So I finished installing the complete Ridetech CoilOver suspension on my '96 GrandSport last weekend. My car has never handled flatter during hard cornering and it also has never been this compliant over bumps and ruts in the road (comparing it to when the car was fresh off the dealers lot in 1996).
My car had the Z51 factory option and was always a stiff suspension, as it got older the ride quality got worst and the handling suffered. I changed out the bushings to polyurethane and noticed no real improvement. Then I purchased the full Banski rear suspension to get rid of the polyurethane bushings but it never brought back the new car suspension feel. The biggest improvement to the handling was the installation of the Ridetech adjustable HQ shocks a few years ago. When I found out that Ridetech made a CoilOver suspension kit, I took a chance and installed it.
The kit is very complete and straight forward to install. A hydraulic press is nice to have when removing the factory rubber upper and lower control arm bushings. Also to remove the nuts on the upper control arms I used a propane torch to melt the red plastic factory retainment system. After the new Delrin upper control arm bushing installation I used red loctite to retain the nuts. You can install the Delrin bushings with a decent sized vice. I changed my upper and lower ball joints to MOOG pieces while I had the arms out.
The toughest part about the whole installation was the ride height adjustment, mounting and unmounting the tires to get the right height was a big pain. Thankfully Ridetech did include a spanner wrench which was a necessity. Also the removal of the front factory spring can be tricky but as long as you have the car lifted a few feet off the ground it isn't too bad. I used my QuickJacks through the installation process which made my life easier.
I only lowered my car about 0.5" all around from stock because the roads suck here in New England. I believe you can lower the car down to a max of 1.5" lower than stock. I am running a shock valve setting of 8 front and back which gives a compliant, sporty ride but very flat cornering. I have not tried dialing it up to a stiffer setting, but I will if I ever participate in an autocross event.
I did have a problem partially stripping the thread on the sway bar Heim Rod end link as I believe the instructions have a torque spec which is a bit too high. Also I was concerned regarding the Delrin liner on the front sway bar being offset too much, but after sending pictures to George in the Tech department he assured me that it was fine. He also checked with engineering the next day to verify the fitment with the pictures I sent.
Delrin liner exposed at an angle.


Rear CoilOvers

Upper control arms completed

Delrin bushings installed

Front CoilOver installed

Left Rear CoilOver installed and reinforcement bracket attached to the Dog Bone bracket and existing lower shock mount.

Another picture of reinforcement bracket attached to the Dog Bone bracket and existing lower shock mount.

Left Rear CoilOver mounted to new upper mounting bracket.

Front Sway Bar body mount bracket and retaining collar.

Driver side CoilOver and Heim Rod Sway Bar Link.

Left rear from behind view.

 

The parts look beautiful. Glad the ride/handling feels so good!

 

Thanks Tom! Yeah they did a nice job, pricey but good workmanship. I am real happy with the setup.

 

Looks like a nice product and install

 

Looks awesome. Do the delrin bushings come with the kit? Are they required? I have poly bushings in those locations, and it was a huge hassle.

 

Started my install this weekend of the same kit. The removal of the lower control arm? Did you remove the bolts in the brace blocking the removal of the aft bolt for the control arm? The motor mount is attached to that brace and I'm afraid of the motor moving. How did you get past this. Thanks for any help.

Never mind I could not tell there was a perch under that bracket. Now off and getting cleaned up and ready for new parts.

 

Yes the delrin bushings for the upper and lower front control arms are included with the CoilOver kit. They are not required but I am glad I replaced my OEM rubber bushings.
I didn't have any difficulty installing them though.

 

Yes, I did have to remove both brackets otherwise you can't remove the lower control arm bolts. The motor mount nuts come off easily without any adverse effects. There was one bolt on the passenger side bracket that was a bit tricky to get to with my headers. But I was able to get a wrench on the bolt to remove it.
On a scale of 1-10, ten being an extremely difficult job. I would rate the install as a 7-8. If you have a garage lift and a hydraulic press I would rate it a 5-6.
I was lucky that I had my Quick Jack's and a hydraulic press so it wasn't too bad. But a lift would make it a fairly easy task.
I just wish I had a very flat garage floor so I could set the ride heights perfectly (because I am **** about things).
Good luck it was worth it for sure!

 

Thank you for responding. I am working on a 1996 CE VERT. LT4 Engine already modded. Yes the bolt on the upper R/H side was fun. I also have headers. Almost ready to start installing all the fresh parts on the car. The front that is. Having difficulty getting the inner tie rods off. Changing everything I can while I'm here.After the front is complete I will be starting the back end. I'm not sure if I will complete it this in a week. Working alone cleaning and blasting all of the parts along with doing video. There was nothing on YouTube about this. Thankful you posted your work which looks awesome by the way. Something that may help me, Do you recall your preliminary shock adjustment?

 

Nice, thanks for sharing!!

 

My initial shock setting is eight. I followed the instructions and turned the **** on all shocks fully clockwise (full firm) then went counterclockwise twenty turns (softest useable setting). Then again clockwise eight steps.
For me this setting of eight rides sporty on the street but not harsh, yet the car still stays very flat on off ramps at speed.
When I contacted Ridetech they told me eight to ten was a good range.
Good idea replacing parts like tie rods and ball joints while you're in there. You are going to be impressed after the install on your Collector Edition. The CE is a beautiful looking car. I almost bought it in 1996, really had a tough time choosing the GS or the CE as the dealership had two of each in stock that they couldn't move. Don't laugh at me but it was the big *** rear tires that sold me on the GS (though I never liked the rear fender flares on the GS at least at the time).

 

Sorry I asked the wrong question. I'm looking for the spring setting. worried of setting it down and going through the flares!!! LOL Yes I have the flares and 315 tires on the back end. Yes big ---- tires.

 

Nice
Adjusting the springs by far was the toughest part of the job. I first did the install by removing the lash on the spring. Basically tightening the spanner nut until the spring just gets tight (CoilOver uninstalled no lash).
After installing the CoilOvers my height was off on each side measured from the fender lip to the ground. I adjusted each corner with the sway bar disconnected to get close to the same height on the left rear and right rear. Then the front left and front right. On the rear I got within 1/4" of side to side. The front was better as I got within 1/8".
It was a pain in the *** to be honest. Each time removing the wheels, adjusting the spanner nut, then back on the ground, drive around the block to settle the suspension then come back and do it all over again.
The rear height changed after I connected the sway bar but the front was fine. So I tried to adjust the rear again but I realized the sway bar was fighting my adjustment. Ridetech recommends 3.125" center to center on the the Heim rod sway bar end link. The way I dealt with the sway bar was to shorten (screwing the threads in a bit more than 3.125") the Heim rod end link on one side by just a bit. I was able to get the difference between the two sides back to within 1/4" this way.
I am around 26" front and 27" rear which is close to a half inch lower than the stock ride height.
Having a perfectly level floor will certainly help. Mine is not that perfect.

 

Still loving this setup, the more I drive it the more confidence I have in the handling of my car now. I made some quick lane change maneuvers at speed and in the past I always had to add opposite steering to correct the position of the car and get it back within the lane.
Not with the CoilOver setup. This car is billiard board flat.
This was by far the best upgrade I have done to my car in the last 24 years!!
Kudos to RideTech
And I have no affiliation with RideTech and I received no discount on my purchase for posting this (believe me I paid full price).

 

Nice write up, thanks. Did you get a chance to weigh the sway bars, or could you tell they were lighter?

 

I didn't weigh them but it seemed like the Ridetech front bar weighed a bit more than the OEM front bar. I didn't notice much difference for the rear bar.

 

Thank you GrandSpt for your original detailed write up of the RideTech Coilover system. It was very instrumental in pushing my over the top to buying and installing them. I know this thread is a few years old now but I wanted to add to it for anyone doing searches to evaluate this kit. It is extremely well engineered and worth the price. The matching of spring rates and sway bar sizing is very important and saves a lot of trial and error. I also upgraded to Superpro bushings front and rear at the same time although I did use the supplied delrin bushings on the upper A arm but kept Superpros on the lower.. I was concerned about the 500 lb/inch spring rate on the rear being too stiff, given that other coilover suppliers use much lower rates. However in my opinion it is perfect. Not too stiff at all, and keeps the rear planted. Ride harshness is subjective, but I would be very confident in recommending this exact set up to anyone. I would say it is VERY livable as a daily driver even on rough roads. The handling is a huge step up and feels like it is at least twice as good as stock with improved steering feel as well. The coilovers really shine on bumpy uneven curves, the rear is much more planted and the car holds its line. I have the shocks set to 6 clicks, may go up a few more. Front sway bar is a tight fit on the ZR-1 due to the unique thermostat housing. But it does fit without rubbing. I feel like I have the handling to match any modern sports car now. This is the best improvement I have done to the car by far, something I will notice and enjoy every drive.

 

How does ride harshness compare to the stock setup? Or how about vs when you bought the car?

 

It rides quite a bit better over bumps, less harsh than the OEM Z51 suspension yet the car is much flatter in the corners.
I noticed a big improvement in ride and handling, Ride Tech did a good job in matching shocks, springs and sway bars. As I have said before the setup is expensive but for me it was very much worth it. Ride Tech designed a quality setup that is an improvement over the stock Z51 suspension. Disclaimer;I have no affiliation with Ride Tech, I am just a customer.

 

I agree with Grandspt, despite the higher spring rates, it somehow rides better. My ZR-1 comes with the FX3 adjustable suspension, which actually has very soft springs. To dial it up for decent handling, you stiffen the shocks which reduces body roll but makes the ride harsh everywhere. The previous owner had removed these shocks ( hard to repair or find anymore) and replaced them with Bilstein B6s. The stock rear leaf spring in particular is too soft at 230 lbs/in. This resulted in it deflecting too much on road depressions and bouncing my head off the roof on the rebounds. The car would lose composure overall. The 500# rear coilovers instantly fixed this. So, for large road irregularities, the stiffer springs actually greatly improved the ride. For small vibrations and harshness that you would feel through the steering wheel and your seat, that is less affected by springs and more a function of the shocks. The single adjustable Ridetech shocks do a fantastic job here and keep the ride comfort at stock levels. I do not feel any extra vibrations than I did before. I was wary of the delrin front A-arm bushings that are provided, fearing that they would surely transmit too much road noise for a street car. So I did a compromise and did them only on the upper arms. The ride is so good that I am now considering putting them on the lowers.