Gosh, I hope you're kidding. I want an aftermarket exhaust for my car

 

My findings as well.

Only the ones which went bad..

People typically won't tell you about the ones which went bad.

When a mod is initially installed, the owner very quickly posts up about how happy he is with the mod. Its almost immediate.

However when it later goes bad, he is a lot less likely to post up about it.

A case in point.

One member here had a built engine from one of the highly respected tuners on this board. When initially done, he posted up about how satisfied he was with it.

Later on though, he let it slip, in a dry sump thread in the Z06 section, that his crank pulley had come off and that he had to fight with the tuner to fix it. This after having the car sent back to the tuner at the owner's expense. His posts disappeared, possibly, if not probably by his own hand.

Some are reluctant to post up about a mod failure for fear of pissing the tuner off who did the mods, and never getting their issues resolved.

Another member posted up about problems with his mods.

The only reason why you even know that there was a problem is because someone quoted his post before he edited everything out.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2065723

Over the years I have been in here on this forum, I figure that the ones which went good, its just a matter of time before they go bad. And when they do, the owner is reluctant to come out and say that they went bad. I have seen so many mods go bad here, its incredible.

The worst I read of here was of a member who bought a twin turbo car. Drove away to get it. Got it home and immediately had issues with, literally the next morning after he got it home.

Mod failure posts tend to not show up for several reasons.

1. Mod failures tend to be long and drawn out processes, with the owner of the car " chasing his tail" and trying to solve his issues over a "long" period of time. The dealer of course won't touch it, so he is left to solicit information over the internet, some of it "good" some of it not so good, and from local shops,........... if he lives near local shops.

Asking any and everyone he can, and sometimes taking the car to more than one "guru" in an attempt to get his issues resolved. Which means more money out of his pocket.

Any post he makes about his experience is going to need to be chronicled. Most are just not going to do that. They aren't usually going to vent. They just want the problem resolved. The usual modder typically believes that all he has to do is "trouble shoot" ....(or add more mods) and his issue(s) will be resolved. I was no different.

It is extremely rare for him to show any "regret" for having modified the car.......... Even if it sits in his garage and has not run "right", or in some extreme cases, not run at all, for weeks or months. Again.... I was no different.

The ECM stayed out of my car, a Z51 C6, as it sat "dead in the water" .. for the better part of a month due to a "tuning issues". I just "sucked it up". Didn't want to "bad mouth" anyone... especially while I was dealing with them and trying to get the "issue" resolved. ................ Never again. .... Go ahead.....ask me if it was "worth it". And then tell me that "a Z06 is not worth X number of dollars more" than a modded C6. I've been there, and I've done there. Got the tee shirt and the coffee mug.....never again.

No one wants to admit that they tore their *** attempting to turn their car into something which it wasn't to begin with.

2. Post dealing with mod failure, oft times become "unresolved disputes" on the forum and get locked down after a few posts.

Also, people don't like to be seen as "badmouthing" the tuner shops in here. Even when they screw up. And if it is perceived that they do, or are, then a "flame war" typically ensues.

Actually, I am taking a risk myself by even stating that which I have stated.... people are at the ready to accuse me of "being against mods."

But most of you know me, or know of me, enough already to know that I speak my mind without fear of retribution. If I say something people don't like, or don't want to hear, well.......

3. No one likes to post up that they spent a lot of money and now their car doesn't run right or does not run at all.

So the answer to your question is, typically when I see a post dealing with mod failure, I quote it, post in it and archive it.

This isn't always the case however. I have enough examples of certain types of issues. For example supercharger issues. I have a whole slew of post describing aftermarket supercharger issues.


Headers and superchargers lead the pack. Header issues ranging from increased valve train noise which the owner was not expecting, to CELs, and with superchargers, everything from belt slippage to heat issues, to "I can't get this damn thing tuned" to leaned out tunes and popped engines.

Vararam/condensor issues, poor seal issues, poor build quality issues, locked ECM, aftermarket shifter issues, "wide body paint doesn't match" issues, issues after a tune, and header/CEL posts as well.


Posts describing these type issues can be found with virtually no effort. These are a dime a dozen and show up all the time.

 

A lot of the issues people would know about if they spent a little time researching the product.

When I got headers I expected valve train noise. In the installation manual it stated there may be a check engine light.

Before I got a vararam I watched one being installed. Not the best quality but I was more interested in performance.

I spent about 6 months researching superchargers before I decided which one I wanted. Thats how I found this forum. So far its great but I do expect my clutch to go out. I also know the added horsepower will cause other problems but thats just the price you have to pay. I did have an install screwup on my part. I didn't have a clamp tight enough on my intake which caused the tube to blow off damaging my maf while on the dyno at ecs.

 

I am glad to hear that you like your Pfadt coilovers and that you feel that the car finally "now rides, steers, handles the way GM should have built the car."

I find that to already have been the case with mine.

That said, I don't think that I would be happy with the ride in a car with coilovers on the streets. Nor would I absorb the expense of coil overs for my car, but of course this is my personal preference.

But as far as "coil over disasters" or "nightmares.....I won't need to wait for you. I have already seen what appears to be one.

Some tried to say that this "disaster" occurred because of the design of the coilovers on this car.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2034637

A hellacious pissing match ensued (remember I hinted that fire hydrant matches typically ensue when mod failures or perceived mod failures occur) which featured video of Z06s running over railroad ties bolted into the pavement, with each vendor's coilover shock in place.

This started when one vendor described what he felt were the attributes of his own aftermarket product vs what he felt were the shortcomings of another vendor's aftermarket product.

The one vendor implied that the reason for this incident may have rested in the design of the competing coil over shock. The other shock company vehemently opposed this line of reasoning, and hence the videos.

Of course mine being stock.......I don't have a dog in this fight.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1565620133

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2034637

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2045953

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2047167

Wicked, there is barely a post that comes through here that I don't see.

 

That thread is so inconclusive it is laugable

1st of all there has been some talk about the Z06 aluminum frame shock mounts being weaker then standard "Steel" C6 frame which I have.

2nd of all the guy hit a 6-8 inch log and I am sure his car was low and it was probley at angle. With the exception of the shock mount the car look pretty darn good. The car might of been alot more tore up if he had the leafs and stock shocks. My C5 was pretty messed up when I hit a simi tire tread on the freeway although it was drivable.

3rd You talk about the ride with coilovers with no experience as usual. I live by interstate 15 freeway it was fairy jarring driving down that stretch of road.The road is super rough from all the simi's. I was astounded by how much smoother the ride was compared to my leaf spring in the front. Now keep in mind I have the same sway bar and the leaf spring rate is almost the same as yours on the Z06.

Obviously I am not some rookie on here. I've been on here a long time and had both stock cars which was my 01 Z06 and mod'ed ones like the in my avatar which never left me stranded. This C6 is my 10th vette and I had 7 C5's all with leafs and did everything from roadracing,autocrossing and drag racing.

 

We can "conclude" that the original poster's modified car is ****ed up. And thats no laughing matter. This would qualify as a "mod which went wrong".

How many stock shocks have you seen poke through the shock mount????

Thats not doing him any good though.

Maybe. But then again, maybe not.

"As usual"????? Just how do you know what experience I have????

OK. But where I live I have no desire whatsoever for coil overs. My stock Z06 suspension leaves me wanting nothing in terms of "suspension improvements" for the type of driving I do, or the track days I do..

"Did everything from roadracing, autocrossing and drag racing"......As have I.

No one is calling you a "rookie" nor even implied that you were. I do recall that you were a used car dealer. So you have had 3 base C6s???

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1565900553

The thread is about "Mods Gone Wrong". And there are many which have........ MANY which have. Despite the reluctance by some to admit as much.

 

The only mod I've done is have the flowmaster kit installed. I had a good shop do it that has done work for me before.

The next day one of the mufflers had rotated in the clamp. I brought it back and they re-aligned it and tacked it on.

It seems like if something can go wrong it usually will.

 

Ok have you coilovers ever I have but not on a vette? A couple of my buddies have them and that is why I went them.

It's kinda like you don't know what you are missing if you haven't had it or tried it.

[QUOTE='06 Quicksilver Z06;1566351894]

No one is calling you a "rookie" nor even implied that you were. I do recall that you were a used car dealer however, is that correct??? [\QUOTE]
Yep but none of my vette's were inventory they were pinked in my name.

Yes many people/tuners are unable to take cars apart and put them back together correctly. I am still in the automotive field and work with many different collision shops. 85%+ could not make the cars 100% oem correct specifications. They don't have the information to do it with so guess what they wing it and that is when things go wrong and there are a lot of tuners that do the same thing.

You would be like my worst nightmare Dad always saying I told you so. "You should've bought a Z06" blah blah blah. Everything I see from your post's in negative and always on the look out for something to go wrong like some sort of watch dog. If someone mod's there car in a positive way I applaud them.

By the way that thread was interesting reading. Doug Rippie who has been building cars since the 70's did say the aluminum shock mount may be a problem for the C6 Z06's who knows but 1 case where a guy was in a accident doesn't prove anything and it's misleading to imply that it is. How many cases of column lock did it take for GM to recall the C5? 1000's is the answer and that was safety issue also. Several locked while people were driving.

 

Before I bought my C6 a neighbor of mine, well actually he lived in the next development, had a 2000 with coilovers. I drove that car too many times to count as did he mine.

It was cool. But not for me.


See above. The ride and handling of the car was certainly better than in my base C5. But not enough so that I would spring for the $1700.00 for them on my own '03.



So you had 7 C5s and 3 base C6s pinked in your name? Am I understanding you correctly?


And thats a huge part of why a lot of these mods go bad.


Once again, you are accusing me of saying: " "You should've bought a Z06" blah blah blah." I never said that. Not everyone can afford a Z06.

The reason why "everything you see from my post's is negative" is because I am not saying what you want to hear. Thats it, plain and simple.

You,..... and I am not blaming you, because many others are the same way, don't want to hear about modifications that went hella wrong.

However, I can't point the finger at you....because I was the same way. I didn't want to hear it either. Until I learned my lesson. The hard way. The sad way. The expensive way. When I lost the tranny in my C5. Or did I really learn from that???

Even that wasn't enough to deter me from modding my C6 when I got it.

Nobody could tell me that I could not do a better job using aftermarket parts than General Motors did with my C6.

No one could tell me that I could not get a "better all around tune" than what was already in the car.

And finally.......no one could tell me that GM had not "underrated" and "detuned" my C6 and that all I needed to do was "tweak" out those last several ponies, that GM had hidden from me in it waiting to be unbridled.

Finally though, it sunk in after that last fiasco with my C6.



But the interesting thing is.....when it comes to "Mods gone wrong" which is what this thread is about......I don't have to look for very long. Nor do I have to look very hard either. And that says a lot. It speaks volumes.


C5 column lock issue was indeed a travesty.

 

[QUOTE='06 Quicksilver Z06;1566352271] Before I bought my C6 a neighbor of mine, well actually he lived in the next development, had a 2000 with coilovers. I drove that car too many times to count as did he mine.

It was cool. But not for me.




See above. The ride and handling of the car was certainly better than in my base C5. But not enough so that I would spring for the $1700.00 for them on my own '03.[\quote]


Well I am sure the Pfadt's and the Lg's weren't around then. One buddy had the Breathless ones which were very firm and my other buddy has the DRM which aren't as bad. These Pfadt's have a much better ride and I am very impressed if you do your magic search many agree.

I had
7 C5's
one I bought for parts and didn't do transfer.
The rest were all titled in my name
1 C4 Convert for a daily titled
1 C6 that I purchased and didn't like the color. I sold it before I received the title about a month ago

My current C6 which I have to go down to the bank and pay off the 3,000 balance I have left on it to receive the title.

 

I don't know which brand was on it, but this was in 2004 when I still had my '03.


As of today, I have owned my Z06 for 1 year.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1761763

If one were to ask me if I have had a single solitary regret during this ownership period, I could answer before the question was completed, "hell no."

However, ask me if, during my period of ownership of my other Corvettes, if I have regretted modifying my previous Corvettes, during my period of ownership of any of those cars..... and I can say "definitely yes". Definitely yes.

There were times when I owned those cars when I questioned, no regretted, what I had done in terms of mods,.... but was reluctant to admit it.

There has never passed a day in the previous year when I have regretted purchasing my Z06 nor leaving my Z06 stock (save for a clear bra and console cover).

Some of it, you actually have to go through, I guess. Some of it, you actually have to go through.

You see, .....I can tell you and others what its like to get your car back after having a torque converter and gears put into it,.... and having your transmission fail on the drive home from the shop, in a car with some 11,000 or so miles on it.......but you can't get a real appreciation for what I am trying to say until you actually go through it.

I can tell you what its like to see your practically new C6 in your garage with 9,000 or 10,000 miles on it, and it won't fire up from a cold start....indeed, won't start at all, because of a bad "toon".....but you can't really appreciate it until you go through it.

I can tell you about that same car, which spent nearly a month in my garage unable to move because it had no ECM in it, because it was being "straightened out" due to the bad tune, but you cannot get a full appreciation for the frustration and the bad taste it leaves in one's mouth until you actually "taste" it.

The fist time, you suck it up...hey, no pain, no gain, right??? The second time it stings you a bit more. And then after awhile, you have seen enough.

Thats why some of the guys who have posted in here and elsewhere will tell you, "Hey, my '08 makes 436hp with a warranty, and no headaches, or my Z06 makes 505 hp with a warranty, and I have reached a point in automobile ownership, where I no longer want to deal with potential issues associated with "mods". They aren't being "negative"........but they may indeed have had "negative" experiences.

You see, my attitude was not always this way. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1657914

So when you say that I am being "negative" thats not the case at all. I have simply had enough bad experiences of my own, and "witnessed" enough bad experiences of others here, associated with some of these mods, that I have gotten to a point to where for me, its simply not worth the headache.

This is one of my favorite threads though. "Mods gone wrong." Again, I'd like to thank the original poster for bringing it up.

It is a topic that is all but taboo....people don't want to talk about it....its like the 600lb gorilla in the room, people want to ignore it. But it is indeed an "issue".

 

This is a great post for the novice and I include myself in that category. I remember when you started with headers on the '05. You probably don't recall this, but I cautioned you about getting ready to deal with a few problems.

Making modifications is OK for the guy that has a lot of experience and is ready to deal with a job that doesn't work as planned. If you don't mind ripping things apart again, then go for it, but those guys that have to pay someone else to do their work should think twice before making changes...unless money is no object.

 

[QUOTE=Wicked C5;1566352320]
Is this unusual?? Lordy,I had 8 C5's (5 coupes,1 vert & 2 Z06's)
I've had 6 C6's so far........must be something wrong with me

As far as modding goes......I've had my share of trouble over the years,the only cars I didn't mod were my daily drivers.....that's the duty of my Z06,so it stays basically stock...

I will tell you this much,out of all the cars I've modded,the GT is the only one that has performed flawlessly...and yes,it does get driven a lot. I beat the snot out of it on a regular basis.

Now,having said that, I'm sure I'll find a big puddle of oil in the garage.

 

[QUOTE=redzone;1566354228]I guess not

 

Let me start by saying this...to each his own....

I was fortunate to buy a very slightly used and stock Vette that I love just the way it is. I too, was immediately bitten by the mod bug.

Over the last year of searching this forum for the best mods to do, the real lesson for ME overall (given my situation and abilities) is that I have been right not to do any mods and that I have an even greater amount of respect for what Chevy has done in designing and building a FANTASTIC and RELIABLE C6 Corvette!

I would now never knowingly buy a modded Corvette. It is very clear that there are lots of fools out there who screw up when they mod (lightly or heavily) their Corvettes and then attempt to dump them on others to rid themselves of their FUs. You know who you are!

 

Wicked,

You are do not think that you are ever going to get QuickSilver to admit that any modified car has ever been reliable. To admit that would kill the "you should have bought a Z06" slant that he puts in almost ever post he makes. Like a politician, he carefully avoids using the words, but it is blatenly obvious to anyone reading this topic that is his underlying message.

I personally do not know why the thought of a modified covertte that can compete with this mighty Z06 bothers him so much but it hilarious to read....

I am putting a padded leather console in my C6 next week. I guess I better have the tow truck lined up....

P.S. Between a Z06 and Callaway Covertte, I know which one I would rather own for about the same price. Of course, since it is modified, It probably would not make it out of the driveway without bursting into flames.....

 

On a serious note:

Has anyone ever considered that the guys, or gals, who do mod their cars tend to be the same ones that, let's say, stress their cars a little more than most other people?

Maybe that is why you hear of failures a little more on the modified cars than stock cars?

 

How many Vettes have you owned, again???? Zero before this one???

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/member.php?u=294485

"Biography:
I have always liked performance cars, but this is my first Corvette... "

How many Vettes have you modified????? How many modified Vettes have you owned? Zero???

So now how would you know how reliable a modified Vette is???

Never mind, don't answer that.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2038567

BTW, is that a Volkswagen Beetle, and some other econobox I see in your garage in that third pic????

..

Just the type of person I want to hear from when it comes to the subject matter in this topic.

Stick with your Beetle and you won't have to worry about that.

 

I have modified many other cars....

Are you saying that a modified Corvette is MORE likely to blow up than say a modified Mustang??????

I really find that a a little hard to believe that you would even imply that.....

P.S. The turbo bug and Avalon are the wife's cars, I keep my toys in the toy box in the back yard....

 

I didn't ask you about other cars and could not care less about them.

Since you have yet to celebrate even your 2nd month of Corvette ownership, it might behoove you to do a little more listening in this thread than talking. Especially talking ****.

Just some "friendly" advice, which could save you some money and headache in the future, and during your time as a first time Vette owner.

Did you hear me say that, or see where I wrote that? Let me let you in on someting. I have been at this for a while. You don't tell me what I'm saying, I tell you. And I didn't tell you, nor anyone else, that. Nor did I say anything even remotely resembling that.

I don't have the slightest bit of concern as to what you find easy or difficult to believe.

People are posting their experiences in this thread with regard to modified C6 Corvettes. I have alluded to a few of my own.

Once again, how many Vettes have you modified? How many have you owned??? How many have you lived with???

Tell us of your modified C6 Vette experiences. Good or bad.

Great, if this were about "toys" and "toy boxes". But its not. Its about modified Vettes and when mods go wrong on Vettes.
Now tell us again of your experiences in this department.

Show us your experiences with modified Vettes, and how they pertain to this thread. Tell us what you can add to this discussion..... Otherwise, you're just talking : and trying to pick a fight. Fine with me.

Addendum: Sorry folks. This is a great thread and a lot of knowledge has been imparted in it.

A lot of personal experiences with modified Vettes has been shared in it.

Its a shame that some newbie with less than 60 days of Corvette ownership would come in here and try and pick a fight while we are trying to have a discussion, but thats just the way it goes sometimes.