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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 10:17 AM
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Default Sway bars

My 03 coupe has the FE9? soft ride suspension. Do I have any sway bars at all, and what size are they?

I think a F&R sway bars will be my first mod. Then maybe some upgrades shocks.
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 10:26 AM
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yes you have swaybars and upgrading to C5 Z06 sways would be an improvement.

You have metal endlinks in the 03 already so you only need to replace the sway bar and the bushings. Check out Fredbeans for prices.

Also you can upgrade to 06 Z06 shocks and you will notice an improvement. Fredbeans will have them too.

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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Wicked Weasel
yes you have swaybars and upgrading to C5 Z06 sways would be an improvement.

You have metal endlinks in the 03 already so you only need to replace the sway bar and the bushings. Check out Fredbeans for prices.

Also you can upgrade to 06 Z06 shocks and you will notice an improvement. Fredbeans will have them too.



If you want a much stiffer ride you can also go with the T1 sways from GM or even the Hotchkis setup.
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 10:48 AM
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Base Suspension: 23mm-front / 19.1mm-rear
Z51 (97-99): 25.4mm-front / 21.7mm-rear
Z51 (00-04): 28.6mm-front / 23.6mm-rear
Z06: 30.0mm-front / 23.6mm-rear
Hotchkis: 31.75mm-front / 25.4mm-rear
T1 (GM Racing): 38.4mm-front / 27.5mm-rear

I found this in a post. Basically its just a matter of how "much" I want to the car to stick in the twisties. I figure if I do sway bars, and maybe shocks....by the time I replace the Runflats, I will have a sick handling machine.


Question: Do my "ride" get stiffer along with the handling? I mean bumps and pavement inconsistencies are more pronounced with the larger bars? Even with stock shocks?
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Ephedranator
Base Suspension: 23mm-front / 19.1mm-rear
Z51 (97-99): 25.4mm-front / 21.7mm-rear
Z51 (00-04): 28.6mm-front / 23.6mm-rear
Z06: 30.0mm-front / 23.6mm-rear
Hotchkis: 31.75mm-front / 25.4mm-rear
T1 (GM Racing): 38.4mm-front / 27.5mm-rear

I found this in a post. Basically its just a matter of how "much" I want to the car to stick in the twisties. I figure if I do sway bars, and maybe shocks....by the time I replace the Runflats, I will have a sick handling machine.
I first ran HPDEs with stock shocks and Z06 sways. I thought it was a great improvement over stock sways. I then added the Z06 Shocks and thought it was the perfect package for the street, but there was still too much body roll for the track for me. I changed the Z06 sways to T1 sways and now the car handles much better. It is still not perfect because my springs and shocks are not matched 100%, but it is better. Next year I will be changing the springs and shocks to have the complete package, but IMHO this is way overkill for the street.

Move up to the Z06 sways and the Z06 shocks and then change tires you will have plenty of handling for the street.
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Wicked Weasel
I first ran HPDEs with stock shocks and Z06 sways. I thought it was a great improvement over stock sways. I then added the Z06 Shocks and thought it was the perfect package for the street, but there was still too much body roll for the track for me. I changed the Z06 sways to T1 sways and now the car handles much better. It is still not perfect because my springs and shocks are not matched 100%, but it is better. Next year I will be changing the springs and shocks to have the complete package, but IMHO this is way overkill for the street.

Move up to the Z06 sways and the Z06 shocks and then change tires you will have plenty of handling for the street.
So you mean C5 z06 shocks? It seems like this would be a good match up. But I will have to look at prices, not sure how the z06 bar compares, but I saw the Hostskins package for 599?
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Wicked Weasel
I first ran HPDEs with stock shocks and Z06 sways. I thought it was a great improvement over stock sways. I then added the Z06 Shocks and thought it was the perfect package for the street, but there was still too much body roll for the track for me. I changed the Z06 sways to T1 sways and now the car handles much better. It is still not perfect because my springs and shocks are not matched 100%, but it is better. Next year I will be changing the springs and shocks to have the complete package, but IMHO this is way overkill for the street.

Move up to the Z06 sways and the Z06 shocks and then change tires you will have plenty of handling for the street.
So you mean C5 z06 shocks? It seems like this would be a good match up. But I will have to look at prices, not sure how the z06 bar compares, but I saw the Hotckis package for 599?

Last edited by Ephedranator; Oct 5, 2006 at 11:05 AM.
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Ephedranator
So you mean C5 z06 shocks? It seems like this would be a good match up. But I will have to look at prices, not sure how the z06 bar compares, but I saw the Hostskins package for 599?

actually I was the first to test out the C6 Z06 shocks in a C5. They work as well as the C5 Z06 shocks for less money and I have no problem on the track or the street with them.

Here is the price list from Fredbeans:

06z06shocks - 2006 C6 Z06 Shocks (Front And Rear) $185.08
c5z06barsNL - C5 Z06 SWAY BAR KIT (FRT &RR BARS, INS NO LINKS) $171.41

BTW the C5 Z06 shocks are

04z06shocks - 2004 Z06 Shocks Front and Rear $376.48

you can order them at

http://www.trademotion.com/splash/in...?siteid=214152
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 11:41 AM
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Wow, I will be able to get the c6Z shocks and the c5Z sway bars for less than the Hotchkis package.

Why are the new Z06 shocks so much cheaper? Since there are not fitment issues, I am going with them even though the c5Z shocks are a little bit stiffer.

Last edited by Ephedranator; Oct 5, 2006 at 11:48 AM.
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Old Oct 5, 2006 | 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Ephedranator
Wow, I will be able to get the c6Z shocks and the c5Z sway bars for less than the Hotchkis package.


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