Alludc

measured from ground to center of fender lip I am:

27" front 28" rear.

99 FRC with
265-40-17 and 295-35-18.
2010 z06 shocks
2010 Z51 sway

I know that maxxing out stock bolts, or beyond is not ideal for handling in the c5. Question is, is there a consensus that says what the ideal height is (specifically for autox)?

assthetically, Id like to go lower (be damned the speedbumps and driveways), but my #1 concern is maximum cornering performance.

AU N EGL

First of all do not measure to the fender / wheel well arches. They are never equal.

measure to the Frame in one of two places:

1. to where the A-arm attaches to the frame then to the ground ( best )

2. or just in front of the front jacking puck hole, and just behind the rear jacking puck hole

That said in front about an 1" lower then stock is max, and the rear should keep the rake or 1/2" to 5/8" inch higher then the front

Good Luck

Alludc

I didnt get the 2nd of all there. Im looking for ideal ride height for autox. thx for the suggestion on where to measure from tho.

acrace

You're going to find a wide variance on where people set their ride heights for autocross. Some people use rake for understeer/oversteer balance.

Solofast

I tried from max lowered on stock bolts to where I am now, and max lowered was slower. I have custom built Koni's so I wasn't going to bottom out the rears like you would on stock shocks at max lowered. Consequently I could try all different ride heights from max lowered to stock.

I am lowered about 3/4 of an inch from stock all around.

When I first set the car up I had stock shocks and I lowered the front all the way and dropped the back 3/4 of an inch. Car had great forward bite, but pushed a bit that we fixed with softening the front bar just a tiny bit. When I got the Koni's we lowered it all the way on stock bolts and that wasn't fast at all. In fact it was a disaster. Put the rear back up to where it was and that was much better.

Later I jacked the car up in the front to be about 3/4 of an inch from stock and that worked a lot better.

Scooter70

The obvious question is: What is "stock"? Based on AU N EGL's measurement points, what should those be on a "stock" Z06? I bought my car last year and have no idea where the previous owner had it set. (Of course, tire size is going to affect the measurement so let's assume stock tires and then we can figure out any difference in tire diameter from there.)

Solofast

Lowered all the way in the front of my car was about 1.8 inches from stock. Lowered all the way on stock bolts, as measured at the front jacking puck hole the car was 4.1 inches to the frame.

Based on the published (older) shop manuals for the 99 model year you should be looking at about a 5 inch height at the front jacking puck as a minimum for the best handling. That's pretty close to where mine ended up.

All of these cars aren't the same from the factory.

The usual caveats apply, your mileage (or ride height) may differ.

AU N EGL

Stock in most cars

in front of the front jacking puck hole is ~ 5"

Just behind the rear jacking puck hole 5 1/2"

Scooter70

Thank you guys for the quick answers.

Alludc

I see what you are saying about it being all over the board. solofast says 5" is considered best for handling, but AU N says 5" should be stock.

Im solid where I am now, Ill measure it at the pucks and then adjust both up and down this wkd at the autox and see how I make out.

Alludc

im at 4.5 front and rear...measuring at the jack points.

AU N EGL

One needs to remember that suspension needs to travel. If the suspension hits the bump stops from being too low, the cars handling is compromised. Or something like that