WhitePearl_RL

Well, I pulled the trigger and ordered a 2006 C6 Z06 2LZ. It will be Lemans Blue Metallic with Titanium Grey Leather and every option possible. They said it should arrive in December/January. I do have the option of buying one off their lot before then if another buyer backs out of their order. I will miss the RL, but it was more a transitional vehicle until I found what I was really looking for. I was driving a 2004 ESV Platinum before and sold it because it was no longer practical for my use, the RL was a impulse purchase which I do not regret. It has served me well as a daily driver and has made several long trips. The car has exceeded my expectations and is a wonderful family sedan, I just wish it had more torque. My son is considering buying it from me, but he really had his heart set on a G35 coupe and he wishes the RL came with a 6 speed manual option. We will see what happens. Have a great weekend!

Rob L

You're getting a Z06? Nice! Congrats!

WhitePearl_RL

Thanks, I am looking forward to it!

Here are a pic of my RL:

GIBSON6594

wow, i don't blame the switch, wanna be my a Z06 too?

Karl_in_Chicago

Congrats! Hope to see your feedback over on corvetteforum.com when you get the keys!

WhitePearl_RL

Thanks! I am hoping my son will buy the RL (I will give him the car for next to nothing) so it will stay in the family. He loves performance oriented cars and used to have a heavily modified 2003 Passat. He is finishing Medical Shool this year and I think it would be the perfect car for him. I am trying to get him on this forum to see the modifcation potential of the RL so it will stay in the family

Fatalvenom

You wont be disappointed with your Z06, I'm sure. Although I havent had seat time in a new ZO6, I've driven many of the previous generation and I must say, prepare to buy tires, alot of tires. Not because of inherent wear problems, but just because you will be cutting the apex on every corner and doing some nice slides. Even if you think you are beyond the whole agressive driving stage of your life, think again. Its cars like this that get even 60 year-olds suspended drivers licenses.

hondamore

Sounds a little like a mid-life crisis going on here. If such is the case, the Corvette is a better option than a 20 year old mistress. Both will leave you breathless, but the Corvette will be much cheaper in the long run.

vp911

Can't blame you for your choice, one hell of a nice car.

bkw

Sweet! Is there anyway you can keep both? Once the Cayman and Z06 comes to market, I'll be looking at both (and/or a lightly used 996 Turbo or 997S) to compliment the RL.

Whatever the case, you're going to be quite happy

WhitePearl_RL

I almost bought a 996 TT before the RL but the deal went sour and turned me off. The Z06 seems like the perfect car for driving (not necessarily daily), weekend autoX, and the occasional drive through the mountains. I guess this is my second "mid-life crisis" because my first consisted of a 1996 Mercedes SL500 and 1989 Porsche 944 S2 track car. I am hoping to keep the RL in the family if my son decides to get it. I have too many other cars I can drive to work besides the Z06 and they all need to be kept running anways. Have a good evening!
-Abe

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Well, Abe, if you ever need a hand driving all those cars, do feel free to let me know and I will gladly go down there and help you.

Fatalvenom

Bless your heart.........

WhitePearl_RL

Hello everyone, this is WhitePearl_RL's son, I will be taking my Dad's RL once his Z06 comes in.. I didn't want to make a new account so my Dad told me to log on his. Basically my Dad has me sold on how great the RL is and I have to admit is truly light years ahead of its rivals and has great potential. I had the opportunity to drive it from Virginia Beach, VA to Albany, NY and it was so comfortable, nimble, and prestigous. The car received so many compliments and surprised a gentleman in a new 530i 6 speed The best thing was I did not see another RL on the road in my 1200 mile round trip!

I recently sold my 2003 VW Passat 1.8T 5 speed GLS which was heavily modified. I put the car through AutoX, SCCA events, and it won 3 trophies at car shows. I am a automobile enthusiast and if I bought the RL I would also want to modify it. I am moving to Miami soon to start my Residency and I would be using the car as my daily driver and maybe put it through a couple weekend AutoX sessions and eventually maybe a few shows. So far we have only found this H&R spring as the only aftermarket suspension option. The A-spec shocks may work, but as was said before, I would love to have a set of Bilsteins to match the H&Rs.

As far as wheels go, I am most likely going with 19X8.5 Axis Milanos with a 40mm offset. I would love to get a set of BBS RCs (I had a set on my Passat), but they do not make them to clear the RL brakes.

I have not been able to find any aftermarket exhaust options here in the USA. There appears to be some available in the European/Japanese marketplace which I hope they bring stateside.

I will be upgrading the car in stages, but first will be wheels/tires and suspension. Eventually I would love the A-spec body kit and then hopefully a exhaust, CAI, and ECU upgrade if available. Right now it looks like I will be getting the RL from my Dad in late December, so look for me then! I appreciate the wonderful search function on this board, it has helped answer so many questions and convinced me the RL was the way to go.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Welcome

Glad to see that you used the search function to help find your answers.

For wheels, you might consider contacting one of our resident vendors, RonDog to check out RonJon wheels. They are custom designed to specifically be fitted to the RL and there are several looks available. The wheels are of very very high quality and the cost is probably no more than a set of BBS wheels.

As for the other mods, don't expect and ECU upgrade anytime soon. No reflash upgrades are available since the only company that does reflash ECU upgrades has not worked on any reflash for the J-series V6 motors.

Hope you enjoy the RL when you get it and do all of us a favor and keep things tasteful when you start modding.

vp911

Welcome! Glad to hear the RL will be staying in the family. I am sure you will enjoy it.

WhitePearl_RL

Update: I received an offer I could not refuse. I sold my allocation spot for my 2006 Z06 2LZ for $4750. I am going to keep searching the country to see if I can find one for under MSRP

vp911

Check the detroit area dealers. PM me for another idea.

hothonda

Winter is coming and those GM dealers will be more interested in dealing once they find nobody wants their new generation of gas guzzling SUV's set to arrive in Jan. '06.
The Z06 is great car for the money. Check the Corvette Forums, there are many
supporting dealers who will sell at MSRP.....in 6 months they'll be dealing from invoice
rather than MSRP!

WhitePearl_RL

Thanks. I will check the forums and the Detroit dealers. Maybe I should wait till winter really kicks in

WhitePearl_RL

I test drove a 2006 Charger SRT-8 on Saturday... the car exceeded my expecations. I drove a fully loaded model with NAV/DVD, XM, Moonroof, Bluetooth, the works. I did not get the chance to do a full WOT, but I can tell you it feels much faster than my 2002 WS6 Trans Am and faster than a LS1 GTO or C5. The car had ample room inside (more than the RL) and handled amazing for how heavy it is. The monster Brembos did an amazing job... I almost did not want to get back into my RL after the test drive. They would have sold me the car for $43K and they had a "base" model on the lot for $35K. Now here is the catch, the general manager bought the first one that came in and he had taken it to the track. Bone stock he ran a 12.95 in the quarter mile. Hotchkis already has several suspension packages to help the car in AutoX. For the price, the SRT-8 really surprised me... now I do not regret selling my allocation spot for the C6 Z06... the SRT-8 is half price and makes a more realistic daily driver/weekend track vehicle. I might just have to sell or trade the RL... I was going to give it to my oldest son, but I believe he has bought another car already.

vp911

How is the interior of the charger? Quality wise?

stingerbtry

I drove it as well before buying the RL and honestly the only thing that kept me from wanting it over the RL was the fact that it's a Dodge and I know that it will be worth nothin once I buy it. I know that cars are not investments but I've owned a few Dodge cars in my life and they all were basically not worth their weight in scrap metal once you drive it off the lot. I've already seen used 06's that were going for 44k+ selling for ~30'ish used with less the 2k miles on them. But yeah as far as just the car your getting goes, it's awesome. I was actually impressed with the build quality for a Dodge and the power/handling etc was awesome as well. I think it's an awesome compromise for a DD and a track car but I don't think I could give up the RL for it personally. Good luck with whatever you decide and I'm sure you'll make the choice that makes you the happiest.

hondamore

I think that the noisy, rough ride of the SRT-8 and it's very questionable reliability would make it an inappropriate choice for a daily driver. Keep the RL to get you where you want to go reliably and in comfort and then get whatever sports car you want for auto-x on the weekends. I think that driving to work and back in a track car may leave you disappointed (unless of course the track car is an NSX).

WhitePearl_RL

We will see what happens, I get bored with cars very easily... believe it or not but the RL has started to bore me with just 5500 miles on the clock and the SRT-8 was a momentary thrill. My heart is still set on a Z06, but I will have to work the numbers to see if I can keep the RL and a Z06. My wife wants us to surprise my son with a new car for Xmas when he comes home so if that happens I will have to allocate funds accordingly.

vp911

IMO you should get the Z06 over the SRT-8. It will be more thrilling. I am not really surprised you are somewhat bored with the RL so soon - it is not the most exhilerating car to drive - but has many advantages which still make it a great car.

Surprising your son with a car huh? Go for it That would be an amazing xmas gift.

WhitePearl_RL

I hope everyone is doing well! It has been almost one year since I traded the RL on my SRT-8 Charger. I still glance at RL's everytime I see one and get a nostalgic feeling.. then I romp on my Charger and realize that the RL really needs a V8 or a supercharged V6 to make it more attractive.

Just wanted to stop in and say hi. Take care everyone!

TheAcAvenger

Wow. Almost a year exactly. I live in Suffolk (when not at school). If you ever see a TL-S with I/H/E that's lowered, that would be me. And if you ever see a blue '05 RL that would be my dad. But please, kind sir, dont make us look slow with your srt-8!

WhitePearl_RL

I have seen that blue RL I am pretty sure I have seen your TL-S as well, is it silver?

neuronbob

So you never got the Corvette. Did the RL stay in the family? While I am partial to Mopars myself, having owned two in my time, it would not be a tough decision between the SRT-8 and the Corvette. The General is definitely doing some things right lately...

WhitePearl_RL

I wanted the Z06 badly, but I had a bad experience at the Chevy dealer and looked across the street and saw this big black beast calling my name!




So I bought the Charger and saved $35K. However, I am still considering a 2007 Z06 2LZ if I can find one around $70K

Ibn Rushd

I think your Charger SRT 8 still has more performance modification potential than the RL. Congrats on the Charger. Shitty deal on the Vette.

ssim3

I test drove a 300C SRT before buying RL it was a beast, but wife thought it was ugly. If i could have found a Grand Cherokee srt I probably would have gotten one.

JadeFox

if i had that 300hp PEARL AWD car with all that technology - i would NEVR trade it for an american car, not EVEN a corvette.

But good luck with your purchase and dont run anyone over ..

sab35263

Hello,

So you sayed you used to drive an escalade before, right? May be you can help me, I have an '05 escalade AWD, with all the options, but was looking at the RL and I like it , do you think its a good idea to gid rid of the caddy and get the Rl??

WhitePearl_RL

They are worlds apart, it really depends what you are using the Escalade for. I had the Escalade to tow my show cars and carry people at the same time. I found I was towing more than I was carrying people and I already had a E-350 van so I found was not using the Escalade like it was intended... so I bought the RL which took care of my daily driving needs and had a vast amount of options for the money.

What do you use your Escalade for? Tow vehicle, people hauler, daily driver?

sab35263

Just for a daily driver, and man that gas mileage is killing me. So you have no regret leaving the caddy for an RL?

WhitePearl_RL

Nope, the Escalade just wasn't practical for a daily driver.