So I've been tinkering with little stuff on this thing but nothing really worth mentioning except for this

The original paint is not up to my standards (rock chips and very fine sandblasting of front bumper and fenders around wheels). I am of the mindset that repainting body panels/permanent color changes devalue a car, so a total respray is out of the question.

I have been tossing around the idea of a "neutral" shade - something that doesn't have too much of a specific identity - yellow is too loud, red attracts police, etc etc. A shade of silver, gray, etc is my style. I want something that will have some attitude, but is not tacky, garish, and doesn't scream "look at me". My only real criteria is a high gloss finish. The matte/flat thing looks cheap and unfinished to me.

I bought some samples of Telesto Gray, Gloss Dark Gray, and a 3M Metallic Gray. I put the Telesto Grey sample strip on the car, spanning multiple body lines, and it just didn't have the depth I was looking for. Looked somewhat cheap and showed marks/scratches easily, because there was nothing to draw the eye away from those blemishes. So that killed that idea.

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nogiba/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nogiba/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nogiba/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nogiba/, on Flickr

Here's what I'm thinking: Anthracite Gray by 3M has the right shade of brightness to it while including enough metallic flake to give it depth. I love how it looks in that last picture.




I like how it has that depth when out of the light....



But has that brilliant glossy finish with light applied.



Looks really nice pulled off on this Miata.



And even better on this S4
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/29648937@N03/, on Flickr

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/29648937@N03/, on Flickr

I guess the closest C5 factory color to this shade would be a Medium Spiral Gray, which was never available on the FRC body style...


Here is a Medium Spiral Gray C5 for reference.




just found this over on the 'Tech - Cyber Grey C5Z06

 

that cyber grey is gorgeous

 

Looks good! Keep up the good work!

 

I am planning to swap an L92/LS3 into my C5 this winter, so I thought it was a great time to get some baseline figures. She's a 2000 C5 Fixed Roof Coupe, with all the options (HUD, dual zone automatic climate control, etc).

Power modifications:

Flip Tie Mod
LS6 intake manifold
XS Power Longtube headers with 3" cutouts before the axleback.
Catless 3" x-pipe
Stock C5 catback
ECS Mail Order Tune
4.10 gears
The engine is completely stock internally - no changes to heads, cam, etc.



Cutouts Closed:

356rwhp at 6150rpm and 348 ft-lbs of torque at 4500rpm.



Cutouts Open:

363rwhp at 6200rpm and 355 ft-lbs of torque at 4500rpm.



So, cutouts are worth about 7 whp and 7 ft-lbs on the dyno (at least, on a stock displacement LS1 with no internal mods).



3220 lbs with a full tank of gas, but no driver. The only things that would affect the weight are the C6 wheels (18/19) which are probably heavier than the original N73 Magnesiums that were optioned on the car. This might be offset by the S2000 seats I installed, which are fully manual and a bit lighter than the stock C5 seats.

 

Another project you might find interesting is RPM and or MAP activated cutouts....slip a switch and have them open varying amounts depending on RPM and MAP to allow the motor to breath as best it can at any given RPM.

 

^ thought about doing that, but I like to have full control over them. I like them for the sound, certainly don't feel 7 lb ft by the seat of the pants!

 

Well rig it up so you can have them be "automatic" or have a manual override lol.

3 way toggle switch. Up is manual open, center is "off" and down is automatic. Would be fun for track days where you can have cutouts start to open at a given RPM (where you see gains from dyno graphs) if you see 3000-6500rpm on a road course.

 

Like the cyber grey as well, only thing I can say is I definitely liked the old wheels better then those C6's.

 

So during some initial datalogging a few days ago with HPTuners, the car begin to sputter and run roughly. It began hard to restart and wouldn't stay running, even with gas input. P0336 indicated a bad crank position sensor and the wildly swinging tach when it cut out confirmed that.

I threw in the new sensor last night. Not hard, but I did have to partially swing the longtube out of the way, and unbolt the starter.



Part of the challenge of working blind is that you can't always see what something is hung up on. The plug got beat up by the header flange moving around up top while I was under the lift.



I will continue to datalog tonight and maybe make some changes in the tune to play around.

 

Oops - wrong thread - need a smart phone smart enough to do what I want it to do instead of what I tell it to do....

 

Wrapping a car is basically throwing a few grand out of the window. It is GOING to wear out and it is GOING to need to be removed one day. I'd rather have my car painted if I'm not looking to change the color. I wouldn't change your color.

 

Wrapping a car is great way to bring life/interest back into it without the permanent change. Some people wrap cars like some swap wheels.

 

As much as I want to try something new, I ended up returning the wrap. I'm in the thick of the LS3 swap now and don't need any more work. Maybe I'll try it in a year or two over the winter.

I prefer the wrap because when it does wear out, I can replace one panel instead of having to do expensive paint work.

 

Amazing work! I wish I had your tools and knowledge.

 

You have everything available to you that I do. Internet, will to learn, and some cheap harbor freight tools. The rest is just effort

 

Truth

 

For the first time in this entire thread I have something "aesthetic" to post about this car. I am by no means a real stance enthusiast as I hate the stretched wheel phenomenon but I can truly appreciate high quality, genuine, period correct wheels that look great when paired with functional fitment.

Back in 1999 I was a starry eyed 11 year old with an already healthy obsession with anything automotive. As a big fan of the original Gran Turismo simulator on PS1 back in '97 or so, I was even more so excited for GT2 to come out that year.



One of the coolest features (in addition to the very realistic cars and tracks) was the ability to customize your cars with aftermarket wheels at the "Wheel Shop".



I always loved the classic looks of wheels from BBS and usually put some variant of those on my favorite cars in the game. Fast forward almost 20 years and here I am, casually surfing Craigslist to see what's out there for my C5. The ad said C5 Corvette BBS wheels...



Which immediately seemed unusual as I never thought BBS had made anything for this car; I figured they were some crappy reps in a BMW bolt pattern or the seller was just plain confused. After some research I found out BBS actually did make a set of LM wheels for the C5...

2 hours later I'm reluctantly pulling up in the seller's driveway, greeted by an '03 Coupe and 2 late model MX-5s. The guy must be an enthusiast, I think to myself...



Looking over the wheels, they seem legit if not very unusual....but, the part numbers and sizes checked out and they were real.









It turns out the wheels came on the red '03, which the guy had just recently purchased. He was returning the car back to stock and didn't need the wheels anymore. He had bought the car from the original owner, who was an older gentleman and bought the wheels brand new at a cost of almost $1000 each and decided to drive the car year round. What do you do when you drive a car year round in the NE US? You put Mud and Snow tires on it....

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nogiba/, on Flickr



I kindly paid the man his asking price of $350 and loaded them up into my trusty steed.





So for now, the OEM C6 wheels will stay on until I have a chance to test fit the LM's. The initial plan is to see how they fit with or without the .375" spacer up front and the 1" spacer out back. I absolutely plan on reverse mounting the faces to gain some offset and make the lips stand out visually. Once that's figured out, I'll have the faces refinished (probably in the factory BBS silver) and polish the lips myself.

 

Went on a cruise with some Euro trash. 2x E39 M5 and Saab Turbo X.



Unearthing cool history


Moment of truth








Immediately go to WalMart to buy tiki torches as a test drive


Forgot to mention, they came with cool vintage TPMS programming magnets!




Quick cleanup with some Meguiar's Compound to see if I could breath some temporary life back into the faces (click for video)

by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nogiba/, on Flickr

 

the gifs jhahahhaahah I cant ! they were so appropriate hahaha.

congrats and I too am guilty of the GT2 modding hahah I loved that game

 

Friday night I began disassembling the rear BBS wheels to see if any machining or modification would be necessary to reverse mount the faces on the rear wheels. Luckily, everything bolted up perfectly!

I began by removing the hardware holding the faces to the barrels, 8mm and 10mm 12 point sockets each. Went very quickly with the help of an electric impact.


The faces came out easily with a couple taps from a rubber mallet.


Test fitting a reverse mounted face (foreground), and a standard mount in the background.


Another shot - can you tell which is which? It's a subtle but nice change.


All hardware is getting a nice soaking. Check out the factory threadlocker that was applied in Japan, in a different century!


Out doing old man Corvette things


Back on the C6 wheels for now, parked with my other daily which is lowered using much more ghetto methods.