Considering that +Tadge Juechter and his "team" refuse not just to correct problems plaguing the most overhyped piece of shit in Corvette's history but even acknowledge design flaws and own incompetence, abosolutely nobody should be surprised that the aftermarket power brokers continue to make a killing, cleaning out Corvette numbnuts wallets.
The most recognizable manifestation of engineering failure of the flagship, the engine coolant and oil overheating continue to generate extremely easy profits for these power brokers.
Given the ignorance and laziness of the Corvette enthusiasts, the path of least resistence prevails as expected. When dealing with the overheating issues, these power brokers do not even have to bother to pretend to offer a plausible justification for spending more money, all they have to do is throw their reputation around and attract these dumb car buyers like honey does to flies.
Thus, according to these aftermarket giants, a radiator upgrade is the ticket to eliminating overheating problems. Is this the case? Absolutely not!!! Never ever has a change in a radiator alone improved problems with engine cooling and surprisingly, never will. Nevertheless, the Corvette owning idiots have no problem paying for these UPGRAYEDDS since it is so much easier than realizing what true piece of shit their six figure purchase really is.
What is the main problem with newest flagship not being able to cool itself off? Of course, it is the lack of proper air flow and spacing under the hood, the engine compartment is cramped and it was not designed with air flow in mind (this seems to be the norm among American auto makers, with GM leading the pack). In essence, an adequate and strategically shrouded air inflow, combined with sufficient air circulation and hot air extraction is the basis for adequate cooling.
What would be required to make this happen? As mentioned on many occasions, the front bumper opening, fender and hood designs would have to be re-engineered and until this is done, nothing else is worth while.
However, neither GM or the aftermarket feel obligated to do this part. Instead, all the Corvette enthusiasts whine about the same radiator being used in both base and flagship models of the car.
What is exactly the reason why there is no change between the radiators? A very simple answer: the same size air intake, due to the fact the front bumper is the same for both versions of this piece of shit.
IF someone redesigned the front bumper and new opening could support a larger surface area for a new radiator, then maybe this could have a meaning but as it is, it is a complete waste of money.
Since nobody is willing to come up with new bumper, these upgraded aftermarket radiators are thicker, to supposedly improve the cooling. Can this approach solve the problem? NOT A CHANCE!!!
Thicker radiator may make sense due to considerations as better flow of air through it (the fin spacing can be increased and increase in coolant holding capacity but besides that, there is nothing much that can be done if the car itself is the problem. Yes, the efficiency may be increased somehow and the safety margin increased somewhat but the problem is still there. The biggest problem with this approach is of course a high potential for increase in heat soak effect shown by the radiator once the safety margin is exceeded, not to mention the extra weight that is added to the car.
Funny thing is that absolutely nobody realizes that the non existent air flow is the actual cause, the fact the flagship does not overheat at idle in traffic should give everyone a clue but apparently this is not the case.
So who is trying to cash in on the Corvette numbnuts? There appear to be three guilty parties so far:
Ron Davis Radiators ($1200)
DeWitts Radiators ($700)
and LG Motorsports ($900)
Apparently by inadverent "ommission" none of these suppliers/vendors can produce any of specifications(including flow rates and cooling rates) or performance parameters for these pricey UPGRAYEDDS, not to mention they did not bother to evaluate the performance of the factory supplied radiator but these are of course insignificant details, LOL.
The other interesting detail is the fact these uber radiators rely on factory shrouding and GM supplied fans, are these sufficient and optimized? Nobody knows, of course....
Of course, US is the land of opportunity and if customers are stupid enough, why not cash in on the opportunity? Considering that the same numbnuts will be thining out their coolant mix to more or less pure water, until someone pushes the car really hard, there should not be any extra harm done (although simply changing the coolant ratio would accomplish much of what those pricey radiators offer).
Here's the other thing. Now, I'll admit from the outset that I don't know a whole lot about the Z06, other than it is an overheating ugly POS. But, I do know a thing or two about Forced Induction (F.I.), having been a Subaru STi owner for a few years. The z06 is a supercharged car, and therefore it as at least one intercooler. Addressing the radiator alone, will have very little benefit if the airflow through the engine bay is not altered. But additionally, the intercooler is crucial to the longevity/survival of the engine. If it is placed in a position where it is subjected to "heat soak", as I suspect it is, this will obviously reduce it's ability to cool the compressed air being forced into the engine, which in turn will result in pre-ignition/detonation, and send the car into limp mode, or break pistons, con rods, etc. I prefer to run the stock "top mount" intercooler on my Subie, because I like the functionality of the hood scoop, and I also want reduced turbo lag, and fortunately, the engineers a Subaru know a thing or two about turbocharging my car, so "heat soak" is not an issue. With the Corvette, you would think that they would improve airflow through the engine bay, increase the efficiency of the radiator, and add at least one FRONT MOUNT (FM) intercooler. The now deceased EVO ran a FM intercooler stock from the factory, and it really was one of the brilliant moves with that car. I still prefer the distinguishing feature of the hood scoop on my car, but the bottom line is a FM intercooler is crucial if you want to make power safely with a FI car. Why don't they address this???????
ReplyDeleteNewest thing i've read - http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/chevrolet-tells-corvette-z06-owners-to-change-oil-after-1724296112
ReplyDeleteNot sure why GM would be doing this now, conisdering the base dry sump cars have this requirement for quite a while now.
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