Some additional year change differences: 2008 had a revised steering rack for better on-center precision due to complaints about vague/dead zone in previous years steering. In 2009 they changed the steering rack again, from a fixed ratio to a variable ratio setup for slightly quicker turn-in, and the steering went from 2.78 turns lock-to-lock on the earlier models to 2.54 turns on the 2009+ models. In addition, the dry sump system changed in 2009 as mentioned by another commenter, and the 2009+ models have upgraded audio systems with Bluetooth. The 2009+ models also had higher quality interior trim levels available including leather-wrapped dash and side panels instead of hard plastic. 2012 - 2013 models also got new seats which are regarded as much better than earlier models. Oh and you mentioned that the centennial edition was available in 2013, but it was actually 2012. The centennial edition has by far the best c6 interior in black Alcantara suede with red contrast stitching, centennial exclusive seats, and centennial "100 years" badging. It also featured an exclusive exterior color, "Carbon Flash Metallic" with subtle black racing stripes, and Centennial exclusive wheels which were black with red pinstripes on the outer rim. I figured some of those differences might be important to viewers who are shopping for a new C6.
2006 model was the best by far that's why I chose it lightest fastest model may I say any more than that that's what the ZO6 of all about for me anyway
Thanks for that simple breakdown! Was exactly the info I was looking for. In the process of finding a zo6 now. Kinda hard to find to tell you the truth. Not many on the market in eastern United States right now
I am a 2008 C6 Z06 velocity Yellow. I have not had any issues with it she’s got 27,000 miles. I’ve put up a couple of cinematic videos I’ll actually quite a few on my channel. Thank you for this review a lot of what you said is true. But hopefully most people do you OK with this Z06. I subbed.
Dig the Kobe respect. Props. Totally did not know the carbon was lighter...was thinking it actually was just a paint job/splitters and inside gimmickry. Great vid.
I bought my c6 z06 2007 3 years ago i didnt drive a lot ,oil changes tune up and the throttle body sensor thats the only maintenance i did it, my car has 80000 miles but anyways i was planning to do the heads and cam combo but i had to suspended for the covid 19, but for my own experience i really liked this car i drove to vegas, and laughing nevada and no problems at all,i dont regreted bought it,but if u are scared you better dont buy it because this car is for enjoy it,and just think about it 505 hp 3100 pounds for 30,000 dollars ...........thanks
In regards to the clutch fluid, the clutch dust in the bell housing gets into the clutch slave cylinder. The solution is to use a turkey baster and swap out the fluid with dot 4 brake fluid in the clutch reservoir. When I bought my 2008 Z06 used the clutch fluid looked like dark motor oil (never had been changed). It took 4-5 flushes to get it clear first time. There after, only swap out the fluid once or twice a year when I can see clutch dust in the fluid, have owned the car for 8 years. If the fluid gets too dirty, the slave will gum up, and the pedal will eventually stick in the compressed position (stranded because it won't go into gear). That is when it turns into an expensive repair because the dealership then wants to replace both master and slave clutch cylinders...$$$$ Another issue is in 2008 the synchro for 2nd gear in the TR6060 trans does not work smoothly until the transmission is warm (not sure when this was fixed). This was true for ALL TR6060's including the Camaro and Mustang's at the time. They did not consider it a recall, however I heard there is a class action lawsuit. They changed out the carbon material on the synchro and likely added an additive to the fluid. Not sure when they fixed problem. I know a guy with a newer ZL1 Camaro with zero issues so it did get fixed. Still think its a great summer car. The car prices are very reasonable for performance. I would buy another one if I had the space (Grand Sport Convertible).
2009, there are significant changes you missed. Specifically the dry sump system was updated to a 10.5 quart system due to engine failures due to oil starvation on high g sweeping turns.
Thanks! Ironically thats 1 I should have gotten because the 1st time I changed my oil I was looking at the specs on the newer 1 and overfilled mine and got oil all over the place. Haha thanks for the heads up.
Appreciate it my man. There are other things I didn't mention, but the updated sump system I should have got. I am gonna have to show my friend your comment who was with me during the 1st oil change haha. I was also going to do one on the differences between the various LS motors, but I think I'll preface it with there are a lot of things I'm not mentioning haha. Thanks again
ShiftLounge ironically the one thing they never updated was the slave cylinder design on the clutch system. You should research the issues with master cylinder failures if you ever decide to track your car. A guy that goes by Ranger over on CorvetteForum has some good write ups on it. The slave cylinder let’s clutch dust into the hydraulic system under hard shifts and that can cause the master cylinder seals to blow out. I found out at 130mph on a track...clutch was flat on the floor. So make sure you change your clutch fluid before and after any type of track fun (1/4 mile or circuit)
2009 had an 11 qt dry sump oil system instead of an 8 qt in previous years. This is very important if u track the car. The 8 qt caused oil starvation and engine failure in extreme cornering. Lingefelter makes an 11 qt for $400 so no big deal, but just be aware.
Lol I found this out the hard way, luckily not while the car was running but when changing the oil it said 11 qt and I didn't know it was different for different years of the same car so I overfilled mine and there was oil everywhere. I was nervous because why was there all this extra oil when it specifically said to add this amount? Then I found out it was different for different years
You can't go wrong with any of them. I would say probably 2008+ if you can just to get the better transmission. There is nothing wrong with the 06 but in general I try to avoid 1st year of production on any car, however there is nothing known wrong with the 06.
@@ShiftLounge btw I just bought a 08 C6 Z a few weeks ago, how much should I pay for an oil change (btw which oil and clutch oil do you recommend?) and to pay for clutch fluid change? Also the car has a clutch remote bleeder installed as well if that makes any difference
I just used Mobil 1, the dealership changed everything though. I am not sure what to pay for individual changes, like I said in my last video I paid roughly 500 bucks to have all the fluids changed.
Master cylinder and slave cylinder going bad is a real issue. Just bought an 08 z06 with 17k miles and I only drove it for 3hrs the day I got it and then the clutch dropped so currently changing those parts out
Honestly I think the most important thing to ask is who did the install. For me I'd have to weigh if the person performing the swap was someone I feel is trust worthy. Like if it was the prior owners you kinda roll the dice. If its a shop thats reputable I'd feel better and be willing to pay a little more. If its the guy who is selling the car did it in his garage, I'd want to just chat him up on cars and gauge his general knowledge and see if he is the type of person to cut corners.
Nice video. I will be trading my SRT Scat Challenger for C6 Zo6. I am torn between 2011 Carbon edition and 2013 Zo6 . Both are 3LZ and have Zo7 option. Any suggestions on witch one to choose?
Personally I would go with the 2011 carbon. Its a bit more rare and domestic guys seem to love to say a car is "1 of (insert number)" so the resale does hold a bit better. However both are pretty similar so can't go wrong with either. Price and condition would also dictate my decision.
Not sure what you mean by changing the shape of the car. It is wider than the base C6 yet, but they obviously haven't made any changes since it was in production
I currently have a 14 mustang gt with a paxton, bolt ons, & full suspension. 640 to the wheel. I want to sell it & buy one of these. Am I crazy or it's worth it?
I would definitely do it! I think its worth it, but I am probably biased since I like Corvettes a lot more than Mustangs. If it isn't one of the Shelby cars I'm not a huge fan. Or the terminators, still love those.
Question. I have an 07 z06. Stock. Recently did trans flush. Noticed at around 60-70 mph a whine coming from the rear under light load. Let go of the gas, no more noise. Seems to only be at highway speed. Any ideas what this might be?
This is just a suggestion, but based on what you're saying you could try this. First and this is simple......make sure you're using the correct fluid and its full. Also drain the diff and see if there is any metal shavings in there. Sounds like it could be more of a diff problem than a trans problem
I am taking the car back to my guy for a diff service and to check the problem Wednesday. I have only had the car for a few months and not much highway driving. I know the diff was done from previous owner with proper additive about 2k miles ago. I am guessing yours has no whine at highway speed? This is not normal ?
08 got a different transmission, not sure about the steering system though tbh. I would default at saying no because that would have added quite a bit of cost to the vehicle at a time that GM was still pulling out of financial hardship. However I could easily be wrong on that.
@@ShiftLounge so I went back and watched Savage Geese's C6 Z06 video. He states 08 got a new variable gear ratio ....I think. ..and un 09 it was made a little quicker. Ita pretty informative. C&C has a pretty good " best years C6" video for anyone interested. Savage speaks to GM motor engineers that designed the ls7 and h9w they came about it. They speak in depth about the head issues ,but GM doesn't own up to their build flaw.
The "cylinder head" issue is a real enigma. GM claims it was a minuscule fraction of the LS7s built. The internet claims it was most of them. Interestingly, my cousin was the QC Director at Bowling Green from 2004 to 2016 and absolutely swears he'd never heard about the problem until he was at a car show for the launch of the C7. Just goes to show you never know who to believe. I have a 2010 Z06, modified to 691whp, and it's my daily driver. No cylinder head issues whatsoever. Have them checked just in case. Cheers.
Yeah its really hard to figure out whats real and what isn't. Its a real enough issue that there is a lawsuit and its definitely impacted some people, however no matter how you slice it, its a small percentage of the actual total number of cars out there, its just brought up more among enthusiasts so can seem like a bigger issue. Who really knows. It wasn't enough of an issue to stop me from buying one with stock heads still. I envy you though living in a climate you can daily drive it :)
My 2008 made it 84k miles before I had the heads changed/fixed. Although my stock heads were way out of spec, and I was on borrowed time. Ironically, the day I picked my car up after the heads were changed, brakes done, and rear wheel hubs replaced; another 2008 C6Z had just been towed in to the service lane with a 33k mile LS7 that we (service advisor and myself) believed had dropped a valve and ventilated the block.
Nope! I mean I'll get the normal guilt of I could have done something more productive with the money, especially in this booming economy hah. I never regret buying the car though.
Already in the works. Basically kind of talking about my own path to buying a C7z. I might change it up though so I can just do it now since there is a quarantine and car shopping has ground to a halt
Honestly the only negative is the heads issue, but it's 1 of those things that impacts not too many, but if it is you, it really sucks haha. I wouldn't worry about too much with these. They're real solid
As a general rule 1st year models people will tend to shy away from on the used market because any issues not caught at the factory show up in the 1st run. As far as these go they're all pretty good. I would probably go 2009+ if I had a choice and all other things equal. Slightly better transmission in 2008 over 06/07 but 2008 is the 1 with seemingly the most cases of the valve/heads issue. You can't go wrong with any of them really though!!!
Steve Redford costed me around 2k DIY. You can get it done for about a grand if you know the right people. My heads are hand ported. But good luck getting him to change your guides!
Get your heads fixed ASAP if you haven't don't so fellow C6 Z06 owners... Every LS7, even brand new crate motor, have a valve drop issue (+push rod failure & rocker arm bearing failure). It is flawed design due to poor material selections. Abrasive sodium-filled exhaust valve rubbing at weak and short stock valve guide can never go well. BTW I dropped one myself, and it is NOT cheap. Expect to pay near $20,000 repair bill. I'm telling you, don't play a game with LS7. It's gonna get ya.
@@ShiftLounge My block was completely destroyed (2 giant holes each side) so I had replace the entire motor. I bought brand-new chevy LS7 replacement crate motor for $12,000 from online, which was the cheapest repair option for me. Also comes w/ 2yr/24k miles warranty. I didn't have resources to build from short block. $12,000 Motor + $3-4,000 Labor + $1,500 to replace oil cooler, oil hoses & cleaning dry sump reservoir + $1,000 additional parts (motor mounts, new water pump since crate motor pump doesn't fit, belts, gaskets, etc) + $500 in consumables. I had to pay about $1,000 more because clutch system components worn out and had to be replaced. AND NEW MOTOR STILL COME WITH EXACT SAME SHITTY VALVE TRAIN. My local performance shop rebuilt the car so price may vary, but it is not an easy task and it is not just replacing the motor. There are a lot more process into it during replacing LS7 that dropped valve. Older and higher mileage your car is, more likely repair cost will also rise to replace all worn out parts in the process. It is really NOT CHEAP. Every year of LS7 can blow up at any time as soon as valve guide clearance goes out of spec. And that can happen as early as 5,000 miles for factory motor! This is no joke. Lots of LS7 shops in this country can tell you all kinds of horror stories ;(
