That car is a real beauty! (not that the '94 isn't a real beauty too)

Can you elaborate a bit more on the modifications you needed to do to the leaf spring mounting locations, and what wheel opening heights the 93 is sitting at in the picture?

 

Interested in this thread, as I am building a '55 F100 sitting atop coilover '84 C4 suspension. My Vette, though, is lowered almost an inch and sits on the stock springs, with Challenge-spec Bilsteins.

All I can add is that eliminating all suspension rubber in favor of Heim joints aft + all poly bushings F/R, tightened up this '84 Z51 a great deal, such that stock C4s feel much looser, especially during bumps under hard cornering.

I clean and lube the sway bar bushings with noticeable improvement at each oil change.

 

Shock and bushings make a high difference. I went poly bushings in the front and adjustable Heim joints for front and rear bar. With stock 89 z51 springs and Koni adjusts, race tire and street tire work great. When I do the rear this winter, it will be all Heim joint and no poly.

As for your custom project, coil over all the way as it gives you the ability to set an application that has not already been done by many already.

 

You mean shock. Wrapping the spring around shock doesn't make it double adjustable; a double adjustable shock does, which you can easily install w/o coilovers.

 

No I meant what I said there are more spring options I can get a spring rate any where from 150ish to 800ish with coilovers maybe more. Can you get that spring rage with the monoleafs?

Yes it is the shock that is adjustable, but more spring options will allow the owner to have the car better fit them. Some will want a stiffer ride, and some softer. This is easier to achieve with coilovers.

 

My post wasn't very clear.

I agree w/you that you can get way more spring options w/coil overs. You are right.


I was pointing out that you need not get "coil overs" to get the benefits of a good shock; you can get any shock that benefits a coil over and put it on a car w/the stock springs.

I said that, not to take away from what you said but to clarify, and here is why.
1. The OP said in his first post;
"I would like to know if you can really stiffen the car up with them" -You see comments like that a lot; people think that they can "stiffen" (by adjusting spring preload) and soften the suspension w/coil overs and you can't. You can change springs, but who is going to do that? Only a very few and likely not the OP.
2. People associate better ride and handling w/Coil overs, and it's no surprise; MANY coil over users have installed their coil overs and reported a huge improvement in ride/handling. The huge improvement (in most cases) comes right from the higher quality, adjustable shocks...not from where the springs are mounted, and you could see similar benefits from nothing more than swapping to the same "coil over" shock, and keep the stock springs.

What I meant to point out in my response to your post was that anyone can get the large advantages of single of double adjustable shocks, w/o cost and complexity of going to coil coil overs....I don't think that most prospective coil over users realize that and for most people, that is probably what they should do.

 

I agree too many people use "stiffen" for far too many things. I have heard it used meaning tie rod ends, ball joints, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings, wheel bearings, control arm bushings, and just about every last piece of the suspension front or rear. It can be confusing with out knowing exactly what the person using it is meaning.

 

Who makes the coil over with the small front spring that will clear the front sway bar without relocating it.

 

1. In my case this car might and or will see Road America.
2. It's a convertible... The softest and weakest suspension not a fun car by any means to me.
3. I have done all out race suspension in my previous cars and liked it as firm as I could get it to the point of the hod shaking.
4. I don't plan to mess with them and adjust them too much, but for the price and the option to easily change a spring compared to a monoleaf is a no brainer.
5. The cost is almost the same for largest sway bars and race srings /new bilsteins.
6. A diy kit can be had for a couple hundred but still the sway bar games.

The only slight draw back is dicking around with sway bar

I do agree though most buy them for the wrong reason some even only to lower the car.relocation and or poor kits for install. To each their own.

My case is I just happen to have a corvette C4 for what it can offer, so i am open to doing what ever makes it the most fun. To put shocks on it is not what I want it will not give me what I am looking for. Not my first sports car and not even my first C4, just my first boring C4.

 

I put coil overs on my C4 probably 10 years ago. Like was posted earlier there was contention that the towers would not support the weight. I have probably put 70,000 miles on the car since then with no issues.

Here is kind of a condensed version of what to do on my website.

I did update the shock part numbers a short time back.

To clear the sway bar I used helms joints and have no issues, The car height measured from the ground to the center of the fender well I have set at 27" in the front and 27 3/4" in the rear.

I'm running 550# in the front ant 350# in the rear.

There is a bottom mount for the rear shocks you can get from Eckler's it was not available when I did my shocks.

http://www.ndneyes.com/page5.html

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

Mo

 

Does this part # work with the FX3 suspension?
HAL-SS110SDM Studs for top of all 4 shocks

 

Good information on that page that is what I used for my install.

Have you seen the mounts from Street Rod Garage?

 

The only magic in coilovers is their relatively easy adjustments; this would include ride height (and, therefore, cross-weighting) and changing spring rates.

In my opinion, the ability to change spring rates is the big one as far as performance is concerned.
For many guys, changing ride height with coilovers is too easy and they stop right there, not realizing that changing ride height also alters suspension settings which can change handling characteristics significantly.

My biggest concern with coilovers is that they place loads on the shock mounts that the mounts were never designed to carry. The factory design has the shock mounts carrying none of the cars weight, while coilovers place ALL of the cars weight on the mounts. While a lot of guys say they have experienced no issues from this, it's always been a sticking point with me. The coilover's added unsprung weight should also be considered.

There is no free lunch....coilovers are a compromise. On a track car, where the knowledge to use the coilover's advantages is present, they should be an asset. On a street car, where the owner probably has no idea what to do with the adjustability of the coilovers, I would think the disadvantages would far outweigh the advantages. They do look cool, though, so a trailer queen would really benefit.

 

Pushrod,
I'm not sure on the FX3.

I did convert all of my shocks to studs. As that was all that was available at the time.

There are now people making adapters to where you can use the stock top of the shock ( say that 3 times fast). They run like $150 for the pair, thus why i went with the QA1 Studs.

Again i have been running mine all the way around for probably close to 15 years with no issues, other than i have worn out a few shocks..

I was mistaken on the rear bottom shock mount... here is the link for them...

http://www.vansteel.com/index.cfm?fu...e=CO-C4-RR-MNT

I hope this helps.

MO

 

2K!!! for coil overs? I can get a set for My GTO for 1K can you say "Corvette tax".

 

It's only $1799 for the Single adjustable Coil-overs!...





.

 

They better be wearing sky masks if they think I'm going to pay that much.

 

I agree, I was only talking about the rear shock lower mounts...

I have provided you with pretty much all the parts you need . I picked up my shocks springs and such at Summit.

i fully agree I have no idea where they justify those kinds of prices...

MO

 

FX3 - you can get your shocks grooved, or DRM sells the FX3 CO sets.

The front shock towers were beefed up at some point, early on, don't recall year. I wouldn't be concerned, I don't think there was ever a documented case of failure, maybe 1 or 2, if any.

 

Thank you
Someone once posted a thread from the Zr1 site with instructions. I have it bookmarked at home. If I remember ill post it up.