Front shock towers

Lashu74 · 03-12-2017, 12:41 AM

I know this has been discussed before but now that more have taken delivery I'm just curious how many of us have front shock towers that look like shit. I feel like I've seen quite a few cars where they look perfect and I'm just wondering if it was something that only occurred on earlier builds. Not a huge deal as long as it is sound, but definitely bothers me a bit that I've seen ones with a perfect finish and then I open the hood of my car and it looks as though it has cracks covering it that were painted over. I know that's not the case and that It has to do with the fact that it was cast but then why are some looking perfect?

VAZL1 · 03-12-2017, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lashu74

I know this has been discussed before but now that more have taken delivery I'm just curious how many of us have front shock towers that look like shit. I feel like I've seen quite a few cars where they look perfect and I'm just wondering if it was something that only occurred on earlier builds. Not a huge deal as long as it is sound, but definitely bothers me a bit that I've seen ones with a perfect finish and then I open the hood of my car and it looks as though it has cracks covering it that were painted over. I know that's not the case and that It has to do with the fact that it was cast but then why are some looking perfect?

Post some pictures, please

JKJZA · 03-12-2017, 06:25 AM

My shock towers are great on my ZL1. Was built on 11/23/16.

Inspector 17 · 03-12-2017, 06:41 AM

Not an up close shot but you can zoom in. I haven't noticed anything amiss with mine.

hawk02 · 03-12-2017, 08:04 AM

The finish on my shock towers is terrible. The passenger side is worse than the driver's side. Not sure what can be done about them as repainting would be a major ordeal. I'm hoping someone eventually comes up with a cover for the towers.

Lashu74 · 03-12-2017, 08:28 AM

Looks exactly like Hawks. Even the adhesive was put on really sloppy around the tower I have areas where the adhesive is flipped up leaving a gap between the body and the tower.

Lashu74 · 03-12-2017, 08:31 AM

I could understand if they all looked like that. Wtf Mine
was built on 10/16 how about yours Hawk?

Boilermaker128 · 03-12-2017, 08:36 AM

Is it the photo angle or is your paint done sub par aswell?

Thanks for the exposure if mine comes in like this I won't accept it. These zl1's can near 90k optioned out in Canada, i expect much better quality for the price.

Lashu74 · 03-12-2017, 08:39 AM

The paint wasn't that great either I've moved on from that many posts about it ultimately nothing was done and I had to pay for an expensive correction. The tower feels really rough like it should have been prepped better prior to painting.

LibertyHill · 03-12-2017, 08:49 AM

The imperfections that appear in the paint on the shock tower are simply imperfections in the surface of the aluminum casting. No amount of complaining will make them go away, and they were certainly present at your pre-delivery inspection. If you complain enough at the dealership I'm sure their body shop can make it look worse - and toss in a few scratches on your exterior paint while they are at it.

Someday restoration shops will go to great lengths to reproduce that transparent paint in those exact locations, along with that sloppy seam sealer.

travislambert · 03-12-2017, 08:57 AM

OP, how do the aluminum parts of the engine look? I've seen some that look absolutely perfect and some that are oxidized badly as if they had been stored outside for years prior to assembly.

(I'm just wondering if these problems are correlated somehow.)

hawk02 · 03-12-2017, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lashu74

I could understand if they all looked like that. Wtf Mine
was built on 10/16 how about yours Hawk?

My build date is the same day. Must have used the the shock towers from the rejected pile that day.

Lashu74 · 03-12-2017, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawk02

My build date is the same day. Must have used the the shock towers from the rejected pile that day.

Haha yeah that seems to be the case. I thought for sure complaining would make it go away but guess I was mistaken. Just wondering if it was the norm bud.

Boilermaker128 · 03-12-2017, 09:06 AM

11 years ago I worked at an automobile rim factory for 11 months. GM would accept products with tons of defects, chrysler was worse. Honda was the most stringent and would send the smallest imperfections back. Im sure its the same now as it was then.

03-12-2017, 12:41 AM	#1
Lashu74 Lashu74 Drives: 2017 ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: PA Posts: 213	Front shock towers I know this has been discussed before but now that more have taken delivery I'm just curious how many of us have front shock towers that look like shit. I feel like I've seen quite a few cars where they look perfect and I'm just wondering if it was something that only occurred on earlier builds. Not a huge deal as long as it is sound, but definitely bothers me a bit that I've seen ones with a perfect finish and then I open the hood of my car and it looks as though it has cracks covering it that were painted over. I know that's not the case and that It has to do with the fact that it was cast but then why are some looking perfect?

03-12-2017, 08:04 AM	#5
hawk02 Coupe Newbie Drives: 2017 ZL1, 2021 Corvette Convertible Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 3,285 View My Garage	The finish on my shock towers is terrible. The passenger side is worse than the driver's side. Not sure what can be done about them as repainting would be a major ordeal. I'm hoping someone eventually comes up with a cover for the towers. Attached Images __________________

03-12-2017, 08:28 AM	#6
Lashu74 Lashu74 Drives: 2017 ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: PA Posts: 213	Looks exactly like Hawks. Even the adhesive was put on really sloppy around the tower I have areas where the adhesive is flipped up leaving a gap between the body and the tower. Attached Images

03-12-2017, 08:31 AM	#7
Lashu74 Lashu74 Drives: 2017 ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: PA Posts: 213	I could understand if they all looked like that. Wtf Mine was built on 10/16 how about yours Hawk? Attached Images

03-12-2017, 08:49 AM	#10
LibertyHill Drives: 16 2SS 6MT NPP MRC / 15 K1300S Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: NW of Austin Posts: 1,034	The imperfections that appear in the paint on the shock tower are simply imperfections in the surface of the aluminum casting. No amount of complaining will make them go away, and they were certainly present at your pre-delivery inspection. If you complain enough at the dealership I'm sure their body shop can make it look worse - and toss in a few scratches on your exterior paint while they are at it. Someday restoration shops will go to great lengths to reproduce that transparent paint in those exact locations, along with that sloppy seam sealer. __________________ Rohana RFX-5 10/11, M/T 275/305, Eibachs, Hellwigs, Hurst SS, DMS LT4 SC 596HP/589TQ, DMS Low-side, Kooks 2LTs, MBRP Race, Rotofab, MMS CC

03-12-2017, 06:25 AM	#3
JKJZA ZL1 manual, Black, PDR Drives: 2017 ZL1 - Black - Born 11/23/16 Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Flint MI Posts: 60	My shock towers are great on my ZL1. Was built on 11/23/16.

03-12-2017, 06:41 AM	#4
Inspector 17 I love crepes Drives: 2017 ZL1 NGM A10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 4,955 View My Garage	Not an up close shot but you can zoom in. I haven't noticed anything amiss with mine.

03-12-2017, 08:36 AM	#8
Boilermaker128 Drives: 2010 CobaltSSTC Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Ontario Posts: 515	Is it the photo angle or is your paint done sub par aswell? Thanks for the exposure if mine comes in like this I won't accept it. These zl1's can near 90k optioned out in Canada, i expect much better quality for the price.

03-12-2017, 08:39 AM	#9
Lashu74 Lashu74 Drives: 2017 ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: PA Posts: 213	The paint wasn't that great either I've moved on from that many posts about it ultimately nothing was done and I had to pay for an expensive correction. The tower feels really rough like it should have been prepped better prior to painting.

03-12-2017, 08:57 AM	#11
travislambert Drives: '17 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Fairmont, WV Posts: 1,558	OP, how do the aluminum parts of the engine look? I've seen some that look absolutely perfect and some that are oxidized badly as if they had been stored outside for years prior to assembly. (I'm just wondering if these problems are correlated somehow.)

03-12-2017, 09:06 AM	#14
Boilermaker128 Drives: 2010 CobaltSSTC Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Ontario Posts: 515	11 years ago I worked at an automobile rim factory for 11 months. GM would accept products with tons of defects, chrysler was worse. Honda was the most stringent and would send the smallest imperfections back. Im sure its the same now as it was then.

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