Hello

Upon advice from a forum member and excellent racer, Ive begun looking into new shocks to replace the 20 yr old bilstein z51’s i have on my car

it turns out Viking has a brand new product line that is triple adjustable - rebound, compression AND high speed impact response (if I understood the rep correctly)

this shock right now is called their warrior triple adjustable , but may be renamed something different in the near future

the Viking rep recommended this shock for my street / road course / drag race vehicle


Anyways, i thought id throw that on that for anyone looking for new shocks

Note they are expensive

 

Sounds more like it would be : Rebound, low speed compression dampening and high speed compression dampening. I could be wrong, but that's typically how three way adjustable shocks are set up, unless Viking is doing something different. Sounds like another good option at least!

 

and they make it for the c4

 

Anybody hve any experience with these?

thinking about replacing my 20 yr old bilstein z51’s with these

 

There are a few people in the race section with their coil overs. I have been planning to order some for my C6. Here is a thread with discussion:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...coilovers.html

And here is where I was thinking to order:
http://kelltrac.com/C5-C6-Corvette-V...cle_p_121.html

I would get the berserker valving so cost looks around $1600 for four coil overs.

If you just want new Bilsteins I thought DRM had the best price.

 

i wasnt aware that viking offers a coilover for the c4.

 

What benefits do coil-overs provide ?
Are they lighter weight than a transverse leaf (and shock) setup?
If the answer is 'adjustability' (Ex. for drag race , autocross, road race, street driving, etc,) , then isnt that what these shocks seek to also provide?

Im trying to determine if going coil-over, or adjustable shock (like these, still $$$) makes the most sense for my goals

And my goals are to have a:
Drag race, road race, street driving car that I can change around by turning some ***** .

 

Generally they weigh about the same so yeah it's about adjust ability. Benefits have been talked to death all over the forums for decades. Personally I am going coil over on the C6 because of just that adjust ability. On the race C4 I had with Z51 leaf springs it would not have been quick to soften for street driving and ride height adjusting is real work. Both have pros and cons talk to DRM see what they think for your use.

 

OK. yeah ride height- i could care less about (for what Im doing)

I could see how you could more easily swap out coils to change spring rates (vs. a transverse spring) with coil-overs.

I suppose if Im happy with my transverse spring rates (as a compromise for what all Im doing with the car) that Id be happy with just the adjustable shocks (and not going coil-over)

 

Probably, that way you could tune the rear shocks especially between road, drag, race, etc.

 

Coilovers allow you to corner balance the car. The height can be adjusted and dialed in easily. Hard to do on a transvers spring car.

 

Unless it is the rear of a C4 Corvette

 

The rear transverse springs are adjustable and it’s a cinch to adjust corner balance. Super easy, just slide under the rear of the car with a wrench, no jacking to unload springs or remove rear wheels for access like coils. No need to change sway bar preload for corner balance even. Coilovers take a little more effort, but then you can properly adjust front ride height so that’s a huge benefit IMHO.

 

what is the advantage (other than looks) to be able adjust front ride height?

Does that give any traction advantages in the rear?

my main goal is drag racing.

checked weights, with a full tank of gas and its darn near 50/50 distribution front/ rear. This was measured with 4 truck scales, zeroed out and put under each corner position.

the left (driver) vs right side (passenger) -its skewed heavier on the left side, and thats despite me:

1.having relocated the battery to passenger rear storage compartment
2. adding a supercharger to the passenger side
3. removal of ac compressor from the drivers

put my 150 lbs in that seat and that will further bias the weight on the drivers side



measured :
LF: 865
RF: 850
LR: 875
RR: 850

 

If you measure on an even level surface, the height to the fender lip, once corner balanced… this can be adjusted to where you want it… and also proper deck angle for aerodynamics, looks, and CG location is affected. Not exactly recommending or selling g you on that you get CO’s just trying to help with the thought process.

The cross weights look fine, very typical. They can be tweaked slightly but theres no CO need in that regard. If you break traction on the aRH side, raise the RR corner (tightening the rear adjusting bolt) or lower LR for the same effect, and longer bolts are available to lower the rear beyond the sock bolts capacity. Use a locknut if not cotter pinned.

Im not a drag racer but front ride height, spring rates, are often adjusted quite a bit, the CO’s on a C4 are more popular for drag racing than road racing. (Kerry Hitt won the Rolex GT roadrace championship in a C4 with fiberglass rear springs and claimed it was a performance advantage.)

 

DizWiz,
When speaking of drag racing being a (main goal), you really need to consider the elephant in the room.
(Tires and Wheels)
From my experience and pulling from memory. please consider the following.
I have the 17x11 and 17x9.5 wheels like yours with street tires, 315 and 275's
I also have the drag lite wheels 15x10 and 15x3.5 with 275X50 tires and I think 165x80 on the front.
Using accurate scales I have for weighing freon, I can tell you that there is a difference of 75 lbs in the 2 setups.
75 lbs of un sprung weight roughly equals 3 to 4 times that amount in sprung weight. They make a difference of 1 to 2 tenths and 1 to 2 mph in the qtr.
Lastly, regardless of what you may have heard, real drag radials such as the Mickey Thompson's are in a different class vs any auto cross tire or normal street tire.
I wish you were closer to my area, and I would let you borrow them to try.
They dont drive bad on the street, and you can probably get 4000 miles or so with street driving.
I put mine on when drag racing at my house and would drive it to the track, no problems.
But again, consider your wheel-tire package.
JMO

 

For any RWD traction-limited car doing a standing start (as opposed to a wheelie-limited vehicle), you: 1) want the two rear tires loaded as evenly as possible during the launch, and 2) theoretically want the CG as high as possible so the most weight is transferred rearward during the launch.

#1 is easy to set with an IRS car: you set the corner weights so the two rear tires have an equal loading with driver and set up exactly how it will be at launch, you make sure both corners' ride heights and suspension geometry are equal, and you make sure the shocks are set set identically. Easy to understand. With a solid-axle car, things change a lot because you'll be trying to set up to counteract the axle's twist of the suspension around the driveshaft, but we don't need to think about that here.

#2 is not so simple in reality as in theory. You don't really want to raise the ride heights so far that you're up against upward extension limits of the suspension. I think you'll want some extension travel up front to allow the nose to rise gently and not shock the rear tires loose during the launch. You'll also want it to settle down somewhat as you transition from launch to gaining speed down the track for aerodynamic purposes: you don't want lift or the drag it creates. With road race oriented shocks like these Vikings, I'd probably set the ride height in the middle somewhere or maybe even lower than middle up front. I'd set the rear compression full stiff on the shocks and set rear rebound pretty soft, and fairly similar on the front. That should help the front rise a bit softly on launch and then gradually settle a bit as you get down the track. Spring rates should probably be pretty stiff in back and pretty soft in front.

But keep in mind that all these damper, spring rate, and ride height settings will make this car a complete POS when you have to turn! Like...unsafe at more than .3-.4G. For real. This is my big caveat/disclaimer here, because what's good for drag racing is awful for stopping and turning. There's a reason so many drag races end in uncontrolled "wacka wackas" and spins and turns into/over walls: they handle like ****. It's enough that I'd want a routine where I could drive to the track at a more normal group of settings, change it just for the drag racing, and then return it to normal for the drive home. This is especially true if you have rear tires specialized for drag racing.

If you're planning to get these Vikings from After Dark Speed (which is a damn good idea), then I'd suggest talking to Ryan Mathews over there about suggested spring rates and damper valving for your intended purposes.

 

do the 15” wheels fit around 13” front brakes

-You answered my question that you can drive to/from the track.

ive never seen you post that you’ve broken IRS rear end parts. So that must work in your setup

and your car is a 6spd 1993 like mine

whats been your best 60 ft?

 

I'm not ragtop, but my guess is that for the 15x3.5 the either have no offset or negative offset and therefore don't have to fit over the brakes because they don't cover the brakes.

 

My best has been 1.60 but that was with the 3000 stall converter. Have not been to the track with the 4400. It should do better. With the drag radials and a short burn out, it dead hooks on a prepped track. The best run has been a 7.13 at 97.3 in the 1/8 and a 11.17 at 124.6