It's A Keeper
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,331
Likes: 148
From: 1000 Islands Ontario
It's A Keeper
YIKES, I got it! 2008 3LT black/black, A6, F55, NPP and QX3's. 12 miles on the odometer.
The Good
This car is everything that I have dreamed about. It took 6 months of research (thank you CF), and 12 weeks for it to find me.....it was absolutely worth the wait.
I told the dealer to leave the car alone - and he did. He delivered it to my house, and as the truck pulled into my driveway (see photos below), I gasped with awe. Yes, I’ve seen black C6's before, but this one is mine, and it is beautiful. Sort of like love at first sight.
I got to carefully drive it off the truck, and drove it into my garage for my own PDI. I peeled off the plastic from the fenders, and washed it lovingly (Mr. Clean Autodry system).
The paint is near flawless. However, there is enough orange peel there that GM is no doubt infringing on the Sunkist logo, but that aside, the paint is really super.
Two coats of Rejex (24 hours apart), and the shine is black, deep, and rich.
Some of the horror stories on this forum frightened me - I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I can tell you this - I really like everything about it. Just sitting inside, brings a silly grin to my face. The fit and finish is impressive - it fits me like a glove.
I removed the QX3's - just to kind of get a hands on feel. To my surprise, the wheels are made in Italy, and they are as near perfect as anyone can ask for. The only thing I noticed is that the front left wheel has a lot of weights - a long band (16 notches) on the outer portion. I wonder if this is an off-balance wheel or tire?
While the wheels were off, they too were Rejex’d (a new word), and I installed Ed’s splash guards. What a great product! Thanks Ed.
Next I installed an NPP foot switch on the dead pedal. Easy - took less than half an hour. It’s stealth, and other than a hole on the dead pedal, easily reversible. (Could this switch void a warranty - I doubt it, but you never know?)
I topped things of with Lloyd’s mats. Another superb product!
I also installed a black aluminum bug screen behind the front grill. You can’t see it, and will keep the buggers off the rad.
Finally some Meguiar’s leather care and some Aerospace 303 Protectant in the interior - and I was ready to rock and roll
Firing this baby up with the NPP switch in the open position is a guaranteed smile maker. What an amazing option. Sweet!
First ride out was with Janice (wife). She was more anxious than I was. We headed out to a twisty hilly back road. WOW! As I have stated in a previous post, you can REALLY feel the bottom end torque of the LS3. 12 miles on the odometer, the motor tight, and still it’s begging to be booted.
Not yet - I will follow the rules for better or worse, wait a few hundred miles, and then......
This will pass quickly - tomorrow we will take a 300 mile trip to Montreal where we will visit with my parents and brothers. They are dying to see this baby.
Back to the first outing.... I absolutely love the way this car runs. I come from a C3, and there is just no comparison. It is so comfortable, and instills confidence in the turns. Some on this forum seem to say otherwise, but for me, this is WAY more car than I am a driver. It ran supreme. And again, coming from a C3, no harshness and strange noises and rattles. A bump in the road - no problemo.
The paddle shift is definitely for me. I restrained myself from using it (until the break in period is done), except for a few times at low rpm. Having manual trannies on most of my cars, it was a big decision for me to go with the automatic. I went with the technology, and I’m glad I did.
The HUD is another added bonus. Another amazing option. What a car!
Janice keeps piping up - “it’s my turn now”. Okay honey. I pull over and she gets into the captain’s chair. Now it’s her turn to take a shot at the twisties. Immediately I can see she is comfortable and confident. She forgot that I was there and started moving at a good clip, completely engrossed in the task at hand. There was the grin..... She loves it!
I start piping up - “it’s my turn now”.....
As I said in an earlier post, I swapped my 1969 Pontiac GTO (that I bought new), and my 78 C3, for the C6. About 2 months ago, the dealer came by to pick up my 2 babies, and we were really saddened by this. I have a large garage/ shop - and it just felt so empty without them.
I must say, for me, there is just no comparison with either of those 2 oldies. Just the one 30 mile drive in the C6, and I know that for certain. There is no desire to go back. I have a new baby.
Chuckle time: Here we are on our fist outing. Ten minutes into the drive, some Japanese 4 banger with a larger diameter tail pipe than all 4 combined on my C6, is sitting right on my tail. He boots it and scoots by me. Weeeee. What a lark - it took him 10 seconds to get by me and I was cruising at just 50 mph. Fortunately, I was driving. If Janice were driving, I’m pretty sure she would have shown him the definition of an LS3.
Now we pull into a parking lot, and swap chairs - It's Janice’s turn. Another little popper come whizzing beside us, revving his 1.5 litres with what sounded like a Thrush muffler - remember those. He was trying to impress us. We were really impressed..... Maybe he wants to swap cars. I don’t think so.
Okay - back home to the garage where a quick pass with the California Duster erased all tell tale signs of our memorable excursion. I can’t wait for our trip tomorrow.
----24 hours later----
Back from our trip to Montreal. What a great machine! I drove between 50 and 65 mph, mostly in 6th. For the longest time I thought there was a problem with the tach. It just sat around 1000 rpm. Does this thing not work? Of course it works - I’m just not used to such a tall overdrive. It took about 6.7 gallons (Imperial) to go 267 miles - remember I am going slow, varying my speed as best as I can on the highway. I smiled my way past 3 speed traps.
This is a great and understated aspect of the C6. TISMA (Thousand Islands Street Machine Association), our car club, want to go on a cruise to the Syracuse Nationals on July 17 - some 150 miles away. Many are saying the fuel costs would be prohibitive - remember the oldies with 4:10 gears and no overdrive. Another smile on my face.....
The Bad
Now I start to nit pick:
The Bose system is indeed a poor one. The speakers are tinny and there is some distortion even at lower volumes. The same CD that plays super well on the Bose on my STS, sounds weak in the C6, as if there is just not enough power. I really don’t want to start taking doors apart, but down the road I will no doubt have to change at least the door speakers. In the meantime, I will start playing with the EQ to see if that helps.
I didn’t buy this car for the sound system, but I like to listen to music on long trips. I would gladly have paid more to have gotten some decent sound.
This may just be me, but I prefer to have control over the headlights. When I start the car in the garage, they pop on. I have to manually twist the stalk to shut them off once outside. As night approaches, they come on and I seem to have no control over them at all. It is still quite bright out, and here I am with the headlights on. Twisting the stalk at this point has no effect at all. Is this just a Canadian thing, or is it the case for all C6's? Maybe I just don’t know how to turn them off yet - I will go back to the manual and check it out. (I am not referring to DRL’s here - just the headlights.)
I was quite surprised that the odometer, and at least one trip meter, are not always displayed. The fact that I can get engine oil temperature, or tranny temperature, is fantastic - but only one item at a time. To me the odometer should always be displayed, along with whatever else you select.
I cannot get the error codes without a code reader. I just do not understand why this limitation. Does GM want us to go running to the dealer to read the codes? Fortunately, I do have a code reader, but there is no reason that I should have to use it on a vehicle of this caliber.
Front license plate. What none sense. Here in Ontario, front plates are required. A sticky back, ugly plate bracket up high on the bumper is not going to happen for me. None of the C6's around here are wearing front plates - but an overzealous police officer can decide to pull us over at will. I have orderd the Top Flight removable bracket, but regardless of what others say, this will block off close to 50% of the air flow to the rad, and that does not bode well with me. Probably a good idea to have a front plate when cruising around town, and remove it for highway use. I dream of a flip up plate that disappears - you get pulled over, remotely flip the plate down, and then ask the officer “what’s the problem?”. Top Flight - are you listening.... Dream on.
I think I will leave the chicklets for now. What I really don’t like about them is they catch my microfiber towels.
The UglyThe fact that I could have saved close to $10,000 if GM wasn’t so nefarious with Canadian pricing. I just had to get that in again.
==
Here is something that may be of interest. I have a Snap-On (Wheeltronic) 2 post Asymmetrical lift (EELR336A). The 2 vertical posts are at an angle, and there are 2 horizontal short arms in the font, and 2 longer horizontal arms in the rear. It’s kind of a neat lift, which allows me to easily open a door when the vehicle is in position for lifting. However, the distance from ‘puck to puck’ on the C6 is only 38.5", which is too small for this lift. The longer rear arms project too far towards the middle of the car. I am working with my lift dealer to purchase 2 shorter arms (like the fronts) for the rear.
I keep going into the garage and staring with pride and amazement. If someone were watching, they would think I was nuts. It’s just transportation.....right?
Before I go, I have to say that this forum has been an amazing source of information for me. I spent 6 months, 2+ hours every day, reading every post. I learned so much, and I thank you all for this.
Okay, time to summarize. It’s really simple. I REALLY like my C6. At this point, apart from the Blose, and, possibly headlight control, I can’t think of anything that I would change. Way to go GM!
I will take some better pics and change my Avatar (someone elses C6) shortly. Some photos (low res) unloading my dream:
M......
The Good
This car is everything that I have dreamed about. It took 6 months of research (thank you CF), and 12 weeks for it to find me.....it was absolutely worth the wait.
I told the dealer to leave the car alone - and he did. He delivered it to my house, and as the truck pulled into my driveway (see photos below), I gasped with awe. Yes, I’ve seen black C6's before, but this one is mine, and it is beautiful. Sort of like love at first sight.
I got to carefully drive it off the truck, and drove it into my garage for my own PDI. I peeled off the plastic from the fenders, and washed it lovingly (Mr. Clean Autodry system).
The paint is near flawless. However, there is enough orange peel there that GM is no doubt infringing on the Sunkist logo, but that aside, the paint is really super.
Two coats of Rejex (24 hours apart), and the shine is black, deep, and rich.
Some of the horror stories on this forum frightened me - I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I can tell you this - I really like everything about it. Just sitting inside, brings a silly grin to my face. The fit and finish is impressive - it fits me like a glove.
I removed the QX3's - just to kind of get a hands on feel. To my surprise, the wheels are made in Italy, and they are as near perfect as anyone can ask for. The only thing I noticed is that the front left wheel has a lot of weights - a long band (16 notches) on the outer portion. I wonder if this is an off-balance wheel or tire?
While the wheels were off, they too were Rejex’d (a new word), and I installed Ed’s splash guards. What a great product! Thanks Ed.
Next I installed an NPP foot switch on the dead pedal. Easy - took less than half an hour. It’s stealth, and other than a hole on the dead pedal, easily reversible. (Could this switch void a warranty - I doubt it, but you never know?)
I topped things of with Lloyd’s mats. Another superb product!
I also installed a black aluminum bug screen behind the front grill. You can’t see it, and will keep the buggers off the rad.
Finally some Meguiar’s leather care and some Aerospace 303 Protectant in the interior - and I was ready to rock and roll
Firing this baby up with the NPP switch in the open position is a guaranteed smile maker. What an amazing option. Sweet!
First ride out was with Janice (wife). She was more anxious than I was. We headed out to a twisty hilly back road. WOW! As I have stated in a previous post, you can REALLY feel the bottom end torque of the LS3. 12 miles on the odometer, the motor tight, and still it’s begging to be booted.
Not yet - I will follow the rules for better or worse, wait a few hundred miles, and then......
This will pass quickly - tomorrow we will take a 300 mile trip to Montreal where we will visit with my parents and brothers. They are dying to see this baby.
Back to the first outing.... I absolutely love the way this car runs. I come from a C3, and there is just no comparison. It is so comfortable, and instills confidence in the turns. Some on this forum seem to say otherwise, but for me, this is WAY more car than I am a driver. It ran supreme. And again, coming from a C3, no harshness and strange noises and rattles. A bump in the road - no problemo.
The paddle shift is definitely for me. I restrained myself from using it (until the break in period is done), except for a few times at low rpm. Having manual trannies on most of my cars, it was a big decision for me to go with the automatic. I went with the technology, and I’m glad I did.
The HUD is another added bonus. Another amazing option. What a car!
Janice keeps piping up - “it’s my turn now”. Okay honey. I pull over and she gets into the captain’s chair. Now it’s her turn to take a shot at the twisties. Immediately I can see she is comfortable and confident. She forgot that I was there and started moving at a good clip, completely engrossed in the task at hand. There was the grin..... She loves it!
I start piping up - “it’s my turn now”.....
As I said in an earlier post, I swapped my 1969 Pontiac GTO (that I bought new), and my 78 C3, for the C6. About 2 months ago, the dealer came by to pick up my 2 babies, and we were really saddened by this. I have a large garage/ shop - and it just felt so empty without them.
I must say, for me, there is just no comparison with either of those 2 oldies. Just the one 30 mile drive in the C6, and I know that for certain. There is no desire to go back. I have a new baby.
Chuckle time: Here we are on our fist outing. Ten minutes into the drive, some Japanese 4 banger with a larger diameter tail pipe than all 4 combined on my C6, is sitting right on my tail. He boots it and scoots by me. Weeeee. What a lark - it took him 10 seconds to get by me and I was cruising at just 50 mph. Fortunately, I was driving. If Janice were driving, I’m pretty sure she would have shown him the definition of an LS3.
Now we pull into a parking lot, and swap chairs - It's Janice’s turn. Another little popper come whizzing beside us, revving his 1.5 litres with what sounded like a Thrush muffler - remember those. He was trying to impress us. We were really impressed..... Maybe he wants to swap cars. I don’t think so.
Okay - back home to the garage where a quick pass with the California Duster erased all tell tale signs of our memorable excursion. I can’t wait for our trip tomorrow.
----24 hours later----
Back from our trip to Montreal. What a great machine! I drove between 50 and 65 mph, mostly in 6th. For the longest time I thought there was a problem with the tach. It just sat around 1000 rpm. Does this thing not work? Of course it works - I’m just not used to such a tall overdrive. It took about 6.7 gallons (Imperial) to go 267 miles - remember I am going slow, varying my speed as best as I can on the highway. I smiled my way past 3 speed traps.
This is a great and understated aspect of the C6. TISMA (Thousand Islands Street Machine Association), our car club, want to go on a cruise to the Syracuse Nationals on July 17 - some 150 miles away. Many are saying the fuel costs would be prohibitive - remember the oldies with 4:10 gears and no overdrive. Another smile on my face.....
The Bad
Now I start to nit pick:
The Bose system is indeed a poor one. The speakers are tinny and there is some distortion even at lower volumes. The same CD that plays super well on the Bose on my STS, sounds weak in the C6, as if there is just not enough power. I really don’t want to start taking doors apart, but down the road I will no doubt have to change at least the door speakers. In the meantime, I will start playing with the EQ to see if that helps.
I didn’t buy this car for the sound system, but I like to listen to music on long trips. I would gladly have paid more to have gotten some decent sound.
This may just be me, but I prefer to have control over the headlights. When I start the car in the garage, they pop on. I have to manually twist the stalk to shut them off once outside. As night approaches, they come on and I seem to have no control over them at all. It is still quite bright out, and here I am with the headlights on. Twisting the stalk at this point has no effect at all. Is this just a Canadian thing, or is it the case for all C6's? Maybe I just don’t know how to turn them off yet - I will go back to the manual and check it out. (I am not referring to DRL’s here - just the headlights.)
I was quite surprised that the odometer, and at least one trip meter, are not always displayed. The fact that I can get engine oil temperature, or tranny temperature, is fantastic - but only one item at a time. To me the odometer should always be displayed, along with whatever else you select.
I cannot get the error codes without a code reader. I just do not understand why this limitation. Does GM want us to go running to the dealer to read the codes? Fortunately, I do have a code reader, but there is no reason that I should have to use it on a vehicle of this caliber.
Front license plate. What none sense. Here in Ontario, front plates are required. A sticky back, ugly plate bracket up high on the bumper is not going to happen for me. None of the C6's around here are wearing front plates - but an overzealous police officer can decide to pull us over at will. I have orderd the Top Flight removable bracket, but regardless of what others say, this will block off close to 50% of the air flow to the rad, and that does not bode well with me. Probably a good idea to have a front plate when cruising around town, and remove it for highway use. I dream of a flip up plate that disappears - you get pulled over, remotely flip the plate down, and then ask the officer “what’s the problem?”. Top Flight - are you listening.... Dream on.
I think I will leave the chicklets for now. What I really don’t like about them is they catch my microfiber towels.
The UglyThe fact that I could have saved close to $10,000 if GM wasn’t so nefarious with Canadian pricing. I just had to get that in again.
==
Here is something that may be of interest. I have a Snap-On (Wheeltronic) 2 post Asymmetrical lift (EELR336A). The 2 vertical posts are at an angle, and there are 2 horizontal short arms in the font, and 2 longer horizontal arms in the rear. It’s kind of a neat lift, which allows me to easily open a door when the vehicle is in position for lifting. However, the distance from ‘puck to puck’ on the C6 is only 38.5", which is too small for this lift. The longer rear arms project too far towards the middle of the car. I am working with my lift dealer to purchase 2 shorter arms (like the fronts) for the rear.
I keep going into the garage and staring with pride and amazement. If someone were watching, they would think I was nuts. It’s just transportation.....right?
Before I go, I have to say that this forum has been an amazing source of information for me. I spent 6 months, 2+ hours every day, reading every post. I learned so much, and I thank you all for this.
Okay, time to summarize. It’s really simple. I REALLY like my C6. At this point, apart from the Blose, and, possibly headlight control, I can’t think of anything that I would change. Way to go GM!
I will take some better pics and change my Avatar (someone elses C6) shortly. Some photos (low res) unloading my dream:
M......
Last edited by Mike Green9; Jun 30, 2008 at 11:23 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 5,642
Likes: 1,209
From: Lake Worth Beach, Florida
Congrats on the purchase. Check your manual on the headlights, you should be able to disable the auto on feature. Check page 3-15 of the manual to learn how to control this feature.
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Congrats to you on your new purchase. I went to the dealership to "see" the new jetstream blue, then called the wife to tell her "I think I just bought a new vette....." just a few months back. Now the odometer reads 2,800 and I am having a ball with this car. Hope you continue to enjoy the ride.
