Chevy Corvette Z06

A Weighty Topic
From "Worth the Weight" (Aug. '08): "You should only need to adjust the right rear corner . . . you'll be adding weight by raising this corner. The right rear is almost always the corner with the lowest weight. As you adjust, you'll notice the opposite corner's weight will decrease."

This doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't raising the RR decrease its weight and add weight to the LR, LF, and maybe RF? And what is the "opposite corner" here-the LF, the LR, or the RF and LR?
Walt Kimball
Palo Alto, CA

You're over-thinking it. As stated in the article, raising a corner increases its weight while simultaneously decreasing weight at the opposite corner. Since we're talking about the right rear in this case, the opposite corner would be the left front.

The Other Way Of Stopping
I have received your mag for the last few years. I love it! I bought a '98 a few years ago. I upgraded the car from stock with Z06 rims, a B&B Bullet exhaust, and an SLP Blackwing cold-air. I am also interested in upgrading the brakes. I just ordered Hawk pads, but would you recommend upgrading the rotors as well? Looking at your articles, it seems like slotted rotors would probably work best.
Mike Ortolano
Swarthmore, PA

As is typically the case with aftermarket performance tweaks, it all depends on how much you want to spend and what you're planning to do with the car. If improved pedal feel and shorter stopping distances on the street are the goal, you'll get the best bang for your buck from a good set of high-performance pads (such as the Hawks). You may also want to bleed the system while you're at it, and make sure your stock rotors are still within factory spec for thickness.

If road-racing or hard-core autocrossing is in your future, you may also want to upgrade to a larger-diameter set of rotors. Since each of the various rotor types-standard, slotted, dimpled, and cross-drilled-has its own unique set of pros and cons, we recommend that you speak with one of the performance-brake manufacturers who advertise in VETTE to help you make your decision.

And remember: The brakes' ability to stop the car will always be limited by the adhesion available from the tires. If you're really serious about this whole stopping thing, a wider contact patch and a stickier rubber compound can yield tremendous results, even in conjunction with the stock binders.

Sucking Slightly Less
Unlike the gentleman whose letter appeared in the June issue, I don't think you suck. I have, however, been let down to the point that I am going to have to think long and hard about renewing my subscription. This is due to your stating the obvious. After all, I am sure anyone with a little common sense and $10,000 can figure out how to get more horsepower out of a C5 or a C6.

For you to really wow the masses, how about information on how to put an HUD in a C4, or great ways to get some decent horsepower out of the illegitimate child of the Corvette, the L83 crossfire injection?
Chris Nave
Bartlesville, OK

Funny you should mention a C4 HUD conversion, as contributor James Miles is on the verge of shoehorning a full C5 instrument panel into one of his innumerable Fourth-gen project cars. More on that in the months ahead. As for the L83, if any of you out there have a car we can tinker with, we'd love to hear from you. In the meantime, check out some of the CFI-specific offerings at www.x-ram.com.

We Light The Way
I've yet to find a manufacturer that offers LED taillights for my '07 triple-black roadster. Why is that? LED lights are brighter, last longer, and have a sharper contrast than conventional bulbs. Have they proven to be inferior in some way?
Bobby Broderick
Corpus Christi, TX