LSX_NUT

I just bought a 2002 Electron Blue Z06 in illinois with only 17k miles on it. I drove 2400 miles round trip to get the car. I love the car so far but I do have a few questions.

1. On the way home the car got about 45psi of oil pressure with the cruise control on 70mph in 6th gear. When the car idles it gets roughly 35psi but it did dip down to 29-32psi when sitting in traffic for awhile. Is this normal? It had a fresh oil change with Mobil-1 5w30.

2. What is the best way to make the car ride nicer over the bumps? It doesn't really bother me unless the road gets rough. Driving through Chicago sucked! I'm thinking coilovers would make the ride smoother?

3. The car has a built in radar detector. The sensors are built into the rear view mirror and the lights are built into the dash. It looks like it was a professional install. Anyone know anything about this? Maybe i'll snap some pictures for those of you that are not sure.

4. The car has Goodyear Eagle F1 tires. 1st and 2nd gear spin pretty bad with traction control off. Especially if the tires aren't heated up. Is this normal? Any recommendations for a better tire?

5. When it does spin it gets a little wheel hop in 1st gear. Do they make any sort of brace's to reduce this?

6. The stock shifter is a little sloppy. I guess i'm just not used to the long throws. Any recommendations on a new shifter setup?

I recently sold my 455rwhp fbody and this thing is a huge improvement in every way. The fbody might have been a tad faster in a straight line but that can be changed with a few bolt ons.

LSX_NUT

Stop at the gas station. About 700 miles left to go when this picture was taken. Car is filthy!

Ron C!

1. This is normal.

2. Can't help you there.

3. K40 maybe? Need pics to tell.

4. Typ of the F1's. Lots of threads discussing tire options.

5. RPM makes a trans brace, as do others I am sure. Avoid the hop, it will crack housings and get expensive fast.

6. I run B&M Rippers with the antti-venom mod in both of my C5's. Shifters are very subjective as well. Do a search.

Welcom and enjoy the car.

skyavonee

Yes, normal.

With that mileage, I'll bet they're the original tires. Literally any new tire that fits on your wheels will give you better traction than 11-year-old F1's.

Do some searching - the subject has been beaten to death.

zeevette

Welcome to the club! Your new car is very low miles, but it is 12 yrs. old. The stock shocks could be replaced by the better C6s for cheap. The ride height might be lower than stock, so you could raise the car on the stock bolts. Your oil pressure is excellent. The Eagle is a pretty hard tire that needs to be warm to stick well. Tires that old are really hard comparitively, and may even be dangerous. Good tires, and shocks will reduce the hop, which is actually driveline shake. There's two braces I recommend, and they are the ECS trans brace, and the PFadt differential brace. They work as well for the hop, and may let your stock diff. live longer, if you race the car often. For shifter, I would recommend the MGW. Short, and accurate. Flush your clutch fluid ASAP; the stock clutch will hang up under certain conditions. Good luck.

dustysZ

Where in IL are you I have the same car. Im in Elgin.

LSX_NUT

Good to know that the oil pressure is normal. I have had a few GM LS cars and the oil pressure has always been 40psi hot and idling. This is why I was concerned.

I bought the car in Antioch, IL but I live in New Hampshire.


I'll do some research on replacing the tires and shifter. Thanks everyone for the replies. This car is awesome! I can't imagine how fun the C6 Z06 must be.

racebum

you aren't going to be able to make the suspension "ride smoother" without making the car soft in corners. the stock suspension is really good for street tires. spending $3k on some KW variants and exploring spring rates could make the car a bit more compliant but it's an expensive way to do so

what i would suggest is replacing those old tires with conti DW rubber. they have a softer sidewall and a better ride along with increased performance since they would actually be new. the DW is one of the better dry/rain tires we can get and performs comparable to the old michelin ps2 in the dry, likely better in the rain.

they fudge the utqg a bit. the 340 you see posted realistically should be in the 240-260 range

DARRYLZO6

The F1 tires are known to be crappy. If these are original, even more so.Bridgestones offers a better tire with the PotenzasRE 760. MY PERSONAL CHOICE that Im happy with. The wheel hop is partly due to the tires. Stock shifter can be replaced with a variety of short throw shifters that you can look into here. and the Ranger resovoir flush method will also help smooth things out. Also is it lowered. If not, leave it alone.And coilovers wont make a difference if the roads are rough, the ride will only get rougher if its lowered and the bottom will take a beating coming on/off the driveway if lowered. Also on some driveways if lowered, you could get STUCK.

bikeriderga

As others have said, most of your concerns are normal.
Oil pressure is where it should be.

For spin and ride, look at tires first. You will be surprised at the difference good rubber will make on these cars!

Last tires I went to were Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Huge difference, HUGE!

I too had tire spin and wheel hop with traction fully engaged on Pirelli PZeros. Michilin tires cured that and drives 5x better. Much quiter as well.

racebum

that's the tire i want to use as it's the best blend of treadlife and performance. you don't give up all that much over the more hardcore tires and it lasts longer.

what size wheels do you have, i looked but they haven't started making 295 35 18 and 265 or 75, 40 17 yet

JETninja

Remember, its a Z06...its meant for part time track duty. So it will run stiff over bumps. On an '02, cheapest option is to install 2012 Z06 shocks, they bolt right on.

I bought my '04 with 17K also, and like yours it has the original Goodyears. Rubber gets a bit harder with age, my rears are up to 33k now...and are fine for spirited driving, but light up easy in the first few gears.

Shifter, I went with a slightly used C6 Z06 unit, it looks like it was made for the car (unlike the stock truck unit) its shorter throw and slightly slanted more towards the driver for a more natural movement...I love it.

Back to tires, to really open up options you need to go to an 18/19 setup...no one much supports 17's in the width of the front tires the Z06 uses.

SteveDoten

If you need any parts or repair, give me a call; I'm a couple hours south of you in CT

Congrats on the Z06 purchase.

Stop by the local GM dealer and run a VIS history search.

StreetSpeed

33k on the stock F1s? I'm curious what your definition of "spirited" is!

JETninja

Understand a lot of my miles were commuting Freeway miles...when I get a chance for a fun road I take advantage of it with either of my Sport Cars. Look up Hwy 198 & 25 in Central CA if you want to see what I mean. Up here in WA I have some great roads close by as well..

racebum

tires are going to make a world of difference. i remember the supercar tires and when new they were sticky. by 2 years old grip was down substantially. the only sad part about OE sizes is you are now so limited if you want an exact fit. as far as i know there are only 4 choices on the market. the oem supercar tires, the bridgestone re760, toyo 1s, and michelin ps2

if you step to 275 40 17 in front you can use a conti dw or nitto nt05.

if you want comfort and good treadwear the re760 and dw are your top choices. the re760 really isn't that bad of a tire either. it's a bit hard but it's a good tread design and nice casing

JETninja

I plan on plus 1 front and rear to open up my Tire choices, its not like they are going to improve with time.

racebum

getting worse from what i can tell.

apparently continental discontinued the DW in 265 40 17

there's one more good street tire that doesn't come in OE sizes anymore

Z06TWT

In my 02Z I have an MTI six shooter.....BIG improvement. I live n Atlanta near MTI racing and have toured their shop where they CNC fabricate many of their parts. As to tires, you may want to look at buying a pair of C5Z rear 18 inch wheels for the front ( only 200-250 per wheel ) , this will give you more and better tire options.