hypntyz

anyone have experiences with or comparisons between banski/exotic muscle/vette brake & performance rear suspension trailing/toe/camber arms?

what about SPC street adjustable upper control arms for the front? Any similar options available that I dont know about?

What are the best non-coilover shocks for a mildly modded street driven 85?

Goal is to make the lowered car easier to align to standard street specs AND to rebuild the entire suspension with new bushings, joints, bearings etc.

Thanks in advance.

GKK

I have the Z51 Bilsteins on my lowered 91 Vette. The Z51's internal piston rods are shorter for lowered Vettes.

Adjustable QA1 shocks are excellent too but, expensive.

hypntyz

Thanks for the response. I had been researching the matter already but thought I would ask. Many sources I've checked indicate the bilstein Z51's are out of stock...is there a preferred reliable provider?

Is it worth swapping to Z51 option front and rear mono springs at the same time?

GKK

It depends on what you are using your Vette for?...

If not, AutoXing I would not swap springs. Lowering your Vette on stock FE1 springs and Z51 shocks will give a nice sporty feel!...





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hypntyz

I dont do any racing or even real hard street driving most of the time except for the occasionally romp down a curvy back road. But I don't mind spending money on upgrades while the thing is all apart.

GKK

The Z51 Bilsteins will be fine then.

I bought mine from Tire Rack.

hypntyz

Tirerack is only showing the sport/b8 bilsteins for the rear. Unless I have interpreted this page wrong...

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/S...5&autoModClar=

GKK

Oh, I searched for my 91 Vette, instead of your 85.

Corvette Central has the Z51 set for your 85.

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....5Z50000050F~~~





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hypntyz

I appreciate your help.

hypntyz

Nobody else? I was really hoping for some info on aftermarket adjustable control arms.

hypntyz

Also I've found a minor discrepancy when researching the Bilstein Z51 shock setup. Most sellers are listing the fronts as 24-002288 and the rears as 24-184588. I began to get confused when I started noticing some sellers refer to the 2288 fronts as "B6 heavy duty" and the 4588 rears as "B8 Sport". So I searched bilstein's US site and it confirms that the fronts and rears seem to have different specs:

http://cart.bilsteinus.com/search/mm.../drivetype=RWD

They do not even SHOW a B8 sport shock for the front of an 84 corvette.

So, is B6 HD fronts and B8 SP rears the correct setup to purchase if you want the Z51 package shocks?

hypntyz

Bueller? Bueller?

Is this forum only for discussing which car cover is best or whether ZR1 knockoffs or c6 chrome wheels look best on a stock c4?

auggy

No, the forum your describing is for C6 & C7s

c4cruiser

If, as you say, you don't intend to do any competition events, then I would suggest staying with the stock suspension components and install all new bushings everywhere. Energy Suspension has good quality polyurethane bushing kits. Get the black ones as they have a graphite material molded into them. I have heard that the red bushings do not and they will squeak if you don't keep them lubricated.

My '87 Z52-equipped car now has Banski rear suspension components and I went with those pieces to get really accurate rear alignment specs. I use the car primarily for autocross and track days and I found that the stock components don't really allow the level of adjustment accuracy compared to the Banski stuff.

I am thinking about the SPC front upper control arms as the stock suspension in my car doesn't allow as much caster as I want. And the upper and lower ball joints are original to the car so maybe I can justify the close to $500 for the pair of SPC upper arms I will also be replacing the bushings and I want to use the Z51 offset bushing in the lower arms. I just replaced the front and rear sway bars with the largest ones I could find and along with new Bilstein Z51 shocks, the car is starting to handle fairly well.

hypntyz

Thanks for the response. While I don't do any track driving, I also would like the ability for easier and more precise alignments front and rear, with the car on the ground, which the adjustable arms would seem to offer. I find the camber adjustment cams on the rear of the car to be weak...one has already spun the bolt inside the cam and is no longer effective at holding it's place without slipping and changing the adjustment. Tires for my custom wheels are fairly expensive and I'd like to get exact alignment settings so that excess wear is decreased as much as possible. That's the same reason I want the front adjustable uppers...it seems like they'd be easier to adjust than the stupid shim design that the car has stock.

hypntyz

.....?

rocco16

I've run Bilstein, Edelbrock (for two days), and Koni. The adjustable Koni's worked far better than the other two.

I sometimes wish I'd gone with QA-1's....but only because they look so darn cool.