Traded 1LE for Z28

[Front Runner]

Originally Posted by X25

Unfortunately, this is an important subject, and should not be dismissed as troll. I owned '06 and '13 Z06s, and this was one of the reasons why I swithced back to LS3s (1LE).

As a former Z06 owner did you have engine issues with your LS7's? If so, were they completely stock or modded?

[X25]

Originally Posted by Front Runner

Did you have engine issues with your LS7's?

I drove my '06 Z06 for about 25K miles (bought at 26K), and did numerous track days with it, with no issues. The engine was very noisy at idle compared to my brother's C5 Z06 or my '12 C6 GS, though. Some say this is one of the tell tale signs of valve guide wear.

I bought my '13 Z06 brand new, and drove it for about 8K miles with about 10-15 track days; no issues.

In the end, anxiety won. There were just too many failed engines reported at the Corvette Forum. If I bought a Z/28, I'd not mind pushing the engine to its limits and would not worry about any issue at the track. That said, I'd also never modify its powertrain to retain the warranty just in case.

In the end, no powertrain is bulletproof, and we always have the risk on any engine. That said, I'd feel more comfortable pushing a dry-sumped LS3. I miss my '12 Grand Sport

[Front Runner]

Originally Posted by X25

I drove my '06 Z06 for about 25K miles (bought at 26K), and did numerous track days with it, with no issues. The engine was very noisy at idle compared to my brother's C5 Z06 or my '12 C6 GS, though. Some say this is one of the tell tale signs of valve guide wear.

I bought my '13 Z06 brand new, and drove it for about 8K miles with about 10-15 track days; no issues.

In the end, anxiety won. There were just too many failed engines reported at the Corvette Forum. If I bought a Z/28, I'd not mind pushing the engine to its limits and would not worry about any issue at the track. That said, I'd also never modify its powertrain to retain the warranty just in case.

In the end, no powertrain is bulletproof, and we always have the risk on any engine. That said, I'd feel more comfortable pushing a dry-sumped LS3. I miss my '12 Grand Sport

Okay. Thanks for the insight.

[JeffInDFW]

Gm fanboy here, and certainly not a troll. I do want to hop in here and let you guys know that the Z06 LS7 failure problem is the real deal. Please check out corvetteforum in the Z06 section. Just in the last month they finally got Tadge (Corvette chief engineer) to look at all of their evidence. He took it seriously enough that he had "several high level engineers from GM powertrain" contact Kaytech and talk to them about what they have seen in customer cars. You can read the entire thread over there.

An overview of the facts:
LS7s have been dropping exhaust valves at an alarming rate for over 5 years now. All model years are affected. GM released a statement saying they found a small number of cars were affected from 2008 to 2011, but as of February 2011 all heads were being "100% inspected". Unfortunately, there are still 2013 model LS7s dropping valves with less than 5,000 miles on them, bone stock with zero track miles. In fact, a BRAND NEW SET OF LS7 HEADS PURCHASED AT THE PARTS COUNTER IN NOVEMBER OF 2014 WERE OUT OF SPEC. The current thinking is, the company supplying the heads to GM is machining some of them out of spec. Concentricity is the problem. Over 80% of LS7 heads inspected on Corvette Forum were found to be out of spec!

Here is the kicker.....This same company "Linmar" I believe, also does the LS9 heads for the ZR1. The LS9 is now also showing these same problems.

There are thread after thread of cars dropping their valves with extremely low miles and no track time. No mods. Meanwhile, there is also a thread right now of a guy with 150,000 miles plus on his, never a problem. But, as I stated, over 80% of people who have had theirs checked were found to be out of spec.

[Mgizzle]

Originally Posted by backeddy

MG, I did not see the "tuned" aspect....sorry. But I will stand by my post of letting someone know about potential issues, just like my clutch/tranny! There is a low mile (600) Z28 on ebay right now for 58K I believe, trust me I thought about it. Just so happens that I was surfing c5 at the same time and saw the engine blow post.....

Sounds like I missunderstood, he said stock tune I thought he meant he did an aftermarket tune on stock motor.. I wouldnt be too nervous they will cover it for sure.

I have a friend who bought a used 06 z06 with 75,000 miles. He does nothing but track it and this kid aint no joke. 10 plus track days a year for last 4 years on track tires and advanced group. He did replace valves rockers and springs after seeing some of the ground valve spring ends in his oil pan. That was changed on later model years and the z/28 I thought. He used MY 09 or 10 parts. Never had an issue over 100k miles now.

[sengli]

That is the reason I sold off my C6 Z06 with 17K miles on it. I worried every time I got on it, that this could be it. My 5 year power train warranty was just about to end. A stock replacement crate motor is like $17K. And from what I read if it drops a valve , it breaks the piston, and then that rod goes thru the block. The entire engine is usually a complete loss.
But just after 3500 RPM that engine would pull like there was no tomorrow.

[RyanR3KC]

I'm interested in the side skirts