sothpaw2

Hi Everyone,

With low usage HPDE in mind (3-4 events per year), what is the rule of thumb on when the stock C5Z shocks wear out? I have close to 50k mi. I would guess they should still be good if it was purely street use but for the more demanding HPDE, is that too old?

Thanks,

Andy

John Shiels

50 thousand and they are toasted. They will take more abuse on the street than the track with sudden bumps. OEM shocks don't last long at all. They are a low bid item on a car.

CHJ In Virginia

I agree with John - at 50K miles they are toast and need to be replaced. If you plan on further suspension mods for HPDE, keep that in mind for your shock selection. Make sure that everything is compatible.

John Shiels

Like in the old days when everyone smoked you never knew how bad the ceiling had yellowed until the new paint hit it. In Carroll Shelby's book he states a bad shocks is near impossible to detect when just driving even for a expert race driver.

ipuig

I just replaced the shocks on my 01 Z (73K) with 2004 model Z06 shocks. I realize that this was crude test and I am not a human shock dyno but I felt no degradation in the old shocks over the new ones.

Joy of 6

You might get in on Randy's group buy at DRM motorsports for some great Bilsteins. You will like those

sothpaw2

CHJ,

I don't plan on anything radical; in seriousness, I had planned to ask you about your setup. How much improvement did you get over stock--noticable? Would I get 1 sec /lap out of it at Summit main? I'd look for something that's a substantial upgrade over the stock Z suspsension but affordable and livable on the street.

What shock valving do you have on those? I thought the ones DRM is now group purchasing were for the C6Z which would not be optimal for our cars.

Thanks,

Andy

John Shiels

fairly sure he will do C5 also in the group buy give him a call or PM.

ptindall

Good question. I'm on the fence about buying shocks myself. My car has 142,000 miles and best I can tell, the shocks are original. They've at least been the same for five years and 50,000 miles. The car has zero float and the suspension seems plenty controlled when I go bombing over the curbs so I don't know what I'd gain by new shocks. I just had my rear suspension cradle out doing a clutch swap and hand compressed both rear shocks. They feel reasonably firm. They're certainly not blown. I have a feeling I'd gain more from upgrading my sway bars, but shocks are so cheap and mine are so old there is little to lose by buying them.

Aardwolf

I've noticed when the shocks get old that the ride feels much rougher. Going to a new set it seems the chassis is much more controlled. Not sure how much lap time that translates to though.

John Shiels

The ones on my truck were Bilsteins and not blown with 60,000. The ones on my Excursion were not blown at 9,000 miles. The stock ones on my Vette were not blown either when I swapped them out. All the vehicles were 100% different after the new shocks. I put Monroes on my dooley after yanking the Bisteins with 60,000 at most. I took it for a ride and thought I spent 50 grand for a new truck. They don't have to be blow to suck. They even feel good when you yank them by hand but that is why they make shock dynos.

Joy of 6

If you can hand compress any shocks they are toast. Get some new ones and you will be amazed. Your car is probably just riding on the springs only

ptindall

Oh really?










Just kidding. I hope you're right to be honest. That would mean changing them would help me a lot. It just doesn't seem like stiffer dampeners are needed based on the way the car rides now.

mountainbiker2

Just put on some C6 Z06 shocks. They feel the same as 04 Z06 shocks, but half the price. You can compress any shock by hand. At least all the shocks I've owned. If you want to spend more money, Pfadt sport shocks work pretty good.

Steve A.