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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (track prepared)
C3 of Year Winner (track prepared) 2019
Do not buy aftermarket carbon fiber brake ducts for the Z06
The title state is all but there is a vendor who supplies carbon fiber brake ducts for our cars, generally well regarded in the aftermarket world. Do not buy these highly expensive, carbon fiber ducts for the C7 Z06 unless you want to end up with broken, duct-taped junk.
Early on, I tried calling them to see if they could come to a solution as I ordered the same day they released the product. With no response for many weeks, I then removed them and again called to work out a deal on a refund due to a defective product, but was always passed off while they waited on an answer from the owner. I have emailed no less than 8 times trying to resolve the issue, but they apparently do not care.
With factory Z06 wheels, you will rub on the duct at full lock and because these are made of expensive carbon fiber, they will crack! I had no intentions of posting anything negative about the duct or the company but when they refuse to address a poorly made product, I am left with no choice. If I save just one person from buying these, I've done all I can.
Rub marks right after being installed when I started emailing about the rubbing issue to see if they knew and/or were working on a resolution.
And this is what happens after you drive the car a bit. It is next to impossible to fully avoid going full lock at all times. I purchased these to track the car and in a tight paddock it is even more difficult to navigate around race cars and trailers, pull into pit lane all the while never touching the brake ducts with your tire.
Completely broken with pieces falling off
This side is very close to having the same gaping hole as the other.
Here lies $1,500 worth of uselessness not to mention the front OEM ducts I had to cut and subsequently replace once this was removed.
Don't make the same mistake a few of us did with these. Buy the GM supplemental 2017 ducts if anything.
If this ever gets resolved by the vendor, my post will magically disappear (assuming a mod doesn't get a complaint and do it before that time.)
I don't see how you can hold them responsible for the ducts cracking when the driver can avoid the situation just by not turning the steering quite as far as before. Over the years I have had brake ducts from several different suppliers on various cars and all of them had the same problem. The vendor did respond quickly with a solution that every body was clamoring for and you should have seen the potential to break them while they were being installed.
I broke mine and used some tape to hold them together for a few track days but then talked to the supplier and asked them how they solved the problem. They told me to sand them down and apply a fiber glass patch to the broken areas which I did (purchased from Amazon). I broke them again and decided the best way to avoid issues was to remove them when the car wasn't at the track. Since then I haven't broken them any more. The vendor is in the process of building steering stops to be added to the steering rack. Home made steering stops were what resolved a lot of brake duct clearance issues with the C5s when DRM came out with their duct extension kit.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (track prepared)
C3 of Year Winner (track prepared) 2019
Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
I don't see how you can hold them responsible for the ducts cracking when the driver can avoid the situation just by not turning the steering quite as far as before. Over the years I have had brake ducts from several different suppliers on various cars and all of them had the same problem. The vendor did respond quickly with a solution that every body was clamoring for and you should have seen the potential to break them while they were being installed.
I broke mine and used some tape to hold them together for a few track days but then talked to the supplier and asked them how they solved the problem. They told me to sand them down and apply a fiber glass patch to the broken areas which I did (purchased from Amazon). I broke them again and decided the best way to avoid issues was to remove them when the car wasn't at the track. Since then I haven't broken them any more. The vendor is in the process of building steering stops to be added to the steering rack. Home made steering stops were what resolved a lot of brake duct clearance issues with the C5s when DRM came out with their duct extension kit.
Bill
Really Bill.... That is almost laughable! To buy a part, marketed as a "bolt-on" install for stock wheel cars, and have it destroyed driving under 100% normal conditions is not acceptable. No where in the instructions, in their posts, or their online site did it state, do not turn wheel at full lock as you may damage the duct. I am not aware of a single person who purchased these and did not crack them so to say you can avoid it by not turning the wheel that far is a bit disingenuous. I know you track your car frequently so you and I both know that there are times when navigating a paddock you have to make some pretty tight turns. If these required steering stops, they should have been included.
Not only do the ducts crack, making them useless, many have reported serious rotor cracking issue due to the fact that the air blows directly on the rotor face!!! How is that acceptable? The air should go into the hat, not the rotor surface. I'm sorry, but to say we, as consumers, should not hold this manufacturer responsible for their product short-comings is absurd. All I wanted was a refund, even if only partial, which would have been okay by me. To get zero response and only get pushed off every time I inquired is poor customer service. I had intentions of buying their lowering spindles, but will not do so at this point based on principal. They lost a customer with me over something simple.
Really Bill.... That is almost laughable! To buy a part, marketed as a "bolt-on" install for stock wheel cars, and have it destroyed driving under 100% normal conditions is not acceptable. No where in the instructions, in their posts, or their online site did it state, do not turn wheel at full lock as you may damage the duct. I am not aware of a single person who purchased these and did not crack them so to say you can avoid it by not turning the wheel that far is a bit disingenuous. I know you track your car frequently so you and I both know that there are times when navigating a paddock you have to make some pretty tight turns. If these required steering stops, they should have been included.
Not only do the ducts crack, making them useless, many have reported serious rotor cracking issue due to the fact that the air blows directly on the rotor face!!! How is that acceptable? The air should go into the hat, not the rotor surface. I'm sorry, but to say we, as consumers, should not hold this manufacturer responsible for their product short-comings is absurd. All I wanted was a refund, even if only partial, which would have been okay by me. To get zero response and only get pushed off every time I inquired is poor customer service. I had intentions of buying their lowering spindles, but will not do so at this point based on principal. They lost a customer with me over something simple.
I'm not trying to be an ***. I just feel like these sort of things should be addressed.
Not at all, just would like to see how this all turns out. Seems to me the lack of response from the vendor may be at the root. I don't think spending good money & then being ignored would put me in a happy holiday mood.
Bill,
Technical contributor has to do better than this. Is there a degree measurement that you memorize? is there a mark you put on the wheel? Do you count turns. There could be a little more notice/warning about rubbing. A vendor invested money, made some assumptions and the design is heavy interference. Vendor want's to get his money out so leaves all experience on the buyer. This is a painful process in the aftermarket world. But, turn the wheel a little less. These appear to be much thicker than the brake ducts I've seen and use with minimal rubbing with 315 tires up front. Edit add: I admit that I opened this thread to see why someone would every title don't ever do this...Not all products are created equally. There are certainly proven brake ducts.
Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
I don't see how you can hold them responsible for the ducts cracking when the driver can avoid the situation just by not turning the steering quite as far as before. Over the years I have had brake ducts from several different suppliers on various cars and all of them had the same problem. The vendor did respond quickly with a solution that every body was clamoring for and you should have seen the potential to break them while they were being installed.
I broke mine and used some tape to hold them together for a few track days but then talked to the supplier and asked them how they solved the problem. They told me to sand them down and apply a fiber glass patch to the broken areas which I did (purchased from Amazon). I broke them again and decided the best way to avoid issues was to remove them when the car wasn't at the track. Since then I haven't broken them any more. The vendor is in the process of building steering stops to be added to the steering rack. Home made steering stops were what resolved a lot of brake duct clearance issues with the C5s when DRM came out with their duct extension kit.
Bill
Last edited by 1badtantrum; 11-30-2016 at 11:46 PM.
I agree with Eric, if you are running STOCK wheels, there should be zero issues, Or at least a warning in the instructions that STOCK wheels may rub the duct. And no reply from the company???
1. Sucks that they cracked. I would be pissed as well with stock wheels. Unless there is a part of the story that we just don't know about.
2. Why CF brake ducts?? I guess light and strong but only strong one way right? Again, sucks.
3. This is where it pays to have others as guinea pigs. New products to market almost always go through slight revisions as the years pass. Maybe not much QA was done on these.
I have to add that using CF for this part is just dumb. There is no real weight savings, maybe 1/2 a pound. It's not going to be durable, and $1500 is insane! I added the C6Z ducts, and spindles, and hoses to my Z51 for about $200 for everything! The tire rubs but it's harmless, and if it gets a hole I'll tape it up or just go buy a new duct for $28!
I have to add that using CF for this part is just dumb. There is no real weight savings, maybe 1/2 a pound. It's not going to be durable, and $1500 is insane! I added the C6Z ducts, and spindles, and hoses to my Z51 for about $200 for everything! The tire rubs but it's harmless, and if it gets a hole I'll tape it up or just go buy a new duct for $28!
Sometimes you just have to be smart, not everything has to be CF, especially under the car.
11-30-2016, 04:30 PM
Do not buy aftermarket carbon fiber brake ducts for the Z06
Again, sucks.
