I am the same way I personally own a Z06 and i followed the break in period and its my daily car currently. It has been bulletproof for me and I’ve put almost 6000 miles on it so far.

There are always idiots out there who do things for attention... Like blowing up the engine because it's under warranty and then posting it online.

Thanks for educating me about the issue of blown engines, when I purchased my 2021 Scat Pack I closely followed the break-in guidelines. It drives perfectly fine. You are correct, the Vettes with the engine failures were low mileage, likely these owners disregarded the break-in procedure.

I guess patience for many Z06 owner's is not a virtue. I get it, the car sounds like a race car and looks the part and spectators or KZfaqr subscribers are watching, so they nail it before 1500 miles. And pop, there goes a transmission seal and ATF all over the garage floor. Good for you Austin, you are mature beyond your years. Keep the shiny side up.

Typically you only ever hear the negative of vehicles being brought forward and talked about. So let’s say if there are 3-4 engine failures, then all of a sudden everyone thinks many motors are failing. Meanwhile, there are already approximately 1000 C8Z’s on the road. That gives us a .04% engine failure rate. Which is pretty good on a first year new motor. People need to relax.

Your a prime example of what happens when you do your research. Great job . Your an exception to your age group. WELL done 👏

Yeah, ppl aren't following proper engine care procedures and are revving the hell out of it before the 1,500 miles mark. This engine is an exotic one and so it has to be treated with more care than others.

Austin, gotta say I was a McLaren doubter when you bought yours, mainly from stories (both 1st hand and anecdotal) about Mc's reliability issues. You set me straight on that one! And glad to hear your reporting on the Z06 engine "issues". I kept reading about people just flogging their cars before 1500 miles, and stuff breaking. But no one wants to read about "well, I screwed that up!" BTW, you channel kept me going until this last weekend when my wife and I picked up our 2020 ELB, Z51, FE4 baby! Thanks!

Frankly, and as you said multiple times, your testimonial is key because if you ain’t having issues, it’s a solid platform. You drive them like you do, as they were designed to do.

Well said sir, I've always respected the break in period even on my pedestrian cars....

Engineer here: It doesn't really have anything to do with 'break -in'. Its 2023, pretty much any machining tolerances are good now vs 1960s, you can buy a harbor freight motor and red line it from the start and have no issues. The issue is when don't allow the motor to warm up properly...To explain this: Take an ice cube, drop it in boiling water. Next take an ice cube and slowly warm it up to boiling.

Best advice given by the ultimate C8 Z06 channel.

Performance cars can be quite reliable, it just needs more attention than a regular car, as these engines go through a lot of stress. and COTA is an amazing track, I'm curious to see how fast the Z06 is on the straights

Until last week I agreed about not breaking in. My new Z06 at 475 miles skipped even gears and got a check engine light. Trans valve body needs to be replaced. No revs, no manual shifts no high rpm driving. Babied it!!!

The guy with the trans issue was doing donuts during the break in so he didn't follow proper procedures. Your story of the 500 mile night was too funny because that's something I would need to do to calm my OCD down. Thanks for the video, lots of fun.

Yea, I used to hear that about my LT7 ZO6, that it was going to blow up. I just ignored all that. I change the synthetic oil often and early. I broke it in completely adhering to,Chevy’s schedule. Never got around to getting it on the track. Then drove mainly as a daily driver and laughed the silly notions of the engine blowing up. Right up until it spun a main bearing on the way to work. Chevy checked the service records, the engine computer and did oil samples. (To check to see if I had mobile 1 in it).

Man, you're the best! So glad I found your channel.

Austin, I would agree with you on the blown Z06 engine issue as those engine(s) most likely were not broken in properly. The LT6 has been tested many thousands of miles in race form in many 24 hour races with good reliability. Furthermore, I have seen videos with new owners of the Z06 redlining the engine with very low miles on the car. Heck, I even break in my daily driver SUV's carefully. Some just probably do not understand the intricies of machine parts and how they need to be bed in as you suggest. Have fun at COTA testing out the Z06 capabilities. As a F1 Starter at COTA since 2012, I am anxiously awaiting your results there!

Corey Feldman back at it

They not waiting til its breaking point. . They duggin them

This has to be my fav video you put out very well laid out data for us to consume.....

Great commentary. My new favorite car channel . 😎

Speed Phenom Great Video I definitely agree that people should stop beating on their C8 Z06s before properly broken in so can be properly enjoyed

may i ask what mileage you got your first oil change at, did you get one as soon as you broke it in?

Do you think its good to buy the z07 package for normal use? I am not going to use it for track. What do u think?

Love this style. Adventures, cars, and music

Austin,from 500 mile to 1500 mile, how did you drive this car? Did you push the rpm at redline? Do you still drive it slowly at the 1st 500 miles?

Great looking cars there Speed!! I think they're not waiting for break on point... RATHER SAD...

All those pro tips are actually COMMON sense 👍

What am I missing here...I thought that Chevy restricted the maximum red line until 500 and 1500 miles for the 2 stages of breakin?

Austin Very informative podcast today, thank you for sharing You are spot on , the Z06 is a high performance car, which requires more maintenance, and daily inspections !! Keep up the good work, my friend

My 19 C7 ZO6, was broken in properly, and I have used Mobile 1, 15W-50, on the track. Absolutely no issues.

👍👍 Thanx Austin for your opinion on WHY ZO6's are having engine issues. It's really common sense, some people want the power more than using common sense allows. Having to put 500 miles on my C8 was sheer torture, wanted to put the Go Fast Peddle through the firewall. But it was worth the wait 😁

Agreed, I don’t think they’re braking in the zo6 properly

I don't know if GM did it on purpose (probably so) but that air intake is in the design of the actual Corvette symbol,how awesome is that!!👍

Great video. Where was that event? Finish Line?

Flat plane vibration💣💥

Good analysis on why new engines break. You are probably quite right!

Mechanical Empathy is real. You have to warm a sports car up before you get on it… break the car in properly and service it. No problems if you use common sense. You will be rewarded for doing what’s right. IMO

I drove a pal's brand new Z06 today, and while it begged to be flogged, we were keeping it under the recommended rpm range. You just have to believe those engineers know a thing or two. It was great to compare to my C8 Stingray w/Z51 and Mag ride. Definitely made my morning- thanks SD!

Z06 Corvette is amazing vehicle!!!👍🏾

Is this engine a prototype? Don't know much about the engine, but have broke in a few cars in the past. I broke in 2 auto engines within 1.5hrs. and never had any issues. Broke in 7 liter sport motorcycle engines and never had issues. My belief is if the engine is put together correctly with the right parts there should be no issues? New engines are put on dyno's with 0 mileage and do well. I have owned a few exotic cars naming a few, Porsche, Jaguar XKE's as well as a Boss 429 with no issues in breaking them in. Please tell me what you mean by bedding in?

Can 6’7 guy fit into the c8 zo6? Tall and skinny 287lbs?

I spend a lot of time on YT checking out car videos. For the most part, owners with issues have not been following the proper break-in procedures. While 500 mi opens up some features on the car, Chevy insists on 1500 mi before racing/tracking. Remember, Chevy called Emelia Hartford to remind her about the 1500 mi break-in requirement. Don't tell me that redlining the car or doing doughnuts prior to 500 mi or racing before 1500 mi can't have a negative impact on the parts seating properly.

Speed phenom (i might've missed it) but are you going to 1v1 (same day, same track, similar tires) with your z06 and 600? I really want to see if mclaren holds its own against the z06, especially on track.

Hi I always broke in all my cars and Mortorcycle according to manufacturer recommendations and never had no problems

It's the GT350 flat plane crank story all over again.

You are absolutely correct, break in procedures are essential for drive train performance and durability. GM is in a difficult situation. If break-in periods are not followed, engine and transmission issues could occur. GM can likely scan the ECU and find out if the engine was over revved during break in but the problem is if they don't cover the damage owners might unfairly claim on-line they observed the break in period and GM won't cover the damage. I believe GM should set the ECU, so it's impossible to over rev it during break-in. Sadly, some drivers will claim that breaking in a car hard is better. While making these claims, they have no engineering background, and are clueless why proper break in is required. Some of these on-line guys are the same type drag racing their cars and putting larger wings on the back, thinking it improves straight line performance 😆.

Just wait til people start trying to modify them 😂

Damn, you run the break-in thing into the ground. Being old-school cars used to not burn oil no matter what kind of performance they had.

It is interesting that this engine was put in the race car well before it went into the production car. Yes, the race engine is a race engine, and it was detuned to only 500 Hp, still, it was endurance racing nonetheless, and they didn't have major issues with the race engine.

I doubt there has ever been a production engine run with thousands of units made that did not have a single failure. it would be nice to see the data. consumer reports does that kind of thing.

Austin you rock! Peace

Gm should program the engine to not rev past the rpm’s for breakin periods love you family

I own a mclaren, it break in properly, always have inspected by the dealer before and after track. It spends more time at the dealer fixing stuff than in my garage. No accidents, just things getting bad all the time. Exhaust, cats, transmission failures. The last one was driving at 40mph low RPM and the engine simply stop working. I used to not believe on the fame they have, but I experienced it, my neighbor had one with so many issues too that he did gave up on it. A friend that have a lot of mclaren have problem in about half of the cars most of the time of the year. All of us are experienced in mechanics and tracking, we are not going with unprepared cars to the track or neglecting steps before pushing it. Mclaren make very fun cars while they are working, but they have a lot of problems due to their cutting edge tech on those.

Great video! Great day!

Good vid! Not so sure it’s the hardest driven customer car.😉

I like the idea of slapping a eray motor on your z06

We need that black gloss wrap on the roof and frunk to outshine the exotics.

I kinda figured that people weren't braking it in properly

You have one beautiful Corvette. When you can buy a car like that in the USA, that's a plus and it's naturally aspirated!!!!!!!

Faz um top speed desse carro pra nós

I think it's mostly just people not honoring the break in period and doing tons of hard pulls and revs before the engine is broken in. These are highly stressed engines so it's wise to break them in properly. It's tough, but people shouldn't really ring them out until after 1500 miles.

Austin is THE BEST!

Isn't the redline limited to 4.5k during the first 500 miles to prevent abuse ? If so, how is going to 4.5k causing the problem during breakin?

Why couldn’t you rev the engine the second time the person asked? Just wondering Great info about this subject, thank you!

Kept mine under 4k rpm. I have 780 now and runs perfect

Just watched GM talk about the break in process the other day

I've owned my first and only sports car for 12 years and I've had to learn everything about it in order to enjoy it properly. As Austin said and I'll embellish, race cars require a lot of maintenance; they're finicky; you sacrifice comfort for speed; the parts are more expensive; you'll have to turn a wrench; you have to pay attention to the details-like the engine break-in period; it's an engineer's game. So, motor-sport is not for the faint of heart. People who buy these cars and leave them in the garage can't commit to this; the sacrifice of it. But what a sport it is. As Steve McQueen said, "Racing is life, anything before or after is just waiting." Good luck with COTA Austin; I'll be watching.

You can't fix stupid. Most of the people who got these cars first are clueless about cars. $$ and prestige. True high performance owners and racers understand break-in procedures. Thanks for a great video.

They say the same thing about the Shelby GT350 but I have 15k on mine and it doesn't even use oil. Every manufacturer has some reliability issues on new models, but I don't think the Z06 is above the normal average for failures. I just think you hear about one or two cars from 20 sources and makes it seem worse than it actually is.

The 2023 Corvette ZO6 with the ZO7package for the money is the best Supercar!!!

1:59 that Yellow Diablo 😮

I believe these have solid tappets which require a more “proper” break in than a hydraulic roller lifter

Lamborghini probably paid for the ad lol and Ferrari would sue me

When will you be at cota?

Every fanboi ever: I haven't had a problem, so nobody has.

great vidio bro

Z06 vs TRX please

I would take your word over anyone, at least you know what you're talking about. Cheers Dennis Barlow.

Thanks for your common sense approach. Free revving a street engine without a load or with low miles is just asking for disaster. Launch control is tool for drag racing, not a fun toy to be used on the street. Some car buyers can’t even find the dip stick. If they do they don’t know to make sure the car is level to read it properly, or what kind and how much oil to add or where it goes in. I ride a sport bikes and I cringe when someone holds the throttle wide open and lets it bounce of the redline. It shows their idiocy. To me, burnouts and donuts are a waste and abuse and are not entrainment unless they are at a demolition derby. I come from a different generation, where skill, performance, technic and function are the priority.

As an gm tech I can promise you they tested the shit out that engine before producing it that engine is capable of way more than it does in the car

Well stated.

Excellent dialogue on "don't be a jerk with a brand new high performance car". There will still be those rare, one-ffs with problems, but so does every vehicle.

Fun day! 👍👍

So far ...20,000 trouble -free miles including track days on my 600 LT McLaren

That's why engines are blowing up on cars u have people who love to over-rev engines and expect it's ok all the time, but it's not, u cant keep revving an engine in neutral, it's not good for the motor, it don't have a load on it

One sample doesn't define a trend whether it be good or bad, more information and data must be collected. Several reports of an unusual ticking sound was recorded and it didn't sound good. The engine with the unusual sound was otherwise running well. I hope the reported failure(s) are just random but it's too early to tell. Good luck with your Z06, it looks and sounds fantastic.

You never se this quality of cars in Canada

I remember watching Streetspeed717's video of beating on his z06 & doing donuts before the break in period. His dumb@ss said "i just feel like you gotta drive it hard to break it in, idk why but that makes sense" lmao. He made it clear he doesn't know jack about cars. And then he would do donuts, the Z would shut off, & i believe it started having trans issues/error codes. Some people just have more money than sense🤦‍♂️

Witch car is faster on the track ..Z06 or McClaren?

Those supercars make the GM car look cheap. lol

The Engine computer must be keeping records of of the rpms prior to break in.

Great upload Austin you have awesome content, a reason Im a Sub. I love my 2023 Z51 Red Mist coupe I purchased in September. At 1700 miles on her today I will start to open her up some. Eric

Perhaps they should be ‘rolling road’ or ‘engine dyno’ broken in before delivery? Any project car of mine has always been done this way. Then you can just get in and send it!!!

corvette should come with scissor doors

Engines last if they're driven Exotics like Lamborghini's, Ferraris, or McLarens. These will dry up gaskets and seals dry cylinders are cut up by Piston Rings even more when dry start-up for sitting too long. Agree as well with you, most people are surprised, that there is a Break in period. Those, which say otherwise are Mechanic's who want your business. 🧑🏻‍🦱👍🏻🏎️🏁🚩 Great cars like Lamborghini's All i can afford is a 2022 Roush Mustang

notification squad

It's the truth, its unfortunate to see some of the other KZfaqrs break their new Z06s. It's also unfortunate that Chevy can sometimes forget to tell their dealers how to properly educate their customers on how to break-in engines, especially unique engines like a high revving flat-plane crank V8. Just failures all around. :/

Why doesn't GM break the motor at the factory? Would that be a reasonable solution or expectation considering the money spent to purchase these cars.