87vette

I took my vert to the food store and parked at the far end of the lot next to an 87 coupe that was apparently for sale. I noticed the front end of the coupe sat much lower than the front end of my vert. I also noticed the coupe's rear end was slightly higher than its front. I also noticed that my vert on all 4 corners are the same height and sit way too high. I know I can buy a lowering kit from Mid America for like 40 dollars.. but is this common ? Are the verts supposed to sit higher ? I thought the z51 suspension on the vettes sat slightly higher than the base suspension ? Correct me if I'm wrong.

87vette

Does anyone know anything about this ?

87vette

ttt

chaos on wheels

Convertibles are supposed to sit higher than coupes, it's in the springs. The added ground clearance is for the X-brace.

87vette

Yeah I figured that part but I didn't think it would be that much of a difference. I guess I will go ahead and buy the kit from Mid America and install it this winter.

c4cruiser

The service manual has ride height specifications. My 87 manual (unfortunately it's the white cover "Preliminary" version) shows that ride height is measured at certain distances from the axle centerlines. There is a table in Section #A-8 Wheel Alignment that shows ride height at both "Shipping" and "Curb" weights. Shipping weight is the car as built from the factory, full coolant and 4 gallons of gas. Curb weight is the same except for a full tank of gas.

There is a measuring procedure that involves raising the nose and rear and then pushing the nose and rear 3 times and averaging the measurements to get a "true" height measurement.

The body height is measured in the front at a distance of 65.2 cm back from the front axle center line and the rear height is measured at 48.6 cm forward of the rear axle centerline. Tires are inflated to the value for maximum load capacity. With the car on a smooth and level surface, the measurement is taken at the lower edge of the rocker panel lip to the ground.

For base supsension cars,
Front height: 191.7mm "Ship" and 190.3mm "Curb"
Rear height: 205.0mm Ship and 194.6mm Curb.

Unfortunately, my 87 manual only shows an "FE7" suspension value in the table and not a specific Z51 or Z52 suspension. These values are:
Front height: 194.5mm Ship and 193.5 Curb.
Rear height: 201.8mm Ship and 193.6mm Curb.

Z52 cars have the base FE1 springs so I would expect that the ride height of Z52 cars are the same as base suspension cars.

My manual also states that these measurements apply to all models but verts do sit highter due to the additional clearance needed for the under body X brace that is installed on the vert.

But as with the white cover books, these values may not necessiarily be correct and the best way to check is to look at the table in the service manual with the red cover, which is the "production" version.

Cars with the original springs could easily be lower as the springs do lose their effectiveness over time. Shocks may play a part in ride height as gas-charged shocks do tend to raise the car some. So a car with after market springs and new gas shocks could easily sit higher that a car with original suspension components.

87vette

I'm sure I read somehwere that the z51 vettes sat slightly higher than the z52 vettes. Thanks for the info though.

87 rag

I lowered my 87 vert.
Not so low that it is on the ground but just enough that I think it looks normal. I didn't think it looked normal before I lowered it.
Wasn't that hard to do. Front was harder than the back.

87vette

I'm planning on doing the same.. but my concern is the rear y pipe in the rear ? I got Borla Stingers on and they are 3" in diameter for the y pipe and sits a little closer to the ground than the stock exhaust.. the other concern is the x brace under the car. How is your ground clearance in everyday driving ?

87 rag

I touch once in a while but not very often when I'm careful.
I have a borla catback and the Y pipe is what hits on bumps in the road. I learned to drive with my tires on the lines of the road not down in the valleys. Avoid speed bumps if you can, they are the only thing that will get the x-brace.

87vette

I'll keep that in mind. The way the car sits now is killing me. Looks god awful! Like you said before.. doesn't look normal. I'll get to it once I store her for the winter. Im not too afraid to do the rear.. but the front I'm a little concerned about. Especially when it comes to dropping the front end etc... I havent done it before.

87 rag

It is a fairly simple job with the right tools.
There are many tips all though this forum from people who have done it. A couple of people pointed me to some information that came in handy. The Z51 spring comes out a lot easier that the stock or convertible spring. There is so much more of an arch to it when there is no load on it that pulling it out is quite a chore and the car needs to be up pretty high. I replaced mine with a Z51 spring when I put it back together. Real easy to put back together.
I think there may even be some instructions in the tech tips section under Other at the top of this page.

87vette

Found it!

Topless87

This is funny, I have an 85 coupe and the 87 z52 vert. I had always thought the verts were lower. I scrape on the little slope out of my garage, take speed bumps a 1MPH and still scrape. It doesn't look like its been lowered. Maybe it just sagging as we age