BaylorCorvette

I know it will fit but I'm just trying to picture if it would look proportionally off by not going wide body in the rear.

Also, have you seen these new brake ducting from GM??

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1593293608

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

I know you are going to the track this weekend but how's the drive and handling on the street? Have a chance to put any miles or "test" it yet?

X25

I have been trying to make it 'rub' at the street before the track event to see if it does, but with all the rain we've been getting lately, it's proving to be hard to test.

Anyway, I've been driving it for a few days now, and it feels pretty good! Especially when the road is not wavy or full of cracks, dare I say it, it is pretty comfortable. There is not much if any lean in corners, and it feels easier to control the rear-end, probably due to less weight transfer happening with lower height and much stiffer springs and sway bars. Looking forward to loading up the suspension in tight corners at the track on Saturday. So far, I love it!

I have two remaining concerns in my mind:

• Tight package: This is a minor concern, and will hopefully turn out to be nothing: Everything is very tightly packaged by the suspension. The front sway bar's end is very close to the springs by the driver side. Later, I realized I could move the sway bar a little bit, and did so by loosening the mounts and pushing it the other way, which gave a little bit more clearance. I'm still wondering if this is an issue; I will check it out (for any wear signs) when I get back. I'm honestly not worried about a scratch, etc.
• High preload: (Correct me if my understanding is wrong) Good springs react linearly to spring compression, so if I had no preload, I would have a rather soft spot (reaction) first, and as the spring compresses more under cornering forces, it would increase the force, and in turn the feel of stiffness of the suspension as it leans more. That initial softness is actually very good for the car to help it eat up tiny bumps on track surface, and my shocks are also tuned (dampening/compression) for it. As we all know, increasing preload too much will get the tuning off a bit, and slowly remove that initial softness. That initial softness and how the shocks react at that initial response, by the way, is what makes great shocks different than poor shocks (e.g. for poor shocks: STi). So, there is no question in my mind that high preload is very bad for handling; I just don't know how much preload is too much to start negating the performance. Do I have too much preload now?
  • The coilovers lowered the car 1.1" - 1.2" with low (3mm) preload; I wish they could lover it around 0.7" or so, so I could just level it at 0.5" - 0.6" range with minimal adjustments.
  • In addition to the initial +3mm preload I made, which took a turn or two, I did the following to reduce drop to 0.6":
    LF: 6 turns
    RF: 4.5 turns
    RR: 4.5 turns
    LR: 5.9 turns
  I wish I could get those longer shafts you mentioned, though I'm wondering if they would be too long, since they are meant for 1" drop spindles.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Given the new shock design is a very fine thread, a turn on the shock doesn't do much at all for the spring, the spring is going to compress more than that when you put the weight of the car on it.

Yes, taken to the extreme, like 1" of preload in the spring it is going to effect some things but with this we are making smaller adjustments.

X25

Yeah, I really don't know how much is too much, or even how much preload I've accumulated after about 8 turns. I'm about to head to the track, looking forward to testing it!

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Good luck this weekend! You have my personal email so shoot me any questions while your at the track to that one, as I am not going to be at the office this weekend.

four0nefive

Regarding the Z06 front fenders, it doesn't look too bad.

X25

Thanks for the pic! That's my understanding as well; it doesn't look bad at all, and frankly, my priority is not cosmetics anyway (though parts should fit at least :P ).

We will see how it works tomorrow. If it doesn't rub at all, I AM DONE! If it rubs a bit, I could consider hitting -2.7 or so camber up front for more clearance. If, for any reason, I destroy the fenders, you know what I will do



I was wondering if it would be harder to load it up on the trailer. It was not too hard, and it even clears the front stopper bar. HOWEVER, once loaded, I realized my hinged trailer fender is not sufficient to let me open the door! I had a very hard time getting out of the car.


There is about an inch of overlap between fender itself and the offending sidewall that interferes with the door, so I just cut it : P Looks like I need just one more mm to cut to avoid any interference, but it will have to wait my return; I ran out of time and had to start my road trip.


Let's see how this suspension setup will perform. The beauty with the factory setup (like Z07) is that you know it works well, and it is validated by magazines, and professionals. The beauty of competitive aftermarket systems is that your potential is probably much higher since you don't have to compromise to make 99% of the people happy, but it's also pretty easy to ruin something. For example:

• Will the sway bars be too stiff since I already have stiff springs from coilovers now? After all, LG recommends them for both stock springs and coilovers; does it work optimal on both?
• What about the front sway setting; I set it to stiffer hole since I have almost square setup at 315/325; will it work as expected, or was it meant for a different setup when LG developed it?
• Is my ride height optimal?
• I did not corner-weight-balance, but rather balanced the height with ballast in the car, which usually comes very close; will this have a negative impact? If so, is it significant?
• I will have toe out on a Corvette for the first time, which is actually inverse of what GM suggests. Will this make the car unsettled in braking zones?

I should note here that Anthony@LG has always been very helpful, but I also understand that I can only ask him too many questions . Their racing record is also very much reassuring.

There are so many questions in my mind, and hopefully some will be answered. I wish I could compare against a 1LT GS Z07 back-to-back; now that would be epic! A friend of mine is torn between the new Camaro 1LE and GS Z07 (but leaning towards 1LE); if he gets the GS Z07, this dream could happen next summer!

X25

TL;DR: The car has been TRANSFORMED!

[The first two (older) videos below are just for reference]


The best I've ever done at this track before today was with Camaro 1LE with full Z/28 suspension, aero, wheels and Trofeo R tires at 305/30/19 square; 1:57.1. Miata closely follows at 1:57.9 (with the supercharged engine).




The best so far for C7 Z51 was admittedly not very good at 1:58.44 (at 85 degrees F), but the main problem was not heat; the suspension setup was just not right. I just could not lay the power down early enough exiting the corners, which prompted me to upgrade rears from 305s to 325s, which also prompted me to upgrade fronts from 275s to 315s for an almost square setup, which ended up completely overwhelming the FE3 suspension not to mention rubbing on all corners, but well, you know that part of the story




And today, I was able to do 1:52.9; my personal best by a mile (-4.2 seconds vs. PB with 1LE)!




There were not many cars attending, and my only competition was a race-prepped Porsche with gutted interior, Hoosiers, and 430 HP engine. I was barely faster than him in the morning. Video above is from the earlier morning session where I was catching up to him, but the gap widened as I got accustomed to the new-found traction and improved suspension setup.


Data

• Previous best time with C7 Z51: 1:58.44
  • Max Speed (GPS): 110.1 MPH
  • Avg RPM: 4599
  • Avg throttle: 52%
  • Avg coolant temp: 216 degrees F
  • Avg intake temp: 96 degrees F
• New best time with C7 Z51: 1:52.93
  • Max Speed (GPS): 115.9 MPH
  • Avg RPM: 4840
  • Avg throttle: 56%
  • Avg coolant temp: 213 degrees F
  • Avg intake temp: 70 degrees F

Impressions

• Car feels smaller now: The car immediately felt very different from the last time. Keep in mind, I tried the car with these tires at the Ridge Motorsports Park with FE3 suspension, so the difference is not just caused by tires. The front bite and turn-in is so much improved, that I actually over-turned into corners in my first few laps, suddenly finding myself being forced to 'open up' the wheel to correct my course. The same happened in brake zones, too. I've actually seen the improved braking of these tires with FE3 suspension as well, but was not able to capitalize on it since there was too much lean when I tried to trail-brake into the turns.
• Colder day, more power: Since it was a much colder day, the engine must have had more power, but this is an NA engine, the difference won't be too much in my opinion. I compared the front straight trap speeds, and most of the gains are from braking late, and starting the straight 1-2 MPH faster. I am not sure about exact impact of temp differences on lap times. That said, we should also note that these tires would likely work better if it was about 20 degrees warmer today, so you get some, and you give some
• More throttle FTW: Look at the average throttle position: 56% vs. 52%! This means, I was able to get away with more throttle throughout the whole track! This is also reflected in the average RPMs. Besides suspension, 325s also make a difference here.
• Almost no rub: The fronts did not rub at all! There was only slight rub at right rear (which is actually the one with the least pre-load), which only seems to happen when I hit the bank at T11.
• Balance: The car felt pretty balanced, so I can say that stiffer front setting of LG sways seem to work very well for square(ish) setups. I was also able to rotate the rear of the car without having to deal with any snap-oversteer, but honestly C7s are always much better behaving than C6s to start with.
• My driving: I will have to re-adjust to the car now that I have much more front bite in turns, can brake later, and put the power down earlier. It has been a challenge to keep up with the changes As such, I'm hoping I will get to improve times more in time. As an example, right after that best lap, I had another lap where the lap timer showed -0.9 up until turn 12, where I overshot it seeing the current lap time (American greed). If I didn't screw it up, I was perhaps talking about a 1:51.9 lap time, which would be even more amazing!
• Conclusion: I am in love with the current setup! The suspension seems to work very well, and I actually can't wait to try it at RMP and see what I can do. The suspension gives me a lot more confidence now, and its feedback also seem to be less delayed, making it easier to push it more. I think this also validates that one can come up with a very competent setup starting with Z51, in comparison to GS Z07, with significantly lower cost. Dare I say it, I think this setup would win over with lower air drag, lower mass, more front bite, and a non-compromised suspension with no cross-talk.

Kamran

Nice job. I'm very glad all the hard work and $$$ paid off.
Yesterday, after reading your post, I was shaking my head because so many things you had changed all at once. Thinking how would you figure out what was dialed in and what wasn't.

Looking at the videos though and the change in your body language attitude, I must say, I think 1 or possibly 1.5 seconds of it was "you"! Before it looked like you were just happy driving fast, but yesterday you seemed more possessed and driven to kill it! Nice job!

X25

Indeed, I was worried it would not work well, and I'd have no way of knowing what exactly went wrong, which is why I had that post listing my worries. After all, I'm not a suspension engineer, and don't have means (pit crew would be nice) to test settings back to back, either.

I have to say, when the car gets quicker in responses, it helps you focus, too. Here's hoping my Miata project also turns out this well : )

Kamran

If I may suggest, to protect longevity of your investment and hard work, I'd recommend heat shield wrapping all bushings and rubber fittings near brake calipers where things get super hot with something like the below to prolong their life:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VTYPFG..._26725410_item

X25

I actually might; those adhesive tapes di not work well on my Miata, but every car is different; it might work better on this car. The best way to protect is to use those guards sheet metal pieces that usually come with brake ducting that attach to the spindle.

BaylorCorvette

Freaking fantastic and congratulations! The exact reason I did not want to go with mag ride on the Corvette. Had it on my ZL1 and it was great but limited some of the suspension options. I'm ecstatic to hear your results.

So on the NT01's what did you find the best HOT temps to be front and back?

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Heck yeah!

Always awesome to hear results....and improved track times with video and data!

Call me, email me, or PM me and we can go over any setup stuff if you want to try something different next time out. Help anyway I can!

X25

Yes, indeed magna ride has its limitations. It's harder to change tire sizes, or even change the available traction without negatively impacting the handling. Z07 is tuned for good traction, but even then, there are no tires available at the right size, and it's not clear what would be the impact to PTM with different tire sizes, etc. This was my thinking all along, but was starting to get a bit overwhelmed by having to choose the right options with not enough data/insight, but the educated guess of the settings appear to have worked! Now you have a good idea regarding what might work well for your car : )

We were talking about it with my friend who is in the market for a car, without me pushing for any choice, he's also come to the conclusion that Z51 with these upgrades might be the most cost-effective way to create a great handling C7. Z07 is obviously a great option as well, but only if you will leave the car as is. The minute you start changing any parameter (traction, height, tire sizes, springs, etc.), you will start getting off the optimal dampening. DSC Motorsports' controller seems to be the holy grail for Z07 suspension (or even other magna ride cars), which I think is the only real alternative from my point of view.

Regarding tires (I presume you are asking pressures, not temps), it was cold out in the morning (50 degrees F), and I started at 27 PSI cold, which turned out to be a bit much. It feels like I start losing time as soon as I hit 38 PSI (TPMS). I dropped pressures another 1 PSI, and it felt better. I should also note TPMS reads 1 PSI lower at this track (I presume due to 2200+ ft altitude), so I'm probably losing traction rather at 39 PSI.

Thanks for all your support, Anthony! It's been great to consult with someone knowledgeable as I went on to figure out what to do. I think I will now focus on exploiting my current setup, and getting my best lap times.

When it comes to getting these re-valved (probably 2 years away), I'll ask if you can replace the shafts with longer ones (~0.4" longer if you have), so I can get to try these coilover with lower pre-load, too. Trying Swift springs could also be a good test. FYI, one of the Hyperco springs was 202mm-long, while others were 203mm (8").

I like the car's driving so much, I started considering if I should get an extra set of wheels that clear C7 Z06 brakes, so I can get to play with it during winter with a good set of wet traction tires. I normally don't like driving Corvettes at the street, at least not more than my comfy truck, since anything fun means too much speed for the streets. The rain would, however, drop the fun speeds : ) I will look for the sales for those GT2 wheels during the holiday season.

Other than that, so far, so good! I'm very happy to see that all the planning and experimentation did not go to waste. During this project, my only real disappointments were Z06 transmission cooler and GM's T1 suspension.

BaylorCorvette

My bad, psi not temps. Same front and back? Your estimation of the traction falling off around 38-39 is consistent to what I have found. It would appear that 36-37 PSI as indicated by a tire gauge (not tpms) is a good number to shoot for.

Chets LS3

Mag ride has no difference in effect on tire size than a base model.

I've also ran 1.5 inch difference front to rear with no issues. I've also ran .3 inch tire size difference front to rear with no issues.

I've ran a 25.6 inch rear tire all the way to a 27.33

Front I have ran a 24.4 inch tire as well

X25

The point is magna ride comes with PTM, and just because it doesn't throw an error message does not mean it runs optimal. I know for sure that it didn't on C6, since I tried different tire diameters with PTM with noticeable differences in reaction. Maintaining the correct ratio seemed crucial during my tests. I've not tried it on C7 : )

Chets LS3

I will say after getting in a car at Ron fellows without mag ride versus with, I'm very glad I got a mag ride car.

With that being said I've had no issues with ptm on any tire sizes I ran. I've fluctuated 2 inches in the rear. Other than speedo I don't think anything else is being affected. My car ran like a champ with some tall 27+ tires on it.