[Z06] Coil Overs, shocks or what?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Coil Overs, shocks or what?
I posted the following in the Autocrossing/Road racing, but I thought I would see what my fellow ZO6 brothers/sisters think:
I currently have a 2003 ZO6 that I have lowered; removed front bolts and longer bolts in the back. Probably close to a 1.5 inch drop all around.
I am looking for better handling. I do not autocross or road race. I do like to do some spirited driving, love roads through the mountains, like tail of the dragon and things like that.
Question is, what would you do? I am very interested in hearing from you guys. My car has 43K on it with about 1K on the lowered setup. Shocks and springs are stock ZO6.
Thanks,
Micah
I currently have a 2003 ZO6 that I have lowered; removed front bolts and longer bolts in the back. Probably close to a 1.5 inch drop all around.
I am looking for better handling. I do not autocross or road race. I do like to do some spirited driving, love roads through the mountains, like tail of the dragon and things like that.
Question is, what would you do? I am very interested in hearing from you guys. My car has 43K on it with about 1K on the lowered setup. Shocks and springs are stock ZO6.
Thanks,
Micah
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 35,874
Likes: 1,601
From: Honolulu HI
Good info in this thread about what happens to shock travel when going lower than stock bolts. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...ng-the-c5.html
Coilovers aleviate the issues.
Coilovers aleviate the issues.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
I'm in the mountains as well.
Pfadt Coils & sways, aggressive street alignment & PS2's. You can push the car hard enough to scare yourself!
The ride height is adjustable without effect to suspension travel. The ride quality is very good & adjustable.
My favorite part is the side stepping when the pavement is uneven & power is on.....gone.
Pfadt Coils & sways, aggressive street alignment & PS2's. You can push the car hard enough to scare yourself!
The ride height is adjustable without effect to suspension travel. The ride quality is very good & adjustable.
My favorite part is the side stepping when the pavement is uneven & power is on.....gone.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Better handling?
raise your car back up to stock right height. or no lower then 1" in front with the correct rake in back.
Get a great agressive street alignment. and keep the Z06 suspension
Coil overs are not a good idea unless you have the time and experience to do the set ups and testing. The are not bolt on and go.
Good Luck
raise your car back up to stock right height. or no lower then 1" in front with the correct rake in back.
Get a great agressive street alignment. and keep the Z06 suspension
Coil overs are not a good idea unless you have the time and experience to do the set ups and testing. The are not bolt on and go.
Good Luck
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,722
Likes: 138
From: Florida
St. Jude Donor '09
I posted the following in the Autocrossing/Road racing, but I thought I would see what my fellow ZO6 brothers/sisters think:
I currently have a 2003 ZO6 that I have lowered; removed front bolts and longer bolts in the back. Probably close to a 1.5 inch drop all around.
I am looking for better handling. I do not autocross or road race. I do like to do some spirited driving, love roads through the mountains, like tail of the dragon and things like that.
Question is, what would you do? I am very interested in hearing from you guys. My car has 43K on it with about 1K on the lowered setup. Shocks and springs are stock ZO6.
Thanks,
Micah
I currently have a 2003 ZO6 that I have lowered; removed front bolts and longer bolts in the back. Probably close to a 1.5 inch drop all around.
I am looking for better handling. I do not autocross or road race. I do like to do some spirited driving, love roads through the mountains, like tail of the dragon and things like that.
Question is, what would you do? I am very interested in hearing from you guys. My car has 43K on it with about 1K on the lowered setup. Shocks and springs are stock ZO6.
Thanks,
Micah
Lowering the car that far and removing the front spring bushing was not a good idea. Coil over shocks are a waste of time and money for a street car, anyone who tells you different is either inexperienced or just plain embellishing the information so they can separate you from your money.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,415
Likes: 138
Better handling?
raise your car back up to stock right height. or no lower then 1" in front with the correct rake in back.
Get a great agressive street alignment. and keep the Z06 suspension
Coil overs are not a good idea unless you have the time and experience to do the set ups and testing. The are not bolt on and go.
Good Luck
raise your car back up to stock right height. or no lower then 1" in front with the correct rake in back.
Get a great agressive street alignment. and keep the Z06 suspension
Coil overs are not a good idea unless you have the time and experience to do the set ups and testing. The are not bolt on and go.
Good Luck
Honestly, for a car that isn't going to be seeing HPDEs, I'd raise the car back up to a reasonable height, maybe 04 shocks, and seat time. C5Zs handle great. People should really spend the time to learn how to use the car, stock, to the best of its abilities before throwing money at it.
However, if you absolutely feel you must have a fully adjustable setup, or just be slammed without constantly bottoming out the shocks, Pfadt makes a very nice product.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,722
Likes: 138
From: Florida
St. Jude Donor '09
Pfadt Coils & sways, aggressive street alignment & PS2's. You can push the car hard enough to scare yourself! This is hardly a measure for success, this can be done with the OEM suspension.
The ride height is adjustable without effect to suspension travel. The ride quality is very good & adjustable. Not entirely accurate, the only way to drop the car and maintain full suspension travel is with drop spindles.
My favorite part is the side stepping when the pavement is uneven & power is on.....gone. Coil over shocks are not needed to eliminate side stepping.
The ride height is adjustable without effect to suspension travel. The ride quality is very good & adjustable. Not entirely accurate, the only way to drop the car and maintain full suspension travel is with drop spindles.
My favorite part is the side stepping when the pavement is uneven & power is on.....gone. Coil over shocks are not needed to eliminate side stepping.
Last edited by ipuig; Feb 27, 2011 at 10:51 AM.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,000
Likes: 2
Like mentioned in your other thread I would go with Bilstein shocks stock or re-valved by DRM, raise the car some, get good street tires, and a somewhat aggressive street alignment. I was going to go with those shocks but got a heck of a deal on some Pfadt shocks from TPE.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
I am not certain that I will not do any road racing or autocrossing, but I went ahead and did what I normally do...OVERKILL.
I just purchased a set of:
LG Motorsports GT2 Adjustable Coilovers
There has been so much thrown at me on this topic and I appreciate it, but I want the stance as well as performance. I may not set it up as low as I am now, but I will always have the option to do as I want with the coil overs.
Micah
I just purchased a set of:
LG Motorsports GT2 Adjustable Coilovers
There has been so much thrown at me on this topic and I appreciate it, but I want the stance as well as performance. I may not set it up as low as I am now, but I will always have the option to do as I want with the coil overs.
Micah
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,003
Likes: 89
From: Indy IN
The coilovers will let you lower the car without bottoming, but if you lower the car that much without dropped spindles, the handling won't be as good as a properly set up stock car.
The reason for that is actually pretty simple. If you lower the car without dropped spindles the geometry of the suspension will lower the roll centers too much and the handling won't be as good. The car will look sexy, but it won't handle very well.
The reason for that is actually pretty simple. If you lower the car without dropped spindles the geometry of the suspension will lower the roll centers too much and the handling won't be as good. The car will look sexy, but it won't handle very well.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,722
Likes: 138
From: Florida
St. Jude Donor '09
I am not certain that I will not do any road racing or autocrossing, but I went ahead and did what I normally do...OVERKILL.
I just purchased a set of:
LG Motorsports GT2 Adjustable Coilovers
There has been so much thrown at me on this topic and I appreciate it, but I want the stance as well as performance. I may not set it up as low as I am now, but I will always have the option to do as I want with the coil overs.
Micah
I just purchased a set of:
LG Motorsports GT2 Adjustable Coilovers
There has been so much thrown at me on this topic and I appreciate it, but I want the stance as well as performance. I may not set it up as low as I am now, but I will always have the option to do as I want with the coil overs.
Micah
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 35,874
Likes: 1,601
From: Honolulu HI
While I agree that coilovers are overkill for street use...his front leaf is riding directly on the lower control arms and he has longer rear bolts, which means he's most likley riding on the rear shock bumpstops. If that is the case, he'll notice a big difference in ride quality and handling.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
The coilovers will let you lower the car without bottoming, but if you lower the car that much without dropped spindles, the handling won't be as good as a properly set up stock car.
The reason for that is actually pretty simple. If you lower the car without dropped spindles the geometry of the suspension will lower the roll centers too much and the handling won't be as good. The car will look sexy, but it won't handle very well.
The reason for that is actually pretty simple. If you lower the car without dropped spindles the geometry of the suspension will lower the roll centers too much and the handling won't be as good. The car will look sexy, but it won't handle very well.
I am looking forward to the improved handling.
I love the look I have currently, but when I have a passenger, I am very limited on where I can go.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,201
Likes: 14
From: Honolulu, HI
Coilovers were the best mod I ever did for my corvette.
Although, admittedly you might be able to get the same results by changing the shocks or springs.
At the time I bough mine it was not much more to just buy coilovers from pfadt.
Before, my stock Z06 with new tires was frankly dangerous to drive fast. Mid-corner bumps would send the rear end skipping out.
Afterwards, the skip is essentially gone, and the car feels just much more planted. It's just easier to drive fast.
I bought my car to drive fast.
Although, admittedly you might be able to get the same results by changing the shocks or springs.
At the time I bough mine it was not much more to just buy coilovers from pfadt.
Before, my stock Z06 with new tires was frankly dangerous to drive fast. Mid-corner bumps would send the rear end skipping out.
Afterwards, the skip is essentially gone, and the car feels just much more planted. It's just easier to drive fast.
I bought my car to drive fast.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Coilovers were the best mod I ever did for my corvette.
Although, admittedly you might be able to get the same results by changing the shocks or springs.
At the time I bough mine it was not much more to just buy coilovers from pfadt.
Before, my stock Z06 with new tires was frankly dangerous to drive fast. Mid-corner bumps would send the rear end skipping out.
Afterwards, the skip is essentially gone, and the car feels just much more planted. It's just easier to drive fast.
I bought my car to drive fast.
Although, admittedly you might be able to get the same results by changing the shocks or springs.
At the time I bough mine it was not much more to just buy coilovers from pfadt.
Before, my stock Z06 with new tires was frankly dangerous to drive fast. Mid-corner bumps would send the rear end skipping out.
Afterwards, the skip is essentially gone, and the car feels just much more planted. It's just easier to drive fast.
I bought my car to drive fast.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,396
Likes: 52
From: Sicamous BC
Pfadt Coils & sways, aggressive street alignment & PS2's. You can push the car hard enough to scare yourself! This is hardly a measure for success, this can be done with the OEM suspension.
The ride height is adjustable without effect to suspension travel. The ride quality is very good & adjustable. Not entirely accurate, the only way to drop the car and maintain full suspension travel is with drop spindles.
My favorite part is the side stepping when the pavement is uneven & power is on.....gone. Coil over shocks are not needed to eliminate side stepping.
The ride height is adjustable without effect to suspension travel. The ride quality is very good & adjustable. Not entirely accurate, the only way to drop the car and maintain full suspension travel is with drop spindles.
My favorite part is the side stepping when the pavement is uneven & power is on.....gone. Coil over shocks are not needed to eliminate side stepping.
Coilovers were the best mod I ever did for my corvette.
Although, admittedly you might be able to get the same results by changing the shocks or springs.
At the time I bough mine it was not much more to just buy coilovers from pfadt.
Before, my stock Z06 with new tires was frankly dangerous to drive fast. Mid-corner bumps would send the rear end skipping out.
Afterwards, the skip is essentially gone, and the car feels just much more planted. It's just easier to drive fast.
I bought my car to drive fast.
Although, admittedly you might be able to get the same results by changing the shocks or springs.
At the time I bough mine it was not much more to just buy coilovers from pfadt.
Before, my stock Z06 with new tires was frankly dangerous to drive fast. Mid-corner bumps would send the rear end skipping out.
Afterwards, the skip is essentially gone, and the car feels just much more planted. It's just easier to drive fast.
I bought my car to drive fast.
I would also like to add my C6 is a Z51 which demonstrated the ill handling characteristics of my C5.
Was happy with C6 as far spring rates, diving & squatting were better than the F45 C5. So I thought I would try a shock only upgrade, Pfadt adjustable. That helped the side steeping, the C5 with coil overs has a much better SOTP when stepping over the sensible mountain road line.
