I went C5 Z sway bars with C6 Z shocks. Great ride and handling. Call Gene. Fairly easy sway to do.

 

just call gene, tell him you own a c5 and want the z06 shocks/bars. he knows what to send.

 

I ordered my C6 zo6 shocks and c6z51 sway bars from Gene. Don't forget to order the endlinks for the sways as well. I am in stalling them tomorrow. Can't believe how much beefer the shocks and sways look next to my stock ones. I have a 98 coupe with the base suspension now.

 

Wonderful ride and heavy duty stability. More reasonable too.
Can't use the word cheaper here.
Only diff. I am told, Billsteins can be rebuilt

 

On the Lingenfelter site they say the Bilsteins are original equipment on the ZR-1. I imagine they are better than the C6 shocks if that's what Chevy is using.

 

I thought the new ZR1 had the magnetic ride system? I remember reading about its special "launch mode" where it detects a hard launch and sets max rebound and min jounce (or is it vice versa).

 

I dunno? I've been looking into getting these shocks and just came across it on Lingenfelter. Not sure if it's true:

http://www.lingenfelter.com/store/be5-2975.html

 

This is a good update and about the cheapest way to do both. I think the C6Z06 shocks work well, even on a lowered car.

It's hard to determine stiffness/ride. Everyone has a different opinion.

Peter

 

I just installed a set of C6 Z51 sway bars last weekend. Got a wicked deal from a local seller who just upgraded his C6 with a set of Pfadt's at 7000 miles.

A huge difference!

Here's one pic I took of the end-links. As you can see, the 97-00's use a thinner end link vs the 01+ which use metal links.

 

I WAS INITIALLY TOLD THE C6 SWAYS WOULDNT FIT. THEN SOMEONE ELSE PUT THEM ON AND THEY WORKED.

RE THE SHOCKS, IVE NEVER HAD BILSTEINS SO I CANT COMMENT. THE GM SHOCKS HAVE BEEN AWESOME.

 

Since this thread has expanded to include stabilizer bars, I thought I would post a little more info, plus the sequence of the shock & stabilizer mods that we made:

Base Suspension: 23 mm-front / 19.1 mm-rear
Z51 (97-99): 25.4 mm-front / 21.7 mm-rear
Z51 (00-04): 28.6 mm-front / 23.6 mm-rear
Z06: 30.0 mm-front / 23.6 mm-rear
Hotchkis: 31.75 mm-front / 25.4 mm-rear
Addco: 32 mm-front / 25.4 mm-rear
Addco: 35 mm-front / 25.4 mm-rear
Pfadt (Adjustables): 32 mm-front / 26 mm-rear http://www.pfadtracing.com/
Pfadt (Adjustables): 35 mm-front / 29 mm-rear (Pfatty)
T1 (GM Racing): 38.4 mm-front / 27.5 mm-rear

Relative Stiffness (Provided by Pfadt http://www.pfadtracing.com/)
C5 base: 0.4
C5Z06 : 1
C6Z: 1.2
Pfadt Standard: 1.5
Pfadt Pfatty: 2.5
GM T1: 3

Here is the sequence of my suspension mods. Keep in mind that I race (road course.)

Starting Point... Z51
Then...
1. Lowered 1.5"
2. Hotchkis + Bilstein HD (not good the for street [bottomed-out]; not much improvement at the track)
3. Hotchkis + Bilstein Sport (less bottoming out; still not that great at the track)
4. Change tires to Nitto RII (huge improvement at the track, but still not adequate)
5. Hotchkis + QA1 Adjustable Shocks (adjustability provided better streetability, better rear drop for off-the-line, much better handling at the track)
6. T1 Bars + QA1 Shocks (fantastic set-up; car can out-handle Ferrari & Porsche in the curves)

Personally I like adjustable shocks so that you can optimize the setting for a specific need. Whether QA1, Koni, Mallet-Penske...adjustable provide better performance for trying to combine a street car with a track car. As far as Stabilizer Bars, no doubt in my mind...T1's offer great stability!