My '02 did, but I haven't looked at it in years. Too busy making changes to the "perfectly engineered by GM" car.

 

I can't stress enough that you need to get your alignment checked after you make any ride-height or suspension adjustments. It'll only cost you $100 to get it done right after what is otherwise a free mod...

 

Dropped .75"


Looks better, handles better, is better. (IMO)

 

That ride height is just right.........

 

Drop it...!!

I dropped mine as much as I could on stock bolts....

Toque

 

According to the video, the General recommends lowering somewhere between 10-15 mm (~0.4-0.6 inches) below nominal spec (whatever that means ). The 2002 Owner's Video can be found (broken into 5 parts) in the media gallery here:

http://www.z06vette.com/media.php (Twil1ght posted the link a few days ago, so it's gotta be ok, right? )

The drop is mentioned in the 3rd video on or about the 31:40 timestamp.

Cheers!




.

 

AutoMag, The link worked, thanks - I have never seen the video. Good stuff.

Toque - great look but I couldn't drive that low around here. Well, I could but I'd get rear ended by trying to slow down and crawl over bumps and construction, etc. Plus entry/exit drives are not set up for low cars, I'm already taking those at steep angles from the drive lanes while at stock height.

SublimeZ - nice stance, should I decide to lower your's will be my benchmark.

The part on lowering the car is under the "Setting your Z06 up for Racing" section. I don't race my Z although day-to-day driving often seems like I'm qualiying for Sunday! I haven't heard the part in the video about the car is raised from the factory for shipping as mentioned in an earlier post. I need to watch all 5 parts. I also recognize the need to have the alighment done as lowering will affect handling and tire wear.

Hmmm, got some thinking to do. Our club is running the tail of the dragon next weekend. Wonder if I can get her lowered before then...

 

Thanks
That is all the way on stock bolts. The 04's don't drop as much as earlier models. (maybe the shocks?)

 

I can't say enough how nice that looks. How much did you have to adjust your driving habits?

 

Ok so this is something that I shouldn't do myself? I've still found no instructions on how to do this "lowering on stock bolts." It seems like a new alignment is required, not optional. But these pics of lowered cars certainly look better, and I'm sure they handle even better. I'm interested!

 

http://www.z06vette.com/diy_lower.php

 

hah looking at stock ride height corvettes almost makes me laugh now, they seriously have more wheel gap then pickup trucks

 

First thing I do will be to lower it 1" and replace the rotors as well. Then get to an alignment shop.

 

thats my problem. the roads are too rough and there are too many up's and down's where i live. plus it already scrapes evey time i pull into my driveway.

 

Exactly.

 

Is there spec sheet somewhere with all the alignment settings for optimal performance? The car handles so good now without lowering and tire wear is good, I wonder if it would ruin this balance.

 

far as I understand...
- handling will not suffer due to ride height as long as you don't go any lower than the stock bolts allow...
- optimal vehicle rake is approx 1/2" lower on the front than the back (I have also been told that this approx 1/2 degree toward the front)...
- daily driver handling and tire wear will be optimal for coupe caster/camber/toe settings, rather than the more aggressive Z06 settings...
- if you track the car alignment specs will be determined by the style of racing, and the poor off-track tire wear you are willing to incur...

C5 Service Manual Alignment
Front Individual Toe +0.04 degree
Front Sum Toe +0.08 degree
Front Individual Caster +6.9 degree
Front Cross Caster within 0.50 degree
Front Individual Camber -0.20 degree
Front Cross Camber within 0.50 degree
Rear Individual Toe -0.01 degree
Rear Sum Toe -0.02 degree
Rear Individual Camber -0.18 degree
Rear Cross Camber within 0.50 degree

Z06 (missing in '01) Service Manual Alignment - as written by Hib Halverson
Front Individual Toe: +0.04 degree +/- 0.10 degree
Front Sum Toe : +0.08 degree +/- 0.20 degree
Front Individual Caster: +6.9 degree +/- 0.50 degree
Front Cross Caster: within +/- 0.25 degree
Front Individual Camber: -0.70 degree +/-0.50 degree
Front Cross Camber: within +/-0.25 degree
Rear Individual Toe: -0.01 degree +/- 0.10 degree
Rear Sum Toe: -0.02 degree +/- 0.20 degree
Rear Individual Camber: -0.68 degree +/- 0.50 degree
Rear Cross Camber: within +/- 0.50 degree

 

I have an '03 Z and it came with a VHS video, marked Z06 version, along with the paper owner's manual. In it John Heinricy, who is a successful road racer (many SCCA championships) and also the head of performance suspension development for GM, demonstrates driving the Z. He mentions the fact about lowering the car for improved performance in this segment of the video. After having driven my car for awhile after lowering, which most people can easily do themselves, I took my car for an alignment. The place I went to runs the race team John drives for (successfully!). They also do development work for GM. If anyone is interested they are in the Allentown, PA area. It is Phoenix Automotive in Palm, PA. After their alignment and ride height setting adjustments the steering and handling are like laser accurate. I can point my car at any spot on the road and hit the mark perfectly. I've easily exceeded my top speeds in turns I've had previous experience with by wide margins. Now it's off to do some track events.

 

Interesting, you make a good case for me to drive down to PA just for them. So did you use the spec's above for alignment and lowering? Or did they give you a spec sheet when done?

 

This was my 04. I used longer bolts in the rear, and cut the front bushings. Z06's look a million times beter when they are lowered. I will be doing the same to my 03 Z as soon as I get my new wheels