Is it necessary for me to supply jacking pucks for service, if so which kind, billet or plastic?

 

If you want to avoid damage to your rocker panels then, YES absolutely you need to at least be ready to supply jacking pucks in the all too likely event the service location doesn't have them. And you will have to be sure to educate them on using the pucks, probably a good idea to have them put it in writing on the work order that they know they have to use them and will use them.

The biggest problem is the type of lifts found in most tire shops and many if not most dealer service areas, the kind that lift the car on the length of the rocker panels. It works fine for steel cars but not plastic Corvettes. You usually end up with cracked rocker panels.

The type of pucks isn't an issue, personal preference based on cost and availability. I made mine out of hockey pucks for a total cost of about $10, as did most C6 members of the Forum. Seems most C7 folks here are buying commercially available ones. They all work the same.....gotta give the lift something to contact before it contacts the rocker panel.

 

Does that go for the dealers also??

 

Unfortunately yes, they're most often the worst offenders.

 

A dealer should know how to do it right, but unfortunately you can't always count on it.

As for billet vs. plastic, I don't think it really matters. I've seen at least one post where a plastic stay-in puck cracked, but that seems the exception. The one advantage to plastic is that it won't scratch the aluminum frame rails.

Many people like the leave-in pucks. I prefer the ones from ReverseLogic. They're deeper, so offer more protection for the rocker panels, but can be fitted to that you can tighten them down, allowing you to put them in yourself before turning the car over to a service department. They're also delrin (plastic), and won't scratch the frame.

 

So, you recommend the "extra tall?"

 

If you have, or plan to get, side skirts, you'll want the extra tall. Otherwise the standard height is fine. The standard ones are still taller than the leave-in pucks.

 

For peace of mind, I would get the jacking pucks and make sure your dealership (or any repair facility) knows to use them. In fact, if you can find a set of snap in pucks, get them. Then you don't have to worry about not having them when you need them.

 

Bought my C7 jacking pucks from Southern Car Parts a CF vendor.....$42.99.

http://www.southerncarparts.com/corv...ks-p-5762.html

I have side skirts on my C7 and have permanently installed them, meaning I leave them in all the time.

There is plenty of room to jack up the car with a hydraulic jack without hitting the side shirts.

 

I made my own pads as soon as I got my C7. I made them less than the 2 1/2 inches OD mentioned in the Owners Manual (page 10-4) unlike the 3 inch OD ones I had for my C6 (my early view of a C7 at Laguna Seca in August 2013 and my own car showed some slots were much closer than my C6 slots to the rocker panels.) However I soon added side skirts that require higher pads/pucks to be sure my own jack or service lift arms cleared them. I bought mine from KaTech and they have both a 1 inch high and 2 inches high and 2 1/2 inch diameter model as does Reverse Logic mentioned in an above post. Katech had made there pads fro C6 Z06's that had side skirts. I like the feature of the Reverse Logic pads/pucks of being able to assemble them so temporarily they can be tightened and put in when bringing the car for service. Mine are just used at the time of jacking and must be removed to test drive etc.
I put my pads on the passenger seat in a clear plastic bag with a note. Will they be used? Can't be sure but I make whoever is going to work on the car that they must be. Cracking a carbon fiber side skirt would be a major issue. However if they crack a rocker panel you'll have to look after the work is done to find it!
To reinforce the need, when I got my C7 in October 2013 I received a GM notice to bring my car in to check the differential fluid level. I went to our local large Chevy/BMW/Mercedes dealer and talked with the service scheduler who I knew from work done on my C6- great person.
I mentioned I had my pads on the passenger front seat and to be sure they were used. She said; "Don't worry I will be sure they use our drive on alignment rack! We just cracked a Vette rocker panel and had to replace it!" They have about 12 center post lifts that require 4 arms to be placed on the frame and jack pads are needed so the lift arms do not touch the composite plastic rocker panels.


My home made pads 1" high x 2" OD: KaTech pads purchsed after installing CF side skirts, they are 2" high X 2 1/2" OD.

 

I recommend metal pucks over plastic or rubber since they will not deform under load....
Even dealers may not have the correct pucks. I found that my local dealer was just using washers....not very safe..

If you get them too thick, they may be too low to fit on a lift.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

 

I bought the pucks from Reverse Logic. Main reason was I don't have side skirts now, but I will be buying them at some point, and the tall Reverse Logic pucks can be taken apart so they can be used at normal height (they come with both length bolts) and then put back to the tall size once I get the side skirts..

 

I bought the BMW snap-in, leave-in pucks for my C6 and transferred them to the C7. They are just tall enough to protect the rocker panels, and do not stick down so far as to be noticeable.

 

I don't have the additional side skirts but I bought the snap-in hard plastic pucks for my own piece of mind. To do anything under the Vette you've got to jack it up. Sometimes I get energetic and jack it just to clean the wheels.