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Some of you may have seen in various threads over the past several months that I've mentioned my Z has been in the shop after this little hydroplane highway incident right here
It has taken over 4 months to get everything taken care of. To start with, C7 Carbon told me a 4-6 week lead time on all the CF aero I ordered. Turned out it was more like 12 weeks, so I was a little peeved about that. Then there were all kinds of little hiccups. Issues installing the CF brake scoops I ordered from APsis because the factory ones are riveted in and there is a plethora of emissions crap hiding it on the passenger side. Ended up just body coloring them. Finish date kept getting pushed by because of all these little things. Then there were some NOT so little things like almost NONE of the C7 Carbon pieces fit the way they were supposed to. The wheel spats didn't have tabs on them to pop in the wheel wells, so they had to fabricate something for that. The rear diffuser didn't have holes for the undertray and didn't line up properly, so they had to fabricate stuff for that. Ironically the WEIGHT of the diffuser and undertray combined was so much that it made the rear bumper cover sag, so they had to reinforce that. The diffuser also did not line up properly with the slots for the rear vents so they had to extend those and also trim the edges where it met with the vent. All in all, I ended up about $3 grand EXTRA in labor because C7 Carbon doesn't know how to make diffusers or wheels spats, apparently. I would not recommend either of those things to buy from them. The rear wing and side skirts fit fine though. Anyway, here's a list of everything that was done.
Custom yellow paint with metallic and pearl (which is hard to see from my pics because it's over cast)
Painted body color brake scoops and marker lights
Painted black exhaust tips and rear reflectors
Ace Alloy AFF06 wheels with R888Rs all round 325/30/20R 295/30/19F (there's a TOUCH of rubbing in the front if i hit a good dip in the road. I'm lowered all the way on factory bolts)
Replaced pretty much every carbon flash part with carbon fiber as detailed below:
From C7 Carbon-
Front splitter, stage 3 winglets, wheel spats, side skirts, rear diffuser, diffuser under tray, rear wing with stage 2 wicker bills
From APsis -
Mirrors (kept auto dimming, btw!!) a-pillars, hood vent, grille, side vents, rear upper vents, and also on the interior, center console and water fall plus shift ****
I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to @apsisusa btw. All the parts were fantastic quality. Also Jersey over there worked with me quite a bit when the shop was being ridiculous and helped me out more than what is generally hoped for from a business. His customer service is impeccable and ANYTHING that I plan to buy that I can get from him, I will.
So without further ado, here's a link to the album of all the new pics. I'll also post a link to this thread in all the threads I've talked about this in where I promised pics or input on various things over the course of the last 4 months. https://photos.app.goo.gl/DKy5JEsoSShCWsz5A
If the link isn't working for you, here's a pic
Last edited by Toddiesel; 02-19-2019 at 06:38 AM.
Reason: adding one pic in case link doesn't work
Thanks! They still have to do some "paint correction" (read: wet sand and buff) and then I'm getting a clear bra, but other than that, I'm quite happy with it. The R888Rs are kicking up a lot of debris, which is why I need the clear bra.
Edit: Never mind, I found the after pictures in your other thread. Lookin Good! Were the Toyos on when you crashed? I imagine they will hydroplane a lot easier than a street tire.
Edit: Never mind, I found the after pictures in your other thread. Lookin Good! Were the Toyos on when you crashed? I imagine they will hydroplane a lot easier than a street tire.
No toyos when I wrecked. Factory PSS. They were still over the wear bars, but barely. It was time to replace them. I believe they will actually be a lot better about not hydroplaning than some almost bald PSSs, but time will tell!
Understand. I had the experience of hitting the concrete center island and then doing two 360s across 5 lanes of a busy freeway in a rain storm in San Jose some years ago that I also attribute to a puddle and tires that were worn but not down to the wear bars. So tread is a good thing and should be valued. It is amazing how fast the car can get away from you. At the time I had an active competition license and raced a full schedule with NASA and likely was as capable as anyone of catching the rear end stepping out, but it can happen incredibly quickly.
Lower control arm on passenger side was bent (crazy that aluminum would bend and not break!!), but other than that, it was ALL cosmetic. Still close to 30k in cost, but cosmetic nonetheless.
Looks awesome. Can we say looks even better now? I mean better than before the incident?
I certainly think so, with all the CF upgrades and the custom paint. You can't really see the metallic/pearl because it's overcast, but I'm going to get some pro photos done when I find a good spot in town and do it during some good lighting
I'd only recommend APR for aero bits. Their parts usually fit as good as OEM, and they come with beautiful finish.
Yeah I had APR wheel spats before and they were perfect. I had used C7 carbon for side skirts and front splitter before, so I assume all their parts were good. HUGE mistake there. Lesson learned, for sure. NEVER ever buy their parts.
02-16-2019, 10:51 AM
A loooooooong transformation
