[brianch]

Just going to go over some of the things I usually look into after buying a new Chevrolet SS

• Floor Mats, Cargo Mats?
• Roof Racks, Bike Racks, Cargo Boxes
• Tints
• Car Covers, Sunshades, Window Visors, Battery Chargers
• Aftermarket alarms, car starters, audio, lighting
• Wheels, Tires
• Film Paint Protection, Synthetic Paint Protection

 

[brianch]

My recommendations for products:

Floor Mats, Cargo Mats?
WeatherTech Digital Fit Floor Liners and Cargo Liners

Why are they awesome? - Because they form to the ground and have a "bucket" effect. So snow, water, dirt, grime will STAY in the floor mat/liner. They are also very easy to wash. Think of it as an investment to protect your carpet. Plus they look nice.

Roof Racks, Bike Racks, Cargo Boxes
Popular Brands are Yakima and Thule but there are many others.

 

[brianch]

Tints
Ceramic vs Dyed Tints. Choose your budget! Best option is Ceramic tints

Brands that are popular and well respected:
Huper Optik, Pinnacle F1, 3M Ceramic, LLumar Ceramic.

There are also WINDSHIELD tints. yes you heard right. Tints for your front winshield. They aren't meant to darken the windshield (they do ever so lightly) they are mainly meant for keeping UV out of the interior cabin and keeping heat OUT. The most popular by far is LLumar Air Blue 80.

The whole point of tints apart from PRIVACY is to keep the interior cabin temps DOWN.. Especially if you park outside or leave the car to bake in the summer. The tints protect your skin as well as the plastics, leather, rubber, etc in the interior from premature cracking or wear.

 

[brianch]

Car Covers, Sunshades, Window Visors, Battery Chargers

Car Cover brands that are well known:
WeatherTech, Covercraft, CoverKing, California Car Cover, Heat Shield. There are others. Do your research and see what fits your budget. They all work well. Some better than others.

Sunshade Brands that are well known:
The same brands as the Car Covers above also make Sunshades. Personally I've used HeatShield because they were the cheapest. It works well. Very well made. Only thing to note is that it rolls up, doesnt fold up.

Window Visors Brands:
There are a bunch including OEM Chevy but the brands I'm familiar with are WeatherTechs. Personally I go with OEM for Window Visors as I find they are the best designed and the most durable

Why get window visors? When it rains. Its a life saver. You can crack your window open and not have water pour in. Fresh air! And your interior won't fog up like crazy and you don't have to use AC!

Battery Chargers Brands:

CTEK Battery Chargers. Hands down.
Every manufacturer just sells this rebranded. There are better brands out there but for the price the CTEK Trickle Charger is the best bang for your buck.

 

[brianch]

Aftermarket alarms, car starters, audio, lighting

Alarm Brands/Starter Brands:
Viper, Compustar, Clifford, DEI, etc. Honestly the list goes ON forever. But personally I am partial to the first two. Some of them have GPS tracking attachments that hook up to your cellphone. You can see where your car is, start it, lock the doors, unlock, roll down windows = from pretty much anywhere in the world as long as you have cell service. Why buy aftermarket alarms? Thats pretty self explanatory. Theft prevention, Convenience = some of them are hooked up to car starters, these alarms usually have much better range so finding your car or locking and unlocking has a bigger range. Some let you roll down the windows from afar..

Audio:
I'll be honest I'm not a big audio guy so many someone else can chime in here. Alpine, JL, Pioneer, Kenwood, Rockford, Clarion, Sony, etc. Such a huge market... I don't have the time or the interest to keep up with the changing market but I know some are very passionate about this topic.

Lighting:
LED INTERIOR LIGHTING! LED REVERSE LIGHTS! HID REVERSE LIGHTS?! UPGRADED XENON BULBS! UPGRADED PROJECTORS! CLEAR LENSES! List goes on.

retrofitsource.com
vleds.com/

 

[brianch]

Wheels, Tire
Pretty self explanatory. They are your shoes of the car. Probably the most popular change that all car owners do to their cars to personalize them.

From crazy to subtle. To each his own. But you cannot deny the big industry that is rims and tires.

And of course you can't forget about TIRES. One of the most overlooked aspect of a car. Tires are your feet that plant to the ground. Without them, you are just sliding around crashing into trees, old ladies, cats, bus stops.

Changing your tires is the most cost effective way to change the driving dynamics of your car. There are infinite amount of options when it comes to tires and everyone has their own requirements and budget when buying tires.

As of right now my favorite recommendation for an EXTREME PERFORMANCE SUMMER TIRE that will NOT kill you in the rain (it still works in the rain) : is the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. Original Equipment on several of the world's most sophisticated performance vehicles, including the exclusive limited edition Ferrari 599 GTO

Read this review and take what you want from it:
Monsters of Grip: Nine Summer-Performance Tires Tested - Comparison Test - Car and Driver

 

[brianch]

Paint Protection, Film Protection
Another rising industry in the automotive world. Your car might be your second largest investment in your life. So it isn't difficult to understand why you might want to make investments to protect the car. The paint of the car is like your skin - treat it well and it will last you / treat it bad however - and you will be punished everyday as you look at your car.

There are many things that effect a cars paint to give it undesired traits

1. Rock Chips

2. Swirls

3. Scratches,

4. Dents

5. Fading/UV Damage

6. Just plain DULL

7. Car is always dirty!

Solution to alot of these problems? Well there are alot of OPTIONS. But the two most popular options for avoiding these problems are:

1. Paint Film Protection

Its like a SCREEN PROTECTOR on your phone. Except you can wrap paint with it. Most people do the front end (mainly to avoid rock chips) but some people go as far as to wrap the ENTIRE CAR! This is generally a permanent form of protection. Its marketed to last pretty much forever until you want to remove it (it peels off) But in all honesty the film takes damage as well and gets wear and tear. I recommend replacing every 5-10 years.

2. Synthetic or Natural Paint Protection
Of course keeping your car clean every year is a form of protection as well.

Wash, Clay, Wax? Anyone every heard of that?

LAYERS OF PROTECTION. Waxes or sealants to protect your paint. Think of it as lotion for your skin. Protects the paint from the ELEMENTS and also gives the added bonus of added GLOSS and SLICKNESS. So the car stays clean longer!
Pretty much any wax or sealant is HYDROPHOBIC so keeping your car cleaner has never been easier. Dirt simply doesn't stick as easily to paint and when it does. It comes off relatively easily.

The current TREND for these kind of sealants is to use these SUPER DURABLE synthetic sealants that last many years. Where most waxes only last a few months at best. These new man made sealants are claiming YEARS of durability.

The most popular, no doubt, is Opti-Coat. There are a dozen other options that you can find by typing into google Opti-Coat vs _______. You have to look for a local detailer in your area who has experience with these coatings to apply them for you (and has the coating you wish to have) as the car needs to be prepped prior to the application in order for it to bond properly. Not easy to do yourself. (I've tried)

WELL THATS IT FOR ME FOLKS. HAPPY MONDAY!

 

[kathyb3]

I've had similar on a car that we drove across country a couple of times. Works great! NOW I would like to find somewhere that does windshield tearoffs like in NASCAR. This would stop sandblasting on highway driving

 

[dz28]

I've had similar on a car that we drove across country a couple of times. Works great! NOW I would like to find somewhere that does windshield tearoffs like in NASCAR. This would stop sandblasting on highway driving

Excellent idea. I drove a 2001 Camaro SS at relatively high speeds from the west coast to Detroit and trashed the fascia and didn't do very well with the windshield either....

W'Tech Floorliners are the best! Had them in two of my G8's, my Denali, and now my .... uggggg ..... Taurus SHO (just until I can snag an SS).

 

[Don't Call Me Surely]

Lots of info here on this thread. I would go for tinting the windows and also putting on some new rims. Those lighting systems look a bit aggressive though. Will those blind people who are sharing the road with you?

 

[dz28]

Yes to tint and yes to new rims! I changed rims on two of my three G8's. Went with Camaro rims on G8 #2 and CTS-V rims on GXP #3.

I also upgraded the forward lighting; HID's on G8 #2 and then went cheap on GXP #3 and swapped high beam H9 bulbs into low beam H11 sockets. H9's = 65 watt and H11's = 55 watt. Made a really nice difference. As for blinding oncoming never had a problem once the headlamps were aimed properly... HID's should be in every car IMHO....

 

[Big Block Meister]

Something we should really follow up and get is paint protection whether its the synthetic or film its best to get this first before going for a spin.

 

[chevypwr]

Something we should really follow up and get is paint protection whether its the synthetic or film its best to get this first before going for a spin.

Yup, protecting the paint should be the first thing people do. I actually think people who ordered an SS should be finding a detailer right now and let them know approximately when to expect the SS.

Opti Coat, clear wrap, what ever it is, protect that fresh paint.

 

[Diehard]

CFRP....Good job taking the time to put all that stuff together to share. Thanks!

 

[brianch]

no prob
this is the best part of ownership

making the car uniquely yours and learning to take car of the car to prolong the life and investment

the second best part of ownership is learning how to drive the car at its limit and capacity

thats something that can't be learnt through a forum. just gotta go out there!

and to answer the blinding uncoming traffic question:

no you wont

current day projectors aim the lights at a certain height to not blind traffic.
USDM projectors also have two levels of height. The left side being lower to aid in even better "not blinding traffic" and the right side to aid in lighting up the sidewalk and passengers or animals on the side.

 

[alcatraz]

Changing the rims on your car I find to be one of the best ways to make a big change in the look of your vehicle for the least amount of cost (depending what rims you go for.)

Vossen makes great rims. I am fairly certain they are not that affordable though, but I will be looking into new rims first.

 

[brianch]

rims can anywhere from 1000 a set to like 15k+

 

[alcatraz]

Well i am surely not going to be going for the 15k+ category of wheels. I am willing to pay around $1,500-$2,000 for new rims. I think that I can find a nice upgrade to the stock rims for that price. Don't you guys think?

 

[Slizzo]

Aftermarket alarms, car starters, audio, lighting

Alarm Brands/Starter Brands:
Viper, Compustar, Clifford, DEI, etc. Honestly the list goes ON forever. But personally I am partial to the first two. Some of them have GPS tracking attachments that hook up to your cellphone. You can see where your car is, start it, lock the doors, unlock, roll down windows = from pretty much anywhere in the world as long as you have cell service. Why buy aftermarket alarms? Thats pretty self explanatory. Theft prevention, Convenience = some of them are hooked up to car starters, these alarms usually have much better range so finding your car or locking and unlocking has a bigger range. Some let you roll down the windows from afar..

Audio:
I'll be honest I'm not a big audio guy so many someone else can chime in here. Alpine, JL, Pioneer, Kenwood, Rockford, Clarion, Sony, etc. Such a huge market... I don't have the time or the interest to keep up with the changing market but I know some are very passionate about this topic.

Lighting:
LED INTERIOR LIGHTING! LED REVERSE LIGHTS! HID REVERSE LIGHTS?! UPGRADED XENON BULBS! UPGRADED PROJECTORS! CLEAR LENSES! List goes on.

retrofitsource.com
vleds.com/

Remote start is standard on this car, and I believe since it has a new generation OnStar you can do the whole unlock car, start, lock everything from your phone like in those commercials. Someone will need to confirm that for me.

 

[ozstrat]

Remote start is standard on this car, and I believe since it has a new generation OnStar you can do the whole unlock car, start, lock everything from your phone like in those commercials. Someone will need to confirm that for me.

I recently received from Holden Customer Service their press releases pertaining to the upgrades to VF. One of these documents answers all your questions. However, the pdf exceeds this sites limit for pdf file size. Anyone know how I can get around that?