Daily driver C6 Z06 in stealth orange

I'm not particularly brand loyal and I didn't grow up around any interesting cars so my MO has been to experience as many different cars as possible before the self driving pods take over. Some of my prior daily drivers have been E36 M3 sedan, Forester XT, and most recently an S2000.

I loved the S2000 but it was time to move on and so it went to a guy in MN who showed up in a Legacy wagon and already had an S2000 and a BRZ between him and his girlfriend. A good home, I'd say.

Next up, C6 Z06. I considered a 987.2 Cayman S, but they're a little pricey used IMO, and I decided to go big power for once. I'm sure I'll wander over to the mid engine camp someday, but for now, pushrods!

This will be my commuter. I work at odd times so traffic isn't really an issue. There isn't much difference between Z06s over the years so I just looked for one close with middling miles and a color I could stomach. I got lucky IMO and picked up this stock orange specimen with about 36K miles two hours from home. I took a few trains to get there and drove back. Much restraint needed! I had to work that evening and was actually a few minutes late because paperwork at the dealer where I purchased it took forever.

I quickly installed a module to add Bluetooth audio streaming and phone capabilities. I'm not big on modern gizmos in cars, but BT and heated seats are lightweight reliable luxuries that really make me happy. The phone works well with the mic up above the mirror. I need to add a magnetic phone mount so I can use Google maps nav. I have the stock nav system but it's horrid.

Now, the LS7 has a much debated issue with dropping exhaust valves and emptying wallets in the process. I was offered a warranty, but decided I'd rather spend my money fixing the problem and getting more (definitely unnecessary) power. So, the plan is a set of reworked heads, a mild cam, an intake, and a tune.

I'll probably keep the stock exhaust system in its entirety. I did install a Mild2Wild (lol) remote exhaust valve switcher so I can open up the dial mode exhaust at my whim. It's pretty loud open, with some serious drone at idle. I usually keep it in stock configuration ( opens at 3500rpm IIRC).

Otherwise, I'll probably get some different wheels as I don't love the stock chrome blingers. I also have a relatively new set of the mediocre stock run flat tires and would like to try a decent rain capable summer tire like a Pilot Super Sport. I'm thinking RE71 and it's ilk would be scary in the rain and wasted on mostly daily driving.

A set of DRM Bilstein dampers are going on, they're supposed to be a nice improvement over stock and the set was under $500 new. I've been a Koni guy so this will be fun.

I think I just saw this car on a thread on another forum where the guy said it was bought before he could get to it... lol.

There were definite changes through the years from interior options to suspension settings and gears... Pre-2008 are generally considered cars to stay away from...

Yes, there are little things. Gearbox was changed, steering, center console, etc. None of it seems like a huge difference though.

Nice! What year is it?

Stealth orange my ass lol.

I now hate you too. I hope you're happy now.

Nice. My brother has a C6 in the same color, but not a Z06. It's fast enough. That must be a rocket.

I'm coming to the same conclusion about a used Cayman S. There are plenty of early and late Caymans around, but I've been looking for a 987 Cayman S. The few listed are all over $40k, some well over.

Enjoy.

Woody: It's an 07.

MNDSM: It gets a crazy amount of attention. I've had lots of thumbs up and waves from people ranging from kids to old ladies. I've had random dudes trying to race me on the highway. A patient's wife in the ER saw the car and asked to talk to the owner, told me she loves Corvettes, this orange is her favorite hue on them, and they went to the museum in Bowling Green for their honeymoon. I wasn't even involved in the guy's care. I don't like getting attention generally but it's nice to see people get excited about it. The S2000 was exciting for 18 year old guys who were generally flatbill weirdos I tried to avoid.

Bobzilla:

JoeTR6: It is scary fast, I've had some quick turbo 240SXs (~350whp, 2800 lbs) but this power band is unreal. I wanted to kinda scare myself and I have. The Cayman market is limited, not many 987.2 cars especially out there. Economy was bad and all, just didn't sell many. I think the furor over air cooled cars and GT3s along with everything going turbo is keeping all their prices high too. 3-4 years ago when 996 GT3s were down around the 50K range I was hoping they'd fall a little more and I'd snag one. Now I see people selling 996/7 GT3s at a significant profit after putting some real miles on over a few years. Missed that boat...

My coworker bought a new 981 Cayman GTS stick in that cobalt blue, gorgeous. I'm trying to get him to the track. He wanted a nice manual Porsche to drive until the wheels fall off and made a move when the transition to turbo 4s was rumored. Anyways, I'd do bad things for a GT3 or GT4, but I'm quite content now. We'll see how life goes.

Replaced stock dampers with Doug Ripple (DRM) valved Bilsteins. They're supposed to really settle the back end. Gas charged dampers are annoying to install! Took longer than it should have because I had to figure out a way to compress them on the car to get them out.

zip tie trick google it.

basically you just put two industrial zip ties on and tighten them...

I did something similar after googling. I had thought I could just man up and compress them. I am 150 lbs. This did not go well.

I did an afternoon DE with Milwaukee SCCA at Milwaukee Mile. Anyone in the area should come to these! Lots of fun, laid back group, technical track, and a great mix of cars without too many Hoosier shod GT3, Z06, etc machinery.

I found that the stock Firestone run flats suck, and I was able to induce some brake fade. I will bleed with some quality fluid, and my rear pads are almost gone so I will be getting new pads also. Maybe Stoptech Street pads? Need to work in cool Wisconsin weather. The Nissan is theoretically my track car. I was planning to wear out the stock tires and replace with Michelin Pilot Super Sports or RE71s. Now I'm planning to do this ASAP and sell stock setup. Thoughts on something like RE11 or RE71 for street driving to include rain, along with a few DEs per year?

RE71R is good in the rain, but you won't find tires in the right sizes. The only ones that I know of that come in the proper size are the Rival S, but you have to downsize to 18s in the rear, then you can run the 335s. Rival S is not that great in the wet, adequate, but not great.

RE71 is out in 305/30/19 and they run pretty wide so it should be fine in the rear. Although this is my daily, I don't put on a ton of miles so the increased wear is not much of a concern. It seems they do pretty well on the track and the Z06 has such huge tires for its weight that issues with overheating should be mitigated. It's an extreme car so I'm tempted to throw the more extreme tires at it.

Also debating 2 sets of pads versus just running track pads on the street. Some do this with Carbotech XP 10/8 combos. I may just see how they do and add a set of street pads to the mix if it's miserable.

305 is pretty small on the rear. I mean, stock is 325 and you can easily fit a 335, you just have to downsize to an 18 out back. The Rival S takes heat better than the RE71R from what I've seen. The RE71R heats up quicker, but the Rival S doesn't fall off as much after it gets really hot. The RE71R tends to communicate better what it is doing overall than the Rival S IME.

I don't think you can really go wrong with either one though.

I got a set of blank rotors and Hawk DTC70/60 pads but haven't run them yet. I ended up going with GM Cup wheels and Michelin Pilot Super Sports, en route to me just in time for cold weather. These are 19/20" diameter, an inch bigger than stock both front and rear, which limits tire choice but looks great and gets me a sexy OE GM wheel. Example below, not my car.

Heads and cam are done. This was an involved project to say the least. I've never wrenched on these cars before and there were painful moments.

Thanks Bruce!

After tuning at a local shop it made 504whp... Plenty. Only power mods are heads milled 0.030", some head porting, Halltech intake, and the EPS Stealth 222/242 cam. A car with intake and exhaust made 460whp on this dyno recently so I probably picked up 50+ whp.

Those wheels look nice. I went smaller in the rear because less pricey, but mostly because I can get a Rival S in that size. Are you getting the wheels in that same dark color?

I'm impressed you did the head work yourself. I had a mechanic friend do it as a side job. Took him at least 16 hours.

I was sort of skeptical about the necessity of it, but I did notice that I had a ticking noise I could hear in the cabin that went away after the head work was done. I got the heads from American Heritage and asked them to check my core return for issues, but they forgot to do it, so I'll never know if the guides were out of spec.

Yep, satin black. I didn't really want to go bigger and deal with pricier tires but the difference isn't huge, and I loved the style and didn't want replicas. They make replicas in stock sizes. I considered the Forgestars in 18", but since my aim is street driving and track days, I eventually decided the autocross tires may not be the best compromise for my needs and I may as well get the wheels I really like.

My heads are also from American Heritage. I still need to send back the cores. The cam swap added significantly to the pain. But still, it's a big job regardless. My wife wordlessly said "WTF" each time she walked through the garage and surveyed the carnage. She seemed truly impressed when it all came back together. Probably because my 240SX just gradually gets taken apart.

The car is basically done at this point, may add some ZR1 aero parts and an MGW shifter down the line. Hoping my clutch lives a long life and I don't have to deal with that.

Nice job! I recognize you from nrr. Beautiful car!

If the clutch starts feeling heavy then it's going out, that was what mine did.

I think the Rival S would be fine for track days as they take heat well. That said, they don't like cold at all and aren't good in wet weather at all.

Now I am thinking about what I will do for brakes as I have to swap those out as they are almost completely dead. The P/O for mine gave me some cheap pads and rotors, which would be adequate for street or autox, but I think the pads would not be good if I did a Track Night. I'm thinking about getting EBC yellow stuff pads and using the rotors he gave me.

I drive in rain occasionally so I went with Pilot Super Sports. So far so good. There is a runflat version specifically for these wheels but they cost like $1000 more per set, so no thanks. Limited options in the 335/25/20 range My tires are 10mm narrower front and rear than the GM setup but well within the recommended range of wheel sizes. They're hard to photo but I think they really look great in person.

I test fit my winter setup and it clears fine, basically base C6 sizes. I had to get TSW wheels in this sizing to clear Z06 brakes rather than just a set of stockers. I'm selling the stock Z06 wheels since I can't run winter tires on them and don't love the look. I feel okay about that since the GM Cup wheels are an OEM option and say CORVETTE on them :D

Now I have to get some pedal covers with grip. The stock pedals have a lightly textured metal surface that's dangerously slippery when wet. My foot slips off the clutch pedal and I launch the car a few feet. Not ideal when parallel parking, etc.

I added the pedal covers, clutch pedal was flat out dangerous with wet shoes.

Also did the MGW shifter, stock was rattling despite checking the knob and cranking down on the set screw. It's a nice short shifter, stock was okay but this is much closer to the S2000 in terms of shift throw and secure feel without play. No rattling makes the car feel a lot more refined.

Pics not mine, got lazy and just googled. This stuff isn't that exciting.

However my stock dual mode exhaust is stuck on loud now, probably need to replace the solenoid. I'll troubleshoot more tomorrow.

Car is at 42k miles, I'm quite happy thus far. I rented a Boxster S and an ND Miata recently using Turo on a trip and while I appreciated the flat six sound and mid engine dynamics of the former and the overall feel and dynamics of the latter, and the droptops of both, I do not regret my choice. I do see a P car in my future but unless I need a backseat I think it will need to have GT in the name.