pknowles11

Morning, Just picked up a very nice 2003 z06 with 55,000 miles on it. I'm looking for some help with the shocks as far as what to get. I just started autocrossing and most was in a 2016 cayman s. I like the extra hp in the vette and will be going to 275/35 r18's on the front and 305/30 r19's on the rear so I can stay with the re71's. I have been reading until my eyes are just about crossed and can't make up my mind as to which shocks to get. i am inclined to believe that the current shocks are the original ones. Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Gordy M

Your best bet is to contact Sam Strano and he has all the info you need to set up your Vette for autocrossing. He can cover everything from shocks to alignment to sway bars, etc. Also let him know what rules you will be running under, SCCA, etc.

PedalFaster

Almost everyone runs Koni Sport shocks (aka Koni Yellows). They're widely available from many vendors including Tire Rack, they're bolt-in replacements which are legal in SCCA Street competition, and they're reasonably priced at about $1,250 per set.

Koni Yellows for most other cars are twin-tube shocks, but the Corvette Yellows are monotubes.

exracer28

If you are just getting started in autocrossing I would suggest an alignment, brake pads and fluid and seat time before you start spending money on swapping parts. Seat time and getting used to the car will provide improvement in times and fun while you are learning. It's easy to spend money following what the experts tell you but seat time will make you a better driver and you will be able to see by experience what changes the suspension needs for your driving style. Be sure you read the rules for the group you run with. What may be legal for one group may not be with another. Have fun

pknowles11

Thanks for the quick replies. The car I have needs new shocks so I want to get something that will help stabilize the car some. This was my first full season of autocrossing my 2016 cayman s and early in the season I put the re71's on and instantly saw an improvement. I would like to run these tires on the vette in some configuration. Still have the porsche but wanted something with a little more power.

Acid666

I was in the same predicament as you last year when I got my '02 Z06 with 70K miles. Completely stock except for the intake and Borla cat back.
I've got the car with Forgestar F14s (18/19) with Ventus V12s (275/305) and they were great for learning. Took me about 6 months of learning the car and I was consistently getting 2 seconds behind the top 2 guys at the local Autocross in CAM. I originally started in AS but realized the intake was illegal, then I found out about CAM and saw that it's basically open and the Corvettes dominate in it.

Once I felt I was learning the push the car to a comfortable limit I got a set of RE-71Rs. Took about 2 events to really scrub them in and learn how far I could push them, then my the 3rd event I was ******* these tires and beating the few people I was chasing event after event. Once I learned how the tires handled I gave Sam Strano a call and said I was ready for suspension but didn't want to spend $2-4K on coil overs and wanted to know what the next step I should take was.
It was pretty simple, and he'll tell you the same thing. Max the oem camber out as much as you can, put a front bar on it with adjustable end links, and Koni Yellows. That combo alone is winning on the national level.
I did exactly that, and while I don't regret it one bit, I could of gone the cheaper route and found some C6 take offs and got similar results. I've got a friend with a Base C5 with C6 shocks and sways and he crushes local events. Great driver too, but it made me realize that having more horses in a Z06 and pricier shocks doesn't beat the driver mod.

Point is, you're splitting hairs if you're looking for every bit of gain. I thought the adjustable rebound on the Konis would give me a dramatic drop in times but the truth is I run the rear on full soft (which is comparable to the stock Z06 setup), and I only bumped up the front rebound a hair. Otherwise it understeers more than I like and becomes too much coming out of some corners. I'm still dialing it in but I'm at about 90% of where it needs to be.

One thing I'll say, if you're interested in autocrossing a lot, don't go with a 275/305 18/19 combo if you can avoid it. Find a set of 18" stock Z06 Speedlines and go with a square setup. I spent nearly $1,500 on my set of RE-71s and I wish I would of waited and spent it on 315/18 Rival-S. I could actually rotate them then and get more life out of them. I dual drive my car with the wife at events and that $1,500 is only going to last me for maybe 1.5 seasons max. If I had to do it again I would of waited till I could find 2 more speedlines to complete my 18" set, and THEN splurged on tires. If you're dead set on sticking with RE-71Rs (they don't make them in 315/18s, which is why I'm going with Rivals), then go with a 275/35 or 285/30 square setup.

chetly

Another vote for calling Strano. Get his Koni Yellow setup along with the delrin mounting kit, they are different than what's offered at tirerack. Also get his front swaybar with adjustable endlinks.

jpb1978

This place has them on sale for a little over $1k until December 29, I just bought a set from them. https://www.tunersports.com/koni-spo...-2_p19746.html

Fast Cars & Horses

Sam Strano helped me set up my C5 and it was exactly like Acid666 detailed and dominated B street with Rival S. I now have a C6Z and it's our winter project to mod it for CAMS. This year, we drove it basically stock, but the MGW threw us out of AS, so we decided to do a lot more modding to it before March. We ran it with RE71's and ditched them before the end of the year for an 18" square set up with 315/335....tires are everything!!

PedalFaster

I respectfully disagree. We tried 275 square RE-71Rs back-to-back with 275/315 Rival S's, and the Rivals' ability to put power down was dramatically better. I can't recommend going the 275 square route for that reason.

I've never tried the 275/305 18/19 RE-71R combo, but it's worth noting that the guy who decisively won A Street at this year's SCCA national championships was.

mattastick

It sounds like you want to stay in AS, which is probably a good idea as you're learning. That wheel/tire combo just won AS at Nationals, so that's probably a good starting point. You'll also probably want a bigger front sway bar, and I think the standard AS one is the 33mm helwig/Strano bar. Shocks are a matter of budget. You can run as cheap as C6 shocks, or go the $5k route for MCS/Penske. Most seem to be running Koni yellows, though.

A little suggestion with autocross: pick a class and maximize the car for that class. This gives you no excuses except for the driver. Then throw tires at the car and get tons of seat time

Acid666

I can understand and agree with it. Currently I'm running 275/305 18/19 Re-71rs and while I love them, I don't love the price. Which is why I'm going with 315 Rivals all the way around on my next set so I can 1) properly rotate them and 2) get more grip in the front. But a friend of mine is running 285s on a base C5 and he's killing me event after event so it kind of opened my opinion up to the mentality of if I wanted to have fun, be competitive, and be able to get the most out of my tires and money, I wouldn't mind going with a 275 or 285 square setup of Re-71Rs. That being said, I'll always prefer a minimum of a 305 in the back, but I just can't rotate them to get more life out em so it ends up costing me more in the long run. If I drove the car more, I'd want a little more life out of the tires.

Gordy M

You can flip the tires after every 80-90 runs and make them last the season or longer. I ran the RE71's last year 275/305 on a 18/19 setup and had over 226 runs on them plus drove to events and a Detroit-Bowling Green trip. Right now they are 3/32's in the rear and 2/32's in the front. The year before I ran the 275/315 BFG's and the same number of runs. After about 80-90 runs they start falling off but not by much.

alextz

Also depends on what class you want to run..... AStreet, SSR, CAM-S, STU

Want to run street tires or race tires?

Start with that decision then go from there.

Either way a set of Konis is a good choice. Sam Strano can hook you up with advice and sells all the goodies.

mattastick

C5Z's aren't classed in STU, only the base cars are. But yes to the OP. Pick a class and prep for that.

VicissitudeVette

I have a C6Z. I bought the Johnny O'Connell shocks and sways. The valving is better than the OEM (4500 miles). The high speed compression is better but the overall valving is more compliant. (Funny how shock tech has improved since 2006) Although the kit came with two bars I only have the front connected. AS rules let you have 1 aftermarket bar.

The Koni shocks will let you rebuild them to the specs but since Johnny has already done that then I didn't see a need as you need to keep the OEM springs per the rules.

Now the question to ask your self is do you want to win your class or do you just enjoy the car? If you want to win the class then read the rule book and know what your getting into. For me I just like to shoot for FTD or top 10 and enjoy the event. (Well that was in my old car)

Personally my old car was a 300HP Miata SSM car on quality adjustable coil overs and I have in my plans to go on coil overs on the Vette as soon as I can. What class will that be? If I want to be competitive (PAX) what other mods do I need? For me, I just want to build the car the way I want and go fast how I want so I may not be National level car build but I will enjoy what I have and dive it.

pknowles11

Thanks for all the replies. I have a call and an e-mail into Sam and waiting to get his ear for a bit. Thanks again. Paul

gback

AS... Strano front bar, Koni sports with the Strano delrin spherical upper bushings, Rival S and maybe lower front and rear a bit. Alignment - Front 2.0* to 2.5* neg camber, 1/8" toe out: Rear 1.5* to 2.0* neg camber, 1/8" toe in. Get as much camber as you can. Start with front bar on soft and 4-6 sweeps front and 2-3 sweeps rear on the Konis then adjust as desired.

pknowles11

Well, I'm still waiting on Mr. Strano to get back with me. I missed his call last week and sure hope I get another chance??

Well, just got off the phone with Sam and he is a world of information on these cars. needless to say, I now have a game plan and parts ordered. Thanks again for all the helpful information.