include a lot of desired and frequently installed mods on the cars as standard equipment, such as slotted and drilled rotors? For a car that costs $50K or so, the little added expense would not be noticed by the consumer.

 

There's alot of things that GM could have done to add more horsepower or better features to the vette, some make sense, other completely don't. I think the reason why the slotted or drilled rotors were never offered was that GM couldn't get a supplier that could provide a warranty on them which would match the standard rotors. Alot of guys with slotted or drilled rotors complain that their rotors warp, crack or have too much fading after a while. They look cool but are not as reliable as what GM offers. The C6 was able to offer drilled rotors because their rotors are bigger and have more surface area.
There's lots of other things that just don't make any sense. Accessories like color coordinated leather seats like the ones Ken King makes should have been an option from the factory as well as the window valet. I guess they just figured that if they make the C5 too perfect, they wouldn't be able to offer any improvements in the next gen.
I don't know why longtube headers are not an option from the factory. They add alot more horsepower, improve gas mileage amazingly (unless your a lead foot like me) and don't pollute any more than the stock exhaust manifold. Besides the increase in heat under the hood, there's no reason not to make them standard equipment. Lamborghini, Ferrari and I think even the viper use longtube headers so why not Corvette.

 

I always thought the main reason for slotted and drilled rotors was that they ran cooler and were less susceptible to warping. Is this not the case?

 

I'm not sure how many vettes they produce per year but I think 25,000 is close. To increase the cost of the rotors by only fifty dollars, total over what is already on the car ( I menan for all four) would add over $1.2 million over the current cost and thats only for one year. Add that over the life of a vehicle. You begin to realize why most cars have lost items people don't noitice. Like passenger side key cylinder's for the door lock. For anyone that doesn't think every decision on a mass produced vehicle comes down to $$$$ they are wrong.

 

All of the above is true... However, what is not in the advertisements, is that when you take away a bunch of the steel (by drilling holes) it is also weaker and very prone to cracking with aggressive use.

(not subscribed)

 

It is around 35000 per year except for '97 when they only produced between 7000-8000 vettes

 

1997------9752

 

They did. It's called the C6

 

GM wanted to build a good sports car and then give you the option to go out and build it into whatever you want.

I am sure there are 1000s of vette owners out there that do no MODS to their car at all and, on the other hand, there are 1000s out there that have their own preference of MOD(s) that they want to do.

GM would not want to get into the business of creating custom Vettes for each person based on the MODS they wanted because it would destroy the idea of the assembly line and buying large discounted parts from their suppliers. If that happened the cost of a Vette would drastically increase. The idea of cookie cutting in operations is the best for increasing production and lowering costs which can be past onto us.

GM has left the decision up to each owner to add what he or she wants.

The other part of the equation is that GM is keeping many different small vendors in business. If they offered some MODs like exhaust and air filters then many people would just buy them at the point of purchase and if GM did not contract out to a GHL or a Halltech then chances are those companies would not survive.

just my .02

 

It just comes down to economics and how to build a car that people will buy at a decent price. Every upgrade adds cost and apparently GM decided it wasn't worth the extra for the rotors. It could also be as stated - warranty issues should they warp/crack.

 

I don't know why GM is doing cross drilled on the C6 with the Z51 package. Those better be some special rotors... or there will be lots of warrenty work. Keep an eye on the C6 forum, that will be a long time reoccuring thread.

 

I am a lot older than most of you (58). In the late fifties and through the sixties, before cookie cutter cars. You could order things like heavy duty battery, heavy duty clutch, a 327 with just about any HP package you wanted, rear end gears. I often wondered how they could control all of that.
I would think that GM could offer things like Slotted and Drilled Rotors and ceramic brakes on a ordered car. I have not heard of anyone I know today saying that they ordered a car. It was a common thing to order a car back than and it took 5 to 6 weeks to come from the factory. Just my two cents

John

 

I am just glad GM sells a car that the competitors would probably sell for a lot more. I'll do the mods, with the products that I want to see on the car.

 

Ther are a few things that they could ahve doen. For one thing, when are they going to finally fill the wheel well space? This aint no SUV! I can squeeze a small Honda in there!


As far as drilled rotors, that will probably nebver happen. They crack too often under heavy braking. Liability big time.

 

I didnt have the hp options that you did. But remember, just a decade ago there was a ZR1 Option.

Anyway, considering the C6 limited packages which doesn't allow you to pick and choose, I feel I actually "ordered" my car. '99 Vert with Black top, 6 speed, Black Leather, no BSM's and power seat on driver side only.

 

Most people do not know how difficult it is to deal with [project managers when the directive is less weight and keep the cost of each project within budget..
add color corordinated interiors with better hydes ask Ken king 3000 dollars,
add a cutom hand sanded paint job with no orange peel 5000 dollars
add more HP.. exhaust and long tubes 2500 dollars
add a better stereo 2000
add the manufacturing cost of options ordered like rears, intake, cams
1000
the cost to manufacture is one of the reasons a Corvette is still around
50,000
all the bitching about how bad this car, if it was how everyone would like it to be , this car would cost 90,000
Ill give you some inside scoop.. We offered the interior project manager the option of having color coordinated latches for the three stowage compartments.. instead of black for all cars.. the cost per piece in color was 0.015 dollars 1 and 1/2 cents...added to the cost, which I cant speak about. it was turned down for budget reasons.. weight and budget cost are the high priority in this project. If the thousands of parts were better than they are, the car would cost thousands more.. The car is now up to 405 HP, and its still 50,000 dollars... if you dont think that is amazing, then your just a bunch of cry babies.. GM engineering is nothing short of amazing.. no one has a blank check to design anything.. They ask us to design a 100,000 dollars car for under 50,000.. and the small amount of bitchers and complainers are here.. on this forum.. there are almost 250,000 C5 owners that are extatic about owning their car..just as it is with all of it's short comings.

 

Then what would WE have to do with our car!!!???

 

That's a good idea, when I was looking for a solution for that extra space a Honda never crossed my mind. However, I did go for a ricer effect (it doesn't get any ricier than actually stuffing a ricer in there). I stuffed a farris wheel in all the wheel wells. I hooked up the lights for the neon ricer effect. The farris wheels rotate in the opposite direction of the wheels... pretty cool effect. Sorry I don't have any pics.

 

Corvette - The affordable, moddable supercar.

 

I would just like GM to do something similar to MOPAR with the SRT-4 neon. At the dealer, you can get coilovers, manual boost controller, blow off valve, etc.. including into the financing of the car, and MOPAR cover it under warranty. That way they get the best of both worlds..