I have a 92 and am looking for the best front and rear suspinsion setup for ride quality. Are coilovers the way to go? Don't care about track type handling just a quality ride.

 

I assume your shocks and suspension bushings are original? Start there. (KYB shocks will give you a more comfortable ride than the OEM Bilstiens.) You don't need coil-overs for the type of driving I think you're talking about.

 

X2 on the KYB's. They made a huge difference in my non Z51 85.

 

honestly, i now think alot of c4s get a bad rep because old parts are just worn out. i recently did a suspension overhaul. everything that wears out. i added a stiff front and rear spring, poly bushings, stiffer shocks, and lowered the car more then 2 inches. those things should have made for a pretty rough ride but it handles incredibly smooth. possibly smoother then my 99 gmc jimmy. i cant imagine if i had gone with stock springs shocks and left it at normal ride height. these cars are very comfortable

 

My low mileage (30k) base suspension 94 still rides as smooth as a Cadillac, no squeaks or rattles either.

 

I'm in a 88 Z52 with the Bilsteins...and they are original with just over 63k miles.

The KYB's are the way to go huh? Any particular series anyone suggest/have experience with in these? Other comments?

Thanks guys!

 

My 92 rode like crap until I rebuilt the suspension (new bushings,ball joints, tie rod ends, shocks, bearings). Since it has the z07 suspension its a little stiff for daily driving.
I have sourced a slightly stiffer front spring I'm going to try before I bite the coilover pill for better handling on the race track. I used rebuilt Bilstien fx3 shocks. I am thinking of QA1 shocks next - again I use this car on the track a lot. It does not see street duty.

DO NOT EVER, I mean NEVER EVER put Monroe sensa-track shocks on your Corvette.

 

I put those on my Avalanche just last summer...don't seem to be problematic. What do you know?

 

There is a reason they are a real cheap shock.
Previous owner put them on the car because the original shocks were bad.
12,000 miles later I was replacing shocks that were not absorbing anything.

 

I recently drove a lowK 95 Z07. Even in the PERFORMANCE setting, the car was not harsh at all and rode fantastic. No squeekes, no rattles however I find the 95 and up were the tightest and best riding C4s.

I at one point went to coil overs, 250lb spring rear, 425LB spring in the front and I had the QA1 Ultra Ride shock. The ride was amazing.

 

I am going to be driving 89 w. FX3 suspension more often in a few months. We replaced the ball joints, wheel bearings, new FX3 shocks. Mechanic says bushings look good, I have a Prothane poly bushing kit which I was planning to get installed. It looks like that will have to wait.

The roads I will drive around look nothing like the smooth road surfaces most of you are accustomed to. I find that it is difficult to find a width of road consistent to lay under the huge 275 width rubber. It is no problem for the typical low power, narrow tired cars I will share the road (majority of them below 100 cubic inch displacement, tire sizes upto 195 width).

The only roads which are really suitable for my Corvette are toll roads. Lucky for me that there are a few around my home, but they don't lead to where I need to go.-)

I bought Monroe Sensatracs and will be replacing brand new Bilstein FX3s. The reason is that Bilstein ride is too stiff even at the softest (Tour) setting. The car is rattle free. It is not just ride quality, but I think a stiff shock is not the best for traction in the kind of roads I am going to drive on.

I believe soft shocks can be destroyed with stiff springs. I wonder if Monroe Sensatrac is destroyed quickly on a Corvette. I have used Monroe Senstrac struts made in Belgium (front) and Spain (rear) in my Saturn, and am happy. Monroe has a good reputation in Europe. They are regarded as Sachs or Bilstein in the after market. Their parent company, Tenneco, provides OEM shocks to most manufacturers including Mercedes and others.

My understanding is that Monroe even pays installation costs if you are not happy with product, and it has life time warranty. What is not to like?

C4ZF6nut

 

These are the ones i got.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...erm=kyb+shocks

I absolutely love them. The difference is night and day.

Incase the link doesn't work they are from Advance Auto Parts, part numbers are:

Front - KG4537
Rear - KG5564

These are for a 1985 so you might have a different part #

 

So who has the best deal on bushings and which material works best.

Has anyone run coilovers on the front only and if so what was the result?

 

Rubber of course works better than poly!

I doubt you can get rubber bushings in a kit like you can with poly. When you factor in every rubber bit, and markup, it will be more expensive.

I wish there was an inexpensive rubber bushing kit!

BMW M3 drivers say Monroe Sensatrac (struts) worked for them. Here are some comparisons they came up with. i wish we had this kind of technical expertise here.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...=981161&page=2

 

just get the poly bushings. 200 for the full kit which includes everything except the ones for the sway bars. you wont notice any rougher ride and theyll last a long time

 

I always poo-poo'ed Monroes, but I've bought two sets of their "reflex" model for 2 different fullsize trucks, and been extremely satisfied with them. Lifetime warranty too. Not saying it applies to the C4, where I think a new set of Bilsteins is your best choice, but it's something to consider.

 

The Monroes probably work well in the truck and grocery getter cars.
And maybe they have improved in 5 years. But the Sensatracks I took off my car were SHOT dead, as in no rebound left in them after 12k miles.

c4zf6nut - good luck with the Monroe's. You may be happy with them. I know I wasn't

 

I have the Sensatrac struts (I do not know if they are built different, they were made in Europe) and am happy since Sep 2008 in my Saturn LS (a close brother of GM Europe's Opel Vectra B, Saab 95).

I installed Gabriel Ultra shocks (made in Mexico) in 74 240D Mercedes, which has identical suspension as the SL series R107 but softer springs. Friends told me the suspension would be shot in 3 months, and the car would bounce like a basketball. The car still rides fine five years after installation. Maybe I should have used Bilstein on that car!

Monroe advertising is very confusing. At first, I thought struts were twin tube, and shocks were monotube. Now, Monroe Monotubes are advertised, implying others are twin tube.

The Corvette rides like a truck, it did even when new! It was a purpose built sports car for the track, not a grand tourer like a Mercedes SL. This is why the British program "Top Gear" always thrashes the Corvette. It is great value, even at 50,000 British pounds (good mark up for GM Europe, given that they did not modify the car), has wonderful track performance but to quote "suspension is out of a Roman Chariot", "can feel a penny left on the tarmac".

I am hoping that Monroe Sensatrac can soften the ride. I am not going to be able to use lifetime warranty, because the car is overseas and mailing in the shocks would cost too much.

Corvette C4 was an iconic car of my youth. Only after buying it recently, I realized that it was meant for very different driving conditions and lifestyle. I would genuinely prefer a Mercedes 1974 240D to driving this car. Pity for me that I drove the Mercedes in the US, and will be driving the Corvette there. Mercedes 240D was very rare and garnered attention where ever I drove in the US.

I am only going to drive the Corvette since it garners even more attention, but it is completely impractical...I am just trying to figure out a way to make it acceptable...

 

either somethings wrong with your car, or your over 70 years old with bad hips and back. even when my car had its 140k mile suspension in it in sh** shape, the car wasnt bad. now with everything fresh the car rides very smooth. iv been in plenty of brand new cars and i think mines right up there in comfort, however can take turns at twice their speeds

 

My 1989 even with FX3 shocks set at Touring has a very stiff ride, and is not suitable (read safe) to drive on roads with less than perfect level surface. I changed hubs (front and rear), lower ball joints, and new FX3 shocks.

It may be that your roads are super smooth. On the kind of roads I drive on, the wide low profile tires and stiff suspension just do not work. I do not want to change my springs with later model softer springs. I am trying to figure out if a different brand of shock may help.

In this forum, I was told that it may also be the Kumho MX tires I am running, but I really do not want to change these tires. Any other brand tire will cost me at least $200 a piece. These were about $100 a piece. and have hardly more than 500 miles on them.