The £7700 Corvette C6
Discussion
pistolpete12 said:
Brilliant thread, just read the whole way through
great way to start an early shift.
Car looks awesome, as i got further through i thought i recognized the car.
I run in the Jap sprint series, but i also ran Anglesey Javelin series. So i can also say it sounds awesome too (we were in the rx8)
Keep up the great work!!
Thank you, was good to chat to you guys at Anglesey, you just beat me too! great way to start an early shift.
Car looks awesome, as i got further through i thought i recognized the car.
I run in the Jap sprint series, but i also ran Anglesey Javelin series. So i can also say it sounds awesome too (we were in the rx8)
Keep up the great work!!
The summer has been kind to us in the South West so far, plenty of driving in the Vette as a result, including a trip through South Wales. I'm likely to take it on track at Castle Combe this coming Monday for a short session.
Since Snetterton earlier in the year I've had a recurring power steering fluid leak from where the sensor and sensor wires enter the rack. It's most likely caused by age, heat and pressure from using it on track. It's a non-serviceable part and it's not unusual for them to leak here apparently. To get to the rack is a pain, having to remove the mono leaf spring, to remove the rack is many hours of work. So far a repair with metal putty lasted a short time and then failed and I suspect a recent fix with quick drying epoxy may have also gone the same way, unless the drips are residual fluid finding there way to the ground.
The fluid gets so hot on track that it actually bubbles and boils after a trackday session! My base car doesn't come with a cooler and whilst I could have bought a second hand item for not much more than $40 plus shipping I decided to go for a small Mocal oil cooler instead. The cooler, hose, angles and mounts were £140 from Merlin Motorsport. It lines up nicely with the thread subframe holes that held the standard figure of 8 alloy tube.
The reversing lights were starting to become a bit intermittent, not worth messing around trying to get an old switch working, so a new one was fitted to the gearbox, a very easy job.
A quick check to see how the silicone tape I'd applied to the ball joints was working out, perfect so far. No grease leaking out and it has taken the heat from the discs well, a good fix.
An easy modification used by some owners from the southern states is to remove the weather strip from the trailing edge of the engine bay/bonnet. It just allows a small exit for hot air to escape the engine bay when in traffic. I will keep an eye on temps and perhaps add the rubber strip back on for the cooler/wetter months.
I sold my used set of Hankook road tyres to a fellow C6 owner, he also brought his over from the States and apparently used some of the info on here to convert his car to UK lighting. He went a slightly different way at the back end by going for LED tail light units, an EU loom and re-programming the BCM into Japanese region. As I am still experiencing rear lighting niggles I may look to do this myself, unless I can fix a momentary flash of the indicators when braking! A replacement EU-C unit from the ever helpful Axel Joost hasn't cured this sadly. I need to find someone with a three channel Oscilloscope to take some readings.....
Since Snetterton earlier in the year I've had a recurring power steering fluid leak from where the sensor and sensor wires enter the rack. It's most likely caused by age, heat and pressure from using it on track. It's a non-serviceable part and it's not unusual for them to leak here apparently. To get to the rack is a pain, having to remove the mono leaf spring, to remove the rack is many hours of work. So far a repair with metal putty lasted a short time and then failed and I suspect a recent fix with quick drying epoxy may have also gone the same way, unless the drips are residual fluid finding there way to the ground.
The fluid gets so hot on track that it actually bubbles and boils after a trackday session! My base car doesn't come with a cooler and whilst I could have bought a second hand item for not much more than $40 plus shipping I decided to go for a small Mocal oil cooler instead. The cooler, hose, angles and mounts were £140 from Merlin Motorsport. It lines up nicely with the thread subframe holes that held the standard figure of 8 alloy tube.
The reversing lights were starting to become a bit intermittent, not worth messing around trying to get an old switch working, so a new one was fitted to the gearbox, a very easy job.
A quick check to see how the silicone tape I'd applied to the ball joints was working out, perfect so far. No grease leaking out and it has taken the heat from the discs well, a good fix.
An easy modification used by some owners from the southern states is to remove the weather strip from the trailing edge of the engine bay/bonnet. It just allows a small exit for hot air to escape the engine bay when in traffic. I will keep an eye on temps and perhaps add the rubber strip back on for the cooler/wetter months.
I sold my used set of Hankook road tyres to a fellow C6 owner, he also brought his over from the States and apparently used some of the info on here to convert his car to UK lighting. He went a slightly different way at the back end by going for LED tail light units, an EU loom and re-programming the BCM into Japanese region. As I am still experiencing rear lighting niggles I may look to do this myself, unless I can fix a momentary flash of the indicators when braking! A replacement EU-C unit from the ever helpful Axel Joost hasn't cured this sadly. I need to find someone with a three channel Oscilloscope to take some readings.....
Fishy Dave said:
An easy modification used by some owners from the southern states is to remove the weather strip from the trailing edge of the engine bay/bonnet. It just allows a small exit for hot air to escape the engine bay when in traffic. I will keep an eye on temps and perhaps add the rubber strip back on for the cooler/wetter months.
Great thread and a lovely car 
Silly question though, isn't that seal you've removed to keep heat and engine bay fumes out of the HVAC system, the inlet to which appears to be just to the rear of the seal?
99t said:
Great thread and a lovely car
Silly question though, isn't that seal you've removed to keep heat and engine bay fumes out of the HVAC system, the inlet to which appears to be just to the rear of the seal?
Thanks, yes, you could well be right there. The smell in the cabin hasn't changed so far, although granted CO doesn't smell Silly question though, isn't that seal you've removed to keep heat and engine bay fumes out of the HVAC system, the inlet to which appears to be just to the rear of the seal?
As I live in a sleepy village I'm conscious that not all my neighbours appreciate the rumblings on an LS2 in the morning, but nor would I want to lose it either. From 2008 onwards Corvettes were available with factory option code 'NPP' which is a vacuum operated exhaust with valves that would close below about 3000rpm and open up for more volume and power (+6hp). The 2008 NPP only happens to have the same sized pipes for fitting onto my 2007 model. A pair came up for $225 in the States, so I bought these together with an 'NPP in a box', giving me the vaccuum lines and importantly an electronic box with remote controls so you can choose between the two modes. Fitting the vacuum hoses, 12v feed and box took a couple of hours only, it was a bit fiddly opening up the port on the back of the inlet manifold but the Dremel helped.
When the back boxes arrived I was disappointed to see that the owner had chopped off the connecting pipes, requiring a trip to Infinity Exhausts for a bit of welding and fettling.
Giving one of the backboxes a shake revealed something loose inside, but we proceeded anyway. The end result works well, much quieter with the valves close and a similar volume to the Flowmasters I'd removed; the burble on over-run remains.
You can see the mechanism here and also how each pipe varies in sootiness, time for a polish.
I tried to fit the OMP 'Style' seat directly on the subframe so I could sit lower, but access to the rear bolts and harness eye bolts proved impossible, so for now I will tolerate being too high, but at least I am far better restrained.
My wife wanted a battery for her horse electric fence, the perfect excuse for an upgrade! I had a £45 Yuasa 18aH battery spare from my previous E30 race car, so thought I'd give it a go, although on paper it is too weak for the job. The measurements were a good match for a Powerlite Lithium battery, so bought just the cage for now. It saves a good 10kg of weight, every bit helps in a car weighing 1470.
So far everyone's happy, it starts the Corvette cleanly and has sat for a few days without issue, whilst the 'Vettes old battery is sufficiently strong that it's keeping the horse where it should be!
Friends were attending a BHP trackday at Castle Combe on Monday, so I went along for the day but only paid for an hour, with funds a little tighter after buying all these parts. Driving to the track the front left tyre pressure sensor decided that was the moment to run out of battery life, the result being a 55mph top speed and no ability to influence the active handling. Back home I went for a new sensor, them off to Kwik Fit Chippenham, where a good guy called James swapped them over.
Back to Castle Combe and the static noise test at 3500rpm was 98dB and I had no issues on the day running with the valves open. At some stage I will open the backboxes up to have a loose baffle/stone removed as the rattle at start up and part throttle is embarrassing.
Video here:
Great fun trying to keep up with my friend Toms modified Z4M. Pleased with the handling balance of the Corvette this time, I used slightly higher tyre pressures this time, 37 front, 35 rear. The seat and harness combo was a big improvement too.
When the back boxes arrived I was disappointed to see that the owner had chopped off the connecting pipes, requiring a trip to Infinity Exhausts for a bit of welding and fettling.
Giving one of the backboxes a shake revealed something loose inside, but we proceeded anyway. The end result works well, much quieter with the valves close and a similar volume to the Flowmasters I'd removed; the burble on over-run remains.
You can see the mechanism here and also how each pipe varies in sootiness, time for a polish.
I tried to fit the OMP 'Style' seat directly on the subframe so I could sit lower, but access to the rear bolts and harness eye bolts proved impossible, so for now I will tolerate being too high, but at least I am far better restrained.
My wife wanted a battery for her horse electric fence, the perfect excuse for an upgrade! I had a £45 Yuasa 18aH battery spare from my previous E30 race car, so thought I'd give it a go, although on paper it is too weak for the job. The measurements were a good match for a Powerlite Lithium battery, so bought just the cage for now. It saves a good 10kg of weight, every bit helps in a car weighing 1470.
So far everyone's happy, it starts the Corvette cleanly and has sat for a few days without issue, whilst the 'Vettes old battery is sufficiently strong that it's keeping the horse where it should be!
Friends were attending a BHP trackday at Castle Combe on Monday, so I went along for the day but only paid for an hour, with funds a little tighter after buying all these parts. Driving to the track the front left tyre pressure sensor decided that was the moment to run out of battery life, the result being a 55mph top speed and no ability to influence the active handling. Back home I went for a new sensor, them off to Kwik Fit Chippenham, where a good guy called James swapped them over.
Back to Castle Combe and the static noise test at 3500rpm was 98dB and I had no issues on the day running with the valves open. At some stage I will open the backboxes up to have a loose baffle/stone removed as the rattle at start up and part throttle is embarrassing.
Video here:
Great fun trying to keep up with my friend Toms modified Z4M. Pleased with the handling balance of the Corvette this time, I used slightly higher tyre pressures this time, 37 front, 35 rear. The seat and harness combo was a big improvement too.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 11th June 17:27
I've had to admit defeat on fixing the power steering leak and have ordered a reconditioned rack and a new, custom built pump from https://www.turnone-steering.com/ Not cheap but the company seems to have the best reputation and the alloy pump saves a bit of weight too. They will increase the pressure of the pump to 1800psi which they say will give me a 'reserve' of power for quick applications of lock when on track, on sticky tyres.
It will take about four weeks for them to put this order together, then I'll have to wait for a bit for it to be shipped from the States. In the mean time it's not stopping me drive the Corvette most days, it just leaves a drip of fluid whenever I park.
Just a random photo of the car parked in my village. The rake is set correctly for track use but it always makes the back look too high.
It will take about four weeks for them to put this order together, then I'll have to wait for a bit for it to be shipped from the States. In the mean time it's not stopping me drive the Corvette most days, it just leaves a drip of fluid whenever I park.
Just a random photo of the car parked in my village. The rake is set correctly for track use but it always makes the back look too high.
Just catching up from the last three months.....
At the end of September I set about changing the old, leaking steering rack with the reconditioned one that arrived from Turn One, plus the uprated pump. Having removed the rack a number of times now I've got quicker but it's still a pig of a job that takes me hours.
Interesting that they have cured the potential for a leak around the position sensor with a bigger blob of putty than I'd tried!
In mid October my mate Tom (Z4M Coupe) and I headed over to the Nurburgring for the Circuit Days trackday. I've visited the Ring most years since 2005, but only for single TF laps rather than a private trackday (therefore I still don't know which way the track goes!). The trip over the day before was uneventful, although a surprise brake fluid change for the BMW on arrival was a hell of a rush before the briefing!
The obligatory Steak on a Stone photo.
I washed the car in the dark, filling up a plastic tub from the shower!
The day was dry and bright, although the dampness on the ground caught out many, many people, with red flags throughout the day.
It meant we didn't complete many laps and made the mistake of only covering laps in ones and twos rather than staying out for longer sessions. We still enjoyed it, but tourist laps would have worked out cheaper then again the thrill of driving the DH straight at 150+mph was great and something you just can't experience on tourist laps.
During one of the many red flag sessions I had a spending spree in the Ring shop.
This photo a. shows I was trying and b. shows how soft the suspension is still.
Video here, of a less than stellar 8:44 BTG:
Tom was heading back that night, so when I was on track during another red flag at the end of the day he phoned me to say he was heading to the hotel to pack. At least that's what I heard over the noise of a V8, through a crash helmet, in a dodgy signal area and over my car handsfree.
So, I finish my lap and head back to the hotel.
I check with Tom that he'd taken all my bags out of his car (we only had one car out on track at a time) and we have enough time for a drink at the Pistenklause before Tom heads for the channel crossing. Got chatting to some nice guys who I end up joining for Steak that evening.
I decided to head back and did a TF lap which was good fun.
Later that night I get back to the hotel to find I'm missing a bag or two. I phone Tom concerned that he has my bags in his boot, no, he said he'd left them in the Nordschleife car park where we'd been all day! Apparantly that was the message he was trying to leave me earlier. It's dark and locked up, I went to find security, we looked around, no bags and nothing handed in. I realise that I'd lost a lot, passport, house and work keys, Go Pros, sunglasses, my bags from the shop, spare car key, helmet and HANS case, basic tools, hotel bookings and lots more! General panic, wife upset with me, mate stressed out, how do I get back, is my car going to be stolen etc.
I moved my car and disabled it, slept with my window open and didn't get many hours before waking early and going to security and the main office. Nothing handed in still. I cancelled my passport with the consulate (£100) and was told to collect a replacement from Dusseldorf in two to three days time! I needed to get home before then! Bugger! Facebook friends, groups and the Circuit Days staff all did their best to help.
I did at least have my clothes, phone and wallet and decided that moping around wasn't going to help so headed off to Hockenheim as planned, where the track was open for tourist laps. A couple of hours later and I was there, parked up and decided to ask what the form was.
It seems the rules are as per road/Ring with overtaking on the left only, but one driver said forget about that and just keep an eye out from all directions! No helmet, no briefing, pay 20 Euros and off you go for 15 minutes!
My first time there, so a bit of caution at first then started picking off the locals, great fun. Wow, the 'Parabolica' is fast, followed by a very heavy stop for a hairpin. I got chatting to a local who owned an orange Corvette C7 who was going very well in another session I watched.
I tried to keep up with the C7 but he was just that little bit quicker and traffic then made a gap.
As rain started to fall the surface became very greasy and unpredictable (the kerbs are VERY slippery) so I backed off and called it a day. A tell tale vibration signalled another cracked disc!
On the positive side I had a phone call from the Nurburgring office that some bags had been found, although they were unsure if they were mine. It seems a staff member at the Devils Diner had seen the bags at the end of her shift and taken them in. Sadly a message hadn't been given to anyone else and the Diner was closed the next day. A security staff member was dispatched to collect a set of keys and retrieve the bags. So, instead of heading for my planned overnight on the Luxembourg border I headed back to the Ring. That night I was reunited with all my bags, woo hoo. Faith restored in the honesty of the good people who visit the Ring car park. Last minute accommodation booked in Nurburg.
Next morning was crisp and sunny to start with and I made a decision to try my luck at Dunkirk with my now cancelled passport. I put on my best non-shifty look and the cancelled passport scanned just fine and I was home! Bah, £100 wasted and I'd need to buy a new passport too! An eventful trip with a good ending as the car passed 205,000 miles and I had a bit of fun before I got home with a pher in his Lotus Esprit https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I sent a letter of sincere thanks to the relevant staff members at Nurburgring GmbH on my return.
The cracked front discs were standard sized 12.8" EBC dimpled and grooved, pretty small for the size of the car and clearly could hack the 145mph to 30mph Hockheim stops. I'd fitted Z51 caliper brackets to the rear axle ages ago so now could do the same to the front, this just spaces the caliper out more.
I opted for the same EBC discs but this time in the larger 13.4" Z51 size.
Old 12.8"
New 13.4" Z51
The calipers hold fluid perfectly but the outer rubber seals are now toast.
The Mintex F4R pads have been mighty over the past year, just brilliant on road and track and had enough meat on them to use them on the new discs (I know you shouldn't). I reversed them to even out the taper that is fairly typical with the two piston caliper design.
Early November brought a private trackday at Donington.
Wet to start with, dry by the afternoon.
Not very tidy, but some good fun hooning. A mighty cloud of smoke exiting the chicane late in the afternoon and I pulled off on the grass. I was towed back to the garage, pleased that the towing strap I fitted held up (US Corvettes don't have a provision for towing like this). A hose popped off the power steering cooler, spraying oil everywhere, what a mess.
It could have been me not tightening the hose enough or possibly that the hose is a fraction too large to fit on the barbed Mocal fittings. No damage done, refilled the reservoir and drove home.
I had noticed a smaller leak from a union on the hose coming from the pump, so out it all came again to be replaced by the newer design hose, along with a thorough clean up.
Later that week (!) was a North Weald handling day with a few guys from the Corvette Club UK, through Lotus On Track.
A cold and foggy start, pretty dry though. The afternoon saw my best times from the previous year improve by more than two seconds. A combination of the slight handling upgrades and grippy Yokohama AD08-R contributed to this.
I was locked into a battle for 2nd/3rd best times with a supercharged Lotus, of which there were a few. In the end I finished 2nd overall, hoorah, all good fun with a degree of stop watch error of course.
The winner by a clear margin was the same gentleman and McLaren 720S who won the sprint my father and I had entered at Snetterton. We chatted some more and he took me out as a passenger for his final run of the day. Wow, what an incredible car, well driven, with the race mode helping control the power; it made my car feel slow!
A slight rubbing on the drive back to Wiltshire indicated the pads were due a replacement. A visual inspection through the wheel showed pad material remaining but the metal studs were just showing on one pad.
In case Mintex couldn't supply me a new pair in time (they kindly make the F4R for me) I bought and fitted a set of EBC's new RP-1 pads. It should make for a good comparison.
At the end of September I set about changing the old, leaking steering rack with the reconditioned one that arrived from Turn One, plus the uprated pump. Having removed the rack a number of times now I've got quicker but it's still a pig of a job that takes me hours.
Interesting that they have cured the potential for a leak around the position sensor with a bigger blob of putty than I'd tried!
In mid October my mate Tom (Z4M Coupe) and I headed over to the Nurburgring for the Circuit Days trackday. I've visited the Ring most years since 2005, but only for single TF laps rather than a private trackday (therefore I still don't know which way the track goes!). The trip over the day before was uneventful, although a surprise brake fluid change for the BMW on arrival was a hell of a rush before the briefing!
The obligatory Steak on a Stone photo.
I washed the car in the dark, filling up a plastic tub from the shower!
The day was dry and bright, although the dampness on the ground caught out many, many people, with red flags throughout the day.
It meant we didn't complete many laps and made the mistake of only covering laps in ones and twos rather than staying out for longer sessions. We still enjoyed it, but tourist laps would have worked out cheaper then again the thrill of driving the DH straight at 150+mph was great and something you just can't experience on tourist laps.
During one of the many red flag sessions I had a spending spree in the Ring shop.
This photo a. shows I was trying and b. shows how soft the suspension is still.
Video here, of a less than stellar 8:44 BTG:
Tom was heading back that night, so when I was on track during another red flag at the end of the day he phoned me to say he was heading to the hotel to pack. At least that's what I heard over the noise of a V8, through a crash helmet, in a dodgy signal area and over my car handsfree.
So, I finish my lap and head back to the hotel.
I check with Tom that he'd taken all my bags out of his car (we only had one car out on track at a time) and we have enough time for a drink at the Pistenklause before Tom heads for the channel crossing. Got chatting to some nice guys who I end up joining for Steak that evening.
I decided to head back and did a TF lap which was good fun.
Later that night I get back to the hotel to find I'm missing a bag or two. I phone Tom concerned that he has my bags in his boot, no, he said he'd left them in the Nordschleife car park where we'd been all day! Apparantly that was the message he was trying to leave me earlier. It's dark and locked up, I went to find security, we looked around, no bags and nothing handed in. I realise that I'd lost a lot, passport, house and work keys, Go Pros, sunglasses, my bags from the shop, spare car key, helmet and HANS case, basic tools, hotel bookings and lots more! General panic, wife upset with me, mate stressed out, how do I get back, is my car going to be stolen etc.
I moved my car and disabled it, slept with my window open and didn't get many hours before waking early and going to security and the main office. Nothing handed in still. I cancelled my passport with the consulate (£100) and was told to collect a replacement from Dusseldorf in two to three days time! I needed to get home before then! Bugger! Facebook friends, groups and the Circuit Days staff all did their best to help.
I did at least have my clothes, phone and wallet and decided that moping around wasn't going to help so headed off to Hockenheim as planned, where the track was open for tourist laps. A couple of hours later and I was there, parked up and decided to ask what the form was.
It seems the rules are as per road/Ring with overtaking on the left only, but one driver said forget about that and just keep an eye out from all directions! No helmet, no briefing, pay 20 Euros and off you go for 15 minutes!
My first time there, so a bit of caution at first then started picking off the locals, great fun. Wow, the 'Parabolica' is fast, followed by a very heavy stop for a hairpin. I got chatting to a local who owned an orange Corvette C7 who was going very well in another session I watched.
I tried to keep up with the C7 but he was just that little bit quicker and traffic then made a gap.
As rain started to fall the surface became very greasy and unpredictable (the kerbs are VERY slippery) so I backed off and called it a day. A tell tale vibration signalled another cracked disc!
On the positive side I had a phone call from the Nurburgring office that some bags had been found, although they were unsure if they were mine. It seems a staff member at the Devils Diner had seen the bags at the end of her shift and taken them in. Sadly a message hadn't been given to anyone else and the Diner was closed the next day. A security staff member was dispatched to collect a set of keys and retrieve the bags. So, instead of heading for my planned overnight on the Luxembourg border I headed back to the Ring. That night I was reunited with all my bags, woo hoo. Faith restored in the honesty of the good people who visit the Ring car park. Last minute accommodation booked in Nurburg.
Next morning was crisp and sunny to start with and I made a decision to try my luck at Dunkirk with my now cancelled passport. I put on my best non-shifty look and the cancelled passport scanned just fine and I was home! Bah, £100 wasted and I'd need to buy a new passport too! An eventful trip with a good ending as the car passed 205,000 miles and I had a bit of fun before I got home with a pher in his Lotus Esprit https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I sent a letter of sincere thanks to the relevant staff members at Nurburgring GmbH on my return.
The cracked front discs were standard sized 12.8" EBC dimpled and grooved, pretty small for the size of the car and clearly could hack the 145mph to 30mph Hockheim stops. I'd fitted Z51 caliper brackets to the rear axle ages ago so now could do the same to the front, this just spaces the caliper out more.
I opted for the same EBC discs but this time in the larger 13.4" Z51 size.
Old 12.8"
New 13.4" Z51
The calipers hold fluid perfectly but the outer rubber seals are now toast.
The Mintex F4R pads have been mighty over the past year, just brilliant on road and track and had enough meat on them to use them on the new discs (I know you shouldn't). I reversed them to even out the taper that is fairly typical with the two piston caliper design.
Early November brought a private trackday at Donington.
Wet to start with, dry by the afternoon.
Not very tidy, but some good fun hooning. A mighty cloud of smoke exiting the chicane late in the afternoon and I pulled off on the grass. I was towed back to the garage, pleased that the towing strap I fitted held up (US Corvettes don't have a provision for towing like this). A hose popped off the power steering cooler, spraying oil everywhere, what a mess.
It could have been me not tightening the hose enough or possibly that the hose is a fraction too large to fit on the barbed Mocal fittings. No damage done, refilled the reservoir and drove home.
I had noticed a smaller leak from a union on the hose coming from the pump, so out it all came again to be replaced by the newer design hose, along with a thorough clean up.
Later that week (!) was a North Weald handling day with a few guys from the Corvette Club UK, through Lotus On Track.
A cold and foggy start, pretty dry though. The afternoon saw my best times from the previous year improve by more than two seconds. A combination of the slight handling upgrades and grippy Yokohama AD08-R contributed to this.
I was locked into a battle for 2nd/3rd best times with a supercharged Lotus, of which there were a few. In the end I finished 2nd overall, hoorah, all good fun with a degree of stop watch error of course.
The winner by a clear margin was the same gentleman and McLaren 720S who won the sprint my father and I had entered at Snetterton. We chatted some more and he took me out as a passenger for his final run of the day. Wow, what an incredible car, well driven, with the race mode helping control the power; it made my car feel slow!
A slight rubbing on the drive back to Wiltshire indicated the pads were due a replacement. A visual inspection through the wheel showed pad material remaining but the metal studs were just showing on one pad.
In case Mintex couldn't supply me a new pair in time (they kindly make the F4R for me) I bought and fitted a set of EBC's new RP-1 pads. It should make for a good comparison.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 11th June 17:31
After some light ribbing from my mate Tom about the wonky exhaust tips I looked into getting them more even. You are mostly at the mercy of the rear exhaust rubbers, but forum users report that even with new ones it's still difficult to get them aligned. Therefore a bodge has been adopted by some owners.
This consists of a stainless jubilee clip around the old rubber hangers, with a couple of cable ties just to keep it in place. It did the job, although it doesn't look pretty from underneath, I now have four perfectly aligned tips.
A slight rattling over uneven ground point to worn drop links. The alloy items fitted were not original fit, but were nice quality, just past their best. I set of heavier, steel, Moog units eliminated the rattles and have grease nipples fitted for the occasional lubing.
Finally, to bring things up to date, we have another seat saga!
The standard, leather seats were comfy but needed rebuilding, had no lateral support and you can't use them with harnesses. I first tried my Mazda RX-8 Cobra race seat on two different subframes (supportive but not comfortable on a long journey), Corsa VXR Recaros, lovely, but too big for the car and then an OMP Style seat (too high and too flimsy). I was getting frustrated with fitting difficulties and wasted money.
Corbeau make a seat specifically for the tight confines of C5 and C6 Corvette, called the Evolution X. These are a road biased sports seat, fixed back position on sliders and a Corvette specific subframe. They have shoulder holes to allow a 4 point harness. Not available to buy off the shelf in the UK and wanting to find a proven solution I ordered a pair of Evolution X seats (with optional red stitching) from the States (TPS Motorsports $799 +subframes) to be sent to my PO Box in Florida, (MyUS.com). Free shipping in the States, so far so good.
I then had a quote for $1250 to fly them across to England! After considering returning them, having another courier collect from the MyUS depot in the end they got the quote down, but it was still a considerable amount. Lesson learned that MyUS is brilliant for saving money on cross Atlantic shipping for most items except the largest and heaviest.
On arrival they look the part, sure, they are vinyl not leather but the finish is very good, considerably better than some of the cheap sports seats I'd seen advertised online and the subframes and sliders are sturdy and of the right angles. Let's hope they fit as we're taking the Corvette to Southern Spain for Christmas to stay with my inlaws and I'm running out of time.
This consists of a stainless jubilee clip around the old rubber hangers, with a couple of cable ties just to keep it in place. It did the job, although it doesn't look pretty from underneath, I now have four perfectly aligned tips.
A slight rattling over uneven ground point to worn drop links. The alloy items fitted were not original fit, but were nice quality, just past their best. I set of heavier, steel, Moog units eliminated the rattles and have grease nipples fitted for the occasional lubing.
Finally, to bring things up to date, we have another seat saga!
The standard, leather seats were comfy but needed rebuilding, had no lateral support and you can't use them with harnesses. I first tried my Mazda RX-8 Cobra race seat on two different subframes (supportive but not comfortable on a long journey), Corsa VXR Recaros, lovely, but too big for the car and then an OMP Style seat (too high and too flimsy). I was getting frustrated with fitting difficulties and wasted money.
Corbeau make a seat specifically for the tight confines of C5 and C6 Corvette, called the Evolution X. These are a road biased sports seat, fixed back position on sliders and a Corvette specific subframe. They have shoulder holes to allow a 4 point harness. Not available to buy off the shelf in the UK and wanting to find a proven solution I ordered a pair of Evolution X seats (with optional red stitching) from the States (TPS Motorsports $799 +subframes) to be sent to my PO Box in Florida, (MyUS.com). Free shipping in the States, so far so good.
I then had a quote for $1250 to fly them across to England! After considering returning them, having another courier collect from the MyUS depot in the end they got the quote down, but it was still a considerable amount. Lesson learned that MyUS is brilliant for saving money on cross Atlantic shipping for most items except the largest and heaviest.
On arrival they look the part, sure, they are vinyl not leather but the finish is very good, considerably better than some of the cheap sports seats I'd seen advertised online and the subframes and sliders are sturdy and of the right angles. Let's hope they fit as we're taking the Corvette to Southern Spain for Christmas to stay with my inlaws and I'm running out of time.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Wednesday 18th December 17:14
xjay1337 said:
Thought i saw this at the Ring in October :-)
Regarding your cracked discs, given you like to do track days and other performance driving, you may benefit moving to grooved discs instead of drilled.
Regarding your cracked discs, given you like to do track days and other performance driving, you may benefit moving to grooved discs instead of drilled.
You're right, the original drilled discs were hopeless and cracked very quickly. Since changing to dimpled and grooved they've been more robust and when this front disc did crack it didn't start from the dimple. Next up I will either upgrade to a big brake kit (that involves new alloys or spacers and ££££) or a 2 piece disc with grooves only. What car were you driving?
Edited by Fishy Dave on Wednesday 18th December 17:14
In readiness for the 2020 trackday and sprint season I started looking for another set of wheels. I like the design of the standard alloys (18 x 8.5 front and 19 x 10 rear), the chrome finish and they have a decent balance between weight and strength. However, they leave no clearance for bigger front brake calipers. As I'm doing this on a budget I couldn't justify £1200 in a set of TSW Interlagos plus £1500+ for Wilwood's or AP's. So, I thought I'd look for another set of standard wheels in Europe, they are bound to be cheap enough? No, they are bloomin expensive and rare.
A wanted advert on the US Corvette forum came up trumps (pun) and I bought a set of polished wheels (not as bright as the chrome I have) for the princely sum of $175. The gentleman (Steve) was friendly and helpful, boxed them up and I had them collected from his house in South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon and they arrived with me today, less than 48 hours later! Total cost including the wheels, shipping and duty was less than £500, a bargain for such tidy rims.
I've carried on chatting to the seller of the wheels, he has a lovely C2 that he bought in the early 1980s as well as this C6 Coupe like mine.
Just got to decide what tyres to go for now.....
A wanted advert on the US Corvette forum came up trumps (pun) and I bought a set of polished wheels (not as bright as the chrome I have) for the princely sum of $175. The gentleman (Steve) was friendly and helpful, boxed them up and I had them collected from his house in South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon and they arrived with me today, less than 48 hours later! Total cost including the wheels, shipping and duty was less than £500, a bargain for such tidy rims.
I've carried on chatting to the seller of the wheels, he has a lovely C2 that he bought in the early 1980s as well as this C6 Coupe like mine.
Just got to decide what tyres to go for now.....
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