Are corvettes reliable? One of the things that makes gearheads so special about Corvettes is their amazing reliability and relatively inexpensive maintenance despite their powerful engines and heavy-duty chassis. With proper care and regular maintenance, it shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg to keep your Chevrolet Corvette on the road for hundreds of thousands of miles until you're ready to pass it on or find a new home.
Corvettes actually hold their value quite well compared to other high performance cars on the market. For example , KBB says the 2021 Chevy Corvette with two passengers is expected to retain 49.5% of its value after a full 60 months of ownership , making the Corvette one of the top sports cars in KBB's annual Best Resale Value awards.
Well, that's an estimated resale value based on the typical hard-riding Corvettes they typically endure. That means your Corvette could emerge from 60 months in excellent condition and with a resale value in excess of the expected 49.5% if you take care of it during that time. Here are some simple maintenance tips to help you have a hassle-free relationship with your Corvette for years to come.
10 Familiarize yourself with your Chevrolet Corvette owner's manual
Isn't it alarming that only 58.9% of drivers say they read the driver's manual every day ? We wouldn't even recommend ignoring the user guide for your new phone (it's everyone's fault if they don't bother to read it). How much more is the Guide to a valuable asset like your Corvette?
Knowing your car thoroughly is certainly the first step to proper care. Even if you've had the car for a while, get this book. You never know what glowing moment you're going to have.
9 Did you check your Corvette's suspension bushings today?
Don't know what it is? That is not right. Bushings are rubber pads (they can also be made of polyurethane or other suitable materials) that fit into your car's suspension and steering joints. Their job is to absorb road bumps, vibration and noise, as well as articulate and control the geometry of the joints. As you can imagine, Corvettes are generally driven with enthusiasm, which inevitably puts pressure on the rings over time.
As the bushings wear out, you can say goodbye to the thrilling ride you love in your Corvette, not to mention other things that can go wrong like tire wear, poor grip and, well, an accident. . Worse, your suspension could collapse due to a broken ball joint. There is no need to scare you anymore. Make it a habit to inspect your Corvette's suspension bushings.
8 Maintain your Corvette's engine regularly with fresh oil
Changing the engine oil regularly along with the filters is probably the most economical way to protect against engine wear. Take , for example, the latest Gen-III LS/LT small-block V8 engine that GM developed to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions standards.
They are powerful grinders which means a lot of the metal components get hot and spin very fast, lots of friction. It goes without saying that you must ensure that the lubricating oil for these components is healthy enough to do their job properly and avoid excessive engine wear. With modern lubricants, most engines today have recommended drain intervals of 5,000 to 7,500 miles.
7 Change the brake fluid in your Chevrolet Corvette regularly
Since fluids aren't talked about as often as engine oil, we've decided to address them individually: clutch fluid, transmission fluid, and brake fluid. Simply put, it would take extraordinary pressure from your foot to bring your car to a stop without the aid of brake fluids.
The fluid amplifies the force of the brake pedal by depressing the calipers, which in turn press the brakes against the rotor. Because brake fluid is hygroscopic, its effectiveness diminishes over time, so it's important to change it quickly.
6 Replace your Corvette's serpentine belts regularly
We'll get back to fluid issues in a moment. But first the meandering belts. This belt is responsible for the proper functioning of your Corvette's air conditioning, power steering and water pump, thus protecting your engine from overheating. In other words, you don't want that belt (aka "drive belt") to run sluggishly (so to speak), which becomes inevitable over time with cracks and wear.
It's much easier and cheaper to replace it before it breaks completely since your water pump depends on it. The Virginia Tire & Auto Store says that under ideal circumstances, your car's serpentine belt should last between 60,000 and 100,000 miles. We always encourage you to check this from time to time.
5 Your Corvette will thank you if you change the transmission oil regularly
And back to the subject of fluids: gear oil. It was wise of the cogs in Corvette's engineering department to upgrade the Corvette C5 to a rear gearbox, where a torque tube connects the engine to the gearbox. This was a departure from the Corvette's original front-engine/RWD design, which had the transmission bolt-on directly behind the engine.
Despite the improved weight distribution from the C5 Corvette generation onwards, the same basic maintenance routine with regular fluid changes is still required to protect the transmission from wear and ensure smooth shifts.
4 Have spare parts for your Corvette on hand
Corvettes make excellent everyday vehicles because Chevrolet builds and tests them specifically for everyday and race use. Aside from the limited cargo and passenger space, Corvettes are surprisingly good at everyday use despite their capabilities.
With basic maintenance, a Corvette can easily go 100,000 miles like nothing ever happened, and one of the best ways to ensure longevity is to have parts like spark plugs, ignition, and oil filters on hand for emergency repairs.
3 Respect your Corvette by keeping it clean
There's something cool and masculine about an SUV like the mud-covered Ford Bronco . But your Corvette is a sports car and shouldn't be given the same treatment as a Land Rover or Jeep Wrangler . So how often should you wash your Chevrolet Corvette? It depends on the environment where you drive the car most often.
Ganther recommends washing your car every two weeks if the weather is not too harsh where you live. However, if you apply a layer of wax at the end of each cleaning session, you may be able to wash it less frequently. Keeping your Corvette clean isn't just for show. In fact, it can help protect against oxidation.
2 Check your Corvette's clutch fluid reservoir
And here's another fluid topic to discuss: clutch fluid. It's a good thing your Corvette probably has a separate brake fluid reservoir from the clutch fluid. Most Corvettes do this, and that's a good thing, because Corvettes are notorious for ruining their clutch fluid with dirt and contaminants.
All that rough, hard tossing (or overusing) the clutch improves the likelihood of clutch dust getting into the fluid. This can make the transition more difficult than normal. Check the condition of the liquid in the tank. If things don't look good there, simply get rid of the old fluid with a ball syringe or fluid aspirator and replace with fresh brake fluid. Simply.
1 Worn tires are not good for your Corvette
Shoes that don't fit properly are bad for your feet, knees, joints and back. "Badly fitting tires" are also not indicative of your Corvette's ride quality and longevity. Armed with a tire pressure gauge, you can properly inflate your Corvette's tires to the manufacturer's recommended air pressure for your specific model.
Manufacturers design sports car tires to perform better at specific air pressures. We may have put this one at the bottom of the list, but healthy tires aren't the smallest factor in your relationship with your car. In fact, nothing else can individually and powerfully affect braking, cornering, acceleration, ride comfort and overall stability like tyres.
With these tips, don't be surprised if you rarely have to take your car to a Corvette mechanic. Even the most eco-friendly enthusiast and inexperienced car owner can do most of these maintenance routines themselves.
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