hi? i want to lower my 82 corvette but i am looking for the best way to do it and less bouncing and smooth ride.

The F-41 suspension lowers the car 1 inch in the front. So does the Daytona spring, but that is an 860 pound rated spring which one is better for lowering and give more drop.

as for the rear 8 or 10 inches?

what will happen if i just cut the front spring? will the ride be bouncing, loosing traction or etc?

and if cutting the spring is ok, how much should i cut?


i have installed new kyb shock all around the car.

 

Cutting the front springs is one way to lower a C3's ride height, but when you do that the rate of the spring will increase by whatever percentage of spring you remove, i.e., if it's a 700 lb. spring with ten coils and you cut off one coil then the rate would increase by somewhere around 70 lbs. Simply put, the car will look cooler but will ride like a buckboard. Also, any car as designed has suspension geometry (more or less) that is intended to work best at the factory ride height. If you lower the car simply by cutting the springs in the front you will at the same time put the car at a different spot on its camber curve, lower the roll center which will increase understeer and neutralize the caster which gives the steering its self-centering effect. The more sophisticated approach is to use "dropped" spindles (popular with hotrodders) which allow you to drop the ride height some without altering the car's original suspension geometry. As far as the F41 springs a 1" drop from stock is negligible and shouldn't adversely affect the car's behavior but you'll definitely want to check your alignment once everything is installed and correct it as needed. At the rear C3's already have a nasty tendency to 'toe-steer' and dropping the rear ride height will tend to increase this somewhat...the best way to mitigate it is with a stiff spring and swaybar. This limits suspension movement and minimizes the car's inherent personality defects but also (obviously) kills ride quality. Like most production cars, these old vettes were designed with a bias toward civilized ride characteristics and whatever you do to make the car look cooler and generate more cornering power will erode into that smooth ride.

 

thanks

 

mine came down 1.5 inches in the rear using an 8 inch bolt and 2 inches in front by using 550# springs with half coil cut off.

 

If you have a 'bouncy' ride, you need new shock absorbers.

 

Birdsmith's explanation is right on! If you are just looking to stiffen up the ride a bit, I would suggest a couple of changes. A friend has an 82 and the ride is just short of a marshmellow! Check out my comments under the spreader bar thread on the front page to see what I have and I think i have improved the ride of my 78 immensely although looking at my specs you would never think so.

I believe the rear spring on your 82 is 198 Lbs and I don't know about the fronts but its not much higher. Put in a 360 composite spring in the rear and 550's 1 inch lower than stock in front. Lower the rear using the long bolts and get rid of the KYB's (they are not very good with a composite rear springs and invest in a set of Bilsteins (Hd's in front and sports in the rear or just HD's all around to be safe). The bouncy ride will be gone and the overall ride will be much improved! Hope that helps!