Thanks for the welcome back, although I'm working on eventually getting that "-V" part of the CTS.

Let me sum up what I've been doing the past two years.......

....

....

That's about it.
What the hell you guys been up to? lol.


oh, yeah, I got rid of the vette and bought a CTS.


From this



to this





Look closely... it'll always be in my blood.


but I can't complain.

I've equated most of the mods at CF to those of schoolchildren. I think a lot of them were bullied as kids so now they have "justification" to get back at people who don't see it their way. There's not really any other explanation, other then they may naturally be complete tools. It's one or the other.

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itties "We’re sorry, but that combination is not available"

omfg guys. Lol. Even if I could get it past the DMV, my family would disown me if I did plates like those. haha.

"estes" & "itman" are taken.
"estme" & "itman2" aren't.

Almost thought of doing OOFAST. But was afraid i'd get associated with the Fast & the Furious/2 fast 2 furious crowd.

One I just thought of today.. "MINUS9"

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pretty sure that wouldn't get past the DMV. lol

Wait... What?! Yeah, just as the title says, I finally ordered my first personalized plates for my vette. Been wanting to do it for over 5 years. TX only allows 6 letters/numbers on a plate, so i was limited in what i could come up with that wasn't already taken. I found out TX now has a new "T" plate (permanent "T" + 6 letters/#s) so naturally, my options opened up a bit.

This is what i'll be picking up soon from the DMV..

I couldn't really tell you what the difference feels like between a vette with a shift kit and one without. Mine already had a shift kit when i bought it. shift kit = firmer shifts, in mine WOT will chirp the tires particularly between 1st and 2nd. If my ASR is turned on and i go WOT, it'll kick in between 1st and 2nd, sometimes between 2nd and 3rd, and now that i got my transmission fixed from a huge leak a few weeks ago, it shifts even better now.

Ok, will definetely take your advice and not do that. As far as the power harness (ign., ant.) is concerned, what's the best way of taking care of it? Is it ok to use the same harness? However, I'm guessing I need to get rid of the amp relay, but I'm assuming it's just a litttttle more involved than just possibly removing the relay, cutting the wires, and connecting the wires back together again. I'm not at my car right now, but it looked like there were 2 sets of 'power' wires that looped from the dash, and it looked like there was one set that went to the amp relay, and the other set was hardwired into the CDM, so i'm lost as far as what I just need to cut and get rid of.

I'm assuming i just need to cut the 'power' wires before they even reach relay or CDM, the wires closest to the front.
Yes, I am a dummy when it comes to anything audio/radio related, but that's why I'm here. I always assume i'm going to screw something up beyond repair.

Bottom line, i guess, what will i need to cut or just rip out?

New photo :D
[IMG]http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4476/pict00460089755.jpg[/IMG]

What's wrong with just taking the harnesses that plug into the radio receiver box, and plugging those into the new HU harness? I've tested the theory with an older HU that I had lying around, and everything works just fine. Am I missing something here?

There's basically three harnesses that plug into the CDM. two smaller ones for the speakers, and another one for the power/ant/etc. I took those 3 harnesses, plugged them into my HU, and everything works as it should. Besides probably being the completely WRONG thing to do as far as audio is concerned, lol, why can't I just do that?

With the spare HU plugged in, I still get the same crap sound quality from the speakers as before, but i'm not too concerned with that, I just want the ability to play cds, listen to radio, and play mp3's.

Reason I'm asking is because my stock Blose HU/Controller is crapping out a piece at a time, and I need to get it swapped out. No backlight on the display, now the CD player sometimes won't work when there's a CD in there, and when that happens, no other buttons will work either, can't do anything, Radio or listen to my MP3 player via the tape deck, can't even set the clock..... nada. I know some of you will suggest Dr. Don's, but I'm not really interested in going that route.

Forgot to mention: I have a '93 Coupe - CDM is in storage compartment behind Passenger seat.

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I bought them from OE Wheels, They are 9.5" all around. My tire sizes are still staggered though, 255's in front, 285's in rear.

I like both of them, but it's going to take a little while to get used to the black wheels, I had the Chrome sawblades on it for 4 years. Still weird to me seeing my car without them.

New photos of my car. Changed from Chrome sawlblades to the black ZR1's. IMO the new wheels make the vette stand out more because it seems to be less Blingy. (Is "Blingy" a word? lol)

Gimme the quadruple-ply if they got it. I don't like wiping my ass with sandpaper, so i get the good stuff.

funny, i was thinking the same thing. Not a problem if you have coffee though.

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Do you have to send them a donation through Western Union? lol

So that $500 only pays for a couple of tires, right? lol

You know what, i saw this thread today and figured i'd be proactive and cautious and install the homemade emergency release cables. I've never been worried about the cable breaking, but i guess it could happen at any time. (not a comforting feeling). But now i'm all better. :D

cool car, but the real question is how much is that thing going to cost.

The redesigned rear curtain clips. $20. THE best purchase for less than $100.

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I just did mine a couple weeks ago. Very simple process like aardwolf stated. Remove plug. Pump out all old fluid, pump in new fluid. Some brands of diff dluid already have the additive in it, others don't. Should say clearly on the labels whether or not additive is in it already. I used Royal Purple which had the additive in it already. It should take approx. 1.5 quarts of new fluid to fill up.

I say you're going to get f****d in more ways than one if she ever became your roomate. But if you do go through with it, get PICS 1st! lol

I'm just going to copy and paste some previous posts I've had. I 'm too tired from work to rethink new thoughts.


Re: CAFE Standards
=======================
People are trying to make a big deal out of this for no reason whatsoever. the "Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) is the sales weighted average fuel economy, expressed in miles per gallon (mpg), of a manufacturer’s fleet of passenger cars or light trucks. I don't see the problem either. The Corvette is only a blip within the entire equation. The only thing that happens is the manufacturer might pay a penalty for failing to meet CAFE standards.


But note that "since 1983, manufacturers have paid more than $590 million in CAFE civil penalties. Most European manufacturers regularly pay CAFE civil penalties ranging from less than $1 million to more than $20 million annually. Asian and most of the big domestic manufacturers have never paid a civil penalty."


""The current penalty for failing to meet CAFE standards is $5.50 per tenth of a MPG under the target value times the total volume of those vehicles manufactured for a given model year." The public needs to do a little bit of reading on the subject before they start declaring that it's the "end of the muscle car era" as we know it and that the Corvette is doomed.
============================

Here's my take on it: The c7 will be slightly smaller, MAYBE 1 or 2" difference in width/length and/or wider wheelbase, it'll become lighter... 50... 100lbs...... and they'll make it E85 capable. That's it. They don't need to do anything else.
.... and they'll pretty up the interior. :buhbye:
===============================

A new corvette is 430hp, weighs 3200 lbs, and according to Chevrolet gets around 15/25 mpg. The LT1 C4 is 3300 lbs, 300 hp, and gets 17/25. They're not going to go back to 1990's hp when they have a 430 hp engine that gets the same kind of gas mileage. They'll keep the Corvette at 400+ hp, but they'll reduce the weight, they'll implement some sort of fuel management system (ie shut down half of the cylinders at cruising speed), and they'll make the Corvette a dual-fuel vehicle. Though everyone knows that E85 is currently less efficient than gasoline, it doesn't matter. According to CAFE standards, a vehicle that is a dual fuel vehicle is legally classified as being more fuel efficient. Even if they do these things and only get an increase of 2 MPG, it still doesn't matter, because CAFE standards are applied for a company's entire fleet of vehicles, not for every model.

The Corvette is Chevy's flagship and it's one small piece of GM's entire fleet of vehicles. Even if GM doesn't meet the upcoming CAFE standards, it STILL doesn't matter, because no domestic car company has ever been fined for failing to meet CAFE standards.......the same cannot be said about foreign companies that do not meet U.S. CAFE standards.
===============================
Actually, they do. What's the whole purpose of the CAFE standard? For the Govt. to make money.

Direct from the horse's mouth, so you can try to debate the facts but it just won't work :

"Most European manufacturers regularly pay CAFE civil penalties ranging from less than $1 million to more than $20 million annually. Asian and most of the big domestic manufacturers have never paid a civil penalty. "

GM has never paid a civil penalty:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/Cars/rules/...D-SUMMARY.html


Companies can also earn credits. "Manufacturers can earn CAFE “credits” to offset deficiencies in their CAFE performances. Specifically, when the average fuel economy of either the passenger car or light truck fleet for a particular model year exceeds the established standard, the manufacturer earns credits . . . These credits can be applied to any three consecutive model years immediately prior to or subsequent to the model year in which the credits are earned" So even if GM doesn't meet the standards, they can apply any earned credits to meet those standards.

Next, GM doesn't even technically have to reduce weight/alter displacement, or do much of anything to increase mpg according to CAFE standards. GM can make the Corvette a dual fuel/alternative fuel vehicle and the car will legally be classified as having a higher mpg, even though technically, in the real world, it might actually have reduced fuel economy. Try to wrap your brain around that.

"The CAFE law provides for special treatment of vehicle fuel economy calculations for dedicated alternative fuel vehicles and dual-fuel vehicles. The fuel economy of a dedicated alternative fuel vehicle is determined by dividing its fuel economy in equivalent miles per gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel by 0.15. Thus a 15 mpg dedicated alternative fuel vehicle would be rated as 100 mpg. For dual-fuel vehicles (vehicles that can use the alternative fuel and gasoline or diesel interchangeably), the rating is the average of the fuel economy on gasoline or diesel and the fuel economy on the alternative fuel vehicle divided by .15"

These are the facts, and they are not debatable. Sorry, I'm just tired of everyone saying the muscle car wars are over and that the Corvette is on its last breath.

==========================

They will not make the C7, or the C8, C9, the size of a Solstice, and they will not bump the engine down to a V6. There's no point and there's no need to. GM has 12 years to have their domestic passenger car fleet obtain the 35mpg avg for CAFE. Even if they don't, it doesn't matter. the point of enforcing CAFE is for 2 reasons, and 2 reasons only.... 1) To become more "energy conscious", and 2) for the U.S. Govt to make money. The Govt. fines corporations for failing to meet CAFE standards, but the Govt. has also never fined Domestic or Asian manufacturers for their failure in meeting CAFE standards. Who are the ones that get fined? That's right, The European manufacturers.

GM's North American passenger car production volume for 2007 was 1.526 million, the Corvette accounted for 2.6% of total production, or 40,561 vehicles. .... 2.6%.

GM will not screw with a flagship model like the Corvette, especially when it has such an insignificant impact on the domestic passenger car fleet average fuel economy. Light trucks and foreign passenger cars have different CAFE standards than domestic passenger cars.

I've said my piece.... again (I have to because it doesn't seem to get through people's heads no matter how often I say it).
=========================================

:dontget:

Almost forgot to say what I used for it.

I used Turtle Wax Polishing Compound and Scratch Remover.



Ignore the big green bottle on my bumper, that was some turtle wax rubbing compound, and it was completely useless, it didn't do a thing. I still have the full bottle if anyone wants it. lol.

I thought I'd share this with you guys. This is a write-up I did almost two years ago. It might give you guys some hints or even a walkthrough if you ever need to do a similar repair. I've only had to re-polish the bumper a couple more times in the last two years, both times taking less than 10 minutes to get it back to normal. If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask.

-Robert


-----------------------------------------

April 15, 2007:

Today was the day I decided that I'd had enough of my ugly faded rear bumper. It has really bothered me for quite some time...so I set off to the auto parts store to get some polishing compound. I'd never used the stuff before, but I was sure I could tackle the job. I didn't have an electric buffer, so I had to do the work the old fashioned way.

There's not much I can do as far as a write-up. Basically, I followed the instructions that were on the product. What I can do is show you all pics of the results. I took my time and tested the waters as to how much pressure I should be applying the compound with. Here are the results:

Step 1: This is my initial "test an inconspicuous area" application. You can see how seriously faded my bumper is in the pic. I did a very, very light application of the compound in the middle of the bumper.




Step 2: Ok, I saw a little bit of progress in Step 1, now it's time to get dirty and do the real deal. I started with the right half of the bumper.





Step 3: I'm starting to get some results in the above pics, so I keep going at it.... and a while later, it begins to look like this:




Step 4: A bit further along the compounding process..




Step 5: 2 to 3 hours later, the final results:








The entire process was approximately 2-3 hours. I don't know exactly when I started, but I was out there for a while working on it. I wanted to do it right, and did not want to burn through the paint by rubbing too hard. I started off very lightly rubbing the compound on, and as time progressed through the compounding process, I learned how much pressure I could apply the compound with.

I topped off the compounding process with some wax and polish. It remains to be seen if this will hold up to the test of time or mother nature, but at least it's not an eyesore any more. Personally, I think it came out great considering how faded the bumper was in the first place.

...

thanks guys. I've done the clay only once before, maybe 2 or 3 years ago, i don't remember, but I don't think I knew what I was doing at the time. lol because I don't remember the clay ever picking up as much junk as it did this time. I think I just rinsed the car, clayed it, and waxed. rofl. I guess it makes a bigger difference when you do this stuff properly. haha.

thank you :toothy5:

Well, I did my own photo op today, I hadn't taken photos of my car in about a year. I did some serious work to get it looking all nice. Dawn'ed my car, claybarred it, did the scratch and swirl removal, and nanowaxed. And I'm flippin tired. But holy cow, the clay bar picked up a lot of dirt and oil, even after giving my car a good soapy wash. Amazing how much crap gets embedded in the paint. It was pretty bad. Anyway, seeing as how I don't have a PC to do any of the work, I used my random orbital $30 buffer for most of it. (I wasn't about to do it all by hand). Eventually, I'll buy some higher quality machinery so that things will be a little easier and get a little better results whenever I decide to do this again. The photos

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how about a white vette with a quasar blue stripe running down the middle?

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where's the hatch or trunk? lol. other than that and the C3 front end, i think it looks pretty good.

if/when (knock on wood) my opti goes out, i've wondered which route i'd go. I could go with the coil packs, (for some reason Delteq is the brand I always remember when thinking of coil packs for the LT1), or i'd buy an MSD opti, and most likely I would go with the MSD. The optis are fairly robust anyway, the only time they usually go bad is when there's a water pump failure. I wonder if the actual installation time for the coil packs takes about the same time as just swapping in a new opti. Let's just hope my current opti never goes bad and that I'll never have to make the decision.

Another alternative is to just buy a ZR1.

The car is just plain ugly. The only thing I remotely like about it is the side profile. The rest of it looks like ****. Mark my words, when the new transformers movie comes out, blue flames will be coming out of the exhaust on that thing. Just wait.

x-fire, it might also be that the window stop guides are broken. Here's a write-up I did if you want to look into it:

C4 Window Alignment

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All anyone ever had to do was google it, nothing is hidden these days.

2 red C6 logo shirts that I bought at Kohl's. I would never wear them out in public, I don't even wear them in the house, they're officially my working on the car/grease protection shirts.

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I posted this at the beginning of Dec. over at DC:

"I think you're 100% correct. Nothing will change once the Govt. gives them the money. And what'll happen is that the govt. will give maybe 70-75% of what they initially request. So Chrysler will receive an initial $5 to $5.5 billion of their requested $7 billion. The govt will say "You guys show us that you can make an effort to make this 5.5 billion work, and then come back to us in 2 or 3 months, show us you've done something, and we'll give you the rest of what you requested. The Big 3 will put up a superficial "plan," The Govt. will take a quick glance and say, "Sure looks good, looks like you guys are trying, so here's the rest of the money." The big 3 won't make any real effort to change their business practices, but they'll make it appear that they have so that it satsifies the govt and Americans in general. Then the big 3 will come back in another 6 months requesting even more money, but maybe request only 50-60% of what they had initially requested. The govt. will concede and give them the full request of their second stimulus packages. And what'll change? Nothing. In 2 years time , one of the big 3 will declare bankruptcy because the economic woes were just too difficult to overcome, they will get rid of the CEO, they will "reorganize," and startup again with a slightly different gameplan. The other two will be in such bad shape that they'll have to merge and sell off or get rid of more lines of cars. They'll pretty everything up again and maybe ask the Govt. for a 3rd stimulus. The Govt. will say, "Ok, that's good enough for us.. thanks guys." They'll get more of our money, they'll drive the business back into the ground, and we'll be back in the same place in another 10 or 15 years asking why it didn't all work.

So, it seems to me that the easiest solution would be to let these companies go under; the upper management should be kicked out and they should get some people in their who actually have brains, who know how to run a business, and have them quit screwing around and actually make a real effort to change things.

I obviously don't want to see such a mass number of ordinary Americans out of work because of the laziness of these companies, but i think letting these companies go under is the only solution that will make the necessary changes happen sooner rather than later."

I don't do anything extra or anything less to fund my projects. (Maybe that's why I've never had any projects, lol) The corvette comes second to me, so there's no way i'd cut back on groceries or other things just to be able to do things to the car. Could I? Sure, but if did something extra or cut back on other things, it would be because I had bills to pay, not so i could pay for unneeded projects.

I installed the beta on my desktop. I may actually have to take back what I said, after using it for a few minutes, it's not as crappy as Vista, yet. I'm actually really quite liking some of the new GUI features. It remains to be seen if performance will be any better. 1st impression is good so far.

thanks. Yeah, I was getting really tired of making those payments, could be using that money for better things than paying off a car. One less bill to worry about. Now the money saved will be going to other bills. That's the trouble with money, everybody wants it.

My car is mine, officially, I got the notice in the mail telling me that they're sending me MY title., so i'm just waiting for it to arrive. :thumbright: It was only 4 years ago, today, that I bought my car. Strange, but it seems like i've had my car longer than that for some reason. But it feels good to know that my bank account won't be automatically deducted any more. I hated that. Ack. No more car payments for a while. :tongue6: And no one better say I should start doing some mods to my car, or i'm going to have to hurt you. lol

..... I guess I might was well post a Then and Now photo, just for the hell of it. :D

imho opinion, Vista is as crappy as XP, only in different ways. The same way XP was as crappy as Win 98/2000, but only in different ways. My prediction is that Windows 7 will be a less crappy version of Vista, but will still be as crappy as XP, only in different ways. That's the simplest way I can explain it, lol.

The guys that are on here, as well as other experienced folks on other boards, are the ones that I trust with my car, they are the first ones I will go to if there's ever a problem i don't know how to fix. They've never steered me wrong when it comes to troubleshooting car problems or when providing opinions and feedback. I can't believe the svc mgr said the display system would have to be replaced, yet another svc mgr trying to screw ppl out of money.

Top 2 reasons for a SYS error, as were mentioned above and are almost aways the issue, are: Battery problem, or aftermarket radio issue. The next two top reasons are: ECM/CCM communication error (but "ERR" would also show on the LCD), or VATS problem (but "Security" light would also flash).

Yikes, yeah, trust the folks on here.

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wth did you do to get banned from DC? lol

french bread