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I learned that lesson the hard way with a 2013 Camaro ZL1. I got caught up in the forum hype around mods and thought a cold air intake and bigger crank pulley would be my ticket to muscle car nirvana. Well, one thing led to another—bigger injectors, labor, tuning, dyno time—and nearly $10K...

The 500-mile break-in isn’t just a random number. That first phase is mainly to let the bearings properly polish and seat. If you watch the Chevy MyWay video on the Z06 LT6 (link here), the engineers go into detail on how the break-in works and why it’s critical. Even though the video is about...

Your advisor is correct. Cadillacs don’t require an early oil change—the first one is scheduled at around 5,000 miles. The 500-mile oil change was specific to the LT1 and LT4 engines in the C7 Corvettes with the dry sump oiling system. That system was more complex and carried a higher risk of...

I highly doubt GM has a stockpile of LT4 long blocks. The C7 Z06 and CTS-V v3 were done back in 2019, and Camaro production wrapped in December 2023. That leaves the 5BW as the only GM platform running the LT4 for the past 18 months or so. With Cadillac moving around 2,000 5BWs per year, there’s...

Wow! I’m actually more shocked that the dealer had an LT4 block sitting in stock than the fact that the engine failed. That’s a serious chunk of money to have tied up in inventory. Most dealers don’t keep something like that on the shelf—it’s usually ordered in as needed or shipped directly from...

I traded a 2017 Camaro ZL1 M6 that I owned for almost seven years for my 2023 5BW. The first thing I noticed about the BW was that it had a bit more giddy-up than the ZL1—more than could be explained by just 18 extra horsepower. I’ve seen reports that timing can be in the neighborhood of 30...

On the L87 truck engines, the culprit ended up being crankshafts that were out of spec, which trashed the main bearings. Different deal with the LT4 though—the LT4 uses a forged steel crank, while the L87 is running a cast nodular iron crank. Two very different parts. If I had to guess what’s...

With numbers matching no longer a major factor, a warranty replacement won’t diminish the car’s value. As the second owner, this will simply be your first opportunity to complete a proper break-in.

I wonder if, when building this car using the online configurator, Cadillac would add a $650 upcharge like the Corvette does when you pick the Adrenaline Red interior with Red Mist Metallic Tintcoat for the exterior, because the colors don’t match up.

I tried hard to like my C8 for 4½ years, but it rarely made me smile. In automatic mode, the performance felt underwhelming. Manual mode was better—I could choose my own shift points—but some shifts, especially between first and second, were jarringly abrupt. First gear was so short that I often...

See post #30. I’m pretty much right there with you when it comes to saving the manuals. My first sports/muscle car was a 2011 Camaro 2SS with the 6-speed auto. I was bored with it after about eight months. The next four cars were all 6-speed manuals—right up until the C8 Corvette. The Blackwing...

I wouldn’t call myself a wealthy car buyer. I’ve simply been practical with my money and have very little debt. It still took me four and a half years to get bored with my C8, but I never quite warmed up to its DCT. Now, after just two weeks with the Porsche, I see why the PDK is considered...

The same goes for Cadillac Blackwings—just about any high-performance car these days comes with a premium price, especially when demand is high. I picked up my 718 for $13K under MSRP, and the car wasn’t even a year old with only 230 miles on it when I first saw it. I felt that was a pretty...

My 718’s in-service date is in October, so technically the car isn’t even a year old yet. When I looked at it last Friday, it only had 230 miles on the odometer. The original owner put it up for sale in April and sold it to a local dealer that specializes in pre-owned performance and luxury cars...

I made it two weeks without a playmate for my 5BW. Last Friday I stumbled into a great deal on a 2024 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 — just 230 miles on the clock. I’ve only had it for 24 hours, and I’m still learning all its ins and outs, but wow… it’s already shown me just how rough the C8’s...

About a year ago, I signed up to be notified when the carbon fiber shift knob was back in stock—still waiting on that notification. When I owned my ZL1, I installed their carbon fiber shift knob back in 2018. At the time, it came as a complete setup with the boot and top cap included.

I traded up from a ’17 ZL1 M6 to a ’23 5BW M6 for two main reasons: I love driving a manual gearbox. The Tremec TR-6060 was solid in the ZL1, but it’s even more refined in the Blackwing—tight, precise, and just more rewarding to row through. Long-term value. The manual Blackwings will likely be...

Hey all — I bought my 5BW used, and it came with all black badging. I’ve already swapped out the front and rear emblems for black ones with a colored center, similar to ukcats12’s setup. Mine's a manual, so now adaptive cruise control. I’d like to match the side and rear V badges as well (black...

These are Chinese made headers which is why they are so cheap. There's the potential for inconsistent weld quality and fitment issues. Gaskets and bolts are also considered entry level so many buyers upgrade to better parts during installation. Personally, I spend the extra money to get...