1st off, Im new to owning a vette and i have used the search feature alot.. Lol i know, ive been a member sence '03 but didnt make my 1st post till 3 days ago...

Recently bought a '04 Z06 Com. Ed. w/ 30K miles

Questions about shocks, Ive been reading alot about suspension.. Ive traditionally always started moding w/ suspension.. I came out of a '04 Subaru WRX STi so it feels a little "loose" to me (the STi was very tight feeling). So i see a few posts about shocks and ect.. what i want to know is how does the stock '04 Z06 shocks rank to others, from what i gather the '04 Z's got a slightly better shock then the prior years, is my assumption correct in firmness (soft to firm), and is it worth upgrading from '04Z to C6Z shocks?
* '04 Z06 Stock
* C6 Z06 OEM
* Bilstein Sport

Also appears that a C6 Z51 rear swaybar w/ Metal links is a common/inexpencive upgrade.. Question is how much of an imporvement are we talking? would it be just as worth while to put Polly bushings with metal links on the stock bar or upgrade the bar along with the bushings/links (~2mm larger from what i read)?

S

 

I know what you mean when you say this car feels loose (it's really not, but I understand what you mean). My previous car was a 911, so I can empathize. While my old car may have felt tighter, the Z actually capable of pulling higher g's. I could never track down slalom times for the two cars, but I digress.

I have to assume you've done the same research I did when reading about suspension upgrades for these cars. From what I can gather, whatever Chevy was doing WRONG with the Z06 shocks in previous models, they fixed in '04. I don't think it's cost effective for you to "upgrade" to C6Z shocks. I'm not sure about the Bilsteins, but I'm sure someone here is more informed.

Since you didn't mention coil-overs, I assume you're working within a budget..... if not, cue LG suspension comments.

In regards to the C6 Z51 sway bar set, I just ordered mine today. I'll be happy to provide feedback; however, I'm planning on it having a pretty dramatic effect on my car since I'm not only missing a supporting bolt on my rear sway bar, but my bushings also appear to be close to gone..... not sure why. Whatever, like I really NEED an excuse to mod.

 

I have read threw most of the Brakes and Suspension information i could fine here and on others sites.. I'm giving my self a reasonable allowance to mod the car.. I dislike coil over setups, delt with them in the past on various cars and never really liked them. I agree it does feel misleading but is very capable of handling a few twisties, lol i just cant seem to leave well enough alone sometimes

I look forward to hearing your feedback on the rear sway, ive noticed alot of forums tend to ask alot of questions and no answer/results are posted following up so i am glad to see your responce. sounds like a good/inexpencive upgrade. By chance do you know what size the C6Z51 bar is? don't see many people doing polly bushings just curious if its a odd size or something...
S

 

When I bought mine it felt loose; as in all over the place on the highway. Felt floaty on the highway and followed pavement irregularities. I discovered that the rake was wrong, my car was lower in the back than the front which created lift at high speed, and my alighnment was off so my car would tramline or follow pavement irregularities. I bought a set of Bilstein sports, lowered it and adjusted the rake and had it alighned properly; It was a 100% improvement in the control and feel of the car.

 

 

If you can swing it.... Coil overs are the only way to go....
Unbelievable change in how the car handles....!

 

Assuming that the car is stock now, first you should try a good setup before you start doing anything else. If you want better handling and as much grip as you will ever be able to use on the street, a proper setup will do amazing things for these cars.

1. Lower the car (DO NO SLAM IT), lower it to about 4.5 to 5 inches in the front as measured at the front jacking point and about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch higher as measured at the rear jacking point. Also, turn the adjustment screws the same number of turns on each axle. That is, if turn it 6 turns on the right front, turn it 6 turns on the left front screw. That's the easiest way to keep the corner weights close to proper without scales or really carefully measuring. Note that in the back the lowest you can do with stock shocks is about three threads showing on the lowest screw, the other may show between 5 or seven threads...

2. After you lower it, put a serious alignment on it. Put in some more front negative camber (up to -2 degrees if you are really serious, but a bit less if you aren't) and set the rear camber at between a a half and 3/4 of a degree less than what you use in the front. Max out the caster, and set the toe to 1/8 of an inch in at both ends of the car. One of the reasons you are finding the car "loose" could simply be a bad alignment, you will find these cars are very sensitive to rear toe, and if it isn't right it will make the car handle funny. Ditto on being too low...

3. What tires are on the car and what condition are they in? The stock supercars are probably gone anyway, so did the person put crummy tires on it to sell the car? Make sure you have a good set of tires and that they aren't hardened up and old.

4. Think about getting the car cornerweighted. If you are really into good handling, the way a car handles after it is cornerweighted properly is stunning. It's much like handling a well balanced knife or gun, it just feels so right and is so much more responsive.

Do those things before you start messing with different bars and other parts. These cars are incredibly well balanced for serious performance, but 99 and 44/100's percent of the performance can be had if you PROPERLY set up the car. Before you screw up the balance, get it set up right and then think aobut changing things....

I've had other Z owners drive my car and the've been simply amazed and said "my car drives nothing like this, what did you do?"

The answer is just set it up right and enjoy....

 

smart man

 

Thank you for all the great info i have rode/drove in a few vettes (3x 01 Z's, 02 C5 Z51, C6Z, C6 Z51) and they all feel about the same. i think its just a different feel then my STi (sti was very rigid/Tight feeling... Almost to rigid at times). I do have the stock Supercar's on the car, dunno if they are original or have been repalced (getting close to the indicators but actually worn evenly and and still good shape). I do have a hookup at "SPC" if you have ever heard of them, They are local to me and are very skilled at setting up suspension (SPC is an alignment company, Big in the import word for control arms and other alignment/suspension products). Havnt had had it long enough to get an alignment or tires yet.. the car will be mostly a weekend street car with a couple trips to the track.. So far just doing all the normal maintenance. Just installed PFC Carbon metallic pads with Powerslot rotors good improvement, Good bite and good stopping power (didnt break the bank either). when it gets nice out i will have the alignment done at SPC. going to have them check the ball joints, tie rods and bushings while in there.

S

 

If you have 20,000 miles on the supercars and they are at the wear bars they are probably original tires. That's about how many miles I got on mine and they were terrible at the end. Get rid of them, they are hard and worn out.

Once the car is set up properly you can fine tune the balance to your liking by using poly bushings in the front bar if you want more understeer, or softening the preload on the front swaybar if the car is too tight. You shouldn't need to make big changes in bars to get it perfect. The front bar on these cars is pretty big already, and a slight change in front bar stiffness by stiffening or softening the front bushings is usually all you need to fine tune it.

Do remember that you are coming from a front drive car that has a lot of inherent understeer, and that a balanced car will rotate a lot better than your subie did. So long as the car isn't loose at the limit, enjoy the better response.

 

Or these, PFADT Coilovers.

 

I would check tires and alignment first. The C5 has a different feel compared to other performance cars with its capabilities, but I don't think I would describe it as "loose". The steering feel is a little vague (especially off-center), but a properly set-up factory C5Z will respond to inputs like a scalpel. IMO, street tires will become a limiting factor before the factory suspension does.

Toss your spent tires and get a performance alignment before you start throwing money at anything...

 

He already said he wasn't interested.