bence13_33

I have a pretty much stock 2001 Corvette Coupe A4 w/ 100,000 miles on it. I swapped to the 2012 Z51 sway bars and upgraded to the aluminum endlinks (via Cultrag - thanks again). I just purchased a used set of Z06 front and rear leaf springs off of a fellow Forum member (springs are in excellent shape). I am also planning on purchasing a set of Z06 shocks this black friday from Cultrag.

I'm assuming it would be best to change the springs and shocks together and then take it for an alignment? I noticed a pretty night/day difference changing just the sway bars, are these going to be worthwhile upgrades when it is all said and done?

Anything else I should consider doing while I am there? I wanted to work on it's handling performance while I build a 555 for my '76 Stingray and then I want to supercharge my '01.

3sACROWD

Doing shocks and springs together
​​​​​​ then an alignment is the right way to go.

Solofast

Going with an entire "package" that are all matched parts is the best way to go, but remember that the Z06 package was a performance oriented setup.

I don't find the Z06 package to be overly stiff for the street and it's a great compromise for serious autocross or canyon carving.

Since you already have changed the bars to the C6 Z51 you are actually a bit stiffer in the rear than where you would have been with the C5 Z06 rear bar. Here is a link to the Pfadt sway bar chart, which is a good place to start if you're mixing and matching suspension pieces.

http://www.pfadtracing.com/pdfs/Corv...omparison.jpeg

As you can see in the chart, your front bar is the same as the C5 Z06 front bar but your rear bar is a bit stiffer than the C5 Z06 rear bar.

Springs and bars should be matched since the each contribute to roll stiffness. That is, if you were going to use C5 Z06 springs you should have used the C5 Z bars. While you aren't crazy stiff with the rear bar you need to remember that you also have more weight in the back and the combination of both will tend to increase oversteer.

Also note that your roll stiffness package (springs and bars) need to be matched to your wheels and tires, and if you're going to upgrade the suspension that much a set of wider wheels and tires is probably necessary. It doesn't make much sense to do all that and then scrimp on the most important aspect of handling.

If the car is a bit loose the best thing to do would be to increase the rear tire width a bit compared to the front, or add some stiffer sway bar bushings in the front bar to dial it in. With the setup you have it probably it is certainly going to be on the loose side when compared to a C5 Z06.

I'd go with at 18/19 inch wheels and then go to a 275 front tire and perhaps a 315 in the rear and that would be a pretty well matched setup.

Bluefire

My '03 Coupe is now running with Z06 sway bars, Z06 leaf springs, and Bilstein shocks. It handles great on the track with 285/18 square tire setup.

Bryan144

Mods are well worth it!

I have C6z06 sway bars w/ OEM grand sport wheels (18x9.5 19x12 to account for stiffer sways causing excessive oversteer). C6z06 shocks. C5z06 leaf springs and that really tied the whole package together for me. Car is flatter through the turns w/ less body roll.

As a note: I put the C5z06 alignment on mine and lowered it all the way on stock bolts at the same time as I installed the c5z leaf springs.

Cliff8928

If your C5 is a Z51 then you don't need to replace the front spring, the front is identical between FE3 and FE4.

bence13_33

Nope not a Z51...just a coupe. I'm just curious whether this setup will work well together. I have the C6 Z51 front and rear sway bars w/ aluminum end links, C5 Z06 front and rear leaf springs. I am planning on buying c6 Z06 shocks for the front and rear and then either c5 Z06 rims or a set of rims that are that wide....and an alignment.

Does this seem like a package that will work well together?

mike venth

I went with Genes setup also. According to Bill C (haven't Yet) but adding the Z leafs and changing the toque tube plate to a Zo6 also will make a wicked stiff upgrade. Just adding my .2 sense...
mike v

Solofast

As noted above, it will be pretty close, but you're going to have a bit more oversteer than a stock C5Z. That's not bad, but to dial it in you're going to have to do one of the following...

1.) Stiffen the front bar just a bit. That can be done with a set of poly front sway bar bushings pretty easily.

2.) Upsize the rear tires a bit more than the front. That is if you go to a 275 section tire in the front, bump the rear to a 315 and that should get you into the right ball park.

The only problem you have is that none of the stuff you've put on there is adjustable and you can't readily tune it to dial it in. The good news is that you can do an amazing amount of tuning with sway bar bushings and if you go to a poly bushing on the front bar that is inexpensive and should do the job for not much money.

The only way to know for sure is to put it on the car and drive it, but it should be really close if you do what I suggest.

Bill Curlee

I put the C6 ZO6 shocks on the 02 ZO6 and saw a significant difference in vehicle stability.

I had already installed significantly wider tires before up-grading to better shocks which may have contributed to the cars decrease in vehicle stability, and loss of sure footedness. As soon as I installed C6 ZO6 shocks that were designed to handle the forces that a wider tire C6 has and was designed to handle,,,, the car became a WHOLE LOT more fun to drive.

SO, Tire size, suspension components, alignment and component matching all need to be considered as a PACKAGE when making changes.

Some things to consider that may FIRM up steering response.

There are up-graded components made for the steering rack mounting components that you may want to look into. Also look at your front and rear A ARM bushings. If yours are worn/soft, your suspension geometry will be effected under severe handling conditions and may detract from the cars total handling abilities.

Bill

PS,,,, I gave my nicely used 35,000 mile 02 ZO6 shocks to a friend who had a 2000 Base Coupe, FE1 suspension with 100,000 mile OEM shocks so he could try them out. The shocks were not down and outright BAD (No damage NO leaks and they still have internal pressure)

He was amazed with the improvement that he saw. Just like I was amazed with the improvement with the C6 ZO6 shocks.

bence13_33

Thank you for all of the responses. I do plan on going with Z06 rims and larger tires if that makes a difference. My A-arm bushings are indeed a bit worn, would you recommend poly bushings?

Frame77

Hi,
since I'm doing a cam swap next year, what components are these?

Bill Curlee

Take a look at the bushings here. I would get the Delerin bushing:

http://dougrippie.com/products/drm-s...ack-bushing-2/

BC

maj75

You keep saying you have a "coupe." In C5 terms, that means a FRC which was only available in 1999 and 2000. Those cars came with Z51. In 2001 the FRC morphed into the Z06 which also had the higher spring rate. I think your description of your car as a coupe caused some confusion.

3sACROWD

The OP is not using the wrong terminology. There were three models available in C5 Fixed Roof Coupe (FRC) which evolved into the Z06, Coupe (aka Targa) and Convertible..

Bill Curlee

Yea,,, I was going to comment the same thing. You beat me to it.

huesmann

Actually, you may be using the wrong phrase (evolved into).

Unless Wikipedia is wrong (and it sometimes is), the targa roof (coupe) body style debuted in 1997, followed by the convertible in 1998. The FRC wasn't added til 1999, and the Z06 (a hopped up FRC) til 2001.

QCVette

You don't have it quite right either.

The FRC was actually called a "Hardtop" by GM. It is shown in the owner's manual ('99 pictured below) and other advertising.