Birddogtwo

Hello all,
I've been holding off buying carpet for my 96 coupe. Is there much difference from one vendor to another? Wilcox has a 20% off coupon and at $599 their carpets are already cheaper than some others. The extra 20% off seems like a great deal. Now having said that, if there is better carpet out there for $100 more I will go with the better carpet.

I know with many products there are only one or 2 manufacturers and many labels.

Does anyone have personal experience with Wilcox carpet or know who makes it for them? The sale ends @ 1159 tonight so I guess if I'm going with this I need to pull the trigger soon. My car is in storage until April so I can't do anything with it until then. Is there a better time of year than now? I started out asking one questions and have now asked 3.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL
Dave

WW7

I purchased carpet from Wilcox about 5 years ago for my 89...The carpet they sell is made by "ACC carpet" and mine has held up well, but I keep my car in a garage so it may not be a far test...I have one friend that keeps his car outside all year long, and he says his ACC carpet started to go down hill after only 2 years...I do know if your going to get any carpet, make sure you get "Mass Backed Carpet", anything else is a waste of money..Also, most of the aftermarket carpet dealers use carpet made by a company called "Dorset"......WW

Here's another company that makes Corvette Carpet...

http://www.stockinteriors.com/items....FURo7AodXUIA3Q
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Birddogtwo

Thanks WW7. That's exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll hold off. Pezter 22 recommended Corvette America and Paul Workman Mid America last month. As I said I can't even see my car until April So I think I'll wait.
Dave

mazdaverx7

What is the bad thing about the Poly backing on the carpet vs. the Mass backing? It appears that the Mass backed carpet has more insulation and would prevent more road noise than the Poly backed carpet. Just wondering as I have been thinking about a new carpet set as well.

Cruisinfanatic

I bought mine from Wilcox, Faded in areas after 2 years and they would do nothing about it.
Same with weatherstrip. Split after a year and they would do nothing about it even though they did call me unsolicited about the problem I reported here. When I called back, they said they'd get back to me. Didn't

WW7

Yes, the mass backed carpet has more "sound deadening" then the poly carpet, but the main thing is the way it fits in the car...The mass backed carpet holds it's shape through out it's life, the poly carpet warps and buckles and looks terrible after a few years, because it doesn't have the backing support or extra thickness to help maintain it's shape..Mass backed carpet isn't usually alot more money , but it is money well spent......WW

Joe C

in defense of willcox, I bought my 85's carpet set from willcox. it came thru as ACC, and has been the car for around 7-8 years now. the car is garage kept, and it seems to be holding up quite well. I only had one installation issue - the main rear hatch piece was just barely long enough to fit. any shorter, and it would have been unusable. remember, willcox doesn't manufacture the carpet or WS, but are just the selling vendor. if you buy carpet directly from corvette America, it will come thru as ACC. the same holds true for the weather stripping - seems to me, it's CRC stripping. the WS has been on the car about 4 years now and seems to be holding up OK. personally, I have never had issues with willcox.

WW7

Joe, like mentioned by both of use, we keep our cars in a garage...Im sure this has alot to do with the carpet staying in good shape, and maybe we are not a good indicator on the quality of the carpet..Once out of the UV light, most things on these cars hold up rather well it seems......WW

aklim

So who makes the best weatherstripping? Sorry for the hijack.

Joe C

WW, w/ the garage kept thing. another factor might be the color. I doubt any aftermarket carpet set would be as good as OEM factory, so most likely, it's something we all have to deal with. carpet care, besides color, might also be a factor. it would be interesting to know where mid-America, ecklers, and some of the other, larger corvette supply houses get their carpet. it would also be interesting to know who the original supplier was to GM.

I bought a set of 85 carpet that originated from summit racing as a return item. the supplier, as indicated on the box was trim parts. the carpet was poly backed. the guy I bought it from paid $50, I paid him $75, and ended up selling it for $100. I thought I could use it as I was installing a dyna-mat type underlayment, but it was gray and not graphite, and rather poor quality. I decided no to go that route. with shipping, I got my money back.

0Willcox Corvette

Acc and ProChoice both buy their yardage from the same mill so the color and the carpet results will be the same between both manufacturers. The difference is going to be the fitment of the carpet. We carry both brands, but prefer and only install ACC in our shop.


Willcox

Birddogtwo

Thanks Wilcox. I did more research and came to the same conclusions from reading other posts. I have a wear spot in the drivers foot well. From what I can find ACC is the better of the "big 3 " Manufacturers. I just don't want to go to the trouble and expense of replacing my carpet only to find I should have stayed with the oem because of fading issues.
Again thank you all for your responses
Dave

Cruisinfanatic

Not sure Wilcox makes anything they sell. But you sell it, you're responsible

0Willcox Corvette

Yes Mike I agree with you on being responsible as long as the time frame is within reason.

We don't make the rear hatch weatherstrip and the warranty on the rear hatch is 1 year from the date of purchase by the manufacturer.

At the time of your post on our sale thread in Sept, the weatherstrip was 1 1/2 years old. The manufacturer will not send out a warranty weatherstrip over 1 year old.

Willcox

0Willcox Corvette

We install only ACC in the shop and have very few issues. When we do they always seem to be willing to work with us. Unfortunately we don't have the same luck with the other manufacturers. We do carry and sell prochoice but for the money difference ACC is best.

When you do buy carpet, go with the mass backed carpet. We won't install poly in the shop and for good reason. The poly is a cheap replacement carpet but you loose so much deadening and heat dissipation.

Happy Holiday's

Willcox

DinoBob

I'd love to know why no one makes carpet as good as OEM.

0Willcox Corvette

Bob- The weight of and threads per inch of the carpet is the same. For us, installation is not that bad but the problem area's depend on the year. On the 84-87 cars the installation of the sill carpets is a chore. Getting the old off is an even larger battle.... that glue is something else getting the carpet off.

What is good is that we have been working with ACC to fix issues that have plagued different years. I know it doesn't affect the C4 cars but so far we've got 65-67 fixed, 68-72, 78-79 and others.. The 2006 which was a chore but it now fits like a glove.

But the C4 carpets really don't have any issues.

Willcox

aklim

What about 91?

0Willcox Corvette

We've not had problems with 91 carpets. C4 cars seem to be better fitting than the earlier cars. There are way more samples available in regards to original carpet sets.

aj1988

About 6 months after I bought my 88 I made the mistake of leaving a 6 pack of soft drinks in the hatch area. Four of the cans exploded and no matter what I did I couldn't get the soda out of the carpet. I didn't have either the time or money to replace the carpet at that time. As a band aid I bought the rear carpet mat in the correct color for my car. It is now 14 years later and except for the color fade from the Texas sun the insert is still in good shape. And it keeps the color in the 'new' carpet I installed in the back about 10 years ago.