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I recently purchased a brand new OEM translucent top through Melrose T Tops in Cortland Illinois. Outstanding customer service, shipping, and very happy with the product.
I also purchased from Melrose the suction cup pop in headliner which works great and easy to install/remove ($109). On a hot day the sun can really heat up even though the top is heavily tinted.
My 19 GS came from the factory with the carbon fiber top
Another shout out for Melrose T-Tops! They have outstanding customer service....
I'm pasting in a post from a test I did in 2015. I tested to see what the difference was on our painted top vs. our transparent top. We later purchased a '17 GS and used the trans top on it all the time. We took several long road trips, etc. Always used the trans top because we could enjoy more of the scenery, felt more open, and the heat was never a real issue. I don't know if the C7 tops were different from prior series or not, but we didn't find it an issue. Our painted tops for both cars just hung in a bag on the wall until we sold the cars. Hope this helps. Thanks, Paul
From a post I made on 8/13/15:
I am satisfied that the transparent top is not 'hotter' than the painted top. I kept reading that the trans tops are much worse than painted in letting the heat in, and I just didn't experience that, so here's what I did to find out:
I have both trans and painted tops for my '15 Z51. I put the painted top on, cooled the interior off to 70 degrees, and let it bake in the direct sunlight for 2 hours on a 96 degree day. I then put the trans top on, cooled the interior to 70 degrees, and let it bake for just over 2 hours in the direct sun - outside temp had increased to 97 degrees. There was a 3 degree difference on interior temp - a bit hotter with trans top, but it also baked about 20 minutes longer. Another control vehicle was my 2014 SRX. Did same thing on it with the sunshade shut on the same day. It was 4 degrees cooler than the trans top reading.
My conclusion: hot is hot. Didn't really matter which top was on, and it was essentially the same temp reading as my SRX. Maybe the older series Cs trans tops were worse?
One day a week I leave it out in the direct sun for 5-6 hours, and the outside temps are mid-90s into the low hundreds. I've never had trouble getting it to cool down. I drive with the windows down for a minute or so with the air up high, then close the windows and the a/c keeps up no problem.
Another thing I've started doing when the car has been baking for a long time: when I shut it down I leave the a/c temp low and the fan up high. About 10 minutes prior to going out to the car I use the OnStar app to remote start the car. Nice and comfortable when I get to it.
After using the solid black suction cup shade, I found a self-adhesive dot matrix vinyl shade on eBay and use it during warm months. Much easier to maneuver and store in the car, and once installed, blocks most of the sunlight while giving a bit of open sky feeling.
Off and on availability on eBay, but would be a simple DIY.
I used one of these covers on my 2 C6 coupes with great results. It kept most of the heat out and still allowed me to see out the top. On my 19 GS I bought a different cover from Zip Corvettes and like it better. Static cling keeps them on and you can see out very well. If you hate thjs top, buy a painted top and sell this one. Good luck.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
