Yes, the steering is 100% replaced with OEM remanufactured/rebuilt components.

I now see where the interfernce is. There is piece of angle iron welded onto the a-arm which bottoms on the steering pitman arm. That's why I posted another thread (which got moved to general) asking for a steering wheel lock to lock rotation count. I'm now getting the alignment done on Saturday morning. While it's on the rack, I made arrangements to grind that tab each side until we have the turning radius back.

To me, this increased turning radius, as delivered, is a PIA for daily driving and a potential safety hazard.

 

Solid LT1, I agree but I'll have to qualify it. I think alot of these aftermarket products can lead to a better setup but 99% of people just slap them on and call it a C5-killer I've come around to not being a big fan of the transverse springs (harmonics, packaging, spring rate tuneability)

I do still recommend stiff springs and swaybars among other aftermarket parts to the average guy seeking better handling but not wanting to get too deep. Stiffness is very effective at masking our handling defects.

-Chris

 

When you're first addressing improving a system, you go for big leaps - and just dramatically increasing the stiffness dramatically improves(mask, if you prefer) the overall handling. Later, as you have time to go deeper into it, and can objectively test and test and test, you can no doubt achieve a lot more than that at first.

The whole reduction in turning limits from this system while noticeable, was not that extreme to me to offset the improvement over what I had before. I don't like that every time you choose to change spring settings you have to realign. That could be sidestepped a little by taking a longer time on the alignment rack one time and predetermine settings for a number of spring settings, but adjusting rear shims when required (if that is - and I think it is for extreme setting differences) is always a less-than-instant proposition.

I was attracted to the conversion for a number of reasons. First of all was the weight savings, both overall and unsprung. The tubular a-frame part is a staple of chassis mods on any design, so that was a given. I also like the lack of fibersprings to tend to dearch, although they are liable for heat damage and delamination is not unknown. I also couldn't help but be in favor of a system that was a redesign to use the setup the latter and better handling vettes used.

I don't like the loss in turning and I don't like that the adjustability is not a quickly done thing, although it's still a lot faster to adjust than changing coil springs. (Having once had a coil spring break a tab on a compressor once I also don't like the safety aspect of that.)

 

OK, I just got back from the 4 wheel alignment and a 20 mile drive

We took 5/16 off the angle iron tabs on the a-arms, and I think I have the original turning radius back.

The car rides and handles better, there is no doudt of that. FYI, I'm using the Edelbrock IAS shocks with these springs.

Now....I'm still waiting to hear something from VB&P.

 

Money and time? Wasn't Zora allowed to put an IRS in the C2 on the condition that he used off the shelf parts for the front suspension? Sounds like those GM engineers just need a few hours to brainstorm on how to throw some Impala parts into a '63 Vette. I think that the brainstorming in Florida was good. The question thrown out was: what can we learn from the millions of dollars that GM spent on the c4 suspension. Oh, and by the way, GM and all the other factory engineers don't make the best choices, they make the most cost effective.

 

Are they pretty easily adjustable to a large range of perceived handling?

 

They're not adjustable, they're car specific. I have them on my 72 and 95 Vette's.

 

I knew they were one type I haven't tried yet!

 

I have the full suspension on my car. I lost some turning radius. Noticed it pretty soon after doing the installation. I have run into a couple of situations where I had to back up and go forward a couple of times to get the car parked where I want. As far as on the street, around town, parking lots, etc, it has never been a problem.

I do not autocross the car. I did however want to be able to be in full control of the ride height. my early plans for the car included a small block that graduated to the big block as time went. This suspension gave me the option to set ride height whereever I wanted regardless of engine weight.

But...I am a bit bias as you may notice in the following VB&P Ad

 

95K miles in 3 years? WOW

All I really wanted to say was... the corvette is not your average 60's musclecar. It's a total performance package crammed into the smallest possible space, so anytime you pay someone else to work on it for you, they're gonna run into all the same problems the rest of us do -- clearance, fitment, model-specific parts, etc. It is an endless amount of frustration for even an experienced individual, and when your mechanic reaches that frustration level... it's going to be reflected in your invoice. Period.

You've had some bad luck with parts you ordered. It happens. Especially with these fancy corvette only parts places that re-package chinese made parts and sell them as corvette specialty parts.

You have to resign yourself to the truism that if you own a corvette, you'll pay 2X as much for any service you have done to it by a professional. It's like an unsaid rule amongst mechanics. the only answer is to do everything yourself if you want to get things done "at cost". otherwise, be prepared to empty your wallet / savings account.

IMHO, if you buy a product such as transverse monospring front suspension, with the intended goal of improving performance at the track / slalom / autocross event, and you lose steering radius as a consequence (which it apears can be fixed via minor modification) then is it really something to gripe and holler about? you still accomplished your goal of 1. lightening the front end 2. improving lateral traction 3. gaining adjustibility 4. freshening up your front end with new bushings and parts

I have a VBP front monospring and I love it. would never go back. could care less about turning radius. it just goes to show... to each his own.

the blonde weasel

 

No - oddly I don't mind the higher costs of the vette only shop....I get mad at the idiots like the one who built this temporary engine....and at the problems with the brake system. Chasing the cooling system type things is not a biggy and has progressed as expected.

Really, it's less a matter of vette mechanics charging more than these vette mechanics being the only decent mechanics I can find. I've tried at least a dozen others in the last decade on various things. Only my transmission guy and muffler/ordinary brake guys are worth a damn and get the stuff done and functional. Most of the factory shops around here don't even want to work on anything over 20 years old - so I would not let them work on a premium thing from 30 years ago. (The other vette shop I dealt with did a decent job the two times I went there, but was more than a bit arrogant and dismissive at the managerial end to get my premium dollars. They seemed to be all into this trendy C5 conspicuous consumption "we might let you be seen in this car that we allowed you to be served by us" type deal.)

I got the thing I THINK in Julyish '01....in that next three years exceeded 90K - multiple times with $1K/month gas bills.

Last May ('04), I took down the old GoodWrench mill to put on a top end upgrade which failed when the distributor top wobbled, caused a crossfire, wiped that motor. Stupidly I didn't just start on the real engine or get a crate motor until I had the money to do that right, but followed the advice of some locals and went with this "highly respected" engine builder.

One and a quarter years later, $10K on immediate engine, $3K on other related systems, $3.5K on the GV, and $5+K on breakdown and find the PROBLEM on the mill itself and I haven't seen ANOTHER 5,000 miles.

THAT....sortof....begins......to......"a nnoy".....me.....

(Hey, at least I saved those gas bills!)

...but it's not a vette problem, it's an idiot engine builder problem. (As I write this reply, I'm waiting for the findings of Dave at Corvette Corner as to what is REALLY wrong with this engine, which I probably cannot afford to fix right now....)

But again - in case it was misteakenly aimed at me - I love the system and don't notice the turning loss as a problem.

 

I didn't buy the suspension package for racing. I bought and installed it as an improvement over the stock springs. Little things can become big things. I drive this car many thousands of miles a year, and when I buy "an improvement", I expect it to be just that. Remember that nowhere does VB&P mention the change in turning radius in the kit. That change (IMO) is a detrement, not an improvement. and purchasers should be aware of what they're getting and what it takes to correct if they chose to.

I've now put 400 miles on it since the change and the ride and handling are superior to stock. And I'm glad I went the extra mile to have a decent turning radius.