I dont even know the name of these $81 shocks but the car runs nice and feels tight and even the brakes seem to work better...Why buy expenise shocks?

 

How many miles were on the old ones?

 

83000 when changed they were probly bad at 70,000

 

I've seen inexpensive shocks break down after a short while. If the part I'm replacing requires too much labor to replace I'll usually opt for a more "reliable" brand than a run-of-the-mill. JMHO

 

Its very easy to check the dampening of the shocks with a simple bounce test. Factory shocks are extremely well built. easily lasting 100K. unless the shock leaks which is very rare.
People spend money on shocks because the think they are bad after X miles. if the corner does not bounce, the shock is doing its job. if the shock dampens the bounce in one movement the shock is good. a bad shock will bounce more than one time.
you cant buy better street shocks for your C5 than 2013 Z06 shocks and at 63 dollars a piece they are a real bargain. They bolt right up and will easily last 15 years and 100,000 miles. as far as tight body roll performance, new 2013 Z51 sways will enhance any C5's fun factor. at 208 dollars for both fronts and reads with bushings it's another steal. Add the new quiet 2013 ( new design ) end links and you have what others offer for twice the money.
GM Parts house.
Bill aka ET

 

that's some strong information from Evil Twin.

I was reading some propaganda from a shock company, and they said the major manufacturing expense is the smoothness of the rod, and the quality of the plating on same.

 

I'm probably going to lose this argument, but a "shock" is really a "damper". The vehicle's spring is the shock absorber, and the "shock" is a damper. The spring absorbs the shock of the road undulation, and the "shock" dampens the effect of this impact.....otherwise the spring would continue to "bounce", without the damping effect of the "shock" (damper).

Not important, but we call dampers "shocks", when in fact they are "dampers"......as they are known in other parts of the world other than the US.

 

Was that 81 bucks for all 4? If so that is scary.

 

The zo6 shocks made my car look like a 4x4. Way too much lift. Bilstein sports are a better option.

 

Oh these shocks were really bad one was squeling non stop i felt i was driving a junk box.The gm replacement shocks were $240.00 each the aftermarket were $81 ea. I almost made a mistake by replacing the sway bar after being told by most on here that shocks dont make that kind of constant noise that would of been $376 just for the gm sway bar plus labor and in the end i would of spent more then double what i did.

 

Shocks do NOT Lift the car... springs set the ride height... shocks only dampen up and down movement. To prove my point you can take any shock and by hand, move the shock to any point in its travel. Bilstein shock have a slightly higher dampening rate and thus give a harsher ride.

 

The dealer told you many untruths. the squeak that you were experiencing was from a dried out sway bar bushing. Shocks do Not squeak when they leak And the dealer took advantage of that. I doubt there was anything wrong with your shocks. Stay away from the dealer.The best shocks for you car that GM offers( 2013 Z06 ) are 63 dollars each. the best sway bars that GM offers( 2013 Z51 ) are 208 dollars which includes the bushings are 208 for both. shocks and sways are 460 dollars total and 4 hours labor to install. labor would be around 320/360 dollars. So about 800 dollars parts and labor for the best suspension set up GM offers for your car. GM's Shocks and sways rival ( can stand toe to toe ), shocks and sways from after market manufacturers and cost half as much.

 

I'm pickin up the 2012 Z06 shocks from GM parts house per ETs advice, already have C6Z06 sways installed, I have C6Z06 shocks on the car, but have no idea how old they are, I get a thumping noise, slight, when movin at 2 or 3 mph in Parkin lots and such, I've looked at the shocks on the car, and pass side rear looks wrong. The dust guard looks crooked(sp).

Car has 149k on chassis, and at 250 a set its worth it for me to swap um out while installing BBK.

That comment about the 2013 Z06 shocks turnin the stance into a 4x4 had me worried there for a bit.

 

Excellent info Bill, thanks! These were next on my list of things to do to my '03 coupe. Nice to get some confirmation on the plan though! This will effectively make the '03 coupe handle like a factory Z51, yes?

 

Great info ET (as always)
Darn dealers, always trying to rip off their potential customers!!

 

Hey ET,

I always appreciate your input and realize that it is coming from an unimpeachable source, the design team that gave us these great cars. So thank you once again!!

My question is that I have a '99 coupe with Z51 option and don't have any trouble with anything at present, but would the C6 Z06 parts make a significant improvement on what I have or would it be about the same?

DSTURBD

 

Corvette shocks are high pressure nitrogen shocks. You'd be hard pressed to just be able to move them into any position by hand. They are a pain to install because they want to be fully extended. In fact its a known shortcut to wire/zip tie them closed to ease installation. I have pictures of the zo6 shocks installed somewhere with a tape measure showing a solid 3/4" more height between the tire and wheel well. True my stock shocks may have lost their gas but when I put the Bilsteins in they were at the same height as the stock shocks I removed. Im not the only one with the opinion that the zo6 shocks lift the body somewhat. Do a search on Z06 shock ride height

 

Well I just got out of the hospital spent 26 days in critical care. Ive been home now a month and am able to do this job without much issue. and IM 68 years old.I bought the Z06 shocks to replace my stock 99 C5 Z51 suspension. I was easily able to compress the shocks to install them, and again these are not struts, they are shocks which dampen the travel. the springs set the shock height unless you have coil overs. Take the shocks out and the springs would keep the car at its drive height but without a dampening mechanism the car would bounce down the road without any dampening. You can live with your beliefs, Ill live with mine. BTW, I had the Z51 suspension on my 99 and the new 2013 Z51 suspension sways are almost 30 % larger in diameter than the 99 Z51 suspension. No change in the ride height. the car is now much tighter due to the larger lateral control. the 2013 Z51 suspension is a big improvement over the 99 Z51 suspension. If shocks effected the ride height why would lowering the car be a function of the springs? you don't get repositioning shock towers to lower the car you just adjust the springs. Bilsteins are more aggressive with dampening and if Bilsteins are more aggressive then by you thinking Bilsteins would increase the ride height even more. BTW the Zip tie removal is old school. its not rocket science but most would have you believe it's space aged technology. First thing you do on the lift is compress the shock and lock it down. There is no magic here.. Except maybe for the first time mechanic. Gas filled shocks are nothing new either. but remove the shock and you can compress it by hand but you cant pump it up like when in the car. My point to all this is why spend 1000 on Johnny O'Connell or Eibauch when you can get the same specs for 500.00. I also said the GM shocks last a lot longer than most would think.
The cost of the 2013 Z06 shocks and 2013 sways and add the new 2013 silent updated end links and you have a superior suspension over that offered in 99. the new end links are around 106.00 for the four.

 

This is all new to me, Never heard this before, The weight of the car should push the shock down to the spring and not raise the car.

 

I upgraded my OEM shocks for Koni FSD shocks. I agree about the spring/dampener analysis. The OEM shocks actually had a softer ride than my Koni FSDs, however I feel more connected with the road from a performance perspective with the Konis.

I guess the softer feel of the OEM shocks were better with the harsher ride of my original run-flats, however the Konis seem to match up better with my non run-flats and upgraded sways and CCW wheels.

In hindsight, I guess the OEM shocks would have worked with either scenerio, however I cringe at how my Konis would match up with the original run flat tires. My fillings would probably be jarred loose by now.