Disclaimer: I'm gettin old and never took good notes so if I screw up here please be kind. Here are my notes from from this year's Bloomington Gold Restoration Workshop #34 "Advanced Keeping Your C4 Like New" Instructors: Ron Kane http://www.kaneauto.com and Gordon Killebrew http://www.gordonkillebrew.com
Keep your weatherstriping from splitting by applying dialectric grease and wiping it clean after each wash or every 30 days. Drill a drain hole in the rubber around your gas cap as rain can get sucked into your gas tank as you drive. There is a drain tube there already but the hole is very small and plugs easily. Trust the GM engineers and do not install an air foil. The instructors have seen them carbon up on rare occasions. Installing a chip on a stock setup is shoveling $ down the drain (racing is another matter). Do not cut your aircleaner lid as you risk sucking in water. Make sure you do not overtighten your aircleaner lid as you will distort it and let unfiltered air be sucked in. Do a complete drain of your auto trans, replace the filter, and refill with synthetic tranny fluid. You car will shift better. Put a capful of Lucas power steering treatment in your power steering pump and it will help preserve the seals in your rack. If you have an automatic, reset your TV cable from time-to-time, Most are out of adjustment. (I think there is a thread in the tech section on this). Clean your throttle body from time-to-time. Many folks with crappy idle need to do this. Have soemone test your O2 sensor or better yet, just replace it. If you can, find a shop with a laser temp reader. They can point it at each injector as the motor runs and find if one is running hotter than the others. Proper flowing injectors run cooler because of the cooling effect of the fuel flow. The shop can also check the temps in front of and in behind the cat converter. If there is a difference then you have a plugged cat. Clean your engine and engine bay by spraying on Westley's Clear Majic (after you have put plastic bags over any sensitive electronics). Let it soak for a good while and then rinse off with a hose sprayer set on "mist". Do NOT blast the stuff off! If your C4 has glass headlight bulbs then replace them with plastic ones - they are much lighter and will save your headlight gears. NAPA part# HP6054. If you are doing any wiring then go to a computer supply company and invest in some metal connectors and crimp them with a roll crimper (available from SnapOn or PackardDelphi). Then heat shrink. These will be very strong and will not corrode like the cheap plastic over metal connectors. Use liquid antisieze (as used for o2 sensors) when replacing spark plugs. Use a suction gun to drain your rear end and refill with synthetic gear fluid and two (2) bottles of GM positraction additive. And last of all, they recommend Firestone Firehawks for their quiet ride/good ride/handling. Good luck and hope I don't start any :boxing

 

Thanks for the resto101 class. They said no air foils? You mean the type that sits in front of the TB? Did anybody ask about silicone lub spray for the weather stripping?

Thanks again. :cheers:

 

Very good info.

 

Thanks :D

 

Do you remember for CERTAIN he said synthetic fluid in the differential and 2 bottles of addative? We've had many discussions before about whether or not to add the addative with synth fluid.

 

Thank you for sharing!!! :thumbs:

Curious about the 2 bottles of additive with synthetic in the rear end. I assumed that sythetics like Red Line already had an additive in it for limited slip and adding any of GM's additive was unecessary.
:confused:

 

I pretty much agree with everything you stated except the tires. The Dunlop SP5000 is a great handling tire, the ride is excellent (and quiet), and is closest in tread pattern to the original Goodyear gatorback. I've never had the Firestones, bu they don't appear that they would be as good just looking at the tread pattern.

 

Yup, they said it several times and answered that question again at the end of the class. You can Email Ron Kane direct. He said he would be glad to answer questions. :blueangel:

 

Yepper, the grease soaks in better and you cannot see that it is there once you wipe it off.

 

They were specifically talking about Mobil 1 gear lube. Nothing was said about Redline. Feel free to visit Ron Kane at his web site as he said he would answer questions.

 

:cheers: :thumbs:

 

Gordon really knows his stuff.
I am hoping to take his 2 day advanced C4 class this fall.

 

Regarding the FireHawks, I just replaced factory recommended Goodyears with the Firehawk SZ50 EP's. Now I expected an improvement simply by the virtue of having worn tires replaced with good rubber. I was completely unprepared for the difference in road noise. These 'Hawks are exceptionally quiet, and so far the traction is far superior to the GSC's. I had 3/32 tread left on the rears, and could light them up from a dead stop. Without torque braking, I cannot do that with the Firestones.

When I made my decision, it was between the new Goodyear F1 D3's and these Firestones. The deciding factor for me was roadnoise. My primary source of information was obtained at http://www.tirerack.com.
As it turns out, they were cheaper than the Goodyears, and had a better treadwear rating as well. I currently have 2200 miles on them, so only time will tell if the advertised treadwear rating (320) is accurate. But on all other ratings, such as wet and dry traction, cornering, and road noise, I am exceptionally pleased. To hear an endorsement from the Killebrew crew further enhances my confidence in the TireRack ratings and customer review section.

I realize I already said it, but it is worth repeating....these skins are quiet !!!

:cheers:

:eek: It just occurred to me that i left out the most important part:
Thanks for sharing all that info with us !! :flag


[Modified by Da Wiz, 11:14 PM 7/9/2003]

 

Thanks! :thumbs: :cool:

 

Thanks for the great info!:flag

Being a new owner, I'll definately put it to use.

 

Thanks for the great info!!

 

Thanks for the info :cheers:

 

I agree with your assessment of the Firehawks. I ran a set on my 90 coupe, replaced the original gatorbacks. The difference in noise, handling and price was significant. I put a set on my 96CE last year. I have about 5000 miles and I love them. They are extremely quiet. I replaced run flats. They look great and were the best price for high perf tires at Tire Rack and Discount Tire. :steering:

 

I also agree with your assessment of the Firehawks. I have had 3 Vettes with Goodyears, and currently have a 94, 6 speed. When I got this car it had a new set of Goodyear tires that I was happy with until I drove a friend’s car with the Firestones. He has about 35000 miles on his and they still look great. Lots of miles left, but he does not try to burn them off. With the Goodyears I burned a lot of rubber grabbing 2nd gear, but with the Firestones I barley get a bark. I ran Deals gap with them and could not believe how sticky they were in the turns. For those not familiar with Deals gap, it is located outside of Robbinsville, NC and has 318 hair pin turns in 11 miles. Most fun you can have in a car or on a bike. Check it out on the net. I have the Firestone Firehawk P285/40 ZR17 all the way around. They are without a doubt the quietest, best handling, tires I have ever had.

 

Great post :cheers: Will definitely being putting some of this info to use :yesnod: You might consider submitting this to the tech tips for posterity :thumbs: