Ryan77

I sold my C3 corvette over a year ago with the plan to get a new C6 Z06 in a couple of years and this may be the year I do it. I'm looking into putting a Procharger setup or something similar on it, but I'm still up in the air about it. Procharger claims 700+ horsepower (622 rwhp) at 6psi with a stock Z06, and 800+ rwhp with a modified Z06 at 14.5psi.

My questions are:

1) Has anyone installed one of their kits or something similar?
2) How do you like it?
3) Any dyno tests or track results?
4) What was the total cost?
5) Any other mods necessary to handle the power?

I've also thought about a new ZR1, but with new Z06's under $70K fully loaded (Kerbeck Corvette) and the ZR1 going for $100K or more, there's a big price difference, and a blown Z06's 700+hp compared to the 620hp ZR1 should easily make it faster. I guess it comes down to performance vs. price. If a stock Z06 can make 700+hp with only the cost of the Procharger and related items I should be into it for about $80k by my guess and faster than a ZR1. But if it needs tranny, rearend , or motor mods to safely handle the power than I might be better paying up for a ZR1 built specifically to handle the supercharger.
What do you guys think? Any opinion is welcome

skip89

If all you care about is which is faster the ZO6 with mods is the way to go. The $$ difference will give you a lot to work with. Either way its all good.

ctusser

Depends on what you want to do with it. I'm hearing the LS7 isn't durable at that kind of power level. I met a guy who occassionally races his C6Z who blew a motor with just bolt ons, and now has replaced the motor and has it back to stock; he may be the rare exception. If you keep the boost low, keep the power b/t 550-600whp, and don't thrash on it a lot you'll probably be fine.

snitz

I have a C5 with a Procharger and have road raced it extensively.

I'm building a NA powered track only car this winter.

Supercharging a LS7 is perfectly safe. A LS7 with a centrif blower (Procharger is that type) and low boost levels should produce no issues.

If you plan to do HPDE events or road race, I wouldn't get involved with SC however. You will run into overheat problems.

The LS7 is already a great engine. If you want more HP and want to track (RR) the car a head-cam package might be a better option.

As for the ZR1, the twin screw set up (vs. centrif procharger) is likely going to have big overheat issues on the track. I don't see that as a step forward. I'd rather have an LS7.

Generally SC engines are fun on the street and great in the 1/4 mile.

Ryan77

That's all I'm looking for really. It will be a street car that will see a couple 1/4 miles passes every year so that I can open it up and really see what it can do

Dave concrete

I think putting price aside, the ZR1 will out perform a S/C C6.Horsepower means nothing if you don't get it to the ground.GM tested this and power to weight ratio along with matched tires and suspension this car is going to run and equally as nasty on the road coarse with a huge oil cooler,radiator monster tires and brakes.

GTA-nitz

I must agree on this one. When a car manufacturer like GM in this case builds a car like this they do make sure that the car holds up with the power its given.
Its not difficult to make a fast car like the Z06 faster and more powerful, the problem is to do so and still have a reliable vehicle.
When GM puts toghether a car like the ZR-1 their engineers calculated and projected what the car could handle and installed whatever it needed for it to stay reliable enough to have a warranty on it.
The big problem is that the average person that modifies a car like this doesnt have the test equippment, knowledge or resources like a car manufacturer such as GM.
Blown transmissions, rearends or engines is not uncommon problems among home modified vehicles. That is something a car manufacturer prevents from happening by calculating where the weakest link is and installing whatever is needed to hold up the power of the vehicle when they alter the output.
I would rather buy and spend the extra $$ on the ZR-1 if i didnt feel that my Z06 was enough since the likelyhood is very big that it would cost more in the longer run to modify it due to consistent reliability problems.

snitz

Just to be socratic; A ZR1 isn't really built to be a true "road race car". It's a street machine.

A slightly modded Z06 with coil overs and Brembo GTs will beat it around any track, particularly in a race over 3-4 laps. As for weight, the Z06 is approx 150 lbs lighter than a ZR1.

Frankly a true track car requires a bunch of upgrades that aren't on the ZR1 either. Tranny cooler, Diff cooler, oversize radiator and separate oil cooler....

Or if you really want to go nuts, see attached post:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1959010

Some idiot went really overboard modding his Z06 for the track.

CJR2

I really love my '03 Z06 and I could mod the heck out of it and get close to the performance of the ZR1 for a lot less than the $100K price .

turk2gk

yep if u just wanna spend 100k for the power of a zr-1 id rather keep that money in my pocket look at it this way u can get a c5 z06 for say 25000 with decent miles then u put $10-15k in it and u got a c5 z06 thats faster for 60k less or even a c6 z06 like an 06 for around 50-60 and put 10-20k in just performance mods and its still 20-35k cheaper and faster and looks just as good

snitz

glenn_dfw

I just bought a 2007 Z06 with 7500 miles. MTI motorsports had installed a Procharger, alkyl control system, headers, full exhaust, and a big cam. The rest of the engine and drivetrain is stock. 686 RWHP, and no issues yet. If I put slicks on it, the differential would probably blow up, but with the stock tires, its MORE than enough HP. Spins the tires in 3rd at 90. All this power is with no more than 6psi, so the LS7 seems to be tough enough in stock form.

The way I see it, I can blow the whole engine up and rebuild it for less than a ZR1 would cost.

kbreese

IMO, you can never compare a factory setup vs a modded setup dollar for dollar. The factory package is always worth a lot more for many reasons. However if the only thing you care about is the HP the car puts down for the $$ spent, than the less expensive car+ mods route is certainly the way to go.

Regardless of mods, I think ZR1>Z06>base C6 and so on...

I also think the HP levels that both the C6Z06 and ZR1 offer are already overkill for the street. 600-700rwhp on the street, especially with street tires, is only really useful for bragging rights,increasing the already existent traction problem and enhancing the chances of an accident.

Just my opinion though.

ZeeOSix

This video explains why GM went with the 6.2L vs 7L Z06 engine to obtain 600+ HP.

http://www.dpccars.com/car-videos-08...e-overview.htm

kbreese

Nice video ZeeOSix. Thats a big part of what I am referring too. You are talking about a car that is engineered for every part to work together properly and reliably. And there's just a lot to be said about owning a "ZR1" or a "Z06" over its cheaper counterpart for automotive enthusiasts. Like, a modded C6 made faster than a Z06 will still always just be a C6. And the same can be said about a ZR1 vs a Z06. But like i said, if the only care is dyno numbers than that doesnt matter