Daily-Driven C6 Z06 Has 600 RWHP; Eats Asphalt for Breakfast
Making just north of 700 horses at the crank, this stroked-out yellow 2009 C6 Z06 sports a ZR1 clutch and 441 cubic-inches of N/A glory.
YouTuber Roads Untraveled (aka Marcus Vandenberg), recently visited Vancouver, British Columbia to take a deep dive into a dialed in 2009 C6 Z06 Corvette wrapped in Velocity Yellow. And for a daily-driver, this car sure does give off plenty of “racecar” vibes.
The owner, Graham, previously had a built turbo Honda Civic with 400 HP, a Nissan NX2000 with an SR 20DET, and a Buick Skylark on nitrous. So he definitely is no stranger to built motors or high horsepower generally speaking, however he coyly concedes that the Z06 is a new venture for him.
“There’s been a couple other (cars) here and there, but nothing major. This is kind of the first step into something fairly serious,” he said.
C6 Z06: Why It Is a ‘Must-Have’
Vanderberg makes a strong case for the C6 Z06: while you can get other cars in the same class for similar cash, you just really can’t beat a C6. “It may be the best performance bargain if you want big N/A V8 power with a manual,” said Vanderberg.
Introduced in 2006, the C6 version of this legendary trim ushered the lightest of all Corvette models ever made, and the most powerful big displacement, N/A small-block engine GM ever produced at the time–the LS7.
Here’s the build list:
Graham’s 2009 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06
-Hinson Motorsports Short Throw Shifter
-Recaro Racing GT seats
-Texas Speed Stroker kit (increased from 427 to 441)
-Texas Speed Stage 3.2 camshaft
-MSD Airforce Intake Manifold
-Katech crankshaft
-Scat H-Beam Connecting Rods (we’re assuming .927 pin Bushed) attached to Mahle pistons
-Kooks Longtube Headers
-K&N Black Air Intake
-Corsa Exhaust with offroad X-Pipe
-Toyo Proxes R88Rs
C6 Z06 Off the Line
You can see from the video that the throttle tip-in is light as feather, as this LS7 produces so much torque, you can easily lose traction (which, in this case, is disabled anyway)–even with those big honkin’ Toyo Proxes R88R tires in the back. According to Vanderberg, the power band starts at 4,000 RPM.
Ironically, it also has Bilstein Shocks and Delrin bushings all around the car. It sounds like it will have “stiff-as-nails” ride quality, but Graham swears it feels natural on the road. “It’s tightened up a little bit from stock, but it’s nothing crazy because this is a street car,” he said. He plans on getting coilovers eventually, but for now, its good enough for him.
Hot Cam + Heads Package vs. Supercharging
Also, it looks like there aren’t any tweaks or tuning of the transmission, but we’re assuming it is still using the factory Tremec TR-6060. If that is the case, the we’re not surprised by the taller gearing Vanderberg points out. But all of that is negligible when you hear that beautiul TSP Stage 3 hot cam loping like crazy.
As you may know, the very first boosted Z06 was the 2015 version. And along with it came a host of issues, but mainly, it was overheating causing the engine to pull timing (particularly after back-to-back pulls and track runs). This was eventually corrected, but a lot of C7 Z06 owners who had C6s express a lot of dismay about the C7s IATs.
Nonetheless, Graham mentions that while he considered supercharging the C6 Z06, it would have cost very similarly, so he decided to stick to N/A. “The LS7 is one of the best motors you can ever have, and I don’t need anymore,” he said. “I’d supercharge an LS3. It’s a great platform for that.”
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