Vette News - 2015 Z06 Engine Blows
First 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 engine blows up at just 891 miles.
You've waited and watched and waited some more for the arrival of your
650-horsepower, $78,000 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Finally, that joyous day
arrives and you eagerly, but gingerly, begin to break-in the 6.2-liter
supercharged V8 monster under your hood. Then 900-odd miles after delivery, your
excitement grinds, quite literally, to a halt. That's what the owner of one 2015
Z06 claimed happened to him when a simple break-in drive resulted in a lunched engine.
The owner, known as Lawdogg149 on Corvette Forum, says he was out breaking-in
his car ahead of a January track event when it happened.
"While making a pull from 35 miles per hour, I accelerated and shifted short
of redline, and boom - the car began knocking. I pulled over and popped the hood.
I could hear a loud knock coming from the No. 6 cylinder area along with a serious,
grinding, metal-on-metal sound coming from the supercharger area," Lawdogg wrote.
A subsequent trip to the dealer confirmed his concerns, with the service facility telling
Lawdogg that the No. 6 valvetrain had failed. The dealer couldn't research the issue further,
though, as General Motors requested the engine be returned for a more thorough evaluation. The
good news for the Z06's unlucky owner, at least, is that GM will be covering the engine
replacement under warranty, an expense that Corvette Forum estimates is a nearly $24,000 procedure.
At this point, the two leading theories behind the engine's detonation involve a manufacturing
defect - which could be why GM is so keen to tear the blown powerplant down - or a mistake on
the part of Lawdogg. As Motor Authority points out, such an error could be something as simple
as the Z06's owner accidentally shifting to first rather than third during his 35-mph pull. If,
however, there's a deeper manufacturing problem with the Z06's engine, this might not be the only
case we end up hearing about.
Source: Yahoo News