I'm going to make to my new Z is to install a Green Filter. The filter came by UPS a week ago but I just haven't had time to get it installed as I'm too busy getting ready for a month long road trip to Alaska. No. We're not driving a Corvette there. We are taking our ZR2, but...that's a story for a different blog. NORTH to Alaska--What would you do before the trip? - Zr2USA.com

 

[froggy47]

Hi Hib,

Very informative reporting.

Thanks. One thing on the green filter, I tried one on my z16 & I had to (following their instructions) cut some tabs, and I still did not like the fit.

YMMV

And they may have improved the fit for c5z.

Having said that, I dropped a K&N in & never looked back.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Hi Hib,

Very informative reporting.

Thanks.

You're welcome. Glad to be of service.

One thing on the green filter, I tried one on my z16 & I had to (following their instructions) cut some tabs, and I still did not like the fit.

YMMV

And they may have improved the fit for c5z.

Having said that, I dropped a K&N in & never looked back.

The car I was referring to in the discussion of the Green Filter in the above post was a 2012 Z06, however, I have used Green Filters for my 2004 Z06/Z16, both in the stock air box and in the aftermarket air filter assembly I use on that car now. I had no fit problems, in either application, with Green Filters on that car. In fact, I use Greens in most of my other cars, too, and have never experienced any fit problems.

At one time, I used exclusively K&N Filters but, I've moved to the Greens in all but one vehicle for two reasons: 1) Green Filter uses a woven cotton material for their filter media rather than the gauze K&N uses and that makes for filter media which is thinner, holds oil better, and is stronger, and 2) the manufacturing process Green uses to make its filter edges is a more precise method and, thus, Greens never have cases were the rubber used to mold the edge structure flows into the filter media, which can be a problem with K&Ns.

 

[Bonnell]

I have recently begun to think about maybe trading my '08 vert for a '13 427 convertible. Can you comment on how you think the 427 vert compares to the Z06 perfomance-wise? Is the suspension even close to a Z? The reason I ask is that to me the ultimate car is a Z06 but I do enjoy my convertible. If the vert is fairly close to a Z then maybe I will go that way. If not, I will either save a lot of cash and go with a well optioned GS or I will get a late model used Z06.

 

[catbert]

I have recently begun to think about maybe trading my '08 vert for a '13 427 convertible. Can you comment on how you think the 427 vert compares to the Z06 perfomance-wise? Is the suspension even close to a Z? The reason I ask is that to me the ultimate car is a Z06 but I do enjoy my convertible. If the vert is fairly close to a Z then maybe I will go that way. If not, I will either save a lot of cash and go with a well optioned GS or I will get a late model used Z06.

Close how? Straight line performance should be close. Handling won't be at Z06 level on the track, but normal driving might be a toss-up. When I had my Z, I never saw it's capabilities, except at the track at 10/10ths. The 427 may be the best of both worlds for most people.

 

[Bonnell]

Thanks Catbert. I am not concerned about straight line speed. I assme the 427 is the LS7 so I assume they are close there. How different is the suspension?

 

[Tuna]

Thanks Catbert. I am not concerned about straight line speed. I assme the 427 is the LS7 so I assume they are close there. How different is the suspension?

The 427 convertible gets the MagRide option but not the performance enhancement option that is available on the ZO6. My car shows Z16 and Z51 option codes for the suspension but I'm not sure how that relates to the spring rates and anti-roll bars on the ZO6. The handling on my 427 Vert is night and day compared to my previous MagRide C6's (both the '06 and '08 were MagRide).

If you're thinking about a "track" car, go with the ZO6. If you just want the best handling convertible you can find, put your order in for a 427 vert and do it soon.

 

[Bonnell]

Thanks guys.

 

[Hib Halverson]

I have recently begun to think about maybe trading my '08 vert for a '13 427 convertible. Can you comment on how you think the 427 vert compares to the Z06 perfomance-wise? Is the suspension even close to a Z? The reason I ask is that to me the ultimate car is a Z06 but I do enjoy my convertible. If the vert is fairly close to a Z then maybe I will go that way. If not, I will either save a lot of cash and go with a well optioned GS or I will get a late model used Z06.

As far as acceleration performance, the 472 convertible will give away a little to a Z06 because the Z06 is lighter.

As for dry handling, how the 427 convertible and the Z06 compare, that depends on how the Z06 is equipped. If the Z06 is the standard model, at the limit the Z06 will be marginally better in handing. If the Z06 is also equipped with Z07, the difference in handing, given a driver who's really good, will be quite noticeable.

 

[Bonnell]

Thanks Hib. I would likely not get a Z07 package. Even though the LS7 is in both cars, the appeal of a Z06 is probably just too much. The more I think about it the more I realize that I enjoy my '08 vert and its Z51 suspension and LS3 are really enough for me, I simply want to own something special. To me, that is the Z06.

I'm glad I "talked" this through here.

Thansk to all.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Well, it sounds to me like the 427 Convertible is the car you ought to own.

But also....why not consider a 2013 Grand Sport convertible, Z51, manual w. NPP. I think some, but not all of the Z06 body pieces are available on GSes and with a manual trans you get the PBC-assembled LS3 dry sump engine.

 

[Bonnell]

The GS is an good option too. One of the best looking vettes that I have seen is a cyber grey GS vert. This would certainly be less expensive and would also allow me to look for a pristine 2010 or 2011 lightly used model and still get GMPP if I decided to go that route.

Meanwhile I will continue to follow your posts regarding the Z06 experience.

 

[Hib Halverson]

(snip)
Meanwhile I will continue to follow your posts regarding the Z06 experience.

:L
Right now, I'm pretty far from a "Z06 experience". My Wife, the Fairest Sandra the Red, and I are in Ft. Nelson, BC, Canada on a drive trip up the Alcan to Alaska. We're driving our Blazer ZR2. When we get to Fairbanks we're going to fool around there for a day or so then drive the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay and back.

It'll be pretty near a month before I'm back home to drive the Blue Bullet.

Read my AK Blogs
NORTH to Alaska--What would you do before the trip?
NORTH to Alaska--the road trip - Zr2USA.com