subject car:1986 coupe..
for the past year I've been running the VB sport set up with a 26mm rear bar and the massive 32mm up front.
my alignment is:
front - camber: .4deg, caster: 5-6deg, toe: 1/16"
rear - camber: .5deg, toe 1/8"

in my opinion the ride is/was pretty rough,
with this set up the vette had great turn in, too good really. example: at a moderate speed going down a off ramp (long steady curve) the vette wanted to dive below the white line with small steering input, I would be correcting "slightly" back and forth all the time.
on the autocross course turn in was still fast, then it would push some in the middle of the turn. exit seemed to oversteer (but I won't say that for sure due to available power oversteer).
Well Saturday I put the stock 26mm (tubular) front bar back on as an experiment. making it the same set up (26T front, 26solid rear) as the grand sports.
the ride quality was greatly improved! handling is slower of course, but seems more comfortable. I have yet to find an empty parking lot and test it at the limit (I'd say its going to push consistantly).
I can put the stock rear bar on (20mm solid) but I don't think I be overly impressed handling wise.
according to Hib's chart (front bars) there was the 26mm (tube) then it jumps to the 30mm (solid), there is a 25mm(solid) for the 84 Z51 vette. I wonder if that bar would be slightly stiffer than the 26mm(tube)????
anyway, has anybody else been experimenting?
I interested in finding a nice compromise, and I'm thinking that it may be something between the 26mm and the 30mm (non existant of course, but anything can be made).
thanks
RJ

 

You could give it a little more toe in to decrease the quick turn in. I'm running about neg .8 deg camber front and back with twice the toe up front and I'm up to 7.5/8 deg caster with stock 86 z-51 sway bars. It's a compromise-but now it's stable at high speeds with more steering effort required at lower speeds. Might want to give hrocks a page-for a handling guru! Do you have your own align tools? If not-it's well worth it when you start trying things out. Also, have you lowered it?

 

thanks for responding drive it,
I forgot to mention that I changed the front toe to 1/8" before putting the 26T back on, the turn in was still quicker than I'd like.
I'm doing my own alignment (straight edge/square, string for the toe) but I've been doing lay-out and building stuff for years at work so its pretty easy for me.
I did notice that more effort was required at low speeds now (I think I prefer that to a twichy feel at higher speeds). the vette is lower than stock but not much maybe 5/8"- 3/4".
hows your tire wear with .8deg camber?
I've read some of hrock's posts and his opinion would be good to hear. the last big post on C4 handling (couple of weeks ago in here mostly about spring rates) was long but I didn't come away with much real world knowledge, like whats it feel like at different speeds?
I'm asking alot here for sure.
One thing I'd like to see in this section would be some sticky threads (handling, brake upgrades, intake mod's/ mini vs super ram comparo ect), the search engine dosn't seem to cut it.

I'm thinking that some push is natural in a front engine/rear drive car, I would rather have some push than be real loose under certain conditions IMO.

 

A few stickies on the subject sounds like a good idea!
My tire wear with .8 neg camber is fine-but I do drive on mountain roads a lot...when I tried up to 1.4 neg camber then I started getting inside edge wear; .8 seems to be a good compromise.
I don't like twiching at high speed either! So my settings are giving up some low speed ability-but everythings a compromise-low/high speed, track/street, tire wear....
One other thing I've noticed for improving high speed "feel" is getting a rake to the car-if the back is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch higher than the front at the frame rails that'll help too.

 

I've got the rake part, back is higher than front (frame).
how do you like the ride quality of the 30mm set up?
I wonder if anyone has tried a custom front sway bar, say 1.125" solid. that would be about 28.5mm. (I'm pretty sure the proper bar stock is available).
I will check into the cost if it seems worthwhile (that is if no one has tried something simular).
otherwise I'll have to try the 30mm front bar for myself (hardheaded I guess, thats why I tried the 32mm, to see for myself).



[Modified by ol,RJ, 12:58 AM 9/17/2002]

 

 

If not already running them, have you considered the polygraphite bushings up front with the 26mm bar, as they "effectively" thicken the bar?

 

interesting chart JoBy, havn't seen that one before.

65Z01, good idea, I already have the poly bushings everywhere else, I'll have to pick up a set for the front 26mm bar, besides if I make a custom bar I could drill those out to fit it.

think I'll try to find a 30mm front bar and try it too, the front is pretty easy to change so I might as well find out for myself ( I forsee a collection of sway bars hanging in the garage).

 

I haven't seen that chart either. I thought the Z52's were normal shocks with ALMOST Z51 springs/swaybars? My 87 handles pretty well. All stock with 17x9½'s all around (275/40 17's) with the Callaway (VB&P) Advanced Street Alignment.

 

Don't want to ruin your thread but most of these are in the archives.

I am in the market for a new front spring right now, waiting for the paper catalog from VB&P to arrive. Drifting through their online catalog (with dial-up mind you), I really only see a stock and a sport front spring. I have a complete poly front-end setup. My ultimate goals are just for spirited street driving. I take long commutes and really don't feel like sinking $$$ into a coilover, especially considering my end needs. If anything, the car will see the dragstrip (assuming she runs) 98% more than she will ever see an auto-x event. But 80% of her time is spent driving to and from school, work, and making 200 mile trips. 20% is spent driving rambunctiously.

Stock or sport replacement? As far as shocks, I am running some really cheap Monroes because I was doing a front end R&R of balljoints/tierod ends/bushings and they were all I could find in stock to replace the worn gray-bodied Delcos. I rode in a DSM with adjustable shocks and I was totally impressed with how much change could be made with a set of adjustable shocks. If my girlfriend was riding in it, you could adjust it from needing only a nightgown to needing a sports bra at full turn of the adjusters.

All 4 shocks need to be replaced and like I said, the Bilsteins got canned from a previous owner long ago, so revalving is not an option. I have never had a good ride quality d/t 3 worn balljoints, bad wheel bearings, and alignments that aren't correct because of the worn components...but I am going to have her up on stands until I get all of her problems fixed. If I went with a sport setup (just their spring, not their front and rear kit with shocks) and a relatively inexpensive of adjustable shocks, would this allow me to tune tighter for short trips and be able to smooth the road out for 200+ mile commutes?

Suspension is my weak point, so besides the links I have found through search engines, I am at your mercy :D Thanks! -Matt-

 

HighHopes85,
if the answers are in the archives, then whats with all the questions? :jester
I'm just trying to do the best I can with what I have (or at least find sway bars that I feel are a good compromise for street/drag/autocross).
the VBP sport springs are firm but not as bone jarring as a 84 vette with Z51 (roughest riding vette I've been in, was a nice low mileage car too).
so I think they should be ok for my purpose (still just a guess though).

guess I'll go play "whats the right wording" with the search engine again :rolleyes: