One Year Report Card
06-23-2010, 10:14 PM
#1
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St. Jude Donor '13
One Year Report Card
Exactly one year since purchase, odometer today 19,221
Background:
We did a Museum Delivery on our 2001 Coupe, traded it for Museum Delivery on a 2006 Coupe that we intended to keep forever. But I T-Boned a clueless geezer a year later, the repairs finally got done correctly but I had bad emotional vibes after that, and really lusted for the improvements on the newer cars.
Last Spring, every day's mail brought another discount offer from GM. Even though the order pipeline was closed (no Museum Delivery this time), Jeff Hardy's site allowed me to find the car we wanted in NC. The dealer gave us a great price and the offer to test drive both of the identical new cars he'd had on the lot for eight months, pick which one I wanted. I flew out there, made the deal, and took the back roads home.
Two weeks later we headed out with two other couples from our club on a 4,400 mile road trip to the Black Hills Corvette Classic, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and lots of other places along the way. Had a great time. Ran the car hard but still got 25.3 mpg, only .5 mpg less than our 2006 did on the same trip previously.
We still had the Goodyear A/S runflats from our 2006 on a set of wheels, so in January we installed those for a two month trip to Florida. Plus a zillion local club trips and grocery runs.
Things I like:
>The extra power of the LS3 + performance axle is surprising. I love it.
>Steering is both lighter and more precise. I love it.
>The quicker shifts and "blip for downshift" on the A6 are great. I love it.
>The NPP Exhaust + MTW (wife calls it "high school kid switch") is great. As you guessed, I love it.
Things I'm not sure about:
>We got the Cashmere interior this time instead of Titanium. I like the brightness but it needs more cleaning and the lighter color makes the low quality leather more obvious.
>"All Corvettes are Red", and this is our third red one in a row. Sometimes I wonder if I should have got a different color, or Crystal Red. Other days, I love it.
>Bluetooth is nice but the system can't understand me at higher speeds because of background noise.
Problems:
>The transparent top already had crazing and distortion on the lot, and the popping drove me crazy on the trip home. Hometown dealer replaced the top under warranty, new one still makes some noise even after adjustments and lube.
>The new style fob is a major PITA, stuff in my pocket was setting off the panic alarm once or twice a day compared to once a month on our 2006. I finally made a fob cover that protects the buttons.
>Letting off the gas at 60 mph causes a slight shudder that several other folks have also reported. But the burble and pop from the NPP makes up for it.
>Alignment was out of spec, but I always get a warranty alignment on a new 'vette.
>Glove box light stayed on, and outside trunk release died. New switches for both (cleaning trunk switch did not help).
>Rear axle nuts got loose, dealer did replacement with Loctite.
Statistically, 5 warranty repairs in the first year is not good. But this one is much better than our 2006 so I'm happy.
Items transferred from our previous car to this one:
>Cocamats (black & gray) in front. Cashmere carpets are a joke.
>Lloyds gray trunk mat.
>GM storage pouches behind front seats. Very useful.
>Valentine hardwired w/ display on steering column.
>Cobra 75 CB, speaker, and removable outside antenna (for club cruises & interstate info).
New mods:
>MTW foot switch. Great.
>Cheetah C100 Speed Camera/Redlight camera GPS. Seems ok.
>PAL + Ipod using Kawal's harness. Now, XM sleeps with the fishes.
>Blockit sound mat. Works fairly well, makes Blose sound acceptable.
Finally, a big THANK YOU to all the people on this Forum who have helped me to understand, maintain, and enjoy our Corvettes. You guys are the greatest!
Background:
We did a Museum Delivery on our 2001 Coupe, traded it for Museum Delivery on a 2006 Coupe that we intended to keep forever. But I T-Boned a clueless geezer a year later, the repairs finally got done correctly but I had bad emotional vibes after that, and really lusted for the improvements on the newer cars.
Last Spring, every day's mail brought another discount offer from GM. Even though the order pipeline was closed (no Museum Delivery this time), Jeff Hardy's site allowed me to find the car we wanted in NC. The dealer gave us a great price and the offer to test drive both of the identical new cars he'd had on the lot for eight months, pick which one I wanted. I flew out there, made the deal, and took the back roads home.
Two weeks later we headed out with two other couples from our club on a 4,400 mile road trip to the Black Hills Corvette Classic, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and lots of other places along the way. Had a great time. Ran the car hard but still got 25.3 mpg, only .5 mpg less than our 2006 did on the same trip previously.
We still had the Goodyear A/S runflats from our 2006 on a set of wheels, so in January we installed those for a two month trip to Florida. Plus a zillion local club trips and grocery runs.
Things I like:
>The extra power of the LS3 + performance axle is surprising. I love it.
>Steering is both lighter and more precise. I love it.
>The quicker shifts and "blip for downshift" on the A6 are great. I love it.
>The NPP Exhaust + MTW (wife calls it "high school kid switch") is great. As you guessed, I love it.
Things I'm not sure about:
>We got the Cashmere interior this time instead of Titanium. I like the brightness but it needs more cleaning and the lighter color makes the low quality leather more obvious.
>"All Corvettes are Red", and this is our third red one in a row. Sometimes I wonder if I should have got a different color, or Crystal Red. Other days, I love it.
>Bluetooth is nice but the system can't understand me at higher speeds because of background noise.
Problems:
>The transparent top already had crazing and distortion on the lot, and the popping drove me crazy on the trip home. Hometown dealer replaced the top under warranty, new one still makes some noise even after adjustments and lube.
>The new style fob is a major PITA, stuff in my pocket was setting off the panic alarm once or twice a day compared to once a month on our 2006. I finally made a fob cover that protects the buttons.
>Letting off the gas at 60 mph causes a slight shudder that several other folks have also reported. But the burble and pop from the NPP makes up for it.
>Alignment was out of spec, but I always get a warranty alignment on a new 'vette.
>Glove box light stayed on, and outside trunk release died. New switches for both (cleaning trunk switch did not help).
>Rear axle nuts got loose, dealer did replacement with Loctite.
Statistically, 5 warranty repairs in the first year is not good. But this one is much better than our 2006 so I'm happy.
Items transferred from our previous car to this one:
>Cocamats (black & gray) in front. Cashmere carpets are a joke.
>Lloyds gray trunk mat.
>GM storage pouches behind front seats. Very useful.
>Valentine hardwired w/ display on steering column.
>Cobra 75 CB, speaker, and removable outside antenna (for club cruises & interstate info).
New mods:
>MTW foot switch. Great.
>Cheetah C100 Speed Camera/Redlight camera GPS. Seems ok.
>PAL + Ipod using Kawal's harness. Now, XM sleeps with the fishes.
>Blockit sound mat. Works fairly well, makes Blose sound acceptable.
Finally, a big THANK YOU to all the people on this Forum who have helped me to understand, maintain, and enjoy our Corvettes. You guys are the greatest!
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; 06-24-2010 at 12:34 PM.
06-23-2010, 10:28 PM
#2
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St. Jude Donor '13
Here's some pics:
"Pavement Ends" in NC
Stopped at the NCM
The Gearhead in the Badlands
Dodging buffalo in Yellowstone
Rt 14 Granite Pass in WY
After only two hrs in NE; bugs & dead bird.
"Pavement Ends" in NC
Stopped at the NCM
The Gearhead in the Badlands
Dodging buffalo in Yellowstone
Rt 14 Granite Pass in WY
After only two hrs in NE; bugs & dead bird.
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; 06-24-2010 at 12:25 PM.
06-23-2010, 10:30 PM
#3
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St. Jude Donor '13
More:
Florida, note the 2006 wheels w/ AS tires
Mrs. Gearhead enjoying the ponies
When it won't fit in the normal cars...
Livin' the Dream!
Florida, note the 2006 wheels w/ AS tires
Mrs. Gearhead enjoying the ponies
When it won't fit in the normal cars...
Livin' the Dream!
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; 06-23-2010 at 10:44 PM.
06-24-2010, 12:15 PM
#10
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St. Jude Donor '13
Couldn't you find another car to try and shove that amour in? 
[/QUOTE]
It wouldn't fit in either of our "normal" cars.
We just use a lot of padding and a bungee to hold the hatch from bouncing. Never any damage.
We hauled a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in the C5 several times, looks like it would also work in the C6.
Yes, it would be nice to have a van.
[/QUOTE]It wouldn't fit in either of our "normal" cars.
We just use a lot of padding and a bungee to hold the hatch from bouncing. Never any damage.
We hauled a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in the C5 several times, looks like it would also work in the C6.
Yes, it would be nice to have a van.
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; 06-24-2010 at 12:31 PM.
06-24-2010, 12:33 PM
#11
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St. Jude Donor '13
06-24-2010, 09:40 PM
#13
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St. Jude Donor '13
06-24-2010, 10:09 PM
#14
Life Time NCM #2196
Very good write up and in your first year you have had more issues than we have had in our 20 months and 22k on the clock. We also had the glass top replaced and a ABS sensor replaced
06-25-2010, 03:35 AM
#16
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C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Another "fix" for the fob is a small piece of cellophane tape placed between the buttons and the pc board as an insulator. Cover as many as you want. I never use the buttons, so I covered them all.
06-26-2010, 12:03 PM
#17
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St. Jude Donor '13
Some other items,
Things I like:
The last oil change was over 5k miles ago, even with some hard driving the car has burned about 1/4 qt since then. So it looks like oil consumption is about 1 qt per 20k miles.
Things I'm not sure about:
I re-lubed the top earlier this week. Yesterday we drove down to Bloomington Gold with the top off but put it on for the 40 mile trip home. No noise. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Problems:
Now that the top is quiet, I can hear how much my seat is squeaking. Every time we hit a bump or I push back against the seat, another loud squeak. It seems to be all in the leather, in the upper part of the seatback. The passenger seat does not make any noise at all. Suggestions?
Things I like:
The last oil change was over 5k miles ago, even with some hard driving the car has burned about 1/4 qt since then. So it looks like oil consumption is about 1 qt per 20k miles.
Things I'm not sure about:
I re-lubed the top earlier this week. Yesterday we drove down to Bloomington Gold with the top off but put it on for the 40 mile trip home. No noise. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Problems:
Now that the top is quiet, I can hear how much my seat is squeaking. Every time we hit a bump or I push back against the seat, another loud squeak. It seems to be all in the leather, in the upper part of the seatback. The passenger seat does not make any noise at all. Suggestions?
06-27-2010, 05:15 PM
#18
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St. Jude Donor '11
Some other items,
Things I like:
The last oil change was over 5k miles ago, even with some hard driving the car has burned about 1/4 qt since then. So it looks like oil consumption is about 1 qt per 20k miles.
Things I'm not sure about:
I re-lubed the top earlier this week. Yesterday we drove down to Bloomington Gold with the top off but put it on for the 40 mile trip home. No noise. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Problems:
Now that the top is quiet, I can hear how much my seat is squeaking. Every time we hit a bump or I push back against the seat, another loud squeak. It seems to be all in the leather, in the upper part of the seatback. The passenger seat does not make any noise at all. Suggestions?
Things I like:
The last oil change was over 5k miles ago, even with some hard driving the car has burned about 1/4 qt since then. So it looks like oil consumption is about 1 qt per 20k miles.
Things I'm not sure about:
I re-lubed the top earlier this week. Yesterday we drove down to Bloomington Gold with the top off but put it on for the 40 mile trip home. No noise. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Problems:
Now that the top is quiet, I can hear how much my seat is squeaking. Every time we hit a bump or I push back against the seat, another loud squeak. It seems to be all in the leather, in the upper part of the seatback. The passenger seat does not make any noise at all. Suggestions?
07-08-2010, 08:54 PM
#19
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St. Jude Donor '13
Daughter rented a minivan to take the dresser home. I try to keep our good cars out of The People's Republic of Chicago.