cool stuff - i just checked it out. according to the federal trade commission, it is tinted mineral oil that accelerates engine bearing corrosion by 3x. perhaps there is nothing left in your engine to tap!

Do we even know which component was ticking/tapping? No !
But is Z Max or any other product works consistently to free up sticky lifters on old M96 engines it would be good to know. I too am skeptical about this product and Rislone or Marvel Mystery Oil only because the experts seldom recommend them. I tried Rislone on my stuck lifters =fail.

On LS engines this can happen (even on oil change) when "gunk" gets dislodged and blocks an oil passage causing a lifter to run dry. An oil flush can sometimes help it. I've also seen people pull a valve cover and manually clean a passage.

I'm still new to Porsches so this might not apply here.

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On the M96 a common Mode of Failure for ticking lifters is the small internal orifice inside the INA lifter plugs up. Then the tappet gets 'hammered' into the bucket so hard it jams in an over-compressed position. Then the ticking begins.
When you dismantle lifters in this condition you need visegrips to extract the tappet from the bucket .Obviouly this renders them unuseable but your curiosity is satisfied. Perhaps I am being unfair to the snake oil vendors, but I don't think any solvent would free the tappet in such circumstances.
In the reported cases of miracle cures, seldom has a careful diagnosis confirmed lifters to be the problem,prior to magic treatment. It may be that the snake oil+lifter cure was actually something else.
That said, where is the harm in trying some Rislone? I did. Hypocrite .It did not work unfortunately. Hopefully the upgraded lifters from INA are better. INA had exactly this problem in the many other engine brands that used this specific(now superseded) part number.

I suspect that the probable cause of the Lifters being "hammered"= the tappet jammed into itself & therefore rock solid+ excessive clearance was from the P.O.
1.Ran engine with low oil pressure
2.&/or used excessively thick oil+/- thickening additives to hide a bearing knock.
Lesson - Respond immediately to a low oil pressure warning
Use the thinnest of the recommended oils - to ensure the tappets in the lifters are reached with life-saving oil as sonn as possible after start up!
Jammed Lifters can Not be fixed Even with Vise grips you can't separate some of them !

[QUOTE=mattluttrell;523498]On LS engines this can happen (even on oil change) when "gunk" gets dislodged and blocks an oil passage causing a lifter to run dry. An oil flush can sometimes help it. I've also seen people pull a valve cover and manually clean a passage.

I'm still new to Porsches so this might not apply here."Quote

Let us know how long before you can make adverse comparisons between the LS engine and the M96 :-).
Soon you will be able to buy a new mid-engined (LS?) C8 Corvette ?