Car54

Update: See post #5 for the epic failure of the Wheel Blockers


I have already installed the new for 2017 Z06 lower control arm brake ducts on my 2015 Z51. That install went well and everything fit and it looks like it will funnel more air to the rotor.

Then I installed the Wheel Blockers. Yes they do fit....however...it raises several issues.

This is a picture before the installation. You will notice that the dust shield that has to be removed is mostly covering the lower control arm ball joint boot. This would keep most of the heat from the rotor off the boot and keep it from melting on the track.




However, the dust shield must be removed to install the wheel blocker and this is what it looks like when you do that. You will notice that the boot is now completely exposed and you will need to wrap it.





In this picture I wrapped it with header wrap. If the boot melts, then you have to replace the whole LCA because (at least for the C6) there is no GM part number for just the ball joint.:




So, then I installed the rotor and this is what it looks like. You will notice that you can see the slots in the wheel blocker at the top of the rotor. It looks like I am about an inch short of being able to cover up the slots. I have been looking for that extra inch since shortly after puberty and still have not found it. However, I suspect that the wheel blockers will be much more effective with the 14.6 inch Z06 rotors vs the 13.6 inch Z51 rotors.




It is difficult to see but you may be able to notice in this picture with the wheel installed that it comes within a hair of touching the inside of the wheel....which it is supposed to do I guess and thus the name...wheel blocker.




We will see how it survives after VIR next Monday-Tuesday.

Stingray Al

What are wheel blockers? What is the purpose?

Thanks
AL

VERBOTEN

Subscribed, I have these sitting on the work bench and upgrading by Z51 to Z06 calipers and rotors.

daleong

Its supposed to keep the cooling air from the brake ducts from bypassing the rotor and going out the wheel. That's how I understand it.

Car54

So in my last post I famously said we will see how they survive VIR. Well they did not survive in a really big way. There were two big issues.

The first can be seen here in a picture of the wheel. You can see that the outside half of the wheel is dirty and the inside of the half is clean which means the wheel blocker did its job of blocking. That is a good thing but you will also notice that there is a groove that has been cut into the wheel. Apparently when the blocker gets hot it expanded and impacted the wheel.





The second issue was that one of the bolts holding the blocker to the knuckle backed out, impacted the rotor, cut a big deep groove in the rotor and eventually sheered off the bolt but since there was not enough clearance to just drop out it stayed in the area between the blocker and rotor and did more damage.

This is a pic of the blocker with the bolt sheered off.





This is the bolt head





And this is the damage to the rotor




So why did the wheel blocker impact the wheel? It is the same diameter as the Z06 wheel it was designed for and therefore I would suspect that every Z06 that installs these will have the same issue. The bolt backing out can probably be solved by using threadlocker maybe. The bolts holding the dust shield that the blocker replaced did not have threadlocker and the bolts that were supplied with the blocker did not have threadlocker. They were all torqued to specs....but...did I miss this one? maybe...anything is possible.


The bottom line is DON'T INSTALL WHEEL BLOCKERS unless you want grooves in your nice black wheels.

Z06 1of38

Because, racecar?

VERBOTEN

Wow, I really don't understand how that interfered with your wheel? I still plan to install mine as soon as my Z06 calipers arrive, but will be sure to locktite everything. Didn't you hear it grinding?

Do you feel that the brakes were in fact cooled better?

Rooster OG

Geez that's bad. I can only imagine it was screeching really loudly, you didn't hear anything?

Car54

Did I notice any noise...screeching??? I did hear noise as I pulled into the garage at VIR at the end of the final marathon 41min session of 17 laps. But when I looked at the wheels I saw that they were scratched so I figured it was the wheel blocker impacting the wheel. Since the damage to the wheel was already done and it was time to go home I did not take them off and instead opted to drive back home first. Turns out the source of the noise was most likely the second thing going on....the bolt backing out and impacting the rotor. When I got back and found the bolt had backed out, I really thought that I had not torqued it. Then when I went to the drivers side I discovered that the same bolt on that side was beginning to back out as well. Could I have missed both of them??? maybe but doubtful. When I put the dust shield back on I used blue loctite.

and did the addition of the wheel blockers help with braking. I also added the additional lower control arm brake ducts and I think that the combination did improve the feel of the brakes. No fade even after 17 laps.

Rheology

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I'm thinking of doing this and its the only one ive found - is it possible the bolt sheared first and then caused the shield to be loose and score the wheel?

Rheology

FWIW a 500 degree increase on a 17 inch disc should only expand about 1/16"

Car54

TBF

CAR 54, Do you mind giving a little feedback on installing the Z06 front air ducts?
Thanks

Car54

I am thinking you are referencing the "track only" additional brake ducts that came in the trunk of new 2017 and up Z06s. The hardest part of installing them was trying to figure out what is right and what is left and how they fit together. I thought I had documented the actual part numbers for each side but cannot find them. Once you figure out how they fit together it is not hard. Take the wheel off and the existing big deflector and then install the new additional duct and deflector. Here is a thread I found that might provide some insight.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...017-z06-4.html

I and many others leave the ducts installed on the street as well as the track. I do not leave the "wheel blockers" installed however.

thanks

bill

Edit. I was smarter than I thought...just slower. I did document what parts are right and left in post 24 in this thread. Hope this helps.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-2017-a-2.html