HOW low to lower?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 116
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From: HARRISBURG PA
HOW low to lower?
Just got my 4th vette in my lifetime..an 04 black mn6 coupe....For the first time I am going to lower it...I just bought the bolts from West Coast Corvettes here at the Carlisle show ...My question is, when I get my people to install this, how low should I tell them in front and back? I know its ones own opinion but im sure there is a general concensus as to what would be the norm....I want it lowered...looks, handling, ride....so any advice?? thanks alot!
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You're going to hear things like, cut 1/3 off the front bushings or cut 1/2 off or similar advice. I'll make it easy for you...
The rear will be to your taste...it can be adjusted with the longer bolts so easily right in front of you that you can literally nail down the height you like in a matter of minutes.
The front is much more labor intensive and you can't easily make adjustments and then check it, adjust then check, etc...like you can the rear so it boils down to this...
Maximum drop (without employing coilovers or a different leaf spring) is going to yield about 1 to 1 1/2 inches and is achieved by either cutting off 100% of the front bushings or removing the front bolts completley (I did both myself) removing the bolts will get you a micro amount lower than cutting the bushings off.
You will hear people talk about the bushing thickness as if cutting them off will make the front of the car drag the ground so they thought it best to only remove a fraction. It's BS, you MIGHT see a 1" drop after cutting off the bushings if you are lucky (go measure the space between the top of your tire and the bottom of the fender, you'll see that an inch isn't much).
Removing the bolts or cutting the bushings off will NOT make your vette handle any worse (mine actually corners a smidge better). The whole process is reversible (especially if you yank the bolts with the bushings intact). You'll just insert a thin piece of rubber ( I used a micro thin door mat) between the leaf and the A-Arm to avoid friction wear although some people don't use anything and have been fine.
Finally....since I believe you mentioned having someone else do this for you and I'm guessing you'll be paying them, unless you have super bad roads where you are (lots of potholes or big bumps) or your driveway is super steep then I suggest yanking out the bolts with bushings intact.
This is my C5 with no front bolts and longer rear bolts:
The rear will be to your taste...it can be adjusted with the longer bolts so easily right in front of you that you can literally nail down the height you like in a matter of minutes.
The front is much more labor intensive and you can't easily make adjustments and then check it, adjust then check, etc...like you can the rear so it boils down to this...
Maximum drop (without employing coilovers or a different leaf spring) is going to yield about 1 to 1 1/2 inches and is achieved by either cutting off 100% of the front bushings or removing the front bolts completley (I did both myself) removing the bolts will get you a micro amount lower than cutting the bushings off.
You will hear people talk about the bushing thickness as if cutting them off will make the front of the car drag the ground so they thought it best to only remove a fraction. It's BS, you MIGHT see a 1" drop after cutting off the bushings if you are lucky (go measure the space between the top of your tire and the bottom of the fender, you'll see that an inch isn't much).
Removing the bolts or cutting the bushings off will NOT make your vette handle any worse (mine actually corners a smidge better). The whole process is reversible (especially if you yank the bolts with the bushings intact). You'll just insert a thin piece of rubber ( I used a micro thin door mat) between the leaf and the A-Arm to avoid friction wear although some people don't use anything and have been fine.
Finally....since I believe you mentioned having someone else do this for you and I'm guessing you'll be paying them, unless you have super bad roads where you are (lots of potholes or big bumps) or your driveway is super steep then I suggest yanking out the bolts with bushings intact.
This is my C5 with no front bolts and longer rear bolts:
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,683
Likes: 1
From: Houston Texas
I have actually removed only the front right bolt completely, believe it or not. I was sitting a good 5/16" higher on that side after I cut 2/3" off each bushing and tightened the bolts all the way. So, removing one should have gotten me much closer to even. I've been meaning to measure it, but haven't had time. Either way, that got me LOW. 2 fingers of clearance below the front plastic air dam.
