Best mod yet!!!
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Instructor
Joined: Oct 2011
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From: Augusta Kansas
Best mod yet!!!
I have a 2000 C5 with the stock sway bars and 110k miles. Yesterday i dropped in some C6 Z51 bars with new aluminum links and now i have a new car. I can't believe the difference it makes in feel and handling. I wish i would have done it a long time ago. Going on a road trip this weekend.
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Nothing like some extra handling to make the car feel like new again.
Race Director
Joined: May 2012
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From: Phoenix area, AZ
I have a 2000 C5 with the stock sway bars and 110k miles. Yesterday i dropped in some C6 Z51 bars with new aluminum links and now i have a new car. I can't believe the difference it makes in feel and handling. I wish i would have done it a long time ago. Going on a road trip this weekend.
Team Owner
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How much difference do you guys suppose it would make to a car that already has the Z51 package on it? Mines a 98. Are the C6 bars stiffer yet?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 9,488
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From: Knoxville Tn
The sway bars and links are a piece of cake. Changing shocks is a bit more work, but there are some good write-ups on the forum. Any compenent wrench turner could do it all in a few hours.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 135
Likes: 1
From: Augusta Kansas
I took my sweet time in the garage last night and it took me about 4 hours and 3 beers. I'm sure you could do it faster if you wanted to. A big help is to remove the wheels after you jack it up. It makes getting to the end links easier.
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Instructor
Joined: Oct 2011
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From: Augusta Kansas
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
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From: Oceanside California
I moved from an 84 Trans am to my 99 C5. I thought the car was so stiff that it couldn't get much better. Then I did sway bars w/ poly bushings and metal end-links and shocks. I cant believe how much room for improvement there was!!! There was quite a bit of body role before that I didn't know was there until I experienced the ride with a sway bar upgrade.
Instillation was only about half an hour per bar. Shocks were a bit harder.
Instillation was only about half an hour per bar. Shocks were a bit harder.
Race Director
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 15,759
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From: Phoenix area, AZ
Race Director
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 15,759
Likes: 3,277
From: Phoenix area, AZ
It wasn't that bad; even with my limited lifting abilities, and cramped quarters as a result, taking my sweet time and with several breaks I had the swap done in about 4 hours.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,240
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From: Orange County California
put the adjustable Hotchkis Sway bar and metal endlinks on a few months ago and love them.
a little side note on sway bar change outs....its best to remove the wheels and do it for two reasons, the first is that it makes it much easier
the second has to do with proper tightening of the end link bolts
the first time I put mine in I just did it from underneath the jacked up car....few days after the instal I started getting this loud CLUNK from the rear end everytime I took a curve hard or went over a speed bump at odd angles....after stressing out over it for a day and doing research I found out the likely cause was that the end links were not quite tight enough, so I removed the wheels, and sure enough the end link bolts that I thought were very tight when I tightened them in the cramped space and odd angels from underneath the car could be tightened another revolution and a half easliy with the wheels off and a better leveraged space to work with...tightened everything up properly with the wheels off and no clunk and happy driving for several months now :-)
a little side note on sway bar change outs....its best to remove the wheels and do it for two reasons, the first is that it makes it much easier
the second has to do with proper tightening of the end link bolts
the first time I put mine in I just did it from underneath the jacked up car....few days after the instal I started getting this loud CLUNK from the rear end everytime I took a curve hard or went over a speed bump at odd angles....after stressing out over it for a day and doing research I found out the likely cause was that the end links were not quite tight enough, so I removed the wheels, and sure enough the end link bolts that I thought were very tight when I tightened them in the cramped space and odd angels from underneath the car could be tightened another revolution and a half easliy with the wheels off and a better leveraged space to work with...tightened everything up properly with the wheels off and no clunk and happy driving for several months now :-)
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,240
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From: Orange County California
cant speak for the OP but I have only done the sway bars so far and is a great mod, one of the essential mods on this car in my opinion
right up there with modifying the airbox
those two mods are probably the first two mods i'd do on any stock vette
if i was gunna suggest or rank the best bang for you buck easy to do mods they would be
1. sway bar upgrade
2. MGW shifter on 6 speeds
3. air box mod (either the zip tie mod or an aftermarket CAI)
I consider those mods essential becuase they are so cheap and easy and all three make a BIG improvement to the car.
right up there with modifying the airbox
those two mods are probably the first two mods i'd do on any stock vette
if i was gunna suggest or rank the best bang for you buck easy to do mods they would be
1. sway bar upgrade
2. MGW shifter on 6 speeds
3. air box mod (either the zip tie mod or an aftermarket CAI)
I consider those mods essential becuase they are so cheap and easy and all three make a BIG improvement to the car.
Last edited by steven31371; Aug 3, 2012 at 12:50 PM.
Race Director
Joined: May 2012
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From: Phoenix area, AZ
Melting Slicks
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With the proper tools there's no need to pull the wheels. If you need a little more clearance turn the steering wheel. It took me about 90. Hardest part was removing the old plastic links
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
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From: Oceanside California
I experienced a big difference with the sway bars. But honestly the Bilstein shocks feel just like stock. Not a big upgrade IMO. They are the HD's though.
