Corvette Magazine (June 2006)

Magazine Site: Corvette Magazine

THE CAM-DO SPIRIT

As its values come down and the volume of parts being made for it rise, the C5 Z06 is quickly becoming the darling of the Corvette hotrodding world. What was for many an unapproachable costly supercar just a few years ago can now be had for the price of a family sedan – leaving a lot of cash still on the table for upgrades.

One tuner exploiting this fact to the fullest is our old pal Rick Hollenback, whose company, Synergy Motorsports, has developed a big range of hotroding setups for 2001-'04 LS6s, many of which seem to run counter to other constructor's approaches. "I get guys calling all the time wanting to change out their aftermarket parts," Rick explains. In addition to issues relating to forced induction, "I see a lot of people buying what I call ‘internet cams.' These are the units that offer big peak numbers, but once you install them you realize the peak only comes on at 7000 rpm. When you drive down the road, it's got nothing underneath that. (With the LS6), there's really a time and place for everything."

Owner Mike Orzoff would agree. Orzoff, a seasoned hotrodder and longtime Chevrolet V8 nut, was a relative newcomer to Corvettes when he acquired his '04 Z06. After selling one classic Chevy, he was given a ride in a C5 Z06 and "…I literally flew home and bought one. I just fell in love with it."

As an old musclecar guy, Orzoff wasn't shy about modifications. He started slow, with a cold-air intake system and a set of secondhand long-tube headers, but the siren song soon became unignorable. "I told Rick, ‘Hey, I've just gotta start doing this."

Hollenback started to outline some possibilities, and soon Orzoff made a big decision. "My 74-year old father had a supercharged Z06 at that point," he laughs, "so I already had a forced-induction car to sample. It was a lot of fun, but it seemed that as soon as it hit the boost it was time to shift. I felt like I couldn't really enjoy every gear."

Rick instead recommended a full normally-aspirated build based on a Synergy-designed camshaft that was approaching, without going over, the edge of acceptably streetable grinds. "It was pretty close to what I'd put in my own car," Hollenback says. "I might even drop it down a notch, because I'm more of a torque guy. But this setup will still appeal to most guys who enjoy the stock Z06. From there, if you were to try to get another ten or 20 horsepower from the cam, you'd start getting pretty far away from the personality of the stock LS6. At that point, fewer and fewer guys will want to drive the car daily."

The cam gave Orzoff's engine a noticeable boost, but Mike knew it was only the beginning. A set of high-performance Airflow Research 205 Mongoose heads followed, along with a few minor adjustments orchestrated by Synergy: Milling the chambers to 62cc for a compression boost to 11.5:1 a new Fuel Air Spark Technologies intake manifold hand-ported by FAST's own Tony Mamo; a 90mm throttle body; and high-flowing Ford SVO injectors, An ECU re-map, uprated head gaskets, and servo-actuated exhaust cutouts finished the powertrain mods.

On the dyno, Orzoff's still-stock-looking car now make a whopping 474 rear-wheel bhp, putting it on par with the OE figures of the C6 Z06. Shod with sticky Toyo rubber and lightweight CCW wheels, the powerful LS6 even overcame the car's factory clutch. Shortly after our photo session, Orzoff went back to Fremont for an upgraded unit.

Is Orzoff satisfied with his personalization? "You'll never be the fastest car out there," he says. "No matter how much power you have, there's always somebody faster. I just wanted a well-balanced car that could still go to the dragstrip and turn a respectable time. I wanted something that behaved equally well on the road course and the freeway. With a big monster cam I might've gotten a car that would make me smile, but only over 4500rpm. Now I have a grin on my face from 2000 revs up."

In the booming world of C5 Z06 tuning, it's easy to see how giant internet numbers, a credit card, and a parts website can lead to ill-thought-out modifications. But if you're willing to select your path wisely and know the kind of performance you're really after, the C5 Z06 offers endless opportunities for personal growth. –Nick Pon

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