Notices
C5 General General C5 Corvette and C5 Z06 Discussion not covered in Tech

Shocks

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 25, 2009 | 04:55 PM
  #1  
Adoggy Phizzle's Avatar
Adoggy Phizzle
Thread Starter
Racer
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 263
Likes: 22
From: Batavia IL
Default Shocks

I purchased my dream car last year after dreaming about the vette since I was ten years old. I am enjoying the heck out of it. My question, and I apologize for not being technically astute, is do the shocks have a shelf life based on milage of the car or years mounted? The car is a 99 with 12,500 miles on it. It has the Z51 package. I made sure to replace all the fluids as they were basically ten years old in the car. Does the same hold true for the shocks. If so, any suggestions on replacements. Thank you in advance.
Reply
Old Mar 25, 2009 | 05:18 PM
  #2  
aleadfoot's Avatar
aleadfoot
Pro
 
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 504
Likes: 0
Default

I think mileage more than age kills the dampers. Seals will leak and ride will worsen but I have taken out shocks I thought were good and they were toast. SO if they aint leaking, I think you are good to go to at least 50k miles. If toast I went with C6z06 shocks $250 for all direct bolt on ride and performance improved

Last edited by aleadfoot; Mar 25, 2009 at 05:20 PM. Reason: more info
Reply
Old Mar 25, 2009 | 05:33 PM
  #3  
HiVoltge's Avatar
HiVoltge
Melting Slicks
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,543
Likes: 5
From: Toronto Ontario
St. Jude Donor '08
Default

I replaced my OE shocks with Bilstien Sports...much improved over stock and work well with lowered vettes...
Reply
Old Mar 25, 2009 | 06:01 PM
  #4  
japc5's Avatar
japc5
Burning Brakes
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 855
Likes: 40
From: Liverpool NY
Default

With that kind of mileage the shocks should be good to go as long as the seals haven't dried up and they are not leaking.

I would be concerned with the tires and how old they are. If they are the originals you should consider replacing them.
Reply
Old Mar 25, 2009 | 09:15 PM
  #5  
stingraymyway's Avatar
stingraymyway
Race Director
15 Year Member
St. Jude 10 Year Donor
Liked
Loved
 
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 136
From: Out of Site...Out of Mind. Corvette: anything else is just transportation.
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '20
Default

If the ride feels good to you and the shocks aren't leaking, I'd leave well enough alone.
If you're looking for an upgrade, I went with Koni FSD shocks.
Reply
Old Mar 26, 2009 | 03:29 AM
  #6  
AIKMAN8's Avatar
AIKMAN8
Racer
 
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 424
Likes: 0
Default

Coilovers! Enjoy!!!
Reply
Old Mar 26, 2009 | 05:47 AM
  #7  
vetter79's Avatar
vetter79
Burning Brakes
 
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 924
Likes: 0
From: Macedon NY
Default

Replaced mine with Koni FSD's. Ride's really improved over the 'Ol 99's OEM.
Reply
Old Mar 26, 2009 | 10:45 AM
  #8  
Vetteman Jack's Avatar
Vetteman Jack
Administrator
Supporting Lifetime
Veteran: Navy
St. Jude 20 Year Donor
25 Year Member
Veteran: Reserves
 
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 367,946
Likes: 24,703
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Default

Unless you see oil leaking from the shocks or the ride is bad, your shocks are probably still good. A number of forum members have replaced theirs with the C5 Z06 or C6 shocks.
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Shocks

Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-4

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-6

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-7

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer
story-9

2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

 Joe Kucinski




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:38 AM.

story-0
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-1
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-2
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-4
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-5
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-8
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE
story-9
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

Slideshow: 2027 Corvette lineup vs the world.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-24 16:12:42


VIEW MORE