lowered, debadged, sinister - "this car eats children..."

[droideka]

...an apt description by a coworker last week if i do say so myself. i've lowered on the stock bolts and feel it could still use a bit more of a drop, but will live with it for now. other mods include a complete de-badge, replacement of the crossed flags with black ones and a rattle can job on the "retainer." i was able to work loose all tabs on the grill insert save for the last one and ended up ripping it off in a fit of rage. i had started with the vinyl kit, but quickly f'ed it up and threw it away. i have ordered replacement inserts which i will have professionally painted and cleared. the stock one is not terrible and the paint looks really good, but i'd rather have a complete replacement with all tabs intact.

btw, i LOVE this car, even during break-in. so much fun. so tight, rigid and composed. so 'MURICA.

horns up! \m/

[1KUIKC7]

Love your car, but I agree I lowered mine on stock bolts but its still to high!

[Ret9580]

Droideka, your Stingray is Bad Ass!!!! I swear it doesn't matter what color or style, it looks GREAT! Jealously stuck at 1100.

[GunnyG]

That looks FIERCE!!!

[Nate GM]

Looks awesome, and great photography! Does lowering it on the stock bolts affect the ride quality at all? I want to lower mine but I don't want to screw up the handling or anything else.

[Steven Bell]

"Eats children"?.............SMH.







Honestly, there is surely a better way to describe this......

[droideka]

Originally Posted by Steven Bell

"Eats children"?.............SMH.

Honestly, there is surely a better way to describe this......

steve, respectfully, you're way too uptight if this offends you. my 10 year-old thinks it's hilarious.

[droideka]

Originally Posted by Nate GM

Looks awesome, and great photography! Does lowering it on the stock bolts affect the ride quality at all? I want to lower mine but I don't want to screw up the handling or anything else.

thanks, man! i have not encountered anything to the effect of the ride quality degrading. i've driven it hard on twisty roads and cruised on the highway. still feels the same to me.

[Stingray]

Awesome shots and still a nice stance! I think you have the best looking & photogenic CGM out there... the yellow calipers are striking, love it!

[1FASTC7]

Where did you order the black emblems from? Were the orig chrome ones easy to remove and re-install/ line up?

[Richardlord]

What did you did you do to your front grill? I have a TPW beginning today, and one of the first things I shall do is remove the "Braces Effect" of the chrome center strip of the front grill. I like what you did and wish to do likewise.

[steved06512]

I just took delivery of mine a few weeks ago. What do you mean by lowering on the stock bolts? Is the suspension adjustable to some degree? How is this done?

[Nate GM]

Originally Posted by steved06512

I just took delivery of mine a few weeks ago. What do you mean by lowering on the stock bolts? Is the suspension adjustable to some degree? How is this done?

I'm not very technical so I'll let the other guys answer that. Here's a link that gives some more information and shows you how to do it.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/t...alkaround.html

And here's a link to a thread with some before and after pictures.

http://www.corvette7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316345

[droideka]

Originally Posted by 1KUIKC7

Love your car, but I agree I lowered mine on stock bolts but its still to high!

thanks!

Originally Posted by Ret9580

Droideka, your Stingray is Bad Ass!!!! I swear it doesn't matter what color or style, it looks GREAT! Jealously stuck at 1100.

thank you!

Originally Posted by GunnyG

That looks FIERCE!!!

Originally Posted by Stingray

Awesome shots and still a nice stance! I think you have the best looking & photogenic CGM out there... the yellow calipers are striking, love it!

thanks! i LOVE how it came together.

Originally Posted by 1FASTC7

Where did you order the black emblems from? Were the orig chrome ones easy to remove and re-install/ line up?

RPI designs. http://www.rpidesigns.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=3308

the adhesive on the flags is a bit different then that on the other badges. it's a thicker, foamy, rubber core with two sides of adhesive that comes up rather quickly once you get the flags off.

what i did is heat the flags with a hair dryer for around 30 seconds until the emblem was very warm to the touch. next, i worked floss up under a top corner and started to saw and pull simultaneously towards me (away from the car) until a had about an inch of the corner free. then, i placed a flat head screwdriver behind the emblem and pulled toward me, NOT using the screwdriver for any leverage against the paint (i was not prying it off) until i had enough of a purchase on the emblem to get a finger behind it and pop it off.

you can pull the foam adhesive core off in large chunks and use goo gone or 3M adhesive remove to take off the clear tape-like adhesive that's left.

Originally Posted by Richardlord

What did you did you do to your front grill? I have a TPW beginning today, and one of the first things I shall do is remove the "Braces Effect" of the chrome center strip of the front grill. I like what you did and wish to do likewise.

lots of options. vinyl, plastidip, painting. i'm a perfectionist and my attempt at vinyl was not perfect. i don't think plastidip is durable enough long-term and didn't want to spend the time there. i painted mine, but at the expense of not having perfect grill trim anymore. see below.

there are several alternating tabs on the back side that you will need to either pull down or push up on to release. i was able to get loose all save for the last one (outside corner) that i had to break off in order to fully remove. i rattle-canned mine black and have it back on, but the corners are now held on with double-sided tape until my replacements arrive.

yes, i ended up purchasing a complete replacement set that i will have pro-painted and cleared. the pair will set you back ~$240.

Originally Posted by steved06512

I just took delivery of mine a few weeks ago. What do you mean by lowering on the stock bolts? Is the suspension adjustable to some degree? How is this done?

i don't know if i can link to the "other" forum here. i'll shoot you a PM.