Johnny O's/Pfadt of C6-Z51's? If I go with the C6's, they would be initially cheaper, but I'd need to powder-coat them yeller...

 

Overall improvement and DD friendly:
C6 Z51

Track
Pfadt

Autocross or serious track:
T1

 

Remember that the Johnny O versions are not their monster bars...

 

C6 Z51 Sways and C6 Z06 shocks - recommended!

Thanks,Matt

 

I'm halfway there. I just need to get the C6 Z06 shocks sometime this spring.

 

That is what I got, will be going on in the spring.

 

 

C6 Z51 sways & Koni FSD shocks from what I'm told.

 

Everyone is just voting for what they have. I have C6Z51 but would take the O'Connell's any day. The balance between front and rear on almost all the GM swaybars(except T1) is too little bar up front. Pfadt shifts the balance to increase front stiffness on all their sway bars which really helps in turn in and coming out of turns.

 

Right. Also note that C6Z06 and ZR1 have monster rear tires, which help with traction but are a detriment to getting the car to rotate. Adding a stiffer rear bar helps move the balance forward so the car can turn. When running something closer to C5Z sized tires (not as much of a size difference front to rear) you want the front bar stiffer. I like having an adjustable rear bar to be able to dial in the balance to where I want it but I do track my car. I have a set if the Johnny Os waiting to go on the car before spring.

 

I voted C6 Z06 but this is the setup I would run:

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C6 Z51 Sway bars

and

C5 Z06 or/ C6 Z06 shocks
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This would be an effective combo and it's not that bad on your wallet

 

Am I missing something here? I don't see where the OP has said what he has for a car model, nor what type of driving he wants to do. Shouldn't that have some bearing on suspension setup?

I'm using C6 Z51 sways and shocks, which isn't the firmest I realize, but then, my C5 is a convertible and my driving is leisurely and sometimes spirited, no tracks or drags. I was looking for something comfortable but tighter than my '98s base suspension. I chose right for my needs. Can't say what the OP is wanting.

 

I have the Pfadt Johnny O's sways, endlinks, and shocks. The sways and endlinks are amazing. My car handles and turns in so much better. The shocks are a little stiff for my liking. I really don't track my car, but I wanted a performance shock. My car is lowered on stock bolts to the max which is probably effects the ride. I'm going to raise it a little in the spring to see if that helps.

 

 

I ran C6Z bars on my C5 with 315 tires in the back and currently have them on the C6 with 325 tires and great street bar

 

Obviously we're a little biased... but we had the C6Z shocks in mind during some of the development of the Johnny O'Connell shocks. We knew that because of the large amount of High Speed Rebound damping built into the C6Z shocks they tend to force the tire to skip over road irregularities and expansion joints at higher speeds. Part of the reason the JO package is such a great package is not only the increased performance, but because of the confidence it inspires over rough surfaces. Over large bumps and rough roads the car just feels more stable and responsive to driver inputs.

There certainly are cheaper ways to put together a suspension package, but keep in mind that with a current retail price point of 1000.00 for Performance Shocks, Sway bars, replacement poly sway bar bushings and Metal endlinks the Johnny O'Connell Stage 1 really is a screaming deal for the caliber of components you receive. The springs and sways were designed to work together best as a package, and the damping in the shocks compliments the increase in roll stiffness from the Sway bars very nicely.

If you're in the market for a suspension package for your Corvette that offers the ease of installation of OEM parts, with performance beyond that of Z06 shocks why not make the move to the Johnny O'Connell package?

 

Sorry about the vagueness of my post....

It's a 2k FRC that will be driven mostly street, but I do like to mountain-carve, and Mt. Lemmon is only 10 miles from me...(26 miles of twisties). I'll be running 19x9/19x10.5 Nurburings with Michellin Pilot Super Sports, and C6-Z06 brakes. The car has only a few easy bolt-ons, so power at this time is not an issue.

 

We really do think the JO package would be a great fit for what you're trying to do. Daily driving with some spirited back roads, canyon, or light track use was exactly what we built the package for.

Here is some footage we took of the Pfadt Europe C6Z equipped with the JO package on the Nürburgring. If the package soaks up the Nürburgring and German surface streets as well as this, it will perform great at Mt. Lemmon and anywhere you can take it in the States.

 

You can get C6Z shocks for around 280 shipped which is a great deal.

However, before I got coilovers I went with Bilsteins Sports for 350/shipped which I thought was a better value as the Bilsteins are unarguably better built and come with a lifetime warranty.

If you want to spend a bit more I would go with the PFADT inverted(monotube with aluminum body) over the Johnny O'Connell which are basically revalved C6Z shocks. (PFADT can you comment on the exact details, specifically if the shocks is twin tube or mono tube).

Here is a quote from LG motorsports on the superiority of Bilsteins over the OEM shocks:

 

The Johnny O'Connell shocks are built on the same assembly line as the C6 shocks, and are built by Sachs with our Pfadt specific valving. As everyone knows Sachs builds high quality components and other than valving which we prefer to change for increased performance and comfort, the C6Z is a well built shock. It's also important to know that the Johnny O'Connell shocks at Sachs begin life as an empty machined tube, at no point are they C6 Shocks. A Johnny O'Connell shock will begin and end life as a Johnny O shock, never as a C6 unit.

The Johnny O'Connell (as well as all of the oem c5/c6 shocks) are Monotube design. We do this for overall improved performance and heat handling capabilities over a twin tube design, even though Monotube shocks are more expensive to manufacture. There aren't too many performance shocks in this price range that are Twin Tube designs, mostly because Monotube shocks are more precise and deal with heat much more effectively.