Bilstein HD's on a Z51
02-08-2011, 07:54 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Bilstein HD's on a Z51
I wanted to comment on my experience with my new shocks. I've been in the market for replacement shocks for a while. Coil overs were out of the question for me due to price and the fact that I don't road race my Vette.
Bilsteins have always been my shock of choice and the question was always:
HD's or Sports and then the DRM valved Z06 Bilsteins.
Randy at DRM advised me against the Z06 valved shocks as they would be too harsh a ride for me. That left the other two.
After reading many posts that said the Sports went with the Z51 springs and the HD's went with the base, I decided that I would buck the trend as some on this forum had already done (with great success) with the HD's and began looking for some to purchase.
I wanted a more stable ride over bumps but not one that was more harsh. So the search began for HD's. I got a deal on some HD's thanks to carlrx7 and installed them rather easily with the help of dvandentop's post and timd's advice.
The advice was to remove the 4 bolts on the top of the A arms. I supported them with a jack and then moved the A-arm away. This opened up the whole area to remove the shock which even after compressing and zip tying, I still needed more room. Piece of cake!!!
When I began to drive around the improvement was immediate. My car is lowered and before, would rub the fenders on my tires over bumps as my offsets on the rims are not perfect.
No more of that and the ride is perfect. I don't feel every bump and I feel very connected to the road. It drives like a completely different car now and by that I mean for the better.
I have no way to compare the ride of the Sports. I just understand that they are valved to be a bit more aggressive and thus deliver a harsher ride. Well, I'll pass on that and am enjoying my new HD's immensely.
For all those who have posted about which Bilstein they should choose, my vote is for the HD's unless you need the extra firmness around corners. I go easy around corners because my Mickey Thompson Drag radials prefer that but in a 1/4 mile it's all smiles!
Jeff
Bilsteins have always been my shock of choice and the question was always:
HD's or Sports and then the DRM valved Z06 Bilsteins.
Randy at DRM advised me against the Z06 valved shocks as they would be too harsh a ride for me. That left the other two.
After reading many posts that said the Sports went with the Z51 springs and the HD's went with the base, I decided that I would buck the trend as some on this forum had already done (with great success) with the HD's and began looking for some to purchase.
I wanted a more stable ride over bumps but not one that was more harsh. So the search began for HD's. I got a deal on some HD's thanks to carlrx7 and installed them rather easily with the help of dvandentop's post and timd's advice.
The advice was to remove the 4 bolts on the top of the A arms. I supported them with a jack and then moved the A-arm away. This opened up the whole area to remove the shock which even after compressing and zip tying, I still needed more room. Piece of cake!!!
When I began to drive around the improvement was immediate. My car is lowered and before, would rub the fenders on my tires over bumps as my offsets on the rims are not perfect.
No more of that and the ride is perfect. I don't feel every bump and I feel very connected to the road. It drives like a completely different car now and by that I mean for the better.
I have no way to compare the ride of the Sports. I just understand that they are valved to be a bit more aggressive and thus deliver a harsher ride. Well, I'll pass on that and am enjoying my new HD's immensely.
For all those who have posted about which Bilstein they should choose, my vote is for the HD's unless you need the extra firmness around corners. I go easy around corners because my Mickey Thompson Drag radials prefer that but in a 1/4 mile it's all smiles!
Jeff
