Poor design
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 937
Likes: 70
From: Ponte Vedra Florida
Poor design
I have been a Corvette fan, nut, since the age of 13. I have owned a C4, C5, C6, and now a C7. How do the smart engineers at Chevrolet design a Corvette that requires catalytic converter and part of the exhaust to be removed in order to change clutch fluid and bleed off the complete system. They designed a system that made the bleeder on the slave cylinder a major job to reach. This recommended maintenance job cost me $400 to complete. Makes no sense!
Popular Reply
Apr 28, 2021, 08:29 AM
Racer
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 388
Likes: 213
From: RI
These threads always crack me up.
Is anyone posting here an engineer? A mechanical engineer, or better yet a mechanical product design engineer?
When I was in highschool I used to think a lot of the negative things posted above. All I can say is that as a mechanical product design engineer with more than a decade of experience, there are more factors to be considered than you could ever imagine. Cost and servicability are of course factors, but there are many, many other things to worry about, in every industry that the general public knows nothing about and engineers need to balance all these factors the best they can given the time they have. Time is a massive limiter. A lot of times just as I feel I am catching my breath on a design, management pulls me onto something new because the market NEEDS it. No time to refine.
Wish I could beam this experience into this post so then you could all "download" it and stand back and appreciate the amazing job GM engineers did on the C7. Truly a wonderful job.
That is all. Good day.
Is anyone posting here an engineer? A mechanical engineer, or better yet a mechanical product design engineer?
When I was in highschool I used to think a lot of the negative things posted above. All I can say is that as a mechanical product design engineer with more than a decade of experience, there are more factors to be considered than you could ever imagine. Cost and servicability are of course factors, but there are many, many other things to worry about, in every industry that the general public knows nothing about and engineers need to balance all these factors the best they can given the time they have. Time is a massive limiter. A lot of times just as I feel I am catching my breath on a design, management pulls me onto something new because the market NEEDS it. No time to refine.
Wish I could beam this experience into this post so then you could all "download" it and stand back and appreciate the amazing job GM engineers did on the C7. Truly a wonderful job.
That is all. Good day.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,414
Likes: 484
From: NY
I have been a Corvette fan, nut, since the age of 13. I have owned a C4, C5, C6, and now a C7. How do the smart engineers at Chevrolet design a Corvette that requires catalytic converter and part of the exhaust to be removed in order to change clutch fluid and bleed off the complete system. They designed a system that made the bleeder on the slave cylinder a major job to reach. This recommended maintenance job cost me $400 to complete. Makes no sense!
1. Many aspects of design require compromises.
2. The GM engineers are only so smart.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,342
Likes: 24,781
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
I guess sometimes to make everything tuck up under the car compromises are made in terms of ease of accessibility for other items. Is it inconvenient for some repair procedures - sure, but it is certainly not the first time nor will it be the last that it happens in the design and manufacturer of a vehicle.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,064
Likes: 1,166
From: N. Alabama
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 6,391
Likes: 1,453
From: South Dakota
Moderator
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 15,268
Likes: 4,208
From: Northern Illinois
2023 Corvette of the Year Winner - Modified
2022 C7 of the Year Winner - Modified
St. Jude Donor '18 thru '25
Lol I know those kind of things can be frustrating.. heck the Bugatti Veyron oil change is $21K.. the whole back of the car has to come apart.. sheesh you'd think an engineer might have assumed the oil may need changing at some point lol.
Pro
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 666
Likes: 422
From: USA - Already a great country!
I had a friend with a Jaguar XKE. A classic beauty, I always thought. Then one day I watched him change his oil, which involved putting the car on a lift, unbolting the motor mounts, and jacking up the entire drivetrain. This was necessary because the oil canister, with a bolt though the center, was inches above the main cross beam under the engine. The bolt was about 6 inches long, so...
Yeah.
Yeah.
