Redvette_22

I'd like to "soften" the ride quality of my SB 72 Coupe and without wasting a lot of money, what is the best way to do that? The car "appears" (tags and such) to have the base suspension but aftermarket shocks, which a previous owner installed so I don't their age. All four tires are only on the car a couple of weeks so they are not the "rock hard" old casings that you'd associate with stiff tires. The front spring tags indicate that they are the "base" spring, so that would be the softest possible, BUT the A-Frames have some brand poly bushing in them, and they appear to be reasonably new and don't appear to make noise. The rear suspension, other then shocks and adjustable lower strut bars, seems to be factory, including the spring. What...or where...would I look at this point to help soften the ride of the car, it seems more harsh then my 84 with the Z51 suspension.

David Mc

First thing I would do is change the shocks. My base '72 is anything but harsh and nothing like any '84 I ever drove.

I have poly bushings in the control arms also.

bashcraft

What tire pressure are you running?

20mercury

The ride improved significantly on every C3 when I installed the Bilstein HD shocks.

A little pricey but well worth it, IMHO.

Sunstroked

I was pretty happy with the vbp grand touring suspension kit with the bilstein shocks. I thought the ride was spot on for a nice cruiser. I took it off and installed the ridetech system, because I could. And It looks oh so cool! The ride is great, but honestly, the vbp setup was a great ride.

MelWff

are there rubber/poly bushings in the rear adjustable strut rods or heim joints?

SHARKBIT77

Your new tires are most likely at 32-35 psi. If you want a better ride try 28 psi first before you spend any money.

DC3

I improved the ride of my '73 considerably by upgrading to the Bilstein HDs and replacing the steel rear spring with a composite spring.

DC

Duane4238

I'll also go with the reduced tire pressures on this one. All of us seem to be riding on 30psi or even a little more. If you check the owner's manual for the '72, the standard inflation pressure for an F70-15(bias ply) is 24psi (p.59). Of course, most of us are running radials, so we're comparing apples to oranges, but try reducing your pressures closer to the 24psi mark and you'll see quite a difference in the ride quality. Go too low and the handling will suck.
Duane

v2racing

And you run the risk of overheating the tires at highway speeds and blowing one out.

Mike

bashcraft

I suppose this is a possibility if you're running 70+ mph for extended periods. I've been running 25 psi in my tires for the last 10 years without issue, but I'm never on highways for very long.

DABall

Bilstein HD's all the way around!

Redvette_22

27 lbs on digital gauge

Redvette_22

I thought about the fiberglass spring(s) for the front and rear, but there are no guys around that have done that, so I have nobody to ask what results they got for the expense. Also, of course, we had a fiberglass rear spring from another car, but had a "friend" at the time, take it with other parts to a swap meet....quite a while ago....and have not seen or heard from him since.......I wonder if he sold the parts or what.???

v2racing

I think if you went with Bilstien HD's all the way around and a glass sring out back, as suggested by others, you'd be surprised at how much better it will ride.

On my 80 Vette with the FE7 Gymkhana suspension I put Bilstien Sports and the ride was still better over Monroe gas shocks, even though the Sports are stiffer than the HD's.

Mike

doorgunner

FIRST---I adjusted the ride height of the car to the "look" I like best.

Then, I went a different route on the shocks......Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks. I measured the shock length from upper mount to lower mount/located a shock size chart and chose the shocks that would fit the Vette.

My spine really appreciates the improved ride/Long trips are great now.

The car now rides like a mid-size six passenger car/very smooth.

But I DID LOSE about 15% "handling" in curves.....a previous 70mph curve is now a 60mph curve...(wife says it's posted at 35mph!)

mrvette

22 some odd years ago, I went VBP plastic 360# in rear, and I hear a 330# is available.....and yes Billy Stine shocks the softer ones.....

I have 460 springs in front, but they are shorter than stock, and what with the engine mods....aluminum heads/serp belt/aluminum m cyl/ and rack steering, and custom aluminum grill, my '72 does just fine....

course the tires are on '89 vette rims....255/50/17 in front 275/50/17 in rear.....

smooth as a baby's ***.......

DC3

My '73 did not have the base suspension (a previous owner had replaced the base suspension with the Gymkhana performance parts). It was pretty rough riding on all but the smoothest roads. I spec'd a composite spring that would be similar performance-wise to the 7 leaf steel spring I had. I replaced it before I did the shocks just to get a feel for the improvement. Night and day difference. Would do it again in a heart beat. Might not be as noticeable of a difference going from a base suspension.

I put the Bilstein HDs on after the spring and they made a decent improvement as well.

You can pretty much confirm your car has the base suspension if it has the 9-leaf rear spring.

DC

centralcalvette

Start with tire pressures and shocks. Worn out or too stiff a shock will give you a harsh ride. While I haven't tried them yet, I'll probably put Bilsteins on my 69. They were factory on my motor home and they are fantastic.

1SGRET

New seat foam did it for me!