I finally got a chance to drive a Z with a Vortec SC unit. I am going to put my review in stages and talk about various aspects of this unit. I will rate on a scale of 1-10 starting with Fitment, Drivability and Performance.
Fitment (7): The unit fits nicely onto the Z’s, the install is not hard and I suspect it could be completed in less than a day with a good mechanic and the right tools. The compressor is large, and has a look of performance under the hood, unlike the HKS SC which looks ugly and resembles an alternator. The pulley system on the Vortec is a total joke. I think they could have engineer it better without having to use such a long belt and what looks like 10 pulleys tied together. There is just more that needs to be replaced and more stuff to wear out in my opinion. I also know that people have had problems with belt’s wearing out prematurely or being very noisy and having to tension them often. Now with the covers on the car you would not be able to see all those pulleys so it would look a lot cleaner, but the cover was removed due to the Crawford Plenum.
Drivability (9): First let me tell you that this car was DaddyZ’s 04 Track model. He is from the other board and I contacted him last weekend and set up a meeting last night. It only cost me dinner to get a chance to drive his car. It’s a Redline with just over 5K miles. One side note, the 04 suspension feels much better than the 03. In fact I have often said that the 03’s don’t have a suspension! Bouncing down the road on flat pavement does not mean the car actually handles. The 04 is much smoother than and feels as if it holds to road a lot better. The 03 suspension sucks IMO because the shocks should have had more Rebound Dampening which the 03’s seriously lack. So let’s get back to the SC and how it functions with the Z. I was impressed with how well it drives without feeling like the car is being bogged down with the extra belts and pulleys. If I could not here the SC whine it would have been very hard to tell it was even on the car. I will get to performance on the next segment. Here are a few things I noticed. The Blow off Valve sounds like complete crap, instead of a cool whistle it sounds more like an inflated balloon releasing air. At idle the car runs fine without any hesitation and coasting around a parking lot the car drives like stock. On the highway it was just the same but with a slight hint that something was different and not different in a bad way
Performance (6): Now before all the Vortec owner come here with torches and gasoline to flame my a$$. Let me explain why I only give it a 6 on a scale of 1-10. I think it’s important to consider everything. I believe the engine is still very tight with just over 5K miles. You also have to consider the weight factor because you got two very big dudes crammed in a Z. I am around 6ft, 240 lbs and DaddyZ is pushing close to the same weight as me. So its probable safe to say that you have close to 500lbs of humanity that have not missed a meal in a long time riding in his Z. Also he said that the car is running very rich and he thinks the mechanics at the dealer might have left one of his intake pipes loose. He mentioned this as soon as he drove up and said it felt like he was loosing boost. Well that would have been easy to see by looking at the boost gage but he said he had removed his gages because it was going to the dealership. LOL it’s sort of funny… because I think most dealers would probable notice a big snail looking thingy right where the air box goes. Anyway no boost gage but I was told this unit has a 9lb pulley and was making 370~380rwhp. The first time I gave it WOT I was a little disappointed at how it didn’t feel like it was pulling very hard. There was some pull up high but I was expecting more especially at the top end. I mean I am in a car with over 100hp at the wheels than my car right? Now the power is very smooth and linear and I could feel more pull at the high end, but overall I was not that impressed. I didn’t expect to feel much down low but once we got over 5K RPM’s I was expecting much more of a rush and it really never came. Now I hope some of you Vortec guys can post here and let me know if I am just driving a car with a bad tune or leak in the system. Another thing I noticed was the compressor sounded like marbles rolling around inside it at idle. Now I am not sure if this was a pulley but it sounded like it was coming from the compressor. The unit was very noisy at times, so I am wondering if this unit is due for a rebuild? I also tried to get the WOT in second and get the tires to break loose but nothing happened. Is this typical for a Vortec? I don’t know what a Vortec should feel like since I have nothing to compare too. But I think this unit was seriously lacking in boost, but with no gages I can’t say whether or not this is fact or not.
If there is anybody in Dallas area with a Vortec Z or even a TT that would give me test drive I would really appreciate it. I would like to drive another Vortec Z so I can make a better assessment of a Vortec unit. The unit on the car I drove was not new and had probable 5k total miles on it. Anyway I am still considering my FI options…
Llare
Fitment (7): The unit fits nicely onto the Z’s, the install is not hard and I suspect it could be completed in less than a day with a good mechanic and the right tools. The compressor is large, and has a look of performance under the hood, unlike the HKS SC which looks ugly and resembles an alternator. The pulley system on the Vortec is a total joke. I think they could have engineer it better without having to use such a long belt and what looks like 10 pulleys tied together. There is just more that needs to be replaced and more stuff to wear out in my opinion. I also know that people have had problems with belt’s wearing out prematurely or being very noisy and having to tension them often. Now with the covers on the car you would not be able to see all those pulleys so it would look a lot cleaner, but the cover was removed due to the Crawford Plenum.
Drivability (9): First let me tell you that this car was DaddyZ’s 04 Track model. He is from the other board and I contacted him last weekend and set up a meeting last night. It only cost me dinner to get a chance to drive his car. It’s a Redline with just over 5K miles. One side note, the 04 suspension feels much better than the 03. In fact I have often said that the 03’s don’t have a suspension! Bouncing down the road on flat pavement does not mean the car actually handles. The 04 is much smoother than and feels as if it holds to road a lot better. The 03 suspension sucks IMO because the shocks should have had more Rebound Dampening which the 03’s seriously lack. So let’s get back to the SC and how it functions with the Z. I was impressed with how well it drives without feeling like the car is being bogged down with the extra belts and pulleys. If I could not here the SC whine it would have been very hard to tell it was even on the car. I will get to performance on the next segment. Here are a few things I noticed. The Blow off Valve sounds like complete crap, instead of a cool whistle it sounds more like an inflated balloon releasing air. At idle the car runs fine without any hesitation and coasting around a parking lot the car drives like stock. On the highway it was just the same but with a slight hint that something was different and not different in a bad way
Performance (6): Now before all the Vortec owner come here with torches and gasoline to flame my a$$. Let me explain why I only give it a 6 on a scale of 1-10. I think it’s important to consider everything. I believe the engine is still very tight with just over 5K miles. You also have to consider the weight factor because you got two very big dudes crammed in a Z. I am around 6ft, 240 lbs and DaddyZ is pushing close to the same weight as me. So its probable safe to say that you have close to 500lbs of humanity that have not missed a meal in a long time riding in his Z. Also he said that the car is running very rich and he thinks the mechanics at the dealer might have left one of his intake pipes loose. He mentioned this as soon as he drove up and said it felt like he was loosing boost. Well that would have been easy to see by looking at the boost gage but he said he had removed his gages because it was going to the dealership. LOL it’s sort of funny… because I think most dealers would probable notice a big snail looking thingy right where the air box goes. Anyway no boost gage but I was told this unit has a 9lb pulley and was making 370~380rwhp. The first time I gave it WOT I was a little disappointed at how it didn’t feel like it was pulling very hard. There was some pull up high but I was expecting more especially at the top end. I mean I am in a car with over 100hp at the wheels than my car right? Now the power is very smooth and linear and I could feel more pull at the high end, but overall I was not that impressed. I didn’t expect to feel much down low but once we got over 5K RPM’s I was expecting much more of a rush and it really never came. Now I hope some of you Vortec guys can post here and let me know if I am just driving a car with a bad tune or leak in the system. Another thing I noticed was the compressor sounded like marbles rolling around inside it at idle. Now I am not sure if this was a pulley but it sounded like it was coming from the compressor. The unit was very noisy at times, so I am wondering if this unit is due for a rebuild? I also tried to get the WOT in second and get the tires to break loose but nothing happened. Is this typical for a Vortec? I don’t know what a Vortec should feel like since I have nothing to compare too. But I think this unit was seriously lacking in boost, but with no gages I can’t say whether or not this is fact or not.
If there is anybody in Dallas area with a Vortec Z or even a TT that would give me test drive I would really appreciate it. I would like to drive another Vortec Z so I can make a better assessment of a Vortec unit. The unit on the car I drove was not new and had probable 5k total miles on it. Anyway I am still considering my FI options…
Llare
