too much plastic
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 379
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From: NEWCASTLE
too much plastic
Is it me or has the interior of our cars got too much plastic.Many friends have TVR's over here and they have gorgeous leather covered interiors.My question is this has anyone recovered the rubbery coated plasticy bits on the interior in leather, or any other plastic parts of the interior for that matter,It may also cut the creaks and rattles down a little
Racer
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 283
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From: stanwood wash
....plastic.....
...i have the dash on mine tore out because of a rattle right in front of me to the left of the steering wheel in my 94......so i plan on putting some sort of padding back in there before i go back in there with that piece......it sure is driving me nuts though....
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 13,793
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From: St. Peters MO Sometimes you have to prove yourself by doing alot of killing or alot of dying...
Personally I think the interior of the C4 is perfect for the car. It is not too luxurious, but not too race car-ish. Some of that has changed as the car has evolved, but the plastic components on the new C6 was an ignorant topic of discussion on some gay British car show (the name escapes me at this time)... but what it comes down to is this:
The Corvette can meet and sometimes exceeds many of the top supercars that are available today. And the Corvette can accomplish this at ½ the price of the NSX, Porsche, and TVR. I am more performance driven so luxury is a foot note to me, but the C6 commands a $50k+ price tag already. I'd hate to see what would happen if they started attempting to match the luxury of TVR. It isn't about the performance at that point, it has to do with the price point.
The Corvette can meet and sometimes exceeds many of the top supercars that are available today. And the Corvette can accomplish this at ½ the price of the NSX, Porsche, and TVR. I am more performance driven so luxury is a foot note to me, but the C6 commands a $50k+ price tag already. I'd hate to see what would happen if they started attempting to match the luxury of TVR. It isn't about the performance at that point, it has to do with the price point.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,287
Likes: 7
From: n/a SC
Originally Posted by kwik_ta
Personally I think the interior of the C4 is perfect for the car. It is not too luxurious, but not too race car-ish. Some of that has changed as the car has evolved, but the plastic components on the new C6 was an ignorant topic of discussion on some gay British car show (the name escapes me at this time)... but what it comes down to is this:
The Corvette can meet and sometimes exceeds many of the top supercars that are available today. And the Corvette can accomplish this at ½ the price of the NSX, Porsche, and TVR. I am more performance driven so luxury is a foot note to me, but the C6 commands a $50k+ price tag already. I'd hate to see what would happen if they started attempting to match the luxury of TVR. It isn't about the performance at that point, it has to do with the price point.
The Corvette can meet and sometimes exceeds many of the top supercars that are available today. And the Corvette can accomplish this at ½ the price of the NSX, Porsche, and TVR. I am more performance driven so luxury is a foot note to me, but the C6 commands a $50k+ price tag already. I'd hate to see what would happen if they started attempting to match the luxury of TVR. It isn't about the performance at that point, it has to do with the price point.
I love the interior on my 95
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,234
Likes: 355
From: Albuquerque, NM
Poor interior quality and cheap materials have always been a big complaint about C4 and C5 Corvettes. The C6 is better, but I've still heard a few gripes.
It's just the nature of the car. GM is still the world's largest automaker (for now), and they didn't get that way by building expensive, extremely high quality cars. Corvettes, like any other GM cars, are mass produced vehicles, and if they can find a way to save $.50 on each car by cutting a corner here and there, they'll do it.
GM hasn't figured out what Porsche has: Make the production engineers eliminate the sqeaks and rattles, and put a few hundred dollars worth of leather in each car and you can sell it for twice as much. Mechanically and performance-wise the C4, C5, and C6 Corvettes have been equal to or better than Porsches of the same vintage. But the Corvette is built by GM.
It's just the nature of the car. GM is still the world's largest automaker (for now), and they didn't get that way by building expensive, extremely high quality cars. Corvettes, like any other GM cars, are mass produced vehicles, and if they can find a way to save $.50 on each car by cutting a corner here and there, they'll do it.
GM hasn't figured out what Porsche has: Make the production engineers eliminate the sqeaks and rattles, and put a few hundred dollars worth of leather in each car and you can sell it for twice as much. Mechanically and performance-wise the C4, C5, and C6 Corvettes have been equal to or better than Porsches of the same vintage. But the Corvette is built by GM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,287
Likes: 7
From: n/a SC
Originally Posted by BlackbirdZ07
Poor interior quality and cheap materials have always been a big complaint about C4 and C5 Corvettes. The C6 is better, but I've still heard a few gripes.
It's just the nature of the car. GM is still the world's largest automaker (for now), and they didn't get that way by building expensive, extremely high quality cars. Corvettes, like any other GM cars, are mass produced vehicles, and if they can find a way to save $.50 on each car by cutting a corner here and there, they'll do it.
GM hasn't figured out what Porsche has: Make the production engineers eliminate the sqeaks and rattles, and put a few hundred dollars worth of leather in each car and you can sell it for twice as much. Mechanically and performance-wise the C4, C5, and C6 Corvettes have been equal to or better than Porsches of the same vintage. But the Corvette is built by GM.
It's just the nature of the car. GM is still the world's largest automaker (for now), and they didn't get that way by building expensive, extremely high quality cars. Corvettes, like any other GM cars, are mass produced vehicles, and if they can find a way to save $.50 on each car by cutting a corner here and there, they'll do it.
GM hasn't figured out what Porsche has: Make the production engineers eliminate the sqeaks and rattles, and put a few hundred dollars worth of leather in each car and you can sell it for twice as much. Mechanically and performance-wise the C4, C5, and C6 Corvettes have been equal to or better than Porsches of the same vintage. But the Corvette is built by GM.
The c4 interior atleast the lastest years have better interiors quaility wise than the c5's actually but I agree the c6 is a little above bot hthe c4 and c5 interior wise......as far as quality goes anyway.
the c5 seats are horrible they're like cardboard they crease up as soon as you drive them off the lot they also have ever more of a plastic feel everywhere you touch
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Racer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 260
Likes: 0
St. Jude Donor '05
Personally, I like the look and feel of the vinyl interior. This isn't just some cheap plastic. It has things like UV protectants and elastomers for longevity. My car is 15 years old, and the interior still looks great. In actuality there are only a few components that would be candidates for a leather resurfacing, and I think it would take quite a craftsman to make it look right. IMHO The few mods that I've seen where folks replaced the dash and other items just havn't done anything for the appearance.
I'm not a hardcore stock appearance guy by any means, but in this instance, I'd rather protect it and make it look as good as possible and keep it looking like it did when it rolled off the line then try to make it into a full leather interior.
I'm not a hardcore stock appearance guy by any means, but in this instance, I'd rather protect it and make it look as good as possible and keep it looking like it did when it rolled off the line then try to make it into a full leather interior.
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Severn MD
Originally Posted by kwik_ta
Personally I think the interior of the C4 is perfect for the car. It is not too luxurious, but not too race car-ish. Some of that has changed as the car has evolved, but the plastic components on the new C6 was an ignorant topic of discussion on some gay British car show (the name escapes me at this time)... but what it comes down to is this:
The Corvette can meet and sometimes exceeds many of the top supercars that are available today. And the Corvette can accomplish this at ½ the price of the NSX, Porsche, and TVR. I am more performance driven so luxury is a foot note to me, but the C6 commands a $50k+ price tag already. I'd hate to see what would happen if they started attempting to match the luxury of TVR. It isn't about the performance at that point, it has to do with the price point.
The Corvette can meet and sometimes exceeds many of the top supercars that are available today. And the Corvette can accomplish this at ½ the price of the NSX, Porsche, and TVR. I am more performance driven so luxury is a foot note to me, but the C6 commands a $50k+ price tag already. I'd hate to see what would happen if they started attempting to match the luxury of TVR. It isn't about the performance at that point, it has to do with the price point.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 90,675
Likes: 304
From: SE NY
Cruise-In II Veteran
I too like the interior of my '88 C4; think it suits the overall car.
I've heard/seen people doing wood grain or carbon fiber inserts but never leather.
If you really like the idea you could give it a try though. It's your car and you should have it suit your needs & taste.
I've heard/seen people doing wood grain or carbon fiber inserts but never leather.
If you really like the idea you could give it a try though. It's your car and you should have it suit your needs & taste.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,593
Likes: 0
From: Mobile AL
St. Jude Donor '05
Most of the stuff in the '96 is not plastic, but carbon-fiber, which resembles plastic but wears a lot better. I don't know when they started with the carbon-fiber interior parts, but I think a lot of the '95 stuff was, also. As far as the coating, there was a time when a dealer could recoat those parts, but don't know if they still do or not. I need to find out as I have some peeling parts in mine, too. Mostly from abuse by the former owner.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,902
Likes: 19
From: Tavernier Fl
To be honest the interior in my 96' is 10X nicer than the one in my buddy's 94' Viper, that things dash IS plastic, so is almost everything else in the car, GM is not Benz/Lexus quality interiors but i like it ok
~B~
~B~
Pro
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 700
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by SilverBeast
Most of the stuff in the '96 is not plastic, but carbon-fiber, which resembles plastic but wears a lot better. I don't know when they started with the carbon-fiber interior parts, but I think a lot of the '95 stuff was, also. As far as the coating, there was a time when a dealer could recoat those parts, but don't know if they still do or not. I need to find out as I have some peeling parts in mine, too. Mostly from abuse by the former owner.
I have had a 96 and a 95 lt1 I have the 95 now and it's the same exact car the interior and everything is 100% the same.
