atsugidad

I'm looking for some guidance / recommendations on suspension mods.

I want to change Shocks and Sway bars on my 02 Coupe, Past due for shocks - 119k on clock.

What are differences in ride / handling between going with C6 Z51 vs C6Z06 Shocks and Sway Bars. I know the Z06 Bars are bigger so should give more stability but I do not do any track time, just some spirited country / mountain road runs.

Figure I should match up the shocks with bars whether Z51 or Z06.

Looking for more stability but not a bone jarring ride - How much difference between the two?

Z06 to harsh for normal cruising etc?

Comments please.

Thanks

Phil

tsts

In my 2004 coupe I'm using Z51 sway bars and C6 Z06 shocks, it is a good ride and cleared up all of the bad cornering on bumpy turns without giving a hard ride.

I had a 99 coupe with Z06 sway bars and C6 Z06 shock and the ride and cornering feel the same as the one mentioned above in the 2004. If there is a difference, it is so slight I can't tell.

J.R.

Phil,

I think with the base springs that the ZO6 sway bars will be too stiff, especially the rear which will lead to some oversteer. This is usually more obvious if you do track days where you push the car a little harder.

Everyone will have a different opinion based upon their setup (springs, shocks, how much their car is lowered, alignment and driving style). A more balanced setup without ZO6 springs may be the Z51 bars with the C6 ZO6 shocks with the car lowered a max of 3/4 to 1 in. Sometimes people lower the car too much for looks and it really effects handling and ride. The shocks do not get a chance to operate properly and give a harsh ride on the street. The next step would be the Pfadt sport shock where you can adjust for street and track setup but with adjustability also comes a price increase. You need to balance everything with your budget and what you want to accomplish with your car. Just my opinion.

J.R.

byte_me

Suspensions are hard to judge w\o getting in some pants time on the different setups:

With that said, I recently underwent a major suspension upgrade on my base suspension 97 6 speed coupe.

My goals:

1) get rid of the floating affect under heavy acceleration
2) Get rid of the Cadillac like feel in turns while maintaining some type of smooth ride
3) Keep it close to $800.00 total!

What I did:

1) Installed 04 Z06 springs front and back (low mile takeoffs from the forum $400)
2) Installed 04 Z06 shocks front\rear (low mile takeoffs for $125)
3) C6 Z51 Sway bars- yes, I said C6 Z51. Larger in diameter than the C5 Z06 and provide a great balance to the car...(not to mention they are fairly less expensive then new C5 Z06 bars) New www.gmpartshouse.com $180

I also bought new metal end links @ about $20 each.

What I can tell you is this: the car is completely transformed into the vette it should have been! All be it, the Z06 springs may be more stiff over Z51 springs, but I love that firm, solid feeling from my suspension. The cornering is AWESOME! Flat, Flat, Flat! Those C6 Sway bars are the cats behind! The car is incredibly tight and the turns are precise and exact with no body roll...to prove this, I took it around a "roundabout" entrance to an empty building and the only part that is the weak link now are the tires!

The power is more evenly distrubuted to the rear wheels where as before, it felt not so controlled- especially powering out of a turn. The car simply glides flat around a power turn and there is little to no oversteer that I can feel.

I highly recommend a similar setup- especially the C6 Z51 sway bars, they are amazing!

ALVETTE00

Hi,

This past weekend, I did some suspension mods. My C5 had the FE1 - Soft Ride. Installed the C6Z51 sway bars/alum end links with 04Z06 shocks. HOLY COW WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!

I didn't mess with the springs...best to do in stages to match your liking. For me, I think it's EXACTLY what I wanted and will not change the springs.

The car handles like it's on rails and virtually no body roll in turns.

Cost me about 600 for brand new parts from Gene @ GM Parts House.

Original sways 23.0mm front / 19.1mm rear

C6Z51 31.0mm front / 25.4mm rear

Don't forget to compliment your suspension with new tires if you still have the run-craps!

Was a fun project too!

atsugidad

Thanks for the good inputs. For now I'm keeping the stock springs and am gonna go with the C6 Zo6 Shocks. Still trying to decide on the C6Z51 or C6Z06 Bars. Don't do any track so Z51 should be good and a little cheaper too. Tires are good too - I run TOYO T1R (265/40/17 and 295/35/18).

Thanks again,

I'll let you all know how it works out.

Phil

lionelhutz

I think it was Josh from Pfadt who did post before that the C6Z06 rear bar is a little too stiff (compared to the front) for a C5 leading to over-steer - ie the rear slides out.

Also, look again at the bar sizes. C6Z06 and C6Z51 have same size front bar (32mm?) but the C6Z51 has a little smaller rear bar. So, you really don't gain or lose much going C6Z51. And, as you posted, I believe the C6Z51 bars are a lot cheaper and they'll work fine for street driving.

Peter

byte_me

Aaron from Pfadt was the one who wrote about it...I followed that suspension thread for a while as well! He was the one to inspire me to go with the C6 Z51 bars noted as being "the best balance" overall for the C5 as he tested them.

Coming from a company that makes their own after market bars and suspension, when he talked so highly about the use of these bars on a C5...it was hard not to listen to him!

ALVETTE00

Also read several posts indicating the the 04 Z06 shocks are better for the C5 in terms of valving and stiffness.

The 04 Z shocks were perfected/tuned on the Nurburgring by GM engineers...that was enough reason for me to buy them!

As compared to the 06z the 04z shocks are stiffer, since the new Z has other components in the suspension which compensate.

ALVETTE00

I've got T1R's too...awesome tire.

Do you have 295's on the OEM 9.5 in rim?

vettenuts

Does anyone have a table or summary of the different bars? I have an 02 with Z51 and am not sure what I actually have on the car. But suspension is my next focus area.

byte_me

This is all I got....



The early C5 Z51 (97-99 I want to say) had a different diameter set of bars than that of the later year Z51. Can't honestly say about the spring rates or the shocks...as you can see by the chart above- the C6 Z51 bars are nicely grouped in the mix- and for the price...you can't beat them!

casslaw

I just installed the C6 Z51 sways with metal end links and the C6 Z06 shocks yesterday on my 99 FRC. I can't say I feel a huge difference, but the car is a blast to drive! I never had the mushy cornering or anything like that, I just knew the shocks were shot at 96K, and it only made sense to order everything from Gene and do the most popular upgrade combo I could find. After reading everything I could on here, this was the way to go, and I have the bruises and cuts from doing it 100% alone in my garage to prove it!

AJay

I just ordered 04 Z06 Shocks and sway bars from Gene for my 2001 Coup. I was influenced by comments made on the forum about the 04 Z06 shocks being tuned for the C5 by GM, better valving etc. My question is what is the difference between the C5 Z06 sway bars and the C6 Z51 in regard to size of the bars and handling of the car?