gsxnut

I have a 2000 FRC. The car will see 4-5 HDPE a year + 8-10 Autocrosses and is a daily driver (10-15K miles a year). I have looked at coil over and I am not sure that is the best solution for a car that will see lots of miles on the road. I am thinking of doing the T1 springs or Z06 springs and the Johnny O'Connell sway bars and shocks. Are T1 springs way to stiff for daily driving? Is the coil-over setup durable enough to lots of road time?

Mark

mountainbiker2

I think T1 springs or sway bars will be to harsh on the street. I would try the JC shocks or C6 Z06 shocks first. You already have a Z06 front spring. Spend the rest of your money on Hoosier A6's. and spare wheels.

Steve A.

gsxnut

Thanks for the information. Based on the spring rate information given on the boards I think I will need to get the 2001-2004 Z06 springs as you indicated (sorry bad title for this post). They looked to be stiffer than the 2000 FRC springs. I also think I should do an upgrade on the sway bars to either C6 Z06 or something stiffer than what I have.

Mark

mountainbiker2

You already have a Z06 front spring. The rear spring on your car is a little softer then a Z06. Hotchkis sway bars are nice. 32mm front, 25mm adjustable rear. On a side note, if you want to sell your front sway bar I will buy it.

Steve A.

yakisoba

We set up a 2000 FRC for my wife's track car. We added a 2002 Z06 set of sway bars and links, and left the shocks and springs alone for now. She's happy with it on the street and track, but we'll upgrade to 2004 shocks soon and perhaps a bigger rear spring. It handles nicely though, certainly enough for a good track experience.

gmccreary

PM sperkins on the forum. He has a 99 FRC and knows all about the setup.

Z06Tracker

Agreed.

FasterIsBetter

I had T1 swaybars on my 2004 Z06, and they were an excellent addition for the track. They really stabilized the car beautifully on the track, and improved overall handing in the corners. However, they were very harsh on the street. When I was doing a lot of track days, I didn't care and put up with it. when I stopped doing track days, I took the T1 bars off and went back to stock. Huge difference.

That said, if you want a quick and easy major improvement in handling for track days, the T1 bars are great. On an older C5, non-Z05 car, I don't know if you need to make any other changes though to feel the improvement I did in the '04 Z06.

gsxnut

Thanks for all the information. I was not sure what the result of T1 bars, Z06 shocks and springs would be. The car is driven 10-15K road miles a year. I PM sperkins as requested and he has responded. I will try to have some more contact with him.

Mark

billla

If you would, post your findings/background here - I'm also interested

gsxnut

First check a couple of links I found very useful on the board.

1. Sticky at the top of this forum C5 Track Ca/ HPDE http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...e-learned.html was extremely useful.
2. From the forum c5 spring rates and sway bar sizes. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...s-97-04-a.html.

I will continue to update. Right now I am thinking I am going to go with leaf spring, shocks and sways. I will be driving my car daily so I am not going to go to the T1/Hyperco spring rates. I think the ride will be too rough. I am going to do a stiffer sway bar than the Z06. I am thinking either T1 or Johnny O'Connell Pfadt bars. Which ever I go with I am also going to get the matching shocks. With either I will do Poly bushings and metal end links. I am also taking the advice to to the stiffer tunnel cover as suggested in the first link.

Mark

billla

Cool, thank you.

Thoughts on where you expect to class in auto-x with those changes?

drivinhard

If I was running a dual purpose car (some track some street) FRC or Z06 (same other than slightly different rear spring) I would:

Pfadt poly bushings
T1 bars with powergrid end links
04Z shocks.
delrin shock bushings

All of that is only slightly harsher, everything will be quiet, balance is great, track performance is very good.

If you run T1 bars they will make all kinds of noise with the metal end links.

JimbeauZ06

I respectfully disagree. Even my wife can't tell the difference between my full T1 suspension and the original Z06. To me the only difference on the street is a little noise all of which is completely offset by vastly improved handling on track.

Be careful mixing and matching suspension parts. The T1 springs are engineered to work with the T1 shocks and sway bars as a suspension "system". Using an unproven combination of parts can make your car handle worse. If you go with the Johnny O shocks/sways you should ask Pfadt to advise you on the right springs to insure the spring rates are compatable with the stiffness of the roll bar and the rebound/compression specs of their shocks.

sperkins

I don't disagree because I know others have had noise issues, but I've never had any noise with my T1 bars and metal end links. I do cut my own spacers though. Maybe that's the reason?

gsxnut

I talked to Pfadt and they indicated the Z06 springs will work well with their setup.

I agree with getting an entire system to work together. Has any one used the Hyperco springs instead of the T1 springs. Looks like less money for the same spring rates.

I thought I had read several post of people using T1 bars and shock with z06 springs.

Mark

gsxnut

Did you also use the T1 A-Arms and entire T1 system?

Mark

gsxnut

I am already running ASP because the car has engine mods including heads, cam, exhaust, etc. To my knowledge you can also make swaps on suspension components of like kind in ASP. I will not be overly competitive in ASP because I have not exercised the rules to the maximum allowed which is what you need to do to get the most out of the car. I hope to go and compete locally and have a good time. I also want to do some track days with the car. As with many on the board I really enjoy the driving experience.

Mark

JoeDubya

If I'm not mistaken, your head and cam work puts you even deeper in the
classing, into the Prepared classes.

mountainbiker2

You're right. I believe your now in SSM. Coil overs put you in SSM too.

Steve A.