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Old Feb 16, 2017 | 09:35 PM
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Default 1984 research

on a 84 how do you tell what your suspension is are they all Z51 and are all 84 L98's and what dose these # mean??
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Old Feb 16, 2017 | 09:42 PM
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84 is a L83 not an L98.
84 is the only C4 with the L83 (crossfire injection).

Z51 is an RPO code. Easiest way is to read the RPO sticker. But with a 33 year old car the springs may have been swapped to soften the ride. About half of the 84s came with the Z51 suspension.

L98 is the production code for the tuned port injection engine used from 85-91.

Last edited by belairbrian; Feb 16, 2017 at 09:45 PM.
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Old Feb 16, 2017 | 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by red vet man
on a 84 how do you tell what your suspension is are they all Z51 and are all 84 L98's and what dose these # mean??
Z51 was an optional high performance suspension package. Inside a compartment door will be a sticker which lists all the RPO (regular production option) codes that identifies all optional equipment on that car. If the car is equipped with Z51 that RPO code will appear in the list. You can quickly identify an 84 with Z51 by observing its wheels and comparing the depth of the wheel dishes front to back. Z51 cars for 84 came with shallow dish 16" x 8.5" in the front and deep dish 16" x 9.5" in the rear. Standard suspension cars had 16" x 8.5" front and back.

All 1984 Corvettes were equipped with the 205hp L83. The L98 appeared the next year in 1985 models.
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Old Feb 16, 2017 | 10:30 PM
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Have you found your RPO code list, under the doors of the rear storage compartment? Both the L83 and the Z51 are RPO codes, and would show on your list. For more info on the RPO codes, here's a link: (I have found this list doesn't agree entirely with my '84, but it's pretty good.)

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...4-rpo-faq.html

As BelairBrian mentioned, things get changed by previous owners, so don't count on anything. My "base" coupe has 9 1/2" width wheels all around!

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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 07:44 AM
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Some early c4s don't have the sticker, mine doesn't have it.
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 11:37 AM
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Thanks any information is good
Originally Posted by belairbrian
84 is a L83 not an L98.
84 is the only C4 with the L83 (crossfire injection).

Z51 is an RPO code. Easiest way is to read the RPO sticker. But with a 33 year old car the springs may have been swapped to soften the ride. About half of the 84s came with the Z51 suspension.

L98 is the production code for the tuned port injection engine used from 85-91.
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 11:42 AM
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Well that is interesting my vette dose have the wider wheels on the back thanks
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by red vet man
Well that is interesting my vette dose have the wider wheels on the back thanks
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 11:52 AM
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The '84 with the Z51was also the stiffest and roughest riding of any of the C4 cars. GM wanted to hit 1.0g cornering and was willing to give up ride quality to get it.



One the other hand the '84 sway bars are the biggest. I put them on my track car.

Richard Newton
C4 Suspension
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 11:54 AM
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Back in the day Hib Halverson put all the suspension numbers together.

They're here.

Richard Newton
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by red vet man
That sounds promising, you might have Z-51. Perhaps someone else will chime in whether there are others ways to find a list of RPO codes for your car. There may be a build sheet tucked inside a frame rail or around the fuel tank. Hopefully someone will know if the 84's had one
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 12:06 PM
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My '84 Z51 (confirmed by the RPO code) came to me with all wheels being 8.5". I now have 8.5" and 9.5" C5 wagon wheels on it. Another feature of the Z51 package is a quicker steering ratio with only 2 turns lock to lock. Mine does have that and is great fun on twisty roads.
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Danlb
My '84 Z51 (confirmed by the RPO code) came to me with all wheels being 8.5". I now have 8.5" and 9.5" C5 wagon wheels on it. Another feature of the Z51 package is a quicker steering ratio with only 2 turns lock to lock. Mine does have that and is great fun on twisty roads.
Supposed to have 8.5' x 9.5", previous owner might have wanted to keep the wide rears before he sold the car or put 8.5" all around so they could rotate the tires? You could confirm this by ordering a copy of your original window sticker from the Corvette Museum. It will have the wheel and tire sizes listed in the description of the Z51 option.

Red vet man, why not get a window sticker for your car and then you'll know what it came with (don't know why I didn't think of that earlier)
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Old Mar 17, 2017 | 06:03 PM
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I have an 84 Z51, i love the fast ratio, and the gocart like handling grew on me after a while.
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Old Mar 19, 2017 | 08:52 AM
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If the RPO sticker is missing and the wheels long gone, you'll have to look at the springs to tell. First, the Z51 came with yellow Bilstein shock absorbers all around. The springs however have a small silver tag on them with the letters BMB. Look for that if there are no other identifying clues to it being a Z51.
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Old Mar 19, 2017 | 02:13 PM
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Not all z51s had the blistine shocks, it was actually an extra option from what i understand.
​​​​​​​
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Old Mar 21, 2017 | 11:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Gibbles
Not all z51s had the blistine shocks, it was actually an extra option from what i understand.
​​​​​​​
All Z51's had the Bilstein shocks, the quicker steering ratio, and the 8.5" wheels up front and the 9.5" wheels on the rear.
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Old Mar 22, 2017 | 01:56 AM
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Originally Posted by GILSWHO
All Z51's had the Bilstein shocks, the quicker steering ratio, and the 8.5" wheels up front and the 9.5" wheels on the rear.
They also came with an engine oil cooler, second radiator cooling fan (pusher), higher rate front and rear springs and sway bars. The Z51 option was a whopping $600.20 extra cost! 25,995 were produced.

(Data per my 1984 Corvette GM Specifications book)

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Old Mar 22, 2017 | 12:35 PM
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Originally Posted by hot rod roy
they also came with an engine oil cooler, second radiator cooling fan (pusher), higher rate front and rear springs and sway bars. The z51 option was a whopping $600.20 extra cost! 25,995 were produced.

(data per my 1984 corvette gm specifications book)

yes you are correct. I was going by memory. I'm an original owner of an 84 but not a z51 option
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