1972stingray10

I have a 72 stingray , need to get educated on what would be the best aftermarket suspension to put on it , looking for best comfort and performance available with a lower stance, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated . Thanks

SB64

My next project coming up has me researching the same stuff. Check out VB&P performance Plus package, also shark bites. I am looking for an adjustable way to lower car height. Both these do that.
RVZIO

Ibanez540r

The rear suspension on a C3 is adjustable from the factory, to an extent. The most common aftermarket improvement is to go to a VB&P fiberglass rear spring - 360lb is often recommended - with Bilstein Shocks. The front will be lowered approx. 1" by using a 550lb spring, and also recommend the Bilstein shocks. Front coils can be cut from your current spring, or say a new 460lb, to dial in the front ride height.

The next step up would be to do as Rvzio said and use VB&P's dual mount front & rear springs which gives you the ability to adjust height and spring rate.

Then at the top of the line would be to covert to a full coilover suspension.


..P.S. - the Bilstein shocks come in two flavors, SPORT or HD. Sport are more stiff for the best handling. HD have a little more comfort in mind while still a handling improvement over stock.

Patro46

I went with the Sharkbite, and in spite of what armchair engineers said, I've been slamming this suspension with WAY more hp than any stock C3 ever had, and she still looks good, performs good, and things like ride height adjustment are a piece of cake

SB64

Thanks folks for that info. Going to be hard choice and it may just come down to the wallet. I see that the VB&P Plus 2 is $3200. Not sure yet what a complete Sharkbite system runs. I see the rear stuff. Do they do any front stuff.
RVZIO

Richard454

When you say best.....

That's a tough call-

I went with Vansteel's coil overs front and rear-

First of all- they've been doing it a while-
Second-you won't find any complaints about their product
Third - they are great to work with
Fourth- Corvette Forum Discount- https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1594645787

The rear coilover comes with NEW trailing arms and bolt up easily- minimal welding for a bracket reinforcement on the shock mount-






Front-

these bolt right in

Sky65

Looks you have the car sitting pretty low in the back. Do you have any handling problems with the half shaft angle like that? The shaft angle should be downward toward the outside at rest. I think roughly 1/2" higher on the inside.


Tom

SB64

Looks like I need to add another system to the pot. I have purchased Vansteel trailing arms for my stock 69 project .
Thanks
RVZIO

Richard454

Hey Tom-

You are correct- they should not "point up"

That pic is when I had just put it together-

If you'll notice the coils are all the way down- when I put it together that made it easiest.

Gale Banks 80'

You might also take a look at the Detroit Speed Parts. They are taking a new approach to suspension design for our C3's. I don't have any of there parts but I was able to look at a project car with them and its nice stuff.
When determining what is best for You You will need to decide if You want to go with Coil Over Shocks or not. Once that decision has been made it will lead You into one brand or another.

Sky65

Ah ok. You confused me there for a minute. Carry on.

Tom

Richard454

I saw the Detroit Speed- doesn't look that different-

I'm thinking they are going up against the $6K Ridetech-

Detroit Speed's C3-








I did see this at Road Atlanta- it's different...

Pop Chevy

Why do you say that there is going to be handling problems with the halfshafts angled up ? Please explain.

73racevette

Not sure what you mean by "best", but if you are after a suspension that rides nice on the road and will truly run with the best in an autocross or track setup, go with Ridetech. Yes, it is expensive, but it is in a different league than the other suspensions mentioned above.


I have put it on mine and it is a very nice setup. Highly recommended if you have the $$.

69autoXr

He's referring to the toe steer curve in the rear. With the half shafts angling up, the rear toe goes one way in bump - toward toe out. If the half shafts angle down initially the toe change in bump will be "in" until the half shaft passes horizontal.

OldCarBum

I just purchased front and rear coil overs from Van Steel. They were great to work with and answered all my questions. They told me what I needed and steered me away from what I did not need for my driving style and what I planned to use my car for. I opted for the single adjustable QA-1 shocks/550 lb coil overs for the front that will be used with my stock A-arms and the single adjustable QA-1 shocks/coil overs and 2" offset trailing arms in the rear. The selling factor for me was I can adjust my rebound and ride height without having to cut coil springs in the front and add longer spring bolts to the rear to adjust ride height. I also went with their 1 1/8" front sway bar, SS brake lines and will soon order their smart strut for the rear. I'm very happy with my purchase experience through Van Steel.
Greg

TheSkunkWorks

IMHO the single best investment anyone will ever make towards properly sorting their C2/C3 chassis would be to learn at least the basics of vehicle dynamics in general and of the fundamental workings of our IRS specifically. With that knowledge will come the understanding that not every worthwhile improvement comes neatly packaged in a box, and not every piece of kit actually improves anything. And, whatever set of kit you may ultimately choose as a baseline from which to work, you'll have a better idea of what adjustments will put you nearest the bulls eye for your given application. Hope that's worth $.02


TSW

CPTCroaker

For what it's worth I went with Ridetech front and back. Haven't driven on it yet but everything I have ever heard/read says it's superior to most.

AboveTheLogic

I went with the street and slalom kit. Handles and rides really great. Added a spreader bar, steeroids R&P conversion, and 18" y-rated tires and it just got better and better with each mod.

The13Bats

Wouldnt the answer to the threads question be different for each person and how they use his or her car?

I was lucky, my donor chassis was rebuilt with vbp front rear transverse kits, some would say its better than stock,

I am a cruiser, so all i needed was up to par stock suspension, the vbp stuff gives very little bragging rights as so many newer set ups are out there,

But how many people really need better than up to par stock?