dougp664

I just purchased a 2007 Z06 about a month ago and all this talk about people dropping valves has got me in a place where I'm either going to mod the car and hopefully get rid of the issue at the same time, or sell it...

If I go the mod route my plan is to do either PRC 265cc or WCCH Stage 2 heads with a medium sized cam, headers, and an intake.

Using the car as my daily driver how reliable will it be at that point?

wolf8218

Before the "fix" crowd comes in here and tells you they have the solution, I would like you to know that there is no 100% solution to the inherent valve dropping problem.

Well, there's one. Don't drive it.

JwT

Well I'm not one of the fix it crowd. But seeing how there seems to be a little problem with the valves at least that may solved. For how long? No one knows. There are other issues that come to the surface on corvettes our age. Unless you know how it lived it's entire life, Clutch, torque tube, brakes and a host of other parts that can fail on any car. If you DD will be a mild run then there's a good chance of a long life. If however your DD is a drag race between lights then prepare for mucho problem's. Try to keep at least 3k in the bank just for the unexpected and life will be a lot easier.

dougp664

I don't get it... If it's an issue with the factory heads why wouldn't an aftermarket casting head like the PRC 265cc fix the problem?

wolf8218

I personally would be more comfortable with LS3 based heads with the different rocker ratio. Perhaps brodix or mast.

WhiteDiamond

I can't really give you a "daily driver" experience for my H/C/I/E Z06, but I do drive it in daily driver type situations on occasion. Other than the fact the exhaust is louder than stock and my dual disc clutch causes the "marble in a can rattle" rattle with the clutch in, it is fine to drive. I am running the Ragin Racin Stalker cam, P/P'd heads, Pfadt headers with cats, Halltech intake, the Centerforce DYAD, and few other simple mods.

619grappler

I've been running my H/C/I for only 3k miles. I have 100% faith in my WCCH heads. Naysayers will say what they will but point me to a failure of a set WCCH reworked heads. I know several people beating on their WCCH HARD and have yet to see one fail.

Blackonblacksls

I have daily drove head cam intake ls7 stuff for over 20k miles.

Stock guides just worked heads cams and dual springs.

Haven't had any issues besides a broken transmission.

Blackonblacksls

This was between my ls7 2011 camaro and my c6Z

I swapped the heads between the two. And have over 20k miles between the two cars in little over a year.

ralphsmithiii

I refreshed my heads with mild cam, new exhaust valves, springs, retainers, headers, hi-flow cats, intake, tune, etc and have since put around 14k on it as a DD. The only issue's I've really had are not getting sideways in first and second gear on a set of Michelin Pilot ZP's when dropping the hammer.

In fact, mine is in the shop getting some additional ponies added to it.

Unreal

With a mild enough cam it can be a decent driver from a reliability standpoint. I could easily daily driver my 1000rwhp z06 but I prefer my mustang for a few reasons. Easier to park, easier to get in and out of parking lots, easier to get in and out of, better stereo, more comfortable, less maintenance. Z tires, brakes, fluids etc add up quickly. Plus being so low it is a pain to drive daily IMO. Some people don't care. I don't like worrying about if I can get into a parking lot or not.

Get the heads worked, mild cam, and enjoy it.

OH THREE Z

Wow...

Nothing in life is 100%. Take the information that is out there and make an educated decision based upon it. If your car was mine I'd have the valves checked immediately or if the cam is imminent pull those puppies off and send them to WCCH. Many knowledgeable folks on here that can recommend a nice cam with good street manners.

wolf8218

Good thing your car is not mine.

I had them checked, they were bad. I then had the complete heads replaced with brand new OEM parts. This will serve me well into 2016 or 100000 miles when the 3rd party warranty that paid for this head replacement expires. Mind you this hasn't been a flawless process, but my car runs well, and the powertrain is guaranteed for the policy duration which is what counts.

My educated decision has deduced that there exists no solution to the problem, so I would rather have an insurance policy for an inherent trait which is otherwise unknown to the insurer.

mjoacim

Btw, Andrew has a set of low mile, stock LS7 heads for sale for rework that he was allowed to keep after they were replaced.

wolf8218

Yep, they have bad guides but the valves and springs are fine.

mjoacim

What?!! You wouldn't sell them to me when I asked!

lawman34203

Same here, I have about 3k miles on my H/C/I set up, WCCH stage 2 heads with a mild cam (567rwhp), I drive it usually Friday-Sunday and I drive it hard. No problems at all and now that I have a couple thousands miles on it, it seems to pull a little harder than what it did when I first got the set up installed. I don't take it to the track but do plenty of hard pulls on the street. Currently waiting for a set of wheels to be made so I can have a set of wheels with drag radials and my current street tires so I can swap out whenever I need to.

wolf8218

Lol, recent developments which you are aware of mike.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

It should be very reliable if the modifications are well planned and done right.

BTW, while people are in here talking against "The Fix", you may want to take a look at how many "cam only" setups, in here, using the stock exhaust valves have dropped valves.

The original poster's situation is that he owns a 2007. He doesn't come out and say it, but he is probably out of warranty and thus his needs and his options are different than are yours.

RedZ4me

I have way more confidence in my PRC's than the GM heads, 3000 miles and no issues, sounds the same as the install day and runs great (have mild custom grind + tune also)