Which one is the best for you??? Please give me an opinion!
I love the Shark Bite for the look but I'm not sure about how it works on the road!

 

The VBP Performance Plus kit is very nice but you could order the kit without the rear suspension parts and go with the 6 Link from DragVette http://dragvette.com/. I think that would be a neat set up.

 

Neat as the DragVette 6-link may be, its geometry is tailored for drag racing. Unless that is your overriding purpose, I strongly suggest NOT doing anything which would virtually eliminate camber gain out of the IRS, or you'll end up with the outside rear tire leaning out into positive camber when cornering () if you don't otherwise compensate with excessive negative static camber (two wrongs don't make it right). Match your component selection to your needs.


TSW

 

This is a great question, I've been debating the same thing, look forward to reading more answers.

Robert

 

Yes, 6-links is pretty too...

My car will have about 450-500 hp and I will use bigger rims (18" or 20").
Use : only road or track days (no drag racing).

 

Well, I can say one over the other, as I only have one, the VBP package. Off the top of my head, I would have to say that the advantage of coilovers vs leaf is customization. The dual mount system VBP has has 4 settings, and that's it. No in betweens, or anything. Now, for most ALL of us, 4 settings is just about 3 settings too many, know what I mean? However, some of us DO take the car to the track, at which point, the stiffer settings would be used. But for driving on normal raods (especialy CRAPPY roads in the colder regions like.....say.....CT), the top stiffest settings are a wee too stiff, and it's harder to drive, not even to mention the bone jarringness of it all. Even if you're a young punk, like me, and don't care about a rough ride, it still handles like crap if it's too stiff.

Now, the coil oevers, on the other hand, have no settings. They can be adjusted pretty much infinetly, within the confines of the rest of your set up. So, if you are a serious racer, and have your suspension set up with each tracks characteristics in mind, plus any minor changes in the car, like driver weight and position, brake bias, etc, the coil overs offer FAR more versatility.

What I'm saying here is, unles you are pretty serious about getting onto the track and competing, the VBP kit is much easier to adjust, and a lot harder to screw up.

I am STILL getting the kinks ironed out on my setup, but even now, with it a bit too nervous on bumps, the handling is vastly improved.

 

I have Vette brakes dual mount setup in the rear of my car along with Dragvettes 6 link. It does provide almost zero degree of camber throughout the arc of travel but if you look at my sig picture the rear tire has very little if any positive camber. I have very little body roll so there is not a lot of positive camber in this. I'll agree for road racing this is probably not the ultimate setup but for a street car that is drag raced and autoX and street driven this setup works very well. I can keep up with most any C5 and C6 car in the autoX.

 

I too have the Performance Plus system and have to say I'm a big fan of it. I have a similar opinion to KevinK, but I do know that VBP will work with you a bit with the spring. For example, I contacted them about the variability of the spring rates to make sure mine was in spec (I read someone had one that was on the low side). VBP told me that for all around performance the K (spring rate written in grease pen because each spring is different) should be between this value and that value. But he told me that if I found the bottom setting too stiff that I could trade it in for a stronger spring (or if the top setting was too soft for that matter) and all I had to pay was shipping as long as it was relatively soon (this was last fall when I spoke to him and I bought the kit during the summer). So I would talk to them and let them know what you plan on doing and your ride taste and they can help get you the right spring rate to maximize the adjustability. I'm very happy with it, but I also don't know who has the coil overs. Hope this helps.

 

I bought the Performance Plus system last year and I haven't installed it yet because I've just begin my frame-off resto...

I've come across Shark Bite coilovers only few weeks ago and I like it very much
I'm thinking about selling VBP kit and buy Shark Bite
Do you think that's an unhealthy idea???

 

I have the VBP system and have taken it the track several times. I have to say I've been very pleased with it so far.

My main concern with the Shark Bite Coilover setup is how it applies load and the effects on the geometry of the rear suspension. Let me go thru my logic and hopefully it makes since.

1. In a corner the loaded outside wheel applies an upward force on the pivot which in turns applies the load to the coil over.
2. The coil over is quite lateral and applies a sideways load to the rearend and thus the crossmember, which is mounted in rubber.
3. The crossmember will move sideways in the car, which will in turn pull the halfshaft and camber links along with it.
4. This will in turn move the wheel inward relative to the front mount of the trailing arm.
5. The end effect is increased bump steer of the rear wheel toward a toed-out position ..... increasing oversteer. This can't be good for handling.

Just how I see things.

 

Jason, IMHO your logic is valid. The way the system functions is sound, but I have to agree it places loads on the diff x-member it wasn't originally intended to handle. Given that, I'd think gusseting the diff x-member mounting points on the frame and doing away with the x-member's rubber bushings would be a very good idea for anyone who plans on running hard with the SB coilover setup.

 

I know that several guys here runs VBP system with satisfaction (and this is the reason because I bought it ).

Still not enough Shark Bite systems on the road to have a feedback or a comparison???