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My 2002 Coupe has 55,000 miles on it and it seems to drive great but I was wondering if you guys are changing the shocks at a certain time or waiting until the drive quality deteriorates.
It all depends on you and what you wanna do.
I switched mine out as soon as i could get around to doing it...
I replaced my shocks, sways and end links.
I went with '04 C5Z shocks, C6Z Sways, an metal end links.
Alot of guys dont do the C6Z sways but do C6 sways. I just wanted more of stiffer ride so i went with the C6Z sways..
But there are tons of options on shocks all the way up to coilovers.
Just depends with what type of driving your going to do and what you can afford.
If you got the coin for coilovers then go that route.
But i would also change the sways an add metal endlinks while your doing the work.
Its a night an day difference upgrading those 3 things.
Goodluck
I replaced the shocks on my 98 last year with 58,000 on the car. You think they are ok till you bolt on bilsteins , then look out for some real nice handling . Big difference , did the end links and c6 zo6 sways to.
I replaced the shocks with Bilstein HDs at 30K miles. I also recently added Eibach antisway bar kit and new end links. The car now drives like a true sports car should. You will not believe what a difference a set of good shocks can make.
I just drove the car home last night and into work today. I don't have any twisties or even freeway driving, but the car felt really good to me. I'll drive it more over the next few days and over the weekend and give my impressions. But first impression is very positive!
It all depends on you and what you wanna do.
I switched mine out as soon as i could get around to doing it...
I replaced my shocks, sways and end links.
I went with '04 C5Z shocks, C6Z Sways, an metal end links.
Alot of guys dont do the C6Z sways but do C6 sways. I just wanted more of stiffer ride so i went with the C6Z sways..
But there are tons of options on shocks all the way up to coilovers.
Just depends with what type of driving your going to do and what you can afford.
If you got the coin for coilovers then go that route.
But i would also change the sways an add metal endlinks while your doing the work.
Its a night an day difference upgrading those 3 things.
Goodluck
I installed C5Z sway bars on my 2004 vert when I upgraded my wheels and tires. I just installed some Koni FSD shocks last week and combined with the sway bars and Thermal Tunnel Plate I installed with the new shocks, the car rides like it's on rails!
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A number of forum members upgrade the shocks to get better ride and handling from the car. From reading the posts, I don't think the changes are being done at any particular mileage.
I just drove the car home last night and into work today. I don't have any twisties or even freeway driving, but the car felt really good to me. I'll drive it more over the next few days and over the weekend and give my impressions. But first impression is very positive!
Great choice!
We definitely love the Johnny O'Connell package for daily drivers. It's easy to install and setup, and doesn't require any tuning to dial the car in properly. Just install and drive!
We've heard of folks with all kinds of different mileages who have swapped to one of our packages. Typically they're looking to improve the performance of their Corvette and their factory shocks are still in decent shape. We would start looking hard at the condition of the factory shocks after about 40,000 miles or so. The sneaky thing about shock performance is that it's a gradual degredation of performance, not necessarily an On-Off switch like a lot of other components of the suspension.
If you've got 40,000+ on a set of Corvette shocks it may be time to think about an upgrade, and certainly if you start noticing signs of a blown shock like knocking or uncontrolled suspension movement. The Johnny O'Connell shocks are perfect for daily driven Corvettes who want a little more spark than the OEM components can provide!