OCCOMSRAZOR

I'm in process of turning a 2005 C6 into a dedicated track car and progress is good!

However, I took it out this weekend for a little spirited driving and noticed that at higher speeds (75-80) the car seemed a bit "squirrley."

This car is running stock Z51 suspension, with a wide "booty." Tires are325's rear and 295's front. My other car is virtually identical, but with Z06 sways and F55 suspension. It is "solid as a rock" at speeds well over 140.

I'm not ready to put coil overs on yet, so I need some ideas. Will better shocks stabilize the car? Different alignment?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Todd

Bill Dearborn

I doubt its the shocks. Just driving down the road at high speed you don't need a lot of damping and probably could get by with no shocks at all. It sounds more like alignment.

Bill

John Shiels

what shocks do you have now and how many miles? What alignment spec's now?

AU N EGL

Todd my guess is that is the rake of the car is off. That is the exact speed where improper rake will effect the vette and you feel it.

So check your rake and check your alignment.

Good Luck

OCCOMSRAZOR

Stock Z51 shocks with 35,000 mileage, stock alignment.

OCCOMSRAZOR

I'll have the alignment checked. I think I've read some past threads that have camber recommendations, so I'll use those as a guide.

By rake you mean height of front compared to rear? So if the front is too high it would create some lift on the front end?

TedDBere

VetteDrmr

I tried looking up David Farmer's website, but I think you need about 3/8" more rear height, as measured at the tiedown points (roughly at the front and rear door breaks).

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

AU N EGL

The rear might be too high.

the front should be no lower then 1" from stock ride height. Any lower and you can get into bump steer problems, shocks bottoming out and so forth.

Yes 3/8" at those points that David recommends. Remember do the front ride height first, with your body wt in the drivers seat, then do the rear, ride height. Next alignment, Corner balance is highly recommended.

wtknght1

Look at the simple stuff first:

Tire pressures, lug nuts, alignment, broken parts, etc. You could easily have lost a few psi out of a rear tire which would feel 'squirrely' especially with those monster wide tires you're running. You could also have 0 toe in the front or rear, so you're stability is now gone. Don't start dicking around with ride height unless you know what you're doing!

Also, just make a good check to see if anything in the suspension is broken - wheel bearings, control arms, spindles, etc. It's probably something simple.

John Shiels

check basic thing first but your shocks are toast at 35,000. Check the cradle isn't lose also. My my car was stock and low mileage a tie rod was lose and ruined the front spindle.

Bill Dearborn

Hey John, I am still running my stock Z shocks with 37K on the car. They still seem pretty good.

Bill

wtknght1

Stop scaring these guys John... There's absolutely nothing wrong with those shocks after 35K...or even 135K as long as they aren't leaking. They are obviously not as good as Penskes or other brand, but they are bulletproof and designed for 100K+ miles without failure.

Street driving certainly won't wear them out and as long as you don't drive Sebring every weekend, they'll last at least as long as the car. When you start racing and are looking to extract that last .5 per lap, then think about changing.

sleeper02Z06

My exact thoughts!

Joe

2K3Z06

My car did a have a problem of "wandering at triple digit speeds". Turns out that the toe setting was screwed up. Did an alignment, at that fixed the problem.............. like the other guys said. Put it on a rack.......

OCCOMSRAZOR

General consensus is check alignment and rake before replacing anything.

Will do!

Thanks guys!

OCCOMSRAZOR

I installed the Z06 sway bar and had the car aligned. It made a big difference. Thanks for the help!

I had a local racer ride with me and he thought the shocks probably needed replacement. Anyone know who sell Bilstein Sports for a C6?