David's Car Thread - C5 Vette and Mazda 6

[David]

Well, this is awkward. Been here over two years now and this will be my first thread started

I posted these in the "pics of your real car" thread the other day but I'll use them to get this started. These were all taken last weekend when I gave the car its first good cleaning and polishing of the year.

It's a 2001 Corvette Coupe (C5) with about 52k miles on the clock. My dad purchased the car used back in winter 2006/2007 while I was still in college. It's still in his name but I made the final year and a half of the payments because my parents were considering trading or selling it when they bought a new vehicle a little while back. That was not an acceptable outcome to me

Took the Vette into the shop the other day for 4 new tires, oil/filter change, and diff fluid change. My dad picked it up so I haven't gotten to drive it yet on the fresh rubber. Hopefully the weather will continue to be nice this weekend so I can give it a proper trial . I'll try to remember to take some pics of the engine bay next time I have it out as well.

Also, you can see my daily driver in the background of the first picture. It's a 2003 Mazda 6 that I purchased used in 2005 with about 28k miles on it. It's now going on 158k miles and still chugging along. I'll get some pictures of that back up here as well when I get a chance.

 

[Punknoodle]

That looks really clean, nice car

 

[mp10]

Nice looking Corvette, Whats that on the front of the car? bonnet bra?

 

[MisterWhiskers]

Very nice.

 

[Thatman]

Why not daily drive the vette? Also is that the factory shifter for that year?

 

[SpartanG]

Easily my favorite generation of vette. Nice car, have fun with it! can't wait to see where this goes.

 

[David]

Thanks everyone! Glad you all like it 👍

Nice looking Corvette, Whats that on the front of the car? bonnet bra?

Yep it's a bra. I'll probably take that off next time I give it a wash.

Why not daily drive the vette? Also is that the factory shifter for that year?

I'd love to daily it but my commute to work is 65ish miles each way, every day. It's just too much wear and tear. I get it out for a few hours at least on most weekends during spring/summer/fall.

As far as I know that is the factory shifter. The only thing we've done to the interior since getting the car is changing out the stereo head unit. We added that touchscreen Pioneer dvd/cd player. It also has an iPod input line run into the center console which is nice. Just using the Bose speakers that came in the car. It was nicely optioned... leather seats, power everything, and it's got a heads up display.

Next thing to take care of is the driver's side mirror. The car has those auto-dimming mirrors (electrochromic), but on that side a seal must have broken because the gel leaked and now the mirror is dark all the time . Last time I looked around online I wasn't able to find anywhere to just buy the electrochromic glass. You had to buy the whole mirror housing and everything for $700 or something like that. Might have to just get some regular glass to replace it if that's the case.

Couple of pics with my car in them from a Vette club meeting a few years back.

Pics of my 6 when I first picked it up.

Just noticed the 95 Nissan Altima that I learned to drive in making a guest appearance.

I'll get some more recent ones up this weekend.


Edit: Got bored so I went out to the garage for some engine pics.

Definitely need to clean and re-oil the filters.

 

[Thatman]

I see, Well aside from premium being more, it should get better MPG I know my buddies does if you stay off the accelerator. Wear and tear wise I can understand though. But yeah, the only thing about your mirror is the entire thing or nothing. His left side is loose left or right and I think replacement for that is a $2 part with a $68 corvette tax.

How is your seat holding up?

 

[David]

Yeah, cruising in 6th gear on the highways does get better MPG than my little 4cyl Mazda engine for sure . I'm only getting about 26-27mpg these days and I know I can get at least 30 in the Vette but it's still just a lot of miles and all the routine stuff like tires and brakes are wayyyy more expensive.

The seats are still in good condition. All the electronic controls work and the leather is in nice shape. When I cleaned the car last weekend I hit the seats with a nice leather cleaner and then some conditioner. Few spots on the driver's side showing some light wear but overall it's good and no tears. I'll try to remember to take some pics of them next time I go out.

My dad and I were debating whether or not to get slightly bigger wheels since we needed new tires. The larger wheels would accommodate an upgrade to the Z06 brake package but we've both spent way too much money on all kinds of other crap lately Maybe next time around.

Here are the old rear tires - Goodyear Eagle F1s.

Front tires are actually in decent shape. Keeping these around for now.

New tires all around. BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2s:

Beautiful day for a drive. You can kind of make out the HUD on the windshield.

I intended to stop and take some more pics at other scenic spots today but I was just having too much fun driving for that kind of nonsense 👍

 

[David]

Well, I had a crappy drive home from work in the Mazda this evening. I hit a pothole and could immediately tell that something in the right-front was messed up. Pulled off to the side of the two lane road I was on to inspect the damage. The inside lip of the wheel took a nice knock and bent in, letting the tire go flat. As best as I could tell the suspension and everything else was okay. I put the spare on, only to find that it was flat after sitting in the trunk since '03 (I was too dumb to check the pressure before I put it on the car ). Luckily at about that time some guys at a little shop across the road had come outside to do some work on their trucks and had a compressor. Taking it to my mechanic tomorrow.

So now I have a wheel situation to solve.

 

[Thatman]

Ah yes, potholes.

Speaking of which, don't lower the car using the stock suspension. It makes the ride much worse. In case you didn't already know that.

Also why have a spare in the car? Added weight right there.(says the guy with a dual sub setup)

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

Nice cars! You need to take that bra off, though. Maybe put on a clear one.

 

[David]

Ah yes, potholes.

Speaking of which, don't lower the car using the stock suspension. It makes the ride much worse. In case you didn't already know that.

Also why have a spare in the car? Added weight right there.(says the guy with a dual sub setup)

I thought about lowering the 6 at times, and would have gotten new suspension bits if I was to do it, but I'm kind of past that now with the mileage and the daily abuse the car takes. That's always why the spare stays in there (it's not a full size or anything). I don't do autox or anything like that in it I've been lucky so far considering the amount of driving I do. The few times I've got a flat before or noticed a nail it's been at the house. Never on the side of the road.

Think I'll probably be going the cheap route with some 16" steel wheels. Should bring the price of tires down too.

Nice cars! You need to take that bra off, though. Maybe put on a clear one.

Thanks Josh. I've thought about that too. There's a 3M place near by that would probably do a nice job on one of those clear covers.

 

[David]

Opted for the cheapest fix possible. Dropped down to 16" steel wheels all around.

 

[Thatman]

I was actually talking about the vette. Context can help, I've been told.

But your Mazda looks like its a winter warrior.

 

[David]

I was actually talking about the vette. Context can help, I've been told.

I probably should have realized that anyway :doh:

I think if we get around to doing anything to the suspension it will be down the road once the car starts feeling more tired anyway. My dad and I both have other financial priorities at the moment .

But your Mazda looks like its a winter warrior.

Yeah it does haha, but for now it's actually an all-season warrior! The car felt good with the new tires on the way in to work just now but the car was pulling pretty hard to the right under heavier braking at highway speeds. The last time it was doing this one of my front brake calipers, and I think a suspension linkage or something, was busted. Need to get that checked out. I'm also sure that the front end alignment could use a bit of work, especially after hitting that pothole but my normal mechanic doesn't do that. There are a couple of collision repair places in town that probably can though so I need to look into it.